FiiO K5 || FiiO's docking desktop amp
Feb 7, 2019 at 2:16 AM Post #721 of 744
So finally getting a balanced amp. Question is does the K5 get bypassed completely when connecting from the K5 rear 3.5mm balance output to external amp XLR input? Or is signals decided from dac getting amplified by K5 and also external amp?
I would say it bypasses the K5 amp section, because the balanced line outs are not working if you don´t have a compatibile Fiio player..
 
Feb 7, 2019 at 11:02 AM Post #724 of 744
Feb 7, 2019 at 11:06 AM Post #725 of 744
No expert at all, but as per your last sentence, I would have thought that the K5 outputs a balanced fixed lline out (analogue) to whatever amp which then amplifiies the line out.

I’m trying to decide if the dac in the X7 (gen 1) through K5 balances outputs is good enough for the Massdrop balanced amp (THX AAA 789) I have on preorder or if I should just get a separate balance dac altogether.
 
Feb 11, 2019 at 10:40 AM Post #727 of 744
I´m having problems also with Fiio X5 III and my new Fiio K5 -combo. The right channel is distorted / obsolete and I can hear music only from left channel. Of course this happens in Pure music mode...When I select line (from my Topping D10) there is no problem. Nice!

Edit: when I use the dock with X5 III and switch to line in (that has nothing in) I can still hear the sound from my left channel (very weak sound) and distortion on the right. There must be something wrong on this unit.
 
Last edited:
Feb 19, 2019 at 6:23 PM Post #729 of 744
Has anyone actually tried the balanced out from the K5 and can give your impressions on it or the setup ? I cannot find a single one from google , @kdub , Did you get your setup running ?

I have not tried the balance out yet. I did confirm with Fiio that when using the balance out the audio signal is not being amplified by the K5. I’m not sure how the signal gets split into balance however from the DAP. I ended up buying a separate balance dac (SMSL SU-8) and balance amp (Massdrop THX AAA 789) which have not arrived yet. If I have the balance cables I can do an A/B test of this setup vs X7/K5 balance setup. Anyone want to mail me some loaner cables to test? : D
 
Feb 19, 2019 at 6:43 PM Post #730 of 744
I love the DAC on my X7 II but not sure if I wanted to go balanced with the K5 . Was looking at some cheap balanced tube amps like the Loxjie P20 for starters , hope your setup goes well ! Do let me know :)
 
Feb 21, 2019 at 3:52 AM Post #731 of 744
My experience with the K5 + X5 Gen 3 was not so great. The docking didn´t work and I couldn´t use my X5 as a DAC with the amp. Other channel was distorted and almost obsolete. The amp is nice and "OK" with other DAC and worked just fine and the X5 Gen III works nicely as a DAC without the K5 dock. But as I purchased the K5 to work with X5 GEN III as a dock and as a DAC for my secondary (or third :rolling_eyes:) computer this product is useless.
 
Jul 17, 2019 at 3:44 PM Post #732 of 744
I'm interested in Fiio K5 + E17K combo. I have Sony's dual 3.5mm balanced cable and XBA N3!

Do you guys think Fiio K5's dual 3.5mm balanced output is as good as Pono's 3.5mm dual balanced output?
I really like the sound of Pono's dual 3.5mm balanced output but I hate Pono's terrible OS and UI. It takes 5 minutes to just be able to select and play music.

I'm looking for a desktop dual 3.5mm balanced solution but Sony PHA-3 is too expensive for me.
If K5 + E17K dual 3.5mm balanced output can sound as good as Sony PHA-3 dual balanced or Pono balanced output, I'd love to buy K5 and E17k.
 
Jun 17, 2020 at 3:18 AM Post #733 of 744
Chapter Three: K5

Old users familiar with FiiO know that FiiO's first product is a digital dock-type speaker designed for Meizu M6. Therefore, the dock-type products are somewhat of FiiO's historical tradition and "initial intention". After transforming into portable HiFi products, FiiO has always been attaching great importance to the extensibility and playability of the product. The early E7, E07K, E17, E17K were all equipped with a docked port. We had also researched and developed the E9 and E09K, the desktop dock-type headphone amplifier which were used for connection to USB DAC/Amps. However, the early dock port we used was an 11PIN old-feature phone charging port. It was eliminated for the large size and poor compatibility.

