[Hanesu]

Yeah, exactly, who doesn't do that ?

If you don't already, please give it a try now.

This review:

I really didn't want to post the review - I'd suffered enough listening to it once and wanted to warn off anyone else from suffering through it too.

Then I thought I might post my experience with setting the source output to 100% to get the best sound, in case there was anyone out there ready to hear it and benefit from it.

Thanks to @Hanesu for posting the link to the review.

Sorry, think you edited your post right when I wrote mine

 

[abitdeef]

Yeah, exactly, who doesn't do that ? If you don't already, give it a try now.

This review:

I really didn't want to post the review - I'd suffered enough listening to it once and wanted to warn off anyone else from suffering through it too.

Then I thought I might post my experience with setting the source output to 100% to get the best sound, in case there was anyone out there ready to hear it and benefit from it.

Thanks to @Hanesu for posting the link to the review.

Yes, he's way off on a number of things, first when I plug mine in to power it just starts charging- it doesn't turn on, second it's not the least bit muddy and the bass resolution is fantastic.

He lost me at ES100 sounds analytical. I almost think this is just one of those 'counter' reviews to stir things up. Now the app idk because I rarely use it and the settings stay changed on the btr5. I'm sure there's improvements that can be made.

Now the ES100 eq is better, but I'm using the post eq of neutron or hiby music if I need it anyways. And I haven't needed it so lol.

Hey to each their own but this just seems to scream - hey I'm a different edgy kind of reviewer. We already got that with hbb and I trust hbb way more than this guy.

Hard to take it serious, best thing always- try it yourself with your gear if possible.

It's all personal opinions, I hate it when people make blank statements like x is better than z or y sounds muddy lol without prefacing it with 'in my opinion' or 'to my ears'

And then with no details like, what output were you using what material (music) were you using to test? What cans or iems were you using?

I'd like the reviewer to furnish all that info and the particular part of the song that he thought the bass sounded muddy so I can hear it for my self.

Instead of making blanket statements- it doesn't sound better than any other bluetooth unit and it sounds muddy.

 

[Hanesu]

Can’t follow you. Suffering from listening to the Btr5 or listening to the review?

Yes, he's way off on a number of things, first when I plug mine in to power it just starts charging- it doesn't turn on, second it's not the least bit muddy and the bass resolution is fantastic.

He lost me at ES100 sounds analytical. I almost think this is just one of those 'counter' reviews to stir things up. Now the app idk because I rarely use it and the settings stay changed on the btr5. I'm sure there's improvements that can be made.

Now the ES100 eq is better, but I'm using the post eq of neutron or hiby music if I need it anyways. And I haven't needed it so lol.

Hey to each their own but this just seems to scream - hey I'm a different edgy kind of reviewer. We already got that with hbb and I trust hbb way more than this guy.

Hard to take it serious, best thing always- try it yourself with your gear if possible.

The automatic “switch on” thing, I was wondering the same!
Actually my Btr5 unit SOMETIMES does it - but I have not found out when! It’s weird! But better than ES100 that always does it (even when switched off in the settings ) and I hate it!

Sound: It’s always difficult to know how people use “analytical” and “musical” etc. because it’s all so relative.Have you heard ES100 and Btr5 side by side? I actually agree that ES100 sounds a bit splashier in the treble. But due to more recessed mids.

I agree with most of his findings (ok, not the “muddy” one), though I feel his conclusion is too negative. I agree with that all those BT devices are actually very similar. They all have their goods and bads and none of them is perfect.
But one thing for sure: They are better than many people who listen to 2000$ DAPs think!

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Was this video already posted in this thread?



Though I am still really enjoying my Btr5, I must say that his criticism is 100% accurate!

I had exactly the same app problems with iOS as him and I agree that the differences in SQ between the different BT devices are minor and more based on preferences.
I can also add that after using it for almost 2 months now, I have experienced some Bluetooth problems. As many other BT devices, Btr5 has problems if you pair more than 3 devices with it.

So yes, it might be overhyped.
Still really like its built quality, design in combination with its balanced signature (less v-shaped than es100). But lots to do for Fiio concerning the app!

