These Speakers made me Rethink my Entire Hi-Fi System Fiio SP5 Speakers review

While there is a preconception in the audiophile world, that if you want great gear and utmost quality you should go with passive speakers and separate components. While that might be true, it is a more expensive road to travel, even though it is more flexible and allows for experimentation.

Destroying preconceptions

But more and more we see active speakers “actively” knocking on the door of that perception and blurring the line between just monitors and great audiophile hi-fi speakers. And Fiio comes here swinging, creating something that I just a few years ago could not even imagine: “cheaper” active speakers that can easily rival many passive speakers in this price range while offering ample amplification and subwoofer-level bass.

Now cheaper is always a subjective thing, but get this: this is a full hi-fi system for 800 euros. These are great bookshelf speakers, a powerful amp, and subwoofer-level bass. Not just speakers for 800 euros. Less clutter than a few Class D amps, DACs, preamps and speakers. All in one box.

Tech specs, Inputs/outputs, Equalisers...

Unlike simple powered computer speakers, the SP5 is built from the ground up as a high-fidelity active loudspeaker system with significant engineering investment in every subsystem.

Let’s quickly go through a laundry list of specs just to explain to anyone here that we really have powerful components inside, that are engineered amazingly, and that build quality itself is a story to be told for this amazing product.

At its heart are 5.25-inch “Continuum” composite fiber woofers designed for rigid motion with low distortion, inspired by materials used in high-end speakers — ensuring deep, controlled bass without unwanted breakup, even at high loudness levels. Complementing these are 1-inch composite silk soft-dome tweeters with a specially engineered hemispherical structure that dampens internal resonances and yields smooth, transparent treble reproduction. And if I might say, the build quality and looks are spectacular, and you have to see them live to truly understand why. As just seeing them in pictures does not tell the whole story.

Each SP5 speaker contains a four-channel Class-D amplification stage: two channels provide up to 60 W to the woofers, and two provide 20 W to the tweeters per speaker — ample output for nearfield listening and moderate room fill. Power is delivered via independent high-power switching supplies for each speaker, minimizing cross-channel interference and ensuring stable dynamics even at higher volumes.

An NJW1195A low-noise electronic volume control — commonly found in high-end headphone amplifiers — governs output with ultra-fine 0.5 dB increments, a remarkably wide range, and ultra-low distortion. Combined with a measured ≥100 dB signal-to-noise ratio and distortion under 0.0003%, these design choices create a very quiet background that allows subtle musical detail to surface.

The SP5’s enclosure is crafted from aeronautical-grade aluminum via a 650 °C liquid die-casting process, resulting in a stiff, resonant-free structure. Diffuser-shaped horizontal ribs and curved interior surfaces are intentionally designed to suppress standing waves and diffraction, yielding a flatter, more natural frequency response and a wide, coherent soundstage.

The SP5 offers a broad suite of inputs: professional-grade XLR balanced, RCA analog, USB-C digital (up to 24-bit/96 kHz), AUX, and Bluetooth 5.1 with high-resolution codecs such as LDAC and aptX Adaptive — making them suitable for both traditional source components and wireless streaming. A companion FiiO Control mobile app provides access to a 10-band parametric EQ, input selection, Bluetooth codec management, and power settings, enabling tailored tuning for individual listening spaces.

And as I can add, there is not a lack in inputs and outputs, and even the speakers are giving you flexibility to connect with XLR cables, RCA cables, aux cables, and USB-C.

While not spectacular, this is honestly everything you need. But what is really great also is the physical equalization you have on the back panel of this device. You can set the bass reach and depth to 50 and 60 Hz. You can add bass to +3 dB and +6 dB, and you can add +3 dB to treble and also remove 3 dB from treble. So it is an equalizer on the speakers directly.

You also get a great remote, and something which shocked me to be honest: really great RCA cable inside. Including the rest of the cables, they are high quality.

Unexpected Sound Quality

But enough with the specs, what about the sound. What makes this one so special. And out of the bat this is a full-fledged audiophile speaker. Its dynamics, openness and details tell a story that this is made for audiophiles. Not some studio monitors that are sold as audiophile equipment. Rather than having a soundstage with all the variety of bass and treble colorations and audaciously presented to you as a listener.

This device sonically can absolutely change your entire gear, except a source. You will need a good source to truly open the potential of these speakers. Add a streamer, turntable or CD player and you are good to go.

And one thing you can definitely hear right away is how these speakers sound large and have this earth-shaking bass that has such an attack and ferocity. It definitely feels like you have a small subwoofer attached to it. While it cannot be a substitute for a real subwoofer, this bass has so much depth and reach, it was so fascinating.

