FiiO BTR5

Introduction: I think the biggest reason behind this write up is that I myself have spent countless hours on various Facebook audio enthusiast groups, online forums, YouTube channels & even Reddit trying to find out if the Shanling UP4 or Fiio BTR5 will be better for me. Thanks to many users who owned both sharing their opinions I came to the conclusion that UP4 would be ideal for my type of usage, which was mostly budget or mid-range IEM’s not hard to drive headphones or even very expensive IEM’s.
But some of my queries went unanswered like the difference between single ended (3.5mm jack) & also what kind of muddiness was caused when pairing UP4 which is a warm tuned source with another warm tuned IEM? Well, I am hoping to answer these queries for you here, as I have had the chance to test out both UP4 & BTR5 for a whole day.
Let’s get some of the basic facts out of the way, Shanling UP4 costs about $80 whereas Fiio BTR5 costs about $100 to $110 depending on the market. I am not going to dive into a specs comparison, as both of these devices have been out in the market for quite a while & even if you are not aware of the specs, google is your friend, finding a comparison between the two is pretty darn easy. I would like to point out something which is not in the specs though, which will highlight Shanling’s dodgy marketing strategies right from the very beginning. They have put two high-res stickers on the back of the UP4 indicating that this device supports high-res audio output both wired & wirelessly. Well one of them is false as admitted by Shanling themselves on head-fi forums, the UP4 only supports 16-bit/48 kHz audio file playback when connected as a wired DAC either to your phone, laptop or PC. And in order to qualify as high-res audio output the minimum requirement is usually 24bit/96 kHz audio file playback support. BTR5 on the other hand supports both 32bit/384kHz & DSD file playback, UP4 also does not have support for DSD playback in USB DAC mode. Neither has support for MQA rendering/decoding.



Connectivity: Nothing much to talk about here both has support for the range of standard Bluetooth codes: AAC/SBC/aptX/aptX LL/ aptX HD/LDAC, LDAC being the star of the show. Both use the same QUALCOMM’s CSR8675 chip for their connectivity features & both claim 10-meter range for their Bluetooth connection range.
Ergonomics: UP4 wins in this department hands down being the smaller & more lightweight device. It’s simply easier to handle being only 37 grams. Although credit where credit is due, I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the Fiio BTR5 compared to the pics & videos it felt much smaller in the hand, in real life. The BTR5 weighs about 43.7 grams.

Battery Life: When used on LDAC codec with full volume on the single ended port I would get about 4 to 5 days’ worth of battery life form the shanling UP4, used for about 4 hours each day. Using LDAC codec with the volume on about to 95 to 100%, using the device for about roughly 3 hours each day the owner of Fiio BTR5 reported he is getting 3 to 4 days’ worth of battery life. In both cases we charged our respective devices to 100% and depleted the battery all the way to 0%. Specs wise the UP4 & BTR5 has a 550 mah battery but I reckon the reason UP4 is doing better in term of battery life is cause BTR5 has that extra mini-OLED display to power. We did not get a chance to observe the battery life using the balanced port on both of these, but an educated guess would be that UP4 will do better here as well has it has a lower output power compared to the BTR5.

Build Quality: Both uses a mixture of plastic & glass in their body. Both feel premium to the touch & comes with a plastic cover in their respective boxes to protect these devices from falls, scratches etc. Although I would like to point out that the build quality of the Fiio BTR5 is noticeably better than Shanling’s, as the UP4 has some cosmetic defects in most of their units, the finishing between the glass & plastic is improper.



