FiiO UTWS5 2025 True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Hook & Headphone Amp for IEMs, AK4332 DAC, Hi-Res 96kHz/24bit LDAC -MMCX/0.78 2pins Connector, 10-Band PEQ, 20H Battery Life (MMCX)

As a long time user UTWS3 adapters, I’ve been patiently waiting for FiiO to release a new version of these adapters that solves the charging problems. For some reason, FiiO seems to be the only company who has figured out how to make true wireless adapters that work well and have flawless sound quality. The only issue has been the charging connections being unreliable. But with these new UTWS5 adapters, they have finally created the perfect true wireless adapters for IEMs. The charging system works flawlessly as opposed to the janky UTWS3 that made you jiggle the case until the connectors lined up, and the sound quality is as good as it gets. There is absolutely no hissing noise, and these sound identical to a quality IEM cable. The Bluetooth connectivity is also super fast and reliable. The battery life is solid and the charging time is lightning fast. They are fairly comfortable, and I can even wear them comfortably under my motorcycle helmet and still slide a finger in to press the button to skip songs. I use these with 7Hertz Timeless AE IEMs and the sound quality demolishes AirPod pros or any other system I’ve tried, including over the head headphones. I will probably use this setup for the rest of my life as I genuinely cannot fathom how something else could sound better, and these don’t have any of the Bluetooth/battery/comfort annoyances of literally every other true wireless adapters. Edit: now that I’ve had more time with them, there is one huge frustration. Once every couple weeks or so, the left and right hooks refuse to pair with each other and you only get sound from one of them. This is fixed by holding down the hook buttons on them for 10 seconds until they both say “power on” twice. Then you wait for them to pair, which can take up to 5-10 minutes. Very frustrating that they do this when the previous versions do not. They still sound great and this should be fixable with a firmware update, but they’ve been doing this ever since I bought them.

Ive been through 3 iterations of these - the UTWS3, UTWS5, and the UTWS5 2025, and all three had their problems: UTWS3: had such a convoluted and near useless pairing protocol that I just gave up on them. I currently use this set for listening to music from the one device I did manage to pair to. The mikes are pure garbage and I couldnt tell you about how long they last because I rarely use them even so. UTWS5: these paired and sounded great until one side stopped charging. The charging contacts were oxidized so I cleaned them up with contact cleaner but it was hit or miss with the charging thereafter. Then they developed crackling sounds and sporatic sound drops, so I bought the... UTWS5 2025: sound great, wireless charging inside the case so no contacts to oxidize, and no problems pairing, but within a few months now after purchase the left side has momentary sound drops. I love their sound, I love their battery life, but the quality falls far below their price point. After 3 different models with the same eventual result of just going bad prematurely, my next purchase for this form of bluetooth will be the Shure TW-2. The FiiO UTWSx will go bad on you, it's just a matter of how soon.

***UPDATE*** I got the Shure TW2 and am 100% satisfied, it does exactly what I wanted the Fiio to do, and the price difference is negligible compared to the utter failure of the UTWS5 firmware/software. It is what others have said. Good hardware, weak firmware and software. Yes they do sound great for the brief moments you can get them to work as advertised, but the rest of the time is pure frustration. Highly recommend avoiding these, for just a couple more dollars you can get the Shure brand TW2 and not mess with janky Chinese garbage. If all you care about is the sound then maybe its worth it to you, but I don't have the time to screw with things to get them to perform their basic functions. These things are tools not electronics and programming hobbies, I shouldn't have to load custom firmware to get the advertised features to function...ridiculous. FIIO continues to be a disappointment which is unfortunate, such great promises.

======= The Good: The ability to turn any IEM into a TWS is an absolute game-changer for anyone with any IEMs that they no longer use because of being limited to a cable. Great connectivity options and great sound quality. Battery life is sufficient and connection is reliable. I own the original UTWS5 and now this 2025 version and they have allowed me to get more use out of a growing IEM collection. Great compatibility with most IEMs available today. I match these up with my 64Audio IEMs and I'm able to use them around the house and out and about without issue. They are comfortable and lightweight and actually make IEMs lighter to wear and easier to fit than with cables. The 2025 version removed the corrosion-prone connectors and now has wireless charging within the adapters. ======= The Bad: These are advertised as supporting LDAC but it's very much a Beta feature that is fairly spotty. I'm hoping Fiio will improve the support of this codec as it would improve sound quality more reliably. The previous version of the UTWS5 had wireless charging on the case - this was shadow removed for the 2025 version so it has to be plugged in to charge. ======= The Ugly: The software is hit or miss and I have a love-hate relationship with it. On the one hand, the software enables parametric EQ which is amazing, but unpredictable software updates have added or removed features that I have relied on. I use transparency mode a lot to retain situational awareness and the latest version of the software removed it - I had to downgrade the firmware to get support back. ======= Conclusion: This has become a staple for me as an audio hobbyist/audiophile. Despite it's downsides, the convenience it affords me allows me a lot more flexibility with where and when I can enjoy music. I will likely own a version of these adapters from now on and into the future. Other companies have released similar products, and I have tried most if not all of them. Nothing comes close to the UTWS5.

Great way to free your IEM from its cable but ... Ldac support is poor, you get good audio and drives the IEM decently but the chip does not seem to have the bandwidth for LDAC. The others work fine. Also hear though mode I had to put it it on Button mode 3 for it to work, not clearly documented, a little finiky.

First pair stopped charging the right earbud in a few days. Second pair now disconnects sometimes and cuts out randomly. I love this idea where you make your own favorite pair of earbuds into true wireless earbuds but this has too many connection issues for me to confidently recommend. When it works it's great.

Sounds great but lots of things are lacking. The app is weird and slow and inconsistent. Some functions just disappear in updates so you cannot rely on the listing to tell you what it does and doesnt do. Bluetooth modes that I know for a fact my phone supports and this device says it supports do not work. I can only use sbc, aac, and ldac. Which is fine but there are others that I am supposed to be able to use but they just do not work. Charging is by far the worst of it. The wireless charing will just stop after a certain amount of time and you will need to open and close the case to restart it. I noticed that my earbuds were dying fast but no they just were never fully charged or even close. You would image the hook would help distribute the weight but atleast for me they do not touch my ear lobes and pull all the weight on where they plug into the ear canal. Incredibly uncomfortable.

Its hard to rate these so high bc the 1st pair i got was slightly defective. Had terrible battery life and now that I got the replacements ive noticed the volume on the 1st pair was kinda bugged out and didn't get as loud. But the 2nd pair is fantastic.

Duró poco, con la actualización,,sólo está en CHINO…

Sadly the left hook only works for 2 minutes when you remove it from the case. Then it drops from 100% to 1% battery and dies after a further few minutes. Comfort and sound wise they are amazing though. I contacted fiio customer service since Amazon didn't want to know, they answers quickly at first but then nothing for weeks. So I returned these for a full refund and will buy another brand.

Work as intended.

Very disappointing battery life, stays about three hours of continuous usage. Otherwise the performance is good like i wanted but the battery ruins it

Arrived with the left ear hook charged and the right totally dead. Tried several times to charge the right ear hook but wouldn’t go above 10%. Poor quality is not acceptable at this price.