[FiiO BTR15/BTR5 2021/BTR5]Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier Discussion & Impressions Thread
Feb 12, 2020 at 5:50 PM Post #916 of 3,589
Has anybody compared the BTR5 against a Dragonfly Cobalt yet?
As mentioned above, I had Dragonfly Cobalt which I sold when I got the BTR5.

DFC is a nice DAC/AMP and to me does have the edge over the BTR5 SE wired but the BTR5 still better over ballanced and so much cheaper.

DFC also limited to 24/96 with no Native DSD and no BT for 3x the cost. Just not worth its price. DFC has more driving power.
 
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Feb 12, 2020 at 5:59 PM Post #917 of 3,589
Oops must have overseen this - thought you were talking about the DFR...

So it is only MQA that the BTR5 is missing. Maybe the Beam 2 is the way to go then when not in need for BT...
 
Feb 12, 2020 at 6:12 PM Post #918 of 3,589
Oops must have overseen this - thought you were talking about the DFR...

So it is only MQA that the BTR5 is missing. Maybe the Beam 2 is the way to go then when not in need for BT...
Only 2nd unfold as Tidal App on PC & phones does MQA as does UAPP on Android.

I've never been able to tell difference with an MQA unfold to 24/96 vs 24/192.
 
Feb 12, 2020 at 8:31 PM Post #919 of 3,589
Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind?
The BTR5 makes BLON BL-03s fun when using balanced 2.5. They respond to the added output on low and the widened soundstage. Keeping them.
Golden slumbers fill your eyes.
Good bass emphasis.
I look at you all, see the love that's there sleeping
Another Tripowin Zonie 2.5 cable came today from Linsoul. $16. And foam tips are the only way to get a seal for me.
 
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Feb 12, 2020 at 8:43 PM Post #920 of 3,589
I have ifi XDSD is it worth getting BTR5 over xDSD I like the form factor and convenience of 2.5mm ballanced? has anyone compared it with DX160 or Sony A105. Thanks
Granted that I haven't used my xDSD in a LONG time, but for me I would definitely use the BTR5 over the xDSD. The much smaller form factor makes the BTR5 significantly more portable. There is plenty of power to be had with the BTR5. Both give you the option of usb connection as well as BT. The BTR5 gives you LDAC while xDSD if I remember correctly is stuck at apt-x. XDSD does support full MQA unfold, true... not to start a religious war, but who can reliably tell the difference?

My opinion... BTR5.
 
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Feb 12, 2020 at 11:54 PM Post #921 of 3,589
I have ifi XDSD is it worth getting BTR5 over xDSD I like the form factor and convenience of 2.5mm ballanced? has anyone compared it with DX160 or Sony A105. Thanks
I have btr5 and xdsd. Wired, I prefer xdsd. Bluetooth, the btr5 via LDAC has a greater treble presence vs xdsd in APTX, but then I remembered to turn on the 3dnon xdsd, which actually boosts the treble, and then there it is. To my ears, the XDSD wins on Bluetooth as well. Btr5 is super portable, has mic for talking, etc. But as just pure music playing device, I like the XDSD better. As a side note,nice come to find out that the XDSD also does APTX LL, which is awesome for Bluetooth gaming/watching videos. That was completely unexpected. Anyway. Btr5 is amazing for its form factor, and price, but at pure audio playback, the XDSD wins.
 
Feb 13, 2020 at 2:36 AM Post #922 of 3,589
Granted that I haven't used my xDSD in a LONG time, but for me I would definitely use the BTR5 over the xDSD. The much smaller form factor makes the BTR5 significantly more portable. There is plenty of power to be had with the BTR5. Both give you the option of usb connection as well as BT. The BTR5 gives you LDAC while xDSD if I remember correctly is stuck at apt-x. XDSD does support full MQA unfold, true... not to start a religious war, but who can reliably tell the difference?

My opinion... BTR5.

I agree that the BTR5 has advantages over xDSD in terms of usability, portability and technical features. But I must say I still slightly prefer xDSD`s sound. Sounds a bit rounder, fuller and musical than BTR5. That is why will I continue using both.
 
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Feb 13, 2020 at 10:24 PM Post #923 of 3,589
What microSD slot? This sounds better than a "Pumped up M11" or Hiby R5 or Dragonfly DAC/AMP IMO let alone an M5.

The main point is most of us have a decent phone with plenty of storage these days and UI/screen/speed better than any DAP.

With Android phones & LDAC BT 660/990kbps sound quality is approaching quality of wired so why have another bulky device. iPhones not so good with BT but latest do have aptxHD. Plus can also connect wired for full bit-perfect playback.

In my case I have an excellent 512GB Samsung S10+ with a 512GB mSD so vast amounts of storage for my own files and offline streaming music files.

PS. If you didn't twig from my first line the BTR5 or BTR3 or ES100 type devices have no internal or mSD storage at all. They are BT/wired DAC/AMPS with volume & playback controls.

