Fiio q1

Gives your iPhone better sound, but doesn’t better its competition.Tested at £90

ByWhat Hi-Fi?published 3 April 18

What’s the most common way people play music? The answer is, for better or worse, through their smartphones.

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But the digital-to-analogue converter built into your điện thoại thông minh isn’t going lớn offer you the best sound. In order to lớn keep your device slim & costs down, compromises have been made.

So an external digital-to-analogue converter is the best way lớn get your điện thoại thông minh sounding great.

There are a number of companies vying for that place in your pocket. Cyrus, Audioquest & ifi all offer great value-for-money devices – và now FiiO, a company with a long history of portable DACs, is back with its latest contender.

The q.1 Mark II is an iPhone-focused portable DAC (though it will work with android as well) that’s priced khổng lồ be your entry-level access to lớn better sound.

It’s iPhone-focused because in the box is a MicroUSB-to-Lightning connection, which connects the quận 1 Mark II to lớn your smartphone. This is a nice touch, as it means you don’t need to use Apple’s convoluted Camera Connection Kit.

A USB Type-A to lớn MicroUSB will still work, for use with a computer or an android phone, but FiiO says because the USB output đầu ra of app android phones is not standard (and could change due to lớn different firmware versions) it can’t guarantee the DAC will work normally with all devices.

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Approximately the kích thước of a playing thẻ deck, và weighing just 100g, the q.1 Mark II has improved on the Mark I’s design. Gone is the hip-flask motif, with volume dial in place of lid.

The dial has been moved lớn the right side, giving space on the left for the conventional 3.5mm và 2.5mm balanced headphone outputs and a line in/out port.

There are also a couple of switches too: one for adjusting gain (for better matching when it comes to tai nghe sensitivity), one for increasing the bass.

The q1 Mark II feels great khổng lồ hold, but the large volume knob means that you can’t use it while the FiiO is lying on a surface - the dial makes tương tác with the surface. A millimetre or two off the dial would have avoided this, & it’s disappointing that Fiio hasn’t made it so.

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Inside the q.1 Mark II is a AK4452 DAC chip, which is capable of supporting files up lớn 32bit/384kHz & DSD256. Game ios devices don’t natively support DSD (you’ll need lớn use third-party apps lớn play those files) but it’s good to lớn know the functionality is there.

Rather than take power nguồn from your smartphone, FiiO has given this DAC a 1800mA battery, which it claims lasts an average of ten hours in use.

While other DACs will take nguồn from the smartphone, this Fiio’s approach will ensure that you’re not compromising your phone’s battery – all you have to bởi is remember khổng lồ charge it through its MicroUSB connection.

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Sound

We charge it up and let it loose on both iPhones và MacBooks - & we discover the q1 Mark II’s adequate, but somewhat superficial, character.

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To its credit, it presents a relatively well-balanced frequency range – neither earthy booms nor tinkling highs come across with an excess of weight or undue sharpness.

Car Seat Headrest’s Twin Fantasy (Those Boys) is kept organised between the opening organ chords, lax thump of the bass drum & Will Toledo’s solitary, strained vocal.

Flick the ‘bass’ switch on the back though, và it’s a different story. "Balanced and tight" becomes "wide & boomy". This weighs down the band’s low-fi pop sound and, although some people might enjoy the wilder low frequencies, it doesn"t bring you any closer khổng lồ audio fidelity.

We switch it off và play the rest of the track. The distorted guitars và the squeaking of their strings as the chords change come across with plenty of detail & texture.

Swapping khổng lồ The power of Love by Huey Lewis và The News, the q.1 Mark II demonstrates an acceptable amount of dynamism when it comes to lớn conveying the striking nguồn chords và the way Lewis’s potent vocals rapidly punch in.

The resolute 80s drumbeats have fair kick lớn them, never letting the side down when it comes to delivering a bit of low-end power và momentum.

However, compare it khổng lồ the smaller Cyrus soundKey – our award-winner at £100 – & the quận 1 Mark II is decidedly put in its place. The way Lewis delivers his lyrics as the track vaults through your headphones is much more obvious and clear from the soundKey.

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Finishing with Mad World by Sacre feat. Mike Monroe, it’s clear the FiiO DAC doesn’t have the greatest understanding of space or organisation.

Once the chorus comes in, the soundKey gives you a vast, open space for the vocal (and the rest of the midrange) khổng lồ fill. By comparison, the q1 Mark II is foggier and smaller-scale.

FiiO’s DAC is a little lượt thích listening to lớn an artist rehearse, while the soundKey reveals a defining performance.

A surer sense of timing, a greater sense of dynamism and a better defined & organised handling of instruments. These are the major areas the q.1 Mark II needs khổng lồ address before it has a hope of dethroning our current Award-winner.

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Verdict

The FiiO quận 1 Mark II is a piece of kit that spreads itself a little too thin. While there is definitely a place for its bigger body, tactile buttons & multiple ports versus sleeker, smaller products lượt thích the Cyrus soundKey, there’s no getting away from the fact the latter provides better audio performance.

If the FiiO sounded better, then we’d be more than happy with the extra bulk & could easily see the quận 1 Mark II carving out a nice little niche for the discerning iPhone user. Right now, however, we can’t quite see its place.

See all our FiiO reviews

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