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

[Ben86]

Is this the director of the fiio factory making a review?

 

[rocksteady65]

So the K19 has the ESS DAC chip and the K17 has the AKM DAC chip. I think I'd lean towards the AKM in the K17 maybe.
Although the K19 has more power 8000w for those with hard to drive headphones... compared to 4000w on the K17.
K19 probably has more Punch and Slam for those who like the Hard Rock and Metal genres. Seems like 2 really solid FiiO offerings.

Realistically, who needs 8w at 32 Ohm? Especially when Low Impedance, High Sensitivity headphones are almost the norm nowadays. The K19 is only substantially more powerful at 32 Ohm, and on High impedances the difference to the K17 is marginal. Interestingly, the latter is capable of slightly higher P~PV, at 48V! This is especially important for High Impedance cans, especially of the 600 Ohm variety.
Besides, the K17 is far better Looking and seemingly better Built, has superior Connectivity, a gorgeous, large Display, and of course, it has Physical Controls. All that, and AKM DAC Chips + Discrete Amplification. In my view, both are far preferable to the combination of THX Modules + ESS Sabre DACs, which are a recipe for a Sterile and Boring sound signature. The K17 is IMHO a far better device than its K19 counterpart...

 

[JTBaccordionMusic]

Realistically, who needs 8w at 32 Ohm? Especially when Low Impedance, High Sensitivity headphones are almost the norm nowadays. The K19 is only substantially more powerful at 32 Ohm, and on High impedances the difference to the K17 is marginal. Interestingly, the latter is capable of slightly higher P~PV, at 48V! This is especially important for High Impedance cans, especially of the 600 Ohm variety.
Besides, the K17 is far better Looking and seemingly better Built, has superior Connectivity, a gorgeous, large Display, and of course it, has Physical Controls. All that, and AKM DAC Chips + Discrete Amplification. In my view, both are far preferable to the combination of THX Modules + ESS Sabre DACs, which are a recipe for a Sterile and Boring sound signature. The K17 is IMHO a far better device than its K19 counterpart...

Of the K19 and K17 I'd get the K17 and the AKM DAC Chip. But if I owned the Susvara, HE6se and Modhouse Tungsten all which need a lot of power... I'd probably lean towards the K19 to hopefully have a little headroom with these HP's. But I'm not even sure the K19 at 8000W could drive them to their "Fullest Potential" tbh

 

[rocksteady65]

Of the K19 and K17 I'd get the K17 and the AKM DAC Chip. But if I owned the Susvara, HE6se and Modhouse Tungsten all which need a lot of power... I'd probably lean towards the K19 to hopefully have a little headroom with these HP's. But I'm not even sure the K19 at 8000W could drive them to their "Fullest Potential" tbh

Well, both the HE-6SE and the Susvara have quite a bit higher nominal Impedance at ~ 60 Ohm. But in my view and experience, their famed Power Hungry reputation is somewhat exaggerated. I have successfully driven the HE-6SE with a SE Violectric V100 Amp, with plenty of power and dynamics, at its highest Gain. Admittedly, it performed even better with a Balanced Cable directly driven by a Speaker Amp, but that goes with the territory. The point is, 8W, even 4W, is a heck of a lot of Power, and there are a number of Amps with Lower Specifications that can drive these notoriously Insensitive Cans really well...

 

[zt78]

So... There seems to be some translated pages in the FAQ section now. https://www.fiio.com/k17_faq
Already the first one is very interesting: "Note: K17 does not support connecting to FiiO Control currently. Support is expected to be added in 2025 Apr. if all goes well."
--> really April? If all goes well..?!

 

[Ben86]

So... There seems to be some translated pages in the FAQ section now. https://www.fiio.com/k17_faq
Already the first one is very interesting: "Note: K17 does not support connecting to FiiO Control currently. Support is expected to be added in 2025 Apr. if all goes well."
--> really April? If all goes well..?!

Doesn't inspire much confidence anyway I care the most for the sound quality of K17, will wait for more detailed sound quality impressions and reviews on Youtube

 

[Wyllio]

I got my unit in today. Noticed a few minor annoyances I have with it. The framerate on the VU meter needles is slow and choppy. The VU meter also seems inaccessible under the USB input. There is no independent volume from any of the output selections, the volume level will remain the same as you switch between the options. So if you are switching from Pre-out to headphones, make sure to turn down the volume appropriately before switching the output.

 

[sutonpu]

What about the sound?
I want to replace my ADI2DAC, which is about to break down.

 

[dsrk]

It's been the case with FiiO products, too many bells and whistles. And basics features are missing.

They need to research what features people use most and ignore the least used.

I am an EQ guy but 31 band PEQ is too much for most.

 

[wkvk]

It's been the case with FiiO products, too many bells and whistles. And basics features are missing.

They need to research what features people use most and ignore the least used.

I am an EQ guy but 31 band PEQ is too much for most.

Is that the case here? It seems that the bells and whistles are not well implemented.

 

[Ben86]

What about the sound?
I want to replace my ADI2DAC, which is about to break down.

I am also waiting for more detailed opinions and comparisons regarding the sound signature and qualities

 

[Johnfg465vd]

It's been the case with FiiO products, too many bells and whistles. And basics features are missing.

They need to research what features people use most and ignore the least used.

I am an EQ guy but 31 band PEQ is too much for most.

Yeah, I've owned some Fiio products before. They churn out a lot of products and the hardware, build is pretty good but software side needs a lot of work, too many bugs and optimization issues.

 

[BenJoe]

@FiiO Enjoying the F17 so far. Would the VU meter display be available in other modes as well in the future, such as USB mode? Also, sometimes, the title and artist information would not change or update in streaming mode. Is that a FW issue?

 

[Wyllio]

What about the sound?
I want to replace my ADI2DAC, which is about to break down.

So far, I would say the K17 has a smoother, rounded sound signature compared to the ESS RME ADI-2 DAC. The treble is a bit more relaxed and less shrill. But in a blind test, I probably would not be able to tell the difference if they were volume-matched. I find the feature set and functionality of DACs and solid-state amplifiers to be more important than the subtle changes they provide.

A positive is that I no longer need to use two hands to unplug my headphones. I always needed to hold down the ADI-2 DAC since it is so light and would move around the desk.

 

[sutonpu]

So far, I would say the K17 has a smoother, rounded sound signature compared to the ESS RME ADI-2 DAC. The treble is a bit more relaxed and less shrill. But in a blind test, I probably would not be able to tell the difference if they were volume-matched. I find the feature set and functionality of DACs and solid-state amplifiers to be more important than the subtle changes they provide.

A positive is that I no longer need to use two hands to unplug my headphones. I always needed to hold down the ADI-2 DAC since it is so light and would move around the desk.

thank you!
Are the low range sounds the same?