[Mllump]

Hi guys, a beginner here,

as a long-time owner of a Qudelix 5k, I ordered the Fiio Q15 a few days ago in the hope of getting even more out of my HD650. Now what can I say? I can't tell only slight differences, if any. No matter how carefully I listen and how quickly I try to switch between the adapters in the A/B test, I can hardly detect any difference. With some songs I imagine that the bass is a little stronger. With others, I find guitars / banjos a little more pleasant, a little less sharp. The voices also seem a little more voluminous to me, with more chest. (I don't know if you can put it like that). But as mentioned, very subtle. I'm using Tidal here and the HD650s are connected to the balanced cable (2.5 + 2.5/4.4 Adapter). For comparison: When I turn the PEQ in the 5k, I can hear the differences, and they are factors higher than both listened "flat".

What would make more of a difference here? The higher power or rather the different DACs? (es9218p vs AK4191EQ)
I hope to answer the question myself as in few days a DC04Pro will arrive. If not different to the Q15, then it's the DAC part I would say..

The 650 is already warm, even a bit diluted. More power helps, sure, but the ess chip may be better synergy. That said, the small improvements you've noted is about on par for the hobby. The longer you're in it, the more you realize that in order to hear significant improvements, you have to invest more than a couple of hundred bucks. This is why synergy and price-performance is so important. Find something that sounds really solid in your budget range, and instead of constantly buying / selling, save up for something proven (headphones or amp/dac kit), especially if you can demo, and then you'll get the larger improvements you hope for. The HD650 scales ok, but you'd probably be better served to find something like a JM Audio XTC or Meze 109 pro for about $500 used that scales really, really well. In those cases, you will notice a bigger difference. The headphone is the most important piece of gear. What you may be experiencing is more the limit of what the 650 can offer you. My $.02.b

 

[MIREKFR]

It looks great and I'm sure it won't disappoint you when playing, but it won't replace the FIIO Q5S-TC because the Q15 is too thick and too heavy to make a proverbial sandwich with a phone, a new Q5-TC is needed, so don't write that the Q15 is the successor of the Q5 - TC because, as you can see in the photo, Q15 is too heavy and too big, when will the successor of Q5S-TC be available???

 

[gonzfi]

It looks great and I'm sure it won't disappoint you when playing, but it won't replace the FIIO Q5S-TC because the Q15 is too thick and too heavy to make a proverbial sandwich with a phone, a new Q5-TC is needed, so don't write that the Q15 is the successor of the Q5 - TC because, as you can see in the photo, Q15 is too heavy and too big, when will the successor of Q5S-TC be available???

Agree

 

[KaiFi]

Yeah not to complain about the Q15, I'm likely going to order it, but really it's a scaled-down Q7, not a true replacement for the smaller, modular Q5.

 

[Marco90]

Ciao ragazzi, sono un principiante qui,

come proprietario di lunga data di un Qudelix 5k, ho ordinato qualche giorno fa il Fiio Q15 nella speranza di ottenere ancora di più dal mio HD650. Ora cosa posso dire? Non riesco a notare solo lievi differenze, se presenti. Non importa con quanta attenzione ascolto e quanto velocemente cerco di passare da un adattatore all'altro nel test A/B, difficilmente riesco a rilevare alcuna differenza. Con alcune canzoni immagino che i bassi siano un po' più forti. Con altri trovo le chitarre/banjo un po' più piacevoli, un po' meno taglienti. Le voci mi sembrano anche un po' più voluminose, con più petto. (Non so se si può dire così). Ma come accennato, molto sottile. Sto usando Tidal qui e gli HD650 sono collegati al cavo bilanciato (adattatore 2.5 + 2.5/4.4). Per fare un confronto: quando accendo il PEQ a 5k, posso sentire le differenze, e sono fattori più alti rispetto a quelli "piatti" ascoltati.

Cosa farebbe più differenza qui? La potenza maggiore o piuttosto i diversi DAC? (es9218p contro AK4191EQ)
Spero di rispondere io stesso alla domanda dato che tra pochi giorni arriverà un DC04Pro. Se non è diverso dal Q15, allora direi che è la parte DAC.

Ciao ho il qudelix 5k+fiio fh9 stavo per comprare il fiio q15 nella speranza di avere un aggiornamento, quindi secondo voi non ne vale la pena c'è pochissima differenza?

 

[Tiax]

as a long-time owner of a Qudelix 5k, I ordered the Fiio Q15 a few days ago in the hope of getting even more out of my HD650. Now what can I say? I can't tell only slight differences, if any. No matter how carefully I listen and how quickly I try to switch between the adapters in the A/B test, I can hardly detect any difference.

