iFi GO Blu Air: Two-minute review

The iFi GO Blu Air is a solution to tech firms taking away headphone jacks: it enables you to connect your wired headphones to Bluetooth streaming sources, and it features a 4.4mm balanced and a 3.5mm standard headphone output. It's impressively powerful and runs for up to 10 hours between charges, delivering excellent bass and a spacious sound stage that's particularly enjoyable on well produced music.

The GO Blu Air is exceptionally small and light and that means features have been kept to a minimum: there's no USB DAC functionality and you don't get on-board EQ, although there are switches for iFi's subtle but effective XBass and XSpace audio enhancers.

As we've come to expect from iFi, the GO Blu Air is well made, does exactly what it sets out to do and won't break the bank. It sounds great and is surprisingly powerful for such a small device, but its small size and low price means it lacks some features of rivals such as a display, on-board EQ and USB DAC functionality. It's emphatically one of the best portable DACs provided you don't need that wired connectivity.

iFi GO Blu Air review: Price and release date

• Released August 2025
• Priced $129 / £129 / AU$229

The iFi GO Blu Air Bluetooth DAC was launched in August 2025 and is available now. In the UK its recommended retail price is £129; in the US it's $129; and in Australia it's AU$229.

The GO Blu Air is cheaper than its predecessor, the iFi GO Blu: that model was $199 / £199 / AU$399. A lower-priced model is a smart move in a sector that's becoming increasingly competitive.

iFi GO Blu Air review: Features

• Up to 24-bit/96kHz over Bluetooth
• Cirrus Logic Master Hi-Fi DAC
• "S-balanced" 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm outputs

The iFi GO Blu Air is based around a Cirrus Logic Master Hi-Fi DAC and features iFi's own XBass bass expansion and XSpace audio expander. There are also standard and minimum phase digital filter options to shape the sound further.

The headphone outputs deliver up to 165mW into 32 ohms on the 3.5mm out and up to 262mW into 32 ohms on the balanced output. iFi calls the 3.5mm output "S-balanced", with dual-mono headphone amplification all the way to the output socket. You can read iFi's tech note about it, but essentially the company says it's particularly useful for ultra-sensitive IEMs. SNR (or signal-to-noise ratio) on both outputs is a highly respectable ≥110dBA and battery life is up to 10 hours via the internal 450mAh battery, dropping to about 7.5 hours if you're using the LDAC codec. Recharging takes less than an hour.

The iFi GO Blu Air has Bluetooth 5.2 (up from the 5.1 of the GO Blu) with LDAC, LDHC and aptX Classic, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive as well as the obligatory AAC and SBC codecs. It supports resolutions of up to 24-bit/96kHz. Unlike the previous GO Blu the USB-C port is purely for charging; this model doesn't double as a wired DAC.

Features score: 4 / 5

iFi GO Blu Air review: Sound quality

• Tons of fun on IEMs and over-ear headphones
• No on-board EQ to tame high-end harshness
• Audio enhancers are subtle but effective

The iFi GO Blu Air is a lot of fun with both headphones and IEMs, delivering an inviting soundstage and excellent clarity from a range of audio sources. It's particularly good on well-produced, spacious tracks such as Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved, Peter Gabriel's Shaking The Tree, Christine and the Queens' Tilted or The Blue Nile's Tinseltown in the Rain, delivering a consistently enjoyable, revealing and dynamic listen.

The GO Blu Air doesn't have its own equaliser, and I did find myself reaching for software EQ when I listened to fairly trebly recordings such as Junior Varsity's Cross The Street, Sugar's Changes and Kygo & Selena Gomez's It Ain't Me: getting the bass to smile-inducing levels in my IEMs made their high frequencies a little too prominent for my taste, although that was less of an issue in my less excitable over-ear headphones.

