Shanling UP4 VS Fiio BTR5 Bluetooth DAC Amplifiers | Hifigo

Fiio BTR5 was announced on July, 30th and now one month later the Shanling UP4 was announced. After trial sales in China local market, they are both available to the international market now. Here's how they stack up.

Control   

Wheel of Shanling UP4

All functions of the Shanling UP4 are controlled by the multi-functional wheel to achieve the most precise volume control allowing the tiniest volume changes with sensitive earphones, the volume control of the Shanling UP4 was split into 64 steps. Offering much more precise volume control, compared with limited 16 steps of most smartphones. Volume levels can be independently controlled both on the Shanling UP2 and the connected smartphone, keeping volume control always in reach.

Multi-function button of Fiio BTR5

The multi-function button does exactly as its name suggests – use it for: pairing/play/pause/accept call/hang up/cancel/force pair/open voice assistant. After disconnecting via Bluetooth from another device, simply press the multi-function button briefly to re-pair with the other device. When paired to a phone, simply double-click the multi-function button to wake up your voice assistant.

Better battery Life of Shanling UP4

Both Shanling UP4 and Fiio BTR5 feature 500mAh battery, but Shanling claims 15 hours battery life with 3.5mm single end headphone output while BTR5 comes with 9 hours at SE output. That may be because the more output power from BTR5. 

Shanling UP4 VS. Fiio BTR5 Review quoted from the buyer

“ I'm a long time portable audio enthusiast, starting out with a cassette Walkman. From there, I've played with dozens of portable audio players and reviewed many of them on headfi, from entry-level to TOTL. One day, I saw a picture of the venerable Shanling M3. The one with a control wheel that made it look like a giant Zippo lighter. It was quirky in a charming sort of way, and the sound. Oh, the sound. For my taste, it was one of the best bang for your buck DAPs I'd heard. Full, smooth, clear, detailed. That started my love affair with shanling DAPs. Since then, I've owned many of their DAPs and the original UP DAC/Amp. Most recently though, I've started getting into streaming via Google Play Music, Qobuz, and Tidal.

At home,I could hook my Chord Mojo up to my phone, but that wasn't a good option on the go. Luckily, I came across a release announcement on the hifigo blog about a couple of new Bluetooth DAC/Amps, the Fiio BTR5 and the Shanling UP4. Both checked the boxes with good chipset and 2.5mm balanced output. So I ordered both and have had a chance you test them out for a bit now. So what do I think?

The FiiO BTR5 has a small two-line display which is Handy when changing settings. It can also connect to the FiiO app, but I've found that doing so "steals" the connection which prevents me from using it with one of my streaming apps.

Soundwise

The BTR5 is the more energetic sounding of the two. It has nice dynamics with tight bass, clear mids, and sparkly treble. The Shanling UP4 is totally controlled by the by now classic Shanling control wheel, and there's no app although Shanling said they're working on one. Compared with the BTR5, the UP4 is a fuller, smoother, more relaxing listen yet not at the expense of detail retrieval. Neither is better, and I rotate between the two depending on my mood and the ear/headphones in using that day. Do yourself a favor and give them a try. I think you'll really enjoy them! ”

Different clips

Both of them come with removable clip cases offering high practicality of clip while making it easy to narrow it down for comfortable use in pocket.

DD , Fiio's exclusive supplier for accessories announced leather case special designed for BTR5, but there is still no Shanling UP4 leather case on sale.