FiiO SP5 High-Fidelity Active Desktop Speakers

The FiiO SP5 is a pair of high-fidelity active speakers built on the success of the SP3, for listeners who want a spacious soundstage and excellent sound in larger spaces. Each die-cast aluminium cabinet holds a 5.25-inch “Continuum”-style composite fibre woofer, a 1-inch composite silk soft dome tweeter, its own 120W power supply and its own TI amplifier, for 60W × 2 + 20W × 2 of four-way independent power. Connect by XLR, RCA, 3.5mm, USB or LDAC and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth, then fine-tune the sound with bass, treble and bass-extension switches or a 10-band PEQ in the FiiO Control app. It is no longer just a desktop speaker: it suits a home hi-fi system, films in the living room, entertainment in a study and professional audio editing alike.

A 5.25-inch composite fibre woofer for deep, powerful bass

The woofer cone is made from a composite fibre similar to the “Continuum” material of the B&W 700 series: a blend of carbon fibre, glass fibre and other fibres, treated with a damping adhesive to balance rigidity and flexibility. With a Young’s modulus several times that of paper, it avoids breakup even at high power and keeps distortion below 1% across its range. FiiO refined every part of the driver for larger rooms: a symmetrical magnetic circuit with a field above 1.2 Tesla, a large 30mm long-throw voice coil (rare in its class) for a lighter moving mass and plenty of excursion, and a flexible, fatigue-resistant NBR rubber surround with spiral grooves that prevent non-linear distortion in high-impact music. The result is deep, powerful, tight bass and sweet, detailed vocals.

A 1-inch silk dome tweeter for clear, smooth treble

Inside the composite silk soft dome, a soft hemispherical structure absorbs the harmful harmonics from the back of the diaphragm, for purer, more transparent treble. A large rear cavity gives low resonance and high power handling, letting the tweeter reach down to 800Hz while still releasing pressure above 20kHz. A precisely engineered waveguide controls the sound’s direction for near-field listening and, with the horizontal stripes on the front, greatly widens the soundstage, and a magnetic-fluid cooling and damping system extends and refines the treble. An active electronic crossover splits the two drivers at 3.1kHz.

An independent 120W power supply in each speaker

FiiO’s own high-power switching supply gives each speaker 120W, enough reserve for any dynamic music, and accepts any mains voltage from 100V to 240V. A multi-stage rectification and filtering architecture powers the output stage independently, and a transformer resonance system turns a single source into a dual-symmetrical supply for the front-end circuits, eliminating DC-DC noise at source for a darker background and clearer detail. A smart power-saving mode, on by default, puts the speakers into standby after 20 minutes without a signal and wakes them as soon as music starts; you can turn it off in the app.

Four-way amplification: 60W × 2 + 20W × 2

Each speaker has a Texas Instruments TPA3116D2 class D stereo amplifier, with one channel for the woofer (up to 60W) and one for the tweeter (up to 20W). It is built for reliability, with protection against short circuits, overheating and voltage fluctuations, and it alerts the processor if an overload occurs.

XLR balanced input: pro audio DNA

The professional XLR balanced input uses three-pin differential transmission, sending hot and cold signals together with a dedicated ground, which cancels over 90% of common-mode noise, even over long cables. It takes XLR or 6.35mm TRS plugs, has independent volume control, and needs no RCA link between the speakers. When the main speaker uses XLR, the secondary speaker must use XLR too.

Low-noise, high-precision volume control

Each speaker has an NJW1195A electronic volume control, a resistor-ladder chip usually found in high-end headphone amplifiers, with little imbalance, an output noise of just −118dBV (1.26µVrms) and 0.0003% distortion. It adjusts from +31.5dB to −95dB in fine 0.5dB steps, and with carefully tuned circuits the SP5 reaches a 100dB signal-to-noise ratio (FiiO Labs). The main speaker’s knob controls both speakers.

Hi-res Bluetooth with LDAC and aptX Adaptive

A Qualcomm QCC5125 Bluetooth 5.1 chip with 24-bit audio processing and an advanced DSP supports SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD, LDAC and aptX Adaptive, at up to 990kbps. The SP5 is certified for both Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Wireless Audio. The USB input decodes up to 96kHz/24-bit, and for a phone FiiO recommends Bluetooth or USB playback.

Tune it to your room

Switches on the back of each speaker set the treble to −2, 0 or +2dB, the bass below 100Hz to 0, +3 or +6dB, and the low-frequency extension to 50Hz or 60Hz; set both speakers the same. The treble boost brings out detail for mixing or for strings and electronic music, while the cut tames harshness or sibilance and suits classical music or reflective rooms. The bass boost adds impact, can balance room standing waves, clears up muddy bass in small rooms and gives the power larger spaces need. Bass extension pushes beyond the roughly 55Hz limit of a typical 5.25-inch speaker for stronger, deeper, faster bass, for music, films and games.

Connected over Bluetooth, the FiiO Control app chooses the input, Bluetooth codec, RGB lighting and power saving, and adds a 10-band PEQ, powered by FiiO’s own algorithms, to fine-tune the frequency response.

A die-cast aluminium cabinet

Each cabinet is die-cast from a single 10kg aluminium ingot, melted at 650°C, then precision-lightened by about 30%, leaving a larger internal cavity in a smaller speaker for stronger bass. The high-density aluminium is 300% more rigid than MDF and, with a uniform internal wall structure, suppresses unwanted resonance; it also dissipates heat naturally for stable high-power performance and shields the electronics from interference. The powder-coated finish takes two coats in black and three in white.

The cabinet’s dimensions are calculated to prevent standing waves, the drivers are angled for phase alignment, and smooth, rounded edges reduce diffraction, for a flat response and precise imaging. The diffuser-shaped horizontal stripes on the front are structural reinforcements as well as decoration, helping the cabinet resist powerful vibrations, and a horn-shaped, rear-firing bass reflex port sits on the back.

Simple to use

One knob on the main speaker does everything: hold it to switch both speakers on or to standby, press it to change input (the RGB ring shows purple for XLR, blue for RCA, green for AUX and orange for USB, or the Bluetooth codec in use), and turn it for volume; the ring flashes red above 90% volume. A remote control is included. A channel switch lets you put the main speaker on either side, a trigger input switches the SP5 on and off with your preamplifier, and a ground-lift switch can eliminate ground-loop noise.

Good to know

• The speakers link by the supplied 3m RJ45 cable; when you switch on or off, both must have their mains cables and the link cable connected.
• FiiO recommends letting them play for about 48 hours to run in. Keep them away from dust, moisture and direct sun, in a well-ventilated place, and turn the volume up gradually.
• For smaller desks, see FiiO’s compact SP3.
• In the box: main and secondary speakers, two mains cables, 3m RJ45 link cable, 1.5m RCA cable, RCA to 3.5mm cable, remote control (2 × AAA) and quick start guide.