Specs
Fioo is proud enough to mention the 33% lower THD rating compared to the original E12 and the improved signal-to-noise ration of 115dB in their marketing communications. Like the E12A, the A5 doesn’t come with a cross feed option. Power wise the A5 comes in second as the original E12 was more powerful. You’ll find however that the A5 has plenty of power to drive almost anything. The A5is over 800 mW(32Ω/THD<1%) and ≥150mW(300Ω/THD<1%).
The full list of Specs is below:
Accessory wise the Fiio comes with a whole bunch of stuff:
- 2 silicone patches to put between the A5 and your source, so they would stay in place and not scratch each other. I myself stick 4 3M bubble feet underneath the A5
- 2 sets of Fiio labeled stacking bands
- 1 Micro-USB charging cable
- 1 of Fiio’s awesome ultra-short 3.5mm ICs (interconnects)
- A typical E12/A5 soft carrying pouch (which I personally do not like at all)
- There might be Hi Res stickers in the box.
Sound
According to Fiio:
“A gain level close to that of the E12 but with improved channel balance, lower noise floor and a purer sound.”
When plugging in my Jomo Samba – it is great for testing units – I was pleasantly surprised:
- No crackling noises (like on the X5iii)
- An almost non-existing “plop” when turning on/off the A5
- Complete silence, no hiss or floor noise whatsoever
- A completely silent volume control
There still is very light channel imbalance in the beginning of the pot but even at my lowest listening volume this wasn’t audible anymore. The volume pot itself – in low gain – has enough headroom to set the right volume. It does get loud quickly but no to that you would accidentally hurt your ears by spinning the dial too hard. So far the Fiio A5 is perfect.
With a lot of people preference in sound changes over the years. That can simply be because you hear things different getting older or it could just be that your taste has evolved. Many many years ago I would have always had the Bass Boost on the Fiio devices set to “on”. In fact it would be stuck there with all of my gear but nowadays that no longer is the case. Fiio is famous for their bass boost though and a whole lot of people buy it especially because of this feature. What BB does in the A5 is add +5dB of gain and it just makes bass body increase exponentially. If you’re a bass lover, you’ll absolutely dig it. If you’re not you’ll probably find the A5’s BB ads mid body as well and you will notice that it makes bass run into the mids. You do get a big and bold sound with great impact tough, there’s no denying that. Unfortunately this does has a negative impact on the audible detail and the precision level. But again, if you’re all about the bass, then you’ll have a smile from here to Tokio. With a headphone such as the AudioQuest NightOwl in example, bass became way too present for my personal taste. But I’m sure some people want just that.
With the Bass Boost turned off you get a more neutral sound and lighter sound where the mids sound a bit thinner with forward vocals. I’d still put the A5 on the warmer side of neutral though, even though this isn’t a really warm sounding amp with the BB of. With BB on it does sound warmer. I do find it to have Fiio’s typical darker sound signature but it isn’t like in the good old original E10 days. Speed is good but it isn’t the fastest sounding solid state amp either. Amps like the Duet and Vorzuge – which I know cost 5 times the A5 – logically perform better in this and all areas. But speed is good just like the level of detail is. You won’t get the very best but for the $129.99 price tag you’ll be very happy.
The sound stage level, just like the detail, is good for the market this amplifier is in. Again it isn’t the widest and certainly not the deepest but it’s good and perfectly in line with the A5’s price. Separation and spaciousness are good though, so the A5 doesn’t immediately give you the impression of a congested and concentrated sound. Without the bass boost, the bass has a rather neutral presence but it has good body and impact at the same time. It’s slightly more than “neutral” bass and that means no one will be complaining about being it too much or too little. Bass is fairly tight but not the most detailed or layered, it’s more the impact/presence kind of bass.
I absolutely loved the rich mids of the E12A and I like them again now. Like I said, the mids do sound a little thinner with forwarded vocals without the BB. Turn it on and the mids become a lot thicker while the voices stay forward. For my personal taste the mid body could have been just a little bigger and the voices a little softer/more natural, but we all have our own preference. I find the mids to go deepest with the best layering. Treble is good, soft and easy to like. Fiio isn’t a brand that’s famous for treble extension and it’s no different with the A5. Treble isn’t offensive and the delivery is smooth yet energetic enough to contrast the bass and mids, especially with the bass boost activated.
Comparisons and pairings on the next page, after the CLICK





Eugene
Thank you for the great review, Liven.
I have Fiio X5 II paired with Fiio E12A and Sennheiser HD600 (AKG 712 Pro, Beyerdynamic 880 250 Ohm). For comfort listening and to enjoy music I never turn volume knob of E12A more than 11a.m. (high gain), so I have plenty of headroom. These headphones do not sound underpowered or distorted for me (even current hungry AKG).
Will I notice any significant difference with A5?
Lieven
I’d stick with the 12A. Great amp and the A5 won’t offer you a lot more.
Indrajit
How does A5 compare with Schiit Magni amplifier? Driving power is not an issue as I have a Sennheiser HD 598(50ohms) to drive
Rifle
Hi, I have the E12 but it hisses on my iems too loudly when line out from my DAP. Should I go for the E12a or the A5(considering same price bracket) as I will be keeping the E12 for myself. Thanks in advance!
Mike lloyd
E12A as your IEMs appear very sensitive. Love mine….
Eugene
Sorry, Lieven, I misspelled your name in my previous comment.
Lieven
no worries.
