FiiO K9 Pro ESS or FiiO K19 Pro

[lillieNB]

I have a Focal Utopia 2022 revision headphone with the following specifications:

• Loudspeakers :
  15/8" (40mm) pure Beryllium ‘M’-shaped dome
• Frequency response (+/- 3dB) :
  5 Hz – 23 kHz
• Harmonic distortion rate : <0.2 % @ 1 kHz / 100 dB SPL
• Impedance : 80 Ω
• Maximum SPL (peak@1m) :
  104 dB SPL

After some research I bought the SMSL DO400 and got them working, but they overheated, and I got loose connection problems with the power supply.
After that I bought the Motu M2, but got distorted sound, and corrupted audio transfers.
Then I bought the topping A70 Pro, but I could not get it to work through the USB-C input port.

For a while I thought, I want actually the best possible DAC/AMP combination for my Focal Utopia 2022 with clean sound in the low, mid, and upper range.
Then I searched further and found two nice DAC/AMPs.
One being the FiiO K9 Pro ESS, and the other one being the FiiO K19 Pro.
The main feature that got me interested is that they have two DAC chips (one for each channel), and are truly balanced, and have both a clean and crisp soundstage.

I actually wanted to know, is there a difference soundwise between the FiiO K9 Pro ESS and FiiO K19 Pro model as both are considered to be pretty much the endgame for headphones ?
If it comes to the equalization then I am doing software equalization 10 band.
Does it makes a difference in sound whether I use software or hardware parametric equalization ?
The FiiO K9 Pro ESS does not have a build in parametric EQ, but the FiiO K19 has a builtin 31 band parametric EQ.

 

[staticV3]

Then I bought the topping A70 Pro, but I could not get it to work through the USB-C input port.

The A70 Pro is a pure Amp (Analog in->Analog out).
USB-C is just for firmware updates.

One being the FiiO K9 Pro ESS, and the other one being the FiiO K19 Pro.

Both massively overkill for a headphone as easy to drive as the Utopia.

Consider the Apple A2049 or Topping DX1.

Both will make the Utopia sound as designed and intended by Focal's engineers. Any dissatisfactions beyond that can likely be fixed with frequency response correction.

Does it makes a difference in sound whether I use software or hardware parametric equalization ?

No.

The FiiO K9 Pro ESS does not have a build in parametric EQ, but the FiiO K19 has a builtin 31 band parametric EQ.

The only advantage of built-in hardware EQ is that you can plug many different sources into the DAC (PC, phone, TV, CD Player etc) and they'll all be EQed equally.

If you're comfortable with your current software EQ solution, then there's no reason to switch to hardware.

 

[lillieNB]

I see...
Thank you for the fast response.
I will try out the Topping DX1 out.

 

[lillieNB]

The only advantage of built-in hardware EQ is that you can plug many different sources into the DAC (PC, phone, TV, CD Player etc) and they'll all be EQed equally.

I have thought about it, and decided to get the FiiO K19, because I need built-in hardware parametric equalization for every device I have (apple TV, smart phone, TV, PC screen).

Now I have one question left.
Due to my need for 10 bands only, can I only set 10 bands and turn the other 21 bands off without degrading audio quality ?

 

[staticV3]

Due to my need for 10 bands only, can I only set 10 bands and turn the other 21 bands off without degrading audio quality ?

Yes.

 

[lillieNB]

Yes.

I see, thank you very much for the fast responses.