[PenguinHeadphoner]

Hi,

A little disappointed in the mixed reviews about the K19.
I do not own it, but I was giving it a thought...

I am really surprised with comments that says that it does nto sound super preicse and detailed.
I own the Shanling EH-3 that sports the same DAC chip.
And... my oh my... It can sqeeze every little drop of muscial juice from your files with a level of details unheard of so far.
Much much more details than what I got on a AKM 4499 powered device.

So I am a little puzzled about those comments

But I can imagine that some people will not like the sound of this device.
I also own the Fiio R7.
While it is super convenient to use, and offers features you can only dream of (and they are sunctional as an added bonus) the soud was clearly not a competitotr for said Shanling EH-3.
But I spent so much time trying to fix things with the EH-3 and spend so much time listnining to music with the R7 that I came to prefere the R7

Now, if Fiio adds streaming abilities to this K19 and that is the future S15 they announced for mid-september, then I'll definitely go for it as it will check all boxes of my desired list.

Regards.

 

[phiemon]

Hi,

A little disappointed in the mixed reviews about the K19.
I do not own it, but I was giving it a thought...

I am really surprised with comments that says that it does nto sound super preicse and detailed.
I own the Shanling EH-3 that sports the same DAC chip.
And... my oh my... It can sqeeze every little drop of muscial juice from your files with a level of details unheard of so far.
Much much more details than what I got on a AKM 4499 powered device.

So I am a little puzzled about those comments

But I can imagine that some people will not like the sound of this device.
I also own the Fiio R7.
While it is super convenient to use, and offers features you can only dream of (and they are sunctional as an added bonus) the soud was clearly not a competitotr for said Shanling EH-3.
But I spent so much time trying to fix things with the EH-3 and spend so much time listnining to music with the R7 that I came to prefere the R7

Now, if Fiio adds streaming abilities to this K19 and that is the future S15 they announced for mid-september, then I'll definitely go for it as it will check all boxes of my desired list.

Regards.

No, it IS indeed quite precise and detailed. But for me personally, too lean/flat in the end, it lacks a bit of dynamics and musicality. The stage could be deeper, but it's comparatively very wide.

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

No, it IS indeed quite precise and detailed. But for me personally, too lean/flat in the end, it lacks a bit of dynamics and musicality. The stage could be deeper, but it's comparatively very wide.

Hi,

OK. Thanks for the clarification. Looks like I misunderstood your post

 

[streets112]

I received mine today (took a while before I could purchase one locally). I will let it burn-in for a couple of days and then compare it to ADI 2/4 Pro SE.

 

[Cecala]

Does the amp have a low impedance output?

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

Hi,

Yah...
The more I see this K19 and the more I hope for Fiio to add streaming abilities and make this their next horizontal streaming device announced for september, the S15.
That would sound like a killer device.
But probably at a stellar price
Probably around 2000€

And that would raise a serious question : would I buy a Fiio device for 2000€ ?
Or would I go for a competitor from a famous and renowned brand like Naim and it's Unity Headphone Edition ?

I'd maybe still go for the Fiio but that would be a tough choice

 

[streets112]

I spent a couple of hours comparing ADI 2/4 Pro SE and Fiio K19.

ADI 2/4 Pro SE is my current daily driver, as I need a compact dac/amp to use with my PC, not just for music, but for also for gaming and movies. Been using RME device for years, I think since 2018 with the OG ADI-2 DAC and they are really good. ADI 2/4 Pro SE I've had since the last summer and it's the best one yet, but a little overpriced in my opinion. I've had my eyes on K19 the moment they announced it as it looked really good on paper, better dac, better amp and better EQ than ADI 2/4 Pro SE, so I've ordered one as soon as it was locally available.

Before comparing, K19 was running 80+ hours, not sure if it is enough to be properly burnt it, but I didn't have more time.