Carter Dotson
Thanks for the review! I actually picked one up already, but it’s always good to hear that I’m not crazy based on my impressions! Anyway, how would you compare this to the Cayin C5 amp? Was thinking about picking that one up instead, as I really like the sound of this amp with my HD580, but I prefer an airier-sounding amp with my NightHawk Wood.
Lieven
I’m sorry but Nathan has the C5, not me.
Mike lloyd
Doesn’t the Cayin have a high’ish output impedance, making it unsuitable for low impedance headphones?
Wim
OK not suitable for my 300ohm HD580, the search continues, difficult as I don’t want to spend a lot for a portable amp… Any recommendations always welcome!
dale thorn
What DAC are you feeding into that amp?
Carter Dotson
I think the amp has plenty of power for the 580, it sounds great with my 580. And I don’t think that you’re realistically going to find a portable amp with that much power period, or at least not without buying maybe a Chord Mojo, maybe? The DACport HD might be a decent pickup for you depending on what your source is.
Juan Luis
Hoy its soundstage compared with Cl Picollo?
Terence
Would this amp make a difference when used with the X5 iii ? Or does the X5 iii not really need a separate amp?
Alejo
I was wondering exactly the
same…
Mihnea
Hi.
Would you recommend it paired with a Fiio X5 3rd gen or is the player enough?
thanks
Lieven
Depends on what you need to drive
RS
Will it be great with beyer DT 990 pro 250 ohm?
Ruslan
Hello! is it worth buying for Fiio X3-II and ATH-MSR7?
sorry for my english 🙂
Angga
I have HD650 and E17K. Planning to add A5 or E12A to this setup, is it worth?
Lieven
I’d save up for something like the C5/EL/Picollo/duet/CV5
Angga
So Cayin C5 is better than Fiio A5? (the other option were too expensive for me)
Lieven
it is, but I am talking about the JDSLabs C5
Angga
Oh sorry, my bad.
But JDSLabs C5 already discontinued, right? How about JDSLabs Objectice2?
Lieven
2nd hand market 🙂
We’re not fan of the O2 amp, sorry.
Angga
Oh okay then.
Thank you, Lieven.
Kyle Stevens
How does the Fiio A5 work with the HD650? I also have HE 400i which I think the A5 will power sufficiently I’m just worried about the HD650s.
Lieven
It works but the HD650 deserves better
Kyle
Hopefully by the time I get my headphones I’ll have a Dark Voice
Martin
I have the Sony player: NWZ-A17 and for headphones: Sony MDR 100AAP (not the best but still i like them) .With who amp should i pair them ? A5 or E12 ?
Lieven
E12A or A5
Alex alex
I have X5 ll +E12A and I use it with westone um pro 30 & audio technica PRO700, abd plaining to buy HD 650 too. If i could change E12A for new A5 , should I do this?
Lieven
No I wouldn’t upgrade
Alex alex
Ok, thanks
rio
hello , I’m an e12 fanboy since a long ago, but unfortunately I must sell it because of some reasons (hissing is one of them) now I’m searching for an amplifier that warmer than e12 , is a5 a good option for me? my friend said it’s more fun than e12a
Lieven
E12A is dead silent though
Beaters
I have dap Fiio X3 III + MDR 1000x worth it for Ampli A5 ? Thanks
Palash
Cayin C5 vs Fiio A5 . Whcih one to choose.
Lieven
It’s a tough call. We”ll know more soon
Ronaldo
Any updates? I will be pullimg the trigger on either one very very soon. Thanks in advance.
Lieven
I’d go for the Cayin but have you seen the Fiio Q5s?
Giorgio Deleo
Is a worth buy to drive at the best my Sennheiser HD 580?
Alejo
Hello Lieven,
I have a X5 III and B&O H9I; does it really make a difference adding this A5 to my setup? Will I have better sound? Or will it be louder only? Some months ago I bought a Chord Mojo and I paired it to my iphone6s with Bowers and Wilkins P7: I didn’t notice any difference in sound (it was louder only)…
Firman
Does it worth to buy this if I already have LG V30 as my source? I am using Sennheiser HD 6XX. Will it make a big difference?
Heru Pranyoto
Compare FIIO A5 to Cypher labs Picollo AMP, which is better to pair with FIIO M6 which is small size DAP like Picollo.
I expect better sound resolution (detail, staging and separation) also higher output power than the stock of the FIIO M6
Sean
I purchased an Fiio A5 a few years ago, and the sound quality is quite impressive. This is my first headphone amplifier, and I use it to drive a V-MODA Crossfade M100 headphone, which has a high impedance playing music from an iPhone 8 Plus. The improvement was shocking. I could feel the bass vibrating the headphone against the sides of my head. There was no discernible distortion at any volume level.
About a year and a half ago, I thought I had lost it. Turns out it was in a box in my storage unit. The battery won’t hold a charge now, and I can’t afford to replace it. I’m wondering if anyone knows where I can find a replacement battery for sale. I know it’s not designed to be serviced by end users, but I am pretty handy with electronics.
Graham Terry
A bit late to the party I know but I have just bought a second-hand Fiio A5 and paired it with an iPhone 12 (using lightning / phono DAC adaptor) connected to Beyerdynamic DT770 pro 80 ohm cans.
I have to have the volume turned up to full on the phone and almost full with gain turned on on the A5 which gives a reasonable volume but with nothing in reserve to really crank it up.
There is no hiss/distortion but seems strange that I am struggling for power out of such a powerhouse of an amp.
Any ideas? I tried the reset button. Not sure if the iPhone is limiting the power to the amp thus reducing the output. Want to get the best out of my headphones but (very) limited funds.
Thanks anyone.