FiiO Q1 Mark II Native DSD DAC & Amplifier for PC/MobilePhone

Using decent or excellent headphones but using your phone or computer for playback? Stop.. Get this.. and get spotify premium for 320kbps playback. If your headphones are not great, put your money there fist. A dac/amp will get you that extra 20% sound quality and clarity. Im running set of Sennheiser HD650 at home (balanced) low gain and momentum 2 single ended at work. Plenty of juice for the hd650 using the trrs balanced port - not sure about the 3.5 single ended, its rated a little less. Been using it for a few weeks now and I cannot complain. I am pretty astonished actually. Crystal clear - transparent, stellar sound quality, great manufacturing and flexible enough for my needs. The bass boost circuit is well done. Maybe focuses a bit much on upper bass frequencies for my tastes, but well done either way. Situational for sure. It gives a breath of fresh air to AKG K545, but drags the warmer Sony MDR1A down a bit. I use a galaxy s8 or tab s3 at home, windows 7 laptop at work and have had zero connectivity issues. The packed in otg adapter with Samsung s8 models doesn't work. Suggest getting an OTG cable here. ***EDIT*** The small adapter does not work, but the large (type A) adapter included with the S8+ does work. There is a small current draw no matter which adapters I use ~ 6 or 7% consumed per hour at best so far. The type C to micro cables on the other hand, eat through the phone/tablet battery like butter. Not recommended. Hopefully, a future Android OS update or a Fiio app can fix this down the road for us. I stretched a few silicone bands around it to make 'feet' and use it all day at the office. It is a step up from the e10k for sure. Next stop... Fiio Q5 ((droool))

This is Ver 2.0 of my Q1 Mark II review. TL;DR - Good portable system for the price. Slightly under-powered for full some full size headphones. Should come with the Fiio CL-06 and ML-06 Cables for Android phones, BUT DOES NOT. Having spent a considerable amount of time with this, utilizing both the balanced and single ended outputs, using a smattering of different headphones, from IEMs to the T50RP and HD 600. It's still a fine option but, being up front, it is NOT the most powerful portable DAC/Amp. While current isn't everything, some headphones really need more power than this can put out. That being said, I've run the HD 58X Jubilee (150 Ohm) both balanced and single ended, and balanced is definitely better for the extra power alone. Same story with the HD 600, though supposedly 300 Ohm is touching the limits of what this is capable of powering, and you're looking at IEMs levels of power there, like 22mW? This little thing puts out less power single ended than the Shanling M0 (80mW into 32 Ohm). That said, the point of a portable is that it'll power most of your headphones loud enough when you're on the go, and this will definitely do that. While T50's might be a bit beyond this little thing in my opinion, the HD 58X paired with this has been a fantastic companion for balanced output, or if you have IEMs with a balanced cable, like I put on the Mee Audio Pinacle PX IEMs, which are reletively inefficient, the 2.5mm balanced drives them great. Single-ended, this will drive almost any low-impedance IEMs to damaging-ly loud levels. Tested with the Sennheiser IE80 and it drove them about as well as I'd ever expect. The DAC is decently clean and sounds good. Only USB inputs, but there's a DAC chip for each channel. Also, it's MFi Certified and comes with a Lightning-MicroUSB Cable. Downsides: Lack of official Android support. This lacks any cables to work with Android phones, and unless the Fiio Branded CL-06 Cable for USB-C, or the ML-06 Cable for MicroUSB, most other USB OTG cables will cause the Q1 to suck your phone's power constantly. I've tested the CL-06 Cable with a Google Pixel (1st Gen) and a Shanling M0, and it works perfectly. No extra battery wear and does audio reproduction via USB with no issues. The Fiio ML-06 and CL-06 really should have been included by default. If your Android phone supports USB Audio Out, you can most likely use one of the above cables with the Q1 Mark II on your Android device. Fiio does say this will support their Android-based DAPs like the new M7 if also using one of the above cables. Some notes: This unit comes with a Micro USB cable for charging which is regular length, a short Lightning-Micro USB cable for Apple products, and short right angled 3.5mm-3.5mm jumper wire, which allows you to use this unit purely as an amplifier. All analog outputs are pre-outs. Yes, even the Line In/Out Combo port next to the volume knob. Functions as Analog out when the DAC is running via USB, and as a Line In when the DAC is NOT getting signal. There is a driver download for Windows as this does offer DSD Support. Windows 10 should allow up to 32-bit support without any drivers though. iOS, Mac, Linux, and Android required no driver support. EDIT (12/6/18): Win10 Creator's Update (Ver. 1703+) supports USB Audio Class 2, up to 32-bit, 384khz. This device supports higher frequencies via the drivers, up to 768khz, I think, as well as DSD up to DSD256. But without drivers it will work at the USB Audio Class 2 spec on Win10 Creator's confirmed on 3 different personal machines. Anything below Win10 will require drivers. As a side note, the 2.5mm jack uses the following Pinout: T = R- R1= R+ R2= L+ S = L- For adapter purposes, they must be wired for Fiio/Astell&Kern 2.5mm Balanced in order to work. The balanced output will NOT work with a single ended cable, even if you get an adapter. Please don't try.