Contrary to the popular beliefs on head-fi, when you already have enough power, and nothing weird is going on (like an extra noise on one source, huge impedance difference between them, DSP etc) replacing one source with another actually makes a very little difference.
So congrats, you've figured it out, just keep your Qudelix and save your money.

What would make more of a difference here? The higher power or rather the different DACs? (es9218p vs AK4191EQ)

New headphones or EQ

 

[Djankie]

Does the Q15 have enough power to drive the Beyerdynamic t1 gen1 using balanced output?

 

[neobandog1]

Yes

 

[Gvs71]

Enjoying the discussion on the Q15 but have a couple of questions for the forum. I am looking at either the Q15 and the new XDuoo XD-05 Pro (yeah, decent price difference)
Has anyone tried the FT3 350 Ohm headphones with the Q15? And if so did the Q15 drive them well?
Is the XDuoo €350'ish better than the Q15?
Sources are Fiio M11 Pro, Hiby RS2, Sony ZX300, laptop and Android phone.
Headphones/IEMs are Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro, Hifiman Sundara Closed and HE4XX, Sony MDR-Z7M2, Dunu SA6, Fiio FD3 Pro, and (soon) FT3 350 Ohm.
Thanks in advance

 

[Kontrapunkt2006]

Oh, this was exactly my Question before I accidently hit the final "order" button at HifiGo for the Fiio Q15, which I have now
I don't own the XDuoo, but from all that one can read, it should be more colored than the Q15. I also would like to stress that you can at least easily take the Q15 with you while traveling, not taking too much space in a bag or during train rides – and this was very welcome to me.

When I first heard the Q15, I was dissapointed, as it was not spectacular. But after some time, I think that I got burned in (maybe the device got burned in, but I suppose it was me ...) My final opinion is that it is very neutral – it doesn't make a recording better or change the signature of a headphone, but it stresses their qualities very well. For me, that was especially obvious with Ikko OH10, which sounded way more accurate with the Q15. My dissapointment came from listening to Hifiman Ananda – I first thought, it sounded better from the smaller BTR7. In fact, it only sounded louder and more in your face, but it tunred out that it was also quite a bit muddy. Instead, listening to complex and well recorded music with the Q15 is pure pleasure.
That said – keep in mind that it is not a "slam" device, at least not without the equalizer function. And if you like the style and appeal of the XDuoo (I still like it, from pictures), the Q15 will not give you that.

 

[Gvs71]

Oh, this was exactly my Question before I accidently hit the final "order" button at HifiGo for the Fiio Q15, which I have now
I don't own the XDuoo, but from all that one can read, it should be more colored than the Q15. I also would like to stress that you can at least easily take the Q15 with you while traveling, not taking too much space in a bag or during train rides – and this was very welcome to me.

When I first heard the Q15, I was dissapointed, as it was not spectacular. But after some time, I think that I got burned in (maybe the device got burned in, but I suppose it was me ...) My final opinion is that it is very neutral – it doesn't make a recording better or change the signature of a headphone, but it stresses their qualities very well. For me, that was especially obvious with Ikko OH10, which sounded way more accurate with the Q15. My dissapointment came from listening to Hifiman Ananda – I first thought, it sounded better from the smaller BTR7. In fact, it only sounded louder and more in your face, but it tunred out that it was also quite a bit muddy. Instead, listening to complex and well recorded music with the Q15 is pure pleasure.
That said – keep in mind that it is not a "slam" device, at least not without the equalizer function. And if you like the style and appeal of the XDuoo (I still like it, from pictures), the Q15 will not give you that.

Thank you for the reply, I have read a number of reviews saying the Q15 was fairly neutral, without the sharpness of the Q7 and it's ESS DAC chips. It will spend the majority of it's time on my desk but being able to pick it up and take it with me easily is definitely a plus.

 

[Polky74]

Has anyone compared the audio quality of the FiiO Q15 with that offered by the Shanling H7? I know perfectly well that even if they are equipped with the same chip the implementation in these cases makes 90% of the difference, but the much lower price of the FiiO is making me think twice even though I was on the verge of buying the Shanling. Thank you.

 

[neobandog1]

Shanling H5 will be the best competition for q15
Have more lush smoother sound but not have deskop mode and peq eq and this is now tougher decision which i will pick...Somebody try H5 and compare it with q15?

 

[Gvs71]

After reading the Xduoo XD-05 Pro forum and the problems people are having with the DAC/Amp going into protect mode regularly irrespective of Gain setting, I think I'll be ordering the Q15.

 

[happyblack]

Got mine over a week ago and I'm very happy with it.


Most important thing: no noise with IEMs, no matter which gain setting I'm at (though I usually use M /Medium).

That's just another area in which XD-05 Pro loses some, since some users reported a slight hiss with their favorite sets.