[hifi80sman]

I didn’t check if the retailer had to send it back to China. I assumed it would be sorted by the main distributor here in Canad but I will check, thanks.
I will be sending it in though as this morning the troubles are back. Made it one day and back to shutting down with no reply from the buttons until I plug it in for a few minutes.
... and just shut down again after pausing and no response from the buttons.. stupid thing...

Thinking I might sell the new one unopened. I had troubles with the BTR3 and now the BTR5.. very disappointing

Not sure if it's too big for you, but I just received the FiiO Q5s and I love it. It has far more power than the BTR5 and kills it balanced with my Sony MDR-Z7M2. I ended up returning my BTR5 & Shanling UP4, the latter of which I was having trouble getting them to consistently and reliably connect to both my Android device and iPhone simultaneously. Sometimes, it would refuse to connect to the 2nd device, so I would have to unpair/re-pair.

 

[psikey]

Not sure if it's too big for you, but I just received the FiiO Q5s and I love it. It has far more power than the BTR5 and kills it balanced with my Sony MDR-Z7M2. I ended up returning my BTR5 & Shanling UP4, the latter of which I was having trouble getting them to consistently and reliably connect to both my Android device and iPhone simultaneously. Sometimes, it would refuse to connect to the 2nd device, so I would have to unpair/re-pair.

At 124 x 64 x 16 mm and 200 grams its a completely different class of product. Wouldn't want that clipped to my shirt or on lanyard around neck !

I think the words "Kills It" is likely an over exaggeration. Even the Hugo 2 I had doesn't "Kill It" even though it is better especially with full hungry headphones.

For me I paid £75 for BTR5 and cheapest Q5S for me is £329.

BTR5 72 x 32 x 11 mm and only 44g

 

[SBranson]

Not sure if it's too big for you, but I just received the FiiO Q5s and I love it. It has far more power than the BTR5 and kills it balanced with my Sony MDR-Z7M2. I ended up returning my BTR5 & Shanling UP4, the latter of which I was having trouble getting them to consistently and reliably connect to both my Android device and iPhone simultaneously. Sometimes, it would refuse to connect to the 2nd device, so I would have to unpair/re-pair.

I work in cabinet shop and the BTR5 is the size I need. I also need easy access to the controls to pause when discussing things with the other guys. The Q5 wouldn’t work.

Heard back from the retailer that the unit would be replaced by the Canadian distributor but both they and my retailer are out of stock and “expecting” more in March. I put quotes around expecting as I assume they are coming from China... so this could take a while. Luckily I hung onto my ES100 so I’m using that now.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

QUESTION

Can I set the BTR5 to run off of USB power instead of the Internal Battery when I use it as USB DAC? If so How?

 

[abitdeef]

QUESTION

Can I set the BTR5 to run off of USB power instead of the Internal Battery when I use it as USB DAC? If so How?

Long press and then short presses, then charge 'on'.

 

[abitdeef]

At 124 x 64 x 16 mm and 200 grams its a completely different class of product. Wouldn't want that clipped to my shirt or on lanyard around neck !

I think the words "Kills It" is likely an over exaggeration. Even the Hugo 2 I had doesn't "Kill It" even though it is better especially with full hungry headphones.

For me I paid £75 for BTR5 and cheapest Q5S for me is £329.

BTR5 72 x 32 x 11 mm and only 44g

No I had both and besides more power I actually like the sound sig of the btr5 over the stock Q5s, and the m11 for that matter. Would be better for driving 300ohm cans though, but I have plenty of power for my stuff.

Besides power output the btr5 actually measures better in snr and crosstalk than the q5s. And the thd+n is the same out of balanced and that's using ldac for the btr5 which is pretty incredible.

Specs/measurements aren't everything, but it's really the only subjective thing we have to look at. And at least fiio uses numbers that have a load applied.

 

[hifi80sman]

At 124 x 64 x 16 mm and 200 grams its a completely different class of product. Wouldn't want that clipped to my shirt or on lanyard around neck !

I think the words "Kills It" is likely an over exaggeration. Even the Hugo 2 I had doesn't "Kill It" even though it is better especially with full hungry headphones.

For me I paid £75 for BTR5 and cheapest Q5S for me is £329.

BTR5 72 x 32 x 11 mm and only 44g

I like the BTR5, but my experience with the Q5s is a level higher, which it should be. That being said, yes, it's not as portable, which is why I qualified my statement by noting it might be "too big". Certainly, we're looking at diminishing returns as we go higher and higher, so it boils down to preference and budget. Price/Performance, BTR5 is better, but sheer performance, Q5s is better.

High gain + 4.4mm balanced on the FiiO Q5s gives me a richer, fuller experience. It's not night and day, but it's like cheese pizza vs. pepperoni. If I need absolute mobility, the BTR5 is the way to go (especially balanced) and has a superior form factor/clip when compared with the Shanling UP4. At a desk, if budget is not an issue, I prefer the Q5s.

