šŸ”· FiiO BTR5

Just got the BTR5 in, but I think mine is defective (which is odd since itā€™s an outlet item so somebody used it in the store or because it was returnedā€¦)
I can turn the screen on and off, but itā€™ll only show me the battery thing (with all stripes so presumably itā€™s charged). If I connect it to the PC and download the drivers it will show up, but itā€™s not actually producing any sound. Iā€™ve tried holding the on/off button for 10 seconds multiple times but it doesnā€™t seem to work.
Any suggestions?

1 Like

So you canā€™t connect it to Bluetooth either?

Since you cannot turn it on, it is probably not possible to update the system either.

The only thing I can think of is to wait and see what happens when the battery runs out.

You could try this too.

https://www.fiio.com/newsinfo/477737.html

http://m.fiio.net:8000/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=46172&page=1&authorid=91485&mobile=yes

No it doesnā€™t do anything if itā€™s not connected to the PC. If I connect it to the PC it will show the battery indicator, but only after I reset it by holding the button for 30 seconds (which is longer than the 10 seconds described in the manual). If itā€™s not hooked up, it does fuck all no matter which button I hold for any period of time.
I can turn the screen on and off, but since itā€™s only showing the battery that gets old pretty quick too.
Guess Iā€™ll just let it charge for a couple of hours and try again, if that does nothing Iā€™ll have to RMA it.

I hope you opt to get a replacement. I love my BTR5, use it everyday, my HD58X/BTR5 have become my workout setup. :slight_smile:

Chances are I get my money back instead, since it was from the outlet. I can only hope it doesnā€™t go out of stock again in the mean time, since itā€™s sold out more often than not.

1 Like

Thank you for your reply! Yes, in fact, Iā€™ve granted Neutron all available permissions to bypass EMUIā€™s battery optimization both in the system settings and in the Neutronā€™s settings (see screenshots). Iā€™ve tried UAPP in bit-perfect mode but the sound still gets affected by the chosen configuration of the abovementioned options in the Android Developer Options menu nevertheless. Also, Iā€™m afraid that I canā€™t do without EQ correction, so UAPP, especially in bit-perfect mode, wouldnā€™t have suited me anyway.

Also, it seems like those settings in the Developers Options resetting is a thing an all devices. I have to go through the process of optimizing my softwareā€™s configuration every time I want to listen to music, including clearing background processes, choosing optimal system settings and more. Itā€™s a pretty frustrating process but it makes a noticeable difference I just canā€™t ignore. Maybe some of those differences are due to the use of DSP (EQ, Fader) that requires as much of available computing power resources as possible (same of those things should not have any impact on the sound ā€œqualityā€ in theory, as they have nothing to do with it per se). Even though my device should have plenty of that (at least in theory), Iā€™ve found that every bit of it matters. I guess Android doesnā€™t make use of available hardware resources very effectively indeed!

I just wish that there was a sub 400$ DAP with a decent parametric EQ.

About 6 years ago I also used a Huawei smartphone. At that time I didnā€™t listen to much music.
I often play a game called geocaching (you use your GPS to find other peopleā€™s hidden things). With the Huawei smartphone, the app kept closing or the GPS switched off.
When I contacted the developer of the map app (Locus Map) about this, they replied that this was always a problem at Huawei, their heavily modified Android requires a lot of RAM, which is why their smartphones are set so that they often run apps in the background shut down.
They advised against using a Huawei device if you often have apps running in the background.
Apparently all map apps except Google Maps had this problem at the time. Since music apps are mostly running in the background, this could also cause the problem here.
With my current smartphone, I donā€™t have any problems with maps or music.
So I think the problem lies with Huawei and not Android.

2 Likes

I see. Thank you for your answer, itā€™s very valuable info. I could only wish I had known this before bying my smartphone. Itā€™s beyond disappointing having to give up on a very large sum of money on the dac/amp and earphones only to have their potential canceled out by the digital source, especially when you wonā€™t be able to change it any time in the foreseeable future. I swear, thereā€™s just too many variables in this game. Itā€™s not that obvious that being an audio enthusiast you have to choose your phone that carefully even if youā€™re counting on a dedicated external audio device to ensure the best sound quality youā€™re able to afford.

Is there a noticeable difference between low gain and high gain? I donā€™t really get the whole idea because the manual says low gain uses less battery, but if 30 on low gain is as loud as 20 on high gain, does 30 on low gain then use less battery? And if so, at what cost?

I am no expert in this matter, but if I remember correctly, I read here or on headfi that you should use low gain for low ohmic iem and high gain for high ohmic headphones.
High Gain not only amplifies the music, but also background noise and other interfering noises, if present. I use low gain for my FH3.
Others here in the forum probably know more about this. If what I wrote was nonsense, please correct it.:sweat_smile:

It makes sense what you say, thatā€™s what Iā€™d expect. On another note: I can pause my music using the button but I canā€™t resume unfortunatelyā€¦ I have it connected with Bluetooth to an android (Xiaomi) phone.

For me, the Stop/play button works normally via Bluetooth, but as a USB Dac it is completely ineffective.
Unfortunately I canā€™t help with this problem.

Out of curiosity, did you get a replacement device or was it repaired?pause

I got a replacement. The shop I bought it at really did an excellent job with the service. I bought an outlet product which was DOA, when I sent it back the postal service apparently lost the package but the guys over at Wifimedia sent me a new unit right away after they found out the other one was lost.

1 Like

Maximum LDAC quality while maintaining the settings after rebooting the smartphone or disconnecting the connection. Install from the Sony Music Center market, go to the Bluetooth output settings / settings / LDAC playback quality and select ā€œPriority of sound qualityā€. Checked in the developer menu (displays the active mode 990 Kbps, 96 kHz / 32bit), the setting works as a global one, i.e. after setting up in the music center, the application can be closed and listen to music in any other application you are accustomed to. Good luck to all :wink:

Would it be crazy if I said I think the balanced out sounds worse than the SE? I bought balanced cables for the FH3 and Tin T2 and, it may be placebo, but I feel like it sounds worse. Of course this could be due to the cables, but Iā€™m not sure I want to swap the cables due to them being MMCX (I really donā€™t understand why this connector exists instead of everybody using 2-pin).
It sounds less compressed, but I feel like voices are more recessed, the soundstage has narrowed, separation is worse and some tones kinda sound off or something. Iā€™ll get a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter at some point to A/B more easily, but I was wondering whether anyone has noticed the balanced being worse or if Iā€™m just bonkers.

What cable did you get? I switched my FH3s to balanced on the BTR5 and itā€™s made the low end come to life. Honestly if it sound better to you SE go with that! I got this cable:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZWNRWK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_46ZR3YJA81JMR4ZP41QN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

My cable was considerably cheaper I do confess. Iā€™ll listen more to them tomorrow and then switch back to the stock cable to compare, maybe itā€™s just that I had expected it to become better and when that didnā€™t happen I interpreted it as being worse. But I canā€™t help but feeling like stuff is being pushed down and everything is darker and more veiled. I noticed with the T2 and FH3 for which I have different cables, thatā€™s what made me think it may have something to do with the balanced out of the BTR5.

1 Like

You got this! I really love the BTR5 FH3 combo but like everyone says itā€™s subjective.

1 Like

I even spent a little more money than cigmanfroyd.
I canā€™t really describe the difference to SE, but balanced sounds better to me.

https://www.mueller-spring.ch/shop/kopfhoerer/kopfhoerer-zubehoer/fiio-lc-25d-symmetrisches-25mm-mmcx-ohrhoererkabel