This is quite true, specially since all current new DAPS run on android, with poor battery life because of that, and then if sound is not that that great, this little BTR5 and the phone is a great thing.

Looking forward for Bluetooth to get over 1411kbs at a certain point. Until that they are going to be selling us new standards, UAT 1200kbs, then 1300, then 1400, then 1500. None of those will work well from the beginning, then they will release low latency for each format, then larger range... Apple AirPlay system works over wifi and already works at 1411kbs with no drops and huge distance, then again, it probably needs a ton of energy compared to bluetooth, I assume.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 2:13 AM Post #924 of 3,589
I have btr5 and xdsd. Wired, I prefer xdsd. Bluetooth, the btr5 via LDAC has a greater treble presence vs xdsd in APTX, but then I remembered to turn on the 3dnon xdsd, which actually boosts the treble, and then there it is. To my ears, the XDSD wins on Bluetooth as well. Btr5 is super portable, has mic for talking, etc. But as just pure music playing device, I like the XDSD better. As a side note,nice come to find out that the XDSD also does APTX LL, which is awesome for Bluetooth gaming/watching videos. That was completely unexpected. Anyway. Btr5 is amazing for its form factor, and price, but at pure audio playback, the XDSD wins.
Thanks for the feedback. Does BTR5 have hiss with your Solaris? (SE or Balanced)
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 8:38 AM Post #926 of 3,589
Think Solaris is 10 Ohm while my SE846's are 8 Ohm. There's none with my SE846's.

Don't forget to include the sensitivity number too. SE846 is 114 dB SPL/mW Solaris is 115 dB SPL/mW so one extra dB per mW. Will that make any difference, no idea but it might if a listener is sensitive to hiss. I personally only notice hiss very rarely with some sources and the SE846 but I don't own Solaris.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 2:26 PM Post #927 of 3,589
The main point is most of us have a decent phone with plenty of storage these days and UI/screen/speed better than any DAP.
LDAC BT when out & about.
I still cant get my head around how this can sound so good for a sub £100 device, especially via balanced.

I agree with all these statements, the btr5 has replaced my usage of a dap out and about and even around the house doing jobs, it is that good!...does it beat my main sitting listening dap?... no but it so close :gs1000smile:...but for the £80 paid, its portability, stability and audio quality then for me it may be the best audio buy I have bought in a long time and definitely getting a lot of use.
20200117_151916.jpg
 
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Feb 15, 2020 at 12:41 AM Post #928 of 3,589
So I had another one of those days where the BTR5 was being tempermental. A couple times after pausing for about 10 mins, it would just shut off and not turn back on again. I tried plugging it in and nothing.. then a few minutes later I get the "charging" battery graphic. I turned it on, it connected, showed the battery at 100% and then half a minute later shut off... I held the power button for a long time presumably to reset it but nothing so I used my ES100 for about an hour and left the BTR5 plugged in to charge in case that was the issue.
I then tried it and it worked fine for most of the rest of the day.. It shut down once more but powered back up and worked fine for the rest of the day.

I wonder if the battery life indicator isn't working properly.. I checked and I have the unit set to shut off after 30 mins so it's not that..

Strange... It's a bit worrisome when it first craps out but it seems to figure itself out after a little bit..

Anyone else experiencing weird behaviour.
It should be noted that I have it on all day. Sometimes I don't listen and have it paused for a couple hours (it doesn't always automatically shut down either).
So, it's getting a lot of use..
 
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Feb 15, 2020 at 12:59 AM Post #929 of 3,589
So I had another one of those days where the BTR5 was being tempermental. A couple times after pausing for about 10 mins, it would just shut off and not turn back on again. I tried plugging it in and nothing.. then a few minutes later I get the "charging" battery graphic. I turned it on, it connected, showed the battery at 100% and then half a minute later shut off... I held the power button for a long time presumably to reset it but nothing so I used my ES100 for about an hour and left the BTR5 plugged in to charge in case that was the issue.
I then tried it and it worked fine for most of the rest of the day.. It shut down once more but powered back up and worked fine for the rest of the day.

I wonder if the battery life indicator isn't working properly.. I checked and I have the unit set to shut off after 30 mins so it's not that..

Strange... It's a bit worrisome when it first craps out but it seems to figure itself out after a little bit..

Anyone else experiencing weird behaviour.
It should be noted that I have it on all day. Sometimes I don't listen and have it paused for a couple hours (it doesn't always automatically shut down either).
So, it's getting a lot of use..
Mine will auto shut down after using it for 30-40 minutes. Very consistent. No problems powering it back on.

i still have to update the firmware. Maybe that will do something.
 
Feb 15, 2020 at 2:56 AM Post #930 of 3,589
Mine will auto shut down after using it for 30-40 minutes. Very consistent. No problems powering it back on.

i still have to update the firmware. Maybe that will do something.

Hmm... there was an update already? I've had mine for 2 months.. I guess I'll check in the morning.
 

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