I have the btr5 for a few weeks and i like it. The sound quality is very good. I hear no difference between ldac and aptx/aptx hd btw and i dont use eq anyway because i use the etymotic er4xr and er2se. The fiio music app adds some nice features. One little annoyance is you cant hold volume to raise or lower quickly.
Good question...I don't know. That could be deal breaker. I use the ES100's ambient mode to mix room sounds with music so I'm not isolated and deaf to coworkers with my IEMs in.
Brian R The same stock smoky litz one works fine. Campfire also sells a 2.5mm balanced version, do get the smoky version and not the silver version with the same price. The smoky one is newer and more comfortable. If you want to go with something thicker, the new vogue series (virtuoso model in particular) from effect audio also works. The effect audio one is heavier though, “26 AWG” thickness. A silver or silver plated cable with well with a heavy V shaped sound. The campfire one with great with their Vega iem. I find it campfire one to be very good in quality and I am not overpaying for snake oils. The campfire one is also very tangle free.
Brian R Since you said the included one wasn’t fitting you very well, I think I might be hard to find a more comfortable one because it is very light and soft.
About Polaris V2, wondering what you like and don't like about them? I'm also wondering if they are forgiving to poorly mastered materials? Thanks. Great comparison btw!
Sorry for the noobish question, but can this be used entirely wireless in a mobile phone + bluetooth earphones setup, or is a wired connection between the earphones and the BTR5 a necessity?
@@ProjectsbyBrianI understand, thanx for clarifying.Does a pair of Sony WH-1000XM2 with added cable count as "true wired" or would you say the cable needs to come hardwired for the best possible quality? Thank you.
I have only two complaints about my ES100 (first generation). 1) It has micro usb (that's why I was disappointed when second generation had same lame micro usb. 2) Some micro-freezes still happen (once in a week or so). So, I'm waiting for BTR5 with type-c and native bluetooth 5 support - maybe it will fix bluetooth connection issues. Do you have bluetooth issues with it ? Actually it's very important and many reviews lack any data about bt connection itself.
@@ProjectsbyBrian Thank you for your answer. I use ES100 with galaxy s10, and it's much better compared to btr3 (which had bt 4.2) - but still sometimes audio stutters.
For some reason I expected this type of device to be a poorly made, unreliable and underwhelming piece of gear. I am pleasantly surprised to find that they perform really well, are nicely constructed objects and I'm enjoying music more and more often because of them. I feel like I have got the most value for money out of anything I have bought for a long time from these devices. I also have trouble expressing how I appreciate music though I think I get what other people mean in their descriptions. Enjoyed your video and presentation style.
Really great video! I really like that you say you’re not sure about the sound differences, since most of it is imagination anyway. I have noticed the es100 sounds a bit compressed when the eq is activated. I thought that is maybe the case, because the es100 lowers the digital volume by 6db when it activates eq so the signal doesn’t get distorted when eqing up. If you could try to listen for that difference in sq and give me feedback that would be really nice of you.
Lowering the gain isn't compression. Compression is a nonlinearity (variable gain) usually heard when an amp runs out of headroom. I haven't noticed any compression with the ES100 MkII. I do use the EQ feature. I will say that , if you boost frequencies aggressively, you'll run out of headroom. Proper gain structure is up to the user and can sound bad if not managed properly.
Have you tried the performance using wired connection on a computer? I plan to use these as desktop setup 95% of the time. DAC/AMp from desktop and having the bt handy when i need it.
@@ProjectsbyBrian May i know if you tried connecting it as USB AMP/DAC is it driverless if you select the high performance USB mode since BTR5 has 2 USB mode when you connect to a desktop. And does the drivers installation prompt for a desktop restart to finish installation. Sorry so specific aha
I use my es100 as a wired dac/AMP often. Works really well..what's great is that it stays linked to the phone, if I want, which means I can take calls.