Build and operation:

- they both look and feel solid, but RME is just a bit better built
- Fiio isn't bad though, it's solid metal, even the buttons look to be metal, feels premium and also has a much nicer packaging
- RME is smaller and lighter
- RME runs hotter
- Fiio only gets hot on the top, when positioned vertically, rest of the device is very cool
- Fiio comes with nice metal legs and can be positioned vertically, but that puts a lot of strain on the cabling (usb connections are strangely oriented horizontally when the device is position vertically) - I've decided to leave it horizontal to relieve stress from cables
- when using Fiio with PC, especially when starting video playback or launching a game, sounds sometimes stutters for a fraction of a second (never have experienced this with any RME device - they have been ever-reliable in my experience)
- display on Fiio can't be permanently on (max. 30 min.) and doesn't light up when changing volume, you have to click the volume wheel, or a button on remote, for it to light up (RME display automatically lights up when performing and action)

Sound:

I've only tested them as a combo units, feeding digital in via usb and listening to headphones. I've used Android tablet to connect via usb (ddHifi cables, Wifi off, Bluetooth off, app USB Audio Player PRO) and play locally stored files (flac 44/16 or more). To power the devices I used iPower Elite 15V for both.

For headphones I used two headphones - both with Lavri Grand silver cables with 4.4 mm connector

Hifiman HE1000se (easy to drive planar, RME low power, vol. -26 ~ -29 / Fiio high gain, vol. 66 ~ 71)
DCA Expanse (hard to drive planar, RME high power, vol. -27 ~ -29 / Fiio super high gain, vol. 57 ~ 62)

I listened to these songs on repeat trying to find out differences - Hunting For Witches by Bloc Party, Easily by Grimes, Ride by Lana Del Rey, Talking Body by Tove Lo, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Dragon Attack by Queen, Spell by Uriah Heep, Mystery Man by Marcin Przybyłowicz and Compass by Two Steps From Hell.

Bottom line is, both RME and Fiio sound almost identical. Both are very neutral sounding, but I wouldn't say either of them is boring or harsh. It's just uncolored natural sound, which I think works very well with both of them having built-in EQ.

- detail retrieval is pretty much identical, they have slightly different presentation, highlighting different parts of the music, but you only notice it when A-Bing
- imaging is the same, I sometimes felt like Fiio was a tad bit more precise, but if it is, the difference very tiny, definitely not noticeable unless you're A-Bing
- soundstage - I sometimes felt like Fiio had a bigger stage, but I could have been just imagining this, basically the size of the soundstage is extremely similar in every direction
- Fiio has slightly more pronounced bass, of this I'm quite sure; speed, texture and layering is pretty much the same, but with Fiio bass has a bit more weight and not just midbass, but subbass as well
- can't notice any difference in the midrange
- upper mids and treble can sound a bit smoother with Fiio, which I noticed on some of the songs when A-Bing, however I didn't feel I was missing anything; other than that, it sounds very similar

Overall Fiio might be a little bit more easy going with the slight elevation in bass and a smoother upper mids/treble, but honestly, if I was blindfolded and you shuffled a random song, I doubt I could reliably tell them apart.

When it comes to power, I don't own Susvara, but DCA Expanse was driven just as well on both Fiio and RME. I also tried HD 800S for a little bit, just to see if there is any difference with high impedance headphones and couldn't find any - it was driven just as well (RME high power, vol. -35.5 / Fiio ultra high gain, vol. 66).

All the listening I've done was without EQ or any dsp function active on RME, as I didn't have time to fiddle with it yet.

So far my impressions of Fiio K19 are very positive, it's compact, cool running and nice looking dac/amp that matches RME with its sound. If the EQ works well, it might just replace RME as my daily driver.

 

[grainjar]

I spent a couple of hours comparing ADI 2/4 Pro SE and Fiio K19.

