Fiio BTR5 Unboxing Impressions: Best Bluetooth DAC/AMP!!

Fiio has been a game-changer in the Chi-fi audio market. The brand has been constantly bringing new products in all the departments like their latest Bluetooth DAC/AMP, the Fiio BTR5.

The BTR5 is the latest Bluetooth DAC/AMP from the brand, it comes as an upgrade for BTR3, which was the previous gen of Bluetooth DAC/AMP from the brand. The upgraded BTR5 comes with Bluetooth 5.0 now, while the BTR3 was equipped with 4.2 version. The BTR5 provides better amplification, is equipped with a better USB chip which supports better, cleaner decoding of different music formats.

The Fiio BTR5 can be used in many different ways, first, it can be connected via Bluetooth to your smartphone or digital audio players and supports Hi-Res Bluetooth codecs like LDAC, aptX HD, aptX LL and many more. Second, you can connect the BTR5 to your PC, MAC, Smartphone, or maybe Digital audio players through the USB Type-C port and provides a cleaner and powerful sound reproduction.

And today we at Hifigo have brought you a unit of Fiio BTR5, we are going to unbox the unit for you guys and will be sharing our initial impressions for the same.

Before we begin, if you would like to buy a unit of Fiio BTR5, you can order one through our store here.

Unboxing Impressions:-

The packaging box of Fiio BTR5 is very simple, it is a simple cardboard black colored box, with an image of Fiio BTR5 unit printed on the front. The box has a Fiio branding logo on the top corner and two Hi-Res certification logos on the opposite corner on the top. Below the image, we can see the product name and different Codecs and Bluetooth logos printed. As we pull out the outer packaging we get a glimpse at a beautiful unit of Fiio's BTR5 DAC/AMP.

The unit is packed in a simple white-colored fabric sleeve, there is also a clear transparent plastic case which we can use to attach the BTR5 to our clothes anywhere.

There are several other accessories included in the package which are as follows:-

>One Unit of Fiio BTR5 Bluetooth DAC/AMP
>One clear transparent case
>USB Type-C cable
>Quick start guide
>User manual
>Warranty card

The packaging feels really good and premium with a simple and elegant presentation.

Build Quality:-

The overall look of the BTR5 Bluetooth DAC/AMP is actually quite sleek and simple, the front and backside are completely wrapped in a 2.5D glass, which provides the entire unit a smooth texture, which feels very good to touch. The glass used here is a tempered glass that is resistant to scratches but it feels like it might attract our fingerprints. The front side also has a small OLED display which shows the Bluetooth Codec being played, volume, Battery and more.

The body is made up of aluminum alloy, which provides a strong and sturdy build quality since the unit is covered with tempered glass we preferred to use the device with clear case included in the package. The unit has dual microphones, power button, Volume and music controls on the right side of the device, the buttons are placed firmly. The Fiio BTR5 is a minimalist and simple device, which you can operate easily with one hand. You can easily attach it to anywhere on your shirt, tie, jacket, or anywhere else on your clothing using the clip on the back of the clear case.

On the top, there are two output ports, one 2.5mm balanced and one 3.5mm single-ended output port. Yes, you hear it right, Fiio has included a balanced port in a Bluetooth DAC/AMP, and believe us the output power through the balanced port is just amazing. Below it has only a USB Type-C port which one can use for multiple options like charging the device, USB input through Phone, Mac or PC.

The device actually looks premium with its 2.5D glass coating and aluminum alloy body, Fiio like all its other product lineup has provided the unit with great build quality.

Sound Quality:-

The sound output through the Fiio BTR5 is simply mesmerizing, it powered our pair of Campfire Audio Andromeda without any hiss, we tried multiple earphones including a 150ohm HE150pro pair of earbuds, and the BTR5 provided it more than enough juice to shine with all the details. We never had to push the volumes much on low gain mode for low impedance earphones and for higher impedance earphones and headphones we simply chose the high gain mode.

The sound output through the BTR5 sounds balanced, the mids shines rich with details, the vocal-based songs just sounded brilliant. The bass portion got good details, depths, the drums got amazing thumps, and the treble portion showed brilliant detail retrieval with no sibilance at all, none of the portions felt peaky or shouty.

We loved the instrument details in Hotel California by Eagles, the guitar strings just lovely, the Vocals in songs by John Mayer, we could feel the depth in his voice, the overall sound is very soothing, warm, with a slight U-shaped signature. The sound felt relaxing with a warm tonality, and great imaging, the sound has great resolution, it felt crisp and clear.

The BTR5 reproduces mids simply brilliantly, the output has transparent and crispy mids, there is no muddiness, no coloration by the DAC during the decoding.

There is no noticeable hiss even in Andromeda, the sound feels precise and detailed, the amplification is very clean, there is no noise or jitter even at higher volumes, just pure instrument details being reproduced for us.

Staging felt really great, overall the entire sound quality felt really good, there is good detail retrieval, amazing clarity to the vocals, and quick bass response. We really enjoyed the time we got with the unit.

Battery Life:-

Fiio claims the BTR5 to last for up to 9 hours of usage, for us under the testing conditions we actually used multiple codecs, and the battery lasted for around 8.5 hours for us. The battery life felt good enough for the cleaner and powerful sound output.

Connectivity:-

Now for a Bluetooth device, what matters the most after good sound quality, is the Bluetooth connectivity. The BTR5 features a flagship-level Bluetooth chip from Qualcomm and comes with a Bluetooth 5.0 support, the connectivity is actually great, we used the product in our office, while the device was kept at our table and we wandered around the office floor, and never we faced any lag or connection issues, the connection was stable and strong throughout our testing sessions.

Final Verdict:-

The Fiio BTR5 is actually a pretty great device, it offers brilliant sound decoding and powerful sound output, which is very clean and brings out all the micro details in our music. We really loved the Fiio BTR5 for its unmatched Bluetooth codecs support at its price range and would love to recommend this to our beloved friends and customers.

If you really liked our impressions and would like to buy a unit of Fiio BTR5 for yourself, you can buy one from here at our store.