Tried your advice on lowering the codec into aptx HD and use FiiO EQ, it certainly better than using Spotify EQ. Now I'm comfortable with 35 volume and this EQ in pic. Thanks a lot
By looking at the eq, you didnt lower the sibilant area, but you did cover it by increasing the bass frequencies. If you lacked bass then thats one way to do it, if you have too much bass, just reduce 8kHz and maybe tiny bit of 4kHz like i previously said.
For the best single DD IEM around $100-250 to be paired with BTR5, I'm planning to buy Final Audio A3000, but I do concern about the sound signature, since the latest review on this forum said it's not suited for EDM and Pop genre, which are my playlist. What do you think about this? Or maybe do you have any single DD IEM recommendation around that price that suitable for my BTR5 and my genre?
Best is a very subjective term. As for the comment them not being suited for EDM and Pop, i find it pretty strange in general. Maybe if they have lackluster bass response? Otherwise EDM and Pop are not very demanding genres. As audiophilia is about chasing the iems/headphones with which you would get the sound of the instruments as they would sound in real life. And most of EDM and plenty of Pop is basically electronic music, and no real reference to real instruments as you cant know how it was meant to sound, so it comes to subjective prefference of how a certain track sounds.
Only Single DD i have is the Blon 03, and they really shine with Shanling UP2 so i assume theyll be great with BTR5 too. Paired with medium soft medium bore tips(Im using ones that came with QOA Vesper so cant point you to the exact ones, but im sure youll manage to find something similar), and an upgraded cable.
And looking at the EQ you did(increasing the mids too) i think youll love their signature as theyre just slight warm. Great meaty bass which the btr5 should tighten a bit and make even better, very slightly recessed but great vocals, and great soft highs with cymbals sounding just about the right length and no sibilance as far as my hearing is concerned. The increased detail from the btr5 should make them even better.
If you dont have them id say get them, not an expensive venture either way.
As for the Final Audio A3000 im sure theres a thread here, and people that already used them with BTR5, so probably a better place to ask about them.
I actually not planning to buy another bluetooth DAC/AMP if the reason is to find a perfect pair for my Shozy Form 1.1, or having different variety of choice, since I satisfied with my BTR5. The reasons I want to buy DAP are I want the bidirectional bluetooth feature for my future TWS/IEM and bigger battery capacity, since BTR5 can't transmit and only have around 6-8 hours playback.
You might know this but still worth mentioning, TWS wont benefit from a dap sound quality wise, would be same as connecting them to your phone. And at rare situation the btr5 might run out of power you can plug it in your phone(id rather invest those 200$ that you would spend on a dap in a phone with 5000Mah battery), or get a small and cheap powerbank that will be usefull to either top up your btr5 or the phone itself if needed. And if you want the DAP so youre able to transmit aptxHD/LDAC from PC, theres more convenient solutions like Fiio BTA30, or few software based solutions for free if youre willing to put in the time requiered to configure your setup. But up to you what you decide in the end.