FiiO Q1 Mark II Apple MFi Certified DAC & Amp

SPECIFICATIONS:

Input/Output: 3.5 mm Input and Output, 2.5 mm Balanced Output, Digital In (USB/OTG DAC)

DAC Chip: Single AKM4452

Amplifier Chip: OPA1662 (low-pass) and OPA926

Max supported sampling rate: Up to 384kHz/32bit PCM and DSD256

Output Impedance: <1.2 ohms (3.5mm out) and <2 ohms (2.5mm balanced out)

For more technical information, click here: Fiio Q1 Mark II full specifications

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated to Fiio in any way and do not benefit monetarily or in any other form for writing this review. I purchased this DAC/Amp with my own resources and I am simply giving my honest review of the product!

Review by: “Charlie” from The Little Audiophile

Fiio Q1MkII Retail Price (at time of writing): S$179

Fiio Q1MkII… where do I start? Alright, this little DAC/AMP is small in stature but is not exactly small in sound. No doubt it would not beat something like the Q5 – a TOTL DAC/AMP from Fiio, which is priced at slightly over S$500 here in Singapore. But at a fraction of the cost, the Q1MkII definitely punches well above the price Fiio is commanding. Why? Read on to find out.

THE BOX
The product comes in a pretty standard white box. Inside, you’ll find an interconnect (IC), a lightning to micro USB cable, 2 sets of stacking bands (normal and large sizes) and 1 stacking pad. Note the rubber feet on the Q1MkII are not included in the package. I installed them myself.



BUILD AND DESIGN
Volume knob
The Q1MkII employs a digitally-stepped volume adjustment which is supposed to mitigate problems of channel imbalance. Though I am unable to confirm if this it actually works on paper, I can tell you that there is no audible channel imbalance.

Also, when you turn the volume up or down when the music is playing, you can actually hear very soft “clicking” sounds (maybe about 10 to 15 dB) due to the digital volume adjustment at work. There will be no “clicking” sounds when you are not turning the volume knob. Just something to take note of.

Nonetheless, the volume knob is very solid and the motion is very smooth, though it feels slightly weighted.



Gain Switch
The high gain switch on the Q1MkII does not give a very big volume increase from the low gain in my experience. However, the low gain is already decently powerful. Fiio’s website did state that the delta of the volume between low and high gain is 5.7 dB for 3.5 mm out and 5.9 dB for 2.5 mm Balanced out.

One thing worth mentioning is that the Amp is reasonably clean of background noise, even on high gain. When turning the pot up to the max, I did not notice much (or any) background noise or amplifier hiss.

To put things into perspective, the Fiio A3 will start to display a little bit of background noise when the pot is turned up to an 8 or 9, even on low gain. (Sidetrack) In its defense, the A3’s noise is only really noticeable when no music is being played or on parts of the track where volumes are low.

Bass Boost
The bass boost function on the Q1MkII is a real question of hit or miss. Polar opposites. On bassy, or just moderately bassy headphones or IEMs, you might wanna turn this “fun switch” off as does hit you will a substantial amount of mid + sub-bass. Six decibels, according to Fiio, is how much more bass you would get. That is substantial.

This bass boost extends all the way from 20Hz to 100Hz, before gradually falling off. However, 125 Hz to 250 Hz is the range where vocals get their body. This means that by adding this addition bass, you could potentially over thicken/muddy the vocals. I personally keep the bass boost off unless I really want that extra kick.

With the bass boost off, the bass might not be weighty or impactful enough for some. However, this bass is polite and decays fast, so I am perfectly fine with it.



Usability and Compatibility
Apple Devices
This DAC/Amp is honestly really easy to use. For Android or Apple devices, it is usually plug and play. I am no Apple user, but I would believe that the Q1MkII would most probably work with most or if not all of the more recent Apple devices. Do note that the Q1MkII will not drain the battery of your Apple smartphone and will use its own battery power instead.

Android Devices
With Android phones, however, you should do some research to verify if your device is capable of isochronous data transfer. Most recent Android devices would support USB OTG, but not all devices support isochronous data transfer which is required for an OTG DAC’s media playback(ability) to work. In such cases, your smartphone might have issues with connection, audio playback or it might just straight up not detect your external DAC/Amp, the Q1MkII included.

I have found a website which might give you some insights into whether your smartphone is capable of using external DAC/Amps. Links will be all the way at the bottom.

