Hello everyone!
I would like to share my impressions with my latest purchase from Fosi Audio – the K5 Pro Gaming DAC.
I already have the Fosi Audio BT20a Pro Amplifier and I thought that the two would be a great pair. My initial idea was to improve my home audio system, which as Lenco FA3431, with relatively good two-way bookshelf speakers. The Fosi Audio Amplifier paired really well with the speakers, and had absolutely no issues with powering them. As I said in my initial review of the amplifier I was thoroughly surprised with it - my initial attempt was to "revive" the system by replacing the stock amplifier from the multi-component system I have and add Bluetooth functionality for ease of access. I was really impressed with the amplifier and decided to further upgrade my system by adding a DAC and I decided on the Fosi Audio K5 Pro.
First of all, the product arrived super quickly, basically 2-3 days after the order was placed, since it was shipped from the company’s hub in Europe. I quickly unpacked it and went on with the installation process which was extremely easy, since I already use my gaming laptop for my main audio source and use a streaming platform. My first impressions were good, the DAC looked nice, and had a quality metal finish as well as rubber stands, which made it very easy to position the device next to my other components.
I powered it up, by plugging it into an external charger and connected the 3.5 mm AUX into the device. I stared listening to my favourite tracks which I use to benchmark my equipment and the difference was there. I could hear a lot more detail, and the separation between the highs, mids and lows was much clearer. The bass was much pore punchier. I found the bass and treble controls really useful as they provided another line of options to correct the sound output, based on what you are listening. The main knob is used for volume corrections, but I found that the sound quality is best if I max out the volume from my laptop and adjust the volume from the DAC. Again, like with the Fosi Audio BT20a Pro Amplifier, there was no static noise when I increased the volume, which was there when I used my old amplifier. Overall, the sound was much more lively and precise and I was able to hear more details from my favourite songs which was a very pleasant experience.
What surprised me more was when I decided to watch a movie. I have my laptop connected to my TV via HDMI and I usually use my audio system as an output device when I watch a movie with good sound effects. However, by using the K5 Pro the difference was really impressive. The dialogue was much more clear and the sound effects were nicely separated which gave the impression of a much larger home cinema. I usually have to constantly adjust the volume when I watch movies, since the dialogue is very hard to hear and the explosions can get deafening, but somehow the K5 Pro solved this issue. The corrections it provided to the overall experience were amazing. I suspect that this is due to the main purpose of the device, being a gaming DAC, but this was a nice bonus.
Overall, I have excellent impressions of the device - it does not heat up and does not prevent it from being constantly on, it takes up very little space. The sound quality has improved drastically and my speakers now produce a cleaner sound, the dynamics are better, the bass is much cleaner. One of the main pluses is the huge improvement I noticed when watching movies, which I did not expect, but made me extremely satisfied with the K5 Pro.
Cheers guys!
I would like to share my impressions with my latest purchase from Fosi Audio – the K5 Pro Gaming DAC.
I already have the Fosi Audio BT20a Pro Amplifier and I thought that the two would be a great pair. My initial idea was to improve my home audio system, which as Lenco FA3431, with relatively good two-way bookshelf speakers. The Fosi Audio Amplifier paired really well with the speakers, and had absolutely no issues with powering them. As I said in my initial review of the amplifier I was thoroughly surprised with it - my initial attempt was to "revive" the system by replacing the stock amplifier from the multi-component system I have and add Bluetooth functionality for ease of access. I was really impressed with the amplifier and decided to further upgrade my system by adding a DAC and I decided on the Fosi Audio K5 Pro.
First of all, the product arrived super quickly, basically 2-3 days after the order was placed, since it was shipped from the company’s hub in Europe. I quickly unpacked it and went on with the installation process which was extremely easy, since I already use my gaming laptop for my main audio source and use a streaming platform. My first impressions were good, the DAC looked nice, and had a quality metal finish as well as rubber stands, which made it very easy to position the device next to my other components.
I powered it up, by plugging it into an external charger and connected the 3.5 mm AUX into the device. I stared listening to my favourite tracks which I use to benchmark my equipment and the difference was there. I could hear a lot more detail, and the separation between the highs, mids and lows was much clearer. The bass was much pore punchier. I found the bass and treble controls really useful as they provided another line of options to correct the sound output, based on what you are listening. The main knob is used for volume corrections, but I found that the sound quality is best if I max out the volume from my laptop and adjust the volume from the DAC. Again, like with the Fosi Audio BT20a Pro Amplifier, there was no static noise when I increased the volume, which was there when I used my old amplifier. Overall, the sound was much more lively and precise and I was able to hear more details from my favourite songs which was a very pleasant experience.
What surprised me more was when I decided to watch a movie. I have my laptop connected to my TV via HDMI and I usually use my audio system as an output device when I watch a movie with good sound effects. However, by using the K5 Pro the difference was really impressive. The dialogue was much more clear and the sound effects were nicely separated which gave the impression of a much larger home cinema. I usually have to constantly adjust the volume when I watch movies, since the dialogue is very hard to hear and the explosions can get deafening, but somehow the K5 Pro solved this issue. The corrections it provided to the overall experience were amazing. I suspect that this is due to the main purpose of the device, being a gaming DAC, but this was a nice bonus.
Overall, I have excellent impressions of the device - it does not heat up and does not prevent it from being constantly on, it takes up very little space. The sound quality has improved drastically and my speakers now produce a cleaner sound, the dynamics are better, the bass is much cleaner. One of the main pluses is the huge improvement I noticed when watching movies, which I did not expect, but made me extremely satisfied with the K5 Pro.
Cheers guys!
