[theGatMan]

After an initial delivery date of late February, mine arrived today.

Package had been opened, the unit had a few fingerprints. It was charged to 80%. it seems the unit had been powered up before, perhaps it was returned for some reason. At any rate it otherwise appears brand new, the accessories and paperwork under the tray were untouched. It arrived with FW 1.0.4, so after listening for about an hour, I charged it up to 100% and upgraded to 1.0.6 with zero drama. The updater preserved the previous FW, so if any issues show up, I can roll back. No issues after a few more hours use.

Paired with iPhone 11 Pro and Shure SE846 fitted with the white filters and medium olives tips, it's almost too bright- the treble extension is noteworthy. It would be far too harsh with silicone tips.

I might revert the Shure to the default nozzle filters.

Quibbles are mild and are as follows:

The system EQ is pretty much the same trash as one can find built into iOS.
The FiiO app is pretty basic, but the menu system on the device is straightforward enough.
The display absolutely sucks in outdoor light.

For the size and intended use it seems to be exactly as billed. The headroom compared to, say, the Shure BT2 cable is well advanced and there is obvious extra detail, even with AAC tracks.

I'm particularly pleased that it still runs even while being charged from a power bank, that will be quite useful for my monthly transpacific flights.

 

[ClieOS]

While nice on build qualify, I have found the lack of a back clip on FiiO official BTR5 leather case making it less than useful. To remedy the problem without any major modding, I order an add-on back clip from Taobao that is meant for walkie talkie to see if it will work or not. The result is pretty good.

I would have wished for it to be 20% smaller, though otherwise it works quite well. The doubLe sided tape on the clip is super strong so it should be quite secure. The clip itself can be removed when not in use.

 

[theGatMan]

I think a pager clip or holster might do the trick...

 

[theGatMan]

Sorry for the double post... one like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Leath...17?keywords=pager+clip&qid=1579319845&sr=8-17

 

[sinquito]

Sorry for the double post... one like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Leath...17?keywords=pager+clip&qid=1579319845&sr=8-17

I didn't remember what a pager was, it actually remembered me of a swiss army knife holder or a leatherman/multitool knife holder.

I suppose that could also work.

 

[theGatMan]

Well, one does have to be of a certain age to remember pagers, after all...

 

[zolom]

While nice on build qualify, I have found the lack of a back clip on FiiO official BTR5 leather case making it less than useful. To remedy the problem without any major modding, I order an add-on back clip from Taobao that is meant for walkie talkie to see if it will work or not. The result is pretty good.

Can you provide a link for that clip.

Thanks

 

[ClieOS]

Can you provide a link for that clip.

Thanks

https://m.tb.cn/h.VYlEXWd?sm=8aa8f6

 

[435279]

The Fiio Music app has an option to use the HWA (LHDC) codec. My phone, the LG V30, doesn't support HWA directly but the app implies if I select the HWA option then it should.

Has anybody got this to work on a V30 or other device?

 

[pholcus1975]

Btr5 doesn't support HWA. Btr3 does.

 

[ClieOS]

The Fiio Music app has an option to use the HWA (LHDC) codec. My phone, the LG V30, doesn't support HWA directly but the app implies if I select the HWA option then it should.

Has anybody got this to work on a V30 or other device?

Like @pholcus1975 said, no HWA for BTR5. Even with BTR3, HWA connection is poor at best so I won't worry (or use) it.

 

[435279]

Like @pholcus1975 said, no HWA for BTR5. Even with BTR3, HWA connection is poor at best so I won't worry (or use) it.

Thanks for the reply, good to know I'm not missing out on anything important.

 

[archy121]

Edit: I just tried V30 wired to BTR5. UAPP is outputting streamed Tidal no problem, BTR5 is showing the correct 96Khz bit rate too. This is a great little device.

Would you be kind enough to do a more detailed comparison of V30 over USBC to BTR5.

Although both devices use the same ESS DAC I’m wondering if using the BTR5 with its Balanced output can offer a noticeable improvement over V30 output. Is it enough improvement to justify using V30 as source connected to BTR5 Balanced out ?

Also have you experienced any glitches listening to hires above 24/96 when using USBC with V30 ?

 

[hongky]

Like @pholcus1975 said, no HWA for BTR5. Even with BTR3, HWA connection is poor at best so I won't worry (or use) it.

I got great HWA connection between my Q5S with P30pro

 

[435279]

Would you be kind enough to do a more detailed comparison of V30 over USBC to BTR5.

Although both devices use the same ESS DAC I’m wondering if using the BTR5 with its Balanced output can offer a noticeable improvement over V30 output. Is it enough improvement to justify using V30 as source connected to BTR5 Balanced out ?

Also have you experienced any glitches listening to hires above 24/96 when using USBC with V30 ?

No glitches at all after the initial issues I had which were fixed with a phone restart.

I've been doing some comparisons:

For me V30 -> BTR5 (wired) -> Ultimate Ears UE 18+ Pro beats the headphone output of the V30 but only by a tiny bit. The balanced output of the BTR5 has slightly more depth/sound-stage and obviously a fair bit more power but I couldn't find a headphone in my collection that actually needed more power than the V30 outputs to get to dangerous listening levels.

There really isn't a lot in it. If you don't need the slight extra convenience Bluetooth offers when on the go then I would say perhaps just stick with the V30's headphone socket.