Fosi Q5 or Fosi K5 PRO?

[Slazyel]

Hi guys,

I'm in search for a budget amp/dac desktop combo and i have find those 2. They are both at the same price right now on the Aliexpress 11/11 sale. There's also the Fiio K5 PRO at a great sale but it's still almost double the price.

Between the Fosi Q5 and the Fosi K5 PRO, which one would be a better buy?

 

[Slazyel]

I know it's not the same but i am able to get a Hiby FC4 for almost the same price too. Would it be of better quality or should i stick with the desk combo? Currently i have a HD 560S but maybe i will upgrade in the future.

 

[BadMusicVideos]

You are really going budget here, for what it's worth I have a FX-Audio DAC-X6 which is essentially an older version of the Q5. Pretty similarly specced out. The headphone out is not very good on it compared to my Magni+ used as an amp instead.

I would say go for the Fiio K5 Pro if you can afford it, Fiio is a pretty well known brand for the dac/amps and Fosi is not well known for their DACs or headphone products but mostly for their amazing desktop speaker amps.

You get what you pay for, I don't know if you will be happy with the Fosi used by itself. If you're using aliexpress there's a number of Chinese products on there that have gotten good reviews even over American brands, you can take advantage of it assuming you live in Asia or something.

 

[GREQ]

It depends what you need it for.

The Fosi K5 is not a neutral amp when the tone controls are in the 'zero' position. (see my review on head-fi for more info)
But it's one of the cheapest, if not THE cheapest DAC/amp WITH tone controls which puts it in a very unique position.

I prefer the sound of the Fosi K5 with some of my headphones and messing around with tone controls, over my NFB11.28TXCO with software EQ (EQ APO + Peace).
It feels like software EQ does some weird 'compression' to the sound and dynamics, while simple tone controls leave more of the sound 'unspoiled'.
Of course YMMV, some people love software EQ too, but for beginners, the K5 is more user-friendly and accesible.

 

[Slazyel]

It depends what you need it for.

The Fosi K5 is not a neutral amp when the tone controls are in the 'zero' position. (see my review on head-fi for more info)
But it's one of the cheapest, if not THE cheapest DAC/amp WITH tone controls which puts it in a very unique position.

I prefer the sound of the Fosi K5 with some of my headphones and messing around with tone controls, over my NFB11.28TXCO with software EQ (EQ APO + Peace).
It feels like software EQ does some weird 'compression' to the sound and dynamics, while simple tone controls leave more of the sound 'unspoiled'.
Of course YMMV, some people love software EQ too, but for beginners, the K5 is more user-friendly and accesible.

Thank you! Nice review you got there! Would you recomend it over the other options and price tags?

 

[GREQ]

Thank you! Nice review you got there! Would you recomend it over the other options and price tags?

I can't recommend it over the other ones, since I've never heard/owned the other ones ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Slazyel]

I can't recommend it over the other ones, since I've never heard/owned the other ones ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

oh, i see. Some people say that the Q5 is better, but the K5 looks enough for me and has more things in it. I think if i upgrade to a Sundara in the future it may be enough.