[rafaelo]

I found more sources like this: https://switchandclick.com/will-a-dac-improve-spotify-sound-quality/ on google where it says: "For streaming music through Spotify, a standalone DAC will make little difference in the sound quality. Most devices already have an effective internal DAC."

This is where my question/concern is coming from.

Is not only the dac we are talking about here but the amp section as well. Sometimes for the economy of the discussion we refer to dac meaning dac/amp compo. You will definitely see a difference with KA5 also depends on your headphones.

 

[White Hat Bob]

I've been racking my brain trying to determine how the KA5 could be improved for the KA7 since the KA5 is already amazing for the size and price (please, not too much of a change of either with the KA7). Obviously, the KA7 can keep making the sound/filters better, and firmware updates via FiiO Control also come to mind as nice-to-have improvements. However, a game-changer would be a microSD card below the USB-C port on the KA7. MicroSD Card capability is disappearing on smartphones. Expanding the core smartphone memory for music files is hugely expensive, increasing the cost by almost $250 US to add 512mb (e.g., to get to 1 TB on the Samsung S23 Ultra). Yet, a 1 TB microSD can be purchased for as little as $100 US. A microSD would make the purchase of the KA7 a complete no-brainer super value, IMHO. But again, beyond value, microSD cards are disappearing on smartphones. With the size of apps and media files increasing, most of us have little core smartphone memory available for music files. Of course, it may not be possible to access a microSD card via a smartphone's USB-C or lightning connecter, and/or the power drain might be too high, etc., but if it were possible, wow! Again IMHO, the future is streaming for music discovery/sharing and on-device music files for the absolute best sound. Any other opinions?

 

[White Hat Bob]

Extraordinary pairing. I've had my Dunu SA6 Mk II IEM for about a week now, and I'm pleased to report the Dunu pairs extraordinarily well with the FiiO KA5. When you engage the bass boost switches on each IEM (left and right), something magical happens with the KA5. The soundstage becomes truly large for an IEM, and the sound gets surprisingly analog-like yet with a lot of detail. You feel like you're in the room with the singer (I tested using female vocals in jazz, such as Krall, Simone, Jones, Gardot, and Payroux), and that room is in the middle of your head (IOW left and right/forward and back melt away). The only IEM I've used before that could do that with a dongle DAC/Amp was pairing the KA5 with the $3,500 Empire Ears Odin (the Odin primarily beats the Dunu in slightly more detail and dynamics when connected to the KA5). This combination can be listened to for hours and is VERY non-fatiguing, and has an excellent emotional response (i.e., I was constantly thinking, Man, this sounds good). Other IEM I have tried that did not sound as good to me as the Dunu SA6 Mk II are the Meze Rai Penta and Advar, Sennheiser I-600 and I-900, Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk, and the 7HZ Timeless. At a cost of about $130 US for the KA5 and $570 US for the Dunu SA6 Mk II, for about $700 plus your smartphone (with an app that can by-pass Android limitations), you have a sound that gets very, very close to the more than $4,500 for Empire Ears Odin and a full-sized DAP.

 

[rafaelo]

Any other opinions

Everyone is different as he/she has different needs.

For example, I have no need for extra storage card and I personally believe we should leave functionalities/limitations of the phone outside the dac dongle implementation.

In addition, I use iems only for the gym, the office and speaking on the phone never for critical listening.

I have family/time/space limitations and I don't/can't/won't use a desktop proper setup. I want a strong dongle that can provide the smallest sound quality sacrifice in relation to desktop setups for relatively difficult to drive headphones 58X, 660s, 6XX etc. I have not the aspiration to drive hard to drive planars.

So what ka7 can bring to the table is better amp section (best value for money) but suitable for a dongle. Quiet and energy efficient.

Maybe better time/jitter oscillators although this is Marketing talk already ka5 may have the best and did not marketed them properly as other companies...dc04 pro for example. But improvements should be made if they can be made.

The buttons already where a big step forward for KA5 by maximising the volume on the phone you can take all the resolution that exists and then fine tune the volume with the buttons. Ideally a volume rotor would be perfect but I do not see this to be properly implemented on the side of the device. Seems a bit of sci-fi wishful thinking from my side.

Also on the iPhone the volume process to be taken completely from the device like the ibasso Pro does.

Size not much bigger than ka5 and the same KA design language which is really great and attractive.

So for my particular case in mind fiio please focus on the amp case as much as you can.

This can cannibalise sales from other fiio devices and they are many of them but sometimes it pays dividends to make a truly magical device.

 

[Shane D]

Got my order in today. They are both SO tiny!

 

[FiiO Kang]

I've been racking my brain trying to determine how the KA5 could be improved for the KA7 since the KA5 is already amazing for the size and price (please, not too much of a change of either with the KA7). Obviously, the KA7 can keep making the sound/filters better, and firmware updates via FiiO Control also come to mind as nice-to-have improvements. However, a game-changer would be a microSD card below the USB-C port on the KA7. MicroSD Card capability is disappearing on smartphones. Expanding the core smartphone memory for music files is hugely expensive, increasing the cost by almost $250 US to add 512mb (e.g., to get to 1 TB on the Samsung S23 Ultra). Yet, a 1 TB microSD can be purchased for as little as $100 US. A microSD would make the purchase of the KA7 a complete no-brainer super value, IMHO. But again, beyond value, microSD cards are disappearing on smartphones. With the size of apps and media files increasing, most of us have little core smartphone memory available for music files. Of course, it may not be possible to access a microSD card via a smartphone's USB-C or lightning connecter, and/or the power drain might be too high, etc., but if it were possible, wow! Again IMHO, the future is streaming for music discovery/sharing and on-device music files for the absolute best sound. Any other opinions?

