The FiiO Q11 Is A Mixed Bag
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- As portable headphone amp and DACs go, the FiiO Q11 has a lot going for it with a fairly respectable DAC and enough power to drive 250 ohm headphones with adequate headroom. But a couple simple design flaws hold this otherwise solid $89 contender back and make me question whether I could ultimately recommend them.
#headphoneamp #dac #fiio 
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If anyone is wondering, the other FiiO amp I mention that has the charging or data-only switch on it is the Q3.
Glad you talked about the cable situation
Yeah it's a real shame. I wondered when I recorded this how many others would care about that, but it definitely seems worth having mentioned now.
Thank you for explaining the cable issue, was just about to pull the trigger on this. Any suggestions would be appreciated for my Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6xx. Cheers
Thanks for the info on the cable. I was wondering why I kept getting an error message when I used other cables.
You're welcome. Glad the video was helpful to you!
Thanks for mentioning that about the cable. I just bought a fancy braided cable to match my Katos stock cable for a Moonriver II Ti that I ordered but they couldn't deliver. I literally have the website open to order the Q11 right now. Honestly for the price I think it's worth it anyway. The Q11 is about $100 cheaper than the Moonriver II Ti.
Did you end up trying it? What did you think?
I was planning to buy this DAC but the cable is somewhat a dealbreaker for me, I usually use DAC/AMP for my laptop, but the problem is the USB-C port is sticking out on the back of my laptop's screen, and I always put my laptop on a stand so it can improve the cooling system. If I can't have any long cable to connect to the DAC (OEM Cables, my country didn't have any Fiio Shops and stuff) then it's just gonna break in no time, thank you so much for such informative video !
I use the Shanling L3 USB-C to Lightning adapter for everything I plug into my iPad. I haven't had an issue yet, 5 dongles & 4 powered/Bluetooth dac/amps. Available on Amazon, should be an easy fix if you were to experience cable failure. Great video, you actually have me looking at the G6. Something I have never been interested in because I assumed it was for gaming, why would that be something an "audiophile" would want? 😂 Im intrigued.
Thanks for the tips! And yeah about the G6 while it does have features certainly aimed at gamers, in several reviews from people more technical than myself they have praised the DAC it uses. Not the highest quality out there but for the money certainly high-end.
Como recomiendas cargar la batería del q11 con cargador de pared o computardora portátil!????
Hi there, can you please tell me if this divice can drive sundara closed back?. They are 98db, 20 ohms. Greets from Mexico.
FiiO makes a usb-c to lightning cable that’s 20.00 on amazon. It’s data only, but I don’t have any Fiio device to test it on.
Interesting. I wonder if that's new? I didn't see anything like that when I'd looked last year. Thanks for the tip for anyone else watching!
Yes I have it in my cart. Search
FIIO LT-LT2 Lightning to Type C USB Data Cable
And it should bring it up.
@@Digimorphosisthere’s also another
FiiO LT-LT3 USB Type C to Lightning Cable
I found put that they are regular cables you can use with android for example one of thouse Samsung cables the ones that are both data and power thats what in using currently after my original cable got chewed by my dog also they are data only cables on the market but they are hard to come by
Great video! Would this be a great buy for my Hifiman Edition XS? I currently have a topping dx3 pro+ for my desktop setup, I'm looking for a portable dac/amp to drive them on the go. Can you suggest something else at around the same price point or these would work well already? Thanks
Hmm. At a glance I would be tempted to say that although these headphones have very low sensitivity that might be balanced by them also having low impedance that would help make them easier to drive. When I visited a power calculator website with the specs from those headphones though it did seem to suggest you would need More amp power than this amp provides to reach high volumes. I have not used those headphones myself to comment whether real life usage differs from what numbers suggest, though.
@@Digimorphosis thanks for the reply. I'll look into it.
its not about the loudness, u need headroom to not use amps to the maximum volume (propably around 50%, 70% at best, based on design) also power is not about the volume for headphones but about control, control grip and soundstage. In other words from weak amp u propably would be able to achieve good volume but still poorer sound in comparison to powerful amp. Also its about the design and digital gain. Powerful amp with lower gain will provide more juice to transducers at the same volume.
Agreed. I've managed to reach adequate loudness plugging straight into phones and unideal outputs like you say, but using a hefty enough am grants all of those other benefits for sure. Especially bass - that and soundstage are in my experience the two things that suffer most with an amp that doesn't have enough headroom or a DAC that is only mediocre. As far as trying to touch on every one of those points in the video, it's already 13 minutes long and sometimes when you make content you can't say everything. 😊 Appreciate you watching and adding value to the discussion. 👍🏻
I have the q11 connected to my s22 ultra with the fiio control app downloaded. I have it full volume on high gain mode. My HD6xx's are so quiet even at full volume. Any recommendations?
