DAC and Headphone Amplifier · Streaming Media Receiver · Local Playback All in One Unit, FIIO K17 Is Officially Released!

[SkippyBE]

The flexibility.
I have my computer, my monitor (for my PS5 and Switch), CD player and Walkman plugged into it, with it feeding audio out to my WA22 AND my SMSL amp I have for my speakers. That’s a ridiculous level of versatility, especially because I ALSO use the Roon functionality 75% of the time. The sound is very analytical, ridiculously detailed and airy. My Woo is much warmer and orange, if that makes sense.

Just a day of experience but, yeah.

How perception and hearing can differ.

I find the sound of the K17 quite neutral/warm and very musical, but still detailed.

It also depends on the headphone. My HEKS never sounded as good as it does now with the K17.

 

[maszynista1987]

Can the K17 be a standalone amplifier?

 

[politel]

???
Yes, it's a headphone amplifier for headphones

 

[maszynista1987]

Thanks, I meant if it can be connected to another dac.

 

[panzerfan]

I honestly do like the K17 a lot. I have essentially settled with using them with my Utopia OG. They arent analytical as with the K19, which I use with HD700 and HD800s.

 

[mb3]

So…
I tried K17 and K19.
I bought the K17.
Just had it for one day.
So far so good.
I liked it from the start.
Did the firmware updates no probs.
Works nicely with Roon over Ethernet.
Streamer and dac are very capable.
Sounds like an akm dac, as expected.
Just using it with headphones on my desk.
The unit size is not too big or intrusive.
The retro style, touch led screen and product build are quality.
The headphone amp is on the K17 is a surprise.
It’s nice to have a 4.4mm output - this should be the standard - lol.
Plenty of power.
I’ve just used the filter to tailor the sound so far. Eg. fast filter for hd650 and slow for t50rp 50th
Haven’t needed eq but it’s there.
Sound is extended in the bass and treble but nicely mid centric.
The stereo image is wide and well defined.
Sounds like it costs a lot more.
For the price it’s great!

 

[Moon5123]

Thanks, I meant if it can be connected to another dac.

It have line input RCA and 4.4mm(can be converted to xlr with 4.4mm to xlr cables but adapter like those sometime exhibit higher crosstalk(if 4.4mm conversion is not done properly) than direct xlr to xlr cables as per my experience with K9 pro AKM which also have same line specs.
I remember line vrm on bal is 5 and on RCA 2.5 on both in and out.
So dac with 4vrm output might sound bit lower volume compared to internal dac.
With vrm above 5 may exhibit distortion.
So if you have a dac with 5 vrm and less or and way to lower vrm like preamp,etc. K17 might work well for you.

 

[maszynista1987]

Thank you for your reply. I had the k17 for testing and liked it very much, its musical character, suits some genres.

 

[mb3]

Yes I agree. With the filters and eq options you can adjust the settings to suit different types of music and different types of headphones. I would say the dac is on par with gustard A26. Not sure I would necessarily want to use a different dac with it but the line inputs are there. You could also use a different amp. I like this as an all in one option. It just sits on my desk. Doesn't get in the way. Sounds great. In a way this is an evolution of something like the JDS element.

 

[texx2818]

The networking is absolutely painful. If I switch off of Roon to a different input, then come back a couple hours later, it will not find it. The only way it will is to completely shut the device down and then start it up. The device is amazing but the networking is not great.

 

[adresner]

I have had zero networking issues. switch and back to roon has been flawless . When troubleshooting networking it can be a lot more than just the device.

 

[texx2818]

I have had zero networking issues. switch and back to roon has been flawless . When troubleshooting networking it can be a lot more than just the device.

Just take my word for it, it’s not my network.

 

[FiiO Support Lin Lin]

The networking is absolutely painful. If I switch off of Roon to a different input, then come back a couple hours later, it will not find it. The only way it will is to completely shut the device down and then start it up. The device is amazing but the networking is not great.

Dear friend,
Hi, is your K17 using the latest firmware version? And the ROON is in the PC or NAS? If the issue remains in latest firmware, please send the log files to us for check.
[How to provide log files]
When the K17 has some abnormalities, you could provide the abnormal log files to our engineers to analyze.
1. Insert a USB flash disk with more than 10M capacity;
2. Go to 'Menu'-'Other settings', then select'Factory debugging' option. The "Log saving is complete" window will pop up automatically. The log files will be automatically saved to the USB flash disk.
3. Please send the log files to FiiO customer service.
Best regards

 

[texx2818]

Dear friend,
Hi, is your K17 using the latest firmware version? And the ROON is in the PC or NAS? If the issue remains in latest firmware, please send the log files to us for check.
[How to provide log files]
When the K17 has some abnormalities, you could provide the abnormal log files to our engineers to analyze.
1. Insert a USB flash disk with more than 10M capacity;
2. Go to 'Menu'-'Other settings', then select'Factory debugging' option. The "Log saving is complete" window will pop up automatically. The log files will be automatically saved to the USB flash disk.
3. Please send the log files to FiiO customer service.
Best regards

Thank you so much for your help! I will do this tonight!! Roon is on a NAS, but works everywhere else in the house. I have a static IP on the K17, and ensured it is not being firewalled. Hardwired directly to the network.

 

[FiiO-Yellow]

Can the K17 be a standalone amplifier?

yes, there is line in in K17.