Fiio Q1 Mark II DAC/AMP Review

Fiio Q1 Mark II Pros&Cons

Pros 

  • Forgiving, enjoyable sound
  • Well-designed
  • Well-priced

Cons 

  • Not really compatible with non-iOS devices
  • Doesn’t provide a lot of power

Fiio Q1 Mark II Specs

  • Headphones impedance: 16~100Ω( Single Ended), 16~150Ω(Balanced)
  • Output Power: ≥112 mW(16Ω / THD+N<1%, Single Ended), ≥240 mW(16Ω / THD+N<1%, Balanced)
  • Output impedance: <1.2Ω (Single Ended), <2Ω (Balanced)
  • Frequency response: 5 Hz~55 kHz (Single Ended), 6 Hz~80kHz (Balanced)
  • SNR: ≥116 dB (A-weighted, AUX IN, Single Ended), ≥115 dB (A-weighted, AUX IN, Balanced)
  • THD+N: <0.002% (1 kHz, AUX IN), <0.003% (1 kHz, USB IN)
  • Channel Separation: ≥79 dB (1 kHz,AUX IN, Single Ended), ≥93 dB (1 kHz,AUX IN, Balanced)

Packaging 

Just when you think Fiio have settled on a colour scheme for their packaging, they come out and throw a curve-ball with the Q1 Mark II. Rather than the black and white scheme we’ve become used to, for the Q1 Mark II they’ve gone for a mostly white (unprinted) box. This is probably intentionally done, seeing as the Q1 Mark II is more intended for use with iOS devices, so it kinda makes sense to make the packaging fit in with that of other iOS accessories.

The front has a nice large image of the Q1 Mark II, along with a few logos, including a bit to boast that it has been made with iPods, iPhones, and iPads in mind.

The rear doesn’t provide any specs, but rather just info about the dimensions and weight, along with a few copyright legal disclaimers.

What’s in the box?

  • Fiio Q1 Mark II
  • MicroUSB charging cable
  • MicroUSB to Lightning cable
  • 3.5mm stereo interconnect cable
  • 4x Silicon bands
  • Silicon stacking pad
  • Carrying / Storage pouch
  • Quick start guide
  • Warranty leaflet

Accessories 

Fiio usually includes a generous amount of accessories with their devices. In the case of the Q1 Mark II, we get pretty much everything we’d expect with this type of device. The silicon bands and stacking pad is a nice inclusion, as is the soft carrying/storage pouch.
However, it’s with the included cables that it is made clear what Fiio’s intended purpose for this device is.

We only get a MicroUSB to Lightning cable…no microUSB to MicroUSB cable, and definitely no MicroUSB to USB-C cable. The Q1 Mark II was only intended to be used with iOS devices.

Design

One thing that has to be said about Fiio is that the design of their products (at least as far as looks are concerned) improves with each new device and each iteration of their “older” devices. I personally feel that Fiio did a great job with the Q1 Mark II. It’s got a sleek, relatively minimal design – something that seems very well suited to the modern design ethos of iOS device.

Although, let’s be honest, the Q1 Mark II does borrow quite a bit of its design elements from the likes of Sony.
Nevertheless, the Q1 Mark II is a great looking device.

The front of the device houses what appears to be an analogue volume pot, but instead is a digital volume control. There’s also a power/charging LED indicator, an additional LED to indicate when the device is being fed a DSD signal, a 3.5mm analogue line input/output port, a 3.5mm single ended output, as well as a 2.5mm balanced output. Balanced output are all the rage now, especially for Fiio. Heck, with each of their launch events they’re constantly spamming us with their #InfinitySound tag. So it’s no surprise to see a balanced output here. It’s quite possible that we’ll likely see a balanced output on a third iteration of the X1 too, and maybe an updated version of the A3 as well.

The rear is where we find the Gain switch, MicroUSB data/charging port, as well as a Bass Boost switch.

But, herein lies a bit of a problem with the Q1 Mark II. As previously mentioned, Fiio did create the device especially with iOS users in mind, but it is in trying to use the Q1 Mark II with non-iOS devices that this fact becomes even more apparent.
The issue here is that the Q1 Mark II does not have separate data and power MicroUSB ports. This means that, often when you try to use it with a non-iOS device, the Q1 Mark II automatically starts charging itself by draining power from whatever device is connected to it. This isn’t a problem with iOS devices, as the Q1 Mark II is able to detect that it’s connected to a device rather than a charger, and so disables the charging function. As a DAC/AMP the Q1 Mark II still works from non-iOS devices, but the fact that it will constantly be draining the host device’s battery makes the Q1 Mark II rather redundant as “portable” device. The Q1 Mark II (like any other DAC/AMP) is useless without a source (host) device. It should be noted, though, that this seems to be a bit of a hit and miss situation, as some Android users have reported that the Q1 Mark II works fine with their non-iDevice, whilst others experienced the same battery drainage issue. We tried the Q1 Mark II on the Shanling M2s, Hidizs AP60, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S7, all of which resulted in a battery drainage issue.