Sound/Tuning: The UP4 is a warm sounding source with a slight boost in the low end, the mids are thick & even though the sound is a bit colored it doesn’t sacrifice details. Meanwhile BTR5 is a neutral source with very good amount of detail retrieval & excellent sound stage. I have seen many reviewers say that the BTR5 can be a bit boring to some folks cause of its neutral presentation compared to the more lively UP4, but I could not disagree more with this statement. I have tested both UP4 & BTR5 with various IEM’s like Final E3000, BQEYZ Spring 2, Moondrop SSR etc & only with SSR the warm signature of UP4 helped tame its shoutyness in the vocals, other than that in all instances the BTR5 sounder much cleaner & more detailed to me.
Performance/Power:

Single Ended (3.5mm Jack): The BTR5 is quoted to provide 80mW (32Ω loaded) & Shanling UP4 is quoted to provide 91 mW@32Ohm Single-Ended. So naturally me or anyone else would be inclined to think that the UP4 is the clear winner based on specs. Wrong! In both Bluetooth & USB DAC mode the Fiio BTR5 consistently outputs louder volume levels compared to the UP4, testing a wide variety of IEM’s. So again, that Dual DAC boasting mode is just for show it seems as BTR5 is able to output more power in its single DAC mode compared to the Dual DAC mode of the UP4. Although I would like to point the difference in volume level/output isn’t much, BTR5 is at best 20% louder in the single ended mode compared to UP4, but the difference is definitely noticeable.

Balanced (2.5mm Jack): Although I personally don’t own any IEM’s with a balanced cable yet, I did have the chance to try out the BQEYZ Spring 2 on both the UP4 & BTR5 using the balanced port at a local retail shop & the difference in power output is quite huge. You need to drive the volume of the UP4 all the way up to 100% to catch up with 60% volume of the BTR5. Although usually with budget & mid-level IEM’s you generally don’t need that kind of power but using the balanced port does improve the soundstage, detail retrieval, mids etc on both of these DAC’s. Specs wise UP4 provides 160mW (32Ω loaded) & BTR5 provides 240mW (32Ω loaded).

Software: The Fiio app wins hands down in this department, as the Shanling app feels very bare bones with some very basic functions available to the user. Fiio on the other hand has some fancy features like Car Mode, DAC clock driver, output & sensitivity controls etc. Although I didn’t notice any differences when playing around with the output & sensitivity controls in the app, but that might be cause the IEM’s which I have tested so far aren’t that sensitive to begin with. Both UP4 & BTR5 don’t support Equalizer when using LDAC codec, this a major bummer for the BTR5 especially given its price point.



Conclusion: Well, I have tried to make this comparison review as detailed as possible in hopes that future buyers won’t have to go through the same hassle I had to go through when making a decision between these 2. I might have sounded a bit harsh on Shanling regarding the whole high-res business, I can tell you right now that in real life the difference between 16 bit & 32 bit playback isn’t that noticeable. But its not a matter of performance but a matter of principle, Shnaling seems like a brand to me who are more interested in fake marketing than actually making a product with awesome performance. Fiio BTR5 beats UP4 in both single ended & balanced mode, it has a much cleaner sound with greater details & a wider soundstage. Overall, this is an easy win for the Fiio BTR5 at least in my books, that extra $20 to $30 dollar price difference is totally worth it.

---Photos do not load well from Wordpress, still sorting this out, please read it on my website to also see the pics, link: https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2020/12/best-thus-far-fiio-btr5-bluetooth-receiver-review.html ---

Best Thus Far – FiiO BTR5 LDAC & aptX HD Bluetooth Receiver Review


BTR5 is probably the most complete Bluetooth DAC/AMP on the market right now, and it costs 110 USD at the moment of making this review. This means that it will get compared to Earstudio HUD100, Lotto Paw S1, and Topping E30, all of which are close enough in price to make good competition. The most important pairings will be with iBasso AM05, Final B3 IEMs, and Meze Rai Penta IEMs. Most of those are far more expensive than BTR5, but we’ll explore together why we actually want to use it with pretty high-end or at least high-quality IEMs and even headphones.





