[j0krrrr]

Hi all. This is my first post here. I have a Sony XB-50AP and a Note 4(n910c) . I'm planning on getting an external DAC (FIIO Q1). I wanted to know whether by adding it to my current setup, I would feel any difference in my music or should I upgrade my earphones for that.
Thanks.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Price has nothing to do with it. High efficiency of IEMs means they'll get loud for not a lot of power, so any decent audio chip can make you ears bleed before you get to audible distortion levels. One thing to watch out for is their low impedance, so whatever you plug them into needs to have a low output impedance otherwise you'll EQ the bass.

 

[j0krrrr]

Thank you. Fiio Q1 has output impedance less than 0.3 ohms and XB-50AP is 16 ohms. So there won't be an issue, am I right?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thank you. Fiio Q1 has output impedance less than 0.3 ohms and XB-50AP is 16 ohms. So there won't be an issue, am I right?

 
No but if your goal is to add speakers down the road it doesn't have preamp outputs to feed and control the speakers. At best you have a line out via 3.5mm jack, so then the speakers cannot be active/symmetrical studio monitors since that means you don't have one volume control to control both speakers (symmetrical designs have an amp with its own gain control on each speaker). You either use a consumer equivalent, like Edifier, Swan/HiVi, or Audioengine with a Master-Slave design, as these have the amplifier on the Master speaker and thus one volume control, but you still have to stand up and move that knob on the Master speaker. Alternately the fixed level line out allows you to use a small Class D amplifier with passive speakers.

 

[west0ne]

Thank you. Fiio Q1 has output impedance less than 0.3 ohms and XB-50AP is 16 ohms. So there won't be an issue, am I right?

There is no reason why those headphones and the Q1 shouldn't work well together and the Q1 will have enough power to drive them properly and as you noted has a low output impedance. The Q1 isn't a bad DAC/Amp for the price but it is lacking some finesse and is limited to 24/96.
 
General consensus is that upgrading headphones is the best starting point and gets you better value for money than perhaps the DAC/Amp.
 
Also I had problems using the Q1 with a Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Tab A, both needed a passive USB hub to get the Q1 working so not sure about the Note 4.

 

[j0krrrr]

OK.im buying the DAC solely for my earphones. What attracted me to consider buying Q1 is the low price. But I wanted to make sure that the Q1 can make my XB-50AP sound better.

 

[j0krrrr]

There is no reason why those headphones and the Q1 shouldn't work well together and the Q1 will have enough power to drive them properly and as you noted has a low output impedance. The Q1 isn't a bad DAC/Amp for the price but it is lacking some finesse and is limited to 24/96.

General consensus is that upgrading headphones is the best starting point and gets you better value for money than perhaps the DAC/Amp.

Also I had problems using the Q1 with a Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Tab A, both needed a passive USB hub to get the Q1 working so not sure about the Note 4.

Thanks for your response. I do feel that my earphones need an upgrade, but I'm not ready to spend cash on that now. That is why when I found Q1 I thought it could upgrade the experience. Which version of android were you running in your devices? Was it marshmallow.

 

[west0ne]

Both the S5 & TAB A needed the hub with stock versions of Android 5.x & 6.x; the S5 and Q1 work together with CM13 custom rom installed without the the need for the hub. Strangely the Q1 doesn't need the hub with a Moto G3 so it isn't an Android specific issue, rather a Samsung issue. The Q1 also works fine with ny S7E and no hub.

I would also say that the Q1 is only likely to make a marginal difference to your sound quality.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

OK.im buying the DAC solely for my earphones. What attracted me to consider buying Q1 is the low price. But I wanted to make sure that the Q1 can make my XB-50AP sound better.

 

If we go purely with specs, every portable amp out there is a total overkill for IEMs, much less a BA IEM that is less affected by impedance than dynamic drivers. Also the Note series is very good when used as a player - look up the measurements on GSMArena.

 

I have the D-Zero but the incremental improvement in neutrality (Note3 is slightly warmer) isn't enough for me to lug the D-Zero around much less strapped to the phone. Also since the problem is that the Note3 is slightly warmer, the EQ corrections won't need the better damping factor and power of the amplifier, since I'm going to use a cut below 1000hz.