Recently, the renowned media from Japan, Ongen Publishing Co., Ltd., announced the award winners of VGP 2023. FiiO has more than 20 products on the list, and 9 of them are gold award winners. Now let's take a look at who they are.
1. 200 thousand-300 thousand yen portable audio player gold award: M17
The M17 has the output power and sound quality that can rival and perhaps even surpass highly-regarded desktop systems. Featuring desktop-league dual ES9038PRO DAC chips, desktop-class THX 788+ headphone amp, desktop-grade power supply and gain, and desktop-level connectivity, the M17 is a perfect choice for heavily-addicted audiophiles.
2. 100 thousand-150 thousand yen portable audio player gold award: M11 Plus ESS
Employed in the M11 Plus ESS is the ES9281AC PRO chip from ESS, which comes with carefully engineered specifications and tuned sounds for greatly improved sound performance. The M11 Plus ESS supports unfolding of MQA tracks, and MQA Renderer in USB DAC mode for complete and rich sounds.
3. 40 thousand-100 thousand yen portable audio player gold award: M11S
As another masterpiece after 3 years with our great effort, the M11S uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor as the M17 with an undistorted output power of up to 670mW under balanced output. Meanwhile, it has 3 gain levels to handle headphones of different impedance for a better listening experience.
4. Above 75 thousand yen portable DAC/Amp gold award: Q7
Following the concept design of the M17, the Q7 is the flagship portable DAC/Amp in the FiiO family with a portable size yet desktop configurations. It is designed with an Enhanced over-ear headphone mode, which allows an output power of up to 3000mW.
5. Below 75 thousand yen desktop DAC/Amp gold award: K7
The K7 is a truly balanced headphone amp that features two AK4493 DACs and two THX AAA 788+ amps. It has two levels of hardware gain and three output levels. The appropriate body with stable large output power makes it a natural-born desktop DAC and headphone amplifier.
6. Portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp gold award: BTR7
The BTR7 includes a 3-level independent HiFi audio architecture, including the high-performance DAC+low pass filter+THX amplifiers, which can capture every last detail and dynamics in your music. The whole device uses separated analog and digital sections to guarantee pure and massive power.
7. 10 thousand-30 thousand yen small USB DAC/Amp gold award: KA3
The compact body includes a high-performance ES9038Q2M. The robust decoding supports up to 32bit/768kHz and DSD512. Dual headphone outputs, 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced, satisfy multiple use cases.
8. 10 thousand-30 thousand yen small USB DAC/Amp gold award: KA2
With the single-minded 4.4mm balanced headphone out, the KA2 has an output power of up to 153mW@32Ω, 131dB high SNR, and merely 0.0005% THD+N. Listen to music on a pure black background.
9. Below 10 thousand yen small USB DAC/Amp gold award: KA1
In the KA1, there is not only a high-quality DAC, but there is also premium audio amplification to match. It can easily deal with 32bit/384kHz PCM lossless audio and DSD256, ensuring you can listen to your music with all of its rich details.
10. 75 thousand-100 thousand yen in-ear monitors award: FD7
The pure beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver IEMs FD7 is built in with an ultra-large 12mm pure beryllium dynamic driver that features exceptionally swift transient response and remarkably rich sound. The FD7 comes standard with three pairs of interchangeable sound tubes, each with a different inner diameter for different sounds. The high-purity monocrystalline pure silver cable and 3 audio plugs of 2.5/3.5/4.4mm allow more options for more ways to listen.
11. 30 thousand-50 thousand yen in-ear monitors award: FD5
With a timeless industrial design, the FD5 utilizes a flagship-grade beryllium-coated DLC diaphragm, providing robust power for bass. The practical designs, such as the interchangeable sound tube at the front cavity, and swappable 2.5/3.5/4.4mm audio plugs, make it comfortable to wear while bringing more fun.
12. 50 thousand-75 thousand yen in-ear monitors award: FH7S
The FH7S channels the essence of the FH9, but is tailor-made for a 4 BA 1 dynamic driver design. It features a design resembling that of armor seen in sci-fi and the second-gen semi-open acoustic design, achieving an extremely pure sound for a superb listening experience.
13. 30 thousand-50 thousand yen in-ear monitors award: FH5s
The old winner of VGP 2021 SUMMER, FH5s, couples with a newly developed double dynamic driver and double balanced armature acoustic architecture. The dual dynamic driver setup connects the low, bass and mids together more smoothly and coherently. There are also three tuning switches for 8 exciting ways to listen. Coming standard with swappable 2.5/3.5/4.4mm plugs, the FH5s can fit perfectly with more audio sources.