Introduction

I have a long history of reviewing small and diminutive things, and if you check my Youtube Channel, there’s a long list of written reviews that will be coming soon, many of which on pretty portable stuff. BTR5 can be considered the most complete overall because it has the best driving power, widest codec support, paired with most ergonomic shape and design, making what I would call the best overall Bluetooth DAC/AMP. I want to mention this, but FiiO offers a much better warranty through their local agents, and it is not recommended to get the products straight from them, if you want to avoid costs like taxes, shipping costs, and their local agents usually offer excellent warranty conditions and support.

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with FiiO. I’d like to thank FiiO for providing the sample for this review. This review reflects my personal experience with FiiO BTR5. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in FiiO BTR5 find their next music companion.





About me

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/about.html





Packaging

First things first, let’s get the packaging out of the way:


The package is minimalistic. As I presented in my video review, it doesn’t have quite that much for either, but FiiO has been smart about it, and since they wanted to make the units themselves as cool as possible, they included cases with both, and we’re talking here about transparent plastic cases so you can clip either to your shirt and clothes.

You get all the cables you may need with both, or better said a charging cable, but I would recommend considering getting an aftermarket OTG and a longer USB cable, at least if you’re planning on going the BTR5 route, it is worth the extra if you want a better sound.





What to look in when purchasing a high-quality entry-level Bluetooth DAC/AMP

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/what-to-lookl.html







Video Review

FiiO BTR5:





Build Quality/Aesthetics/Functionality

The build quality of BTR5 is unquestionably nice, it is a metallic unit, ergonomic and with a glass display. Beneath the glass, you can find an OLED display which helps you set it up and control it, it has two headphone outputs, one in balanced and one in Single Ended, and it has volume buttons. It has a Type-C USB port, and it also has a microphone so you can take phone calls while using it, even if your earphones do not have a mic.

The usage is fairly simple, the bluetooth connection is probably the most reliable I’ve seen so far in the entire world, and I paired it with Huawei P20 or Xiaomi Note 9s. I am getting a signal that’s good enough for running, sprinting, or using BTR5 as a Bluetooth receiver while driving, having an AUX connected between it and my car’s RadioHead. Just for a test, I could get a full single with no dropouts while having my smartphone 15 meters away from BTR5, and having two thick walls between them.


The battery life is also great, really close to what FiiO advertises, as I’m getting around 8 hours, while listening loud and using high-quality codecs like LDAC. You can use it wired, as a USB DAC, working like this with both smartphones and a windows computer. The sonic quality is quite a bit better when using it as a USB DAC regardless what it is connected to, so if you can take a wire, don’t avoid it, BTR5 will sound better. The bluetooth support is great, we have LDAC, aptX, aptX Low Latency (for gaming), and aptX HD. Pretty much full plate.

FiiO pretty much stretched the budget as much as they physically could to put everything that was humanly possible in both modules, making them the best versions they could.

The one feature that I like quite a lot about BTR5 is the EQ support, straight from the unit. It is handy, and having the volume buttons together with the play/pause button for navigation works just fine.

Even compared to most other Bluetooth receivers, at least those I tested so far and which I’m working on reviewing, BTR5 is the better unit almost every time. I would and did use both as affordable desktop DAC/Headphone Amplifiers, especially on-the-go and for laptops being top notch.





Sound Quality

Now, the sound quality will be different between the wired and wireless mode, but depending on what music style you enjoy the most, the differences may be too small to notice, especially on-the-go. I tend to max out the volume while taking a walk, which is why I noticed the differences quite a bit. If you prefer to listen quieter, you may not notice the differences, and with commercial music, as well as classical, there are less differences between the wired and wireless mode than with metal, rock and complex EDM.


The main signature would be a full sounding, deep, energetic signature, with no particular coloration, but excellent dynamics and very low distortions. I could use it with any headphone as long as it is decently easy to drive, and only LCD-2C was harder to drive, pretty much everything easier to drive than it being a no-trouble for BTR5.

