[scracy]

By the way, maybe this is a stupid question, I apologize in advance, but I don’t understand - is there a difference between a balanced 4.4 mm output and a balanced XLR4? Conditional FiiO FT3 how best to connect?

Short answer no just a different plug, XLR4 is more common in professional applications.

 

[EdgeDC]

By the way, maybe this is a stupid question, I apologize in advance, but I don’t understand - is there a difference between a balanced 4.4 mm output and a balanced XLR4? Conditional FiiO FT3 how best to connect?

Functionally they are the same - they are both balanced.

The only benefit I have heard about from using XLR instead is that the wires never have a chance to cross-connect during the plugging and unplugging process, because they are all physically independent. However, in traditional headphone plugs (all 3 of them - 3.5mm (unbalanced), 2.5mm (balanced) and 4.4mm (balanced)), the plug is slid across the other (incorrect) contacts during the plug and unplug process, which theoretically could cause a short and possible (but rare) damage in certain situations, especially when the equipment is “live”.

That’s it, really. Of course, the one downside to XLR (besides being much less common in non-professional equipment) is that is bulky compared to the others.

 

[Bret Halford]

How is the K9 pro balanced out in low gain with ultra senstive IEMs?

I am looking for a balanced all in one like this that can handle IEMs mainly... I"ve never found an amp that I even had to turn on high gain for my harder to drive cans, so overall power isn't a concern. I have a few IEMs (V16, Xelento 2, a few others) that generally need external attenuation.

 

[Dsnuts]

I review IEMs using the K9 Pro and the K9 shown here. Sounds fantabulous using IEMs much better than you would imagine the Penon 10th anniversary shown here is a 9 ohm IEM meaning they are more sensitive than average IEMs. No hiss on my end out of both the K9 pro or the K9. Fiios dac/amps are excellent for IEMs by the way. I did my review of the K7 mostly with IEM usage. You might get a waterfall at the most using something like the Andromedas but otherwise I haven't heard an IEM out of one of these that I didn't like or any showing obvious hiss.

 

[Dsnuts]

Speaking of K9 pro, you guys would be surprised just how good the K9 is in comparison. Believe me I have been testing the K9 I just got last week, it is literally sitting on top of my K9 Pro ESS. Which is my favorite source for all things music.

I thought Fiios K7 was a bang for buck. The K9 sound quality is more mature in form and it is damn close to the K9 pro ESS. I will get into the sound quality differnces between but I am gonna say the sound quality differences are not as drastic as you would imagine.

 

[Kegra]

Speaking of K9 pro, you guys would be surprised just how good the K9 is in comparison. Believe me I have been testing the K9 I just got last week, it is literally sitting on top of my K9 Pro ESS. Which is my favorite source for all things music.

I thought Fiios K7 was a bang for buck. The K9 sound quality is more mature in form and it is damn close to the K9 pro ESS. I will get into the sound quality differnces between but I am gonna say the sound quality differences are not as drastic as you would imagine.

It will be interesting to read! I myself switched from K7 to K9 a week ago, I am very pleased with the device. While I use headphones Audio-Technica ATH-A990Z, FiiO FT3 should arrive next month. I bought a cheaper K9 intentionally, since the device itself is newer and after K7 I got used to the RGB backlight, I would have missed it in the K9 Pro, and plus it was interesting to hear the two-channel ES9068AS.

 

[Dsnuts]

FT3 sounds fantastic on the K9 by the way. Your in for a nice synergistic treat among Fiio gears.

 

[scracy]

Speaking of K9 pro, you guys would be surprised just how good the K9 is in comparison. Believe me I have been testing the K9 I just got last week, it is literally sitting on top of my K9 Pro ESS. Which is my favorite source for all things music.

I thought Fiios K7 was a bang for buck. The K9 sound quality is more mature in form and it is damn close to the K9 pro ESS. I will get into the sound quality differnces between but I am gonna say the sound quality differences are not as drastic as you would imagine.

