A bit of background for this impression:

I am not on the review tour. I have not been sent this unit for review purposes. I am a mostly UK based head-fier, who has been quite interested in the Q5 for a while. A fair while. And now that the unit is out, I'm interested in sharing my experiences.

I was the 17th person that ordered this product from Fiio's AliExpress store. Being part of a limited first batch available to non-Chinese, this unit comes with Fiio's leather case. And a soft Goat.



Impressions:

Build quality - let's put that at the end. More flavoursome stuff first:

After quite a lot of Reddit and Head-fi, I was looking for a couple of things from the Q5. I've mostly found them.

Detail Retrieval:

I'll write further about this in the pairings section. I feel detail retrieval is above par for this price range. Fiio has a clean implementation of the dual AK4490. I don't detect a background hiss. Details do shine through:

Billy Joel's Pianoman - At about 30 seconds in there's a distortion mostly hidden by lower end equipment, but brought out on more disecting kit. With the Fiio Q5 - Check, it is there and obvious to me. This is more a quick litmus test rather than a full quality check. So doesn't by itself say the Q5 is great for detail.

Dire Straits- Sultans of Swing - Great audiophile check track. Multiple layers of instruments spacially distributed. A listen on the Q5 shows some fine details brought out. The Fiio unit picks out the soft instruments on this track and presents them without having to strain to listen for them.

Baby Driver Soundtrack - Bellbottoms - I love using this track to test audio equipment. Bellbottoms can sound just dead on some equipment and shows the value of a good DAC/Amp. Instrument separation and vibrancy across the audio spectrum do shine through with the Q5.

Power:

This was the second thing I was interested in. The AM3 module paired with the Q5 does deserve its reputation and has already had a lot written about it. So I will only say, that as part of this impression, the unit performs as previously written about.

I will, however, comment on Bass and Gain Switches. The Q5 paired with the AM3 module feels powerful. I have given up any high ohm stuff to test it with, but there is plenty of room on the voulme knob. The gain switch adds fairly extreme gain, so in my opinion should only be used with high ohm equipment. Your results may vary.

Now. The bass switch. I've used amps in past with a bass switch, a switch that had the potential to turn a nice piece of kit into a fart blaster.

I was expecting a little fart blasting when switching the bass on the Q5. Nope. No fart blasting. Wait... is this even working? First batch. Maybe it is defective. Nope, it is not. The Bass switch on the Q5 is not defective.



The switch does, however, focus on lows and sub-bass and pretty much leaves mids alone. I say 'pretty much' as there is a detectable change to mids if you listen for it.

This bass switch makes select music have some amazing depth. Especially when testing with some trance albums:

AvB 666 - A memorable episode from Armin - the bass switch on this episode adds some depth which does enhance lows considerably and adds even more vibrancy to the episode. Female vocals feel untouched.

Tron Legacy Reconfigured - bass detail with the switch makes you feel like you're next to a giant speaker at a daft punk concert.

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - Lots of fine tracks on this album to speak to sub bass.

The Q5's bass switch doesn't work in some cases and can cause distortion:

AM - Arctic Monkeys - I expect the bass switch effect on this album, specifically the distortion is to do with the way this album was mastered, making further enhancement of lows problematic.

Comparisons:

Comparing this device to the Audio Opus #11 which I had for a fair while ( but not A/B-ing as I have since passed the Opus to someone else ) I would say that to my ears, the Q5 is in another realm in regards to detail, sub-bass and power. And that is saying a fair bit, as the #11 is a device with solid detail retrieval and highlights the upper regions. Detail of sound on the Q5 outclasses the Audio Opus. I acknowledge that this may not be a fair comparison. The price ranges are slightly different as well.

Pairings:

Shure SE425 VE:
The se425, winning What HiFi's award for top IEM in that price range every year for the last few years - Pairing the se425 VE with the Q5 plays to the IEMs strengths. Not a bass heavy IEM, the 425 is well balanced, fairly disecting and easy listening for long periods. With the Q5, these attributes are all retained making them a good match.

Cosmic Ears CE6B / Linum Music Cable:
Note, the CE6B (formerly called the CE6E) is comparable with a 1964 V6s. (Check out Lieven's excellent shootout review between these two)

The 6B is a smooth listening and forgiving relaxing experience. Paired with the Q5, this doesn't change. The 6B really shines on bass centric tracks and the Q5 adds another dimension to that, making the IEM more enjoyable.



ADDIEM:
Just because I've always thought. "Man the ADDIEM would really fly with a great source."
And it does, but not by much. Quite a bit of warmth and bass response are added to this iem when paired with the Q5. So it does address some of the shortcomings of this iem, but not to a level where it can compete with another price bracket.

VE Monk (original)
OK. Had to try the Fiio with this little piece of witchcraft. The original monk benefits a lot from this DAC Amp combo. Please note, i'm not saying the Q5 transforms the monk. The flaws exhibited in the monk are still present, but if you love the monk and want it to sound better, the Q5 will do that.



Bluetooth Connection:

The Q5 provides a stable Bluetooth connection with an AptX capable source. I did encounter some issues with Poweramp, but on testing, those turned out to be specific to that application. The AptX option works and delivers a quality stream to the Q5 from source. This option removes the need to stack, allowing the Q5 to be safely tucked away, leaving you portable with your phone.

In my humble opinion, one of the main reasons to get the Q5.

Vs OTG
I can't leave this section without writing about the Q5 with a wired connection. I'm a big OtG fan. And, correctly volume matched, I honestly can't tell the difference between connecting the Q5 via wireless AptX or wired OtG. I don't want to get too much into a compressed Vs uncompressed opinion in this impression, save to say that on balance, I will not be using OtG or any other wired connection again with this device, and do not feel the need to.



Build Quality:

Fiio advertised the Q5 as having a premium feel with leather highlights. I would say the device does have a premium but rugged feel.

This isn't a ceramic and glass encased baby. More an industrial and sleek machine. Not quite an Oppo HA2, the Q5 exhudes a functional premium look.

The included leather case is very sleek and made to fit the device snugly.

It will easily go in your pocket.