The bass is deep and full, slightly warm, and natural in speed. It hits quick enough for death metal and technical deathcore, but also can be slow enough for jazz and classical. For most headphones and IEMs, there is enough bass by default to satisfy my needs, but you can always engage some EQ if you want a bit of extra thickness. BTR5 favors neutral, natural, V-Shaped, and bassy IEMs / Headphones, but does not necessarily favor bright sounding ones.

The midrange is quite colorful, natural in the overall signature, with a ton of texture, and a very wide soundstage. The dynamics are also top notch, the best I’ve heard in many devices, and the best I heard at this price point so far. Especially on wired, you can hear a lot of detail, and BTR5 can easily compete with something like M9, and edges to being close to M11, this making M5 and M6 a bit obsolete, if you don’t need the music player function and want to use your smartphone as a music source. Of course, music players still have a place in this world, as I don’t want to be bothered by calls and notifications all the time, and if you’re using it in Bluetooth mode, you can hear some difference in the overall detail level, especially with complex music.

The treble is natural, sparkly, without being grainy or splashy in particular. The treble extension is top notch, it has enough detail and clarity to make an excellent DAC/AMP, and I am in love with having the full range of my treble when listening to music.







Comparisons

The comparison list includes even Lotoo Paw S1, but Topping E30, which is a standalone DAC, and Earstudio HUD100, which is a similar product to BTR5, but which falls short when it comes to having bluetooth, as it has no bluetooth support, only a wired connection.


FiiO BTR5 vs Topping E30 (110 USD vs 130 USD) – Topping E30 is actually just a DAC, and this is a bit of an excuse. But it comes with a remote, and needs a wall power, or an external battery to work. The main reason I included it here is that a lot of you guys have been asking me whether it is better to get BTR5 and use it as the main DAC for your system, and to answer that question easily, it depends on whether you want a DAC or a DAC/AMP. BTR5 sounds more punchy, more detailed and more dynamic than E30, but it doesn’t have a true line out, so it also has more distortion, where E30 is cleaner if used as a standalone DAC. E30 is also more convenient for desktop, where BTR5 is a crossover device that works well for everything, from desktop to portable.

FiiO BTR5 vs Lotoo Paw S1 (110 USD vs 170 USD) – Lotoo Paw S1 has pretty much all of the features that BTR5 has, including EQ, but not the bluetooth support. The decision here is a bit more complicated because S1 has a slightly better driving power, more detail and clariry, and a bit more detailed, while being a bit more musical in the midrange. The largest impediment in recommending it is the higher price point and lack of bluetooth, which means that you can always go for BTR5 if you want bluetooth, and if you want to spend a bit less on your DAC/AMP.

FiiO BTR5 vs Earstudio HUD100 (110 USD vs 140 USD) – Earstudio HUD100 is quite overpriced considering the competition it has to fight, and BTR5 is the next example of a DAC/AMP that beats it big time, in everything, from the driving power, dynamics, detail, clarity, support, including bluetooth support, and even when it comes to ergonomics and design. HUD100 can have a more musical sound, but having a much lower driving power means that it is harder to recommend it over BTR5.







Pairing

The pairing list includes iBasso AM05, Final Audio B3, and Meze Rai Penta.


Although all of those are IEMs, I tested and can confirm that BTR5 works exceptionally well for headphones too, so you can always plug in your HIFIMAN Deva or HIFIMAN Sundara, FiiO EH3NC, MAS X5h, Grado SR80e, Brainwavz HM100, and pretty much any other headphone, as long as it is about as hard to drive as Deva, which is the hardest to drive headphone that I’ve been able to enjoy with BTR5.

FiiO BTR5 + iBasso AM05 (110 USD + 300 USD) – AM05 is a brighter, more detailed sound IEM, but with a musical midrange, and with a kick for being unique. Having only BA or balanced armatures, it needs a very low background noise, paired with a good amount of power to stay controlled and have the lowest possible distortion, and that’s where BTR5 is perfect, it has no distortion, it has a musical and colorful midrange, and the treble has enough sparkle to be engaging and interesting, without being grainy and harsh. Making the best combo out of two companies that are direct competitor, that’s what I call fun.