I collect headphones and higher-end universal IEMs that I use in a variety of places like work, home, hiking, and commuting. I wanted a way to standardize the sound so that I could get excellent and consistent results no matter where I was or what device was hosting the music. From my phone to my iPad to my laptop to my Mac to my ugly and ancient tower at work, any of those should be able to deliver amazing sound to my headphones. I bought this Fiio Q1 ii with that in mind. My results have been mostly positive so far. I’m largely in agreement with the other positive reviews: the design is solid, the build quality seems excellent. The volume knob feels stiff and smooth, so that there’s not a problem with adjusting the volume accidentally, and the volume control feels very precise. It’s a big improvement over the push-button volume that the iPhone provides, which always delivers something either slightly too loud or slightly too soft. I was surprised to find that the Q1 does improve the sound quality I get compared to plugging IEMs directly into the little Lighting to 3.5mm dongle that comes with the iPhone. Specifically, I feel that the bass is a bit punchier and more detailed, while the rest of the spectrum is not hampered in any way. I have not felt it necessary or desirable to use the bass boost on any IEM I’ve connected. So far, I’ve only used the unit’s 3.5mm unbalanced output. I have some balanced cables on the way, and here’s why: I feel like the amp section of this thing is underpowered. The balanced output has more power, so we’ll see if it helps. But even with my supposedly sensitive IEMs (like the Westone W4r, the Shure SE 315, and the Sennheiser IE 80 and IE 800), at high gain, I’m running the volume at about 75%. That’s not good. I wonder just what the low gain setting is even for. Worse, hooking up my full size Sennheiser HD600s, I have to turn the output to 100% to get near to audiophile listening levels. Once again, buying $50 balanced cables for the HD600s and taking advantage of the balanced output might help… we’ll see. But why is the amp so underpowered that I have to crank it to 3:00 to listen to my balanced armature IEMS? In practice, this isn’t a serious issue for the IEMs. There’s plenty of power to drive them and they sound great. And because they use so much of the volume knob travel distance, there’s a great amount of precision you can get in the volume. But for full sized cans, the unbalanced output is a nonstarter. It’s just too weak. And I just wonder why the decision was made at Fiio to make the amp so mild. Perhaps I’ll edit this when I get the balanced cables. I’m a bit aggrieved that I have to spend another $100 on a couple of cables just to see if it helps. I personally feel balancing headphones is snake oil (makes no difference to the sound either way), and I believe that cables are cables… the stock ones are as good as any other cable. Spending $500 for oxygen free Himalayan copper blessed by virgin muses or whatever is for credulous people who don’t grasp science. At the end of the day, this device is nice. The price is right, the design is good, and it does help out with small headphones and IEMs. Just don’t buy it thinking you’re going to improve your full sized unbalanced headphones.

Bought a new pair of Grado 225s and wanted to use them with portable gear in addition to home system. Figured a headphone amp was a good step. FiiO offered an option that included a DAC, the Q1. Then I found that they updated the Q1 with the Mark II. While the internal components were upgraded, the big feature was plug and play compatibility with Apple devices. I use an iPad and my iPhone to stream music, so that was a meaningful upgrade. I'm glad I spent the extra money. Using the iPad I could compare the amp only feature using the headphone output with the DAC/amp operation using the lightning connector. The amp improves output volume, but did nothing to the sound quality. Engaging the DAC by connecting through the lightning port provided a very noticeable improvement in sound quality. Neutral, fuller and more spacious. The DAC really improves the sound to the point where I don't feel I'm missing anything because I'm using this source. (I can't comment on how this works with a PC or Mac because that's not how I use it. I also can't comment on the included balanced output. I'm intrigued by what it supposedly offers, but I bought this to make my current headphones sound their best, not to prompt another headphone purchase.) Reviews note that the output is down slightly over the first generation, but the Mark II had more than enough power to drive the 32 Ohm Grados to high volumes at less than half the available output. Can't imagine a need for more power unless you are using very inefficient headphones (or are hard of hearing). Aside from the much improved sound quality, the product is also incredibly small (my iPhone 8 plus dwarfs it) and very nicely finished. Coupled with the included patch cords, storage bag and other items, this is an incredible value. If you're in the market for a portable headphone amp/DAC, this is a great option.