And I am speaking about sub-bass, the lower bass, that usually passive bookshelf speakers just cannot reach. It is sprawling, allowing any music that thrives here — electronic and rock/metal with a lot of drive and distortion — to sound moving.

That double bass hit, cello, those lower notes on bass guitar are allowing spread and massiveness. Now this might not be a controlled, super detailed and textured bass, as I think something gets lost in transition here, but nonetheless there is enough shape on the soundstage and presence that instruments, if the production is good enough, have enough organic character to tell a story. But some senior audiophiles might miss the delicate textures and details here of precise bass.

But I want now to jump unexpectedly to the top of the speaker. Surprise number two lies there. No matter how much I was enamored by just the scope and size of bass, I was shocked how much detail these speakers were showing in upper mids and treble.

And this is where I realized what these speakers are trying to do. There are a lot of active speakers that have this big boomy bass, but not many of them manage to go through that haze and promote details and instruments on the soundstage.

Yes, I was shocked how rounded and palpable the instruments were on the soundstage, how much I could hear and analyze them. It feels like a metallic tweeter bright, but in this kind of combination it kind of works.

As it is bright-ish, but it gives hi-hats definition, acoustic guitars a shine, percussions texture — it does a lot with how it presents it. Now again it might not be like prestigious and elite way treble is expanding and promoting every nuance and micro-detail and transition. But it is quick and snappy and it tells a story.

Regarding the voices, they are neutral, not laid back, not forward, just in place. I think the detailed treble gives them room, but it is part of the mix and production. And depending what you listen to, if the instrumentation around vocals is complex or not, it will be present or just part of the band. There is not much to say here, except it is there, it is enough rounded and separated to have its own lane on the soundstage.

And while we are at soundstage, it is good. It opens enough both vertically and horizontally. With proper production of music, great quality source, and well placed and positioned speakers, it does open for those spatial effects of chasing instruments on stage, of having left and right corners for certain instruments, to have placement of instruments and voices in their place. But don’t expect the airiest and largest soundstage like you can get with some passive bookshelf speakers. It is good, but not something to speak fabulously about. But for active speakers this is really, really excellent.

And transparency and clarity. I loved how it expands the instruments at the top, I love how it has enough space for everyone. The DAC inside is doing a decent job of organizing information on stage. I could recognize even the backing instruments on tracks that I know so well. It is clear enough to tell where and when these instruments are coming from. Easy to see and observe. Again, in the realm of hi-fi this is not the best in this price range, but in the realm of active speakers this is again really excellent.

Some problems

Now as you might have figured out if you listened to my previous section, there are some issues. And depending on what background you are coming from, they might be large problems or something you can easily live with.

It is that if you come from the audiophile world of dedicated amps, preamps, DACs and 800 euro speakers, you might get more premium experience. For more money, but more premium experience. The thing is Fiio SP5 tries too hard, that is its biggest problem. The bass is large and imposing, but it does not have fine details and textures to be class-leading. Treble is detailed and great, but sometimes it lacks a bit better tonality, better shaping and presentation of information, to have more approachable and extending decay. And a little bit more soundstage depth and clarity and information in midsection.

This is me as a critic who looks at this stuff, and I can see from my experience how all of these can be better. But come on… you don’t need amp and DAC… you have a really decent amp and DAC inside. Which alone if bought separately can cost around 400 euros. You have such a deep and extending bass, that if you don’t have money for a subwoofer, or space or anything, you get a mini subwoofer here, which alone can also cost around 200 euros at best. And with that calculation you see how SP5 is winning.

Maybe a problem for some people is that it cannot connect both speakers wirelessly, you always need a cable to connect them. But we know the drill, cable is much, much better than Bluetooth. I know it is messy with all those cables, but it is what it is.

vs. 800$ Passive Speakers

One more thing I can do to drive the point is to take from my personal experience a lot of different speakers in this price range and compare them with SP5.

Just to picture the frame and scope of speakers in this price range: Triangle Borea BR04, Monitor Audio Silver 50, Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3, Polk Audio R200, KEF Q3, Q Acoustics 5020, Dali Oberon 3.

I can tell you right away that SP5 has more deep and sprawling bass than all of the speakers I mentioned. I think all of them are at least a little bit more transparent and clearer than SP5, but for example Q3, R200 and Silver 50 have more clarity and transparency around soundstage, allowing deeper insight into that blackness of soundstage and better presentation of instruments.

Bowers & Wilkins 606 and Borea BR04 have significantly better treble, more extended, closer to you, more detailed. While some like Q Acoustics 5020 and Monitor Audio Silver 50 have better treble but not far from SP5. While SP5 has a bit more details than the rest like Q3 which cannot reach SP5. Dali Oberon 3 has such a great combination of details, clarity and musicality which sounds more premium than SP5.

