sidecross
100+ Head-Fier
I use ios and I did NOT expect fiio to have a problem with their software merging with ios, but it does.
Last edited:
FiiO Music Survey Questionnaire
And also their firmware. Very buggy.
Even their translations are incomplete. Found in my M5 firmware some chinese characters. Also in the FiiO Music app. Settings I don't know what they do...
Hi,
Could you please indicate which translation and settings confuse you? Thanks in advanced!
Best regards
Love this app. It does what it does. I do hope you get Bluetooth codec type displaying.
IPodPJ
MOT: Bellatone Audio
Caution: Incomplete customer orders
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2006
- Posts
- 7,870
- Likes
- 62
MY POST FROM THE AM3D THREAD WHICH INCLUDES MUCH THAT BELONGS HERE, SO SKIM THROUGH AND READ THOSE PARTS:
As of today it is now available from the FiiO store on Aliexpress! Get one before they’re all gone! $159.99 + $10.00 tax (?) to USA with free shipping. I was told by FiiO they would be $149.99 (so I should get $10 back). Click below.
FiiO AM3D THX AAA-78 Amp Module
I had asked FiiO to notify me when it became available. So far there are (edit on 5/26/20, 2 a.m. EST) 38 orders, and this run will go fast! There’s already been 5 more orders in the past 24 hrs. (I think I was #34, thanks to a friend I traded services with.) I got the Q5s (on Amazon with many a gift card I had accumulated) to power my Audeze LCDi4 properly, even though I don’t travel much at all really, and even though the LCDi4 still sounds a good deal better through my killer home system (with my B22/S22).
But the Q5s is a great portable solution and hopefully this module will really raise the bar on sound quality. I wish it had just a bit more power so I could drive my full-size 200 ohm LCD-4 as loud as I like.
Delta Sigma DACs, not the best in my opinion, do much better the higher the resolution of the file is which wastes precious storage space, which is why I prefer sign-magnitude (or ladder/R-2R) DACs (but they require more operating power), as 24/96 is really all you need if mastered properly. Master Quality Audio files (MQA) from a TIDAL Hi-Fi subscription sound exceptionally good, with or without a hardware MQA decoder. TIDAL has a setting for “MQA Passthrough” where you can let TIDAL unpack it for you (which is what I do as my sign-magnitude DAC is an older one, Audio-gd Ref 7.1, but I modded my Transporter streamer to mate perfectly with it) and it still sounds phenomenal! (Make sure that setting is set to to on only if you have an MQA decoder; otherwise set it to off.) For the record, I would never buy another piece of Audio-gd equipment; not for lack of sound quality but for lack of quality control. My DAC was wired with reversed polarity on the unbalanced left channel. Since I can solder and have some of the best soldering stations and irons, I could easily fix it. Unfortunately I can’t because all the top chassis screws are stripped beyond the point of any screwdriver even making any screw turn. Quality control. It’s necessary. In fact, I’ve had issues with every product I ever got from them. It’s a shame really. Many of their DACs when properly matched with a great transport really shine.
Squeezebox Server, which controls my fully-modded (and now discontinued) “transporter” which is a truly amazing unit which supports up to 24/96, and can playback bit-perfect 16/44.1 files with up to -23dB attenuation, and has two gorgeous, old-style VFDs (vacuum fluorescent display). Software support and upgrades to Squeezebox Server from Logitech ended years ago. (Stable open source SS is now at v7.9.3, typically updated bi-weekly as Logitech stopped many years ago at v7.7.3; they no longer support one of the best products they ever made.) It has a force-feedback dial in the middle, though using the remote is easier. Squeezebox Server (which is controlled through a web browser) tells me all about the data. MQA comes over unpacked as a FLAC VBR at 24 bit / 96kHz, though there are a few songs I’ve come across that are only 24/48 which may not be true MQA files as advertised.
(If you have a Transporter and the special ribbon cable that connects the main board to the display/button board broke, contact me. Many years ago an idiot modder decided to glue a full-size trafo to my chassis instead of bolting it down, and it arrived back to me with a moving trafo that not only destroyed the cable but damaged one of the connectors on the display board. Fortunately, I found a company that fixed the SMD connector port for only $25. Then it took me days of research browsing online for almost every ribbon cable ever made, and I finally found the proper one, made by Molex specially for the Transporter. Problem was, they had no stock, only made to order. After a phone call, they agreed to make me about 7 samples free of charge. What nice guys and what luck!! Otherwise my streamer would have been a door stop. So for any people that have real damage and can show me photos, I can spare about three. One per person only.)
In any case, I hope this FiiO AM3D module (bizarre naming system, as the included lesser objective quality one is named AM3E) is a step up from the included amp module. However, I’ve read complaints that it can no longer be used with docks due to the bulging 4.4mm jack which you didn’t have bulging on the AM3E.
Re: AM3E — FiiO completely screwed up the design on that one (and all of them really). First off, and less important is because the short lightning straight cable is not long enough for side by side use (nor is the DD HiFi brand, which has a better build quality if I’m being honest), but the real screw up is that the L shape cables partially block the 2.5mm balanced connector due to the micro-usb port being upside down; the AM3D shouldn’t have that issue as there is only a 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced jack. I already had a female 4-pin XLR to 2.5mm balanced adapter cable (since I had my LCDi4 cable terminated with a male 4-pin XLR to connect to my B22, but had I known the included LCDi4 cable was only 4 feet in length I would have requested it be 2 to 2.5 times as long) and it was such a tight fit in the AM3E with the “L” shape connector that it was putting quite a bit of pressure on the micro-usb jack which are known to break easily, (USB-C please?) and pressure on the 2.5mm jack, that I had to purchase a female 4-pin to 4.4mm Pentaconn adapter cable, which it turns out I’ll need for the AM3D. (They were cheaper than me building my own high end ones.) Going forward, the modules should be right side up like normal. Or, they could simply reverse the “L” shape to a “_|” shape.