I'm wary of bass and space enhancement options as they often color the sound in too-noticeable ways, but I was pleasantly surprised by both XBass and XSpace here. Their effects are subtle, with the former adding a little more low end that gave my open-back headphones more of a closed-back punch without introducing distortion at sensible listening levels, overpowering the other frequencies or overly changing the sound. XSpace impressed me too, making the likes of Talk Talk and acoustic music more subtly spacious.

Sound quality: 5 / 5

iFi GO Blu Air review: Design

• Similar to GO Blu but more plasticky
• 3.5 x 33.7 x 19.5mm (WxHxD) and just 30g
• Magnetically attached clip is surprisingly strong

I'd suggest that the Air looks a little less premium than the GO Blu, but I'm not a fan of that model's rather 1970s-cigarette-lighter appearance – and if a slightly more plastic appearance is part of the reason why the new model is cheaper, I'm all in favor.

The GO Blu Air is very compact at 3.5 x 33.7 x 19.5mm (2.11 x 1.33 x 0.77”) and it weighs 30g. There is a single rotary volume/transport controller, which iFi calls the ChronoDial, on the right. The dial is multi-mode: turn it to adjust the volume, press to play, pause or skip, and long-press to activate your phone's voice assistant. Below the dial is a button for enabling or disabling Xbass and Xspace, for setting the digital filter and for Bluetooth pairing; on the other side there's a single button for power on/off and Bluetooth format announcement. Up top you'll find a 4.4mm balanced headphone output and a 3.5mm output plus the status light for Xbass, Xspace and Bluetooth.

One of the design features I like is the detachable magnetic clip, which saves you having to buy a clip-on case: you can use the clip to attach the GO Blu Air to your clothing, bag or belt. I'd like it even more if I could use the magnet to clip the GO Blu Air to the back of my phone; I did try, but while it does attach it's not strong enough to clamp through my phone's case.

Design score: 4 / 5

iFi GO Blu Air Review: Usability and setup

• Effortless Bluetooth pairing
• No display: color status lights instead
• Remembering what buttons do is hard at first

It's very easy to set up the GO Blu Air: simply switch it on and it enters pairing mode the first time you use it. You can then connect it in your device's Bluetooth settings and you're good to go.

The lack of a display is understandable in such a small device, but it does mean trying to remember what the status light colors mean and which button does what can be tricky. It doesn't take long to learn but the inclusion of a pocket-sized quick start guide comes in very handy.

Whether you're working from the guide or from memory it's all straightforward: single button presses take you from no enhancement to XBass only, to XSpace only, and to both XBass and XSpace; a spin of the ChronoDial adjusts the volume while a short click takes care of play/pause and a longer click skips to the next track.

Usability and setup score: 4 / 5

iFi GO Blu Air review: Value

• Competitively priced but some rivals have higher spec
• Previous model is now discounted so price gap is smaller
• A good buy if you don't need a USB DAC

If the lack of a USB DAC isn't a deal-breaker this is a very good Bluetooth dongle for a very good price. But it's a very competitive market, and I'd suggest looking at some alternatives too – including the GO Blu Air's predecessor.

The GO Blu Air is effectively a GO Blu without the USB DAC and as a result it has a significantly lower price tag, but at the time of writing I found the original GO Blu discounted to just under £169 so there's less of a price gap than the two devices' MSRPs suggest.

Value score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the iFi GO Blu Air?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

iFi GO Blu Air review: Also consider

The iFi GO Link USB DAC is an excellent and affordable wired headphone DAC, and if you want USB and Bluetooth capabilities the GO Blu is still available and often discounted.

The key rivals here include FiiO’s KA13 and BTR15. The former is a screen-free wired USB DAC and the latter is both USB and Bluetooth. It's marginally cheaper than the iFi: at the time of writing the BTR15 is £114 in the UK, $119 in the US and $219 in Australia.

