The Fiio A5 thread: an upgrade of E12A, MUSES02+LME49600, 800mW, 19Vp-p, 12 hours

[FiiO]

 
most of the a5 i saw have poorly aligned stickers

Dear audio123
It seems to be some offset with the his-res sticker issue of this batch according to the feedback for your guys. Thank you for your kind feedback to us. We get to know this problem and will pay more attentions in later products. Sorry if bringing inconvenience to you. 
Best regards 

 

[Lohb]

Oh no, oh no, the sticker is not aligned.

Peel it off and flick it in the bin. End of.
Jeeeez....

 

[ceemsc]

Oh no, oh no, the sticker is not aligned.
Peel it off and flick it in the bin. End of.
Jeeeez....

Coffee stains on the seat-tray table is no safe assurance that the necessary due care & maintenance is being performed on the engines and/or airframe...

iBasso does the same thing; focuses on the headline product but provides a cheap peripheral/interconnect that lets down the whole package/customer experience.

 

[Dobrescu George]

It's just a sticker and some of us actually peel it off anyways, like most laptop stickers 

 

[audio123]

this little thing shows the level of QC for Fiio.
you won't see such thing for Astell & Kern.

 

[Erik_C]

this little thing shows the level of QC for Fiio.


you won't see such thing for Astell & Kern.

 


Let's get back to discussing the sound of the A5. Too dark or not? Compressed sound stage or not? I vote yes to both of those questions. Interestingly, instead of addressing my comments, FiiO chose to respond to a complaint about offset stickers, which was posted after my post detailing the fatal flaws I believe are inherent in the A5.

 

[ceemsc]

Too dark or not? Compressed sound stage or not? I vote yes to both of those questions.


Hmm.. I was hoping the MUSES02 OPAMP chip would fix that problem compared to the E12. I guess that chip's strength is detail retrieval not soundstage width & layering.
My DAP uses the RockBox custom stereo width, Haas effect & PEQ to counteract any narrow soundstage or high treble roll-off. I lose this when I hook my rig upto the PC/TV for games & movies.

Maybe the FiiO reps in this forum are Sales & PR as opposed to the engineers & audio enthusiasts...

 

[RedJohn456]

 
I am literally trying not to lose my **** at how fricking good this combo sounds! Je***!
 
xDuoo X10 => FiiO A5 => Sennheiser HD600 +  Venture Electronics HD600 cable (balanced cable with single ended adapter - cable is pretty good too).

 

[snellemin]

  this little thing shows the level of QC for Fiio.
you won't see such thing for Astell & Kern.

I'll align your sticker for $200,-, courtesy of Astell & Kern.

 

[snellemin]

Hmm.. I was hoping the MUSES02 OPAMP chip would fix that problem compared to the E12. I guess that chip's strength is detail retrieval not soundstage width & layering.
My DAP uses the RockBox custom stereo width, Haas effect & PEQ to counteract any narrow soundstage or high treble roll-off. I lose this when I hook my rig upto the PC/TV for games & movies.

Maybe the FiiO reps in this forum are Sales & PR as opposed to the engineers & audio enthusiasts...

For your PC, install some VST's and for your TV it's time to get some sound processing hardware.  You have to pay to play with this quest for audio heaven.

 

[audio123]

 

  this little thing shows the level of QC for Fiio.
  you won't see such thing for Astell & Kern.

 


Let's get back to discussing the sound of the A5. Too dark or not? Compressed sound stage or not? I vote yes to both of those questions. Interestingly, instead of addressing my comments, FiiO chose to respond to a complaint about offset stickers, which was posted after my post detailing the fatal flaws I believe are inherent in the A5.

it sounds slick in the upper register. decent width of soundstage.
what is your source and interconnect used?

 

[RedJohn456]

 

  this little thing shows the level of QC for Fiio.
  you won't see such thing for Astell & Kern.

 


Let's get back to discussing the sound of the A5. Too dark or not? Compressed sound stage or not? I vote yes to both of those questions. Interestingly, instead of addressing my comments, FiiO chose to respond to a complaint about offset stickers, which was posted after my post detailing the fatal flaws I believe are inherent in the A5.

 
I would beg to differ, with respect to A5 sounding too dark and compressed. In fact, I find that when used with my various sources it tends to widen the soundstage and invaraibly sounds more transparent than the built in amplifiers in my gears. When paired with my best sources it sounds immense.
 
The A5 is not "bright", but that should not be conflated with being dark in my opinion. It is neutral and transparent, with perhaps a smidge of airyness up top. Too many gears add a certain flavor, for example treble forwardness and make claims of being more detailed. Frankly, FiiO tuned the A5 right. It adds NO flavor of its own, but rather let the DAC speak for itself.
 
Also, you will notice that most manufacturers (teh ones that know better) do not directly enter debates about sound qualities unless it pertains to a defect or an issue that they can help with. Cheers.

 

[Erik_C]

 
I would beg to differ, with respect to A5 sounding too dark and compressed. In fact, I find that when used with my various sources it tends to widen the soundstage and invaraibly sounds more transparent than the built in amplifiers in my gears. When paired with my best sources it sounds immense.
 
The A5 is not "bright", but that should not be conflated with being dark in my opinion. It is neutral and transparent, with perhaps a smidge of airyness up top. Too many gears add a certain flavor, for example treble forwardness and make claims of being more detailed. Frankly, FiiO tuned the A5 right. It adds NO flavor of its own, but rather let the DAC speak for itself.
 
Also, you will notice that most manufacturers (teh ones that know better) do not directly enter debates about sound qualities unless it pertains to a defect or an issue that they can help with. Cheers.

 


Fair enough, we can disagree on subjective sound. What sounds bright to one person will sound dark or neutral to someone else. I'm going to exaggerate here for effect, but the A5 was rolled off enough that some voices sounded, to me, more like AM radio than hi fi. It wasn't even close.
Glad you like yours.

 

[Erik_C]

it sounds slick in the upper register. decent width of soundstage.
what is your source and interconnect used?

 


Rockboxed iRiver, line out via Cardas cable direct to the A5, then onto Ety ER4Ss. It ain't my gear, or my ears that are the weak link.

 

[Dobrescu George]

   
I would beg to differ, with respect to A5 sounding too dark and compressed. In fact, I find that when used with my various sources it tends to widen the soundstage and invaraibly sounds more transparent than the built in amplifiers in my gears. When paired with my best sources it sounds immense.
 
The A5 is not "bright", but that should not be conflated with being dark in my opinion. It is neutral and transparent, with perhaps a smidge of airyness up top. Too many gears add a certain flavor, for example treble forwardness and make claims of being more detailed. Frankly, FiiO tuned the A5 right. It adds NO flavor of its own, but rather let the DAC speak for itself.
 
Also, you will notice that most manufacturers (teh ones that know better) do not directly enter debates about sound qualities unless it pertains to a defect or an issue that they can help with. Cheers.

 
This confirms to how E12A felt with X5 for me 

 
For some people, a bright signature feels like it has more soundstage and it's clearer with a more hifi sound. 
 
There are many reasons why this happens, and it heavily depends on prefered signature and headphones / IEMs used.