FiiO definitely makes nice looking and good sounding products with precise CNC machining. But why do they put the gold “Hi-Res Audio” logo in many of their pictures/renderings when there is no gold logo on the unit? (Just take a look at the AM3D module renderings vs. the actual unit pictures. Other units are dead giveaways as one rendering of the logo has rounded corners and then an other rendering of the same product has square corners.)
I really only have 4 major suggestions for FiiO that I know will help:
1). Put USB-C ports on all your products. Have a universal standard! Every company is switching to them because they are solid, durable, and reversible. No more of your special FiiO proprietary Lightning to Micro-USB cables that you don’t even sell replacements for if they break! Thank goodness for “dd HiFi”, the only company who does sell replacements, also on aliexpress. (Micro-USB is 🗑 and breaks fairly easily.)
2). Even though the RadSone ES100 mk. 1 and 2 have a 2.5mm balanced output, have much less power than the Q5s, and their buttons and jacks are plastic crap, their EarStudio app has truly amazing control of its device in every way and is just an incredible app! You need to develop one like that. You have way more money and resources than they do, so it should be a breeze for you. Sadly, your apps don’t cut it. Check out the app for iOS called EarStudio, where you get full control over the DAC filters like “sharp roll off,” over sampling options, and a nice 8 or 10-band EQ. RadSone uses AK chips as well, so there’s really no excuse. Would PCs be of any use to 99% of their owners without an OS like Windows? Do you think the average user knows how to operate DOS?
3). Also, not everyone uses a PC. You need to make your firmware updates work for both Mac and PC, and also included in the iOS app I’m hoping you’ll make. (Also, when I tried updating twice and neither time did the coax light flash, after the second update and then pulling out the USB cable and relaunching the software updater, it confirmed I had installed 0.39, whereas originally it was 0.04 or 0.0.4, I believe.) I actually thought it sounded a tiny bit better before the update, which is quite unusual for a company to make a downgrade, in your words, “enhancements to the DAC” which resulted in a decrease in SQ in my opinion. And I’m using one of the best, if not the best IEMs on the market.
4). You should attempt to make a super module like a top shelf DAC + AM3D amp + MQA decoder all in one (even if it cost $200+) that the iOS and Google Play app have full control of, especially with the DAC filters like “sharp roll off,” oversampling options, and a nice 8 or 10-band EQ.
Despite my critiques, I think the Q5s is a great device with good output power, and drives my 32 ohm LCDi4 like they need to be driven. I just think you guys at FiiO could do so much more with it with a little more effort.
And I’m definitely looking forward to getting my AM3D!!
Welp, that’s all folks! At least until it arrives within 8-14 days.
As of today it is now available from the FiiO store on Aliexpress! Get one before they’re all gone! $159.99 + $10.00 tax (?) to USA with free shipping. I was told by FiiO they would be $149.99 (so I should get $10 back). Click below.
FiiO AM3D THX AAA-78 Amp Module
I had asked FiiO to notify me when it became available. So far there are (edit on 5/26/20, 2 a.m. EST) 38 orders, and this run will go fast! There’s already been 5 more orders in the past 24 hrs. (I think I was #34, thanks to a friend I traded services with.) I got the Q5s (on Amazon with many a gift card I had accumulated) to power my Audeze LCDi4 properly, even though I don’t travel much at all really, and even though the LCDi4 still sounds a good deal better through my killer home system (with my B22/S22).
But the Q5s is a great portable solution and hopefully this module will really raise the bar on sound quality. I wish it had just a bit more power so I could drive my full-size 200 ohm LCD-4 as loud as I like.
Delta Sigma DACs, not the best in my opinion, do much better the higher the resolution of the file is which wastes precious storage space, which is why I prefer sign-magnitude (or ladder/R-2R) DACs (but they require more operating power), as 24/96 is really all you need if mastered properly. Master Quality Audio files (MQA) from a TIDAL Hi-Fi subscription sound exceptionally good, with or without a hardware MQA decoder. TIDAL has a setting for “MQA Passthrough” where you can let TIDAL unpack it for you (which is what I do as my sign-magnitude DAC is an older one, Audio-gd Ref 7.1, but I modded my Transporter streamer to mate perfectly with it) and it still sounds phenomenal! (Make sure that setting is set to to on only if you have an MQA decoder; otherwise set it to off.) For the record, I would never buy another piece of Audio-gd equipment; not for lack of sound quality but for lack of quality control. My DAC was wired with reversed polarity on the unbalanced left channel. Since I can solder and have some of the best soldering stations and irons, I could easily fix it. Unfortunately I can’t because all the top chassis screws are stripped beyond the point of any screwdriver even making any screw turn. Quality control. It’s necessary. In fact, I’ve had issues with every product I ever got from them. It’s a shame really. Many of their DACs when properly matched with a great transport really shine.
