Fiio K13 R2R - Owners Thread

[Raider]

I also have the Edition XVs, and I've driven them up to 95% volume on medium gain without issues. Can you give me instructions on how you got that OVERERR message so I can try it out on my unit?

Thanks.

put a bassy track and run 100% volume on that medium gain or if u wanna be quick run on high 80% drops very quickly which is what u see on the video
electronics in it is set so that when u overpower it by 1mA it shuts off there is no headroom like every other amp in the world
bassically u have a car with top speed 200km/h yeah ? its downhill u get to 201km/h and engine shuts off
so there is no possibility of using all of it because u never know when u cross the laser line u have to lower the volume there is no 2400mW

 

[BadAppleSpy]

This problem appears to be a common issue in every FiiO R2R product(including K13 R2R), which they all advertise as fully differential R2R.

False promotion of FiiO R2R?

Their promotional materials claimed it was a fully differential R2R structure, but actual testing showed it wasn't.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Raider]

u know what my 1 dollar Realtek doesnt do ?

 

[emulle]

put a bassy track and run 100% volume on that medium gain or if u wanna be quick run on high 80% drops very quickly which is what u see on the video
electronics in it is set so that when u overpower it by 1mA it shuts off there is no headroom like every other amp in the world
bassically u have a car with top speed 200km/h yeah ? its downhill u get to 201km/h and engine shuts off
so there is no possibility of using all of it because u never know when u cross the laser line u have to lower the volume there is no 2400mW

Did you try it with balanced output?

 

[Raider]

Did you try it with balanced output?

nope, and i don`t own it as of now so no further study

 

[emulle]

nope, and i don`t own it as of now so no further study

Alright, I tried with Medium at 100% and high gain and no OVERERR issue here, this was with single-ended output.
Will receive a balanced cable next week or the week after and I'll try it again.

 

[Antagron]

The DX5 II’s 4.4mm balanced and 4-pin XLR balanced outputs can kill headphones. Good luck.

I have heard about 4.4 issues but not XLR? Anything you can link to read more?

 

[Raider]

Alright, I tried with Medium at 100% and high gain and no OVERERR issue here, this was with single-ended output.
Will receive a balanced cable next week or the week after and I'll try it again.

its bigger voltage on the balanced u wont be able to trickle overrr issue before burning headphones
anyway looks like i had defective unit i was right about 1 thing - they don`t test their stuff

 

[emulle]

its bigger voltage on the balanced u wont be able to trickle overrr issue before burning headphones
anyway looks like i had defective unit i was right about 1 thing - they don`t test their stuff

I would assume you had. You can get a lemon with whatever brand you go with but it's always as frustrating.

 

[Raider]

I would assume you had. You can get a lemon with whatever brand you go with but it's always as frustrating.

i was angry because anything audio related i buy is shit the list is very big as of now all headphones before those hifimans were 1 driver louder its like 4 pairs on my account just in 2025/26, and we got the DAC

 

[bugis]

Should I disable all enhancements? They were on by default.

 

[emulle]

Should I disable all enhancements? They were on by default.

Yes.

 

[Guddu]

Should I disable all enhancements? They were on by default.

Absolutely Yes.
Just to add, These also create issues with external/usb microphones like UMIK etc and so should be disabled.

 

[bugis]

Absolutely Yes.
Just to add, These also create issues with external/usb microphones like UMIK etc and so should be disabled.

thanks, how does this affect microphones?

 

[Guddu]

thanks, how does this affect microphones?

Similar settings are also there under microphone and calibrated measurement microphones most likely get issues.

 

[Nuromantik]

For anyone considering using the Darkside Pro linear PSU with their K13, I've had mine now for around 2 weeks and here are my thoughts-
The sound is obviously smoother with the darkside, although the sound is subjectively less 'dynamic' - particularly in the bass. The onboard switch-mode psu sounds 'faster' and more resolving (although I think over lengthy listening sessions this can become fatiguing - particularly with less than perfect recordings). They have obviously voiced the unit to sound subjectively impressive with this onboard psu. I'm thinking maybe the sound everyone is raving about regarding the K13 is largely down to the onboard SMPS. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds great with the darkside, but I think a lot of people buying the darkside will actually end up preferring the sound with the onboard psu.

 

[antcollinet]

For anyone considering using the Darkside Pro linear PSU with their K13, I've had mine now for around 2 weeks and here are my thoughts-
The sound is obviously smoother with the darkside, although the sound is subjectively less 'dynamic' - particularly in the bass. The onboard switch-mode psu sounds 'faster' and more resolving (although I think over lengthy listening sessions this can become fatiguing - particularly with less than perfect recordings). They have obviously voiced the unit to sound subjectively impressive with this onboard psu. I'm thinking maybe the sound everyone is raving about regarding the K13 is largely down to the onboard SMPS. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds great with the darkside, but I think a lot of people buying the darkside will actually end up preferring the sound with the onboard psu.

I think (absent blind comparisons proving otherwise) you are hearing only the effect of perceptive bias.

There is no way for the darkside to have the effects you are describing. Power supplies with dacs (unless not meeting the required specifications for the device being powered) are vanishingly unlikely to have any impact on the sound at all.

 

[solid12345]

R2R DACs are functionally pointless in 2026 and in NOS mode basically broken.

Either something is broken or it’s not. Which is it?

Also nice to know the first-gen CD players were broken, when should the class action suits against Sony start.

 

[antcollinet]

Either something is broken or it’s not. Which is it?

Also nice to know the first-gen CD players were broken, when should the class action suits against Sony start.

NOS mode in the modern world is often associated with lack of reconstruction filter altogether - this is what makes them broken (by design rather then by malfunction - hence "effectively")

First gen CD players did not omit the reconstruction filter.

 

[TheJ3x]

Hey, so i just bought the K13 R2R for my PC. Since the included USB-C to USB-A cable is too short I used 3rd Party USB-C to USB-C cable to connect to my PC. When I don't use the PEQ the sound just works fine. But when I start using the PEQ on the K13, the sound works for a couple of seconds to a minute then the sound disappear. It only works again when I turned the PEQ off. When I switched back to the original USB-C to USB-A cable the PEQ works without the sound disappearing. It looks like when connecting to the PC the PEQ only works properly when using USB-C to USB-A cable.

Surprisingly when I tried using the USB-C to USB-C to an android tablet it works. I don't know why it doesn't work when connecting to the PC. I also set the sampling rate on the PC to 24bit/48000Hz. Maybe it's a software/firmware bug?

Another thing I found is that when I use the USB-C to USB-C cable to the PC there's a selection for 32bit/384000Hz, but when I click it shows unsupported format. While when using the original USB-C to USB-A cable the max rate is 32bit/192000Hz.

Does anyone encounter the same problem as mine when using USB-C to USB-C cable to PC?