Can you drop a BTR5 in a toilet? I can personally vouch that an ES100 mk1 survived being flung into a toilet at high velocity. It was in there for at least two minutes as I'd been hunting on the bathroom floor for it before it occurred to me to look in there. I had the ES100 in my hand, it slipped and I wanted to save it from the stone tiles of my bathroom floor, so I grabbed the headphone cable, lifting upwards. Momentum said hello and the ES100 whipped off the end of the cable like a rocket. It was still working when I fished it out. I turned it off and left it alone for two days, just in case. I know you're wondering: it was a clean bowl. Thankfully.
I've had two ES100s break from normal use. The first one just stopped working and the second one now seems to have a loose connection at the connector. Good thing I had insurance for both of them! This time I'm trying the BLT5. Hopefully it's better constructed.
I use my ES100 mkII daily for work and also while riding motorcycles in all types of weather. I beat the hell out of my gear. My ES100 has a 2 inch lanyard attached to 2 rubber magnets that I clamp to my clothing to keep from losing it at 80+ mph. So far, the ES100 has held up through 3 years of abuse.
I'm sure the Polaris hold their own but I really recommend the ikko (oh1 or oh10) hybrids for sound stage, separation and extension. A little es100 eq adjustment and they really deliver. I'd be interested to know your opinion if you've tried them.
Oof this seemed like such an easy win but no Eq over ldac. Can your android or another app control Eq seperately? My Samsung has a basic Eq built into the OS.
Samsung also has an adaptive EQ that has a hearing test that you answer yes/no to test tones. It corrects defincies in your IEMs and your hearing. The EQ is stored by name. I have a separate EQ for each IEM I use. Works great.
Thanks for your opinions. It's more proof to me that the BTR5 will be the best thing to buy for Bluetooth use currently. That's to bad about the EQ not working with LDAC. Strangely even Sony with their own app for the WH1000XM3's it tells you when you toggle the EQ that LDAC is not supported. I find it hard to believe that Radsone is using LDAC with the EQ when Sony themselves is not and they developed that codec. Maybe there is a limitation Sony and Fiio are aware of worthy of not doing a EQ though LDAC or maybe there is a data conversion we all don't know about with the Radsone where the EQ is happening in another circuit and being fed back into the Bluetooth stream without messing with the LDAC codec. I'm frustrated with any Bluetooth headphone I've ever owned since its almost always a cheap amplifier circuit coupled with either tuning I don't prefer, skipping Bluetooth, noise floor and data noise, compression, micro details missing, lacking treble or bass or both. I ordered the BTR5 and I hope its as clean and good as my hifi setup. The people that have it all seem to think its a great sounding amp over Bluetooth. The specs and components Fiio used are very promising to be a very HQ sound. I really don't want wires so I'm willing to dedicate a set of headphones I like the sound of and 3d print a holder for the BTR5 to live on the headphone band. I can use a short wire that way from the headhphone jack to the BTR5 and have no clip or wires on my body.
@@ProjectsbyBrian Deal. My BTR5 should arrive in a week. Its hard to find but I found an authorized dealer with it in stock. Once I design my setup I'll provide a link so you can see. First I will be doing listening trials through the coming weeks on different headphones I have and then I'll design the clip and upload it to thingiverse for anyone that wants to print one. It will be likely specific to the headphone I use. Could be the Sennheiser HD600 although its hard to drive and even though the BTR5 can do it, likely will kill the battery faster and they are bulky. For portable use and something more efficient I might go with my modded Audio Technica ATH-M40x or an on ear. I've got 5 headphones I like so something will get dedicated to this if it sounds good!
@@gandacious21 It relies more on the app than the hardware, the build quality felt comparatively cheap, the sound quality never really impressed me, it had a difficult time driving many cans, the first one I owned died within a couple of months and the second within a year.
@@benjamincarter6095 oof thanks for telling me the reason tho that was really helpful. I was planning on buying a Bluetooth receiver for my 80ohm dt 770 pros. Do you recommend any other than the btr5?
@@gandacious21 I like Fiio for bluetooth, and use the Q5 to power all but the thirstiest of cans. You can swap out the amp modules depending on your needs. The Mojo is great if bluetooth is not a concern, but the bluetooth module nearly doubles the cost.