Squeezebox Server, which controls my fully-modded (and now discontinued) “transporter” which is a truly amazing unit which supports up to 24/96, and can playback bit-perfect 16/44.1 files with up to -23dB attenuation, and has two gorgeous, old-style VFDs (vacuum fluorescent display). Software support and upgrades to Squeezebox Server from Logitech ended years ago. (Stable open source SS is now at v7.9.3, typically updated bi-weekly as Logitech stopped many years ago at v7.7.3; they no longer support one of the best products they ever made.) It has a force-feedback dial in the middle, though using the remote is easier. Squeezebox Server (which is controlled through a web browser) tells me all about the data. MQA comes over unpacked as a FLAC VBR at 24 bit / 96kHz, though there are a few songs I’ve come across that are only 24/48 which may not be true MQA files as advertised.
(If you have a Transporter and the special ribbon cable that connects the main board to the display/button board broke, contact me. Many years ago an idiot modder decided to glue a full-size trafo to my chassis instead of bolting it down, and it arrived back to me with a moving trafo that not only destroyed the cable but damaged one of the connectors on the display board. Fortunately, I found a company that fixed the SMD connector port for only $25. Then it took me days of research browsing online for almost every ribbon cable ever made, and I finally found the proper one, made by Molex specially for the Transporter. Problem was, they had no stock, only made to order. After a phone call, they agreed to make me about 7 samples free of charge. What nice guys and what luck!! Otherwise my streamer would have been a door stop. So for any people that have real damage and can show me photos, I can spare about three. One per person only.)
In any case, I hope this FiiO AM3D module (bizarre naming system, as the included lesser objective quality one is named AM3E) is a step up from the included amp module. However, I’ve read complaints that it can no longer be used with docks due to the bulging 4.4mm jack which you didn’t have bulging on the AM3E.
Re: AM3E — FiiO completely screwed up the design on that one (and all of them really). First off, and less important is because the short lightning straight cable is not long enough for side by side use (nor is the DD HiFi brand, which has a better build quality if I’m being honest), but the real screw up is that the L shape cables partially block the 2.5mm balanced connector due to the micro-usb port being upside down; the AM3D shouldn’t have that issue as there is only a 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced jack. I already had a female 4-pin XLR to 2.5mm balanced adapter cable (since I had my LCDi4 cable terminated with a male 4-pin XLR to connect to my B22, but had I known the included LCDi4 cable was only 4 feet in length I would have requested it be 2 to 2.5 times as long) and it was such a tight fit in the AM3E with the “L” shape connector that it was putting quite a bit of pressure on the micro-usb jack which are known to break easily, (USB-C please?) and pressure on the 2.5mm jack, that I had to purchase a female 4-pin to 4.4mm Pentaconn adapter cable, which it turns out I’ll need for the AM3D. (They were cheaper than me building my own high end ones.) Going forward, the modules should be right side up like normal. Or, they could simply reverse the “L” shape to a “_|” shape.
FiiO definitely makes nice looking and good sounding products with precise CNC machining. But why do they put the gold “Hi-Res Audio” logo in many of their pictures/renderings when there is no gold logo on the unit? (Just take a look at the AM3D module renderings vs. the actual unit pictures. Other units are dead giveaways as one rendering of the logo has rounded corners and then an other rendering of the same product has square corners.)
I really only have 4 major suggestions for FiiO that I know will help:
1). Put USB-C ports on all your products. Have a universal standard! Every company is switching to them because they are solid, durable, and reversible. No more of your special FiiO proprietary Lightning to Micro-USB cables that you don’t even sell replacements for if they break! Thank goodness for “dd HiFi”, the only company who does sell replacements, also on aliexpress. (Micro-USB is 🗑 and breaks fairly easily.)
2). Even though the RadSone ES100 mk. 1 and 2 have a 2.5mm balanced output, have much less power than the Q5s, and their buttons and jacks are plastic crap, their EarStudio app has truly amazing control of its device in every way and is just an incredible app! You need to develop one like that. You have way more money and resources than they do, so it should be a breeze for you. Sadly, your apps don’t cut it. Check out the app for iOS called EarStudio, where you get full control over the DAC filters like “sharp roll off,” over sampling options, and a nice 8 or 10-band EQ. RadSone uses AK chips as well, so there’s really no excuse. Would PCs be of any use to 99% of their owners without an OS like Windows? Do you think the average user knows how to operate DOS?
3). Also, not everyone uses a PC. You need to make your firmware updates work for both Mac and PC, and also included in the iOS app I’m hoping you’ll make. (Also, when I tried updating twice and neither time did the coax light flash, after the second update and then pulling out the USB cable and relaunching the software updater, it confirmed I had installed 0.39, whereas originally it was 0.04 or 0.0.4, I believe.) I actually thought it sounded a tiny bit better before the update, which is quite unusual for a company to make a downgrade, in your words, “enhancements to the DAC” which resulted in a decrease in SQ in my opinion. And I’m using one of the best, if not the best IEMs on the market.
4). You should attempt to make a super module like a top shelf DAC + AM3D amp + MQA decoder all in one (even if it cost $200+) that the iOS and Google Play app have full control of, especially with the DAC filters like “sharp roll off,” oversampling options, and a nice 8 or 10-band EQ.
Despite my critiques, I think the Q5s is a great device with good output power, and drives my 32 ohm LCDi4 like they need to be driven. I just think you guys at FiiO could do so much more with it with a little more effort.
And I’m definitely looking forward to getting my AM3D!!Welp, that’s all folks! At least until it arrives within 8-14 days.
Hi.
For M5 - if you go to Lyrics- if there are no lyrics there is something in chinese.
For the app I don't remember exactly where - in a submenu - there were 3 options in chinese. I've searched now, but I don't find where I saw them. I saw them by accident about a month ago. If I found them again I will return with the info.