How I tested the iFi GO Link Max

• TIDAL, hi-res music files, vinyl and Logic Pro projects
• Beyerdynamic and Philips over-ears and SoundMagic IEMs

I tested the GO Blu Air over two weeks with a variety of headphones and IEMs including Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro and Philips Fidelio X2HR open-back headphones, Beyerdynamic DT770 closed-back headphones, and SoundMagic E11C IEMs.

I connected the GO Blu Air to a Samsung Galaxy S25 for hi-res streaming services over LDAC and listened to locally stored lossless audio and my own multitrack Logic Pro X projects via AAC from my MacBook Pro. I also connected my Audio-Technica turntable, which transmits aptX.

• First reviewed: February 2026
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Eversolo DAC-Z10: one-minute review

Never let it be said that Eversolo is not ever so serious. The Eversolo DAC-Z10 is an extremely well-specified digital-to-analogue converter, headphone amplifier and system preamplifier in a single package – and while it sells for a significant sum, even compared to the best DACs around, it turns out to represent unarguable value for money.

As well as the full-on specification (which includes four AKM DAC chips, twin RSR ‘ladder’ volume control modules, and no fewer than three independent and heavily shielded linear power supplies), the user interface (via a big touch-screen) is excellent even before you realize it offers a choice of virtual VU meters and dynamic spectrum displays.

There are more than enough digital inputs, plus balanced and unbalanced analog outputs, and an extremely capable discrete headphone amplification module.

And it all works very well indeed. The DAC-Z10 is almost fanatical when it comes to detail retrieval, really holds its own where rhythmic expression, soundstaging and dynamic impetus are concerned, and maintains the tonal balance of the music as originally recorded as much as possible.

In fact, about its biggest shortcoming is how overtly intolerant it is of inferior partners – don’t imagine the DAC-Z10 is about to make a silk purse out of the sow’s ear that is sub-par electronics or loudspeakers. But that's not a real flaw for something that costs this much anyway – you'd expect an expensive DAC to sing with expensive other components, wouldn't you?

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Price & release date

The Eversolo DAC-Z10 launched during November 2025 and in the United Kingdom it sells for a strangely specific £1,939. In the United States it’s $1,980, while in Australia the going rate is AU$3,339 or thereabouts.

This puts it in line with options from the likes of Denon and NAD – big names in the hi-fi separates space.

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Features

• Numerous digital and analog inputs
• Independent left and right channel AKM digital-to-analog conversion modules
• Three independent power supplies

Even by Eversolo’s established standards, the DAC-Z10 is extensively specified – ‘lavishly’ may not be too strong a word. It’s difficult to know where to start, really. Maybe on the outside would be best…

At the rear of the DAC-Z10, there are numerous digital and analogue inputs, alongside balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analogue outputs for connection to a power amplifier, powered speakers or what-have-you. There’s also a grounding post for channeling even the most minor electrical interference out of harm’s way.

The digital stuff consists of an IIS (aka I2S) input (featuring eight switchable modes, naturally, and capable of dealing with digital audio resolutions of up to 32bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512), HDMI eARC, USB-B (with multi-core audio processor and again supporting 32bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512), a fully isolated AES/EBU input, and a pair of coaxial and a pair of optical audio inputs (all of which support 24bit/192kHz PCM and DSD64). There’s also wireless connectivity via Bluetooth 5.0, with SBC and AAC codec compatibility.

There’s a further analog output on the fascia: a 6.3mm single-ended headphone socket. It’s powered by a dedicated amplification module, and automatically detects the impedance of the headphones it’s driving and adjusts gain accordingly.

The internal layout of the Eversolo is no less thorough. Built on the company’s ‘Fully Isolated Architecture’ platform, which isolates the digital and analog domains in a drive for optimal signal purity, the DAC-Z10 features three linear power supplies. One is for the left channel, one for the right, and one for system circuitry – each is isolated from the others in an effort to minimi`e interference.