FiiO BTR5 + Final Audio B3 (110 USD + 500 USD) – Final’s Audio B3 IEMs is also a magical one, being V-Shaped but having a good amount of detail, clarity and punch. They only need a source that is able to control them, especially at loud volumes, as otherwise they can easily distort. It mainly means that it is a slightly harder to drive IEM, but not hard to get loud, rather hard to get loud and clear. BTR5 is perfect, they sound perfectly clear up to the maximum, with no distortion, no issues, and I could actually say that this pairing became a personal favorite for many evenings, where B3 sounded so musical and sweet in the mids, and wide & punchy overall.

FiiO BTR5 + Meze Rai Penta (110 USD + 1100 USD) – Meze Rai Penta is quite an expensive IEM, and the first I reviewed since rebuilding the website onto the new platform, but one that I really enjoyed for a long time. There’s something magical about the way they deliver the midrange, without being fatiguing, but also without being boring. There’s a magical musicality, and just like Dunu DK-4001, it pairs nicely with BTR5 because it spices them up a bit, giving them more sparkle, more dynamics and more punch, along with a better overall treble sparkle, and a deeper, fuller bass. Great tiny DAC/AMP to drive such a high-quality flagship IEM.







Value and Conclusion

The price of FiiO BTR5 is pretty high for a portable DAC/AMP, and if you’re first reading or hearing about it, you may be a bit reticent when it comes to a bluetooth receiver, but it is totally worth it. I can and did for a while use it as the only DAC/AMP in my house, including using it portably, while out and about, and using it as my main desktop DAC/AMP.


The package was not great, and I have to admit that I was underwhelmed by it, especially since FiiO used to be known for their great packages, but at the end of the day, that case was everything you could need for using and enjoying FiiO BTR5.

After you unbox it and see the unit, your opinion may improve in a matter of seconds, with a metallic body, glass display, glass display protectors applied from the factory, curved surface, volume and navigation buttons, and with an OLED display, BTR5 having everything you may desire from a BT receiver. Even the software and bluetooth support is excellent and you have everything from the rare aptX LL to LDAC to AAC and everything in between.


The sound is also dynamic, punchy, colorful, detailed and vivid. So much so, that if you have IEMs, and if you’re a beginner in this hobby, there’s a 50% chance you’ve been recommended to get BTR5 at least once so far.


Before the conclusion of this review, I want to add BTR5 to Audiophile-Heaven’s Hall Of Fame, it is truly the kind of DAC/AMP/BT Receiver that I can easily recommend to both newcomers and veterans, it is practical and a great value, which says everything about it.


At the end of this review, if you’re looking for a way to use your phone to listen to music, and have it sound as close as possible to perfection, if you mainly use IEMs, but also sometimes use headphones, even some moderately hard to drive, and if you want a full plate when it comes to features, codecs, EQ, and a balanced output, FiiO BTR5 is totally the way to go.




Full Playlist used for this review
While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy.


Youtube Playlist

Tidal Playlist

https://listen.tidal.com/playlist/64555551-ec3c-4279-ae44-248fdfcf6c4b

I hope my review is helpful to you!

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(Neutron Media player, latest q-Jays and Ultimate ears UE700 in ear plus an older over the head Beyer HiFi headphones)

Got mine a few days ago, struggling around to find an OTG cable to get it connected. (why don't they include one?) not even realizing it has Bluetooth!
Fiio looks good, similar to a decent mobile phone with all the glass and metal, but that clip cover thingy as useful as it is has sharp edges! I had to tame them down gently with a fine sandpaper. the new official leatherette case would be lost on me, the clip is more practical, unless they make it REAL leather (hell with skin friendly) and add a clip, then I would get one.