Yogibear91
100+ Head-Fier
firstly get the eq's on the downloadable android app sounding alot better they leave alot to be desired!! your eq's need a better interface , get them working better in general make it even more customisable with more adjustable frequencys and settings, especially implementing more then 1 user saved eq setting thats such a pain...........
then I think you should look at user uploadable eq settings that others who are unsure can use as presets
can see that going down a treat
then I think you should look at user uploadable eq settings that others who are unsure can use as presets
can see that going down a treat
sidecross
100+ Head-Fier
I like the the q5 best with two usb ports while the q5s has just one. I use the q5 side usb port for an auxiliary powerbank that keeps the unit cooler.MY POST FROM THE AM3D THREAD WHICH INCLUDES MUCH THAT BELONGS HERE, SO SKIM THROUGH AND READ THOSE PARTS:
As of today it is now available from the FiiO store on Aliexpress! Get one before they’re all gone! $159.99 + $10.00 tax (?) to USA with free shipping. I was told by FiiO they would be $149.99 (so I should get $10 back). Click below.
FiiO AM3D THX AAA-78 Amp Module
I had asked FiiO to notify me when it became available. So far there are (edit on 5/26/20, 2 a.m. EST) 38 orders, and this run will go fast! There’s already been 5 more orders in the past 24 hrs. (I think I was #34, thanks to a friend I traded services with.) I got the Q5s (on Amazon with many a gift card I had accumulated) to power my Audeze LCDi4 properly, even though I don’t travel much at all really, and even though the LCDi4 still sounds a good deal better through my killer home system (with my B22/S22).
But the Q5s is a great portable solution and hopefully this module will really raise the bar on sound quality. I wish it had just a bit more power so I could drive my full-size 200 ohm LCD-4 as loud as I like.
Delta Sigma DACs, not the best in my opinion, do much better the higher the resolution of the file is which wastes precious storage space, which is why I prefer sign-magnitude (or ladder/R-2R) DACs (but they require more operating power), as 24/96 is really all you need if mastered properly. Master Quality Audio files (MQA) from a TIDAL Hi-Fi subscription sound exceptionally good, with or without a hardware MQA decoder. TIDAL has a setting for “MQA Passthrough” where you can let TIDAL unpack it for you (which is what I do as my sign-magnitude DAC is an older one, Audio-gd Ref 7.1, but I modded my Transporter streamer to mate perfectly with it) and it still sounds phenomenal! (Make sure that setting is set to to on only if you have an MQA decoder; otherwise set it to off.) For the record, I would never buy another piece of Audio-gd equipment; not for lack of sound quality but for lack of quality control. My DAC was wired with reversed polarity on the unbalanced left channel. Since I can solder and have some of the best soldering stations and irons, I could easily fix it. Unfortunately I can’t because all the top chassis screws are stripped beyond the point of any screwdriver even making any screw turn. Quality control. It’s necessary. In fact, I’ve had issues with every product I ever got from them. It’s a shame really. Many of their DACs when properly matched with a great transport really shine.
Squeezebox Server, which controls my fully-modded (and now discontinued) “transporter” which is a truly amazing unit which supports up to 24/96, and can playback bit-perfect 16/44.1 files with up to -23dB attenuation, and has two gorgeous, old-style VFDs (vacuum fluorescent display). Software support and upgrades to Squeezebox Server from Logitech ended years ago. (Stable open source SS is now at v7.9.3, typically updated bi-weekly as Logitech stopped many years ago at v7.7.3; they no longer support one of the best products they ever made.) It has a force-feedback dial in the middle, though using the remote is easier. Squeezebox Server (which is controlled through a web browser) tells me all about the data. MQA comes over unpacked as a FLAC VBR at 24 bit / 96kHz, though there are a few songs I’ve come across that are only 24/48 which may not be true MQA files as advertised.
(If you have a Transporter and the special ribbon cable that connects the main board to the display/button board broke, contact me. Many years ago an idiot modder decided to glue a full-size trafo to my chassis instead of bolting it down, and it arrived back to me with a moving trafo that not only destroyed the cable but damaged one of the connectors on the display board. Fortunately, I found a company that fixed the SMD connector port for only $25. Then it took me days of research browsing online for almost every ribbon cable ever made, and I finally found the proper one, made by Molex specially for the Transporter. Problem was, they had no stock, only made to order. After a phone call, they agreed to make me about 7 samples free of charge. What nice guys and what luck!! Otherwise my streamer would have been a door stop. So for any people that have real damage and can show me photos, I can spare about three. One per person only.)
In any case, I hope this FiiO AM3D module (bizarre naming system, as the included lesser objective quality one is named AM3E) is a step up from the included amp module. However, I’ve read complaints that it can no longer be used with docks due to the bulging 4.4mm jack which you didn’t have bulging on the AM3E.
Re: AM3E — FiiO completely screwed up the design on that one (and all of them really). First off, and less important is because the short lightning straight cable is not long enough for side by side use (nor is the DD HiFi brand, which has a better build quality if I’m being honest), but the real screw up is that the L shape cables partially block the 2.5mm balanced connector due to the micro-usb port being upside down; the AM3D shouldn’t have that issue as there is only a 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced jack. I already had a female 4-pin XLR to 2.5mm balanced adapter cable (since I had my LCDi4 cable terminated with a male 4-pin XLR to connect to my B22, but had I known the included LCDi4 cable was only 4 feet in length I would have requested it be 2 to 2.5 times as long) and it was such a tight fit in the AM3E with the “L” shape connector that it was putting quite a bit of pressure on the micro-usb jack which are known to break easily, (USB-C please?) and pressure on the 2.5mm jack, that I had to purchase a female 4-pin to 4.4mm Pentaconn adapter cable, which it turns out I’ll need for the AM3D. (They were cheaper than me building my own high end ones.) Going forward, the modules should be right side up like normal. Or, they could simply reverse the “L” shape to a “_|” shape.
