I love this headphone amp/DAC's confident sound, but it's far from the only game in town

Date:
Sat, 18 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Description:
The FiiO QX13 is a headphone amp/DAC with open and detailed sound to make
your smartphone sing, but it's a little fiddly and has plenty of competition.

FULL STORY ======================================================================FiiO QX13: Two-minute review

Another day inevitably brings another FiiO product and todays FiiO product
is the QX13 USB headphone amp/DAC. Its an established product type, sure, but anyone with even a passing interest in the company knows FiiO seldom does things by halves.

So $219 / 199 / AU$349 buys a small, beautifully made device built from
either carbon fiber or aluminum, and fronted by some heftily toughened glass. On the inside theres the usual FiiO over-engineering, from the ESS SAbre DAC arrangement to the Texas Instruments amplification, and on the outside there are a couple of audio outputs, and a small and extremely informative full-colour display (ideal for those who can read all the way down to the bottom line in the opticians without any help). FiiO even provides a protective leather case that attaches magnetically to your iOS or Android device in the interests of both tidiness and swankiness.

Connect via USB-C to a smartphone, games machine, laptop or anything else
that could do with an audio leg-up, and the improvements are both obvious and wide-ranging. In almost every respect, but especially where soundstaging, detail retrieval and dynamic impetus are concerned, the QX13 is a significant step on in quality.

If it wasnt for the devices tendency to hit treble sounds with quite such vigor, it would be approaching ideal and be part of the best portable DACs around . (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) FiiO QX13 review: Price and release date Release date: July 2025 Price: $219 / 199 / AU$349

The FiiO QX13 headphone amp/DAC is on sale now, and in the United States it sells for $219. In the United Kingdom it's around $219, while in Australia it goes for something like AU$349.

This puts it towards the top of the USB headphone amp/DAC dongle market but, as we shall see, FiiO has done its best to make that price seem fair enough FiiO QX13 review: Features ESS Sabre ES9027SPRO DAC Texas Instruments op-amps Powerful desktop mode

Youve got to hand it to FiiO it hasnt let the requirement for the QX13 to be as compact as possible prevent it absolutely piling on the specification.

At the heart of the product is an ESS Sabre ES9027SPRO digital-to-analog conversion chipset. Capable of dealing with resolutions up to a giddy 32bit/768kHz and DSD512, it features eight channels arranged in parallel and
a couple of low-noise ES9312 regulators dealing with output matching on each audio channel. Amplification is provided by half a dozen Texas Instruments op-amps arranged to reduce crosstalk and minimize interference.

Thanks to this optimized layout and also to the efficiency of its heat dissipation, the QX13 can deliver comparable power to full-size headphone amplifiers when it's in desktop mode. Meanwhile, its high-precision power regulator can adjust the headphone amplification where gain and output power is concerned, in real time.

Part of the efficiency of the heat dissipation is thanks to the carefully shielded digital and analog boards. This also, of course, allows for more precise signal processing at every stage. Once its decoded from digital to analog, the signal passes through several stages of expansion and enhancement in an effort to deliver as complete an account of the information as
possible.

Theres more, of course theres always more when FiiO is involved. The use of XMOS crystal oscillators allows the QX13 to be compatible with the 10-band lossless PEQ thats available via the web or the Android FiiO control app. UAC 1.0 mode means the QX13 is compatible with PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and other gaming devices. Its compatible with the companys compact ESTICK power bank.

But by now you get the picture FiiO seemingly has a limitless supply of kitchen sinks its prepared to throw at every device it manufactures.

Features score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) FiiO QX13 review: Sound quality Positive, detailed sound Spacious and organized presentation Rather over-confident high-frequency reproduction

Unsurprisingly, the FiiO QX13 passes the first test (does it improve on the unassisted sound of the average laptop or smartphone?) in quite some style. Its an altogether fuller, more convincing and more enjoyable listen than you can achieve simply by plugging your headphones into the output socket of a device like this.

Its a remarkably open and organized listen. The soundstage it creates during
a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Paul Simons 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is expansive, carefully controlled and equally carefully laid out. Each element of recording relates naturalistically to each other, but each has a discrete pocket of space in which to operate; the sound is at once focused, unified
and spacious. The spaces between each element are given the necessary prominence, and the QX13 keeps these silences very dark indeed.

Frequency response is fairly even. From the bottom end to the very top, the FiiO gives every area more-or-less equal emphasis its slightly tilted
towards the higher frequencies, but not fatally so. And at every point, it identifies, retains and reveals an impressive amount of detail. If there is minor, fleeting information regarding tone or texture in a recording, the
QX13 has no problem placing it in convincing context.

Its similarly adept when it comes to the dynamics of harmonic variation in a voice or an instrument, too, and where the broad dynamic shifts in intensity during a 16bit/48kHz FLAC file of Beaks Carob Honey are concerned, the QX13 fairly steams through them. The amount of dynamic headroom it has available
is significant.

The bottom of the frequency range is tightly controlled, and the attack and decay of individual notes and/or hits is so closely observed that rhythmic expression is confident and direct. The midrange communicates in the same positive, eloquent way; theres really no mistaking a vocalist's attitude when theyre described by the FiiO.

