[nuggetbro]

Sorry yeah, that makes more sense

 

[caprimulgus]

Only downside of the BTR5 for me is that the size is significantly bigger than the BTR3/UP2. (But I guess that's the price of putting in the balanced output, etc!)

Anyways, looks good, can't wait!

 

[Ocelitgol]

Looks like my ES100 can finally retire to the car audio system

 

[Cevisi]

Looks like my ES100 can finally retire to the car audio system

it is godlike for the car i love. i get q5s tomorrow then my es 100 will get my clip it on your underwaer and sleep listening to some smooth stuff jazz or animal documentations

 

[caprimulgus]

Some more stuff on BTR5 on twitter/weibo:

Family comparison:
https://twitter.com/align_centre/status/1155850136020324352

Positioning of BTR5 (less functions than M5, but higher quality and higher price than M5):
https://twitter.com/align_centre/status/1142097078362898433

Hands on pictures of BTR5 and clip:
https://twitter.com/align_centre/status/1155088737186934785

 

[ClieOS]

Added Habigis X3 to the list

 

[tiamor988]

Some more stuff on BTR5 on twitter/weibo:

Family comparison:
https://twitter.com/align_centre/status/1155850136020324352

Positioning of BTR5 (less functions than M5, but higher quality and higher price than M5):
https://twitter.com/align_centre/status/1142097078362898433

Hands on pictures of BTR5 and clip:
https://twitter.com/align_centre/status/1155088737186934785

Probably going to cost more than the $99.99 suggested price. The price for M5 is $109.99 if not mistaken. My bet the price is $125.

 

[amgupt01]

I'm trying to figure out the shortest possible cables/adapters for the Type-C DACs that also support wired functionality.

I've found quite a few 6-inch USB Type-C-to-Type-C cables that are compliant with USB 2.0. The shortest Type-C-to-Type-C cables compliant with USB 3.1 I could find are 1-foot long. Is there a benefit to USB 2.0 vs 3.1 compliant cables for these?

Additionally, are there any super-short cables or adapters that let you use USB Type-C accessories with an iPhone?

EDIT: Looking for USB-C to USB-C and/or Lightning to USB-C! Sorry for not being clear!

 

[tiamor988]

I'm trying to figure out the shortest possible cables/adapters for the Type-C DACs that also support wired functionality.

I've found quite a few 6-inch USB Type-C cables that are compliant with USB 2.0, but the shortest 3.1 cables I could find are 1-foot long. Is there a benefit to USB 2.0 vs 3.1 compliant cables for these?

Additionally, are there any super-short cables or adapters that let you use USB Type-C accessories with an iPhone?

I'm not sure where you are from, but from aliexpress you could order the Ugreen type C cable. They have a 0.25m version. I have one. It' great. You are searching for type c to regular usb right?

 

[amgupt01]

I'm not sure where you are from, but from aliexpress you could order the Ugreen type C cable. They have a 0.25m version. I have one. It' great. You are searching for type c to regular usb right?

Oof, I should have been more clear! I'm looking for USB-C to USB-C and/or Lightning to USB-C! Edited my original post

 

[tiamor988]

Oof, I should have been more clear! I'm looking for USB-C to USB-C and/or Lightning to USB-C! Edited my original post

There also USB-C to lightning by ugreen. 0.25m the shortest. I'm not sure it's USB 3.1 or USB 2.0

 

[amgupt01]

There also USB-C to lightning by ugreen. 0.25m the shortest. I'm not sure it's USB 3.1 or USB 2.0

Nice, thanks!

Does anyone have experience using a USB-C to Lightning cable with the Fiio BTR3 or similar? I'm trying to figure out if that would work, or if I need something like the bulky Lightning Camera Adapter instead.

 

[ClieOS]

I'm trying to figure out the shortest possible cables/adapters for the Type-C DACs that also support wired functionality.

