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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 certainly an established product category, but anyone even interested in the company knows that FIIO rarely works by parts.
So $219 / £199 / au$349 buys a small, beautifully crafted device made from either carbon fiber or aluminium, and fronted by some hefty toughened glass. On the inside there’s the usual five-over engineering, from the ESS Saber DAC arrangement to the Texas Instruments amplification, and on the outside there’s a couple of audio outputs, and a small and highly informative full-color display (ideal for those who can read all the way to the bottom line at the optician without help). FIIO even provides a protective leather case that attaches magnetically to your iOS or Android device in the interests of both comfort and friction.
Connect via USB-C to a smartphone, games machine, laptop or anything else that can do with audio lag-up, and the improvement is obvious and widespread. In almost every respect, but especially where sound staging, detail retrieval and dynamic stimulation are concerned, the QX13 is a significant step up in quality.
If it weren’t for the device’s tendency to target treble sound with such gusto, it would approach the ‘ideal’ and rank among 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 it retails for $219 in the United States. In the UK it’s around $219, while in Australia it’s something like AU$349.
This puts it at the top of the ‘USB Headphone AMP/DAC Dongle’ market but, as we’ll see, Five has done its best to make the price seem pretty reasonable…
FIIO QX13 Review: Features
- ESS SABER ES9027SPRO DAC
- Texas Instruments Op-Amps
- Powerful ‘Desktop’ mode
You’ve got to hand it to the FIIO – it hasn’t given the QX13 the need to be as compact as possible, let alone pile on the specs.
At the heart of the product is an ESS SABER ES9027SPRO digital-to-analog conversion chipset. Capable of handling resolutions up to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD512, it features eight channels arranged in parallel and low-noise ES9312 regulators with output matching on each audio channel. Amplification is provided by half a dozen Texas Instruments arranged to reduce crosstalk and minimize interference.
Thanks to this optimized configuration and also thanks to its heat dissipation performance, the QX13 can deliver comparable power to a full-sized headphone amplifier when in ‘desktop’ mode. Meanwhile, its high-precision power regulator can adjust headphone amplification where gain and output power are concerned, in real time.
Part of the heat dissipation performance is thanks to carefully designed digital and analog boards. This too, of course. , allowing for more precise signal processing at each stage. Once it is decoded from digital to analog, the signal goes through several stages of amplification and amplification to try to complete the information account possible.
Of course there’s more – there’s always more when FIIO is involved. The use of XMOS crystal oscillators allows the QX13 to be synchronized with a 10-band unlimited PEQ available via the web or Android FIIO control app. UAC 1.0 mode means the QX13 is compatible with PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and other gaming devices. It is compatible with the company’s compact ‘Estick’ power bank.
But by now you get the picture – apparently Five has an unlimited supply of kitchen sinks ready to throw at every appliance it makes.
Features Score: 5/5
FIIO QX13 Review: Sound Quality
- Positive, detailed sound
- Spacious and organized presentation
- Rather more confidence than high frequency reproduction
Unsurprisingly, the FIIO QX13 passed the first test (‘Does it improve on the average laptop or smartphone’s unrelenting sound?’) quite a bit. It’s a fuller, more reliable and more enjoyable experience than you can get by plugging your headphones into the output socket of such a device.
This is a remarkably open and structured listen. It creates a soundstage during Paul Simon’s 24-bit/96 kHz FLAC file. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover Extensive, carefully controlled and equally carefully laid out. Each element of the recording naturally relates to one another, but each has a discrete pocket of space in which to work. The sound is focused, unified and spacious at the same time. The spaces between each element are given essential importance, and the QX13 keeps those silences very dark indeed.
The frequency response is quite wide. From the bottom end to the very top, FIIO gives more or less equal emphasis to each area. And at every point, it identifies, maintains and displays an impressive amount. If the recording contains minor, fleeting information about tone or texture, the QX13 has no problem putting it into convincing context.
When it comes to the dynamics of harmonic variations in a voice or even an instrument, and where the wide dynamic shifts over the course of a base 16-bit/48khz flock file. Carob honey Related, the QX13 steams through them pretty well. The amount of dynamic headroom available to him is significant.