When we were designing the later music players, we also took advantage of the hidden feature of Micro USB. Except for the four pins using for USB data transmission and charging, the extra one had been designed for the LO signal transmission of L/R, as well as recognition and control.

The K5 uses the TPA6120A amp chip with high driven capacity which has also been used in the E9 and E09K. Our hardware engineers have fully dedicated to the innovation of this chip based on the experience of the original technology secrets. Eventually, they managed to do it.

In addition, we have also redesigned the K5's appearance style, parts of which have continually been extended to many subsequent products such as the Q1MKII and M15. The gain has been adjusted to three levels of high, medium and low to accommodate as much headphones as possible.

Overall, the performance of the K5 is still impressive. It has outstandingly completed the mission of matching with FiiO players, enhancing the driven capacity when connecting to headphones to satisfy users' needs. This has contributed a lot to the hot sale of FiiO players.

But it is a little bit embarrassing that there is actually a USB interface behind the K5, which is mainly used when the player is plugged into the K5, so that it can be connected to computers. But the K5 itself has no decoding function. We are often asked by users whether the K5 can be connected to a computer for decoding. And this has created another beautiful story behind.


K5-EN.jpg

K5.png

K5-2.png

K5-3.png
 
FiiO Stay updated on FiiO at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/FiiOAUDIO https://twitter.com/FiiO_official https://www.instagram.com/fiioofficial/ https://www.fiio.com support@fiio.com
Jan 30, 2021 at 8:37 AM Post #734 of 744
Chapter Three: K5

Old users familiar with FiiO know that FiiO's first product is a digital dock-type speaker designed for Meizu M6. Therefore, the dock-type products are somewhat of FiiO's historical tradition and "initial intention". After transforming into portable HiFi products, FiiO has always been attaching great importance to the extensibility and playability of the product. The early E7, E07K, E17, E17K were all equipped with a docked port. We had also researched and developed the E9 and E09K, the desktop dock-type headphone amplifier which were used for connection to USB DAC/Amps. However, the early dock port we used was an 11PIN old-feature phone charging port. It was eliminated for the large size and poor compatibility.

When we were designing the later music players, we also took advantage of the hidden feature of Micro USB. Except for the four pins using for USB data transmission and charging, the extra one had been designed for the LO signal transmission of L/R, as well as recognition and control.

The K5 uses the TPA6120A amp chip with high driven capacity which has also been used in the E9 and E09K. Our hardware engineers have fully dedicated to the innovation of this chip based on the experience of the original technology secrets. Eventually, they managed to do it.

In addition, we have also redesigned the K5's appearance style, parts of which have continually been extended to many subsequent products such as the Q1MKII and M15. The gain has been adjusted to three levels of high, medium and low to accommodate as much headphones as possible.

Overall, the performance of the K5 is still impressive. It has outstandingly completed the mission of matching with FiiO players, enhancing the driven capacity when connecting to headphones to satisfy users' needs. This has contributed a lot to the hot sale of FiiO players.

But it is a little bit embarrassing that there is actually a USB interface behind the K5, which is mainly used when the player is plugged into the K5, so that it can be connected to computers. But the K5 itself has no decoding function. We are often asked by users whether the K5 can be connected to a computer for decoding. And this has created another beautiful story behind.


K5-EN.jpg

K5.png

K5-2.png

K5-3.png
Can anyone recommend specific interconnect cabling to connect to a balanced amp? I see that the FiiO uses a specific pin out. Is that an industry standard?
 
Feb 4, 2021 at 1:20 AM Post #735 of 744
Hi, guys

My PC is far from my K5. So I had to use a USB extender cable. But when I use this extension cable, Windows no longer recognizes the k5.
Is the USB cable that comes with the k5 different from standard USB b cables? Has anyone tried using another type b usb cable? (I don't have any others here to test)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top