FiiO R9

The R7 was FiiO's first all-in-one desktop device to combine a DAC, a headphone amplifier, a preamplifier and a media streamer with an LCD touch screen under the same hood. A multifunction, compact sized, device with multiple digital and analog connections and all the benefits of using the Android operating system exactly like you do in a DAP.

The FiiO R9, which builds on the success of the R7, is the new flagship media streamer with many updates over the R7.



Technical highlights

Gone is the single ES9068AS DAC decoder of the R7, the R9 features two pieces of the flagship ES9038PRO, a DAC chip that is featured in several other FiiO devices like the M17, K9 PRO ESS, M15S and Q7. FiiO engineers are very experienced with this chip and they have learned how to push its audio performance into new heights. Each DAC chip contains 8 independent D/A converters that are connected in parallel for a fully differential output.

Inside the R9 is the world’s first 8-channel THX AAA 788+ headphone amplifier design. These headphone amps, fed by a high-voltage power supply, are connected in parallel via 2×2 groups for a four-way fully balanced design, greatly enhancing transient performance. The comb-shaped heat sinks and optimized circuit layout dissipate heat efficiently, ensuring the R9 is capable of continuous and stable high-power output. The result is that the R9 is capable of outputting 7300mW per channel at 32Ω, 102% higher than that of R7.

The R9 has a five- stage, sophisticated audio architecture with carefully-crafted IV, LPF, gain, pre-amplification, and current expansion stages. An important part of the audio circuit is the OPA2211 op-amps, which are made through the silicon-germanium (SiGe) CMOS manufacturing process that ensures the chip's excellent performance.
The variable gain and variable power supply voltage design result in 5 levels of gain, allowing you to exactly dial in your desired listening volume.



Moreover, the R9 adopts the high performance and low latency XMOS 16-core XU316 that supports 768kHz/32bit and DSD512. According to the test from FiiO's lab, the latency in USB DAC mode is about 20-60ms. Then follows a 4th-generation phase locked FPGA with dual Femto-second crystal oscillators.

Built into the R9 is a new 40W low-noise, high-efficiency and long- lasting, industrial-grade switching power supply. The R9 can also be powered by an external DC power supply, like the FiiO PL50, allowing the user to pair the R9 with a high-performance linear power supply that offers its own sound. Additionally, when the R9 is paired with an external AC power supply, you can choose to enable the "Ground Lift" functionality to reduce crosstalk for purer sound.

The R9 features multi-stage, separate power supplies for the digital and analog portions of the circuit that are designed with many precision LDOs for secondary voltage stabilization.



HDMI ports

A major addition over the FiiO R7, is that R9 adopts an independent HDMI chipset that supports HDMI input, HDMI output and HDMI ARC. The picture output supports up to 4K 60Hz for high-resolution audio and high-definition visual experience. The introduction of HDMI extends the use of the R9 from the desktop to the living room.

Bluetooth

The R9 features the Qualcomm QCC5125 Bluetooth chip that supports LDAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, aptX HD, aptX, AAC, SBC for Bluetooth reception and AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and LHDC for transmission.

Full technical specifications

Inputs and outputs

The FiiO R9 includes many analogue and digital inputs/outputs that allow it to function as an all-inclusive multimedia center.

Front connectors are 6.35mm, 4.4mm and 4-pin XLR headphone outputs. The package includes two dust covers to protect the connectors that are not frequently used.

Rear connectors are one XLR balanced and two sets of RCA line outputs, two coaxial outputs/inputs, one optical output, one optical input, HDMI in, HDMI ARC/output, USB and USB type-C ports. The USB port supports host, USB DAC input and USB audio output functions while the type-C port supports OTG function.

The R9 also includes a card reader, 100 Mbps LAN port and external DC input as long as a mains input plug and power on/off switch.



Remote controlling options

The FiiO R9 supports a variety of remote control modes.

You can use the FiiO Control application which has a rather limited functionality and allows mode selection, volume adjustment, track selection and a few other functions.

The FiiO Link, which is only available through the FiiO Music player, supports Android WiFi and Bluetooth controls and iOS Bluetooth control.

Additionally you can remote control the R9 via the Bluetooth RM3 remote control that is included as a standard.

The FiiO Cast application allows screen mirroring on cell phones but performance is sometimes lagging. Furthermore every time you switch to another application on your phone, the FiiO Cast will revert back to the home screen and you have to set everything from the beginning.

UPnP is not natively supported so the FiiO R9 is not recognized as a renderer by applications like BubbleUPnP.