From the lowest frequencies to the highest, theres a common tonality to the QX13s presentation that creates a strong impression of singularity and of performance. At the top of the frequency range, though, the FiiO overplays
its hand just a little. It attacks high-frequency information with absolute zeal, and it doesnt take much (even a mild lack of sympathy where source machine, content or partnering headphones are concerned will do it) for
treble sounds to become slightly hard and overly assertive.

This is what I mean by slightly titled towards the higher frequencies, and
its this trait that means the QX13 doesnt pass the second test (does it represent value for money when judged against its peers?) with anything like the same breeziness as it does the first. That this FiiO has a fistful of sonic talents is not up for question, but whether its the best-sounding
device of its type and price must remain a live question.

Sound quality score: 4 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) FiiO QX13 review: Design Carbon-fiber or aluminum construction Magnetic leather case
for ultimate iPhone convenience 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD)

Youve two choices where the finish of your QX13 is concerned: carbon-fiber or aluminum.

The former consists of 21 layers of material that adds up, according to FiiO, to a device thats six times stronger than steel. This version of the QX13 weighs in at just 33.7g, whereas the aluminum alternative is a whole 39.2g, but it does feature a laser-engraved rear panel that, suggests FiiO, makes
for an elegant yet advanced appearance. Mind you, you wont be seeing much of either material if you slip the QX13 into its protective leather case. FiiO has, in one of those so simple its brilliant moments of inspiration, made the case magnetic - so it will cling to your iPhone in the manner of a MagSafe.
If youre an Android user, theres a magnetic ring provided in the packaging to perform the same function.

The little 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD) device is beautifully made, no matter the material you prefer, and the standard of finish is very good, too. FiiO is to be congratulated on its use of third-generation Corning high-strength glass for the majority of the front panel its scratch-resistance is second to
none.

Design score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) FiiO QX13 review: Usability & setup 50.5mm IPS screen Hybrid 3.5mm output 60- and 120-step volume adjustment scales

As far as setting up the QX13 goes, things couldnt really be more straightforward. It features two USB-C sockets, one of which is for charging the battery and the other for data transfer both can be connected simultaneously, and FiiO provides a short length of braided USB-C / USB-C cable to help.

Theres a switch to engage or disengage desktop mode, and at the top of the device there are 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm output sockets. The smaller one can be specified as an SPDIF if you want to connect your QX13 to a larger system digitally, so its just a question of making the necessary connections and
away you go.

Or, at least, away you go provided you have the required dexterity to get the FiiO set up to your satisfaction. The screen is bright and clear, most certainly - but it tries to include too much information in one go (file
type, file size, volume level, mode confirmation, UAC type, EQ setting, you name it). The set-up menus themselves are typically FiiO in their
thoroughness but the size of the font thats been used is necessarily small, and the few physical buttons available to navigate them are small too.

Ideally youll have eyes like a hawk and fingers like cocktail sticks. Otherwise there could be a fair bit of back-and-forth to get what you want, and some squinting to ensure youve got it once the device is functioning.

Usability & setup score: 3.5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) FiiO QX13 review: Value

You cant judge the value for money of a product like this on the basis of the amount of stuff your money buys a portable USB DAC/headphone amp needs to be small and light. No, you judge it on the way its made, the way its finished, the way its specified and, most importantly, the way it makes your USB-C device and headphones sound.

And in all these respects, its very decent value for money indeed, but the quirks of its audio character mean its not quite the no-brainer FiiO was undoubtedly hoping for.

Value score: 4 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Should you buy FiiO QX13? Buy it if...

Your USB-C-equipped device could do with some audio assistance
The QX13 improves on the native sound of smartphones and laptops to quite a degree.

You have some good wired headphones
And if you have some good wired headphones on a cable that terminates in a balanced 4.4mm connection, even better.

You admire some thorough (and small-scale) engineering
How does FiiO squeeze it all in? Its a question as old as electricity itself Don't buy it if...

Your eyesight isnt all it might be
Some of the information displayed on the screen is beyond tiny.

Your fingers are of similar size to those of King Charles III
The physical controls require deft, rather than sausagey, digits.

Youre especially sensitive to high-frequency sound
The FiiO attacks the top of the frequency range in quite determined fashion. FiiO QX13 review: Also consider

Helm Audio Bolt
Its not as thoroughly specified as the FiiO QX13, but the Helm Audio Bolt is not to be underestimated where audio quality is concerned. If you can live without a display and a magnetic holster, this is a very compelling alternative.
Read our in-depth Helm Audio Bolt review to learn more (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) How I tested the FiiO QX 13 Various headphones Various audio file types and sizes Various sources of music

I mostly used the FiiO QX13 with my Apple MacBook Pro, but I also tried it
out with a Google Pixel 8 smartphone and a FiiO M15S. Two of these three products benefited no end from the QX13s d-to-a conversion and headphone amplification.

I listened to plenty of music of various genres, various file sizes and
types, and I listened for well in excess of a working week. Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2025



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/audio/dacs/fiio-qx13-review


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