Super excited about a Fiio release for the first time since the BTR7, which I still find myself using almost every day to watch TV in bed despite having a K9 Pro ESS, Mojo 2, Toppimg A90d, Qudelix 5k, Schiit Valhalla 2 and several others.
I’ve kinda landed in a place where I really would be happy with one really versatile but well powered portable/transportable dac, and the rest can all be specialised for different things if that’s what blows my skirt up.
I would be totally content with just the Mojo 2 as my versatile unit if Chord made a sequel to the Poly that supports Bluetooth 5+, AptX Adaptive etc, but that doesn’t seem to be on the horizon. And I know a lot of people love their iFi xdsd Gryphons - and if that unit works for you then wonderful. But I sold mine after 3 weeks because the Bluetooth was just so finicky for me for whatever reason. I could never find a way to use the codec I wanted without toiling with it for literally an hour, resetting it, resetting the transmitter, etc.
The BTR7 has a few rock solid things going for it. It can comfortably power a pair of 300 ohm 6 series Sennheisers, it has ROCK SOLID BT connection once it links up to anything else, and for me that THX clean sound is essential on a unit where I’m sometimes using high impedance headphones and sometimes using super low efficiency headphones or IEMs.
So if FiiO are going to offer me this bump up in power, the extra versatility of being able to use it in desktop mode (the Mojo 2 has something similar), as well as their sturdy Bluetooth implementation AND am extra wired input type or two for $399, it checks off all of my criteria for this use case.
I’m over DAPSs in the $500 range. I sold my M11s and returned my Hiby DAP which offered some other nice features (like pure class A amplification) but would literally get hot enough to fry an egg on it.
I don’t plan on getting a pair of Susvaras anytime soon and if I did, they sure as hell wouldn’t be leaving the house with me. I’m happy with my Aryas and my Senny 6’s, as well as my Focal Bathys and the ridiculous number of IEMs I have at this point. So a portable unit that can make my Aryas sound good (and no, I’m not going to experiment with Class A portables again for now) is kinda my veiling for now.
I don’t doubt that if I got a $1k/$2k or even $3k DAP it wouldn’t astound me, but I’m not about to spend 3 times more on a DAP than on my best pair of headphones.
So as long as reviews aren’t disastrous,, count me in on trying the Q15. If it suits me, I’m selling my BTR7 and my Q5K pretty much immediately. I’d keep the Q5K if I didn’t hold the strong belief that they absolutely have to be nearly done making its successor or making a Q7K or whatever.
All this to say: I’ve been waiting patiently for something to come out with roughly these specs for a long time - and I’m here for it. It’ll go some way to helping me streamline the ridiculous excess of gear I have.
I know this doesn’t answer your question - so, apologies - but I’ve found a really happy middle ground with a pair of Senny 6’s and my Aryas (the latter of which, admittedly, I do generally prefer to eq a bit).
Having a pair of wide sounding planars that image well, and a pair of 600’s that give you almost a diametrically opposite sound, presentation and driver type mostly leaves me feeling like I’m not left missing out.
No, neither stages as well as the 800’s or images and hits quite as clinically as the Clear MG’s, but they do a close enough job to make me happy. Gun to my head having to answer your question though? 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day the Clear MG’s. They’re so much more versatile and can comfortably be used without EQ.
The only reason I’d buy 800’s would literally be for a totally and wildly unique use case….like if I were a professional gamer and the staging on the 800’s improved my chances of winning competitions even by 1% or 2%. Other than that, other manufacturers are making cans that stage really well nowadays but actually have some bass to speak of in their original state.