Very interesting idea. Thank you

 

[FiiO Kang]

Got my order in today. They are both SO tiny!

You are welcome to use later to share feelings

 

[FiiO Kang]

Everyone is different as he/she has different needs.

For example, I have no need for extra storage card and I personally believe we should leave functionalities/limitations of the phone outside the dac dongle implementation.

In addition, I use iems only for the gym, the office and speaking on the phone never for critical listening.

I have family/time/space limitations and I don't/can't/won't use a desktop proper setup. I want a strong dongle that can provide the smallest sound quality sacrifice in relation to desktop setups for relatively difficult to drive headphones 58X, 660s, 6XX etc. I have not the aspiration to drive hard to drive planars.

So what ka7 can bring to the table is better amp section (best value for money) but suitable for a dongle. Quiet and energy efficient.

Maybe better time/jitter oscillators although this is Marketing talk already ka5 may have the best and did not marketed them properly as other companies...dc04 pro for example. But improvements should be made if they can be made.

The buttons already where a big step forward for KA5 by maximising the volume on the phone you can take all the resolution that exists and then fine tune the volume with the buttons. Ideally a volume rotor would be perfect but I do not see this to be properly implemented on the side of the device. Seems a bit of sci-fi wishful thinking from my side.

Also on the iPhone the volume process to be taken completely from the device like the ibasso Pro does.

Size not much bigger than ka5 and the same KA design language which is really great and attractive.

So for my particular case in mind fiio please focus on the amp case as much as you can.

This can cannibalise sales from other fiio devices and they are many of them but sometimes it pays dividends to make a truly magical device.

Thank you very much for your detailed suggestions and discussion

 

[OldRoadToad]

I have been using the KA5 now for a few days to listen to music via my iPhone or my laptop and so here goes my "review":

I like the KA5 very much. It looks very nice and with minor caveat is easy to use. On my Windows laptop I bumped the rate from my default of 48 to the max of, I believe, 384 and it made no difference in how good the music sounded to me. So I put it back to the default and continue to enjoy my music.

The Caveat:
I must say that the volume control is rather weak. It takes several good firm pushes on the buttons to raise or lower the volume. I suppose that is better than having it do so with ease as then you could raise/lower accidentally.

I like it and if it came in anodized GREEN or RED I might like it even more. Thank you for making such a fine product!

ORT

 

[FiiO Kang]

I have been using the KA5 now for a few days to listen to music via my iPhone or my laptop and so here goes my "review":

I like the KA5 very much. It looks very nice and with minor caveat is easy to use. On my Windows laptop I bumped the rate from my default of 48 to the max of, I believe, 384 and it made no difference in how good the music sounded to me. So I put it back to the default and continue to enjoy my music.

The Caveat:
I must say that the volume control is rather weak. It takes several good firm pushes on the buttons to raise or lower the volume. I suppose that is better than having it do so with ease as then you could raise/lower accidentally.

I like it and if it came in anodized GREEN or RED I might like it even more. Thank you for making such a fine product!

ORT

Thank you for sharing，volume control also has a "B" mode, which is level 60 for faster volume control

 

[Shane D]

I have been using the KA5 now for a few days to listen to music via my iPhone or my laptop and so here goes my "review":

I like the KA5 very much. It looks very nice and with minor caveat is easy to use. On my Windows laptop I bumped the rate from my default of 48 to the max of, I believe, 384 and it made no difference in how good the music sounded to me. So I put it back to the default and continue to enjoy my music.

The Caveat:
I must say that the volume control is rather weak. It takes several good firm pushes on the buttons to raise or lower the volume. I suppose that is better than having it do so with ease as then you could raise/lower accidentally.

I like it and if it came in anodized GREEN or RED I might like it even more. Thank you for making such a fine product!

ORT

How is the sound out of your phone?
For years I used an LG V30 and the headphones sounded great. Now I just bought a middle of the road Motorola Edge and haven't had a chance to try it with the dongle yet.
Really curious how it will compare to a desktop system.

 

[OldRoadToad]

How is the sound out of your phone?
For years I used an LG V30 and the headphones sounded great. Now I just bought a middle of the road Motorola Edge and haven't had a chance to try it with the dongle yet.
Really curious how it will compare to a desktop system.

In all honesty it sounds just fine but then I am pretty much not hard to please as I tend to just enjoy listening to the music and looking at the equipment it plays through! I had a nice Motorola until I fell and broke it and wound up getting an iPhone again but that Motorola had a phone jack, 250 Gig of built in memory and I put another 250 Gig MicroSD in it. It was great so I would imagine your phone will do just fine too!

Motorola phones are really good and not just for the money but for the smart money! Yours will do you proud with this device! I have several Bluetooth 'phones but I prefer to be hardwired and this classy looking DAC/AMP Dongle delivers on looks and performance for me and if I still had my Motorola I know it would work great with it too.

ORT

 

[jjxaker]

I like it and if it came in anodized GREEN or RED I might like it even more.

This desire is better accentuated for a protective cover in different colors. It's cheaper for the manufacturer, and many will still use the cases.

 

[OldRoadToad]

This desire is better accentuated for a protective cover in different colors. It's cheaper for the manufacturer, and many will still use the cases.

Thank you! I had not really given a cover serious consideration but now I shall! I have a 2nd Gen iPod this is nearly immaculate and all because I bought a thick leather cover to protect it. This KA5 is worthy of keeping safe and a nice leather cover will do just that along with looking good. Thank you again!

ORT

 

[FiiO Kang]

I'm also thinking about making leather cover in other colors. Do you have any suggestions?