Hmm.. Can you adjust the volume on the phone independently of the amp? I seem to recall that being the case in some of my tests, and if the source device volume is super low maxing it on the FiiO won't be enough and vice versa.
Hello, nice review and presentation style. I was going to order this today... but the cable thing is a bummer. What I really want to get is the Fiio Q15. Have you heard about that one yet? But it is 400.00 compared to a mere 90.00 for the Q11. With that said, I am thinking of buying the Q11 for a short term place holder until I get the Q15 later this year. I just got a set of Focal Clear MG Pros and I think the extra power would really make a difference. Right now I am using my favorite little device, the Qudelix 5K. Are you familiar with that device? I really like it. God bless and I hope you had a nice Easter. Subscribed. 🙂
Hi! I am not familiar with the Quedelix 5k, but going for the extra power in your choices makes sense. If you think you'd only use the Q11 short term the cable thing might not be an issue, though it's always a shame to have to buy twice. I'd be curious to see what you decide, there.
I did have a nice Easter with the fam, thank you! Hope you did as well.
Hello and thanks for the kind words. I did go ahead and order the Q15. It came in last night and I will be checking it out today! You are right, why buy twice. I think I like the AKM sound and the extra power can’t hurt! 😂
Thanks for the review.
I am considering purchasing q11 for my android phone. Can you control the volume of the q11 independently from the smartphone? As I heard, when using USB dac on Android phones, it is necessary to set the volume of the smartphone to 100%, and then adjust the volume of USB dac. This is because doing so can bypass the intervention of Android phones.
It did seem like that was the case for other Android users. I don't have an Android anymore personally to check. I don't generally care for dual controls because it creates an inconsistent experience device to device - I think on my iPhone and iPad it acted more like the device or the Q11 controller the same volume meter in a synced way. I'll check into your question.
if you use an app like USB Audio Player then yes, you can control volume directly from the dac
Right thanks for this. I was looking at the Q11 and it seemed just right for me. But I've done a search for iPhone data only cables and as you say - there's none available. I want a DAC with its own battery so maybe the Q3 is the way to go. Thanks for pointing this out. Shame really.
Yeah it really is a shame. It's an amp and DAC that has a lot going for it otherwise. Thanks for watching!
I'm looking to get something decent but cheap to leave at work. So this device would be connected usb c to a to a computer, probably always. Any thing in your testing make that a concern?
Nope. For the money I thought it sounded pretty good and like I said in the review it would probably drive most headphones pretty well. So if you're going to leave it connected to a computer then the main issue I had with these, their proprietary cables, is no longer a concern. 👍🏻
I planned to connect a bluetooth receiver that has a 3.5mm male then connect it to the type c on the q11 via a 3.5mm female to type c do you think it will work?
Interesting idea. If I understand you correctly, I don't see why it shouldn't work. It will still be transforming the digital signal to an analog 3.5mm output as far as it's concerned, and the dongle then feeds into your bluetooth receiver. The DAC shouldn't know the difference. If you end up going this route and think of it, stop back by and let me know how that goes! That's a cool idea for even more portability, at the cost perhaps of some sound quality being bluetooth.
do you have a dac recommendation for iems exclusively, thanks
As far as I understand it what makes for a good DAC for one headphone should be consistent for all, or in other words I wouldn't make a specific recommendation only for IEM's. I personally use the sound blaster X G6 most of the time for my headphones and I think it strikes a great value of quality and price for most headphones, but it's not battery driven so it isn't portable.
There are other headphones DAC and amp combos out there that are also excellent such as the Schiit Hel, but one of the big advantages of that is how much more powerful the amp is and for IEM you definitely don't need all that power.
Question: My Q11 is not even discoverable on a Mac or Android tablet. The FIIO Command app does not see the Q11 and no music comes out.
Yet it works on my old Windows 10 PC.
Have you heard of anyone with a similar problem with their Q11?
Hmm I haven't. I'll do a little reading up about it tonight to see what's out there. I used my Q11 with a MacBook and an iPad and it worked ok on all of them. On the Mac using their proprietary cable shouldn't matter because it should charge it. The tablet would be a different story, but since you have the issue on a Mac also it's less clear why.
