[Vividcard]

Finally got my hands on a USB OTG cable. Zenfone 2 pairs well on stock rom. Using Blissmod, all audio goes through it, including spotify. Sounds fantastic. Sadly, My Lumia 1520 does not work. Despite being on Windows 10 Mobile, the new OTG support (including audio) will only work on new hardware with Win10mo. Looks like its time to drop some money on the 950 or 950XL.

 

[yoyorast10]

  Finally got my hands on a USB OTG cable. Zenfone 2 pairs well on stock rom. Using Blissmod, all audio goes through it, including spotify. Sounds fantastic. Sadly, My Lumia 1520 does not work. Despite being on Windows 10 Mobile, the new OTG support (including audio) will only work on new hardware with Win10mo. Looks like its time to drop some money on the 950 or 950XL.

 
"Finally got my hands on a USB OTG cable"
 
how do you go about getting one? do you have any amazon link or whatever that has international shipping? (to europe).
 
I've been looking for one but I'm really strugging..

 

[Vividcard]

   
"Finally got my hands on a USB OTG cable"
 
how do you go about getting one? do you have any amazon link or whatever that has international shipping? (to europe).
 
I've been looking for one but I'm really strugging..

This is what I have personally, was surprised I could find in on the Europe side of Amazon:
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TECHGEAR%C2%AE-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy-Female/dp/B00G1KQE76/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1450467658&sr=8-13&keywords=usb+OTG

 

[yoyorast10]

Does anyone know how this sounds compared to a x3ii or e17k?

 

[pauliunas]

I think I have a decent idea of what kind of improvements to expect after unplugging my Superlux EVOs from my iphone and into my garage Yamaha receiver. Line out+DAC+amp=joy. It was subtle, but if you pay attention the lows have much more punch and rumble, not that I'm a bass head. This was with FLAC jazz, lol. Any jazz fans check out www.europaradiojazz.org for 1MBs streaming of FLAC vinyl rips.  

 


You do know that DAC doesn't work without digital input, right? And I hope you do know that line out is an analog input... If you want to use its DAC part, there's no difference what you connect itto. As long as you do it through USB.

 

[pauliunas]

This is what I have personally, was surprised I could find in on the Europe side of Amazon:
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TECHGEAR%C2%AE-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy-Female/dp/B00G1KQE76/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1450467658&sr=8-13&keywords=usb+OTG

 

USB OTG cables are so common that I wouldn't be surprised to find one at Walmart, Carrefour or any equivalent of that

 

[Fazzer]

Guys should I buy this or the ek11k? I will also be buying a ath m50x, will they be compatible?

 

[trivium911]

  So I just stacked my X1 and my Q1 together, MUCH fuller sound across the board. But I'm noticing only marginal increases with bass boost. Can other owners post their impressions for the bass boost? I'm not looking to blow my ears out. But on 3 different headphones the Bass boost is hardly noticeable regardless of settings (Gain hi/low, ect). All else said and done, this is probably one of the best 70 bucks spent in audio equipment for me.

Yup pretty much the same thing over here, the bass boost is only marginal and seems to add more a full sound with my 598's rather than a big boost in bass. With my Pro 90's though it adds a decent amount of bass...but like I said it's more of a full sound as apposed to a heavy sub bass boost. Not a huge deal for me though since im not a bass head.

 

[Artifex]

Hi everyone,
 
First of all, I'm Belgian and I speak French ; I'm sorry if I make some mistakes in my message.
 
I own two devices : a smartphone, the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, and a tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8". Both run Android and support OTG.
 
I'm very interested in the Fiio Q1 because my devices have a weak audio output ; the sound isn't amazing and I would like to enjoy my headphones (Bowers & Wilkins P7) on these.
 
I read nearly all the thread and I'm still muddled :
 
- Does the Fiio Q1 require an OTG cable to work ?
- Does it work with Spotify ? In fact, I'm a premium subscriber and I don't want to use a "local" music player (and download songs).
- My biggest fears : does it work with a video player (like VLC, Archos Video Player, ...) ? I would like to have a great audio quality while I'm watching some 1080p movies on my tablet.
 
Regards,
 
Tom

 

[pauliunas]

  Hi everyone,
 
First of all, I'm Belgian and I speak French ; I'm sorry if I make some mistakes in my message.
 
I own two devices : a smartphone, the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, and a tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8". Both run Android and support OTG.
 
I'm very interested in the Fiio Q1 because my devices have a weak audio output ; the sound isn't amazing and I would like to enjoy my headphones (Bowers & Wilkins P7) on these.
 
I read nearly all the thread and I'm still muddled :
 
- Does the Fiio Q1 require an OTG cable to work ?
- Does it work with Spotify ? In fact, I'm a premium subscriber and I don't want to use a "local" music player (and download songs).
- My biggest fears : does it work with a video player (like VLC, Archos Video Player, ...) ? I would like to have a great audio quality while I'm watching some 1080p movies on my tablet.
 
