[pstickne]

L R R L & increased sound quality! Balanced also gives you more wattage!

Might want to lookup some headphone amp power wattages before assuming such claim makes for a useful argument.

The SE Schiit Valhalla 2 has 800mW (300 ohms). The ES100 SE output has 129mW (300 ohms). The FiiO AM5A has 150mW max, for both SE and balanced..

So does “more wattage” even matter? If so, in which context?

See: implementation.

 

[abitdeef]

I will concede the 4.4 (not 2.5! ) jack robustness.

For others: technical imagery that doesn’t transfer to blind ABX; implementation matters, regardless of SE/balanced output and cabling.

Yes and they implemented things well, especially with the am3d. It sounds awesome, that's all that matters right?

I've tried other amps in this price range and the q5s delivers for me. I don't care that they went the balanced route since I've had cables for quite a while.

The bluetooth implementation is even better than the ifi xdsd. Granted I've only had that and a topping n4x dsd and I liked the sound of the xdsd better. But this with the thx module is a step up.

Don't care about balanced or not.

 

[pstickne]

Yes and they implemented things well, especially with the am3d. It sounds awesome, that's all that matters right?

I've tried other amps in this price range and the q5s delivers for me. I don't care that they went the balanced route since I've had cables for quite a while.

The bluetooth implementation is even better than the ifi xdsd. Granted I've only had that and a topping n4x dsd and I liked the sound of the xdsd better. But this with the thx module is a step up.

Don't care about balanced or not.

Yup! Pleasing sound is pleasing!

I’m not trying to take away from the Q5/s by any means. While there are certain improvements I wish for, it’s my daily driver.

 

[abitdeef]

Yup! Pleasing sound is pleasing!

I’m not trying to take away from the Q5/s by any means. While there are certain improvements I wish for, it’s my daily driver.

Well balanced out and 4.4 seems to be where everything's going these days.

 

[tolis626]

Going balanced has some pretty well documented benefits (ie lower crosstalk, higher SNR, sometimes added power without compromising distortion due to sharing the load between 2 amp circuits) and drawbacks (higher cost, complexity, output impedance). It's not a question of whether it's better or worse. It's a different approach towards the same goal. As @pstickne said above, it's all a matter of implementation. If the Q5s balanced sounds better than, let's say, the iDSD Nano, then it sounds better. Truth is, the Q5s is designed to only have its full potential realized out of the balanced jack. There probably were some decisions made towards that end. Perhaps going balanced enabled them to have better sound quality for a given price/power consumption/physical footprint. Maybe they were able to get more power out of it on the same size. Or maybe they just hopped on the hype train. Doesn't matter on my book as long as the end result is worth it.

Plus, yes, 4.4mm is the sweet spot of everything. Not as fragile as 2.5mm or 3.5mm, not as cumbersome as 6.35mm, can have a mic input (never seen it used that way, though), it's not a proprietary stupid connector... It just works. I mean, balanced is cool and all, but every time I see XLR cables I want to gouge my eyes out. It's like I'm watching 70's Sci-Fi movies.

 

[maxngck]

Bass boost circuits have capacitors, give the bass boost a couple of hours of use and see if the sound improves. If not, then perhaps the bass boost circuit isn't very good, or your headphone just doesn't gel with it.

Hi

I am not a bass head but more towards a vocal person. With 4.4mm balanced output, bass definitely is sufficient for me on my FA7. I find the bass definately flat or almost non exist when i tested my friend Tin Hifi P1 with 3.5mm. Even with this bass boost it did not help at all.

Ya, perhaps my Q5S still need some time to run in n this bass boost mayb just need more time to get mature

 

[maxngck]

This is the one I have - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33005699649.html - enjoy your Q5s when it lands.

I hv been searching high n low for a nice casing. Bust sadly, i suppose this is the only 1 available currently

 

[Mad Max]

Yes the changes are small, and unless you had a slew of caps in the path I don't see how you'd perceive any sonic differences.

But it's possible I guess. More likely the burn in is your brain adjusting the the sound signature...

"Brain burn-in" couldn't be easier to mitigate in all cases that burn-in is mentioned. I this case, just don't listen to it while leaving it on with bass boost on as well for two hours. Besides "psychological tricks" don't work forever, experience is another "mitigator". I've read people say stuff like, "all the detail you hear is in treble boost"; but again, a little experience with a diversity of equipment and playing around with EQ breaks such illusions easily.

If you really want to hear the difference (often small anyway) from a more "objective second opinion", grab a new amp, immediately record the output with a Komplete Audio 6 and some music and bass boost off, then burn in the bass boost, then rerecord the same music with bass boost on, then you'll have a very reliable second opinion.
Simple as that. ADCs can hear most of what we ourselves can, in my experience, even stuff you wouldn't expect them to.

