So first of all, since all reviews are subjective, I will gonna state some stuff about me first before I go review the Product.
My Background:
I am a amateur bassist. I am currently doing live mixing at church. I am someone on a budget so don't expect reviews about High-End Gear.
My Music Preference:
Rock, Jazz, J-Pop, J-Rock, K-Pop, EDM, Heavy Metal, Acoustic Music
My Preferred Sound signature:
I prefer some sort of bass boost, but not up to the level where the music sounds muddy. I would rather listen to no bass than listen to muddy bass. But my ideal bass boost is the bass boost where the Bass Guitar is kind of Forward. I like the mids to be flat, not forward, and not Recessed.. I like some treble boost as well but just quite the few steps before becoming sibilant. I like Female vocals to be lushy and quite edgy, especially to the high pitched ones. I like male vocals to be just natural sounding. I like to hear soundstage that is not quite spacious, and also not quite intimate, but I would rather like to listen to the details mushed in my ears rather than listening to music with a sense of space on everything like speakers. I do not care to imaging that much but it is nice to have.
My Testing Devices:
Pioneer HTZ-424DVD(Home Theater System)
Audio Technica ATH-CLR100(In ear Monitor)
Philips SHP2000(Semi Open Headphones, w/Mods)
iCore WavePods(Closed On-Ear Headphones)
Playback Devices:
Dell Latitude E6400
Dell XPS L702x
Neo N81(in Both Android and Windows OS)
Music Sources:
Youtube
Spotify
CD Files ripped in wav format.
Player of Choice:
MediaMonkey using WASAPI Output, Stock Android Music Player, Youtube, Spotify
Intro:
I bought the Fiio K1 out of curiosity because of the reviews from Head-Fi, Z Reviews, and Youtube reviews(So technically, I am quite the Average Consumer, not quite the Audiophile yet, but is starting to enter to the world of such). I also bought it because I am curious on having a DAC/Amp. As an Average consumer, I quite find the Device to be worth the purchase. Even if this is my First DAC/Amp, and my Only DAC/Amp, I know the Fiio K1 because I always use the device.
Social Experiments as a Review:
I tested my Little Sisters using the the Track Let it Go-Demi Lovato using Spotify,and using iCore Wavepods and used it to compare my E6400's onboard audio against my Fiio K1. I experimented them with a Blind A/B Test. They kind of struggled which is which, but they have heard some subtle difference.
I tested my friend to do a blind A/B test as well, I forgot the Track that I used. He didn't noticed the Difference between teh E6400's onboard audio against my Fiio K1.
I experimented using the K1 as A DAC for the Speakers. I used my Dell Latitude E6400 plugged into the Fiio K1 plugged into Pioneer HTZ-424DVD via AUX connection. I played a random jazz music on youtube, and the audio sounds clean and the layering works well. The sound's cleanliness reminds me of Some Background Music played at Hotel rooms with their speaker systems.
Personal Experiences as a Review:
In my personal experience, I noticed that my Fiio K1 can push my SHP2000 to the louder volume compared to the E6400's. And the Fiio K1 does improve the soundstage and imaging. My onboard audio sound feels like the sound is always from the headphone driver, especially to my Audio Technica IEMs.
Compared to the onboard audio of my friend's HP Laptop, the difference between the K1's output is night and day with the K1 having the Favor. So if you are thinking of replacing your onboard audio for an improvement for the cheap price, you know that this little K1 could be your sound card replacement.
One thing to note that the DAC/Amp could get hot when you use it on hot places. Once the Fiio K1 Gets hot, they make your headphones and earphones become Needles. The sound feels quite piercing to the ear when it gets hot(This will serve as a warning to those who are wanting to get it but they live in Hot Areas).
Also, a thing to note is that the USB port affects the Sound of the DAC/Amplifier. I tested it on one of my L702x's USB 2.0 Port. It makes me wonder what happened because when I plugged it there, and used my SHP2000s. The Bass becomes intense, like the air is slapping your ears and it hurts. I plugged it into my L702x's USB 3.0 Port and The bass of SHP2000 became normal, like what I usually listen to my E6400 Laptop+the Fiio K1. On my Neo N81(in both windows mode and android mode), The Fiio K1 retains the Sound Quality, but just a little bit lower in terms of Max Volume compared to my E6400 and l702x.
One thing to note also, since it is not battery powered, like the other Portable DAC/Amps, it quite eats power from my Laptops to make it sustain its function. At least no charging required on this Portable DAC/Amp.
When I use my Audio Technica ATH-CLR100, together with the Fiio K1, I noticed that there is hissing on the IEM but the hissing is not that quite noticeable unless you focus on listening to the hiss, or you replugged the IEM back to the K1(This will serve as a warning to those who are conscious about hissing). I tried to max the volume of the K1, and luckily, the Hissing isn't amplified. Maybe it is more on the IEM itself
I tried my Android Lollipop Phone and it can't detect the DAC/Amp, so for short, it might not be working on all Android Devices.
Conclusion:
Despite the flaws that I pointed at specific scenarios, I still find my Fiio K1 to be a good Portable DAC/Amp. Solid build, Solid sound, Cheap Price. This will be the Average Consumer's Endgame DAC/Amp(Unless they want to enter to the world of much Higher Fidelity Audio)
My Background:
I am a amateur bassist. I am currently doing live mixing at church. I am someone on a budget so don't expect reviews about High-End Gear.