UPnP

Thankfully there is a workaround for enabling global UPnP support. First thing you have to do is to install the paid version of the BubbleUPnP application at the FiiO R9. Then run it and select from the renderers menu the FiiO R9 as the local renderer output device. Then you have to install and run the BubbleUPnP on your phone or tablet. You will find that the FiiO R9 appears in the available renderers list.

Now you can use the BubbleUPnP interface to remote control the FiiO R9 and stream music from all your favorite music services and network or physically attached drives.

Design

The R9 also adopts a luxurious metal bicolor design with a mirror-polished metal section treated with 11 times of polishing and electroplating processes. The high-density metal body is more robust and stable, helping to effectively reduce deformation and minimize degradation in sound performance caused by vibrations. Additionally, the newly designed dynamic light bar combined with the dynamic RGB lights on knobs makes for a more attractive desktop setup. The lights will display a different color pattern according to the input sampling rate and can be configured or switched off through the menu.

The FiiO R9 is weightier and more robust than the R7, build quality is really excellent and flawless. The outer appearance is premium with a luxurious feeling. One thing of consideration though is that the mirror surfaces are fingerprint magnets that need regular cleaning.



User experience

The FiiO R9 features a gorgeous 6” (2160*1080) vertical (portrait) screen, which is easier to read and operate than that of the R7. It has better visibility and more vibrant colors, enhanced brightness and excellent response time. The screen supports double tap to wake and can be used in a landscape mode.

Combined with a powerful Snapdragon 660 processor, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, 64GB of ROM and the open Android 10 OS, the R9 is fast and responsive, offering a silky-smooth user experience. Operating the FiiO R9 is just like using your smartphone or DAP. You can freely install and use third-party streaming music and other apps without worrying about compatibility problems. During the period of the evaluation, the FiiO R9 performed one firmware update and the system never crashed. FiiO has promised to upgrade the Android OS to version 12 with a future firmware update, sometime during 2024.

The R9 offers global SRC bypass for bit-perfect music playback and additionally supports a 10 band dynamic EQ with global effect. I don't equalize so I am not that experienced with software equalizers and I haven't tested the functionality of the EQ.

Operating modes

The FiiO R9 supports the following operation modes that can be easily selected from the drop down menu or they appear in a menu when you press the multifunction volume button:

Android, pure music, USB DAC, Bluetooth receiver, AirPlay, Roon Ready, Coaxial/optical input, HDMI input and HDMI ARC.

You can use both the headphone and line outputs of the FiiO R9 in the following combinations that can be selected from the corresponding rotary knob:

Phone and pre out simultaneously working with adjustable volume, phone out only, pre out only with adjustable volume and line out only with fixed level.

Additionally you can enable the coaxial and optical outputs to connect the FiiO R9 in an external DAC.



Accessories

The package includes a lot of high quality accessories that are pictured below.



Headphone amplifier

As discussed earlier, the headphone amplifier of the FiiO R9 is very powerful and can do a maximum of 7.3W/32Ω continuously with a peak output voltage of 50Vp-p.
There are five gain settings available, Ultra high, Super high, High, Medium and Low with three different volume curves for excellent matching with various types of loads, from very sensitive IEMs to hard to drive planar magnetic headphones.

The amplifier is powerful enough for almost every headphone in the market. Ultra high gain in 90 steps out of 120 is plenty enough to drive the HIFIMAN Susvara with impressive dynamics and plenty of headroom while with every other headphone that I have tried, like the Meze Elite or the Focal Clear Mg, the R9 didn't break a sweat. Additionally, low gain is noise free and dead silent even with pretty sensitive earphones like the Soundz Avant. The single ended output is also powerful enough and will not have a problem driving many headphones that can't be converted into balanced.

Audio performance

Let's start with the DAC line output of the FiiO R9 which was tested fixed in a 2-channel system consisting of the Audio Physic Spark 6 speakers and the Kinki EX-M1 integrated amplifier in a dedicated listening room.

Make no mistake, the sound quality of the FiiO R9 as a DAC is of the highest standards, making the R9 suitable for use in demanding speaker and headphone systems. The performance is easily comparable with various standalone DACs of the same category, easily surpassing some of them in transparency, neutrality and technicalities.

I would never buy the FiiO R9 to pair it with entry level or mid range active monitors like the FiiO SP3. The R9 deserves to be paired with high quality active monitors or passive speakers and headphones.

Line out

The FiiO R9 offers impressive transparency and fidelity with crystalline clarity and outstanding definition. The frequency response is measured as absolutely linear but actual listening reveals slightly emphasized harmonics on the low-end which is perceived as a bit more present but not dominant.

The overall sound temperature of the R9 is not warm but not cool either, the texture doesn't have much of an organic or analogue like characteristics but it is definitely not clinical or sterile. This is the most mature and sophisticated implementation FiiO has done to the ES9038PRO so far. I think that performance is pushed to its boundaries and from this point on, it can't get any better without going the discrete route.