ADI 2/4 Pro SE is my current daily driver, as I need a compact dac/amp to use with my PC, not just for music, but for also for gaming and movies. Been using RME device for years, I think since 2018 with the OG ADI-2 DAC and they are really good. ADI 2/4 Pro SE I've had since the last summer and it's the best one yet, but a little overpriced in my opinion. I've had my eyes on K19 the moment they announced it as it looked really good on paper, better dac, better amp and better EQ than ADI 2/4 Pro SE, so I've ordered one as soon as it was locally available.

Before comparing, K19 was running 80+ hours, not sure if it is enough to be properly burnt it, but I didn't have more time.

Build and operation:

- they both look and feel solid, but RME is just a bit better built
- Fiio isn't bad though, it's solid metal, even the buttons look to be metal, feels premium and also has a much nicer packaging
- RME is smaller and lighter
- RME runs hotter
- Fiio only gets hot on the top, when positioned vertically, rest of the device is very cool
- Fiio comes with nice metal legs and can be positioned vertically, but that puts a lot of strain on the cabling (usb connections are strangely oriented horizontally when the device is position vertically) - I've decided to leave it horizontal to relieve stress from cables
- when using Fiio with PC, especially when starting video playback or launching a game, sounds sometimes stutters for a fraction of a second (never have experienced this with any RME device - they have been ever-reliable in my experience)
- display on Fiio can't be permanently on (max. 30 min.) and doesn't light up when changing volume, you have to click the volume wheel, or a button on remote, for it to light up (RME display automatically lights up when performing and action)

Sound:

I've only tested them as a combo units, feeding digital in via usb and listening to headphones. I've used Android tablet to connect via usb (ddHifi cables, Wifi off, Bluetooth off, app USB Audio Player PRO) and play locally stored files (flac 44/16 or more). To power the devices I used iPower Elite 15V for both.



For headphones I used two headphones - both with Lavri Grand silver cables with 4.4 mm connector

Hifiman HE1000se (easy to drive planar, RME low power, vol. -26 ~ -29 / Fiio high gain, vol. 66 ~ 71)
DCA Expanse (hard to drive planar, RME high power, vol. -27 ~ -29 / Fiio super high gain, vol. 57 ~ 62)

I listened to these songs on repeat trying to find out differences - Hunting For Witches by Bloc Party, Easily by Grimes, Ride by Lana Del Rey, Talking Body by Tove Lo, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Dragon Attack by Queen, Spell by Uriah Heep, Mystery Man by Marcin Przybyłowicz and Compass by Two Steps From Hell.

Bottom line is, both RME and Fiio sound almost identical. Both are very neutral sounding, but I wouldn't say either of them is boring or harsh. It's just uncolored natural sound, which I think works very well with both of them having built-in EQ.

- detail retrieval is pretty much identical, they have slightly different presentation, highlighting different parts of the music, but you only notice it when A-Bing
- imaging is the same, I sometimes felt like Fiio was a tad bit more precise, but if it is, the difference very tiny, definitely not noticeable unless you're A-Bing
- soundstage - I sometimes felt like Fiio had a bigger stage, but I could have been just imagining this, basically the size of the soundstage is extremely similar in every direction
- Fiio has slightly more pronounced bass, of this I'm quite sure; speed, texture and layering is pretty much the same, but with Fiio bass has a bit more weight and not just midbass, but subbass as well
- can't notice any difference in the midrange
- upper mids and treble can sound a bit smoother with Fiio, which I noticed on some of the songs when A-Bing, however I didn't feel I was missing anything; other than that, it sounds very similar

Overall Fiio might be a little bit more easy going with the slight elevation in bass and a smoother upper mids/treble, but honestly, if I was blindfolded and you shuffled a random song, I doubt I could reliably tell them apart.

When it comes to power, I don't own Susvara, but DCA Expanse was driven just as well on both Fiio and RME. I also tried HD 800S for a little bit, just to see if there is any difference with high impedance headphones and couldn't find any - it was driven just as well (RME high power, vol. -35.5 / Fiio ultra high gain, vol. 66).