- On Bluetooth mode:
Managed to get it connected without fuss. It connects at LDAC 24bit 96kHz by default and even if I change it on my phone to 48kHz (Huawei mate 20 pro) it won't remember the setting next time, disconnect and on reconnect goes back to default, though I could change it again.
At 990kb/s sound is quite good, but range is not! even putting it next to my phone, sometimes handling the device causes dropouts but not often. I suppose it would work fine with phone in one pocket and Fiio in another, but across the room or next room it is a no, unless you drop it to 48kHz (that's why I was trying) or choosing adaptive connection or 660kB/s (phone settings, software, developers options).
The sound quality was head and shoulders above Huawei's own little USB dongle (actually Huawei sound on dongle is crap!) - but for 90 quid I was expecting a bit more than simple audio upgrade and Bluetooth convenience.
So on my Neutron (https://neutronmp.com/) I enabled high resolution Bluetooth function and tried again, OK sound got a bit better, but hey 90 quid? I wanted more .....

- On USB OTG;
So got my utility blade out and cut open couple of USB-C cables I had laying around to get the connections. You see I had to make my own.
Let me ask you something, what good is a 4 inch OTG cable? who would put a rubber band over his phone and a DAC (or any other device) to walk the streets??
I am 60 years old, and I wouldn't! It’s just not practical.
So I soldered the little resistor (to make it an OTG cable) used a cable from an old throw away pair of earbuds (you only need 4 connectors anyway) and made my own 2 foot very thin OTG cable . this allows me to put my phone in one pocket and clip the Fiio on my shirt or coat - much neater!
Fiio once it is setup correctly (on Neutron) with USB cable is much better! at this point I knew I was not sending it back.

I can only compare it to my older beloved Fiio E18 Kunlun. (as I don't have anything else. For some reason the Kunlun does not connect to my Huawei, but does connect my LG G6+. In a word, BTR5 is better than E18. the ultimate sound quality is better.

Both of my in-ear headphones internally use the same balanced armature devices (speakers) originally meant as hearing aids, but they do sound different (loading, crossover etc.), technically qJays are not as efficient as UE700's - and UE700's sound a bit more bassy when qJays are a bit brighter with cleaner highs. - on BTR5 they both sound very good but less different - qJays seem to have more bass with still clean highs - UE700's highs cleaned up and the bass has more definition now. Compared to the best of Bluetooth mode, USB is a fair bit better.

With larger headphones:
Trying out my insensitive 300 Ohm Beyer dynamic headphones, it was obvious the power was not there to drive them, sound was hollow and not enough volume. My Leema DAC can drive them pretty well, so nothing wrong with the headphones.

On balanced output:

Finally I decided to try the balanced the balanced out ! to see what the fuss is about.

Since Jays have dropped the price of remote (unbalanced) cables for the qJays to only 5 euros, I decided to order some and rewire my existing straight cables to balanced mode.
I needed a 4 pin 2.5mm jack. I found one, on my cable pile from an old car reverse camera setup I had bought from eBay a while back.
Again cut it open with my sharp utility knife to expose the jack, cut the earphone cable near its original 3.5mm jack to expose the wires, and managed to solder it on.
BTR5 specs says it can put out more power in balanced mode (240mW against 80mW) - but the loudness did not go up as I plugged in, in fact I can not say the general sound quality in terms of definition or tonality changed all that much - what did change was the stereo imaging!
Specially at lower frequencies, such as cellos or bass, there was a certain sense of left and right positioning, cellos were more to the centre-right rather than all over the place.
To my surprise the whole stereo picture in my head had a more air to it, I could pin point instruments better, perhaps tiny irrelevant noises like a player's sigh or chair leg moving on the floor could be heard which told me - this was a live performance. For that alone balanced was worth it.
Over all I am happy with it. I have not charged it in three days, and it still has juice left - perhaps it is charging itself from my phone, I don't know.
Now I know it is worth £90.

Though I shall only use Bluetooth mode every now and then - you see I am a HiFi buff, for as long as USB is better, I see no point to use anything less, unless I am going to bathroom or start cooking!