What FiiO has managed to do is to make the R9 sound absolutely transparent, with a mirror like fidelity and top tier technicalities, but at the same time largely vanishing the digital glare and annoying artificiality that are usually associated with this particular DAC chip. In this regard, the sound character of the R9 is neutral but with a natural timbre, the texture is lean but not dry, detail retrieval is astonishing but not fake and resolution hits master class levels.

The treble is alive, sparkling and energetic, slightly sharp but not bright or fatiguing, airy and luminous with excellent separation and definition. The R9 is not forgiving, it will definitely expose mediocre recordings but on the other hand, it is not ruthlessly revealing and punishing. As said earlier, the timbre is natural without digital artificiality. The texture is still rather lean but not leaner than in the lower frequencies and as such, higher pitched instruments don't sound thinner than their lower counterparts and never fade faster than the ideal. The texture is very refined, the sound is by no means coarse, edgy or rough.

The mid range is present, articulated and expressive with high levels of musicality. There is a holistic approach to the mids, they are not projected or emphasized more than the rest of the mix and are reproduced with equal gravity, leading in a very cohesive sound presentation. Separation, clarity and definition are exemplary, you can hear the faintest note, every breath and movement, very alive and lifelike listening experience. Harmonic variety is satisfying, the sound is colorful and harmonious but not as much as in competitive DACs with more sophisticated output stages.

The bass is strong, impactful and contrasted with excellent handling of sudden dynamic changes, from silence to climax and vice versa. This is a DAC that pairs well with dynamic amplifiers and will not bottleneck your system when it comes to low-end heft and punchiness. The bass is fast, tight and controlled with precise timing and exemplary layering. The texture is still lean, the bass is not that weighty and visceral but it never gets dry or skinny.

The R9 (both as a DAC and all-in-one) has a room (or head) filling soundstage which is truly expansive and tall with precisely focused and accurate images. The presentation is grand and magnificent but depth layering and ambient resonances could be better.

Headphone amplifier

The masterfully implemented THX amplification modules offer achromatic and transparent headphone amplification without adding or subtracting anything from the R9 sound signature as described above. What they do is to add plenty of headroom and great dynamic range with any of your favorite headphones. The supreme sound of the DAC is mirrored and transferred directly into your headphones without a single loss in quality and any further sonic interference from the amplifier. This translates into a magnificent listening experience as discussed above with deep respect to your headphones tonal characteristics and balance.

Selected comparisons

FiiO M17 & K9 PRO ESS

The FiiO M17 DAP and K9 PRO ESS desktop DAC/amp are also designed with dual ES9038PRO DAC chips and THX amplifiers. I am not going into a detailed side by side comparison because their general tonal characteristics are more or less the same. Furthermore, form factor and functionality speak for themselves so the question is whether the FiiO R9 justifies the price difference not only for the uniqueness of its design and connectivity but also for sound differences.

The answer is straight, the FiiO R9 is the most mature and sophisticated sounding of the three. The overall sound signature might be quite similar but the R9 punches a bit above the other two thanks for its more natural and realistic timbre, the lowered digital artificiality, the improved resolution, the finer textures, the greater dynamic range, the higher fidelity and the better sound cohesiveness.

FiiO R7

The same kind of findings regarding the sonic performance, to an even greater extent, apply when comparing the FiiO R9 vs the FiiO R7. Higher output power, enhanced dynamics, improved resolution and refinement, blacker background, grander and more expansive soundstage, better transparency, more natural and realistic timbre, much less artificiality and digital glare, all these differences justify the flagship status and the price difference between the two devices.



Additionally, the R9 has extra functions and connectivity options, it is better made and more premium looking, has larger and more vibrant screen while internal components and circuitry are upgraded.

Conclusion

The FiiO R9 is the most sophisticated and mature sounding audio device FiiO has designed up to date. They have pushed audio performance to its boundaries and it is rather impossible to extract more sound quality from the combination of the ES9038PRO DAC chips and the THX amplification modules.

Furthermore, the FiiO R9 is a versatile, all-inclusive wireless media streamer and DAC/amp with all possible combinations of inputs and outputs that is as easy and fun to use as your smartphone. It is compact enough to fit virtually anywhere, it is premium looking and very well made with high quality materials.

This is a minimalistic, high-end, swiss army knife, just add active speakers or headphones and let the music play. The only thing missing now from FiiO's vast catalog is a power amplifier for passive speakers but who knows what the future holds.

The FiiO R9 was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The price is $1499 and you can order one from FiiO.eu