Another issue with non-rooted Android phones is that when the Q1MkII is plugged into an Android phone, 99% of Android phones will start charging up the Q1MkII immediately (the Q1MkII’s indicator light will show up purple or red if so) and thus, it will quickly drain the battery of your Android smartphone. There is a workaround though. By fully charging your Q1MkII before you connect it to your smartphone will mean that there is a lesser potential difference in voltage between the battery of your smartphone and the battery of the Q1MkII. This will result in a significantly slower battery drain of your Android smartphone. In fact, the indicator light on the Q1MkII should show up as blue now, meaning there is no/negligible discharge of power from your Android phone’s battery into your DAC’s battery.

Windows Computer
On a Windows laptop or desktop, a driver needs to be installed before you can use the device as a DAC. Drivers are available on Fiio’s website. After installing the Q1MkII drivers, you will need to head over to the Sounds option and set your default playback device to the Q1MkII. Don’t worry… if you do ever need to disconnect your Q1MkII from your PC, just turn it off and unplug the device. Sounds and playback functions will automatically revert back to using the PC’s internal DAC until you finally plug-in and turn on the Q1MkII again.

I have slaved my Q1MkII to my laptop many times without it failing or glitching on me once, so yes, it works very well with Windows.

Connectivity and Features
This DAC has provisions for 3.5 mm and 2.5 mm outputs, a 3.5 mm input and a digital-in for USB/OTG DAC functionality. However, it does lack Bluetooth or any wireless functions and it does not have a Charge/ Do Not Charge function as seen in the previous generation Fiio Q1.

Overall Finish
The Q1MkII is finished off in an anodized all metal case which supposedly helps to shield the internal components from electromagnetic interference or EMF in short. I would believe this claim as again, compared to the Fiio A3, my IEMs pick up a lot of EMF or RF noise from the A3 (as the IEM would act as an antenna) when it is stacked directly behind a smartphone, with the only remedy being that I switch my smartphone to airplane mode.

The Fiio Q1MkII does NOT have this problem when stacked in the similar configuration and no EMF or RF noise was picked up by my IEMs so kudos to Fiio for this.

Away from all these technical stuff, the Q1MkII’s plugs and switches are very well made and the quality control was superb. Two gripes that I have about the Q1MkII is that the audio jacks require quite some force to plug in or out as they are quite tight. I would believe that they would become less tight after time though, but not in a bad way.

The other gripe is that the “Bass” and “Gain” wordings are just plain illegible in poorer lighting conditions. It is literally grey on black. Sure it looks sleeker with the dark colours but practicality wise, meh. White text would have been perfect.

SOUND QUALITY
As DAC
The Fiio Q1MkII is more musical than it is technical. Music and especially vocals sound so natural with this DAC as this little bugger takes on a somewhat neutral to a very slightly warm sound signature. As such, I feel that this DAC does not tarnish the natural sound signature of the IEM itself by adding unwanted bloat at the wrong frequencies.

I wouldn’t say that the DAC is particularly detailed or quick, but it does seem to gel well with most decent IEMs.

Take the Fatfreq Eden for example. I absolutely loved the pairing. It went full on musicality with just a sprinkle of technicality and it sounded amazing. So basically, the Q1MkII carries a smooth, easily likeable sound signature.

If you are looking for a reference sounding source, however, you are unfortunately better off looking somewhere else.

As Amplifier
As an Amplifier, the Q1MkII is no slouch either. This amp tends to add mid-bass and lower-mid warmth to music. In my experience, using this device as an amp can actually change the overall sound signature quite substantially (also considering the source’s sound signature) and that different sources would yield different results. Thus I am unable to comment too much on this setup.

However, as mentioned above, the amp is noticeably clean with little to no noise.



Conclusion
The Q1MkII is no doubt a relatively inexpensive amp, compared to many other DAC/Amps on the market. But for this amount of money you are paying, this product really does delivers in spades. I have seen users pairing this device with $500+ IEMs and they did not feel that the Q1MkII was bottlenecking their high-end IEMs, or that the bottleneck was just too subtle to tell.

This device is also built very well, even if it cost twice or thrice as much. Well done Fiio for the choice of materials here. Everything seems well finished with no rough edges or imperfections in manufacturing.