The DAC-Z10 is big on the concept of independent left and right stereo channels elsewhere, too. For instance, each stereo channel has a dedicated pair of AKM DAC chips – an AK4191 and an AK4499 – so left and right digital signals are kept completely separate from input to conversion.

Volume control uses an independent R2R ‘ladder’ module for each channel, so signal integrity and phase alignment should be uncorrupted, even if the selected volume level is very low or very high.

The Eversolo ‘Precision Core’, which features a temperature-controlled crystal oscillator, phase-locked loop technology and FPGA clock reconstruction, makes up the DAC-Z10 clock system. Despite the extremely thorough attention it has paid to this critical componentry, though, the Eversolo also has an input for an external clock – and with multiple impedance options.

This allows the DAC-Z10 to integrate into super-high end systems that have even more effective clock systems than the one specified here. Either way, though, the DAC-Z10 seems extremely well-served where clocking, and by extension the imaging and transient response of its sound, are concerned.

• Features score: 5 / 5

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Sound quality

• Profoundly impressive detail retrieval
• Expansive, organized and front-foot sound
• Not especially tolerant of less-capable partners

Let’s get the minor negative out of the way first, shall we? The Eversolo DAC-Z10 is not about to indulge in partnering equipment that is less capable than it is. The DAC-Z10 punches above its weight, not below it – so it can hold its own in systems with high price-tags, but it’s not about to make your run-of-the-mill power speakers or wallet-friendly amps into world-beaters. If anything, it’s more likely to expose their shortcomings.

But as long as the stuff before and after the Eversolo in the chain is up to scratch, there’s a whole lot to enjoy about this device – especially where its powers of digital-to-analog conversion are concerned.

Where detail retrieval is concerned, the DAC-Z10 is as good as anything I've heard at anything like the price. No event in a recording is too minor, no harmonic variation is too subtle, no over- or undertone surrounding the fundamental note of an instrument or a voice is too muted to elude it.

The production of Horsegirl’s Phonetics On and On is open and so spare that you might think every shred of information is available even when it’s playing on an unremarkable system – but the Eversolo demonstrates that even deeper subtleties and transients are there, and it has the power to reveal and contextualize them. If you’re after the most complete image possible of your music, the DAC-Z10 is ready and able to give it to you.

It’s more than willing to get out of the way of the music, and of the source machine that’s playing it. So when it comes to tonality and frequency response, the Eversolo tries its utmost to have as little input as possible even though it’s responsible for D-to-A conversion – the sound you get, in these respects, seems very much to be the sound stored on the disc, the digital file or whatever.

What the DAC-Z10 will do is ensure that low frequencies are shaped and controlled to the point that rhythmic expression is coherent and momentum levels never dip below what is appropriate.

It takes care of the minor dynamic variations with just as much ease as it does with every other aspect of detail retrieval – and when the music undergoes big shifts in intensity or volume, as it does during a listen to Daniel Blumberg’s soundtrack to The Brutalist, the Eversolo is able to describe them in full, and in the most articulate manner.

It ensures the top of the frequency range always carries enough substance to prevent its bite becoming problematic, and allows the midrange to project with real confidence.

And the bigger and more information-packed the audio content you serve it, the more impressive the DAC-Z10 sounds. A DSD64 file of Michael Jackon’s Off the Wall sounds positively ferocious once the Eversolo has done with it – the clean, open and pristine recording (especially in 2024 remaster guise) sounds more animated, more immediate, and more engaging than it does via any even vaguely price-comparable alternative. And there are plenty of very capable, vaguely price-comparable, alternatives around.

• Sound quality score: 5 / 5

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Design

• Aluminum chassis
• A choice of VU meters, spectrum displays and control dial colors
• 310x88x365mm / 12.2x3.5x13.4in (WxHxD)

As is only to be expected, given the asking price, the Eversolo DAC-Z10 is carefully constructed from premium materials, and finished to an extremely high standard. Fundamentally it’s simply a rectangular box in the established ‘hi-fi’ manner – but in terms of look, feel and finish it’s a fairly upmarket proposition.

