FiiO Q1ii (2nd Gen) DAC and Headphone Amplifier

This is a great looking well-built compact unit. Fits nicely into a jacket pocket. The case seems pretty robust, but the first hour I had it I managed to wander into a door, and I can confirm it does mark quite easily! The black paint rubs quite soon in normal use, and any knocks chip it to reveal the silver beneath. The supplied lighting to micro USB lead works well and there was no trouble whatsoever connecting the unit to my iPhone and getting sound straight out. (However, I’ll come back to that lead later.)Most importantly, though, the sound. Let me be specific here - I bought this for music on the go: mostly 320k resident on my iPad, or streamed from Amazon at the same rate. The sound from my iPhone 7 is better than I ever expected from a phone anyway, and I’ve selected headphones to partner best with that (Fidelio M1 Mk2s - and no, the earpads have been fine), so the Q1 Mk2 would have to be pretty good at what it does for me to notice an appreciable difference. £90 is £90 after all.To begin with it was quite boxy and constricted, but soon began to open out as it burned in. This has taken a while - much better after a couple of days constant playing, and better than that after a week or so more.There’s plenty of detail but it’s definitely not ‘analytical’. it’s neither as soft or warm as FiiO’s E17, nor as ‘spacious’ as my iMac direct, but has more definition and resolution than either. It’s very listenable. I don’t care how detailed a piece of hardware is if it’s fatiguing, and I can (and have) listened to the Q1 for hours at a time. The bass is pretty tight, and suits warm or bassy headphones. There is a bass boost switch, but it muddies the sound a lot. I’m actually a fan of bass boost options, but I’d only use this one if I really had to. The top end sits very well in the range, not too bright or forward but it’s all there. The lower midrange has a thick texture - nice on some vocals, the body of the snare hits and overdriven guitar. I would say this is the only feature of the sound that isn’t ‘neutral’, and it’s certainly not overbearing.I would definitely say that if you stream music on your iDevice and sit in libraries or offices or aircraft for long periods the Q1 is money well spent. It’s a noticeable step up in resolution and authority from your iDevice but a step short of reference.It sounds great with lossless files, and is not embarrassed by my better headphones. In fact I’ve discovered it partners very well with my Fidelio X2s - I’ve been sat here in bed with the iPad, Prime Music at 320k, the Q1 and the X2s for hours typing stuff up tonight, and I’ve rarely been aware of anything but the music. For me, that’s success.One or two people have commented on drive and volume. I tried it with my studio Beyer DT770s which are 250ohm, and it was ok... but not seriously convincing. With the bass boost in and high gain selected the volume level was fine for listening and acoustic recording (perhaps with the exception of drums) but it didn’t really make the DTs sing.My Fidelio X2s are more forgiving and easy to drive, but respond well to better sources, DACS and amps. I’d say that if you have ‘phones that match that description, the Q1 will also reward you. But if you’ve got high impedance hard to drive headgear this may not quite cut it. Save your money for the much awaited Q5.So I was leaning towards a 4 star rather than 5, but one detail clinched it and knocked it definitely to a 4: the flimsy, short lighting to micro USB lead that other purchasers have commented on. Fine if you’ve got your phone and Q1 bundled into the same pocket, but with my iPad mounted on its stand for writing the Q1 was dangling in free space off the side. I expected it to break in a week.There are workarounds - I bought a female to male micro USB lead here on Amazon for a couple of quid and I’m relieved to find it works. But still... The supplied lead looks so throwaway it’s almost like FiiO are expecting you to.I dare say the Q5 will rock our socks, but with projected prices over £300, the Q1 might be all you need for more modest day to day stuff for less than a third of the cost.

WOW!If you have IEMs that are quite sensative and low impedance 12-32ohm this is great for those!You can get a good amound of volume on them but you still will not need the whole volume for high sensitivity IEMs (maybe 75% max - but i find 50-60% is great for loud listening and 25-35% for low level listening)Sounds better with my IEMs than my Zen Dac that cost much more. ( - maybe output impedance related)It wont have the power to drive 300-600ohm headphones at any volume.For the price there is no argument its simply great! - buy it now!The iFi HipDac will have too much power and probably too high output impedance for low impedance / high sensitivity IEMs but will be better for driving more demanding high OHM cans.Small and good battery life! (5v 2a charging)If you are an Android user remember to also purchase the FiiO USB-C OTG adapter so that it won't drain the battery of your phone. A normal cable will not work! MUST be OTG!Really good build quality. The volume control is about the best there is, perfect L/R balance! and no noise when changing volume!The unit outputs a little bit of heat, more than i expected but not "hot".For my IEMs the Gain is best on low and i dont use bass-boost for 'proper listening'.because its so close to a phone it can sometimes pick up interferance from it. You can go into airplane mode and turn off wifi etc to stop this.The included bands for mounting to back of phone are less than ideal (wrap over screen!) but do the job. i think a spare case with this permenantly attached with 2sided tape (3m etc) would be better if you are committed to it. I wil be doing this when I upgrade my phone in 2 months.Will update with any issues should they appear.Thanks FiiO, Great product and good price!