[h1f1add1cted]

I just bought the FiiO K1 yesterday, should be soon here, I will compare it to HRT dSp and of course with Audioquest DragonFly 1.2 & Cambrigde DacMagic XS too. For 50 Euro here in Germany; i coudn't resist to buy one.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

This looks like a good way to improve the less-than-stellar audio on my Nexus 6P.  Unfortunately, compatibility between the N6P (USB-C) and the FiiO DAC/AMP options seems to be hit-or-miss.  Does anyone have a good suggestion who the target customer for the FiiO K1, Q1, and E18 are?  It looks like the K1 has about the same power output at the Q1 (and both have less than the E18).  I love the small size (and small cost) of the K1, but wouldn't want to be left wanting more.

Thanks.

Hello Supa Mint,

While USB OTG connectivity with smartphones is provided "as is" (i.e. we don't gurarantee it works with any particular phone), I see no particular reason to worry about connectivity with the N6P because of its reversible port design. What in particular are you worried about?

Best regards,
Joe

 

[h1f1add1cted]

My FiiO K1 arrived today!
 
I will compare and test today really nice case of the K1, on first look a big step up for the case quality compared the HRT dSp with its cheap plastic case.
 

 

[h1f1add1cted]

@FiiO
 
I don't knoiw what is wrong with my K1 on my Windows PC and foobar2000 it works fine, but I tried on my smartphones (reason why I bought) and it doesn't work:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/704065/usb-audio-recorder-pro-uapp-24-and-32-bit-playback-ubiquitous-usb-audio-support-for-android/480#post_12114445
 
I tried other music apps, but the music stucks and does not play properly. Like in the link above my smartphones fully USB audio compatible and even with 3rd party USB audio apps, the K1 doesn't work.
 
What is wrong? Like I said, since the FiiO K1 needs only 36mA the power output in both phones can't be the problem, since I can use other USB DAC/AMPs with more power needs (50mA) which works fine.
 
Btw. the FiiO K1 is perfect for multiple driver IEMs, I measured with low impedance and 8 driver IEM and really well straigt flat line! (the small bass roll off is from my sound card, not from the FiiO K1!):
 

 
/EDIT
 
It seems I understand something wrong, or this is new interpretation:
 
FiiO specs of the K1: MAX output current 35.93mA
 
On the box from the box small a information "Input: USB powered 5V with 150mA" if it's really 150mA required this will never work with any phone, damn that's sad

 

[Cyberratchet]

That’s not good news h1f1add1cted. I was looking forward to use the k1 with my Nexus 6p. What’s weird is that there are only pictures of the k1 connected to a notebook and Android isn’t mentioned under the supported OSs for plug & play.
The form factor would be perfect for phones.

 

[h1f1add1cted]

I still have some hope
 
I don't think FiiO would make such kind of pictures for the FiiO L19 cable if the FiiO K1 would never work in any way with smartphones:
 

 
 
Source: http://fiio.ua/product.php?lang=ru&id=72162
 
I played today a little bit with my Samsung S4 which is fully rooted and I have STweaks on this phone and I changed the default USB charging from 500mA to 1000mA which not really has an effect of the USB output power of the phone, but confusing now the FiiO K1 works for few minutes, like 1 or 2 songs after I'll get the "not enough power" error message again. If a press play again it continues running.
 
So I have some hope left, maybe FiiO can make things clear tomorrow. I think maybe my FiiO K1 unit is only defect (that  would be fine and I will replace them)? Or they explain what I need to change that it works.

Since it works for at least few minutes, I don't believe this is not supported in general, if so it would never work any second.

Since the FiiO K1 uses USB class 1.0 (plug & play) and the USB receiver is Savitech SA9023A, which is also used in i.e. the HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 USB DAC/AMP and this works without issues on Android. So I have some hope left.

