FiiO BTR13 is not a perfect product, you may think that its sound is not delicate enough and it is made of plastic, but considering the price of 70 dollars, these shortcomings seem acceptable.
FiiO BTR13 specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC/aptX Adaptive/aptX HD/AAC codec
- Bluetooth connection mode & Wired connection mode
- 3.5mm unbalanced & 4.4mm balanced headphone out
- 0.96-inch large color IPS display
- Powerful 220mW output & Global PEQ
- Dual CS43131 DAC fully balanced
- $70 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US or other Amazon countries
Appearance Design (Screen, Buttons)
FiiO BTR13 is very small and light, weighing only 28.6g; you can hardly feel the weight in your hand, and it is not a burden in your pocket. Whether you carry it outside or hang it on your body for a long time, it will not be too stressful.
FiiO BTR13 is equipped with a 0.96-inch color IPS screen with the resolution of 80×160, which can clearly display the volume, power, audio format, sampling rate, EQ status, etc. The font color of the audio format will vary depending on the format.
The surface of FiiO BTR13 is made of plastic, and after matte treatment, the overall texture is good. The buttons are concentrated on the right side of the body, with a reasonable layout and easy operation. From top to bottom are the power button, playback control button, volume button and mode switch button.
The back clip design is a highlight of FiiO BTR13 – there is a hole on the back clip, which is convenient for users to directly attach a lanyard. This design allows BTR13 to be clipped to backpack straps, clothes pockets, or hung on the chest with a lanyard, which improves the convenience and flexibility of use.
Product Highlights: 3 Scenes One-key Switching
Compared to similar products, FiiO BTR13 has a very innovative function. Its mode switch has 3 gears: PC, BT (Bluetooth), and PHONE, corresponding to the 3 application scenarios of bluetooth headphone amplifier.
PC Mode: Used to connect to a computer as a USB decoding headphone amplifier. Bluetooth is automatically turned off and USB DAC mode is turned on. The USB port is charged and powered by default, and the “battery protection” function is turned on. When the battery is fully charged to 80%, the battery is automatically disconnected and powered entirely by USB, which effectively solves the problem of battery life for users who use it for a long time connected to a computer.
The BT mode is used for bluetooth decoding headphone amplifier, and only connects to devices via bluetooth. If connected to a USB port, it is only used for charging and power supply.
PHONE Mode: Used to connect a mobile phone as a USB mini headphone amplifier. In this mode, bluetooth is automatically turned off and USB AUDIO mode is turned on; it is powered by a built-in battery and will not consume the power of the mobile phone.
Furthermore, there is a special scenario. When the user wants BTR13 to be powered by the mobile phone like a mini headphone amplifier, just turn on the “battery protection” function when the battery power is greater than 80%, and turn on the PC MODE and connect the mobile phone. At this time, the battery life of BTR13 depends on the power of the mobile phone, not its own battery. This smart scene switching and power management mode does not require complex settings, greatly improving the convenience and flexibility of use.
Product Highlights: Professional Parametric Equalizer (PEQ)
PEQ is an EQ adjustment method that can freely adjust frequency points, increase gain and frequency width. Compared with traditional GEQ, it has the advantages of more precise adjustment and less mutual influence between frequency points.
First of all, the biggest highlight is that parametric EQ adjustment, namely Global PEQ sound effect, can be achieved in USB Mode or BT Mode.
Secondly, users can not only use FiiO’s preset sound effects online, but also import the curves of other brands of headphones with one-key, easily obtaining high-quality sound effects suitable for their own headphones.
Thirdly, BTR13 supports adjustment on the Windows and Mac web pages. Whether working in front of a computer or in other scenarios, it can meet the needs of users to deeply customize PEQ, allowing each user to accurately create a unique sound experience based on their preferences and headphone characteristics.
Product Highlights: IPS Color Display
The BTR13 has achieved a major breakthrough in interactive design. Its IPS color screen significantly improves the human-computer interaction experience. Although the body is small, the screen can clearly present rich information, with larger fonts for easy viewing by users.
With the help of the large screen, most function settings can be operated directly on the device. Users do not need to frequently open the app to set up, which simplifies the operation process.
The UI displays the audio format, sampling rate, and EQ status in turn, and the font color of the audio format changes according to the format, allowing users to quickly and intuitively understand audio-related information. Plus, the body is designed with an EQ adjustment shortcut key. Double-click “+” or “-” to quickly call up the EQ.
User Experience – Battery Life
During daily bluetooth connection to mobile phones, the connection is very stable, whether indoors or outdoors, there has been no disconnection or unstable signal. Even in an environment with a lot of wireless signal interference, FiiO BTR13 can maintain a good connection.
You can easily set basic operations such as gain, EQ, display brightness, screen off time on the screen, and you can also set the charging protection and car mode of the device. Even if you don’t connect your phone and open the FiiO Control App, you can complete most of the operations.
In terms of battery life, if you use it for daily commuting, you can charge it once every two days, which is definitely enough for daily use. It can be charged using a USB-C cable, and it is also very efficient.
Acoustic Configuration – Sound Description
FiiO BTR13 uses dual CS43131 DAC chips, with a decoding capability of 96k sampling rate; the LDAC codec it supports also reaches 96k, which means that both wired and wireless modes can reach this level.
The difference in sound style between the wired mode and the wireless mode of BTR13 is already very small. At most, the sound of the wired mode is more solid, denser, and contains more information.
FiiO BTR13 is still tuned in a popular style – it sounds warm and elastic, with moderate thickness, and the tri-frequency energy distribution is relatively uniform. The high-frequency performance is not particularly outstanding, and it sounds healthy rather than weird. The mid-frequency is warm and textured, and the graininess is also good, which is very suitable for male and female vocals. The low-frequency performance is very stable, solid and powerful, with moderate extension depth.
Conclusion
Overall, FiiO BTR13 is a very cost-effective bluetooth headphone amplifier. Whether for audiophiles or ordinary music lovers, BTR13 is worth to trying.