FiiO K11

FiiO has great expertise in designing very compact desktop DAC/amps that offer incredible sound performance for their size. From the legendary FiiO E10K (later updated to E10K TC) to the FiiO K3 and the slightly larger FiiO K5, these are all very successful products with thousands of units sold.

The FiiO K11 is a new desktop DAC/amp with a very compact size that features a single CS43198 DAC chip and dual SGM8262 amplifier op-amps in a balanced configuration. There is also a separate SA9312L USB controller that supports up to 384kHz/32 bit PCM and DSD256 audio decoding.



The FiiO K11 has a specially designed audio circuitry and a sophisticated power supply for the best possible sound performance. The unit is also equipped with a USB receiver, SPDIF DAC chip, two low-jitter crystal oscillators, low-noise LDOs, headphone protection and pop eliminating circuits.

All technical information is available here

https://www.fiio.com/k11

Connectivity

The FiiO K11 is surprisingly well equipped for its size with multiple inputs and outputs. It features USB type-C, coaxial and optical digital inputs, RCA line out and two headphone outputs (6.35mm and 4.4mm). The USB input supports OTG function for connecting to a smartphone without consuming its battery. The unit also supports USB to coaxial output bridge while the RCA variable line output is ideal for driving active monitors like the FiiO SP3.

Non Audio stuff

The FiiO K11 has a very slim chassis that fits virtually anywhere, from your desk to your bedside table. Measuring 147x133x32.3 mm and weighing 407g, it is 25% smaller, 42% less high and 15% lighter than the K5 PRO ESS.

The chassis is made from high quality aluminum that is CNC machined and is available in two colors, black and silver. Build quality and finish are really excellent and far superior than someone would expect judging from the price.

The front panel has a custom LED display that nicely integrates with the headphone outputs that are positioned to the left side while at the right there is the multifunction knob. This is the first desktop device by FiiO to feature a display and I guess that this is going to be their standard from now on. At the top of the chassis there is a big sized RGB light featuring the FiiO logo and the bottom is equipped with an integrated anti-slip pad.

The LCD display offers a quick glance at the gain setting, input sampling rate, digital input, output mode and volume setting. The RGB light will display different colors according to the input sampling rate.



Operating the device

All operations are performed with the aid of the multifunction knob which is used to power the device on/off, navigate through the menus, make various selections and adjust the volume. Navigation is pretty easy and you can master the device in a short time without even reading the manual thanks to the helpful text that is displayed on the LCD screen.

You can configure the gain setting, select one of the six available digital filters, set the LCD brightness and time out, RGB light brightens and pulsing status etc. The only complaint is that you can't switch gain on the fly and a remote control would be very handy.

You can quickly switch between LO and PO by double-pressing the multifunction button. The unit will remember the last volume setting for LO and PO independently so there is no need to readjust the volume everytime you switch modes.

Accessories

The FiiO K11 comes equipped with an external 12V power supply, a 6.35mm headphone adapter and the necessary documentation.

Independent volume curves

A novelty feature of the FiiO K11 is that each of the three gain settings, low - medium - high, has its own independent volume curve that is specially configured for use with the corresponding loads. In this way you have perfect volume adjustment no matter if you are going to use very sensitive earphones or more demanding over-ear headphones, just use the gain setting that works better for every case.

Power output and associated gear

With 1.4W/32Ω and 250mW/300Ω from its balanced output, the FiiO K11 is really powerful and can drive most headphones with aplomb and plenty of headroom, like it did with the Focal Clear Mg, iBasso SR3 and FiiO FT3 without even breaking a sweat.

The amplifier is dead silent and ideal for use with your most sensitive earphones. As per usual practice the FiiO K11 was left playing music for about 100 hours before listening evaluation.

The DAC and amp chips used in the FiiO K11 are exactly the same as found the portable FiiO KA13. (The CS43198 and CS43131 are actually the same DAC chips with the only difference being that the latter has an embedded headphone amplifier).

But in the case of the FiiO K11 the specially designed audio circuit and the robust power supply help it to achieve better technical performance and much improved sound quality when compared with the FiiO KA13.



Audio stuff

The FiiO K11 has an absolutely stellar sound performance that far exceeds all the expectations given its entry level status. Neutral, ultra linear, uncolored, crystal clear and transparent with unbelievable audio fidelity for the price, it is also quite musical and not sterile or clinical sounding.