The only thing i'd agree with the reviewer is the really bad software from FiiO.
Is there just a control suite like softwarefor Btr5? Like the app of the ES100?
I don't want the whole music app bc uapp handles this stuff better.

Such reviews delivers another view to the product i like from my perspective.
And i'm thankful to this to prevent me from getting lost at several product. ^^

Got the ES100 before but the build quality was the worst of all bluetooth amps i've tried. And the battery died 2 months after purchase.
That's the reason i hooked up to the Btr5 and i'm pleased with it.

Edit.
I always drive all bluetooth device at 100% source volume.
No matter it's on the desk, in the car or elsewhere.

 

[abitdeef]

The automatic “switch on” thing, I was wondering the same!
Actually my Btr5 unit SOMETIMES does it - but I have not found out when!ES100 always does it (even when switched off in the settings ) and I hate it!

Sound: It’s always difficult to know how people use “analytical” and “musical” etc. because it’s all so relative.Have you heard ES100 and Btr5 side by side? I actually agree that Btr5 sounds a bit splashier in the treble. But due to more recessed mids.

I agree with most of his findings, though I feel his conclusion is too negative. I agree with that all those BT devices are actually very similar. They all have their goods and bads and none of them is perfect.
But one thing for sure: They are better than many people who listen to 2000$ DAPs think!

See my edited post, yes I've listened to both , but as stated before I mostly USB out and balanced. Which does sound different to bt transmission. I personally don't consider the ES100 anywhere near analytical myself.

Yes it's all subjective

I forget sometimes myself, but I do try to include an adverb such as personally, or too me or to my ears etc etc.

Anyways the statement about the sub bass being buried is idiotic. Most sub bass frequencies are more felt than heard by air pressure being moved by the diaphragm.

The statement makes no sense really.

 

[hmscott]

Sorry, think you edited your post right when I wrote mine

Actually, I completed my post before I saw your post. I originally described how I set the levels on source devices when listening to the BTR5 - in reaction to having watched the review a few moments before as I was browsing through youtube for BTR5 reviews - I didn't mention the review itself.

After I saw you posted the review I updated my previous post to relate my comments as inspired by that review.

I was trying to avoid setting off a discussion of the review itself. I'm a little tired and I didn't want to "get into it" right now...

I'll stand watch quietly from over here, and listen to my BTR5...

 

[ClieOS]

Was this video already posted in this thread?



Though I am still really enjoying my Btr5, I must say that his criticism is 100% accurate!

I had exactly the same app problems with iOS as him and I agree that the differences in SQ between the different BT devices are minor and more based on preferences.
I can also add that after using it for almost 2 months now, I have experienced some Bluetooth problems. As many other BT devices, Btr5 has problems if you pair more than 3 devices with it.

So yes, it might be overhyped.
Still really like its built quality, design in combination with its balanced signature (less v-shaped than es100). But lots to do for Fiio concerning the app!

From the video, at around 2.45m the guy talks about the lack of battery life and how FiiO doesn't tell people how the battery life is tested - he is wrong. The test condition as well as the test file are in the 'parameters' section of FiiO's BTR5 page. He also said ES100 has the worst battery life - well, maybe his ES100 battery is dying. I tested both BTR5 and ES100 (besides other) under thae same condition for battery and ES100 actually has one of the best battery life over all the recent Hi-res BT adapters.

Around 4:00m, he said there isn't any distortion on any of the BT adapter he tested. I too owns all 4 that he has and I can tell you UP4 has very noticeable distortion on the original firmware (I can hear it clearly, without the need of measurement to tell that the sound is distorted). The latest firmware fixed most of the issue, but noise level is well above the other three. It is not as noticeable now, but you can still tell the sound is slightly off if you listen to it critically. In any case, I did measure all of them before (with RMAA on Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 and Quant Asylum QA400 audio analyzer) , BTR5 consistently gives the best result and UP4 the worst among the 4.

At 7:35m, he talked about BTR5 turns on fully when plugged in and won't turn off after unplug - this is not that case of my BTR5 - when I plug mine in (while it is still off), it doesn't turn fully back on. Instead, only a charging battery icon is shown on the OLED screen (for about 10 seconds). Once unplug, it goes back to fully off.