All the listening I've done was without EQ or any dsp function active on RME, as I didn't have time to fiddle with it yet.

So far my impressions of Fiio K19 are very positive, it's compact, cool running and nice looking dac/amp that matches RME with its sound. If the EQ works well, it might just replace RME as my daily driver.

Thank you for sharing your review. From reading it, I get the impression that the Fiio K19 and RME Adi 2/4 Pro are performing at the same level, which is very impressive of the K19, since it's around half the cost of the Adi 2/4 Pro ($2500).

Of course, there is the quality of life issue with the screen not letting you know the volume unless you click on the knob. I'd find that annoying, because I'm constantly changing volume based on the track. And then there's the lag/stuttering you mentioned.

Can I ask why you're thinking of replacing the Adi 2/4 Pro with the K19 as your daily driver?

Also, can I ask how is the soundstage and separation/imaging of the Fiio K19?

 

[streets112]

Thank you for sharing your review. From reading it, I get the impression that the Fiio K19 and RME Adi 2/4 Pro are performing at the same level, which is very impressive of the K19, since it's around half the cost of the Adi 2/4 Pro ($2500).

Of course, there is the quality of life issue with the screen not letting you know the volume unless you click on the knob. I'd find that annoying, because I'm constantly changing volume based on the track. And then there's the lag/stuttering you mentioned.

Can I ask why you're thinking of replacing the Adi 2/4 Pro with the K19 as your daily driver?

Also, can I ask how is the soundstage and separation/imaging of the Fiio K19?

ADI 2/4 Pro SE has crazy amount of functions, which is most likely the reason it is so expensive, but based on my impressions, in the music playback alone Fiio matches RME. They sound extremely similar to my ears. I could possibly tell them apart by listening to specific songs, looking for those subtle differences (e. g. in the song Spell by Uriah Heep, Ken Hensley voice in the 3rd and 6th verse comes across much harsher on HE1000se with RME than with Fiio - it's a tiny difference, but Fiio is a bit smoother), but if I was blindfolded and you played a random song, I would be just guessing. In my opinion Fiio is a great alternative to RME - if you don't need additional functions, you can have pretty much the same sound while saving roughly 1000 euros.

It is a bit annoying with screen - it will eventually dim down (30 min. is the longest it can be set) and when it does, you can change the volume with the knob or the remote, but the screen won't light up, so you can never be sure what the volume is, unless the screen lights up. To light up the screen you need to click the volume knob or the specific button on the remote, which is can be annoying if you're someone who changes volume a lot - bear in mind that when it lights up, the screen will stay that way for 30 min. if you set it this way, so I wouldn't say it's terrible, just an inconvenience. I think RME has a better way of dimming screen - it's either on all the time or off all the time (after couple of seconds of inactivity), however, if it dims down it will immediately lights up if you do something, like change the volume for example - that way you always have confirmation of what you did and after a couple of second screen dims down again (if you set it this way of course).

The occasional lag is also not a deal breaker. I noticed it when connected to PC via usb. It usually happens when you first start the device and when the is no signal going in for a longer period of time. For example I was working from home on Friday, but a had to really focus on task for about roughly 40 min. so I turned off the music to keep the distraction out. After I it was done and I wanted to resume playback and there was about a half a second delay between pressing a button and hearing music. Occasionally I also hear a soft click with the delay. It's not a big deal for me, music doesn't lag, it works well for movies and gaming as well. I just thought I mention this as I have never experienced something like this any RME device. I never had any issues with any RME device. My old ADI-2 DAC I must have used for thousands of hours over the years, no lags, no delays, nothing. It was like a tank, ever-reliable.

The reason why I'm considering swapping to Fiio is convenience. It runs cooler, has 4pin XLR headphone output and it has more power available, if I would need it. I will test the EQ function next week and if it works well enough, I think I will replace ADI 2/4 Pro SE with it as my daily driver.