The lower end of the frequency range is tightly controlled, and the attack and decay of individual notes and/or notes are observed so closely that the expression of rhythms is confident and direct. Midridge communicates in the same positive, eloquent way. There is really nothing wrong with a singer’s attitude when they are described by FIIO.
From the lowest frequencies to the highest, the QX13’s presentation has a common tightness that creates a strong impression of uniformity and ‘performance’. At the top of the frequency range, though, the FIIO ups its hand a bit. It attacks high-frequency information with absolute gusto, and lacks much sympathy where the source machine, content or partner headphones are concerned (it won’t do) as the treble sounds a bit harsh and overpowering.
I mean ‘there’s a bit of a headwind towards the high frequencies’, and this feature means that the QX13 doesn’t pass the second test (“Does it represent value when judged against its peers? That the Five has a handful of sound capabilities is not for question, but is it the best-sounding instrument of its type and price.”
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 13 mm (HXWXD)
You have two choices when it comes to finishing your QX13: carbon fiber or aluminum.
The former consists of 21 layers that, according to FIIO, join a device that is six times stronger than steel. This version of the QX13 weighs just 33.7g, while the aluminum alternative is a whopping 39.2g, but features a laser-engraved rear panel, which Five suggests creates an ‘elegant yet sophisticated’ appearance. Mind you, if you slip the QX13 into its protective leather case you won’t see much of any material. Five, in one of those ‘so simple it’s brilliant’ moments of inspiration, has made the case magnetic – so it’ll cling to your phone Magsafe-style. If you are an Android user, a magnetic ring is provided in the packaging to perform the same function.
The tiny 64 x 31 x 13 mm (HXWXD) device is beautifully built, regardless of the materials you prefer, and the finish quality is also very good. FIIO is to be congratulated for using 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: Usage and Setup
- 50.5mm IPS screen
- Hybrid 3.5mm output
- 60- and 120-step volume adjustment scales
As for configuring the QX13, things really couldn’t be more straightforward. It includes two USB-C sockets, one for battery charging and one for data transfer—both can be connected simultaneously, and FIIO provides a short length of hanging USB-C/USB-C cable for support.
There’s a switch to engage or disengage ‘desktop’ mode, and there are 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm output sockets on the top of the device. If you want to connect your QX13 digitally to a larger system it can be configured as SPDIF, so it’s just a question of making the necessary connections and away you go.
Or, at least, you go provided you have the skills required to set up FIIO to your satisfaction. The screen is bright and clear, of course — but it tries to cram too much information into one GO (file type, file size, volume level, authentication mode, UAC type, EQ setting, you name it). The setup menus themselves are generally five in their entirety but the font size used is necessarily smaller, and some of the physical buttons available to navigate them are also smaller.
Ideally your eyes will be like a hawk and your fingers will be like a cocktail stick. Otherwise you may be left behind quite a bit to get what you want, and some to make sure you get the device working once you’ve got it.
Usability and Setup Score: 3.5 / 5
FIIO QX13 Review: Value
You cannot judge the price of such products on the basis of value for money equipment What your money buys – A portable USB DAC/headphone amp needs to be small and light. No, you’re in the way it’s built, the way it’s finished, the way it’s specified and most importantly, the way your USB-C device and headphones sound.
And in all these respects, it’s very decent value for money indeed, but its audio character rates mean it’s undoubtedly not what Five was hoping for.
Value Score: 4/5
Should you buy the FIIO QX13?
If you buy it…
If you don’t buy it…
FIIO QX13 Review: Also Consider
How I Tested the FIIO QX 13
- Different headphones
- Different audio file types and sizes
- Different sources of music
I mostly used the FIIO QX13 with my Apple MacBook Pro, but I also tried it with a Google Pixel 8 smartphone and a FIIO M15S. Two of these three products benefited NO from the QX13’s D-to-A conversion and headphone amplification.
I listened to a lot of music of different genres, different file sizes and types, and I listened more thoroughly during the work week.
First reviewed October 2025