My Music Preference:
Rock, Jazz, J-Pop, J-Rock, K-Pop, EDM, Heavy Metal, Acoustic Music
My Preferred Sound signature:
I prefer some sort of bass boost, but not up to the level where the music sounds muddy. I would rather listen to no bass than listen to muddy bass. But my ideal bass boost is the bass boost where the Bass Guitar is kind of Forward. I like the mids to be flat, not forward, and not Recessed.. I like some treble boost as well but just quite the few steps before becoming sibilant. I like Female vocals to be lushy and quite edgy, especially to the high pitched ones. I like male vocals to be just natural sounding. I like to hear soundstage that is not quite spacious, and also not quite intimate, but I would rather like to listen to the details mushed in my ears rather than listening to music with a sense of space on everything like speakers. I do not care to imaging that much but it is nice to have.
My Testing Devices:
Pioneer HTZ-424DVD(Home Theater System)
Audio Technica ATH-CLR100(In ear Monitor)
Philips SHP2000(Semi Open Headphones, w/Mods)
iCore WavePods(Closed On-Ear Headphones)
Playback Devices:
Dell Latitude E6400
Dell XPS L702x
Neo N81(in Both Android and Windows OS)
Music Sources:
Youtube
Spotify
CD Files ripped in wav format.
Player of Choice:
MediaMonkey using WASAPI Output, Stock Android Music Player, Youtube, Spotify
Intro:
I bought the Fiio K1 out of curiosity because of the reviews from Head-Fi, Z Reviews, and Youtube reviews(So technically, I am quite the Average Consumer, not quite the Audiophile yet, but is starting to enter to the world of such). I also bought it because I am curious on having a DAC/Amp. As an Average consumer, I quite find the Device to be worth the purchase. Even if this is my First DAC/Amp, and my Only DAC/Amp, I know the Fiio K1 because I always use the device.
Social Experiments as a Review:
I tested my Little Sisters using the the Track Let it Go-Demi Lovato using Spotify,and using iCore Wavepods and used it to compare my E6400's onboard audio against my Fiio K1. I experimented them with a Blind A/B Test. They kind of struggled which is which, but they have heard some subtle difference.
I tested my friend to do a blind A/B test as well, I forgot the Track that I used. He didn't noticed the Difference between teh E6400's onboard audio against my Fiio K1.
I experimented using the K1 as A DAC for the Speakers. I used my Dell Latitude E6400 plugged into the Fiio K1 plugged into Pioneer HTZ-424DVD via AUX connection. I played a random jazz music on youtube, and the audio sounds clean and the layering works well. The sound's cleanliness reminds me of Some Background Music played at Hotel rooms with their speaker systems.
Personal Experiences as a Review:
In my personal experience, I noticed that my Fiio K1 can push my SHP2000 to the louder volume compared to the E6400's. And the Fiio K1 does improve the soundstage and imaging. My onboard audio sound feels like the sound is always from the headphone driver, especially to my Audio Technica IEMs.
Compared to the onboard audio of my friend's HP Laptop, the difference between the K1's output is night and day with the K1 having the Favor. So if you are thinking of replacing your onboard audio for an improvement for the cheap price, you know that this little K1 could be your sound card replacement.
One thing to note that the DAC/Amp could get hot when you use it on hot places. Once the Fiio K1 Gets hot, they make your headphones and earphones become Needles. The sound feels quite piercing to the ear when it gets hot(This will serve as a warning to those who are wanting to get it but they live in Hot Areas).
Also, a thing to note is that the USB port affects the Sound of the DAC/Amplifier. I tested it on one of my L702x's USB 2.0 Port. It makes me wonder what happened because when I plugged it there, and used my SHP2000s. The Bass becomes intense, like the air is slapping your ears and it hurts. I plugged it into my L702x's USB 3.0 Port and The bass of SHP2000 became normal, like what I usually listen to my E6400 Laptop+the Fiio K1. On my Neo N81(in both windows mode and android mode), The Fiio K1 retains the Sound Quality, but just a little bit lower in terms of Max Volume compared to my E6400 and l702x.
One thing to note also, since it is not battery powered, like the other Portable DAC/Amps, it quite eats power from my Laptops to make it sustain its function. At least no charging required on this Portable DAC/Amp.
When I use my Audio Technica ATH-CLR100, together with the Fiio K1, I noticed that there is hissing on the IEM but the hissing is not that quite noticeable unless you focus on listening to the hiss, or you replugged the IEM back to the K1(This will serve as a warning to those who are conscious about hissing). I tried to max the volume of the K1, and luckily, the Hissing isn't amplified. Maybe it is more on the IEM itself
I tried my Android Lollipop Phone and it can't detect the DAC/Amp, so for short, it might not be working on all Android Devices.
Conclusion:
Despite the flaws that I pointed at specific scenarios, I still find my Fiio K1 to be a good Portable DAC/Amp. Solid build, Solid sound, Cheap Price. This will be the Average Consumer's Endgame DAC/Amp(Unless they want to enter to the world of much Higher Fidelity Audio)