FiiO definitely makes nice looking and good sounding products with precise CNC machining. But why do they put the gold “Hi-Res Audio” logo in many of their pictures/renderings when there is no gold logo on the unit? (Just take a look at the AM3D module renderings vs. the actual unit pictures. Other units are dead giveaways as one rendering of the logo has rounded corners and then an other rendering of the same product has square corners.)
I really only have 4 major suggestions for FiiO that I know will help:
1). Put USB-C ports on all your products. Have a universal standard! Every company is switching to them because they are solid, durable, and reversible. No more of your special FiiO proprietary Lightning to Micro-USB cables that you don’t even sell replacements for if they break! Thank goodness for “dd HiFi”, the only company who does sell replacements, also on aliexpress. (Micro-USB is 🗑 and breaks fairly easily.)
2). Even though the RadSone ES100 mk. 1 and 2 have a 2.5mm balanced output, have much less power than the Q5s, and their buttons and jacks are plastic crap, their EarStudio app has truly amazing control of its device in every way and is just an incredible app! You need to develop one like that. You have way more money and resources than they do, so it should be a breeze for you. Sadly, your apps don’t cut it. Check out the app for iOS called EarStudio, where you get full control over the DAC filters like “sharp roll off,” over sampling options, and a nice 8 or 10-band EQ. RadSone uses AK chips as well, so there’s really no excuse. Would PCs be of any use to 99% of their owners without an OS like Windows? Do you think the average user knows how to operate DOS?
3). Also, not everyone uses a PC. You need to make your firmware updates work for both Mac and PC, and also included in the iOS app I’m hoping you’ll make. (Also, when I tried updating twice and neither time did the coax light flash, after the second update and then pulling out the USB cable and relaunching the software updater, it confirmed I had installed 0.39, whereas originally it was 0.04 or 0.0.4, I believe.) I actually thought it sounded a tiny bit better before the update, which is quite unusual for a company to make a downgrade, in your words, “enhancements to the DAC” which resulted in a decrease in SQ in my opinion. And I’m using one of the best, if not the best IEMs on the market.
4). You should attempt to make a super module like a top shelf DAC + AM3D amp + MQA decoder all in one (even if it cost $200+) that the iOS and Google Play app have full control of, especially with the DAC filters like “sharp roll off,” oversampling options, and a nice 8 or 10-band EQ.
Despite my critiques, I think the Q5s is a great device with good output power, and drives my 32 ohm LCDi4 like they need to be driven. I just think you guys at FiiO could do so much more with it with a little more effort.
Welp, that’s all folks! At least until it arrives within 8-14 days.
I am disappointed that am3e is not available for sale for the q5 too.
javre76
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Posts
- 355
- Likes
- 145
This is like opening a Pandora's Box. I respect that very much, but the fact is that FIIO software is one of the worse that I have ever tried. I really hope they are paying more attention to it now, they are an outstanding hardware manufacturer.
IPodPJ
MOT: Bellatone Audio
Caution: Incomplete customer orders
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2006
- Posts
- 7,870
- Likes
- 62
Nightmare with FiiO, where do I even begin! I don’t have time to post it all now, but I’ll say this. They give you 4 custom made screws with the Q5s and 4 with the THX module I just got but haven’t tried yet? Why? Because out of the 8 screws and the 2 in the unit, I have 3 good screws left out of 10. On the left side their screwdriver would not turn it all the way in. They say they use T5 screws, right? Even says it on the Q5s. In fact, this is the description from FiiO of the screw specs which don’t make much sense and you can’t replace them. Plus they have a face finish on them to give them a glow like on a volume knob:
“Hello, it's Screw CM2.0x4.0mm head diameter Ф4.3mm head thickness 0.8mm CD pattern plum blossom T5 slot type, stainless steel”
The only thing that is correct in that statement is that it is a T5 (I think), the head thickness is 0.8mm (I have a digital caliper that does inches or mm), and the thread portion is 4mm in length.
Now get this — I’m not even going to post the pictures of what happened to the packaging of the AM3D THX module yet, which includes a tin inside that got dented, but they shipped it 12,000 miles in a bubble mailer inside a vinyl DHL envelope, and I specifically asked for it to be in an outer carton.
Anyway, back to the screws. And I’ve been up all night trying to find these since FiiO won’t sell me any. First they tell me I’ll get a partial refund for the packaging issue (which they later retract!), but that pales in comparison to this plain and simple fact that everyone so far has overlooked. My screw hole tap was CNC machined just so tight, that’s how I discovered this problem that left me with 3 good screws out of 10. THE SCREW IS A T5 BUT THE SCREWDRIVER THEY GIVE YOU IS FOR A T4!!! It says so right on the screwdriver! “T4x25mm” (25mm refers to the length of the Torx portion).
I immediately ordered a Wiha T5x40mm PicoFinish Torx Screwdriver. Wiha is the best for any screwdriver really but especially small sizes. They are made in Germany (quality is a given), and have performed to incredible standards. The bigger, the more expensive. I have a set of 9 of their smallest flatheads and Philips which cost about $200, if I remember correctly. But they have carbon steel tips. This one only costs $8.62 from Wiha but they charge $7 for UPS Ground so it’s cheaper to get it on eBay, but beware of fakes. Visit Wiha’s site and look at how they position the words printed on it. Some on eBay look quite different so make sure yours are genuine.