@@gandacious21 The more I thought about your question, I came to the conclusion you may want even more juice for that particular set of cans. I would actually recommend looking at the ifi xCAN. If you run it balanced, it pushes 1000mW per channel. Plus, it uses a quality Burr Brown DAC chip that I really love the sound of, especially for something portable and reasonably affordable.
Now imagine if i could actually get the btr5
I feel like an ink display wouldve make more sense than a single color AMOLED display
oled dont consume much vs ink displays, plus its a thinner
in china u likely to find samsung diy display than old ink black and white displays
I've had the es100 for two days and I've notice phone calls dropping from time to time
can you use it while charging?
Finally some competition to es100 after so many years.
battery life ?
I have the btr5 for a few weeks and i like it. The sound quality is very good. I hear no difference between ldac and aptx/aptx hd btw and i dont use eq anyway because i use the etymotic er4xr and er2se. The fiio music app adds some nice features.
One little annoyance is you cant hold volume to raise or lower quickly.
@@ProjectsbyBrian most people wouldnt hear a difference with higher kbps files either.
High res audio is highly overrated imo.
How to amplify a pair of truly wireless earbuds? Please help.
Does the BTR 5 have a ambient mode and can you take phone calls with it
Good question...I don't know. That could be deal breaker. I use the ES100's ambient mode to mix room sounds with music so I'm not isolated and deaf to coworkers with my IEMs in.
Either way I suggest you get the balanced version of the cable. 2.5mm balanced sounds better on the es100, still waiting for my btr5.
Brian R The same stock smoky litz one works fine. Campfire also sells a 2.5mm balanced version, do get the smoky version and not the silver version with the same price. The smoky one is newer and more comfortable. If you want to go with something thicker, the new vogue series (virtuoso model in particular) from effect audio also works. The effect audio one is heavier though, “26 AWG” thickness. A silver or silver plated cable with well with a heavy V shaped sound. The campfire one with great with their Vega iem. I find it campfire one to be very good in quality and I am not overpaying for snake oils. The campfire one is also very tangle free.
Brian R Since you said the included one wasn’t fitting you very well, I think I might be hard to find a more comfortable one because it is very light and soft.
Could you link to those headphones you are using, want to check them out.
They are the Campfire Audio Polaris V2's.
Hey nice video. Would have been great to see it in action - attached to different headphones, showing how stable it is etc.
About Polaris V2, wondering what you like and don't like about them? I'm also wondering if they are forgiving to poorly mastered materials?
Thanks. Great comparison btw!
Sorry for the noobish question, but can this be used entirely wireless in a mobile phone + bluetooth earphones setup, or is a wired connection between the earphones and the BTR5 a necessity?
@@ProjectsbyBrianI understand, thanx for clarifying.Does a pair of Sony WH-1000XM2 with added cable count as "true wired" or would you say the cable needs to come hardwired for the best possible quality? Thank you.
@@ProjectsbyBrian I absolutely see what you mean, thanx again for your input!
I have a paid of beyerdynamic dt770 pro 32 ohms. I use them off my phone and I want them louder and more fun sounding. Would the btr5 do that for me
@@ProjectsbyBrian thank you so much!! Would the btr5 make my headphones sound worth the 150 dollars I payed for it?
@@ProjectsbyBrian what about 80 ohm ?
I have only two complaints about my ES100 (first generation).
1) It has micro usb (that's why I was disappointed when second generation had same lame micro usb.
2) Some micro-freezes still happen (once in a week or so).
So, I'm waiting for BTR5 with type-c and native bluetooth 5 support - maybe it will fix bluetooth connection issues.
Do you have bluetooth issues with it ? Actually it's very important and many reviews lack any data about bt connection itself.
@@ProjectsbyBrian Thank you for your answer.
I use ES100 with galaxy s10, and it's much better compared to btr3 (which had bt 4.2) - but still sometimes audio stutters.