To be perfectly frank, it seems really odd for a company like Fiio to design a device like this to pretty much exclusively be used with iOS devices.
According to this report, at the time of writing this review, just over 66% of the world’s connected devices run on Android, whilst just under 31.5% run on iOS.
So, surely, by limiting a device like the Q1 Mark II to only fully function with iOS devices, Fiio are missing out on quite a bit of cash to be made from the Android crowd.
Although, to be fair, the Android scene is rather flooded with hi-fi devices, so perhaps Fiio showing the iOS camp a little more love this time ’round isn’t too bad.

Sound

Sound-wise Fiio actually did a really good job with the Q1 Mark II. Using the Micro iDSD Black Label as a sonic reference, the Q1 Mark II does reveal less details, and offers a warmer, smoother signature along with a more congested sound stage. But keep in mind what the cost and size differences are between the Mark II and iDSD BL.

Overall the Q1 Mark II doesn’t attempt to provide you with the most amazing clarity or instrument separation, and nor should it be expected to. It still does a commendable job nonetheless. It wasn’t intended for critical listening, as Fiio designed the Mark II as a compact and portable device, and as such a smoother, more “easy listening” signature is not only perfectly acceptable, but perhaps even more appreciated (in this scenario) than one which might be pedantically accurate during prolonged listening sessions. Besides, portable devices aren’t usually used in environments where the listener can really hear and appreciate the finer details anyways.
What we need to keep in mind here that, for users of newer iOS devices, the only way they can use their current device(s) to listen to music is wirelessly. As such, the Q1 Mark II provides an immediate improvement in terms of sound quality and versatility by removing the need to rely on the far more limited capabilities of the DAC chips that are built into a wireless set of headphones/IEMs

For the purpose of this review, the only available iOS device I had was an iPad Air 2. Compared to the iPad’s built-in audio circuitry, the Q1 Mark II definitely provided a clearly noticeable improvement.
The iPad’s on-board circuitry just simply doesn’t do the music justice. There seems to be a veil, and as though the highs are too rolled off. It’s one of those things that you don’t notice until you’re able to directly compare it with something better. The Q1 Mark II provided a new level of clarity and sense of balance to the music. And yes, both sources were measured and volume-matched as closely as possible. Seriously, at the $100 asking price, the Mark II is a no nonsense upgrade over what the iPad Air 2 is capable of providing.

Read:IFI Micro iDSD Black Label DAC/AMP Review


Value
 

If you’re an iOS user, the Q1 Mark II certainly does bring some value to you. Of course, the most obvious advantages being that the device allows you to output a native DSD signal to the Mark II (if DSD is your thing), but also the ability to use a balanced set of IEMs/headphones. The only first real issue here is that the Q1 Mark II doesn’t exactly provide a boat load of power. It’ll output roughly a quarter of what the A3 is capable of delivering into a 16Ω single ended load, and less than half of what the first Q1 was able to deliver (into a single ended connection, that it). Thankfully, the Q1 Mark II does have a line-level output, which means that you could hook it up with something like the A3 if more power is needed. Sure, that would start to err on the bulky side of things, but would still hold fantastic value at a total price of around $160 for both devices. But, if the Q1 Mark II does indeed have enough power for your chosen IEMs/headphones on it’s own, then there surely are way, WAY worse things to spend $100 on, given the noticeable sonic improvements that that the Q1 Mark II can provide.
Then of course the second issue is the quirks of trying to use the Q1 Mark II with non-iOS devices. Given the market share gap between Apple and Android, most people wouldn’t really be able to consider the Q1 Mark II as a reasonable portable solution.

Rating

The TECH MERIT rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the device into account as possible. As such, we have a basic rating, as well as a final rating. The basic rating rates the product purely as a high quality portable audio device, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of standard features and specs. The final rating, however, grants bonus points for any extra features and specs that aren’t quite as common, and is a great way to judge the product as a complete package.

Packaging
Look and feel: 8 / 10

Included Accessories
Protective case: YES
Cables: YES

Build
Quality control: 10 / 10
Seems durable: YES
Use of metal: YES
Relative silence when inserting cables: 9 / 10

Sound
Sound stage: 8 / 10
Detail retrieval: 8 / 10
Sibilance: 9 / 10
Instrument separation: 8 / 10
Neutrality of sound signature: 8 / 10
Plays lossless audio: YES
Plays 24-bit: YES
Hiss: 10 / 10

Portability
Small size: 8 / 10
Relatively low weight: 8 / 10
battery life more than 10 hours: YES

Value
Competitive price-point: YES
Relative value: 8 / 10


Basic Rating: 8.6

Bonus points
Has a screen: –
Ability to EQ: –
Bass boost: YES
Various digital filters: –
Number of cables included: 3
Number of gain positions: 2
Fast charging: –
How premium the case feels: 4 / 10
Bluetooth: –
Apt-X: –
Premium look and feel of the device: 8 / 10
Number of digital connections: 1
Number of analogue connections: 3
Power adapter included: –
Balanced output: YES
WiFi: –
Dual DAC setup: –
Premium DAC chip(s) used: –
Plays DSD: YES
Plays 32-bit: YES
Wireless connection quality: –

Final Rating: 9.3

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