The bass extends well into the lowest octave and is surprisingly impactful and dynamic. It is not that visceral or full bodied but not that dry either. It is fast, tight and controlled with excellent layering and definition. The K11 is going to wake all your headphones and reward you with plenty of high quality and very punching bass.

The mid-range is textured, crystal clear and transparent with much better resolution and refinement than the FiiO KA13. The sound temperature is neutral, not warm but not cold either, the timbre is quite natural without any significant artificiality and has to offer plenty of harmonic variety and timbre realism.

The treble is airy, energetic and extended with a luminous and sharp but not overly bright character. Here again, the FiiO K11 is more resolving and refined than the KA13, it is less sharp and digital sounding with more natural decay and a weightier texture.

The FiiO K11 also pulls ahead in soundstage width and imaging accuracy. The sound is open and spacious with plenty of air around the performers but it is not that deep or holographic. The FiiO K11 paired well with all the headphones I have tried and sounded good with all kinds of music including large symphonic and choral works.

Against the competition

In order to buy an equally competitive DAC/amp with balanced outputs (but not necessarily balanced) you will have to pay more than $200 for something like the SMSL C200 or the iFi Zen DAC V2. There is no other desktop DAC/amp in the market to have the price of the FiiO K11 and offer really balanced architecture, the same power output and high quality audio under a chassis that slim. Competition is literally obliterated and the FiiO K11 reigns supreme in this price range.



Comparison with the FiiO K5 PRO ESS

Staying in the FiiO family, your next option for an affordable DAC/amp is the venerable FiiO K5 PRO ESS that costs around $200 or sometimes maybe less.

It is much bulkier than the FiiO K11 but it has two benefits that are not sound related. It has a more powerful single ended output (1.5W/32Ω vs 520mW/32Ω) and features a line level input so it can be used as a standalone headphone amplifier.

So, if you need such an input or have single ended only headphones that need more power than that the K11 can provide, then the FiiO K5 PRO ESS is the best option.

For all other cases, the FiiO K11 offers better value and a slightly different sound signature that I find marginally better than that of the FiiO K5 PRO ESS.

The K11 sounds slightly more natural and mature with better timbre realism and less artificiality. It is less edgy and sharp in the treble and additionally is more dynamic and impactful on the low-end. The K5 PRO ESS is more energetic and might suit well headphones or listening habits that prefer a brighter and more sparkling treble.



Conclusion

Don't let the price fool you, the FiiO K11 offers uncompromised sound performance that far exceeds the asking price. The K11 is not just another humble, entry level, desktop DAC/amp because FiiO have miraculously managed to squeeze plenty of high quality audio in a manner never achieved before in a device so affordable.

Actually, the FiiO K11 is the best value in the market right now and you will have to spend at least two or three times more in order to buy something better or different. The FiiO K11 is an absolute bargain and the best option for starting your audio journey without compromises.

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. The price of the FiiO K11 is $129.99 and you can buy it from here.

General/Packaging/Build
Fiio is a brand that needs no introduction to fellow audiophiles, they are well established and they have positioned themselves among the top few famous chi-fi brands. My first encounter with Fiio’s product was a classic portable amp E6, probably 10+ years back when I first got into the hobby. Fast forward today, I have the Fiio K11 desktop dac/amp with me which boosts some serious power output figures for the asking price. The packaging is quite good for the asking price, it contains a power supply unit, USB cable and the K11 itself, well protected from any mishandling during transportation/logistics. The build quality is good for the asking price, with several inputs and output as well.

Specifications

• Main control chip (single-chip microcomputer): GD32F303RET6
• DAC: C543198 Supported audio formats: 384kHz/32bit PCM, DSD256 USB connector: Type-C
• Display type: Custom VA
• Dimensions: 147x133x32.3mm (including feet)
• Weight: About 407g
• Power supply: DC12V 2A external adapter
• SE power output 1: L+R≥520mW +520mW (32Ω, THD+N < 1%) (320/single-ended/high gain)
• SE power output 2: L+R≥60mW+60mW (300Ω, THD+N < 1%) (3000/single-ended/high gain)
• BAL power output 1: L+R≥1400mW+1400mW (32Ω, THD+N < 1%) (320/balanced/high gain)
• BAL power output 2: L+R≥250mW+250mW (300Ω, THD+N < 1%) (3002/ balanced/high gain)
• Frequency response: 20Hz~50kHz (Attenuation < 0.2dB)
• SNR: 123dB (A-weighted) Noise floor: PO < 2.8uV (A-weighted); BAL < 4.9uV (A-weighted)
• Output impedance: PO < 1.20 (32Ω load); BAL < 2.49 (32Ω load)
• THD+N: LO < 0.00035% (1kHz/10kΩ)