However, for the price of the Q1MkII, there are definitely some corners that Fiio had to cut in terms of features, such as the lack of Bluetooth connectivity, Charge/No charge switch, etc. Nonetheless, this is still a really great product from Fiio.

Do check out our WordPress site at https://thelittleaudiophile.wordpress.com/ for more reviews!

Android Device Compatibility List
Another Disclaimer: I am not 100% certain if the list is only applicable to Android devices with Extreamsd products installed, or for Android devices on its own. Please do more research on your own pertaining to the Fiio Q1MkII’s compatibility with your specific Android devices!

The compatibility list is from the website Extreamsd.com:
http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/technology/usb-audio-driver

*Disclosure: I purchased the FiiO Q1 Mk II myself for full price.*
http://www.fiio.net/en/products/76



Overview:
The FiiO Q1 Mk II, FiiO is their second foray into their Q lineup (Now consisting of the Q1, the Mk II, and the Q5) and brings a novel feature rarely seen at the price point, balanced output.
Were there any sacrifices made to pack that feature into such a portable frame? If there were any, what could those be?
Enough lollygagging and on to the main portion of this review.




Specifications:
From Penon Audio website: https://penonaudio.com/fiio-q1-mark-ii.html

Weight: About 101g
Dimensions: About 99mm x 59mm x 12.5mm
Audio Input: Micro USB/3.5 mm Jack
Headphone Output: 3.5 mm stereo jack
Balance Headphone Output: Supported (2.5mm balanced headphone jack)
Recommended Headphone Impedance: 16~100Ω(PO),16~150Ω(BAL)

Bass Boost: 0/5.4dB
Channel Imbalance: 0.2 dB
Power Input: DC5V 2A recommended
Battery Capacity: 1800mAh
Charge Time: ≤4h
Battery Life: ＞20h（AUX IN）＞10h（USB IN）
USB DAC: Up to 384kHz/32bit supported
DSD Support: DSD64/128/256
Line output specifications
THD+N: ＜0.003% (1 kHz/10kΩ)
SNR: ≥110 dB (A-weighted)
Frequency Response: 6 Hz~80 kHz（-3dB）
Channel Separation: ＞90 dB (1 kHz)
Max Input Level: 3.4V









Packaging:

The Q1 Mk II comes in an approximately 6.5x4.5x2 inch carton box, with a pull out inner box sporting the FiiO logo that opens up to reveal the device on top, surrounded by foam and underneath you will find the included accessories:
USB A to Micro B cable, Lightning to Micro B cable, a 3.5mm to 3.55 cable, a Silicone pad, 4 Silicone bands of 2 sizes, and a mesh pouch for the device along with an instruction manual and a warranty card.
There is no Micro B to Micro B or USB C to Micro B cable included as this was a “Designed for Apple” device with MFi certification.












Build and Design:
The Q1 Mk II is an attractive device, definitely deserving of its iF Design Award, with smooth lines and all design elements coming together cohesively. If anything, the design isn’t an innovative one, but a very well executed one.
Size wise it’s a 4-inch diagonal and fits quite nicely in hand with the smooth curves of the side helping in handling of the device and lends quite well with stacking with most modern devices.
The main body material is smooth black aluminum, with plastic front and rear covers, with the volume knob being made of aluminum as well with red trim at the base of the knob, in a similar style to the AK70, and sports a 2 tone LED light to indicate blue for power and red for charging with purple being the color when both functions run at the same time plus a smaller green light to indicate DSD playback.

Overall, a well thought out and attractive design that should work well both in a stack with your transport of choice or with your laptop as an alternative playback device, as long as you don’t mind that this doesn’t come with rubber or silicone feet, though the included pad should suffice.






Features:
The FiiO sports one 3.5mm single ended output, one 2.5mm balanced output, one hybrid line in/out 3.5mm port, one gain switch, one bass boost switch, and one Micro B input, and while separate input and charging ports would be preferred it’s understandable given the compact size.

Using the device is quite easy, for most phones iPhone or android you merely turn it on and plug and play, it worked without a hitch on the iPhone 7 plus I tested it with, and played nicely with most android phones I’ve tested.
On Windows all you need is to download and install a driver an you will be good to go.

Fair warning though, phones with USB C ports may have some issue with the phone charging/powering the Q1 no matter what settings you try, this is largely a USB C issue as some cables work and won’t cause discharge and some will, the Oppo HA-2SE also has this problem.