 

[ClieOS]

IIRC, most (newer) smartphone have a 100mA cut off point for OTG devices, so normally K1 won't be supported once the smartphone OS detects that K1 is requesting too much power (150mA, as mentioned). There is however a way to bypass this, and you need a 'micro USB hub' (see picture below). It will help to stop the smartphone from correctly detecting the OTG device's power requirement. It doesn't always work (especially if the USB OTG device uses a ton of power), but in the case of K1, it will, as I already tried it. However, just because it works doesn't mean K1 isn't using too much power - it will drain the smartphone battery very fast and you might only see an hours or two of use time. However, you can connect a power bank to the micro USB hub to power the K1 directly and it will stop it from drain the smartphone too fast.

 
 
p/s: K1 does pick up EMI from smartphone quite easily, so that is another reason you probably won't want to use it for OTG purpose.

 

[h1f1add1cted]

Thanks ClieOS for your posting.
 
I have no worries about drawing battery for my Samsung S4 which uses a 7200 mAh battery (I use this phone only as transport), this will last for a while even with higher power requirements.
 

 
 
I use this combo with different USB DAC/AMPs without built-in battery too, but I love the great low hiss level of the K1 incl. the nice form factor, I would love to use the FiiO K1 instead since my phone is always in airplane mode and only WiFi enabled I have zero problems with EMI.
 
Your hint with the micro USB hub was perfect!!! I have a small micro USB hub and I tired with the K1 and now it works without issues, runs fine, no error message anymore.
 
See:
 

 
Now I need such a "hub" as a regular "cable/adaptor" and I'm happy. Haha great finding thanks mate!

 

 

[Cyberratchet]

 
I don't think FiiO would make such kind of pictures for the FiiO L19 cable if the FiiO K1 would never work in any way with smartphones:
 

 

 

Like ClieOS said, the USB unit load in USB 1.0 and 2.0 is 100mA, there are only a few Android phones with USB3.0 yet, like the Galaxy Note 3 and newer high end Samsung phones. They could potenially provide the necessary 150mA for the Fiio.
Smartphones like the OnePlus Two or the new Nexi(?) use Type-C, but with the USB 2.0 protocol, so there’s probably the same issue there. Googles new phones are able to charge other devices, but I couldn't find any information on how much energy they really provide to the other device.
The same goes for the lightning port on iOS devices, it seems like this specification isn’t publicly available. But if you can trust Fiios pictures, it seems like its enough.

I’m happy for you that you’ve found a way for you to bypass this limitations which works for you, but I would use the DAC on my daily driver and I’m not sure if I want to use 150mA (and the added bulk for the hub).I wrote an email to the Fiio support as well on this “issue”, but it seems like its just not right for my use case. Looks like I have to look for alternatives like the HRT dSp L .
 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

It seems that 150mA is the max power draw depending on music content and driven headphones. Typical power draw will be much lower than this. However, as shown by the hub experiment, perhaps the K1 is reporting more power requirement than actually drawn, and future batches of K1 may be improved in this regard.

Nevertheless, smartphone OTG USB audio support is provided "as-is", i.e. without any guarantee that the K1 would work with any particular model of smartphone.

 

[greasyg]

Does anyone know when the FiiO L19 lightning to usb cable is coming out?

 

[golov17]

Does anyone know when the FiiO L19 lightning to usb cable is coming out?

This?

 

[greasyg]

Yes, that's it.  Early December does it say?

 

[golov17]

Yes, that's it.  Early December does it say?

maybe.. don't know

 

[greenflash]

  This looks like a good way to improve the less-than-stellar audio on my Nexus 6P.  Unfortunately, compatibility between the N6P (USB-C) and the FiiO DAC/AMP options seems to be hit-or-miss.  Does anyone have a good suggestion who the target customer for the FiiO K1, Q1, and E18 are?  It looks like the K1 has about the same power output at the Q1 (and both have less than the E18).  I love the small size (and small cost) of the K1, but wouldn't want to be left wanting more.
 
Thanks.

 
Same here Supa Mint... I mostly love my Nexus 6P (Had a Nexus 5 before) but the audio quality is exactly as reported .. Abysmal (while speakers output is great, but oh well). I have a dedicated music player but it would be nice to get the 6P to a more respectable level. For now I'll try with the E12A (soon to arrive) but the K1 has the right size indeed.