Overview

The FiiO SP5 is a pair of powered bookshelf and desktop speakers with an XLR balanced input, built with enough power to fill a living room as well as a desk. Connect a computer over USB, a phone over Bluetooth, a TV or player over RCA or AUX, or a mixer or audio interface over XLR, and adjust it all from the rotary encoder, the remote or the FiiO Control app. It's for listeners who want compact speakers that can play properly loud in a larger space, and for home studio users who need a balanced connection.

Each speaker pairs a 5.25-inch composite-fibre woofer with a 1-inch composite silk dome tweeter on a waveguide. Two Texas Instruments TPA3116D2 Class D amplifiers per speaker drive the woofer and tweeter separately, at up to 60W per woofer and 20W per tweeter, and each speaker has its own 120W switching power supply. The cabinets are die-cast from aluminium alloy at 650°C into a curved shape that controls resonance and standing waves.

An NJW1195A electronic volume control in each speaker adjusts from -95dB to +31.5dB in 0.5dB steps. Rear switches give two-stage bass (0, +3 or +6dB) and treble (-2, 0 or +2dB) adjustment plus a 50Hz or 60Hz low-frequency extension, and the FiiO Control app adds a 10-band parametric EQ. Bluetooth 5.1 on a Qualcomm QCC5125 supports LDAC and aptX Adaptive, with Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification.

Simcoe Audio Video Insight

Use the XLR input when the source is a mixer, audio interface or balanced DAC: in that mode the two speakers only need the RJ45 data cable between them, and the XLR jack also takes a 6.35mm TRS plug. Near a wall, start with the bass switch at 0dB and add boost only if the room needs it. If the main speaker has to sit on the right side of your desk, flip the rear L/R channel switch rather than re-running cables. Both speakers need their power cords and the data cable connected before powering on.

More Info

Why the FiiO SP5 Stands Out

Buyer's Guide

Who It's For

• The Living-Room Listener: Wants compact speakers that fill a larger room.
• The Home Studio User: Wants a balanced XLR or TRS input from an interface or mixer.
• The Multi-Source Desk: Wants USB, Bluetooth, RCA and AUX on one pair.

How It Compares

Compared with FiiO's SA1, which uses a 3.5-inch woofer and 20W + 5W per speaker from TPA3118 amplifiers, the SP5 steps up to a 5.25-inch woofer, 60W + 20W per speaker from TPA3116D2 amplifiers, independent 120W power supplies, die-cast aluminium cabinets and an XLR balanced input. The SA1 keeps a built-in phono preamp and optical and coaxial inputs in a much smaller pair.