Read through several audio forums, FiiO's own FAQ pages and other places and am not seeing discussions of this particular issue. It seems like generally as long as the right cables are used for mobile/tablet it's pretty seamless. If you just got the Q11 it's possible it's defective.
@@Digimorphosis Thanks for taking time to investigate this issue. When the hardware works on one platform but not another then I tend to lean towards firmware issues.
Hi. First time on your channel. I have a question. What DAC you recommend me: FiiO Q11 or FiiO Q3 MQA. Sorry for my bad english. Your channel is good by the way.
Thank you for the kind words! I've not used the Q3 yet myself, but from what I have heard from others in the audio community the Q11 has a stronger amp in it but the Q3 has a slightly higher quality DAC. There are other feature differences, such as the Q3 having the charging on/off switch which is nice, but otherwise you are somewhat choosing between more power or better audio quality. There's probably not a huge difference between them, but there it is. Hope that helps with your search.
Will this amplifier drive my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm headphones to maximum power?
I was satisfied with its ability to drive 250 ohm headphones during my testing, so 80 ohms should be far easier to drive and I wouldn't have any concerns for power.
@@DigimorphosisAnd how is the sound? Qualitative?
Can hifiman sundara headset q11 drive?
I would say probably. The Sundara are fairly low sensitivity, but also have low impedance which should help.
Yeah the cable it's a nightmare! I contacted support and they don't sell a long "data cable", just the 50/30cm LT-TC4 cable for lightning and usb-c but this one is charge and data so it takes power from the phone or tablet... I'm not sure what protocol they use but none of my hundreds of USB C cables works like the short one
Yeah I'm assuming some of the pins in the USB C tip that normally handle power aren't connected to anything internally or something. Otherwise I'm not sure how they pull that off, but I agree it's a real shortcoming of this device when they already had a better solution in another of their products.
@@Digimorphosis Instead of having to have a special cable, couldn't they have easily just disabled the pins on the device side?
@@kraig7777 That's a great question. Seems to me that would work and would definitely have avoided these issues. Strange lack of thought put into the design.
Can you show us others devices like this without the problem of dependence of a singular kind of cable?
As soon as I get my hands on them, sure. I'm a guy with a budget like anyone else, but I am on the hunt.
@@DigimorphosisWhich is that other Fiio device you said have the switch charge tech?
@@jesusserrano001 I believe it's the FiiO Q3. From what I understand the amp is slightly less powerful but it has a better DAC and has the switch that controls charging or just data. If you're interested, here is a Reddit thread discussing: www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/14i0hoi/fiio_q11_or_fiio_q3_or_alternative_no_bluetooth/
@@DigimorphosisThanks a lot for answer
@@jesusserrano001 You're welcome and it's a good question. I will provide that information as a pinned comment for everyone else since I suspect other people watching the video might be curious about the same thing. 👍🏻
I’m getting in to the world of “audiophile” grade equipment, I’ve had a Fiio Olympus 2 for a couple of years now and I recently got myself DT990 250ohm headphones. I want to get myself a proper dac and amp and I’m not sure if this would be right for me. I mostly want something to sit on my desk and not really have it portable. Would this be better than the Olympus 2’s or no?
Honestly if you foresee mostly being at a desk and you don't need it to be portable, my personal recommendation would be to spend a little bit more money and look at something like the Sound BlasterX G6, which is what I primarily use at my desk. The amp is a fair bit stronger than the FiiO so you have more flexibility of headphones, and the sound quality is also better. Plus if you are using a Windows computer and can get the Sound Blaster software you will have access to equalizers and all kinds of other tools that you wouldn't get with the FiiO. I've used the Sound Blaster for all types of headphones, and it drives the DT 1990 @250 ohms quite well.
@@Digimorphosis thank you so much for the tip!! I’ll definitely look in to them and if I get them I’ll let you know what I think^^
You lost my on the "cable stuff" but I don't subscribe to Apple Inc so its zero of an issue to me
Yo los uso con unos beierdynamic DT 880 de 600 ohms
Nice. That's a great testament to what this amp can do power-wise. That's probably about as high ohms as anyone would use. 👍🏻
I can still tell my phone to send no power. open your developer options.
That's a cool tip and I appreciate it. For the sake of those looking for amps, should a customer have to figure out how to open an optional menu that not everyone even knows exists to enable extra functionality that would be completely unnecessary with better product design, though? If you already have the device and are frustrated this is useful to know, no doubt, but from a product standpoint it's still a poor design that was already easily avoided on other models of FiiO's own products.
Which settings in developer mode to enable this ?