My BTR1 arrived yesterday and i’ve had a few hours time with it so I thought i’d post some impressions.
So, I already own a Fiio Q1 dac/amp. I like it a lot, but it’s the version that isn’t specifically IOS ready. When connected to my iPhone7 via the lightning adapter it’s only an amp - the DAC is bypassed. That isn’t a huge issue as it sounds fine. However, I also use the Q1 with my laptop via the USB connection which does use the Fiio DAC. Not only is it a marked and very notable improvement over the ****ty headphone jack on my laptop, but I feel it also provides better sound than when I run iPhone7-Q1-headphone. In other words, I feel the Fiio DAC provides better sound than the Apple DAC in the lightning adaptor. That leads me to the BTR1...
Here’s what I was looking for with this little guy:
1. Convenience - I don’t like the lightning adapter. It’s a pain. It feels flimsy (my teenage son destroys them in about a month). It also means I can’t charge the phone and listen to music at the same time. Finally, the iPhone7 is big enough that I don’t find it easy to tuck it in a pocket and carry it around all the time while phones are plugged in. It’s tiresome being physically tethered to it.
2. Extra power - not much, but just a bit of a boost to drive things a little harder. With quieter recordings I find I have to sometimes turn the volume up to 70% or more to get suitable volume (that’s without using the Q1 of course). I’m using VE Monk plus buds btw. I just don’t have opportunity to listen to music often enough when i’m out to warrant big money on buds and I actually really like the monk sound.
3. Possibly, a slight SQ improvement from what I suspect might be a better DAC in the BTR1 than what Apple has in the lightning adaptor.
Having spent some time with it, I can definitely say the BTR1 takes care of numbers 1 & 2. It's a super convenient device - connects smoothly and seems to stay connected. Small enough to carry around almost unnoticed whether clipped to a pocket or just hanging from the included lanyard. It's really quite liberating to be able to sit the phone down and charge it while walking around my apartment listening to tunes. Perfect.
It also provides a nice power boost. I don't need to go above about 50% with the Monks and the extra juice gets the buds vibrating with more authority. It also drives my K240s to a suitable level although not with the same authority. As a relative newb to the whole headphone amplification thing I've found that amp power isn't always just a volume thing. There's a certain quality to the sound of a properly driven speaker...I don't know what the word is...maybe "bloom?" Something like that. With the right amount of amp power headphones seem to really open up in a musical way that isn't just about volume. The slightly higher output power of the BTR1 gets that out of the Monks but not so much the K240s. But it's certainly listenable even with the bigger phones. I haven't tried my 400i's yet but I suspect it wouldn't be enough to get them humming much. But that's OK as I really hadn't intended on using the full size phones anyway with the BTR1.
As far as number 3 of my desires, I'm not so sure. I "think" the DAC provides a better SQ than Apple's, but I could just be imagining it. However, I can definitely say it doesn't impact the sound quality negatively. It certainly sounds very good. There might be a slight boost in the bass area but not much. Mids sound rich and detailed which I love as I play guitar and my tastes lean towards lots of guitar both acoustic and electric, horns, piano...vocals sound real nice. Highs are fine - the Monks aren't a real bright earbud generally but what's supposed to be there is there. I've tried a few Bluetooth headphones over the past couple years and haven't been impressed with how they sound, so to be able to plug whatever buds or IEMs I want into the BTR1 and get good sound quality is a great thing...I don't hear any hiss at all with the Monks at least. I imagine that's an issue reserved for gear having higher sensitivity.
Overall, I really like the BTR1! I think its pretty close to exactly what I was looking for.
Oh, BTW...I'm in Canada and ordered it from Amazon and was pleased to see when it arrived that it is the V2 model that supports AAC. It wasn't a huge concern for me as I figured it would sound fine either way, but I'm happy it's the most recent model anyway.