I very much enjoyed this little DAC/Amp. It powered my Sennheiser HD 599 fairly well and made a major difference in sound quality and clarity. It would not power my beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Limited Edition Black, it wasn’t powerful enough. I’m unsure why so many others said the performance wasn’t good! It’s not Audiophile quality, but you can’t expect it for the price point. The buttons are a bit small, but otherwise I was pleasantly surprised by the major difference it made in my listening enjoyment. I would have kept it except for 1. the crazy micro USB to lighting replacement cable isn’t available (the one that came with it won’t stay attached). 2. With the Sennheisers you can tell there should be a little more on the table to get really great sound. But it’s still an entry level DAC/Amp. 3. It’s a big battery drain on my iPhone 7 Plus. 4. The shortness of the cable isn’t long enough to really stack it with a portable device. 5. The rubber bands are a pain, they get in the way normal use with mobile devices. The micro usb issue is crazy, FiiO could do much better! It’s a shame FiiO cheaped out on things that would have made this well worth the investment. I returned it.

I stream and listen to Ultra-HD music with my ipad and headphones. Ultra HD is 24bit - 192 kHz . Most devices phones, tablets are only capable of playing 16 bit @44 kHz so I ordered this DAC AMP because it will play at the 24bit 192 kHz and even higher if they ever come out with that. It works great, and came with the adapter I needed for my ipad even. Will work on Android as well. Sounds Amazing , and the DAC is better than the onboard ipad/iphone built in DACs. It also came with the big rubber bands to hold in onto a phone if you want to use it that way, and infact that’s how I’m using it most the time now. I was really amazed at the quality for the price. Well worth the money I spent on it. Well built and works right out of the box. You will need to put a charge on it soon though, and that’s simple as well and the cord is included as is the short plug you’ll need for android use. Fiio makes good stuff.

The sound quality is very good. Better than my on board laptop audio (Dell 5655) or my phone (Moto X Pure) or even my Sansa Clip (which is known for audio quality). On the amplifier side, the soundstage is a little narrower, layers of sounds are a little more combined, and transients are a little slower, though than my Bravo Audio V2 with and upgraded Electroharmux tube. It is much more portable, though, and definitely still very good. I bought it because my laptop audio was very poor quality, to the point that it was difficult to appreciate the music. This is a very good portable solution, but I will be pairing it with the nicer amplifier section for stationary work. All listening was done through a set of fully broken in Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor headphones using the unbalanced output. Using line out to send a signal to my Bravo V2 is now the best combination I own. Debian Buster (Stock Linux Kernel 4.14): It showed up as 2 devices, "Digital Output (S/PDIF) - FiiO Q1" and "Analog Output - FiiO Q1" No appreciable difference in quality. No drivers or issues, just plug in and pick from sound settings. Moto X Pure using a generic USB OTG cable and the included USB cable: It worked without any troubles, however, based on the light, it was charging from the phone, which would not be great for battery life. I should be able to make a custom cable or adapter to prevent this, but have not yet built one,

This is an excellent addition to an iPhone set up. Optimal use is with a lossless app like Tidal and higher quality headphones, like the Sony XM3. Loreena McKennit’s voice shimmer with this combination, for example. Martin Barre’s guitar wizardry in Jethro Tull’s Aqualung is so present and well articulated he might as well be sitting next to you. I am a classically trained musician and my ears are tuned for details that lack in lossy files and muddling headphones. Even the MX3’s have issues, like reversing the channels on drum kits. With the FiiO, however, the soundstage is separated, thus leaving daylight in the imaging. Phillips’ drums on Hiromi’s Spark album sound like pure Simon even if the channels remain reversed - a right hand drummer sets toms left to right with high pitch on the left channel; the MX3’s are the only headphones I’ve listened to with this reversed and it’s irritating from a musician’s perspective; my PowerBeats Pro even get it right. Nevertheless, the sound with this DAC is phenomenal. My iPhone XR does fine with Tidal on its own using Bluetooth. But this little DAC adds enough detail, separation, and power to make it worth more than the price tag. Berlin Phil performing Mahler is insane with these. Jazz? No problem.