[patrick12300]

Hi, im an iphone 14 pro max user, and thinking of getting this KA17 to pair with simgot ea1000 and iphone pro max.

will the KA17 work with the fiio typeC-lightning cable ? so i can directly connect the KA17 to iphone lightning port.

or the KA17 wont have power ?

You need a Powerbank because the lightning port doesn't have enough power. Especially when you need more power.

 

[Machese]

Hello everyone,

I recently received the Fiio KA17 and used it with my TGXEar Serratus, but I noticed that the sound was not as loud as I expected. My setup consists of a Samsung S24 phone, Apple Music, and the Fiio KA17 at 50% volume on my phone. Even the sound seemed a bit muffled and not what I have come to expect of the Serratus. I confirmed my doubts when I tried the same setup with my Fiio KA3 and found that it was too loud at 50%, so I had to bring down the volume a notch. The notes were a lot crisper as well on the KA3. In both cases, I used balanced 4.4 output

I tried different settings such as changing the volume to 100/120, changing the filter settings, gain on/off, and desktop mode (which did increase the volume slightly). However, the KA3 seemed to be much better than KA17 for the Serratus. I wonder if there is something I am doing incorrectly.

Also, I noticed that the volume is okay when I use the Fiio JD7 or the Fiio FF3. I updated the firmware to the latest version (v0.99), but it didn't seem to change much.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

hi have you tried to see if the EQ mode is Off. EQ takes away a lot of power

 

[Meze99]

Does KA17 support/allow you to set two bass and two high shelf filters or only peak filters are supported? Does it have a total limit of 10 PEQ filters or it allows to set only 7 filters like E1DA dac? Basically the question is can one use Oratory's PEQ profiles on this device or not?

 

[zilax002]

Does KA17 support/allow you to set two bass and two high shelf filters or only peak filters are supported? Does it have a total limit of 10 PEQ filters or it allows to set only 7 filters like E1DA dac? Basically the question is can one use Oratory's PEQ profiles on this device or not?

No shelf filters and it makes the EQ basically worthless for my purposes. I know @FiiO has already heard this, but please add high and low shelf filters to the KA17 and it'll be the best value/high power dongle DAC on the market!

Edit: I believe you do get 10 filters, though.

 

[991 Carrera 4S]

The headphone amplifier chips are the SGM8261-5. This is a dual-channel chip, so the KA17's headphone amplifier channels can reach up to 2x4=8.

@FiiO
Could you please explain why there are 4x SGM 8261-5 amplifiers, when fiio.com states that "inside the KA17 are THX AAA 78+ headphone amplifiers"?

 

[thegamerulez]

hi have you tried to see if the EQ mode is Off. EQ takes away a lot of power

Hi @Machese ,
Can confirm that EQ is set to off.

 

[rexbinary]

You need a Powerbank because the lightning port doesn't have enough power. Especially when you need more power.

No way. My iPhone 14 Pro Max with the KA17 will drive any IEM fine without desktop mode or a power bank.

 

[ClieOS]

@FiiO
Could you please explain why there are 4x SGM 8261-5 amplifiers, when fiio.com states that "inside the KA17 are THX AAA 78+ headphone amplifiers"?

Because opamp are part of the THX AAA 78+ architecture. THX AAA is a kind of headphone amplification circuit design / topology, it is not a single chip. It doesn't matter which exact components it used, as long as the whole topology follows the design, it is still THX AAA.

 

[FiiO]

Will Germany get the ones with the new or old firmware?

Dear friend,

With old firmware. You could update when you get the KA17.

Best regards

 

[vafler86]

Hey, anyone tried their KA17 with pixel 8/ 8 pro? That phone is cursed, some of my dacs dont work with it and i need a new one.

Would appreciate if someone have the opportunity to test this. I know alot of us at r/pixel are waiting for the confirmation for pairing KA17 with pixel 8 phones.

 

[peterinvan]

You need a Powerbank because the lightning port doesn't have enough power. Especially when you need more power.

My old iPhone6 drives the KA17 fine, in low gain. Desktop mode "off"

 

[zilax002]

My old iPhone6 drives the KA17 fine, in low gain.

But what about desktop mode?

 

[FiiO]

Oof, that's unfortunate. I hope fiio finally makes an effort to improve the experience of their users that are in the apple ecosystem. An app and firmware update support from Mac devices would really help. (As a Mac user whose friends also happen to be Mac users, I have no way to update my ka17)

Dear friend,

The upgrade tool for MAC devices is under development now. And we will release news when it has futher progress.

Best regards

 

[FiiO]

V0.99 firmware has greatly improved my KA17. Thank you!

I do have an issue. Using an iPhone 14 Pro Max listening to Apple Music streaming Apple Lossless/Hi-Res: if I enable the EQ on any setting, I can no longer hear the music. Once I turn off EQ I can then hear the music again.

Is this expected? Seems like a bug to me.

Dear friend,

The engineer has tested about that. When EQ is enabled during Apple music playback, the volume will decrease. You could adjust the volume in iPhone to higher level for help.

Best regards

 

[FiiO]

Hello everyone,

I recently received the Fiio KA17 and used it with my TGXEar Serratus, but I noticed that the sound was not as loud as I expected. My setup consists of a Samsung S24 phone, Apple Music, and the Fiio KA17 at 50% volume on my phone. Even the sound seemed a bit muffled and not what I have come to expect of the Serratus. I confirmed my doubts when I tried the same setup with my Fiio KA3 and found that it was too loud at 50%, so I had to bring down the volume a notch. The notes were a lot crisper as well on the KA3. In both cases, I used balanced 4.4 output

I tried different settings such as changing the volume to 100/120, changing the filter settings, gain on/off, and desktop mode (which did increase the volume slightly). However, the KA3 seemed to be much better than KA17 for the Serratus. I wonder if there is something I am doing incorrectly.

Also, I noticed that the volume is okay when I use the Fiio JD7 or the Fiio FF3. I updated the firmware to the latest version (v0.99), but it didn't seem to change much.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Dear friend,

The volume curve between KA17 and KA13 are different currently.
The gain amplitude interval is smaller in low volume, and the KA17's output power at maximum volume is definitely higher than KA3.
We are also collecting suggestions to adjust the volume curve to meet the needs of most users.

Best regards