At 9:38m he talks about the '0~60 steps' way of showing volume makes no sense and rather FiiO should tell us what dB it is charging - unfortunately dB doesn't work that way. First, if we assume by decibel, he means dB as actual volume (SPL) change. The dB change will be different with different headphone as they are all different in impedance and most importantly sensitivity - The volume switch on BTR5 mainly controls the voltage output. The same voltage change will result in different volume / dB change if the different headphones don't have the same spec. Second, if we assume he means decibel as in output power ratio - which still won't work as we need to have a common reference load (that means we need to use the same headphone). All and all showing 'dB' on the screen, while nice to read, is a pointless idea as it won't actually tell you the actual dB change, either in volume or in power ratio.

There is also the issue of keeping the iPhone volume on 50% for testing, potentially losing a few digital bits - that has been covered by others so I am not going to spend time on it. My question is however when he complained about low volume - did he even know about the gain setting on BTR5 (or even UP4)? Comparing output volume (NOT POWER, which is not how loud can something sound) with one high and one low gain setting will be a huge fail for any audio gears reviewer - and I suspect it could be the case here.

I do however give the reviewer some credit on complain the app - I said this in the past that FiiO really needs a separated app for its BT devices and should not try to integrate everything into one app. We Android user do already have a separated app (even if it only in beta) but unfortunately not for your Apple user.

Anyone can review, but it takes a knowledgeable person to be a good reviewer. Sometime it is about knowing how to talk about things that you understand, while other time it is about knowing what not to talk about, especially on things you don't understand enough of. I think many reviewer have it too easy these days,

 

[SBranson]

I would update to the most recent firmware. If you're still having the issue, you can try a replacement/return (if you can of course) and perhaps go with the Shanling UP4, which IMO is superior if you're running 3.5mm (it has dual DAC mode for 3.5mm connection).

I did have the BTR5 shut off a couple of times, but I lost track on how long it was idle, so I can't say for sure if it was the auto-off feature functioning correctly or not.

I updated to the latest firmware last night and had no shut off problems today. Fingers crossed that this issue is fixed.

I did encounter another though. There were a couple times where the music just paused randomly between songs. None of the controls on the BTR5 did anything but pausing and unpausing on my phone got the song to start up again but sometimes in the middle of the song. Strange but much less of a concern than the previous issue.

 

[hifi80sman]

I updated to the latest firmware last night and had no shut off problems today. Fingers crossed that this issue is fixed.

I did encounter another though. There were a couple times where the music just paused randomly between songs. None of the controls on the BTR5 did anything but pausing and unpausing on my phone got the song to start up again but sometimes in the middle of the song. Strange but much less of a concern than the previous issue.

You may want to try un-pairing, restarting your phone, then re-paring. I've had success doing that with some other BT devices I have. It's also a good idea to restart your phone on a regular basis, especially if you're running on Android.

 

[hmscott]

My BTR5 came with 1.04, I upgraded to 1.06 first thing - early days with devices usually require a few updates to get the bugs worked out.

I haven't had any operational weirdness in 100 hours+ usage on Note 10+ (BT 5.0) or Windows 10 (BT 4.2), mostly on USB but lots of BT as well.

The App use through the combined Music app is a pain. It didn't take long for me to figure out what settings I want and eventually I got them saved and I don't go into the Control app any longer. Changes through the interface on the BTR5 - like gain are enough once I got the in app settings to stick.

Here's my settings, and FYI the app connected on it's own without prompting from me and shows Codecs so it's a good connection, it must have heard me complaining about it

Charge: Always
Car mode: Off
Idle Poweroff: 3 min
I don't mind powering on as I usually have constant music or audio except when I am done, after which it can turn off quickly. If you don't like powering on after idle power off then I'd set it to Off (0) and turn the power off manually - but then there's the danger you will forget and drain all the battery power in between sessions.

Bluetooth codecs: all selected
Selecting all of them hasn't caused a problem so far, the BTR5 always connects at the best available from the device and it does it quickly so I don't feel like I need to limit the choices available. In the event I get a device that requires the codecs I don't normally use they will be available without needing the app to enable them.

