VientoB
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Has anyone tested or tried this one? It's supposed to be 200mW per channel at 32 ohms and costs about $30 which makes it the most powerful DACC dongle at its price.
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FIIO KA11 DAC dongle
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staticV3
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Looks like a basic cs43131 implementation, so that 200mW at 32Ω is likely combined (L+R)
Edit:
This says per channel, but I remain doubtful:
Edit:
This says per channel, but I remain doubtful:
oleg87
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FiiO's block diagram on their AliExpress listing shows the cs43131 is buffered by an opamp.
KomodoDragon
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I have ordered the KA11, but I haven’t received it yet.
Some online commenters seem to have issues with KA11. Cables going bad quickly on the go, and even units dying after a few weeks. The dying may be due to small dongle heating up very quickly in use.
After more consideration, I probably should have dropped more money on Moondrop Dawn Pro (50 usd) with Fiio LT-LT2 cable (about 20 usd).
I need lightning for my older Apple devices, and the KA11 Lightning version doesn’t even support app control.
If you don’t need Lightning, then I would recommend getting a more durable dac than KA11.
If you need Lightning, are you sure the Apple headphone dongle (about 10usd) isn’t enough for you? It wasn’t good enough for me, though.
Some online commenters seem to have issues with KA11. Cables going bad quickly on the go, and even units dying after a few weeks. The dying may be due to small dongle heating up very quickly in use.
After more consideration, I probably should have dropped more money on Moondrop Dawn Pro (50 usd) with Fiio LT-LT2 cable (about 20 usd).
I need lightning for my older Apple devices, and the KA11 Lightning version doesn’t even support app control.
If you don’t need Lightning, then I would recommend getting a more durable dac than KA11.
If you need Lightning, are you sure the Apple headphone dongle (about 10usd) isn’t enough for you? It wasn’t good enough for me, though.
police4896
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I just got the KA11, considering returning it. It would randomly get very soft then 0.3 seconds later return to full volume. I think it might be a QC issue? But I suspect it could be a driver issue, since it happens on both of my laptops usbc ports, but does not happen on my roommates macbook. In terms of what is connected, I tested my hd6xx and truthear nova iems, happens with both.
(I messed with my laptops drivers in an effort to remove bloat, I uninstalled everything related to nahimic in settings and control panel, then uninstalled a bunch of nahimic devices in device manager, then reinstalled realtek drivers from my laptop manufacturer (lenovo), which included the nahimic stuff). And also my other dongle dac, a jcally jm20, is also experiencing issues on my laptop but the flickering is instantaneous rather than taking 0.3 seconds to come back. However I tried a few demo dacs and none of them had this issue.
So sorry for the rant and the side quest. But to actually contribute and add information, it does get louder than my jm20 (which is cs43131 only) on the same windows volume setting which probably means there is indeed an op amp and it is doing something
(I messed with my laptops drivers in an effort to remove bloat, I uninstalled everything related to nahimic in settings and control panel, then uninstalled a bunch of nahimic devices in device manager, then reinstalled realtek drivers from my laptop manufacturer (lenovo), which included the nahimic stuff). And also my other dongle dac, a jcally jm20, is also experiencing issues on my laptop but the flickering is instantaneous rather than taking 0.3 seconds to come back. However I tried a few demo dacs and none of them had this issue.
So sorry for the rant and the side quest. But to actually contribute and add information, it does get louder than my jm20 (which is cs43131 only) on the same windows volume setting which probably means there is indeed an op amp and it is doing something
By specs of 200 mW @32, if it's for each channel it should be able to output full 2.5 V on a 32 ohm load. A quick test could be measuring with a multimeter at line level load, playing a 0 dbFS test file and ensuring it is set in high gain mode. If it gives standard 2 V i doubt it can give more volts when loaded.
The best way would be having a 30 ohm resistor and check output voltage directly when loaded with such resistor (with a 20 ohm resistor one can approximate the 16 ohm performance, where it claims to give full 2 V for 245 mW.)
The best way would be having a 30 ohm resistor and check output voltage directly when loaded with such resistor (with a 20 ohm resistor one can approximate the 16 ohm performance, where it claims to give full 2 V for 245 mW.)
staticV3
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Very useful tool for tests like these:
Had it on my wishlist for a long time and I don't know why I still didn't get it, surely much better than messing around with flying resistors and alligator clips
Interesting measurement, 2-3 db of deviation is not a big deal and I don't remember this test made for other products, so we can't actually know if it's something normal.
Anyway those SINAD values under a 50R load are pretty good, just like the 150 mW of power.
KomodoDragon
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I got mine but I have not used it very much.
I need this type of dongle in the evening when I’m reading in bed. If I read about some artist or some song, I grab my Iphone and headphones with KA11 to check quickly on Qobuz or YouTube what they write about.
