UI & Usage
Bluetooth
The FiiO Q5S-TC has been designed to work as a Bluetooth DAC/AMP, and that’s quite apparent.
First and foremost, the led located between the main unit and the amp module only gives pieces of information regarding the type of flux playing. In Bluetooth. There are 7 different colors, ranging from blue (AAC) to white (LDAC), or purple (aptX/aptX LL) and yellow (aptX HD). I could get all those colors and if you’re lucky enough, you can even see the green one (LHDC) if you find the right source.
The Bluetooth pairing is easy. Just keep the play button pulled on, find the FiiO Q5S-TC in the Bluetooth list, et voila. If you keep it pushed on for 2s, the DAC turns on/off the Bluetooth, but after 5s, it will force the pairing cycle to appear.
Last but not least, the next/previous button only works when you’re in Bluetooth mode. All the other modes won’t benefit from this option, not even the USB.
USB/COAX/OPTICAL
Those modes give you the best sound, as you enjoy all the decoding power of the FiiO Q5S-TC.
As usual, the USB mode is the most complete one. Through this connection, you can even stream ultra-high-resolution files, such as 32bit or DSD, the Q5S-C will decode them. There is no DSD indicator anymore, that can display what’s the type of file you’re playing.
The Optical input can be plugged into most modern television or computer. I personally plugged the FiiO Q5S into a PS4 / PS4 Pro and got pleasantly surprised by the ease of use. You can even connect it to Bluetooth, but to get the best sound and lowest latency, use the Optical input.
The Coaxial input can be connected to a CD player, another DAP or a source that doesn’t carry any other output. I tried to connect a DAP with a simple jack-jack cable in coax mode… and that works too !
All in all, use the USB connection if you can. That’s the best available option out there, but the Optical/Coaxial will allow you to plug almost anything to the FiiO Q5S-TC.
Line out
A classic.
If you just want to enjoy the sweet sound of the AKM chipset and keep your own amplifier. All you have to do is connect your source in Bluetooth/USB/Coax/Opt and plug your amp through the line-out.
Headphone out
Again, nothing complex here.
Just connect your headphone to the suited output (balanced or unbalanced) and crank up the volume. The high-gain option is to be used with hard-to-drive / insensitive headphones, where the low-gain is more suited for IEM and earphones.
Let’s take a look at the specs and then it will be time to listen to the FiiO Q5S-TC.
The review continues on Page Four, after the click HERE or by using the jump below.
Jobbing
Could someone explain the expected differences between the FiiO ak4493eq (x2) and this month upcoming xDuuo BAL Amp/DAC featuring Es9038Q2m (x2) ?
Azlan Master
Akm is better the those sabre Just becuz the fire incident makes the stock wable n in case 4493..extinct.
Jobbing
That would be FiiO Q5S-TC vs. xDuoo XD-05 BAL (not PLUS) with AES/Ebu
Packgrog
If not using the balanced headphone output, is there much difference between the Q2s and Q2s-TC?
John
Did you notice any advantages in stacking the M11PRO and the Q5S Type C?