FiiO Q15 Review

Sound performance

For the purpose of this review, I used the Beyerdynamic DT900 Pro X, the Nostalgia Audio Camelot, and the mighty Focal Celestee. All files were streamed from Spotify and Apple Music, in Hi-Res when available, and my own library.

Overall signature

Okay, here’s the lowdown for you: the FiiO Q15 may not exactly mirror the Q7’s performance, but it brings its own unique flair to the table. 

It delivers slightly less power – yet manages to remain more precise and astute, especially when paired with headphones like the Focal Celestee and Beyerdynamic DT-900 Pro-X, in mid-gain mode. I was especially surprised with the Focal, as with the Q7/M17 the combo always sounded a bit too “punchy” for me, with obtrusive low-mids and too much sound pressure, even in low-gan. None of that with the Q15 which brilliantly outshone its higher-end brother. And, while it offers about 70 to 80% of the Q7’s auditory experience, the Q15 completely outstrips the older Q5, by a significant margin, whatever the headphone/IEM I tried.

In fact, sound-wise, the FiiO Q15 is a delightful surprise. The AKM DAC does wonders, delivering gorgeous lows, vibrant voices, and crystal-clear highs in pure Verita fashion, only failing to the Sabre 9038 PRO in terms of raw dynamic range – something I’ve experimented on my techno sessions. Head to head with the old but mighty FiiO Q5S-TC though, it’s not just a step up; it’s a whole staircase: sound textures, layering, and overall finesse have been ramped up to a level that nearly matches the Q7.

And, if inspired by the Q7, the FiiO Q15 seems closer to the M15S in terms of sound signature. The M15S keeps the upper hand, but more than once I was more keen to take the iPhone + Q15 combo rather than the M15S. There is a more analog approach to the sound, and with the 4.4mm output, I really felt surrounded by the sound, particularly when paired with the Beyerdynamic DT900 Pro X and Sennheiser HD800S. The voices were natural, and poised, and I could easily pinpoint each of them in the space, even more than on the Q7 in my opinion.

Would I trade my Q7 for the Q15 though? Tough question! If you’re into big headsets like the Audeze LCD-X, Sennheiser HD800S, Meze Empyrean, keep the Q7. None gave the FiiO any difficulty, even more when I plugged them in 4.4mm/2.5mm, and doing A/B testing with the Q15, it was easy to spot which was which, the Q15 delivering a lesser performance overall. If, on the other hand, you’re more into portable headsets like my Focal, the Meze 99 Classics, or even IEMs like the 64 Audio, I’d go for the Q15. You get a tad more control, a better PEQ (equalizer) that works in Bluetooth AND USB, and some granularity the Q7 completely misses.

Moreover, if FiiO continues to offer four levels of gain (low/mid/high/bazooka) to fit every type of headset/IEMs, I mostly switched between low and mid, the low-level proving to be sufficient with almost all of my IEMs, and the mids enough for all of my headphones. I’ve almost never used the desktop mode, to be frank, the “regular” mode proved to be enough in 90% of my tests, but if you really need immense power, just know that it’s available with a flick of the finger

An amazing device!

Tonality

Highs: clean and spacious. The FiiO Q15 takes sharpness and dynamics to new levels in this price range. With a good IEM, the result is nothing short of amazing, whatever the genre and style. Clearly, AKM is just flexing and this DAC will outperform many higher-priced competitors, letting you hear details unheard of before. Kudos to the team

Track : Poly – Thylacine

Mids: top-of-the-line layering and dynamic. Voices have always been good on FiiO players, and the Q15 is no exception to the rule This is especially true with big cans and hybrid IEM, who love its large power reserve, but even paired with classics like the Meze 99 Classics, the DAC/Amp delivers superb vocals, almost effortlessly. 

Track : Wanderer – Mogli

Lows: pure FiiO, pure pleasure. The FiiO Q15 lows reached abyssal levels, much more than I’d expected! Paired with the Audeze LCD-X or my UM Maestro, I could hear the rumble of the bass, even at a (very) low volume level. The DAC really surprised me in a good way, and after the M15S, this is definitely my favorite DAC/Amp in the sub-$500 bracket. With no dragging sound nor latency, this is the BEST bass you can get in this price range. Period!

Tracks : Way down we go – Kaleo

Noise and power

Noise: nothing to say, it’s dead silent, and my hypersensitive Onkyo could not spot anything, even with Bluetooth turned on. Of course, the higher the gain, the higher the noise, but I couldn’t discern more than a faint, faint, breeze when put in turbo mode. EMI shielding did a great job and I never encountered any parasites or any real buzz during my listening.

Power: deafening power, FiiO offers four different levels of gain for its player (five if you take the Ultra high more + desktop mode). If low was already powerful enough to drive my DT900 Pro-X, the mid-level was the one I used for 90% of my headphones, even with the Audeze LCD-X. Obviously, if you want to drive cans like Sennheiser’s flagship, you can raise to high, but I don’t think anyone but a deaf person would ever need the desktop mode on a daily basis.

Conclusion

Another day, another FiiO, another killer device. FiiO did what they did best once more: take their flagship, and downsize it to a more “regular” factor, while keeping almost all of what made the TOTL model… a TOTL one.

So, long story short: the FiiO Q15 sounds great, has more than enough power that you might (ever) need, and features options that are even absent from the Q7 (PEQ or mobile mode) making it the best DAC/AMP I actually own, in the sub-$500 territory. Sure, the Q7 is better, but if you don’t own a Focal Utopia or a Meze Empyrean, the Q15 will do equally good on most headphones, for half of that price.

Sure, it’s more trans-portable than really portable. Yes, battery life is shorter than I expected but nothing comes close to it in terms of versatility and performance at the moment (I still hope xDuoo will prove me wrong though)

A no-brainer, outperforming many, equally or more expensive, DAC/Amp available at the time of writing. So yes, this DAC/AMP goes directly in my recommendation list, and if you’re out for a solid DAC/Amp you should definitely try this one first, or at least add it to your list. 

Page 1: about FiiO

Page 2: UI, Usage, Bundle

Page 3: Technical specifications

Page 4: Sound performance