Look forward to reading your thoughts on the FiiO K9, love mine

 

[scracy]

How is the K9 pro balanced out in low gain with ultra senstive IEMs?

I am looking for a balanced all in one like this that can handle IEMs mainly... I"ve never found an amp that I even had to turn on high gain for my harder to drive cans, so overall power isn't a concern. I have a few IEMs (V16, Xelento 2, a few others) that generally need external attenuation.

You wont have any issues using the K9 with IEM's in terms of noise, I primarily bought the K9 for this purpose no regrets what so ever however I have found in terms of soundstage and overall dynamics the "medium gain" setting seems to yield the best results with IEM's, even with those that don't require more power than the "low gain" setting

 

[Kegra]

By the way, this is what I noticed with the K9 after a week of use. Sometimes you can hear something inside K9 quietly clicking. The sound is similar to a very quiet metallic click or thud. This happens when I go to bed and put the K9 into sleep mode, after about 10-15 minutes there is a quiet click. Also sometimes it can be heard when I bring the K9 out of sleep mode, after about 3 minutes. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the device heats up during operation, and I often open the window and ventilate the room, and now it’s pretty cool for me, because of which, due to changes in the ambient temperature in the room, something inside the K9 can cool down and produce a similar sound. This is just my guess, I don't know the exact reason. Clicks are rare and they are very quiet, they are heard only in complete silence, for example at night. To clarify, this is not about relay clicks when the device is turned on and off, we are talking about rare random quiet clicks during turning the device on / off and after putting it into sleep mode. Has anyone noticed similar? The device itself works flawlessly, there are no problems.

 

[FiiO]

By the way, this is what I noticed with the K9 after a week of use. Sometimes you can hear something inside K9 quietly clicking. The sound is similar to a very quiet metallic click or thud. This happens when I go to bed and put the K9 into sleep mode, after about 10-15 minutes there is a quiet click. Also sometimes it can be heard when I bring the K9 out of sleep mode, after about 3 minutes. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the device heats up during operation, and I often open the window and ventilate the room, and now it’s pretty cool for me, because of which, due to changes in the ambient temperature in the room, something inside the K9 can cool down and produce a similar sound. This is just my guess, I don't know the exact reason. Clicks are rare and they are very quiet, they are heard only in complete silence, for example at night. To clarify, this is not about relay clicks when the device is turned on and off, we are talking about rare random quiet clicks during turning the device on / off and after putting it into sleep mode. Has anyone noticed similar? The device itself works flawlessly, there are no problems.

Dear friend,
Possible metallic sound from cooling.
Best regards

 

[unknownuser]

Dear friend,
Possible metallic sound from cooling.
Best regards

Does it have active cooling? A fan would be bummer.

the device heats up during operation

Not good, I have the K7 and considering the K9 because it's "just" 2x more expensive but I really like that the K7 is really cool to touch, also the power adapter. I don't have AC so during the summer I would prefer a cooler device, I believe that the K9 Pro is also a hot device.

 

[Dsnuts]

I can confirm the K9 is indeed cooler during full use vs the K9 pro. Shouldn't be an issue for you.

 

[FiiO]

Does it have active cooling? A fan would be bummer.

Not good, I have the K7 and considering the K9 because it's "just" 2x more expensive but I really like that the K7 is really cool to touch, also the power adapter. I don't have AC so during the summer I would prefer a cooler device, I believe that the K9 Pro is also a hot device.

Dear friend,

There is Heat Sinks coming with the K9.

Best regards

 

[scracy]

Does it have active cooling? A fan would be bummer.

Not good, I have the K7 and considering the K9 because it's "just" 2x more expensive but I really like that the K7 is really cool to touch, also the power adapter. I don't have AC so during the summer I would prefer a cooler device, I believe that the K9 Pro is also a hot device.

Given the fact that the K9 has an inbuilt power supply as well as a higher output power not to mention more electronic components inside, it shouldn't come as a suprise that the K9 is warmer to the touch than a K7 with its external non linear power supply.