I've found quite a few 6-inch USB Type-C-to-Type-C cables that are compliant with USB 2.0. The shortest Type-C-to-Type-C cables compliant with USB 3.1 I could find are 1-foot long. Is there a benefit to USB 2.0 vs 3.1 compliant cables for these?

Additionally, are there any super-short cables or adapters that let you use USB Type-C accessories with an iPhone?

EDIT: Looking for USB-C to USB-C and/or Lightning to USB-C! Sorry for not being clear!

First of, you don't need USB 3.0. USB Audio Class 2.0 devices (which included just about any USB DAC out there, not to mentioned the slower USB Audio Class 1.0 devices) can be ran just fine under USB 2.0 speed, even DSD doesn't need more than USB 2.0 speed. For example, a typical 5 minutes DSD will be about 400MB, while USB 2.0 is capable of 480MBits/s (or = 60MB/s) - so in theory, it will only take 400/60 = 6.7 seconds to sync a 5 minutes DSD files over USB 2.0. Some manufacturers might choose to implement USB 3.0+ on their USB DAC, but that's mostly because it is trendy and convenient to do so but not because it will benefit SQ or speed wise. Many, if not most of the DAC that uses USB 3.0+ or Type-C are actually only wired as USB 2.0 internally.

That being said - no, you don't need an USB 3.1 compliant cable for your USB DAC, and most certainly you don't need one for BTR3. BTR3 internally only supports USB 2.0 as the CSR chipset it used doesn't support USB 3.1 (nor has any reason to support it anyway).

Secondly - more specifically on iPhone - it doesn't take any Type-C accessories directly because Apple designs it that way (*well, Apple get a small cut from every licensed product others sold, so they want to limit the ecosystem to only what they officially licensed). Most USB DAC either needs to get MFi certificated chip or go through the Camera Connection Kit. A very few manufacturers also choose to use hacked chip, but FiiO as an official Apple licensee will never risk their license to do such a thing, while putting a MFi chip in BTR3 makes no sense since it is meant as a Bluetooth devices first and foremost (as mentioned, each manufacturer need to pay Apple for each MFi chip used). As such trying to get a Lightning-to-Type-C isn't likely going to work since the USB DAC itself needs to have the MFi (or hacked) chip built-in first. While Camera Connection Kit can somewhat solve the problem (as it has a MFi chip inside), it is bulky to use and probably not worth trying on a small devices like BTR3.

So the long story short for you Apple users - sorry, the is no easy cure. You can blame Jobs / Cook for that.

 

[ClieOS]

One a side note, if you are handy enough, you can build a very short cable. This particular one that I built myself is Type-C (male) to USB-A (female) meant for connecting FiiO M6 to iFi xDSD, and it is less than 3CM in length.

 

[amgupt01]

Secondly - more specifically on iPhone - it doesn't take any Type-C accessories directly because Apple designs it that way (*well, Apple get a small cut from every licensed product others sold, so they want to limit the ecosystem to only what they officially licensed). Most USB DAC either needs to get MFi certificated chip or go through the Camera Connection Kit. A very few manufacturers also choose to use hacked chip, but FiiO as an official Apple licensee will never risk their license to do such a thing, while putting a MFi chip in BTR3 makes no sense since it is meant as a Bluetooth devices first and foremost (as mentioned, each manufacturer need to pay Apple for each MFi chip used). As such trying to get a Lightning-to-Type-C isn't likely going to work since the USB DAC itself needs to have the MFi (or hacked) chip built-in first. While Camera Connection Kit can somewhat solve the problem (as it has a MFi chip inside), it is bulky to use and probably not worth trying on a small devices like BTR3.

So the long story short for you Apple users - sorry, the is no easy cure. You can blame Jobs / Cook for that.

Damn, thanks for that super-detailed breakdown.

I was (naively) hoping that using an MFi Lightning-to-Type-C cable would solve the problem, but I guess the BTR3 itself needs to be MFi certified. Do you know of any Lightning-to-Type-C cables with hacked chips that might make things work similarly to the CCK?