So all this time everyone has been using the wrong screwdriver (smaller size) for their screws and you’re likely slowly wearing them away until they become stripped. I was finally able to remove the screw with delicate measures and other tools I have, though one of the screws wouldn’t go in and it flew out leaving some minor scuffs by the screw hole on the module (at least not the Q5s, however this is probably one of the biggest screw ups I have seen from a company that makes good hardware (lousy software and poor English translations). So now all of you know NOT TO SWITCH OUT YOUR MODULES before buying a proper T5 screwdriver, even if it’s not a Wiha.
Wait until I show you the packaging pictures later.
Oh, and putting the micro-USB port upside down is horrible! I literally couldn’t use my 4-pin female XLR to 2.5mm balanced adapter with it. Why? Because their “special” (non-replaceable, non-warranted) Lightning cable is so short I can’t put their unit side by side with my iPhone 11 Pro Max. The only choice (as FiiO doesn’t use just a 5-pin Micro-USB but a double sided 11-pin Micro-USB) is to order from DD HiFi on Aliexpress. Their cables are much nicer quality but they offer 3 cables. A 4 or is it 6) inch straight cable which includes the connectors in the length, an L connector cable of the same size (blah), or a 50 cm L connector cable. The L connectors are on both sides. So I ordered the short straight cable as a backup and the 50cm L connector cable. The 50cm length is fine. But since FiiO put the Micro-USB connector upside down, the L doesn’t cover the 3.5mm jack, noooooooo, it butts right up against the 2.5mm jack bending both of them risking damage! So I had to get a Pentaconn 4.4mm to female 4-pin XLR adapter (which uses better wire than the 2.5mm adapter) to connect to my Audeze LCDi4 and that cable it comes with that they sell for $399 on their site I had terminated with a 4-pin XLR so I could use it with my home system before I really bothered with portable stuff; too bad their cable is only 4 feet long. (My gear is still in boxes and it was much cheaper to buy the adapters than to build my own with my rather pricey parts and custom wire, and I’ve never done one for a 2.5mm or 4.4mm yet and not likely to be doing any adapters anytime soon.)
But I guess the Pentaconn adapter came in necessary anyway, seeing as the AM3D THX-78 amp module only has a Pentaconn balanced output. BUT I CAN’T USE IT YET UNTIL MY SCREWDRIVER GETS HERE IN A WEEK OR MORE BECAUSE I WOULDN’T RISK DAMAGING THE Q5s BY HAVING THE LEFT HALF OF THE MODULE’S BOARD PULL LOOSE, DAMNIT!!!
2nd edit: Just a side note referencing my previous post in this thread, they did in fact put the gold Hi-Res audio (metal?) sticker on my unit, maybe because I requested it, or maybe because I brought it to their attention and they put it on all of the units. Who knows. Blah..
3rd edit (and last): HOLY SHEETS!!! I was thinking, it can’t hurt to try again with one of the lesser stripped ones, can it? Yeah, it could, because then getting it out would involve more potential scratches/scuffs. But I went for it, and it went in with relative ease!!! I can’t believe it! Now I’ll really be pissed if it sounds like ass, or doesn’t work. Doubtful. After a while night of this I can’t believe it worked. I think I know why, too. I loosened up the OTHER screw earlier just to make sure it was lined up properly, which it was, but still.....it must’ve done sumpin’ well! Now 48 straight hours of work before I’ll have a chance to listen. (30 hours straight just the other days.) BUT DON’T IGNORE WHAT I SAID! GET THE PROPER T5 SCREWDRIVER, even if it’s a $3 one!! I was damn lucky the Q5s and the module each came with 4 extra screws. And FiiO should NEVER have used such a tiny size on a customer serviceable unit!! Hell, I spent 5 minutes figuring out that the rubber covering the circuit board needed to be removed as it looked like there were connectors next to it but that just turned out to be the end of the Pentaconn jack. They need to put instructions in these things and not assume that we’ve all swapped out FiiO amp modules! If I had inserted that with the rubber cover on, who knows what damage could occur. And have you read the warranty card? Do you know that the Q5s unit has a 1 year warranty but it’s included battery only has 6 months warranty. Who does shiz like that? And there’s no warranty on ANY of the included cables or other parts in the box like the mini-TOS optical cable adapter. I’ve given these guys so many great ideas, told them about spelling errors they’ve made and even menial shiz like their Chinese to English tagline translation on the side of their amp module box that says, “Born for Music and Happy.” No joke, it really says that. And they used the same box as their last THX run with a differentname that they actually put a sticker in the middle saying “THX Balanced type AM3D (and then in tiny letters with horrible printing registration that you can barely read) AAA-78 Module Inside” (which makes no sense the way it’s laid out visually) covering the main part of the box. Which I never got into before, but the die cutting was done so poorly, once they closed the top flap of the box, it locked in place and couldn’t be opened. After 10 minutes of trying I had to tear the box to get it open (and I taped it all up later). THEY WILL NOT send me a new box and a new tin that got dented in transit due to poor packing.
Fin
“Hello, it's Screw CM2.0x4.0mm head diameter Ф4.3mm head thickness 0.8mm CD pattern plum blossom T5 slot type, stainless steel”
The only thing that is correct in that statement is that it is a T5 (I think), the head thickness is 0.8mm (I have a digital caliper that does inches or mm), and the thread portion is 4mm in length.