14. 10 thousand-30 thousand yen in-ear monitors award: FF3
The FF3 is FiiO’s latest open earbuds. It is based on the drum musical instrument, which can bring out the texture of bass notes more effectively. The 316L stainless steel housing undergoes polishing and PVD electroplating to make it not only look attractive, but also comfortable to wear.
15. True Wireless Earbuds award: FW5
The FW5 integrates FiiO's various cutting-edge technologies to bring a fully integrated, high-fidelity true wireless solution. This is among the first TWS earphones to integrate a high-end Bluetooth chip, high-performance DAC, and a meticulously designed audio circuit to achieve a big quality jump in all aspects. Let the FWS show you what new high-fidelity TWS earphones are truly capable of.
16. 120 thousand-200 thousand yen desktop DAC/Amp award: K9 Pro ESS
The K9 Pro ESS includes two high performance ES9038PRO DACs. Alongside the numerous low-noise, Ti current LDO regulators ensure excellent dynamics and low distortion with stable power supply. The upgraded PVD golden volume knob blends with the body. A flagship thus came.
17. Below 75 thousand yen desktop DAC/Amp award: K5 Pro ESS
The K5 Pro ESS employs the flagship portable ESS DAC, the ES9038Q2M with more outstanding performance and richer audio details. It supports coaxial/optical/RCA line in and 6.35mm/RCA line out for up to 768k/ native DSD512 decoding. The 3 gain levels take good care of both rich details and large dynamics.
18. Below 75 thousand yen portable DAC/Amp award: Q3 MQA
The Q3 MQA features an independent XMOS XU31 controller chip which supports hi-res PCM 384kHz/32bit and DSD256. It also supports MAQ Full Decoder, letting you hear great audio details in your music.
19. Below 75 thousand yen desktop DAC/Amp award: New K3
The new K3 uses the ES9038Q2M DAC. The circuit design implementing this DAC has been optimized for a low noise floor and clean sound. It equips with 3.5mm single-ended and 2.5mm balanced outputs, low and high gain levels, and is compatible with driverless and high-performance modes.
20. Below 75 thousand yen desktop DAC/Amp award: E10K-TC
The E10K-TC comes with the flagship XMOS XUF208 for better USB decoding. PCM is now supported by up to 32bit/384kHz sampling rates. It has high/low gain adjustment as well as bass boost. The USB Type-C connector gives the device more compatibility. At the same time, the headphone/line/coaxial outputs make it easier to connect to other equipment.
21. Portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp award: BTR5 2021
The BTR5 2021 takes in two brand-new ES9219C DAC chips. Better performance and more robust decoding capacity ensure low power consumption and high SNR. It can unfold MQA tracks for master-level quality. Moreover, the one-click "dongle" mode is very convenient for daily use.
22. Portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp award: BTR3K
Based on the BTR3, the BTR3K comes with an extra balanced output, which is driven by dual truly balanced amps for clean and pure sound performance. It also features two high-performance AK4377A DAC with greatly improved performance indicators.
23. True Wireless Bluetooth amplifier award: UTWS5
The UTWS5 utilizes an independent low power consumption AK4332 DAC and flagship-grade QCC5141 Bluetooth chip, supporting Qualcomm's third-gen TWS Mirroring, Bluetooth 5.2 and aptX/aptX adaptive/LHDC wireless Bluetooth. Thanks to the Snapdragon sound suite of technologies, we can truly experience wireless 96kHz/24bit high-resolution audio.
24. True Wireless Bluetooth amplifier award: UTWS3
The UTWS3, with a choice of 0.78mm 2-pin/MMCX connectors, allows you to transform most detachable earphones into a true wireless pair. It also has an analog volume adjustment system, for improved dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio for even better audio performance.
25. Headphone cable award: LF-RB
FiiO's new patented magnetic connectors not only allow you to easily swap between 2.5mm/3.5mm/4.4mm audio plugs, but also the connector to your phone/digital source. Be more efficient with a much simpler process to change to your needed connector. In the heart of the LF-RB lies high-purity silver-plated monocrystalline copper wires, which are highly resolving for a purer and more natural sound.
It is a great honor for FiiO to have so many products being awarded in VGP 2023. It is an authorized certification as well as a great recognition of our products. In the future, we will keep working hard to develop more high-quality products for you. Thank you so much for your support.
