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FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier

FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. presented the FiiO BTR5 Flagship Portable High-Fidelity Bluetooth Amplifier back in 2019, which, according to the company, has proven to be an extremely successful product to date. Now, however, it is time for a successor, which is ready with the new FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier.

Michael Holzinger 6 November 2023Last Updated: 6 November 2023

0 3 minutes read

The new FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier is the successor to the FiiO BTR5 Flagship Portable High-Fidelity Bluetooth Amplifier.

For the first time, FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. announced the FiiO BTR5, a portable headphone amplifier that focusses on Bluetooth and is of a particularly high quality, making it the flagship of the FiiO BTR range. The specialist for personal audio devices therefore also referred to it as the FiiO BTR5 Flagship Portable High-Fidelity Bluetooth Amplifier.

Even though it is still very successful on the market today, it is now time for a successor, according to the Chinese company, which is sending the new FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier into the race for customers’ favour.

FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier – Lighter yet more powerful

The big advantage of the FiiO BTR5 was clearly the fact that it was a very compact, very light, yet enormously versatile solution, which, as already described, was also of an astonishingly high quality level, and for this very reason boasted a very attractive price-performance ratio.

According to FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd., the new FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier should now also offer all of these advantages, but with even better performance data and even more compact and state-of-the-art technology.

Equipped with the latest technology

FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. emphasises two components in particular: the Qualcomm QC5125 Bluetooth 5.1 chip from Qualcomm Inc. and the XMOS XU316 16-core USB processor from XMOS Technology.

As the manufacturer emphasises, this provides the basis for the best possible data transmission at all times as well as high performance for signal conversion and processing. The D/A converter comes from ESS Technology Inc. and utilises two ESS ES921MQs.

The FiiO BTR15 is therefore able to transmit signals via USB, where a USB-C interface is available, as well as “wirelessly” via Bluetooth. It supports all relevant Bluetooth codecs, from SBC and AAC to aptX and atX HD as well as aptX LL and aptX Adaptive through to LDAC.

With Bluetooth, the spectrum extends up to 24 bit and 96 kHz, the solution shows its full potential via USB, as the new FiiO BTR15 can process data in Linear PCM format up to and including 32 bit and 384 kHz, DSD up to DSD256, and also data in lossy MQA.

The output stage of the FiiO BTR15 delivers up to two times 125 mW into 32 ohms at the unbalanced 3.5 mm stereo mini jack, and even two times 340 mW into 32 ohms at the balanced 4.4 mm Pentaconn.

The integrated 550 mAh lithium-ion battery should allow a playing time of up to eight hours, as the manufacturer promises, whereby it is charged, how could it be otherwise, via the aforementioned USB-C interface. The matching cable is included in the scope of delivery.

The FiiO BTR15 measures just 32 x 72.2 x 12.5 mm and weighs in at 37.3 g, yet it features a generously sized 0.96 inch OLED with a resolution of 96 x 96 pixels for convenient control. Of course, the new FiiO BTR15 can also be controlled via an app, namely the FiiO Control app, which is available for Apple iOS and Google Android and provides convenient access to the integrated parametric equaliser of the FiiO BTR15.

It should also be mentioned that the elegant aluminium housing is available in two colour variants, namely Black & Blue and Black, with a curved glass adorning the front and an optional clip on the back for attaching the FiiO BTR15 to a bag, for example.

Prices and availability

The new FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier should be available from specialist retailers in the next few days, as the manufacturer promises. The recommended retail price is listed at € 119,-.

Getting to the point

The new FiiO BTR15 Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier is the successor to the FiiO BTR5 Flagship Portable High-Fidelity Bluetooth Amplifier and thus the latest addition to the FiiO BTR range. Equipped with the latest technology and therefore an immensely flexible solution in the field of personal audio devices, it is set to continue the success of its predecessor, according to FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.