Performance:
The biggest draw here is the balanced output, often you don’t see balanced out in this price range, but it’s all part of FiiO’s new InfinitySound system, albeit not as fully spec’d out like the higher tier products in FiiO’s product stack, due to the relatively low to average 112mW output of the 3.5mm port.
While this will be good enough to drive most earbuds or IEM’s certain power-hungry models can prove to push the 3.5mm output to it’s limits. Fortunately, the balanced output of the FiiO is quite robust with a 240mW output being able to serve enough power to drive the HIFIMAN HE-400i (an admittedly relatively easy to drive set) comfortably, a pairing where the Single Ended output was struggling to give enough power to, especially on low gain.

The Q1 Mk II presented an adequate black background free from and static or hiss and didn’t cause any issue even with less forgiving sensitive IEMs like the Campfire Andromeda, either on single ended or balanced at either gain settings at reasonable listening volumes.
The gain and bass boost switches all found on the rear functioned correctly, with the bass boost adding around 5db in the bass region, nice if you have any gear that seems to lack a little low end. And the line-out functioned fine as well, the hybrid line in/out port being a nice touch to save space.



Tonality and Sound:
All comparisons were done volume matched using: Campfire Andromeda, Hifiman HE-400i iBasso IT01
A reminder; Of course, the sound you hear will largely be the sound of the ear gear you plug in, but there are some minute and nuanced sonic differences that the playback device will have.
The Q1 Mk II houses an AKM 4452VE “Velvet Sound” DAC and Texas Instruments OPA 926 amp. The FiiO imparts warmth and smoothness to the sound of whatever you’re listening to. This may be attractive to those who have a certain sound they are looking for and want that little nudge of low-end to fully round out their sound, I found this to be a very nice pairing with the HE-400i.

The tonality of the FiiO is the same through either output, but the balanced connection of the FiiO is really where it shines, when running through balanced there’s extra dynamism to the sound, instruments or sounds that usually just blend in the background stand out more. Like in Billie Jean, through the balanced output the guitar riffs in the back that you wouldn’t really focus on are just a touch more defined. It’s a small change, but that plus the extra driving power the balanced output brings shows that it really is where the FiiO shines brightest.
So if you’re planning to get the most out of this device, then be sure to have a balanced cable ready.




Select Comparisons:
The following comparisons are here to give an alternative view.








Sony PHA-1A: The Sony is a similarly designed product, sharing the same overall shape albeit quite larger. The Sony does have the advantage of having separate USB ports for input and charging, as well as a full sized USB input making it a more versatile companion. It does lack the bass boost and DSD support but does have a gain switch. Tonality wise, the Sony also leans slightly warm but not as much as the FiiO.
The Sony also has much more power via the single ended output but lacks the flexibility the FiiO provides with balanced.
If DSD playback, super portability nor balanced output don’t interest you, the Sony provides an equally attractive, still somewhat compact alternative option, for the Sony price premium of course.






XDuoo XD-05: The XD-05 is an interesting device, it barely qualifies as portable thought the size it comes in it just squeezes inside, thus being a more rugged and unwieldy device. However it makes up for it with possibly the most features packed in, barring balanced out.
It is easily the most powerful device here, with 3 gain settings, a bass boost, DAC and SRC filters, with an OLED screen to boot. It can also playback DSD files.
The tonality of the XDuoo is the most natural of the 3, and if you’re looking for “purer” sound it definitely warrants a look plus the filters do add a slight flexibility for getting that last extra mile in the sound. The XD-05 stands out by being a “Honey I Shrunk the Desktop DAC/Amp” toeing the line of being portable but trading off by having a more robust feature set, so as a Laptop DAC/Amp the XDuoo is a compelling alternative.






Conclusion:

The FiiO Q1 Mk II provides a very interesting value proposition.
Good build, decent power, attractive design AND balanced output all for around $100.
That doesn’t mean it’s not without its flaws however, single end output being on the lower end of the spectrum, with middling performance, and no dedicated charging port comes to mind.

However if you’re a mostly IEM user looking to turn your iPhone or Android into Hi-Fi listening device, and want to sacrifice as little in terms of portability as you can, or a balanced believer looking for a portable solution with balanced output that won’t break the bank, then the FiiO Q1 Mk II Portable DAC/Amp will not leave you wanting, and is something you should seriously consider for your portable purchase.