It’s not quite as wide as your average hi-fi separate, but nevertheless Eversolo has found space for an 8.8-inch touchscreen that’s bright, clear and responsive, and is able to display a great deal of information without looking in any way crowded.

It forms the majority of the fascia of a chassis built from aircraft-grade aluminum and coated in a soft(ish)-touch finish that only adds to the impression of refined good taste.

Eversolo has remembered to make sure the design of the DAC-Z10 is enjoyable as well as admirable, too. As well as an exhaustive amount of relevant information, the screen can display a number of different VU meters or dynamic spectrum displays – and the single ‘turn/push’ control dial alongside it can be illuminated in one of quite a few different colors.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Usability & setup

• Remote control, app and touchscreen control options
• Some end-user tweaking available
• Switchable XLR polarity

Despite its wealth of features and extensive functionality, setting up and operating the DAC-Z10 is pretty straightforward. And you have plenty of options, too.

Obviously the first thing to do is make your relevant connections into and out of the device. The DAC-Z10 will support plenty of digital devices, of course, and there’s the ability to route a single analog source through too – which is useful if you’re connecting directly to a power amplifier rather than a pair of powered or active speakers.

It’s worth noting the XLR connections have switchable polarity, which makes system-matching a great deal more straightforward than it otherwise would be. After that it’s just a question of trimming each individual input in terms of volume – every digital input can have a choice of six filters applied, which allows the end user a fair amount of input into the way the quartet of DAC chips performs.

In terms of control, you’ve a gratifying number of well-implemented options. The control wheel, which is a turn/push number, is responsive and reliable, and the same can be said for the weighty little remote control handset that is, in its own way, just as tactile a device as the DAC-Z10 itself. The touchscreen is equally simple and logical to use, and just as reliable in the way it reacts.

Best of all, though, is the ‘Eversolo Control’ app that’s free for iOS and Android. It’s far from the most visually exciting control app around, it’s true – but once you get beyond the relative lack of visual stimulation you’ll find a thorough, stable and eminently useful interface that enables you to control every single aspect of the DAC-Z10’s performance.

• Usability & setup score: 5 / 5

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Value

• It costs a lot, but it does a lot
• Performs as well or better than anything else at the same price
• Versatility really adds to its value as a long-term buy

Obviously spending this sort of money on a DAC with preamplification functionality means you have a system that justifies the outlay, and in that case there’s really no arguing with the value for money that’s on offer here.

The amount of things it can do, the range of connections it has, the usefulness of its various control options, and the impeccable quality of its audio mean that its price is very agreeable… to people with this kind of money to spend.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Eversolo DAC-Z10?

Buy it if…

Don't buy it if…

Eversolo DAC-Z10 review: Also consider

How I tested the Eversolo DAC-Z10

I slotted the Eversolo DAC-Z10 into my reference system – so it took care of the digital-to-analog conversion required by a Rega Apollo CD player, a Naim Uniti Star (meaning internet radio, network streaming and music streaming service content was available), and an Apple MacBook Pro via USB to access digital audio of the highest possible resolution.

It also accepted an analog signal from a pre-amplified Technics SL-1300G turntable. It was connected to a Cambridge Edge W power amplifier via balanced XLR connections, which in turn was connected to Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Signature loudspeakers on their bespoke FS-700 S3 stands.

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• First reviewed: February 2026

FiiO QX13: Two-minute review

Another day inevitably brings another FiiO product – and today’s FiiO product is the QX13 USB headphone amp/DAC. It’s 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 there’s 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 wasn’t for the device’s tendency to hit treble sounds with quite such vigor, it would be approaching ‘ideal’ and be part of the best portable DACs around.

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

You’ve got to hand it to FiiO – it hasn’t 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 it’s 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.

