Donāt get me wrong, I love the combo. I am just unsure whatās happening now that I went balanced. Now everything Iām saying is with the knowledge that there are a lot of things in play here, so it probably has nothing to do with the balanced out of the BTR5. First off it may be bias and expectations playing a trick on me. Secondly I was a stubborn little boy who didnāt listen to @Rikudou_Goku and bought cables he didnāt recommend because Iām very impatient indeed. Thirdly I donāt have much experience so my opinions are not necessarily worth much.
However I am listening to the same playlist now using the SE cable that I was listening to earlier this morning with the balanced cable, and I really do think Iām hearing a difference in favour of the stock SE cable. I feel the stage is a bit bigger and the instrument separation is just better. Earlier it sometimes sounded like the instruments got muffled away when somebody started to sing, and now they seem to exist more next to each other if that makes sense.
I do feel like the bass, mostly the sub-bass, had more of a presence using the balanced cables though.
Iām using the same source (Spotify on laptop over LDAC to the BTR5) and Iām using foams to ensure that I have a good seal each time.
I got the Yintoo 8-core silver-plated copper cable on the FH3.
A good way to eliminate the effect of the cable is to get an adapter. Using my ddHifi 2.5 to 3.5mm with my Tin T2, I do found a difference but a very slight one, not something groundbreaking. The Legacy 4 seems to have a more noticeable difference, things get better separated and ābreathā more, IMO.
If you donāt find any difference still, then maybe it makes no difference to you. I would count this as a win, running everything SE is always simpler. 
Yeah Iām not sure if Iām going balanced at all, but if I do Iām getting an adapter (was looking at the same one you mentioned) so I can still use it with my laptop and with the Liquid Spark at my desk. For now, SE is cheaper and easier, so Iāll just wait until the addiction for new stuff starts itching again and then Iāll replace them :P.
Has anyone noticed the difference in sound
when switching between Bluetooth/USB input priority options in the FiiO Control app, while on wireless connection? Iāve recently discovered that they sound differently for whatever reason, which is strange.
I wanted to try the EQ build in the BTR5 today, but I noticed that when you turn on the EQ to a profile where nothing gets boosted, the volume changes pretty drastically (louder when EQ is off). I have the BTR5 set to APTX since not all my devices support LDAC. Not sure whether it also changes the sound or whether it just massively increases the volume when the EQ is off. Any ideas why this is happening?
I have the BTR5 and really like it. It works well with my IEMs. When it comes to my HD650 and my SUNDARA it feels that it canāt drive them properly. What headphones do you use with your HD650? Is it wise to buy a pair of HD58X for the BTR5 for portable use? (āWiseā is a strong word. It certainly aināt wise to invest so much money into audio-gear!).
Are you using the balanced output? I do like the btr5 + hd6xx combo, pretty enjoyable but not on the level of a desktop amp.
Honestly with the btr5 I find my ācheaperā headphones have the best synergy, koss ksc75, grado sr80, senn hd560s, they sound amazing out the btr5 SE out and the 58x should too.
For portability I would look at closed backs instead, I like the audio technica msr7b a lot with the fiio. Elegias and sony cd900st also driven with no issue.
Ever tried headphones which work fine unbalanced but Fāed up when balanced. The FiiO Q5s is horrible balanced. it can not drive 24 ohm Sony MDR M1ST at all but with Topping A90 man it is good (unfair comparison) but I prefer unbalanced. Not enough power for NDH20 too, unbalanced. Just curious about the BTR5. Id use it if I did not have the need, before getting an amp, for PS1 and PS2 audioā¦
IMO the btr5 cannibalized the q5s, not enough power for its pricetag. btr5 is not a miraculous product but for what it costs its extremely useful, I use mine a ton.
Definitely an incredible amount of features for the price.
As long as one of those features is not the app I agree. I love Fiioās products, but their android/iOS app is horrendous. Luckily I donāt EQ and all the other things I need I can setup with the little screen.
Yeah, itās a portable DAC + headphone amp with bluetooth and LDAC, shows bluetooth codec during play, can be used as a computer DAC + headphone amp too, shows Khz during playā¦
If you donāt have much money and want hi-fi sound everywhere, this is a Topping D50s for half the priceā¦ that you can take with you and stick to your smartphone. With the headphone amp too, lol.
I had to get the Q5s because I did not know what company is good so that I was more suspicious with ChiFi and FiiO has a warehouse in west Germany. Otherwise I would have ordered an XDUOO or without a PS1 and PS2 going into a CRT setup, a BTR5ā¦ Now I got enough experience with the A90, which costs 539ā¬ including taxes and duties and I bought it for balanced and using it until it breaks. Headphone-wise I am fine too. I started 2016 with 58x then NDH20 and last year M1ST. Impressive how good the BTR5 is when most devices including non apple notebooks lack in a good 3.5mm dac or amp not sure what part is awful on my Dell XPS 2017 for work but it has instand power-turn-off when no sound plays and peaks once on windows startup or when headphones play music for the first time.
Last rambling: My Asus X570 e AMD ryzen mainborad can not run my neumann ndh20 properly apart from bad sound. I watched Rambo 1 and 2 and played some games and wow. Before I got the Q5s I knew I needed an amp to get at least 70% of itās potential but surprisingly the FiiO could not fill the sound stage completely and imaging was at least halfed.
I wish Sennheiser with its Swiss hearing aid cooperation ever think about a similar product to FiiO BTR5. It would move the USB gaming headphone market with some luck instead of seeing companies make a permanently attached USB dac amp dongle; not all do it. I can see some potential for something like a BTR5 sold with a headphone.
I had a Q1 Mark 2 and the BTR5 for portable use. That was stupid since the BTR5 roughly has the same balanced output power then the Q1 Mark 2. Sold the Q1 and enjoy the BTR5. Its really great. Even the Q3 isnt so far away (220mw at 32Ohm for the BTR5 and 300mw at 32Ohm for the Q3).
In the future I think I will go with Focal Elegias when I find them used for a reasonable nice price.
If you want more power thereās a 500mW balanced amp āpartā for the Q5S. Hard to find maybe but quite powerful.
It seems the balanced socket on my BTR5 is dead. Any ideas?
Just the balanced side? And none of the sides are giving any signal?
If itās yes for both, it could be that either the inside of the connector or the mounting of it is bad. Maybe you could resolder if you can open the device.
Other wise, it can be some part of the chips, and if thatās the case then bye. Although if the SE works, just keep it using for a time.
I just got my BTR5, and I am using it as my DAC during the work day, then when I unplug it, it uses Bluetooth to my phone, and I donāt even have to change headphones. It really is an amazing device. It might not be the most powerful amp, but it solves for a bunch of other problems that arenāt just power.
Since I got a pair of Moondrop Aria IEMs the same week, they are almost always plugged into my BTR5. I need to take my SHP9500 out for a drive today.
I think for most entry / budget audiophiles the BTR5 is a solid solution for a number of annoying little problems.
Having scrolled through the thread, I couldnāt find any info on bluetooth aptx Low Latency use in movies. I really want to pull the trigger on the BTR5 but canāt seem to get any user experience on this particular matter? Something along the lines of stability of signal, volume levels ectā¦
Looking at the Fiio Control app, aptx-LL appears as an option on codec selection, so probably there is support for it. TBH I never noticed any latency problems. Granted I donāt see many movies on phones, but I do occasionally see Youtube videos.