Gears used for this review

• Macbook Air M2 -> Foobar/Tidal
• SMSL M300SE
• Fiio K11 -> Earmen CH-AMP and PSU-3 (Fiio K11 is hooked up to my Earmen’s Linear PSU instead of the supplied power supply
• 7Hz Legato
• Aune AR5000
• Hifiman Sundara

Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far



Driving Power

• This has got to be one of the selling point for the K11, a whopping 1400mW on balanced out with high gain from 32Ω’s load, it is certainly not lacking in terms of raw power, which is sufficient to drive most headphones that aren’t hard to drive with the exception of several headphones of course,one of them being the Susvara, as well as IEMs

Features

• 3 Gain levels, low, mid and high
• RGB logo with adjustable lighting effect on the device itself
• Upgradeable firmware

Sound Impression
The tuning of the K11 is very neutral and transparent based on my listening experience, it doesn’t boost any frequency but just render it as it is. However, I do find the note weight is slightly lacking, but not too bad overall. Very good soundstage and imaging rendering

Listening Impression with the following gears
Aune AR5000

• AR5000 is very efficient and easy to drive, Low gain on K11 is sufficient to power the AR5000 to its best performance,on mid gain the dynamics are slightly better and also the bass control is slightly tighter
• Bass is punchy and tight, mid bass especially
• Sub bass has slightly better extension, although still lacking due to it being an open back
• Mids a little lacking due to the note weight is slightly lacking
• Slightly bigger soundstage than it already is
• Male vocal has slightly thicker texture and sounds fuller
• Female vocal is full sounding as well
• Not so much changes in terms of detail retrieval
• Overall, a very good synergy i would say other than the slightly thin note weight

7Hz Legato

• Legato is a bassy and warm IEM, aimed at delivering analog-ish speaker sound
• The mids are slightly recessed, but when paired with K11, the mids doesn’t sound that recessed anymore and it sounded a little bit more forward, both male and female vocal sounds a little bit more “crisp”
• Bass on the other hand sounds a little tame when paired with K11, the sub bass rumble is still quite strong but somehow i feel like it has a slightly faster decay, but mid bass is still punchy, a very refreshing experience if you ask me, still very fun sounding
• Not much changes on the detail retrieval as well
• Soundstage is slightly better in terms of better height,depth and width perception due to the tuning of K11
• Legato is not hard to drive, but K11 definitely have more than enough power to push it hard as Legato scales really well with power and source

Hifiman Sundara on 4.4

• Sundara is a Planar headphone from Hifiman that requires quite a bit of power in order to perform at its best, K11 does have the capability to drive it to optimum performance
• Sundara on its own is quite neutral sounding with a slight hint of brightness in terms of tonality, my opinion is that, pairing the K11 with Sundara does make it a little bright and the slightly thin note weight doesn’t help that much
• The low end is fast and tight, the treble isn’t being elevated as well, but the slightly thin mid does affects the overall listening impression

Line Out Sound Impression ( RCA Out to Earmen CH-AMP )

• The DAC on K11 has a neutral and transparent sound profile
• Pairing it with the CH-AMP, the overall sound profile is quite transparent and mids does have slightly better body overall
• Dynamics does improve as well, a good pairing i would say

Comparison (SMSL M300SE)

• In terms of sound, M300SE’s sound signature is leaning towards the “musical” sounding kind of tonality, slightly warm and the mids has more body compared to K11
• Soundstage is slightly smaller and less air compared to M300SE
• Power output figure is way lesser compared to K11, 148mw on M300SE vs 1.4w on the K11
• Although sporting different DAC, the differences are actually very minimal, the 43131 on M300SE is a DAC chip with built in amp section, where as on the Fiio’s 43198, it is a DAC only setup and the amp section is designed/implemented separately
• Depending on your preference in terms of sound signature, M300SE a more musical tuning, whereas K11 a neutral and transparent tuning

Final Thoughts
Having tested the K11 for several weeks now, it’s safe to say K11 has a very high price performance ratio, in terms of sound, they sound transparent and neutral and not to mention the power output is very high for the asking price, most dac/amps at this price range offers lower power output figure and doesn’t offer much features, K11 ticks many of the boxes in terms of features as well as sonic performance. K11 is definitely one of the good products that is easily recommendable and won’t break the bank. Definitely a 4.5/5 product!