Input Priority: USB DAC first
This setting allows me to disconnect from USB and the BTR5 automatically connects with BT in a short couple of seconds to continue listening.

LCD Power off: 10 seconds
Enough time to scroll, think about the change, and then turn off. LCD Dimmer is only settable on the device, and I have it set to 3 - indoors I set it to 1.

I don't use the other settings and default settings are working fine for me right now.

The BTR5 for me has been a smooth and satisfying experience.

 

[SBranson]

You may want to try un-pairing, restarting your phone, then re-paring. I've had success doing that with some other BT devices I have. It's also a good idea to restart your phone on a regular basis, especially if you're running on Android.

I think it re-paired after the update but good point.. I should start it fresh.. I'm on an iphone which I suspect Apple has taught to fight with anything they didn't make..

My BTR5 came with 1.04, I upgraded to 1.06 first thing - early days with devices usually require a few updates to get the bugs worked out.

I haven't had any operational weirdness in 100 hours+ usage on Note 10+ (BT 5.0) or Windows 10 (BT 4.2), mostly on USB but lots of BT as well.

The App use through the combined Music app is a pain. Sometimes it doesn't connect "right" and I can't get into the controls. It takes a disconnect / reconnect to fix. Once into the Control part of the app I find sometimes the changes don't save - that also coincides with the Codec selection not working. I disconnect and reconnect again. It didn't take long for me to figure out what settings I want and eventually I got them saved and I don't go into the Control app any longer. Changes through the interface on the BTR5 - like gain mostly are enough once I got the app settings to settle in.

Here's my settings, and FYI the app connected on it's own without prompting from me and shows Codecs so it's a good connection, it must have heard me complaining about it

Charge: Always
Car mode: Off
Idle Poweroff: 3 min
I don't mind powering on as I usually have constant music or audio except when I am done, after which it can turn off quickly. If you don't like powering on after idle power off then I'd set it to Off (0) and do it manually - but then there's the danger you will forget and all drain all the power on battery in between sessions.

Bluetooth codecs: all selected
Selecting all of them hasn't caused a problem so far, the BTR5 always connects at the best available from the device and it does it quickly so I don't feel like I need to limit the choices available. In the event I get a device that requires the codecs I don't normally use they will be available without getting into the app to enable them.

Input Priority: USB DAC first
It's nice that setting allows me to automatically disconnect from USB and then continue listening with BT automatically switched on. I've found I can connect to both USB DAC and BT Control, but maybe that's where the problem has been in connecting and settings. Just now I disconnected USB from PC and connected BT from phone and it worked first thing.

LCD Power off: 10 seconds
That's been enough for me to scroll though, think about the change, and then I don't need it on. LCD Dimmer is only settable on the device, and I have it set to 3 - I don't need more, and when I first got it I set it to 1 which is all I need indoors.

The BTR5 for me has been a smooth and satisfying experience.

The app on iphone really it weird. I am connected and when I go to the controls, it says it's disconnected. Then tells me to push the power button but that does nothing so I press cancel and it's already connected. I figure it's just a bug with IOS and FiiO's products.

Honestly, I didn't even realize that there was a firmware update until a few days ago.. I just hope this fixes the problem.

As far as idle power off.. I've usually set it quite high, at about 25 mins or so as at my work there are periods of interruption where I have to talk to others.. BUT.. stupidly (or perhaps because my glasses weren't on) I didn't even see that you could set it to OFF!!!.. I will try that. As it is, the auto power off has never really worked. I'm not sure if the iphone/BTR5 have a real sense of what "idle" means as I've left it in pause for hours and it's never shut off.. The only times it has shut off has been the "issues" I've already discussed. The scary part was that it was essentially bricked until I plugged it back in..

Anyway, hope that's all history now. I do really like this.

 

[hmscott]

The app on iphone really it weird. I am connected and when I go to the controls, it says it's disconnected. Then tells me to push the power button but that does nothing so I press cancel and it's already connected. I figure it's just a bug with IOS and FiiO's products.

Honestly, I didn't even realize that there was a firmware update until a few days ago.. I just hope this fixes the problem.

