[FiiO Kang]

Hello! I got a fiio ka5. And got a question. Which option is correct to use?
1) Make maximum sound on the phone and adjust the volume on ka5
2) Make maximum sound on ka5 and adjust the volume on the phone
Both options give different sounds.

1) Make maximum sound on the phone and adjust the volume on ka5

 

[FiiO Kang]

The best answer is to try various combinations for each IEM and headphones you use to find your personal preference. Also, remember to factor in the KA5 settings for High/Low Gain and 60/120 Volume Steps. With my Oden IEM and Focal Clear OG, the best combination I found was setting the KA5 on High Gain (this is the first affordable dongle DAC/AMP I found that can be in High Gain and still have no noise floor with the highly sensitive Odins) and at the 60 volume levels setting, with my Samsung S22 volume set to 60%, and my KA5 volume set at 80%. With my Focal Clear OG headphones, I set the smartphone a bit higher to 70% and kept the KA5 at 80%.

This is also OK, suitable for you is the best.

 

[FiiO Kang]

@FiiO , the home screen logo needs fixing, it displays "bron for music" rather than "born for music"

Yes. It was a mistake. Sorry. Our latest firmware update will not show this screen.

 

[FiiO Kang]

You don't need any special cable because KA5's SPDIF output is digital and not optical, so there won't be any optical signal that you can send to your amp's optical input. A special cable will work if your amp has a SPDIF coaxial input. You can however use an coaxial-to-optical convertor in-between KA5 and the amp.

You are right

 

[FiiO Kang]

Anyone else tried using the asio drivers on windows?

I'm normally ok just using wasapi but I would like to be able to use the KA5 with my DAW.

What is your windows version? Windows 10 or higher version is OK.

 

[FiiO Kang]

Mine (and my friend's) finally arrived.

Initial impression is very positive! Well done @FiiO !

There is no complaints whatsoever about sound quality, but there are a few UX issue with the volume keys and screen. I hope there is a way to completely disable the track control and have both short press and long press to be controlling volume only. Also, I wish the screen will light up automatically when changing volume or sample rate.


Maybe I'll review them soon.

Thanks for the kind feedback. However, since KA5's MCU firmware cannot be upgraded on the client side, it may not be possible to add functionality in subsequent push updates.

 

[inscythe]

Thanks for the kind feedback. However, since KA5's MCU firmware cannot be upgraded on the client side, it may not be possible to add functionality in subsequent push updates.

Did you mean that actually adding new functionalities to the HID buttons require MCU firmware update? Then, I can understand about having the screen turn on while adjusting volume would be difficult to do, since it is indeed a new function.

About the volume adjustments, I'm not asking for a brand new button function here. Looking at the settings in the app and on the device itself, there are already 2 HID buttons modes A and B. All I want is the short press behaviour from mode A and the long press behaviour from mode B to be in one mode. Wouldn't that be possible through firmware update?

 

[Billyak]

What is your windows version? Windows 10 or higher version is OK.

Windows 11.

 

[FiiO]

Has anyone had any luck using the KA5 with asio drivers? Downloaded the fiio drivers but not working.

Dear friend,

Did you download the FiiO USB Audio driver instead of the FiiO USB DAC driver? The FiiO Control panel of the FiiO USB DAC driver will not show the KA5.
FiiO USB Audio Driver (For KA2 or KA3 or KA5) Click here or Click here
We tested in Win11 via Foobar app and the ASIO mode could be supported in KA5:

Best regards

 

[FiiO Kang]

Did you mean that actually adding new functionalities to the HID buttons require MCU firmware update? Then, I can understand about having the screen turn on while adjusting volume would be difficult to do, since it is indeed a new function.

About the volume adjustments, I'm not asking for a brand new button function here. Looking at the settings in the app and on the device itself, there are already 2 HID buttons modes A and B. All I want is the short press behaviour from mode A and the long press behaviour from mode B to be in one mode. Wouldn't that be possible through firmware update?

“ I can understand about having the screen turn on while adjusting volume would be difficult to do, since it is indeed a new function.”
--You can select the nvr-screen mode.

 

[FiiO Kang]

Did you mean that actually adding new functionalities to the HID buttons require MCU firmware update? Then, I can understand about having the screen turn on while adjusting volume would be difficult to do, since it is indeed a new function.

About the volume adjustments, I'm not asking for a brand new button function here. Looking at the settings in the app and on the device itself, there are already 2 HID buttons modes A and B. All I want is the short press behaviour from mode A and the long press behaviour from mode B to be in one mode. Wouldn't that be possible through firmware update?

"All I want is the short press behaviour from mode A and the long press behaviour from mode B to be in one mode. Wouldn't that be possible through firmware update?"
--This function is the MCU program. Generally , the frequency of continuous volume adjustment is not much.

 

[inscythe]

"All I want is the short press behaviour from mode A and the long press behaviour from mode B to be in one mode. Wouldn't that be possible through firmware update?"
--This function is the MCU program. Generally , the frequency of continuous volume adjustment is not much.

I see. Too bad then. I always have issues with the volume adjustment with either mode A or B. In mode A, especially on 120-step volume setting, I have to press a lot of times to change volume, especially when changing IEMs or headphones. In mode B, I will have difficulty fine-tuning the volume settings because I have to long-press to adjust volume.

Also, to respond to your assumption that "the frequency of continuous volume adjustment is not much", I would say that if the user is only using one IEM/headphone at all time then this will be true. However, if the user has a number of IEMs/headphones and frequently change them around, drastically changing volume would be a very frequent operation. Also, some albums might be louder than others, so sometimes we need to change the volume quite a lot.

A few friends who have tried my KA5 complained about the same thing. Also, a lot of them are confused why the screen is always off when the volume is changed or the track changed (they often want to confirm the volume and sampling rate when the track changes).

I wish KA5 would behave much like my other dongles with screen (L&P W2 and Cayin RU6). Well, still a very good sound quality though!

 

[inscythe]

“ I can understand about having the screen turn on while adjusting volume would be difficult to do, since it is indeed a new function.”
--You can select the nvr-screen mode.

I don't always want the screen to be never off either. Like I previously said, you can compare similar behaviour with other dongles like W2 or RU6. The screen has a timeout but at the same time it will turn on when there is any interaction.

Anyway, thanks for replying to my requests even though they are not technically feasible in the end. I appreciate your response.

 

[Billyak]

Dear friend,

Did you download the FiiO USB Audio driver instead of the FiiO USB DAC driver? The FiiO Control panel of the FiiO USB DAC driver will not show the KA5.
FiiO USB Audio Driver (For KA2 or KA3 or KA5) Click here or Click here
We tested in Win11 via Foobar app and the ASIO mode could be supported in KA5:


Best regards

Yes installed the correct drivers but I receive an error message when trying to select the fiio drivers

 

[FiiO Kang]

Yes installed the correct drivers but I receive an error message when trying to select the fiio drivers

What error message ?