Soundstage is medium sized when it comes to width and height - meaning that you hear sounds just outside your head. With HE1000se it's a fair distance outside, with Expanse it was just outside. Depth is rather shallow, it's not a wall of sound, but far from holographic. It's pretty much the same as with ADI 2/4 Pro SE (bear in mind that ADI 2/4 Pro SE has a wider and slightly taller soundstage with balanced output than ADI-2 DAC and even ADI-2 Pro).

Imaging and separation is pretty good, I'd say one of its strengths - it is quite easily to identify individual sounds and position them in space, even with very busy parts of the songs. Again though, it's on par with ADI 2/4 Pro SE, they are both very good in this area.

 

[grainjar]

ADI 2/4 Pro SE has crazy amount of functions, which is most likely the reason it is so expensive, but based on my impressions, in the music playback alone Fiio matches RME. They sound extremely similar to my ears. I could possibly tell them apart by listening to specific songs, looking for those subtle differences (e. g. in the song Spell by Uriah Heep, Ken Hensley voice in the 3rd and 6th verse comes across much harsher on HE1000se with RME than with Fiio - it's a tiny difference, but Fiio is a bit smoother), but if I was blindfolded and you played a random song, I would be just guessing. In my opinion Fiio is a great alternative to RME - if you don't need additional functions, you can have pretty much the same sound while saving roughly 1000 euros.

It is a bit annoying with screen - it will eventually dim down (30 min. is the longest it can be set) and when it does, you can change the volume with the knob or the remote, but the screen won't light up, so you can never be sure what the volume is, unless the screen lights up. To light up the screen you need to click the volume knob or the specific button on the remote, which is can be annoying if you're someone who changes volume a lot - bear in mind that when it lights up, the screen will stay that way for 30 min. if you set it this way, so I wouldn't say it's terrible, just an inconvenience. I think RME has a better way of dimming screen - it's either on all the time or off all the time (after couple of seconds of inactivity), however, if it dims down it will immediately lights up if you do something, like change the volume for example - that way you always have confirmation of what you did and after a couple of second screen dims down again (if you set it this way of course).

The occasional lag is also not a deal breaker. I noticed it when connected to PC via usb. It usually happens when you first start the device and when the is no signal going in for a longer period of time. For example I was working from home on Friday, but a had to really focus on task for about roughly 40 min. so I turned off the music to keep the distraction out. After I it was done and I wanted to resume playback and there was about a half a second delay between pressing a button and hearing music. Occasionally I also hear a soft click with the delay. It's not a big deal for me, music doesn't lag, it works well for movies and gaming as well. I just thought I mention this as I have never experienced something like this any RME device. I never had any issues with any RME device. My old ADI-2 DAC I must have used for thousands of hours over the years, no lags, no delays, nothing. It was like a tank, ever-reliable.

The reason why I'm considering swapping to Fiio is convenience. It runs cooler, has 4pin XLR headphone output and it has more power available, if I would need it. I will test the EQ function next week and if it works well enough, I think I will replace ADI 2/4 Pro SE with it as my daily driver.

Soundstage is medium sized when it comes to width and height - meaning that you hear sounds just outside your head. With HE1000se it's a fair distance outside, with Expanse it was just outside. Depth is rather shallow, it's not a wall of sound, but far from holographic. It's pretty much the same as with ADI 2/4 Pro SE (bear in mind that ADI 2/4 Pro SE has a wider and slightly taller soundstage with balanced output than ADI-2 DAC and even ADI-2 Pro).

Imaging and separation is pretty good, I'd say one of its strengths - it is quite easily to identify individual sounds and position them in space, even with very busy parts of the songs. Again though, it's on par with ADI 2/4 Pro SE, they are both very good in this area.

Thank you for the breakdown. It sounds like imaging, separation, and resolution are the strengths of the K19.