As you can see, at some level passive bookshelf speakers offer more and are overall more enjoyable and at some level more neutral and with far better tonality than SP5. But don’t forget what you get with SP5 and what accompanying gear you have to buy to truly drive passive speakers.

Are Active speakers the future?/Conclusion

In the end, the amount of features, technology, sound and quality you get with SP5 is unreal. Truly I can see even some audiophiles looking in the direction of SP5 as it provides such a quality and mature sound that, while not on the level of passive speakers in this price range, obliterates them from a value perspective.

Amp, preamp, DAC, speakers, subwoofer — all of that for 800 euros. It is such a great package and it declutters your life greatly. Amazing bass, great treble and detail insight. Connectivity, soundstage and separation — it all works so well, something I could not even fathom a few years ago.

I honestly have had these speakers on my stands in my listening room for a long time, and I just enjoyed the flexibility and decluttering of it. I did not have to think about pairing, synergy, connections, cables, etc. All is inside, already paired together perfectly.

I connected my streamer, CD and turntable with ease. It was so good that I started immediately promoting these speakers to my friends. Especially those not audiophiles, who do not care about amps, preamps, DACs, etc. I raved about sound quality, I raved how if active speakers are becoming better they can easily become my favorite thing in hi-fi.

I told them how I feel that this is an impossible speaker for me, as it opened my eyes so much to active speakers that are cheaper and actually good. That they minimally lag to passive speakers, and they minimally have to compromise. How I see myself in 10 years having active speakers that can change all my system and just have more stress-free minimal life and passion.

Fiio SP5 did all that for me. I was so happy with it and that is why this is an impossible speaker for me.

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Keep daydreaming, and see you on the next video.

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Pros

1. Outstanding Value for Money

• Effectively a full hi-fi system for ~800€: speakers, amplification, DAC and near-subwoofer-level bass in one package.

• Eliminates the need for separate amp, DAC, preamp and (for many users) even a subwoofer.

• From a value perspective, it obliterates most passive systems in the same price bracket.

2. Extremely Deep and Powerful Bass

• Bass is large, imposing and earth-shaking for a bookshelf-sized speaker.

• Reaches into true sub-bass territory, something most passive bookshelf speakers cannot achieve.

• Gives electronic, rock, metal and cinematic music huge impact and physical presence.

• Feels like having a mini subwoofer built in.

3. Detailed and Energetic Treble

• Upper mids and treble are surprisingly detailed and revealing.

• Excellent definition on hi-hats, acoustic guitars and percussion.

• Treble is fast, snappy and engaging, helping with perceived clarity and openness.

4. Good Transparency for Active Speakers

• Internal DAC and amplification provide clear instrument separation.

• Easy to locate instruments on the soundstage.

• Backing instruments and subtle layers are audible even in complex mixes.

5. Solid Soundstage

• Soundstage opens both horizontally and vertically.

• Good placement and spatial imaging with well-produced music.

• For active speakers, the soundstage is “really, really excellent.”

6. Excellent Build Quality and Design

• Aluminum cabinet, rigid and resonance-free.

• Premium look and feel; much better in real life than in photos.

• High-quality included cables (especially RCA).

7. Very Good Connectivity and Features

• XLR, RCA, AUX, USB-C, Bluetooth with LDAC & aptX Adaptive.

• Physical EQ switches on the back (bass and treble tuning).

• App-based EQ and control.

• Remote control included.

8. True Plug-and-Play Hi-Fi

• No need to think about synergy, pairing or system matching.

• Just add a source (streamer, CD, turntable) and you're done.

• Great for people who want high-end sound without system complexity.

Cons

1. Bass Lacks Fine Texture

• While extremely deep and powerful, bass is:

  • Not as textured, nuanced or controlled as high-end passive systems.

  • Some detail and micro-information is lost.

• Senior audiophiles may miss precision and layering in low frequencies.

2. Treble Tonality Isn’t Class-Leading

• Treble is detailed, but:

  • Sometimes lacks natural decay and refinement.

  • Can feel slightly metallic or artificially bright.

• Not as organic or sophisticated as premium passive tweeters.

3. Midrange Depth and Naturalness

• Midrange is good but:

  • Lacks depth, air and emotional layering compared to high-end systems.

  • Instruments can feel more “presented” than truly dimensional.

4. Soundstage Depth Is Limited

• While wide and tall, soundstage is:

  • Not as deep or holographic as good passive setups.

  • Lacks that “black background” and sense of infinite space.

5. Overall Tonality Isn’t Fully Neutral

• Compared to passive speakers in this price:

  • SP5 sounds more exciting than accurate.

  • Less natural timbre than speakers like Dali Oberon 3, B&W 607, BR04.