Fiio K11 Dac Amp Review - High performance Dac/Amp that doesn't cost a bomb
General/Packaging/Build
Fiio is a brand that needs no introduction to fellow audiophiles, they are well established and they have positioned themselves among the top few famous chi-fi brands. My first encounter with Fiio’s product was a classic portable amp E6, probably 10+ years back when I first got into the hobby. Fast forward today, I have the Fiio K11 desktop dac/amp with me which boosts some serious power output figures for the asking price. The packaging is quite good for the asking price, it contains a power supply unit, USB cable and the K11 itself, well protected from any mishandling during transportation/logistics. The build quality is good for the asking price, with several inputs and output as well.
Specifications
Main control chip (single-chip microcomputer): GD32F303RET6
DAC: C543198 Supported audio formats: 384kHz/32bit PCM, DSD256 USB connector: Type-C
Display type: Custom VA
Dimensions: 147x133x32.3mm (including feet)
Weight: About 407g
Power supply: DC12V 2A external adapter
SE power output 1: L+R≥520mW +520mW (32Ω, THD+N < 1%) (320/single-ended/high gain)
SE power output 2: L+R≥60mW+60mW (300Ω, THD+N < 1%) (3000/single-ended/high gain)
BAL power output 1: L+R≥1400mW+1400mW (32Ω, THD+N < 1%) (320/balanced/high gain)
BAL power output 2: L+R≥250mW+250mW (300Ω, THD+N < 1%) (3002/ balanced/high gain)
Frequency response: 20Hz~50kHz (Attenuation < 0.2dB)
SNR: 123dB (A-weighted) Noise floor: PO < 2.8uV (A-weighted); BAL < 4.9uV (A-weighted)
Output impedance: PO < 1.20 (32Ω load); BAL < 2.49 (32Ω load)
THD+N: LO < 0.00035% (1kHz/10kΩ)
Gears used for this review
Macbook Air M2 -> Foobar/Tidal
SMSL M300SE
Fiio K11 -> Earmen CH-AMP and PSU-3 (Fiio K11 is hooked up to my Earmen’s Linear PSU instead of the supplied power supply
7Hz Legato
Aune AR5000
Hifiman Sundara
Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far
Driving Power
This has got to be one of the selling point for the K11, a whopping 1400mW on balanced out with high gain from 32Ω’s load, it is certainly not lacking in terms of raw power, which is sufficient to drive most headphones that aren’t hard to drive with the exception of several headphones of course,one of them being the Susvara, as well as IEMs
Features
3 Gain levels, low, mid and high
RGB logo with adjustable lighting effect on the device itself
Upgradeable firmware
Sound Impression
The tuning of the K11 is very neutral and transparent based on my listening experience, it doesn’t boost any frequency but just render it as it is. However, I do find the note weight is slightly lacking, but not too bad overall. Very good soundstage and imaging rendering
Listening Impression with the following gears
Aune AR5000
AR5000 is very efficient and easy to drive, Low gain on K11 is sufficient to power the AR5000 to its best performance,on mid gain the dynamics are slightly better and also the bass control is slightly tighter
Bass is punchy and tight, mid bass especially
Sub bass has slightly better extension, although still lacking due to it being an open back
Mids a little lacking due to the note weight is slightly lacking
Slightly bigger soundstage than it already is
Male vocal has slightly thicker texture and sounds fuller
Female vocal is full sounding as well
Not so much changes in terms of detail retrieval
Overall, a very good synergy i would say other than the slightly thin note weight
7Hz Legato
Legato is a bassy and warm IEM, aimed at delivering analog-ish speaker sound
The mids are slightly recessed, but when paired with K11, the mids doesn’t sound that recessed anymore and it sounded a little bit more forward, both male and female vocal sounds a little bit more “crisp”
Bass on the other hand sounds a little tame when paired with K11, the sub bass rumble is still quite strong but somehow i feel like it has a slightly faster decay, but mid bass is still punchy, a very refreshing experience if you ask me, still very fun sounding
Not much changes on the detail retrieval as well
Soundstage is slightly better in terms of better height,depth and width perception due to the tuning of K11
Legato is not hard to drive, but K11 definitely have more than enough power to push it hard as Legato scales really well with power and source
Hifiman Sundara on 4.4
Sundara is a Planar headphone from Hifiman that requires quite a bit of power in order to perform at its best, K11 does have the capability to drive it to optimum performance
Sundara on its own is quite neutral sounding with a slight hint of brightness in terms of tonality, my opinion is that, pairing the K11 with Sundara does make it a little bright and the slightly thin note weight doesn’t help that much
The low end is fast and tight, the treble isn’t being elevated as well, but the slightly thin mid does affects the overall listening impression
Line Out Sound Impression ( RCA Out to Earmen CH-AMP )
The DAC on K11 has a neutral and transparent sound profile
Pairing it with the CH-AMP, the overall sound profile is quite transparent and mids does have slightly better body overall
Dynamics does improve as well, a good pairing i would say
Comparison (SMSL M300SE)
In terms of sound, M300SE’s sound signature is leaning towards the “musical” sounding kind of tonality, slightly warm and the mids has more body compared to K11
Soundstage is slightly smaller and less air compared to M300SE
Power output figure is way lesser compared to K11, 148mw on M300SE vs 1.4w on the K11
Although sporting different DAC, the differences are actually very minimal, the 43131 on M300SE is a DAC chip with built in amp section, where as on the Fiio’s 43198, it is a DAC only setup and the amp section is designed/implemented separately
Depending on your preference in terms of sound signature, M300SE a more musical tuning, whereas K11 a neutral and transparent tuning
Final Thoughts
Having tested the K11 for several weeks now, it’s safe to say K11 has a very high price performance ratio, in terms of sound, they sound transparent and neutral and not to mention the power output is very high for the asking price, most dac/amps at this price range offers lower power output figure and doesn’t offer much features, K11 ticks many of the boxes in terms of features as well as sonic performance. K11 is definitely one of the good products that is easily recommendable and won’t break the bank. Definitely a 4.5/5 product!
*A big thanks to Fiio for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for their support and opportunity
Head over to their official store if you are interested in getting one:
Fiio K11 Aliexpress store - Non affiliated
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