Now get this — I’m not even going to post the pictures of what happened to the packaging of the AM3D THX module yet, which includes a tin inside that got dented, but they shipped it 12,000 miles in a bubble mailer inside a vinyl DHL envelope, and I specifically asked for it to be in an outer carton.
Anyway, back to the screws. And I’ve been up all night trying to find these since FiiO won’t sell me any. First they tell me I’ll get a partial refund for the packaging issue (which they later retract!), but that pales in comparison to this plain and simple fact that everyone so far has overlooked. My screw hole tap was CNC machined just so tight, that’s how I discovered this problem that left me with 3 good screws out of 10. THE SCREW IS A T5 BUT THE SCREWDRIVER THEY GIVE YOU IS FOR A T4!!! It says so right on the screwdriver! “T4x25mm” (25mm refers to the length of the Torx portion).
I immediately ordered a Wiha T5x40mm PicoFinish Torx Screwdriver. Wiha is the best for any screwdriver really but especially small sizes. They are made in Germany (quality is a given), and have performed to incredible standards. The bigger, the more expensive. I have a set of 9 of their smallest flatheads and Philips which cost about $200, if I remember correctly. But they have carbon steel tips. This one only costs $8.62 from Wiha but they charge $7 for UPS Ground so it’s cheaper to get it on eBay, but beware of fakes. Visit Wiha’s site and look at how they position the words printed on it. Some on eBay look quite different so make sure yours are genuine.
So all this time everyone has been using the wrong screwdriver (smaller size) for their screws and you’re likely slowly wearing them away until they become stripped. I was finally able to remove the screw with delicate measures and other tools I have, though one of the screws wouldn’t go in and it flew out leaving some minor scuffs by the screw hole on the module (at least not the Q5s, however this is probably one of the biggest screw ups I have seen from a company that makes good hardware (lousy software and poor English translations). So now all of you know NOT TO SWITCH OUT YOUR MODULES before buying a proper T5 screwdriver, even if it’s not a Wiha.
Wait until I show you the packaging pictures later.
Oh, and putting the micro-USB port upside down is horrible! I literally couldn’t use my 4-pin female XLR to 2.5mm balanced adapter with it. Why? Because their “special” (non-replaceable, non-warranted) Lightning cable is so short I can’t put their unit side by side with my iPhone 11 Pro Max. The only choice (as FiiO doesn’t use just a 5-pin Micro-USB but a double sided 11-pin Micro-USB) is to order from DD HiFi on Aliexpress. Their cables are much nicer quality but they offer 3 cables. A 4 or is it 6) inch straight cable which includes the connectors in the length, an L connector cable of the same size (blah), or a 50 cm L connector cable. The L connectors are on both sides. So I ordered the short straight cable as a backup and the 50cm L connector cable. The 50cm length is fine. But since FiiO put the Micro-USB connector upside down, the L doesn’t cover the 3.5mm jack, noooooooo, it butts right up against the 2.5mm jack bending both of them risking damage! So I had to get a Pentaconn 4.4mm to female 4-pin XLR adapter (which uses better wire than the 2.5mm adapter) to connect to my Audeze LCDi4 and that cable it comes with that they sell for $399 on their site I had terminated with a 4-pin XLR so I could use it with my home system before I really bothered with portable stuff; too bad their cable is only 4 feet long. (My gear is still in boxes and it was much cheaper to buy the adapters than to build my own with my rather pricey parts and custom wire, and I’ve never done one for a 2.5mm or 4.4mm yet and not likely to be doing any adapters anytime soon.)
But I guess the Pentaconn adapter came in necessary anyway, seeing as the AM3D THX-78 amp module only has a Pentaconn balanced output. BUT I CAN’T USE IT YET UNTIL MY SCREWDRIVER GETS HERE IN A WEEK OR MORE BECAUSE I WOULDN’T RISK DAMAGING THE Q5s BY HAVING THE LEFT HALF OF THE MODULE’S BOARD PULL LOOSE, DAMNIT!!!
2nd edit: Just a side note referencing my previous post in this thread, they did in fact put the gold Hi-Res audio (metal?) sticker on my unit, maybe because I requested it, or maybe because I brought it to their attention and they put it on all of the units. Who knows. Blah..
3rd edit (and last): HOLY SHEETS!!! I was thinking, it can’t hurt to try again with one of the lesser stripped ones, can it? Yeah, it could, because then getting it out would involve more potential scratches/scuffs. But I went for it, and it went in with relative ease!!! I can’t believe it! Now I’ll really be pissed if it sounds like ass, or doesn’t work. Doubtful. After a while night of this I can’t believe it worked. I think I know why, too. I loosened up the OTHER screw earlier just to make sure it was lined up properly, which it was, but still.....it must’ve done sumpin’ well! Now 48 straight hours of work before I’ll have a chance to listen. (30 hours straight just the other days.) BUT DON’T IGNORE WHAT I SAID! GET THE PROPER T5 SCREWDRIVER, even if it’s a $3 one!! I was damn lucky the Q5s and the module each came with 4 extra screws. And FiiO should NEVER have used such a tiny size on a customer serviceable unit!! Hell, I spent 5 minutes figuring out that the rubber covering the circuit board needed to be removed as it looked like there were connectors next to it but that just turned out to be the end of the Pentaconn jack. They need to put instructions in these things and not assume that we’ve all swapped out FiiO amp modules! If I had inserted that with the rubber cover on, who knows what damage could occur. And have you read the warranty card? Do you know that the Q5s unit has a 1 year warranty but it’s included battery only has 6 months warranty. Who does shiz like that? And there’s no warranty on ANY of the included cables or other parts in the box like the mini-TOS optical cable adapter. I’ve given these guys so many great ideas, told them about spelling errors they’ve made and even menial shiz like their Chinese to English tagline translation on the side of their amp module box that says, “Born for Music and Happy.” No joke, it really says that. And they used the same box as their last THX run with a differentname that they actually put a sticker in the middle saying “THX Balanced type AM3D (and then in tiny letters with horrible printing registration that you can barely read) AAA-78 Module Inside” (which makes no sense the way it’s laid out visually) covering the main part of the box. Which I never got into before, but the die cutting was done so poorly, once they closed the top flap of the box, it locked in place and couldn’t be opened. After 10 minutes of trying I had to tear the box to get it open (and I taped it all up later). THEY WILL NOT send me a new box and a new tin that got dented in transit due to poor packing.