There’s more, of course – there’s always more when FiiO is involved. The use of XMOS crystal oscillators allows the QX13 to be compatible with the 10-band lossless PEQ that’s 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. It’s compatible with the company’s compact ‘ESTICK’ power bank.

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

Features score: 5 / 5

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. It’s 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.

It’s a remarkably open and organized listen. The soundstage it creates during a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Paul Simon’s 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 – it’s 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.

It’s 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 Beak’s 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; there’s really no mistaking a vocalist's attitude when they’re described by the FiiO.

From the lowest frequencies to the highest, there’s a common tonality to the QX13’s 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 doesn’t 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 it’s this trait that means the QX13 doesn’t 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 it’s the best-sounding device of its type and price must remain a live question.

Sound quality score: 4 / 5

FiiO QX13 review: Design

• Carbon-fiber or aluminum construction
• Magnetic leather case for ultimate iPhone convenience
• 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD)

You’ve 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 that’s 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 won’t be seeing much of either material if you slip the QX13 into its protective leather case. FiiO has, in one of those ‘so simple it’s brilliant’ moments of inspiration, made the case magnetic - so it will cling to your iPhone in the manner of a MagSafe. If you’re an Android user, there’s 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

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 couldn’t 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.

There’s 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 it’s 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 that’s been used is necessarily small, and the few physical buttons available to navigate them are small too.

Ideally you’ll 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 you’ve got it once the device is functioning.

Usability & setup score: 3.5 / 5

FiiO QX13 review: Value

You can’t 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 it’s made, the way it’s finished, the way it’s specified and, most importantly, the way it makes your USB-C device and headphones sound.

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

Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy FiiO QX13?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

FiiO QX13 review: Also consider

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 QX13’s 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

FiiO QX13: Two-minute review

Another day inevitably brings another FiiO product – and today’s FiiO product is the QX13 USB headphone amp/DAC. It’s 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 there’s 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 wasn’t for the device’s tendency to hit treble sounds with quite such vigor, it would be approaching ‘ideal’ and be part of the best portable DACs around.

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

You’ve got to hand it to FiiO – it hasn’t 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 it’s 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.

There’s more, of course – there’s always more when FiiO is involved. The use of XMOS crystal oscillators allows the QX13 to be compatible with the 10-band lossless PEQ that’s 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. It’s compatible with the company’s compact ‘ESTICK’ power bank.

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

Features score: 5 / 5

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. It’s 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.

It’s a remarkably open and organized listen. The soundstage it creates during a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of Paul Simon’s 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 – it’s 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.

It’s 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 Beak’s 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; there’s really no mistaking a vocalist's attitude when they’re described by the FiiO.

From the lowest frequencies to the highest, there’s a common tonality to the QX13’s 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 doesn’t 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 it’s this trait that means the QX13 doesn’t 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 it’s the best-sounding device of its type and price must remain a live question.

Sound quality score: 4 / 5

FiiO QX13 review: Design

• Carbon-fiber or aluminum construction
• Magnetic leather case for ultimate iPhone convenience
• 64 x 31 x 13mm (HxWxD)

You’ve 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 that’s 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 won’t be seeing much of either material if you slip the QX13 into its protective leather case. FiiO has, in one of those ‘so simple it’s brilliant’ moments of inspiration, made the case magnetic - so it will cling to your iPhone in the manner of a MagSafe. If you’re an Android user, there’s 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

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 couldn’t 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.

There’s 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 it’s 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 that’s been used is necessarily small, and the few physical buttons available to navigate them are small too.

Ideally you’ll 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 you’ve got it once the device is functioning.

Usability & setup score: 3.5 / 5

FiiO QX13 review: Value

You can’t 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 it’s made, the way it’s finished, the way it’s specified and, most importantly, the way it makes your USB-C device and headphones sound.

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

Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy FiiO QX13?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

FiiO QX13 review: Also consider

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 QX13’s 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