That being said, you do loose the mic for calls.

 

[abitdeef]

Btr5 is definitely more towards the neutral side than q5s. And I throw that statement 'as it should be' better- completely out of my mind after comparing so much gear the last six months. I've found that higher price and bulk doesn't add up to better audio performance for me if I'm honest.

Plus you have to voltage match stuff to really get a true picture as just a little volume variance can make x sound better than z.

It's like stuff has a bit different flavour or presentation but I can't call one superior over another unless it is anaemic sounding, or has a boxed in sound stage or has a lot of background noise. Which most stuff doesn't anymore.

Now of I was trying to drive my senns I'd need more power and would go with a desktop solution or the mojo.

It's more of - oh I like that sound sig over brand x , but they both sound good.

As long as someone is happy, that's really all that counts.

 

[hifi80sman]

As long as someone is happy, that's really all that counts.

Totally agree. People don't always see eye to eye and some may like this more than that or think x is better than y, but at the end of the day, it's what makes you happy. I enjoy sharing my experiences with others, so if they can take something from it, great, if they don't agree with me or think my use of terms is extreme, so be it.

Sharing is caring.

 

[hmscott]

It's pretty easy in theory to put the BTR5 up against larger and more expensive hardware, but is that what the BTR5 use case is supposed to be?

I bought the BTR5 to use my IEMs and let them take the place of larger BT headphones. Who wants to lug those around with you all day? Well that's what I've been doing for years - because there was nothing else around to use for high quality wireless sound.

My BT headphones with a few exceptions have been full sized over the ear headphones because I want high quality sound on the move. I don't want to compromise on sound quality. But, after all these years with the big BT headphones I wanted something pocket sized and unobtrusive.

The IEM's are great for mobile use, but they have wires to the phone, and those wires get in the way - which is my whole reason for using BT in the first place.

There may be good TWS earphones on the way, but they've either been too expensive or unreliable, or just poor sounding with short battery life. KZ has put out a few models that had promise, and I am hoping the IEM manufacturers that know how to make good sounding IEM's will persevere and give us completely wireless earbuds based on the IEMs we love soon, but we aren't there yet.

And, I've already got IEM's, I don't need more - sure I'll buy more, who can stop But, I don't want to duplicate TWS IEMS just to get BT - that's where the BTR5 comes in.

The BTR5 + IEMs in a small sack can come with me and be available at any time. And, I can leave them in my ears all the time if I want. Sometimes it's not appropriate and I can put the BTR5 / IEMs in my pocket quickly and easily. Then I don't have a set of giant BT headphones in my hands or on the desk - ready for me to forget and lose quickly.

The BTR5 doesn't need to drive hard to drive headphones for me, my IEM's are easy to drive, and the BTR5 balanced output has plenty of power - I hardly go above 20 on H Gain and 24 on L Gain, there's plenty left in the tank.

It's an added benefit that with the BTR5 I can quickly change from USB DAC mode (while charging!) to BT mode - I can get better sound and charge when the situation allows - and use BT in between. I can't do that with TWS's.

I think we need to remember that the BTR5 can't be a solution for all audiophile requirements.

For me right now though, the BTR5 is doing everything I need for mobile use just fine. The BTR5 has met and exceeded all of my expectations, and I'm excited to use it every single day since the BTR5 arrived.

 

[lucasd]

Can someone explain what is the supposed difference between low and high gain?
I find it strange they describe lower power usage in L, as power output should be similar at given volume, except maybe the noise level (higher in H mode)...

 

[ClieOS]

Can someone explain what is the supposed difference between low and high gain?
I find it strange they describe lower power usage in L, as power output should be similar at given volume, except maybe the noise level (higher in H mode)...

Where did they describe lower power usage in L mode?

 

[hmscott]

Can someone explain what is the supposed difference between low and high gain?
I find it strange they describe lower power usage in L, as power output should be similar at given volume, except maybe the noise level (higher in H mode)...

You might be confusing using balanced and unbalanced power usage with H/L Gain. Although there is likely a power usage difference between High Gain and Low Gain - you are probably ending up the same on each by adjusting the volume output level.

The stated battery life difference is between 2.5mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced:

https://www.fiio.com/btr5

 

[lucasd]

So what's the difference / advantage and disadvantage of gain L/H?

 

[HipHopScribe]

So what's the difference / advantage and disadvantage of gain L/H?

The advantage of high gain is higher volume output for less efficient headphones. The disadvantage of high gain is higher noise (on most amps, don't know about the measurements of the BTR5 specifically). So, only use high gain if you find that you have to turn the volume up really high to get a decent sound level on low gain. Stick with low gain otherwise.