Regards,
 
Tom

hi,
don't worry about your mistakes. Many of us are not native English speakers
Now about your question:
It requires some kind of connection between the phone and Q1. That might be USB OTG adapter or a microUSB to microUSB wire. Alternatively, you can just use it in amp mode and use the included 3.5mm cable.
It works with all Android devices and all with all apps. A better question is, does it work in DAC mode? Well, it's hard to say. It does with most Android 5 phones, but some don't support USB DACs. If yours supports it, you will have no problems, all the apps will work. Otherwise, you will have to either download a dedicated DAC music player and play your music from it, or just use it in amp mode. In amp mode, maybe you won't see such a big quality improvement, but it's indeed enough for a phone.
So short version, it will work with everything. But if you want to use the DAC part of it, it's kind of a lottery.

 

[Artifex]

Thanks for your answer !
 
I'm a beginner in the hi-fi world and you learn me something about the DAC and amp mode !
 
So, if I understand correctly, I can use the Q1 to watch a movie e.g., but in amp mode if my device doesn't support the DAC mode.
 
What about the quality then, will I hear a benefit compared to the sound without the Q1 ? Will the volume be louder ?
 
In a nutshell : is it interesting to buy the Q1 if the DAC mode doesn't work or do cheaper alternatives exist ?
 
Regards,
 
Tom

 

[pauliunas]

  Thanks for your answer !
 
I'm a beginner in the hi-fi world and you learn me something about the DAC and amp mode !
 
So, if I understand correctly, I can use the Q1 to watch a movie e.g., but in amp mode if my device doesn't support the DAC mode.
 
What about the quality then, will I hear a benefit compared to the sound without the Q1 ? Will the volume be louder ?
 
In a nutshell : is it interesting to buy the Q1 if the DAC mode doesn't work or do cheaper alternatives exist ?
 
Regards,
 
Tom

Well, DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter. That means that it converts those digits (0 and 1) in your phone to actual sound waves. A perfect DAC will reproduce audio completely identical to the one that was recorded.
An amp then amplifies the sound - makes it louder and adds some colors... The Q1 amp is slightly warm so it will make the sound a little bit warmer.
So, in your case, you basically need an amp. A DAC will not add as much in quality and it doesn't affect the volume at all.
You might also want to look at cheaper amp alternatives such as FiiO E6, although I don't know much about how it compares to Q1.
On the other hand, a DAC might help removing background noise and distortion... But if you only hear these things at max volume, an amp is probably enough.

 

[Artifex]

Thanks, you have helped me a lot !
 
So, I need an amp for my portable devices because the quality is already good but the volume isn't loud enough.
 
But, I have recently installed a TV in my bedroom. Could it be possible to connect my headphones to the Q1 and the Q1 to the TV ? Like so, the sound quality from the TV will be better.
 
Furthermore, I intend to buy a MacBook Pro in July 2016. If I'm on holiday and I want to watch a movie, will the Q1 improve the sound quality of the Macbook ?
 
It doesn't bother me to spend another 50$ (compared to the price tag of the E6) for the Q1 if it matches my expectations.
 
Regards,
 
Tom

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Thanks for your answer !

I'm a beginner in the hi-fi world and you learn me something about the DAC and amp mode !

So, if I understand correctly, I can use the Q1 to watch a movie e.g., but in amp mode if my device doesn't support the DAC mode.

What about the quality then, will I hear a benefit compared to the sound without the Q1 ? Will the volume be louder ?

In a nutshell : is it interesting to buy the Q1 if the DAC mode doesn't work or do cheaper alternatives exist ?

Regards,

Tom

Chances are, the DAC mode will work with at least some of the devices you mentioned, and you can just use the amp section for those that don't. That's still a good value proposition for the Q1 if you ask me

 

[nk126]

Thanks for your answer !

I'm a beginner in the hi-fi world and you learn me something about the DAC and amp mode !

So, if I understand correctly, I can use the Q1 to watch a movie e.g., but in amp mode if my device doesn't support the DAC mode.

What about the quality then, will I hear a benefit compared to the sound without the Q1 ? Will the volume be louder ?

In a nutshell : is it interesting to buy the Q1 if the DAC mode doesn't work or do cheaper alternatives exist ?

Regards,

Tom

I just ordered an OTG adapter to try my Q1 with an android tablet. Will take a week or two to get here, but I'll post once I have the results. Like you, the majority of my listening is via Spotify 320k streaming.

Q1 works great in amp only mode with my iPhone. iPhone 6 has a very good (for a phone) dac/amp, so ymmv in amp only mode depending on what android device you're using. HTC One M8, for instance, has one of the best dac/amp outputs of any mobile device. Many cheap Android devices sound awful. OTG compatibility would allow the Q1 to handle the audio output - bypassing any cheap components in the phone/tablet. So my fingers are crossed I can wind up with a nice bedside listening setup for pretty low $$$.

Btw, I bet q1 sounds good with your p7. Just a little warmth and depth to make the p7 sound fuller without much coloring.