Problem with Fiio Q1 DAC/AMP

[Kasraa]

I did tons of research about using this Fiio Q1 portable DAC with a smartphone and turned out it significantly boosts audio quality compared to the phone itself. So I got one, and it works with my Samsung Note 3 via OTG but it adds absolutely no benefits to the sound except the volume is louder, which I don't care about.
I also tested the Fiio X3 gen2 in the store (which is known for it's output being similar to Q1) with the same headphones and everything, and the difference was as night and day.
So... am I missing something here? What do you suggest?

My headphones are Shure SE215. I'm using .flac 96/24 files via Player Pro (High-res output via USB is enabled)

PS: Did test it on my PC (Windows 10) and it made no difference in PC audio either.

 

[americanaudiophile]

The DAC in the cheaper Fiio may not be an improvement over the ones in your phone or PC. The headphone amp chip is certainly more powerful but as you say louder doesn't make it better. Might make more of a difference with hard to drive headphones.
You can post your question on head-fi.org for some other opinions.

 

[Kasraa]

Okay
I'll try posting on head-fi.org
Thanks