Bass boost is not only dependent on the design, but also the headphones. All of my low-impedance full-sized and on-ear headphones (bunch of sennheisers, Koss, Beyerdynamics, AKGs, and a Grado) respond well to the bass boost in my FiiO E18, xDuoo XD-05, and a FiiO E17k I sold off. Modest bass boost without compromise. Too bad that I don't have a Q5(s) myself to check how good (or not) its bass boost sounds. It seems that other FiiO products got worthwhile EQ effects, especially the E17k.

 

[abitdeef]

"Brain burn-in" couldn't be easier to mitigate in all cases that burn-in is mentioned. I this case, just don't listen to it while leaving it on with bass boost on as well for two hours. Besides "psychological tricks" don't work forever, experience is another "mitigator". I've read people say stuff like, "all the detail you hear is in treble boost"; but again, a little experience with a diversity of equipment and playing around with EQ breaks such illusions easily.

If you really want to hear the difference (often small anyway) from a more "objective second opinion", grab a new amp, immediately record the output with a Komplete Audio 6 and some music and bass boost off, then burn in the bass boost, then rerecord the same music with bass boost on, then you'll have a very reliable second opinion.
Simple as that. ADCs can hear most of what we ourselves can, in my experience, even stuff you wouldn't expect them to.

Bass boost is not only dependent on the design, but also the headphones. All of my low-impedance full-sized and on-ear headphones (bunch of sennheisers, Koss, Beyerdynamics, AKGs, and a Grado) respond well to the bass boost in my FiiO E18, xDuoo XD-05, and a FiiO E17k I sold off. Modest bass boost without compromise. Too bad that I don't have a Q5(s) myself to check how good (or not) its bass boost sounds. It seems that other FiiO products got worthwhile EQ effects, especially the E17k.

Was just talking about the tiny electrical differences in capacitors over time. I would think the bass boost is working in a certain frequency and with a specified power.

I don't know how that would change with the minuscule fluctuation in capacitance the simple circuit would be exposed to over time.

 

[maxngck]

Going balanced has some pretty well documented benefits (ie lower crosstalk, higher SNR, sometimes added power without compromising distortion due to sharing the load between 2 amp circuits) and drawbacks (higher cost, complexity, output impedance). It's not a question of whether it's better or worse. It's a different approach towards the same goal. As @pstickne said above, it's all a matter of implementation. If the Q5s balanced sounds better than, let's say, the iDSD Nano, then it sounds better. Truth is, the Q5s is designed to only have its full potential realized out of the balanced jack. There probably were some decisions made towards that end. Perhaps going balanced enabled them to have better sound quality for a given price/power consumption/physical footprint. Maybe they were able to get more power out of it on the same size. Or maybe they just hopped on the hype train. Doesn't matter on my book as long as the end result is worth it.

Plus, yes, 4.4mm is the sweet spot of everything. Not as fragile as 2.5mm or 3.5mm, not as cumbersome as 6.35mm, can have a mic input (never seen it used that way, though), it's not a proprietary stupid connector... It just works. I mean, balanced is cool and all, but every time I see XLR cables I want to gouge my eyes out. It's like I'm watching 70's Sci-Fi movies.

Yes, i agreed full heartedly on the 4.4mm balanced output to bring out the full potential of Q5s. When switch over from 3.5mm to 4.4mm i find the music is much livelier and juicier. Bass is much tigher n fuller. The output power helps alot on 4.4 output. But this comparison is based on stock FA7 vs pure silver LC-4.4D which may not be a gd comparison. Perhaps i shld borrow my friend's LC-3.5D to do the comparison.

 

[MarkF786]

Has anyone been able to adjust the Q5S settings with the FiiO IOS app? I've tried various things, but end up with the same results that when I connect to the Q5S in the BT Control option in the app, the settings briefly appear then disappear.

It works fine with my older Q5. Maybe there's an updated version of the app that hasn't made it to the US yet? The version is 1.4 on my phone.

 

[abitdeef]

Hi

I am not a bass head but more towards a vocal person. With 4.4mm balanced output, bass definitely is sufficient for me on my FA7. I find the bass definately flat or almost non exist when i tested my friend Tin Hifi P1 with 3.5mm. Even with this bass boost it did not help at all.

Ya, perhaps my Q5S still need some time to run in n this bass boost mayb just need more time to get mature

The p1 needs quite a bit of power for it to shine. Try the balanced out with the bass boost.

It's kind of light in the sub bass region.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I am curious about this comment, what will change about capacitor over a "break in" period of time?

I also find the mids veiled or muddy when using the bass boost on the Q5s.

Anytime you boost a frequency or frequencies you are going to cause a veil of frequencies that are close to the boosted frequencies to one extent or another. That is normal.

 

[Cevisi]

There should be no difference between 4.4 and 2.5 ? Or is that wrong

 

[abitdeef]

There should be no difference between 4.4 and 2.5 ? Or is that wrong

Nope, they're off the same exact circuit. Just one is sturdier.