*A big thanks to Fiio for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for their support and opportunity

Head over to their official store if you are interested in getting one:

Fiio K11 Aliexpress store - Non affiliated
Fiio K11 Product Page

I been eyeing the Fiio K11 ever since fiio announced It back in Sep 2023, The size of it is small, since its smaller then the aio units I had in the past, and how much power it offered for that size, it got my attention. The device comes with a Type C cable which I found to be kinda short as my PC is further away from the corner table that I have it on, I think the cable should have been longer, luckily I had a longer cable laying around.





On the rear of it you have a RCA Out, an optical port input and then a Coax (In/Out) connector, Then the Type C data connector for plugging it into your PC and the power plug. The Coax works as outputs when the Type C cable is connected to something. When it isn’t then then the Coax is input.



In the front of the K11 you have 6.3mm Single end, 4.4 Balanced, screen and then the volume knob which also has a press button function. When you hold it down it brings up the con-fig menu which you move thru by turning the knob back and forward. To select the options you press the volume button down. When you hold the volume button down longer the device will shuts down.



On the top of it is the RGB which you can change the colors of, make it pulse or even disable it which you also do thru the settings. On the bottom of it, is the rubber foot pad which stops it from sliding around on the table, the K11 can be turned on its side which.



I did run into an issue with the K11 with audio delay, but a Firmware update to 1.22v solved that, as the K11 I bought was on 1.05v stock firmware. After Wards Every thing worked perfectly, I didn’t have any other issue. The over all experience with the K11 been great.



Lets talk about power, the 6.3mm HP port supports 720mW @ 160hms,520mW @ 32 Ohms and 60mW at 300ohms, While the 4.4mm offers 570mW @ 16Ohms, 1400mW @ 32 Ohms and finally 250mW @ 300Ohms. So it offer a lot of power for the price. My Hifiman HE-9 and Sundara pairs nicely with the K11, sounded really good with it.


Settings

Music Bee with WASAPI Exclusive mode using the default Filter which is 3. Both of the two songs I used are native flacs I checked.



Headphones

Hifiman HE-R9 (6.3mm)

Bedowin – Voices in my head

Right away the kick drum goes low and has power behind it, like I mention before it doesn’t sound muddy to me. The voices sounds like to me are spreading from in directly in front of me to the sides, as the background singers that standing next to the main and spreading to the side of each ear. I can hear them breathing before they say something. The song makes it easy since it doesn’t have much going on just a few instruments, Claps besides the singers.


Ramnstien – Ich Will (Terence Fixmer mix)

The bass at the start has force behind it while still allowing me to hear the low voice in the background. The hit hat and the snare also sound really good with the right amount of Detail. Nothing is running into each other.



Hifiman Sundara (4.4mm)


Bedowin – Voices in my head

The kick drum sounds like its going deep as it hits and its sound spreads a little bit from the location of it in the sound image, feeling like its coming from a below position in the front of me from the tad bit left of me, if they makes sense. With the snares being a tad more to the center or off center as it projecting towards my Left side towards my ear. Snares have the good details, not too much either as it isn’t bright, it just clean. Including the light piano notes that I hearing, that sounds like there in the distance.
I can hear the breath of the voices in the right before he sings (Ahh) as it has an echo like sound thru the sound stage, which also includes the other voices. The over all song is outside my head and I would say it sounds open, and all instruments and voices are separated from each other and not over lapping.


Ramnstien – Ich Will (Terence Fixmer mix)

Right away the crisp snares and the hit hat that can be clearly heard and the kick drums that has some impact to it hits, that comes off as going from my center and the snares near my left ear. The Synth and the other sounds are heard with ease too. Separation is good here too, I didn’t have an issue with hearing the voice loop in the background that has lower volume then every thing else that was going on in the song. None of the instruments or other sounds run into each other.


Conclusion
After spending a month and days with the Fiio K11, It been the best purchase I made. I been enjoying it lot both of my headphones, listening to music, watching movies or playing games. Other then that minor issue that was fixed with the firmware update, there been no other issues and every thing else been perfect. For its price I'm didn't expect to be that happy with it. Over all I recommend it!.