The half second delay hits a bit close to home, because I have that issue with Apple Music. It often skips half a second when a new song starts playing, and it's unsettling. Apparently, it's been a known complaint for years, but evidently Apple has no interest in fixing it. Prior to Apple Music, I've used Youtube Music and Tidal, and neither ever skipped the music. Even music that you've downloaded will skip and sometimes take a couple seconds to load as if its buffering. I'm only putting up with it because I got a 7 month free trial for being a Verizon user once the demo period ends, I plan to give Amazon Unlimited a try.

Also, from my experience with amplifiers that feature digital displays, it's standard for the screen to turn on when you turn the volume wheel. Not sure how Fiio missed this

Speaking of the volume wheel, I'm curious about the precision of the volume wheel. Does it have any channel imbalance at low volume like other analogue volume wheels?

Can I also ask how is the noise floor on the K19? Is there audible noise floor with sensitive iems on balanced 4.4?

 

[Cecala]

"............it's standard for the screen to turn on when you turn the volume wheel. Not sure how Fiio missed this"
email Fiio and ask if they could alter the functionality regarding this small issue.

 

[FiiO]

Does the amp have a low impedance output?

Dear friend,

Hi, would you like to learn the output impedance of the K19?It is＜0.6Ω（32Ω）.

Best regards

 

[FiiO]

"............it's standard for the screen to turn on when you turn the volume wheel. Not sure how Fiio missed this"
email Fiio and ask if they could alter the functionality regarding this small issue.

Dear friend,

Hi, we will try to add this feature in later firmware version.

Best regards

 

[Drakester]

Dear friend,

Hi, we will try to add this feature in later firmware version.

Best regards

This would be great, thanks!
Either remote input or volume knob should turn on the screen, also should be a toggleable option for those that do not need it.

I had my K19 for about 2-3 weeks, so far I really like it. It's definitely a step up from K9 Pro ESS in terms of features and design.
The biggest difference is just the form factor and how it dissipates heat way more efficiently, it barely gets warm compared to the K9 Pro ESS.

As for sound, I prefer the K19, I'm not a pro reviewer nor can fully elaborate why it feels better but I agree with what the reviews say, it definitely has something that takes it a notch higher. For 99% of people the K9 Pro ESS would suffice but if you want the best sound available from Fiio and a new form factor that's much better, plus more features and connectivity, then the K19 is the one.

I don't regret it at all - even though I feel the price jump from the K9 to the K19 is a bit too high... but it's comparable to other options in the market with similar or slightly worse performance.

 

[streets112]

Speaking of the volume wheel, I'm curious about the precision of the volume wheel. Does it have any channel imbalance at low volume like other analogue volume wheels?

Can I also ask how is the noise floor on the K19? Is there audible noise floor with sensitive iems on balanced 4.4?

Volume wheel feels alright - knob seems to be metal and doesn't wobble. Also it's not turning continuously and there is a slight feedback on every step - there are 120 steps and my guess is that they are all 0,5 dB increments.

I can't properly test either channel balance or noise floor as I don't own any IEMs (I don't really like IEMs at all). Easiest to drive headphones I have are Beyerdynamic T5.3 and Focal Stellia (both dynamic, around 30 ohm and very sensitive), but they can't really compare to sensitive IEMs.

Just for the sake of it, I tried connecting T5s in, setting gain to ultra (highest), lower the volume to 12 (lowest I could go and still hear reasonably well) and listen any channel imbalance. If there is any channel imbalance, I couldn't hear any. Same with noise floor - I left the gain on ultra, set volume to 120 and tried to listen, but I could hear any noise whatsoever - it was perfectly silent.

RME has a special gain setting for IEM (it has low power, high power and IEM; IEM setting behaves weirdly with full sized headphones so there's definitely something going on in this mode), but given the fact that Fiio has 5 gain settings available, I think it should have a working setting for most, if not all IEMs.