As far as idle power off.. I've usually set it quite high, at about 25 mins or so as at my work there are periods of interruption where I have to talk to others.. BUT.. stupidly (or perhaps because my glasses weren't on) I didn't even see that you could set it to OFF!!!.. I will try that. As it is, the auto power off has never really worked. I'm not sure if the iphone/BTR5 have a real sense of what "idle" means as I've left it in pause for hours and it's never shut off.. The only times it has shut off has been the "issues" I've already discussed. The scary part was that it was essentially bricked until I plugged it back in..

Anyway, hope that's all history now. I do really like this.

My use case may allow the auto-power off to work for me. I power down the PC or Hibernate my PC when the BTR5 is connected via BT or USB and in the PC BIOS I have all the power saving options enabled - nothing is powered when it's off - so the BTR 5 doesn't even get charged if connected, and I find the BTR5 off when I bring up the system next time. I don't leave the USB connected to the phone, I disconnect it and take the phone away so the BTR5 in that scenario is also unpowered externally so auto-poweroff works there too.

Charging the BTR5 hasn't been needed since I use it on USB mostly, it's already charging set to Charge Always. But when I first got it I charged it via power dongle only and I think the BTR5 was turned off when I took it off the charger. I'd have to test that again to be sure.

When the BTR5 has a data connection via BT or USB it stays powered on. I have put the BTR5 into a bag with the headphones connected, stuck it in my pocket and found it still connected to my phone when I took it out hours later. It didn't power off when the BTR5 has a BT connection. Now I turn off BT (I already turn off Wifi) when I go mobile before I put it away so the BTR5 is idled and can auto-poweroff.

It takes a while to get used to new devices.

 

[zolom]

Inserted a low profile metal clip in the FiiO case with the BTR5

 

[hmscott]

Inserted a low profile metal clip in the FiiO case with the BTR5

Nice. Does it rub against the BTR5 inside the case? Where can we find a similar clip? Link?

I planned to use a Beats carabiner through the BTR5 leather case loop, when it arrives.

Spoiler: BT Headphones...

Yes, I have a "beater" pair of Beats Studio 3's...

After a long line of other BT over the ear headphones used to death over the years. My SONY MDR XB950BT headphones finally couldn't be glued back together anymore, so I now switch off / on charge with a set of Audio-Technica ATH-ANC900BT's and the Beats Studio 3's. They both last more than one day's use - 22hr's Beats, 35 hr's 900BT's.

I used the Sony WH1000XM3's almost a month but after their predecessor's plastic failed so persistently for me I decided I couldn't take the chance long term. Also there was a whistling under 100% noise canceling in the left ear - I had to decrease the ANC by 2 ticks in the app to make it go away - introducing some ambient sound. Then there was the loose fit for me along with the tendency to slide around on my head. Altogether that all found me not happy enough with them so I returned them.

I'm happy with both the Audio-Technica 900BT's and Beat's Studio 3's after a few months of rotation.

Now that I have the BTR5 I'm mostly listening to IEM's.

 

[SBranson]

My use case may allow the auto-power off to work for me. I power down the PC or Hibernate my PC when the BTR5 is connected via BT or USB and in the PC BIOS I have all the power saving options enabled - nothing is powered when it's off - so the BTR 5 doesn't even get charged if connected, and I find the BTR5 off when I bring up the system next time. I don't leave the USB connected to the phone, I disconnect it and take the phone away so the BTR5 in that scenario is also unpowered externally so auto-poweroff works there too.

Charging the BTR5 hasn't been needed since I use it on USB mostly, it's already charging set to Charge Always. But when I first got it I charged it via power dongle only and I think the BTR5 was turned off when I took it off the charger. I'd have to test that again to be sure.

When the BTR5 has a data connection via BT or USB it stays powered on. I have put the BTR5 into a bag with the headphones connected, stuck it in my pocket and found it still connected to my phone when I took it out hours later. It didn't power off when the BTR5 has a BT connection. Now I turn off BT (I already turn off Wifi) when I go mobile before I put it away so the BTR5 is idled and can auto-poweroff.

It takes a while to get used to new devices.

I wondered if I was mistaken in how the idle power off works. That makes sense that it is not idling if it is just on pause and still connected. Either way, I will leave it set to "off" and see what happens.