FiiO Q5S

Thought?:

I am a big fan of FiiO company as I own FiiO’s E17 ALPEN 2 headphone amp for a few years now, which has been my workhorse and daily headphone amp for the computer as it does not have Bluetooth connectivity. A few years ago, when I brought the E17 ALPEN 2, at that time, Bluetooth amp does not exist at least yet and fast-forward a few years later to a few days ago I have decided to see if anyone finally made a headphone amp that has Bluetooth connectivity. To my relief, I discovered that there are a few companies that have created some headphone amps with Bluetooth connectivity. To my excitement, FiiO is one of these companies that created headphone amps with Bluetooth connectivity and knowing that my FiiO’s E17 ALPEN 2 is a great headphone amp that carried me through a few years I immediately went with FiiO ones over other brands, so I went with their top-of-the-line headphone amp with Bluetooth connectivity called Q5S.

After ordering FiiO’s Q5S, I was impatiently looking forward to having it in my hands so I can finally have the freedom of listening with my headphone anywhere that has Bluetooth capability instead of only being able to use it with a computer. So, knowing that my FiiO E17 ALPEN 2 never failed me and still to this day it hasn’t failed me, so I had a very high expectation with the FiiO’s Q5S one especially their loudness, bass and sound quality which these three are the significant features that are a must for me. The big reason for these three critical features along with battery life now since it is now portable amp with Bluetooth capabilities such as loudness, bass, and sound quality is because I am a hard of hearing myself so I have to have the amp that would help me to listen to the audio for the movie, television show, video or music. That is where FiiO’s E17 ALPEN 2 excelled, so expect my high expectation and unfortunate that their top-of-the-line Bluetooth headphone amp FiiO Q5S did not meet my high expectation.

That caused me a great disappointment and, at the same time, frustrated because everyone says that FiiO’s Q5S is their top-of-the-line Bluetooth amp ends up not function as if it is a top-of-the-line product. Even my old FiiO E17 ALPEN 2 does it better, and it isn’t a top-of-the-line but more of in the middle. FiiO Q5S barely produce any bass, I could not notice when I used the gain feature on Q5S amp, and I was shocked after realizing that they are barely noticeable when I used these features to enhance the sound. After testing the Q5S, I immediately unplugged my headphone from the FiiO Q5s. I plugged in my old trusty FiiO’s E17 ALPEN 2 amp, which is required to be wired to the computer since it does not have Bluetooth connectivity; my headphone drastically enhanced with huge bass and powerful just as the way I like.

I am so disappointed with FiiO’s Q5S; however, that does not mean that it would disappoint others, but anyone who likes to have power sounds and to have bass thumping in their ears, then Q5S is not the headphone Bluetooth amp to get. If someone only wants smooth and improved sound without bass and does not have an option to make it loud, then maybe FiiO Q5S is the one to get. Many people gave this FiiO Q5S high praises, and it certainly will not get one from me, but that will not stop me being a fan of FiiO as I have requested a return for the FiiO Q5S. At the same time, I ordered another amp from FiiO called BTR5, which is pretty much another middle-of-the-line amp except that it does have Bluetooth capability and some people says it’s louder than Q5S, so I am looking forward to that and will make a review of it after testing it out.

In summary, FiiO Q5S has black leather on one side while on the other side, and the rest is a titanium body. It has very few controls, which are volume, Bluetooth pair button, cable switcher (aux, USB, coax, optical, etc.), fast-forward, and reward buttons (I think). It also has a lighting system, an RGB status lights that will let you know the status of Q5S, such as pairing Bluetooth, switching cable, battery, etc. They also have a FiiO controls app where you can do some more controls such as equalizer and whatnot the app, which is not that great as the only good thing that the app has is equalizer control. It comes with a lot of cords/adapters for any headphones or others. It also came with a bag to put the portable amp in, also the silicon bands for putting your phone or other devices together with the amp and a good looking driver because this amp you can change different modules.

I wished that FiiO Q5S was the Bluetooth amp that I want and need, but after testing it out, I do not want it at all. I also let my mother give it a test to compare, which is louder, sound better, and has more bass between my FiiO E17 ALPEN 2 and the FiiO Q5S my mother quickly pointed the E17 ALPEN 2 just as I expected she would. So, my logic is if it does not outperform my old trusty FiiO E17 ALPEN 2, which is $200 cheaper than the Q5S, then why should I have/use it when I have something better? An old headphone amp outperforms the latest top-of-the-line headphone amp! For that, I am sending it back, but as I said above, I am not entirely abandoning FiiO as I have ordered their BTR5 after making a return request so I hope that I can finally have an amp that is as good as my E17 ALPEN 2 or better, but with Bluetooth connectivity then I will be happy.

I am rating FiiO Q5S a 2.8, which translates very ok.