Fiio BTR5 vs Qudelix 5k
And here we are! Another slightly more sensible showdown between 2 products. This time the products are practically identical in concept. They have the same dacs, the same supported codecs (I think), the same output, the same input and similar app controls.
BTR5
Size - The size is pretty good. The case that came with it has a clip which is basically a requirement for me. All together, it feels like a nice solid unit.
Button Usage - The buttons are basically almost instantly clear. There are a few things that you can multi-tap or tap and hold. All the buttons are on one side which is probably a good thing to prevent accidental dual pressing of opposite buttons.
Charging - This has been a bit of a pain point. I have had it refuse to charge on various things because of the charging mode. When switching between wired and BT you often have to flip a setting as it can’t seem to tell the difference between a charger and a phone/computer. You must turn charging off from the device to use it wired. So forgetting to tinker with it means a dead device in the morning sometimes.
Firmware - Fiio has not deemed it important enough to be able to update firmware for a mac. So I can’t do it. That is not good. However, apparently I can send it back and they will do it. Which seems silly, but that’s where we are.
Sound - Pretty good. I mean, the dx300 and iDSD micro signature both beat it, but not by the amount I would expect given the price differences. And, frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of that difference results from the amp power more than the dac. It feels it bit leaner to me compared to the big boys. On the Zen it doesn’t much matter.
Wired - As mentioned, to get it to charge you have to switch the setting when done. Running wired does clean up the sound a bit.
BT - Just about every bluetooth solution I have heard has a subtle noise in the background. It is minimal here.
App - The app is not very good. Parts of it have no translation into english. It gets into this cycle of retrying connections to devices. (It did this with the Q5s to the point where I almost didn’t try it out). The btr5 was better than that. It seems like some settings require you to back out and go in and/or restart the device. The app is just not good.
Volume - It works differently in BT vs wired. In wired, you can’t adjust volume from the phone at all but the it only needs to be at 24ish of 60 to get to a good volume. 30 to be loud. And volume controls only work on the device. In BT, you have volume control from the phone and on the device. I tend to leave the device maxed and control from the phone.
Connecting - 3.5mm and 2.5mm balanced. I really only use the balanced connection.
Qudelix
Size - This thing is seriously small. I thought the BTR5 was tiny and this thing just takes size to the next smallest level. As it turns out, it makes it more susceptible to cord pulls. It could be hanging by the headphone cable and you might not notice.
Button Usage - Interestingly, the initial impression is confusion. But one look at the manual (not included) clears that up. Both lights on the side are rocker buttons with upper and lower switches. And there are a multitude of tap/hold combinations. The only real annoyance is I can’t tell whether I am touching the red or the blue side without touching it. I will adapt to this in time based on the orientation. I just haven’t adapted yet.
One annoyance, it’s so small I keep accidentally pushing buttons. Again, I think once I am used to it, it won’t be an issue.
Charging - Interestingly, it is always willing to charge. Even from the iPhone (despite claiming that wouldn’t work). It’s very nice not to have to think about modes to charge it when switching around setups. This is one of the pain points on the BTR5.
Firmware - The first time I launched the app and turned on the device it asked to do the firmware update. Did it painlessly and I am good to go. Again, a huge step up over the BTR5.
Sound - They use the same DACs. They sound very similar to me. Maybe identical. My brain wants to say the Qudelix has an edge here, but honestly, it may just be that I want to like it more given how well it is doing in other areas. I’d call this a tie.
Wired - Completely painless. All I had to do was tell the app to prefer to be wired if connected to something that wants it to be a DAC. And in most cases (possibly all), it will charge at the same time. Again, beats the BTR5.
BT - The only thing I will say is I think the Qudelix shows no noise even over bluetooth. At least, I haven’t detected any yet. And that is quite impressive. Again, possibly a slight advantage over the BTR5. No issues at all so far.
App - The qudelix app was entirely painless. It connected and worked out of the box, updated firmwares, and instantly changes all settings. It maintains two separate connections, one for BLE and the other for A2DP. The app (and the device in general) was clearly built by engineers who at least kept their eye on usability. Does it look pretty? No. Does it function well? Yes.
Volume - Qudelix calls out the fact that there are two volume controls, one from the phone and one from qudelix. What is different about it, is both are always available independently. And you can control whether you want that or not. I didn’t play with it much because the default behavior is perfect. Basically, whether I am running BT or Wired, I can independently control both the qudelix and the iPhone volume. The new thing here is that I can still turn volume up and down from the phone when wired. BTR5 can’t do that.
In addition, the qudelix does volume matching magic if you change gain/power settings. So, I am never at risk of blowing my ears off. It’s not clear to me if it remembers it separately for BT vs Wired yet. (It seems so, but I haven’t done extreme testing for this). On the down side, I think this can only be switched from the app.
Connecting - It has standard 3.5mm and 2.5mm balanced. I have only used the 2.5mm. Same as BTR5.
Performance Controls - This has a bunch of settings that allow you to specify your performance to battery ratios. I honestly have not yet heard a difference between any of the settings. So, I am leaving them on the longest battery option.
Conclusion
I mentioned that the qudelix felt like it was built by engineers with an eye on usability. I want to expand that. It feels like it was built by engineers that were solving a problem they were passionate about while making sure others could use their solution. The fiio feels like it was directed by product marketers to meet a specification. The engineers cared about the quality of execution while the product marketers cared about the specifications.
If it’s not clear already, I find the qudelix to be the far superior device. It is simply best in class from a usability perspective. I won’t knock the BTR5 too hard. I just can’t think of many reasons to buy it over the qudelix. Similar specs and concept, one is just executed far better.
I present to you the current Best iPhone friendly portable dac/amp. Congratulations Qudelix!
Side note: I do not find crazy levels of detail differences between these and the dx300/signature. My test headphone is obviously the Zen. I don’t know if it has the resolution to detect differences. But there is something about signature/dx300 sound that is different. And I haven’t been able to put my finger on it. The signature and dx300 almost sound a touch smoother. Going to try and figure that out at some point.
The End.