FIIO K11/K11 R2R, Truly Balanced, Truly Brilliant! Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier

[JjB067]

Any others having received and heard this unit yet?

I've preordered one from a Fiio UK agent, they tell me they will have units beginning August.

 

[Skev]

I reordered mine from Hifigo. I was going to try AdvancedMP3Players in the UK, however, I’ve preordered the steamer from them and emailed to cancel it.. sent 3 or 4 emails and still no refund and/or comms from them.

 

[Viper GTS]

Hifigo order has arrived. Dropped it on top of my original K11 and swapped over line out/optical/power and finally SE connection to my AKG K701.

The six FILT settings seem to be replaced with just OS/NOS modes, ran some quick testing in NOS mode. Shipped firmware M62 for reference.

Some background info here I had been running the same setup for ~16 years until corrosion killed the switches on my desktop amp. Was running a KECES DA-131 > Shanling PH100 > AKG K701, all from ~2008 (big thank you to Microsoft for trying to pay us all to use Bing, they paid for 1/3 of this via their promos). I absolutely loved this setup, and never felt any compulsion to upgrade. After sitting for that long without moving the switches on the amp locked up. Picked up the K11 to get me back up and running, and while it worked I never loved what I’ve since learned is the FIIO house sound. It was far too sterile for my tastes.

At very quick listen (just a few minutes so far), I think the R2R is going to fix that. I’ll leave the paragraphs of dissecting the why to the rest of you, but I’m happy so far. I’ll get some more time in and since you have all sucked me back down this rabbit hole I also have some HE400SE showing up today. First planars and R2R on the same day, and all for under $300 combined. RIdiculous.

 

[Hyde00]

Picked up the K11 to get me back up and running, and while it worked I never loved what I’ve since learned is the FIIO house sound. It was far too sterile for my tastes.

Hmmmmm I kind of wanted to say it but I didn't want to be mean so I didn't say it. But it's true I'm probably in the same boat where I'm also not a fan of FiiO house sound? Or at least when I tried K7 I thought it was way too sterile for my taste too.

So I'll wait to hear your update on longer listening session with the R2R version lol.

 

[PopZeus]

I'm curious to see if FiiO is planning on doing more with the R2R module beyond their entry-level DAC/amp combo. Not that I don't think creating better value at lower price points isn't great, but R2R tends to show up mostly in higher-end DACs. I can't help but wonder what the plan is for their implementation of the technology in the future, or if this is it.

 

[frkasper]

My unit also arrived today. Still need to test the rest of the I/O, and other sort of glitches we only catch in the field, but all I can say is that the HD600s are sounding as good as ever, in this first impressions session.

When plugging into a mobile phone, it is the same deal as other FiiO stuff I have experience with. Volume maxed out at the source and final volume is controlled at the front of the unit. Fun fact, to drive the HD600 to high listening levels, gain is set to high and the volume indicator, I still haven't increased above 30 (out of 99).

This little K11 R2R is going to the office tomorrow. It will antagonize a Magni Unity.

I will let you know if I find any sign of (sound) sterility. But can surely state that this single-knob-controls-the-whole-thing is a pita. I will make sure to set and forget things here -- not many options to change, at least. Left in NOS mode for now to see what happens.

 

[Viper GTS]

If they sell a bunch of these I can’t imagine them not doing it to more of their lineup. Assuming, of course, that we all do our good citizen consumer duty between now and then. I already plan to buy the red version when it launches so I’m doing my part.

Spent a few more minutes with some high res audio in exclusive WASAPI playback. No complaints about the firmware on optical input so far - No popping issues or anything like that observed yet even with input format changes, idle/active transitions, etc. I’ve only played with PO, will try LO later.

@frkasper While I don’t love the single dial control I have basically used it for nothing but volume (rotate) and output switching (double click) once setting up my OG K11. It takes a minute to figure out every time I go back to it, but it’s only been once or twice. Definitely not something I’m interacting regularly with.

 

[frkasper]

While I don’t love the single dial control I have basically used it for nothing but volume (rotate) ...

Absolutely. Same here. Can't deny 100 steps gives a very smooth feeling, though. Unit is light, so I have to use other fingers to prevent the unit from moving around the desk.

Both 6.35mm and 4.4mm jacks are active all the time (when front is used). It seems like an opportunity, but can also be an overhead for one of the op-amps.

 

[Viper GTS]

OK, I have found one firmware feature I really don't love. The fixed output LO setting being on the double click output rotation is straight up bad. I have this hooked up to cheap desktop speakers (Edifier MR4) that don't have particularly fine volume control. It's not smooth but instead stepped to ~10 steps. With the original K11 I left the speakers at 80% and controlled all volume via the same physical knob with double click to switch between headphones and speakers. This worked great for switching between use cases/times of day, and was one of my primary deciding factors in going K11. Now I have a maxed out LO volume stop to traverse to get back to PO output, this is exactly the opposite of what I probably want if I'm going to PO.

@FiiO - Any chance you can make this firmware modifiable? I'd love to be able to remove the fixed output from the double click carousel. I would propose offering a 'quick change' mode or similar to reduce output options to LO/PO, and for extra credit make LO switchable between variable and fixed level when in this quick change mode. Or even simpler: Just drop the output options to two (LO/PO) and make LO switchable between fixed level and variable.

 

[Born2Cuddle]

Actually I have a question...... it says 1 day left till the release, isn't this released already?

Or do you mean release for the North American market?

Will I start seeing them in North American shops?

It's on Amazon US, so check if it's up on Amazon Canada.

And I just realized I replied to a post from last week. Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D9BCRVXN/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A22OHGD9UPLCGU&psc=1

 

[Hyde00]

It's on Amazon US, so check if it's up on Amazon Canada.

And I just realized I replied to a post from last week. Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D9BCRVXN/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A22OHGD9UPLCGU&psc=1

Lol it's ok yes i figured out eventually.

 

[FiiO]

I reordered mine from Hifigo. I was going to try AdvancedMP3Players in the UK, however, I’ve preordered the steamer from them and emailed to cancel it.. sent 3 or 4 emails and still no refund and/or comms from them.

Dear friend,

Hi, the seller was out of office because of Canjam London in the last few days. Let's wait some time and they should handle soon.

Best regards

 

[sofastreamer]

ordered mine yesterday from german distributor. will be the first r2r dac i ever hear, so im pretty curious as i am always hunting for the deepest soundstage with good layering and imaging. wonder if it will be much worse than my xd05 pro, G5 or DX3+ (which it should, going by prices). will be the last cheapo tho. Saving up for either a Violectric/Denafrips or Dual ES9039pro combo.

 

[Skev]

Dear friend,

Hi, the seller was out of office because of Canjam London in the last few days. Let's wait some time and they should handle soon.

Best regards

Yeah they replied after I tried a different method through the website so maybe emails etc got lost as well. No problem. Have used them before and were good all sorted.

 

[568812]

I'm curious to see if FiiO is planning on doing more with the R2R module beyond their entry-level DAC/amp combo. Not that I don't think creating better value at lower price points isn't great, but R2R tends to show up mostly in higher-end DACs. I can't help but wonder what the plan is for their implementation of the technology in the future, or if this is it.

Fiio is re-shaping the market. If this is good it seems like an amazing bargain. I just looked at their SR11 streamer for under a hundred bucks. Remote control, LCD display etc.. The only thing missing is casting ability which, unfortunately is quite important for many. Still, unbelievable value on paper and how they do all this with nicely made alu casings for the price ... I really don't know.