I can’t do reviews, but I think KA11 sounds different in stereo, than other dac I bought for TV with the same CS chip. I was wondering if Fiio plays with stereo image to give a more lively impression than their competition. Both devices sound the same with mono signal.
Overall I’m satisfied with my purchase. I would buy again for 30€. I don’t use this for anything critical. It looks more like a lifestyle toy, than a tool built to serve many years.
I need this type of dongle in the evening when I’m reading in bed. If I read about some artist or some song, I grab my Iphone and headphones with KA11 to check quickly on Qobuz or YouTube what they write about.
I can’t do reviews, but I think KA11 sounds different in stereo, than other dac I bought for TV with the same CS chip. I was wondering if Fiio plays with stereo image to give a more lively impression than their competition. Both devices sound the same with mono signal.
Overall I’m satisfied with my purchase. I would buy again for 30€. I don’t use this for anything critical. It looks more like a lifestyle toy, than a tool built to serve many years.
johny_2000
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I need to do the same with my FiiO KA17 dongle. It looks like the specs on the FiiO website are overstated, despite the AP graphs they provide. Thanks for the tip about the drift in results when it gets warm.
johny_2000
Addicted to Fun and Learning
I'm trying to understand the FiiO testing conditions: USB DAC, -8dB sinusoidal signal, 20Hz-20kHz, High-performance high gain, 4.4mm BAL headphone out (32Ω load).
Does this mean that the dongle volume is set to maximum and the signal generator (eg REW or AP) is set to a digital volume of -8 dBFS?
Does this mean that the dongle volume is set to maximum and the signal generator (eg REW or AP) is set to a digital volume of -8 dBFS?
Usually, the reduction in signal amplitude from the REW or on the device is the same
johny_2000
Addicted to Fun and Learning
FiiO KA17
I only have a 30 Ohm dummy load, so my measurements show that the best THD+N is -109 dB (0.00034%) at -12 dBFS, which is about 45 mW of output power.
This is also equivalent to 0 dBFS and a volume of 36 (out of 60) on the device itself.
I only have a 30 Ohm dummy load, so my measurements show that the best THD+N is -109 dB (0.00034%) at -12 dBFS, which is about 45 mW of output power.
This is also equivalent to 0 dBFS and a volume of 36 (out of 60) on the device itself.
HissingFree
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I had the KA11 and it does indeed have huge power output, I used a multimeter and a resistor and I got 2.52v with a 47ohm resistor. Noticed zero hissing with sensitive iem, whereas I can hear hissing with integrated laptop jack and with Jcally JM6 pro.
But, after like a month or so it would not reproduce audio, only once in a while and then it would turn off again, the device was being detected in windows and in the android app, but that's it, no audio at all. Maybe defective, maybe too much power for such little device, who knows, I got a refund and never tried another one.
The reason it is so powerful is because it uses SGM8262 opamp, it is not your standard CS43131 without dedicated opamp. I have also seen Jcally JM20 max on Aliexpress that claims to also be CS43131 + SGM8262, probably a very similar device, would be interesting to also test it, see if it is less buggy.
Not all headphones have balanced output, so having more power to unbalanced output is very useful, I think there needs to be improvement to unbalanced output power in the portable dac/amp market, this combo seems to be the way to go, only in a bigger package to manage heat better, something like Fiio KA13, maybe a bit smaller, without being dual chips.
But, after like a month or so it would not reproduce audio, only once in a while and then it would turn off again, the device was being detected in windows and in the android app, but that's it, no audio at all. Maybe defective, maybe too much power for such little device, who knows, I got a refund and never tried another one.
The reason it is so powerful is because it uses SGM8262 opamp, it is not your standard CS43131 without dedicated opamp. I have also seen Jcally JM20 max on Aliexpress that claims to also be CS43131 + SGM8262, probably a very similar device, would be interesting to also test it, see if it is less buggy.
Not all headphones have balanced output, so having more power to unbalanced output is very useful, I think there needs to be improvement to unbalanced output power in the portable dac/amp market, this combo seems to be the way to go, only in a bigger package to manage heat better, something like Fiio KA13, maybe a bit smaller, without being dual chips.
Last edited:
Just got KA11, firmware 0.08 out of the box, warm during operation - its normal for powerful small dongles, IMO nothing to worry about. No problems with operation so far on Win11, without installing any drivers. This tiny little thing outputs up to 2.6V (!!!) as a line out (high impedances) 100% volume to external amplifier. Voltage output, changing volume in Win11, goes like this: 100% 2.61V, 90% 2.04V, 80% 1.84V, 70% 1.43V, 60% 1.01V. I do not know any other dongle which outputs 2.6V from SE out, even 2.4V is rare thing (Onix XI1). I hope that distortion is tamed well, when above 2.0V.
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