Very nicely done 😊👍
Thanks for a nice and honest comparison Video. BTW, which earphones are those?
great review brian :), can you please tell me how is the battery life compared to the es100? thank you.
@@ProjectsbyBrian this helps a lot, thank you my friend, I appreciate it
this one or fiio k3 which sound better?
To me it's much better without the integrated clip as I rarely use it, so having permanently there is annoying.
For some reason I expected this type of device to be a poorly made, unreliable and underwhelming piece of gear. I am pleasantly surprised to find that they perform really well, are nicely constructed objects and I'm enjoying music more and more often because of them. I feel like I have got the most value for money out of anything I have bought for a long time from these devices. I also have trouble expressing how I appreciate music though I think I get what other people mean in their descriptions. Enjoyed your video and presentation style.
是的，btr5花了大量的质量和经费在外观设计，他很脆弱，es100mk2 ，看起来平平无奇，声音很纯净，就像我们小时候使用mp3一样，没有什么改变，只是乐库文件现在在手机里面
我知道你意思
Really great video! I really like that you say you’re not sure about the sound differences, since most of it is imagination anyway. I have noticed the es100 sounds a bit compressed when the eq is activated. I thought that is maybe the case, because the es100 lowers the digital volume by 6db when it activates eq so the signal doesn’t get distorted when eqing up. If you could try to listen for that difference in sq and give me feedback that would be really nice of you.
Lowering the gain isn't compression. Compression is a nonlinearity (variable gain) usually heard when an amp runs out of headroom. I haven't noticed any compression with the ES100 MkII. I do use the EQ feature. I will say that , if you boost frequencies aggressively, you'll run out of headroom. Proper gain structure is up to the user and can sound bad if not managed properly.
Does the fiio have an app ?? The es 100 has a great app.
Where did you buy the btr5? Amazon has been sold out for a while now.
Great video!
Side note... Did you record with stereo sound? Listening with my headphones it sounds like you're moving around the room here. lol
@@ProjectsbyBrian wow from a phone recording the audio was excellent! 👍
Can you please tell me if it is possible to use the BTR5 as DAC with an iPhone? Thanks a lot
Brian R thanks for your reply. Amazon doesnt list the BTR5 in germany right now. If i can get my hands on it i‘ll test it.
Yes
Have you tried the performance using wired connection on a computer? I plan to use these as desktop setup 95% of the time. DAC/AMp from desktop and having the bt handy when i need it.
@@ProjectsbyBrian May i know if you tried connecting it as USB AMP/DAC is it driverless if you select the high performance USB mode since BTR5 has 2 USB mode when you connect to a desktop. And does the drivers installation prompt for a desktop restart to finish installation. Sorry so specific aha
I use my es100 as a wired dac/AMP often. Works really well..what's great is that it stays linked to the phone, if I want, which means I can take calls.
Can you drop a BTR5 in a toilet?
I can personally vouch that an ES100 mk1 survived being flung into a toilet at high velocity. It was in there for at least two minutes as I'd been hunting on the bathroom floor for it before it occurred to me to look in there.
I had the ES100 in my hand, it slipped and I wanted to save it from the stone tiles of my bathroom floor, so I grabbed the headphone cable, lifting upwards. Momentum said hello and the ES100 whipped off the end of the cable like a rocket.
It was still working when I fished it out. I turned it off and left it alone for two days, just in case.
I know you're wondering: it was a clean bowl. Thankfully.
I've had two ES100s break from normal use. The first one just stopped working and the second one now seems to have a loose connection at the connector. Good thing I had insurance for both of them! This time I'm trying the BLT5. Hopefully it's better constructed.
@@janssenkuhn4049 RUclips didn't alert me to your reply. How are you getting on with your BLT5?
I use my ES100 mkII daily for work and also while riding motorcycles in all types of weather. I beat the hell out of my gear. My ES100 has a 2 inch lanyard attached to 2 rubber magnets that I clamp to my clothing to keep from losing it at 80+ mph. So far, the ES100 has held up through 3 years of abuse.
