FIIO K5PRO ESS Setup

[Java]

Hey everyone, I recently purchased a pair of DT 770Pros (80 ohms) and a Fiio K5PRO ESS DAC.  I was just wondering besides the base FIIO driver if there was some settings/software I should change to get the most out of my lower-ish end setup.  I.E. playing flac files, figuring out how to enable DSD sound, enabling ASIO, etc. 

 

Also in the windows sound settings, should I have my sound to the max 32bit 384000 Hz or set it to something around 32bit 48000 Hz.  I was wondering if there was a difference. 

 

Thanks.

[OfficialTechSpace]

Aside from drivers, the DAC should function properly without any additional assistance. DSD playback should also be fully functional out of box as far as I'm aware. That's not really a feature to enable/disable, it's just a supported audio codec. In order to even use it, you need access to DSD files. Same goes for FLAC, just a supported codec. ASIO on the other hand is set on a more program-by-program basis. It's an audio driver intended for low-latency use when it matters. For example, I only use it when I'm in FL Studio.

 

When it comes to the bit-depth and sample rate settings, they don't really matter much. They're more of a potential output setting, they won't impact sound quality in any way unless the bit-depth or sample rate of the file you're playing is higher than your DACs output setting. Some programs won't function properly on too high of a setting though. For example, Foobar2000 (at least my version) bugs out if I have my DAC set to anything higher than 24-bit/192kHz. Again though, if you don't have files of that resolution you'll notice no difference.

 

Unless you have a Quobuz or Amazon Music subscription, pay thousands for hi-res digital copies of all your music, or are playing Cap'n Jack Sparrow breaking copyright laws, you won't be accessing files of that caliber anyways. I use a combination of all of the above, mostly the latter.

[Java]

46 minutes ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

Aside from drivers, the DAC should function properly without any additional assistance. DSD playback should also be fully functional put of box as far as I'm aware. That's not really a feature to enable/disable, it's just a supported audio codec. In order to even use it, you need access to DSD files. Same goes for FLAC, just a supported codec. ASIO on the other hand is set on a more program-by-program basis. It's an audio driver intended for low-latency use when it matters. For example, I only use it when I'm in FL Studio.

 

When it comes to the bit-depth and sample rate settings, they don't really matter much. They're more of a potential output setting, they won't impact sound quality in any way unless the bit-depth or sample rate of the file you're playing is higher than your DACs output setting. Some programs won't function properly on too high of a setting though. For example, Foobar2000 (at least my version) bugs out if I have my DAC set to anything higher than 24-bit/192kHz. Again though, if you don't have files of that resolution you'll notice no difference.

 

Unless you have a Quobuz or Amazon Music subscription, pay thousands for hi-res digital copies of all your music, or are playing Cap'n Jack Sparrow breaking copyright laws, you won't be accessing files of that caliber anyways. I use a combination of all of the above, mostly the latter.

Thank you my friend, you helped me out a lot.  My main concern was just making sure the FLAC files I have would output properly. 

[OfficialTechSpace]

1 hour ago, Java said:

Thank you my friend, you helped me out a lot.  My main concern was just making sure the FLAC files I have would output properly. 

They should output fine as long as you have a good application for media playback. For videos I suggest VLC, but for audio I suggest Foobar2000. Foobar is probably the most comprehensive and customizable of the bunch. I use a custom theme on mine, which I could be coerced into making a short tutorial for and attaching a theme file.

 

[Java]

25 minutes ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

They should output fine as long as you have a good application for media playback. For videos I suggest VLC, but for audio I suggest Foobar2000. Foobar is probably the most comprehensive and customizable of the bunch. I use a custom theme on mine, which I could be coerced into making a short tutorial for and attaching a theme file.

 

I've heard about this program, though I have no knowledge of its UI or how to use it.  Kinda has a vibe of audacity and an old Itunes layout based from your screengrab.

[OfficialTechSpace]

1 hour ago, Java said:

I've heard about this program, though I have no knowledge of its UI or how to use it.  Kinda has a vibe of audacity and an old Itunes layout based from your screengrab.

It's pretty simple, you just show it the file path to your music and it all appears in the program. To search for specific songs, you can use the search bar or just sort everything alphabetically by artist/album/song title. To keep the UI looking cleaner, I hid the search bar and keybound searches to Ctrl + F. The Audacity looking part is the waveform for the song, which also doubles as your seekbar. Waveforms come in handy when you're trying to find a specific part of a song that you know's at a different level of loudness. Eventually you'll just start to recognize the waveforms for your whole library. There are much more flashy and eye-grabby themes, I just kept it minimalistic and tried to display as much track information as possible at once. I also made it look bland by having everything colored grey and white. Lol. It's endlessly customizable, they just vary in difficulty to implement. Here are some other themes:

 

[Java]

39 minutes ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

It's pretty simple, you just show it the file path to your music and it all appears in the program. To search for specific songs, you can use the search bar or just sort everything alphabetically by artist/album/song title. To keep the UI looking cleaner, I hid the search bar and keybound searches to Ctrl + F. The Audacity looking part is the waveform for the song, which also doubles as your seekbar. Waveforms come in handy when you're trying to find a specific part of a song that you know's at a different level of loudness. Eventually you'll just start to recognize the waveforms for your whole library. There are much more flashy and eye-grabby themes, I just kept it minimalistic and tried to display as much track information as possible at once. I also made it look bland by having everything colored grey and white. Lol. It's endlessly customizable, they just vary in difficulty to implement. Here are some other themes:

 

Oh dang, okay I like the variety of UI setups.  Seems pretty simple to find all the tracks if all I have to do is tell it where they are.  I'll give it a go!

[OfficialTechSpace]

42 minutes ago, Java said:

Oh dang, okay I like the variety of UI setups.  Seems pretty simple to find all the tracks if all I have to do is tell it where they are.  I'll give it a go!

If you have any difficulties, I have a few videos to refer you to. Papa Zeos has a fairly long and detailed guide regarding Foobar, it's what I used to get started. If you get too overwhelmed, we're here to troubleshoot. Lmao.

[Java]

1 minute ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

If you have any difficulties, I have a few videos to refer you to. Papa Zeos has a fairly long and detailed guide regarding Foobar, it's what I used to get started. If you get too overwhelmed, we're here to troubleshoot. Lmao.

 

I'm in Audio Nirvana.  Thank you so much.  I'll tinker with it til then!