[Vergil]

AptX-HD required Bluetooth 5.0....Right ?

As I find the Oneplus 5 phone offers the same.

LG G5 has Aptx-HD and it's a BT4.2 phone.

That is the Q5 sound quality will be X series flagship product level.

Awesome. Originally wanted to buy the X7II, but didn't want to deal with that entry level android experience from 2014.

 

[demond]

In fact, Android 7.0 firmware or later all can support APTX-HD, but some mobile phone factory has not yet purchased Qualcomm authorization, so there is no open this feature.

 

[TheEldestBoy]

@demond
Do you think we might not see it until 2018 now?

I agree that you should take the time to get it right.

I currently use the original Fiio Q1 with my HD 600's, and I'm waiting patiently to upgrade to the Q5. I've considered other options in the meantime (Oppo HA-2, Mojo, iFi Black Label) but I'm holding out for the Q5.

We've waited this long , so waiting a bit longer to get it right is okay with me.

 

[duyu]

Delay for Aptx-hd is worthwile. This can make Q5 more versatile.

 

[Vergil]

Delay for Aptx-hd is worthwile. This can make Q5 more versatile.

+1

I don't even know how I'm supposed to use the device in wired mode. I won't put a metal box next to my smartphone, so how do I connect them if they are not in the same pocket? BT is much more practical. I can place the DAC in a backpack, shoulder bag, armband or wherever I want, forget it exists and control everything on my smartphone that has no cables attached to it.

I use an X5II + A5 stack daily and it works quite well, however stacking and "de-stacking" the Q5 with a smartphone every time you want to listen to music seems like a nightmare. BT is the way to go.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Yes Bluetooth is the way to go, but personally I will be surprised if the difference between Apt x HD and Apt x can be heard. In a proper blind listening experiment I conducted with 7 young head-fi members, controlled everything well, each user did multiple trials not one could do better than 50% detecting a 320mp3 as compared with the lossless master it was made from. Given that, and this is actually the normal result when you read about properly done listening tests, not those invalid sighted tests when people known what they are listening to, it makes me wonder if the measureable differences will be audible?

 

[Vergil]

Yes Bluetooth is the way to go, but personally I will be surprised if the difference between Apt x HD and Apt x can be heard. In a proper blind listening experiment I conducted with 7 young head-fi members, controlled everything well, each user did multiple trials not one could do better than 50% detecting a 320mp3 as compared with the lossless master it was made from. Given that, and this is actually the normal result when you read about properly done listening tests, not those invalid sighted tests when people known what they are listening to, it makes me wonder if the measurable differences will be audible?

Never used aptX before so dunno how it sounds. As long as it's wireless, reliable, easy to use and offers the same sound quality as wired solutions it's fine. In other words I'm not saying aptx HD is a must, but I do say BT should be the main focus (for input), not just an afterthought.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Never used aptX before so dunno how it sounds. As long as it's wireless, reliable, easy to use and offers the same sound quality as wired solutions it's fine. In other words I'm not saying aptx HD is a must, but I do say BT should be the main focus (for input), not just an afterthought.

Apt x sounds excellent, likely transparent to the user, and I agree, wireless is for sure the way to go and deserves to be treated as more than an afterthought. I have the iFi iOne DAC with Bluetooth and the BT implementation is quite good so I expect that FiiO will do just as good a job.

 

[IneffableMusic]

Could I use a microsd card through usb or other external storage at the same time as using the q5, such as with a usb cable with a splitter, or something of the like? Could I charge the phone at the same time as using the q5, and lastly, can I charge the phone with the q5, or even charge the q5 while using it with a phone? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Vergil]

Could I use a microsd card through usb or other external storage at the same time as using the q5, such as with a usb cable with a splitter, or something of the like? Could I charge the phone at the same time as using the q5, and lastly, can I charge the phone with the q5, or even charge the q5 while using it with a phone? Sorry for all the questions.

You connect via USB or BT, what your player can or cannot do while being connected to the Q5 is up to the player.

On most Android smartphones you can connect via BT and use the smartphone's usb port for charging or external storage. Generally speaking if you can play the song on the Smartphone's speakers you can also transfer it to the Q5 as long as either BT or USB is free (not used by other devices).

 

[AzureSerenity]

Personally I would hope it will also support LDAC, which allows for 990kbps connection but I guess sony is not opening that standard up yet

 

[Jerda]

Hi Desmond, very interested in Q5, can I ask if it will play MQA natively?
I don't have any cd or High fidelity music so I usually listen music from Tidal so MQA would be a big plus in the choice of a new amp/dac

 

[IneffableMusic]

Hi Desmond, very interested in Q5, can I ask if it will play MQA natively?
I don't have any cd or High fidelity music so I usually listen music from Tidal so MQA would be a big plus in the choice of a new amp/dac

I think he said earlier that it doesn't support it, which would mean if it doesn't it will play MQA up to 96khz through the software decoding for example on tidal. When the hardware you have also has hardware decoding of MQA it will fully unfold the MQA file into 192khz if it is a 192khz file. I would love if they added MQA support though even if it made things take even longer.

 

[TheEldestBoy]

I'm looking for a portable dac/amp to drive my HD 600's (and eventually the HD 650's and HD 800S, when I obtain them) from my iPhone.

I need a bass boost option (which the Oppo HA-2, the iFi Black Label, and the Fiio Q5 all have).

I want a sound signature that is neutral-to-warm (which rules-out the analytic sound of the Oppo HA-2).

I'm liking the form factor of the Fiio Q5 better than the iFi Black Label.
I'm liking that the Fiio Q5 will be more affordable than the iFi Black Label.
Frankly, I don't need the crazy amount of power that the iFi Black Label provides (I listen at relatively low volumes). Just as long as the Fiio Q5 provides enough power to property drive the headphones I mentioned above.
I'm hopping that the sound signature of the Fiio Q5 is warmer than the IfI Black Label (I prefer a warmer sound signature, as I'm sensitive to higher frequencies).

We'll see (hopefully don't have to wait until 2018)...

 

[Sonic Defender]

I'm looking for a portable dac/amp to drive my HD 600's (and eventually the HD 650's and HD 800S, when I obtain them) from my iPhone.

I need a bass boost option (which the Oppo HA-2, the iFi Black Label, and the Fiio Q5 all have).

I want a sound signature that is neutral-to-warm (which rules-out the analytic sound of the Oppo HA-2).

I'm liking the form factor of the Fiio Q5 better than the iFi Black Label.
I'm liking that the Fiio Q5 will be more affordable than the iFi Black Label.
Frankly, I don't need the crazy amount of power that the iFi Black Label provides (I listen at relatively low volumes). Just as long as the Fiio Q5 provides enough power to property drive the headphones I mentioned above.
I'm hopping that the sound signature of the Fiio Q5 is warmer than the IfI Black Label (I prefer a warmer sound signature, as I'm sensitive to higher frequencies).

We'll see (hopefully don't have to wait until 2018)...

I'll be shocked if this is out before 2018. Hopefully I'm wrong. I really wanted this device, but gave up waiting. I understand that for FiiO the big market is in DAPs so you can bet the lions share of their development efforts are going into DAPs.