Fin
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sidecross
100+ Head-Fier
From whom did you purchase the fiio q5s and module?
"I don't really know what difference the various filters make so, as a Leonard Cohen fan, I picked slow."
Lol. I love the sound logic.
sidecross
100+ Head-Fier
After reading the news I needed a smile.
IPodPJ
MOT: Bellatone Audio
Caution: Incomplete customer orders
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2006
- Posts
- 7,870
- Likes
- 62
Amazon for the Q5s at $299, and FiiO directly for the module as they were the only one selling it. They notified me the day it was ready and I was already the 34th order.
Check your inbox.
Last edited:
IPodPJ
MOT: Bellatone Audio
Caution: Incomplete customer orders
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2006
- Posts
- 7,870
- Likes
- 62
I really wanted my iPhone 11 Pro Max in the photo, but unfortunately I needed its camera. Even with no 2.5mm jack you can see the L shape connector still puts pressure on it.
I must say that so far, and I’ve only been listening awhile to it with my Audeze LCDi4 Planar Magnetic IEMs, this AM3D THX AAA-78 amp module sounds pretty damn good. I keep the Q5s gain on high and the extra bass switch off. Much better than the standard AM3E that comes with it, and that sounds really good, just not as good as this amp.
Very weird, in the middle of the song it just went silent for easily one full second and came back.
This really is an end-game portable set-up, especially with TIDALs “Master” albums (MQA), letting TIDAL process it, or using Neutron for DoP. The iPhone 11 Pro Max with the AppleCare+ plus Theft & Loss was over $1800 (but I’m enrolled in their yearly Apple upgrade plan so I just make monthly payments though unless the next iPhone is significantly better I might just keep this one), the Audeze LCDi4 IEMs are $2500 (best IEM with the greatest extension I’ve ever heard, throughout the entire spectrum — balanced armatures rarely go to 20kHz and those that do usually lack in other areas, and none go higher, maybe one or two might but that’s about it — these IEMs go from 5Hz - 40kHz; even though we can’t hear that high our ears do hear harmonic resonance. They include a premium quality cable with a tiny, custom lasered-logo splitter (I asked for mine to be terminated with a 4-pin XLR; they sell this cable alone for $400 terminated with a 3.5mm TRS plug, or maybe you can get it with a 2.5mm TRRS), the Q5s is $300, the AM3D AAA THX-78 Amp Module was $169, the “dd HiFi” 50cm FiiO cable was $22, and the the 4-pin XLR female to 4.4mm Pentaconn solid silver wire adapter that I just noticed even has a carbon fiber Eidolic plug, which was $40.
Very weird... listening to a Master file now which turns the light yellow. I’m in here typing and it’s yellow (24/96+), but as soon as I go into the photo app to take a picture of the yellow it stops then switches back to the cyan color of 16/44.1. If you use the Neutron player app which has lots of crazy features for songs or albums you have downloaded to your iPhone files folder, you can set it to output the music at 32/768 and also DoP which turns the light green.
If you’re on the fence about the module, don’t be. The output is very clean and greater than 500mW output at 32 ohms, which is the recommended power for the LCDi4. You can listen to them very loud with this amp. With other IEMs that have a lower impedance and greater sensitivity, there is way more power from this module than you’ll ever need!
Just don’t forget to buy a Torx T5x40mm screwdriver before swapping out your modules. I’m really upset at FiiO for not taking responsibility for the scratches to my unit due to their careless action of including a T4 screwdriver in with the Q5s! All they are sending me for compensation are 4 more screws (or I had the choice of a measly $5 refund instead). I asked them only for a replacement module chassis (a very fair request) and instructions on how to disassemble it and then put it back together in the new chassis. I didn’t ask for an entirely new replacement AM3D THX AAA-78 module, which I certainly think I would be entitled to exchange mine for.
One thing I asked of them is from now on to not be stupid while they use T5 screws (which is even printed on the Q5s right near the screw hole) and include a proper T5 screwdriver and not a T4 screwdriver like they’ve been doing. I mean, who’s dumb idea was that to save a lousy 25¢, as the bigger the Torx size the more expensive the screwdriver, but not by much and certainly not enough that they can’t afford to include a proper T5 screwdriver in the box!
BIG EDIT: YES, BE ON THE FENCE ABOUT BUYING THIS PRODUCT OR ANYTHING RELATED TO THIS PRODUCT. And I'm not referring to my Audeze LCDi4 IEMs shown connected to the FiiO unit, or any other Audeze headphone for that matter - I've never had a single issue with any one of my, seven I think, Audeze headphones. Maybe that's because they're made in the USA, and they have a brilliant CEO in Sankar and an extremely talented planar driver designer. (See next post)
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