I'm sure the Polaris hold their own but I really recommend the ikko (oh1 or oh10) hybrids for sound stage, separation and extension. A little es100 eq adjustment and they really deliver. I'd be interested to know your opinion if you've tried them.
Which you recomend btr5 or es100 for ikko oh10?
@@ProjectsbyBrian thanks for the reply, stright to btr5 👍
Does this have a better sound quality compared to Dragonfly Red when connected tbrough USB?
I have both i like my fiio btr5 alot more
Not only is it portable and wireless, it has a balanced output that is very nice and very very powerful
Oof this seemed like such an easy win but no Eq over ldac. Can your android or another app control Eq seperately? My Samsung has a basic Eq built into the OS.
Samsung also has an adaptive EQ that has a hearing test that you answer yes/no to test tones. It corrects defincies in your IEMs and your hearing. The EQ is stored by name. I have a separate EQ for each IEM I use. Works great.
Thanks for your opinions. It's more proof to me that the BTR5 will be the best thing to buy for Bluetooth use currently. That's to bad about the EQ not working with LDAC. Strangely even Sony with their own app for the WH1000XM3's it tells you when you toggle the EQ that LDAC is not supported. I find it hard to believe that Radsone is using LDAC with the EQ when Sony themselves is not and they developed that codec. Maybe there is a limitation Sony and Fiio are aware of worthy of not doing a EQ though LDAC or maybe there is a data conversion we all don't know about with the Radsone where the EQ is happening in another circuit and being fed back into the Bluetooth stream without messing with the LDAC codec. I'm frustrated with any Bluetooth headphone I've ever owned since its almost always a cheap amplifier circuit coupled with either tuning I don't prefer, skipping Bluetooth, noise floor and data noise, compression, micro details missing, lacking treble or bass or both. I ordered the BTR5 and I hope its as clean and good as my hifi setup. The people that have it all seem to think its a great sounding amp over Bluetooth. The specs and components Fiio used are very promising to be a very HQ sound. I really don't want wires so I'm willing to dedicate a set of headphones I like the sound of and 3d print a holder for the BTR5 to live on the headphone band. I can use a short wire that way from the headhphone jack to the BTR5 and have no clip or wires on my body.
@@ProjectsbyBrian Deal. My BTR5 should arrive in a week. Its hard to find but I found an authorized dealer with it in stock. Once I design my setup I'll provide a link so you can see. First I will be doing listening trials through the coming weeks on different headphones I have and then I'll design the clip and upload it to thingiverse for anyone that wants to print one. It will be likely specific to the headphone I use. Could be the Sennheiser HD600 although its hard to drive and even though the BTR5 can do it, likely will kill the battery faster and they are bulky. For portable use and something more efficient I might go with my modded Audio Technica ATH-M40x or an on ear. I've got 5 headphones I like so something will get dedicated to this if it sounds good!
If You are an older fellow, like me, You can truly benefit f👀
i am waiting for the qudelix..✌️
wow.. already sold out. looks good tho.
I was very disappointed with the ES100. Love the BTR5 though.
Why were you disappointed?
@@gandacious21 It relies more on the app than the hardware, the build quality felt comparatively cheap, the sound quality never really impressed me, it had a difficult time driving many cans, the first one I owned died within a couple of months and the second within a year.
@@benjamincarter6095 oof thanks for telling me the reason tho that was really helpful. I was planning on buying a Bluetooth receiver for my 80ohm dt 770 pros. Do you recommend any other than the btr5?
@@gandacious21 I like Fiio for bluetooth, and use the Q5 to power all but the thirstiest of cans. You can swap out the amp modules depending on your needs. The Mojo is great if bluetooth is not a concern, but the bluetooth module nearly doubles the cost.
@@gandacious21 The more I thought about your question, I came to the conclusion you may want even more juice for that particular set of cans. I would actually recommend looking at the ifi xCAN. If you run it balanced, it pushes 1000mW per channel. Plus, it uses a quality Burr Brown DAC chip that I really love the sound of, especially for something portable and reasonably affordable.