FiiO KA11 Portable DAC/Amp Review

[Jimster480]

No ADC unfortunately, see the bottom of the FAQ: https://www.jadeaudio.com/details?article_id=173&_l=en.

Thanks for the link, I was thinking of getting it for my wife if it did. She doesn't seem to use the Hiby one I originally got her.

No, it doesn't. It relies on a CS43131 dac+Savitech USB bridge, both lacking and ADC, so no mic input support.

I guess the HIBY one remains the smallest and cheapest one with ADC support.

Yes. Although, since MQA is a scam, supporting MQA might be seen by some as supporting a scam...

But the license fee has been removed today.

 

[mc.god]

I guess the HIBY one remains the smallest and cheapest one with ADC support.

Do you mean the Hiby D1? It has convenient volume buttons in a small form factor but doesn't use a CS43131 but a CS46L41 that should be limited to 1V.
An alternative can be a simple CX31993 dongle that has ADC, no hiss with efficient iems, very low battery drain and is super cheap.
If you want a CS43131, then Jcally JM20 Pro has ADC, it is TTGK based so also PEQ via Walkplay.
All these dongles cannot compete with KA11 in term of output power.

 

[Jimster480]

Do you mean the Hiby D1? It has convenient volume buttons in a small form factor but doesn't use a CS43131 but a CS46L41 that should be limited to 1V.
An alternative can be a simple CX31993 dongle that has ADC, no hiss with efficient iems, very low battery drain and is super cheap.
If you want a CS43131, then Jcally JM20 Pro has ADC, it is TTGK based so also PEQ via Walkplay.
All these dongles cannot compete with KA11 in term of output power.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP93X3H2

HIBY FC3. I sent it in here. My wife right now has a simple dongle that came with her headphones, I got the FC3 also but she doesn't use it.. she said the screen and stuff is too complicated... I personally think she just didn't care to try it.

 

[tccalvin]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP93X3H2

HIBY FC3. I sent it in here. My wife right now has a simple dongle that came with her headphones, I got the FC3 also but she doesn't use it.. she said the screen and stuff is too complicated... I personally think she just didn't care to try it.

Some people are unaffected by our audiophile sickness...

 

[Gojira_on_stage]

there is a dac with (undocumented) PEQ with the same power output of the ka11. its called the Jcally JM98 MAX

View attachment 504882

It can't store the PEQ, it is limited by the firmware. Asked about this to the brand, they said it is out of their scope.

 

[CedarX]

It can't store the PEQ, it is limited by the firmware. Asked about this to the brand, they said it is out of their scope.

JCally does not have an app, so this part is correct, “it’s out of their scope”, but the JM98 Max (I have one) is WalkPlay compatible. To confirm, I just set a custom PEQ with a high-pass filter on WalkPlay Android, it is (very) audible, and after disconnecting the JM98 Max and connecting into a laptop, I could read the PEQ configuration I just set using the WalkPlay webapp.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the button on the JM98 Max. It rolls through 3 EQ presets so, if pressed, it wipes out the PEQ settings you entered through WalkPlay.

 

[Falco]

@amirm would it be possible to get Tanchjim Space to the chart as well? And sry for the off-topic.

Anyway very respectable performance from Fiio!

@amirm I have the same question, I do not see the Tanchjim Space in any of the charts only the Luna. How would this FiiO KA11 compare to the Tanchjim Space?

I actually now own both the Tanchjim Space and the FiiO KA11 based on the great reviews here. However, I do like the form factor of the KA11 over the Tanchjim Space for travel/out of home use, hence the purchase. Great mobile sound!

 

[tccalvin]

@amirm I have the same question, I do not see the Tanchjim Space in any of the charts only the Luna. How would this FiiO KA11 compare to the Tanchjim Space?

I actually now own both the Tanchjim Space and the FiiO KA11 based on the great reviews here. However, I do like the form factor of the KA11 over the Tanchjim Space for travel/out of home use, hence the purchase. Great mobile sound!

Uhh... the review is right here?

They're about the same. They trade (very light) blows here and there.

TANCHJIM Space Portable Headphone Adapter Review

This is a review, listening test and detailed measurements of the TANCHJIM Space portable DAC and balanced headphone adapter. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $90. I like the transparent window so that you can see the insides. There is an LED that lights up there when you reach...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[ParadisDruid]

Yup, but an Apple dongle has worse performance overall even with DRE enabled. Even after taking a hit to SINAD, I think the KA11 would beat it.

I'll chime in to say that while yes, the Apple dongle measures worse, it has VERY low power consumption, doesn't have that weird volume fade-in on playback start and, for those who care, the ADC is fairly strong for such a tiny and low-power draw device. At the very least it's WAY better than the ADC on the HiBy FC3.

 

[CedarX]

the ADC is fairly strong for such a tiny and low-power draw device. At the very least it's WAY better than the ADC on the HiBy FC3.

What do you mean by “strong ADC”? Is it about mic. bias?
In which way is the ADC “way better”? Features? Measurements?

 

[ParadisDruid]

What do you mean by “strong ADC”? Is it about mic. bias?
In which way is the ADC “way better”? Features? Measurements?

It's been measured by a member of this very forum at ~1.88V, which is about double of what the ES9081ACPro on the HiBy (1V) does, acording to the product brief (Unless I'm just confused on what I'm talking about). This is all in accordance to my own anecdotal experience using both devices on Windows during voice calls - The Apple Dongle (USA ver.) was noticeably louder and clearer from the mic input (a Dayton Audio iMM-6) at the same volume level on both the OS and software.
Check this post for some extra details.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-interface-dac-adc-for-adc-performance.54677/

If I'm wrong on anything I've described, please feel free to correct as needed.

Edit: Oh just so avoid any confusion, I'm talking specifically about the ADC part of the device.

 

[andreaspujihar]

Can use ka11 firmware in jcally jm20 max?

 

[Capilander88]

Can use ka11 firmware in jcally jm20 max?

Yes, you can. However, I’d advise against trying it, contrary to what other users have suggested.

If you flash the KA11 firmware onto the JM20 Max, you’ll get channel imbalance during volume adjustment (which can be fixed with a flag in UAPP), an annoying fade-in effect at the start of tracks (also present on macOS) that doesn’t exist with the original firmware, and some volume control issues on Windows.

 

[Falco]

Uhh... the review is right here?

They're about the same. They trade (very light) blows here and there.

TANCHJIM Space Portable Headphone Adapter Review

This is a review, listening test and detailed measurements of the TANCHJIM Space portable DAC and balanced headphone adapter. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $90. I like the transparent window so that you can see the insides. There is an LED that lights up there when you reach...

www.audiosciencereview.com

yeah I know and I read it (and purchased it).

But as it's tested, it would be nice to see it back in the overviews just for reference. It's not a must but a nice to have.

 

[lini]

It would work fine.

Hmmm - are you sure/did you try? Because on the German FiiO Shop there's a big notice in red, that the KA11 will turn on, as soon as one connects headphones (*) - which would raise the question, whether typical line input impedances would already be sufficiently low for the KA11 to turn on.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

*) See there: https://fiio-shop.de/FiiO-KA11/HL02308.4

 

[Grenadine]

I bought one of these to use with my iphone 17 pro. the oem headphone amp is pretty decent, subjectively speaking, i couldn't tell the difference with or without it using some Linsoul 7hz timeless. i really tried to find differences. For fun I tried the fiio with my arya v3 stealth's and that's where I could tell the extra power was needed. even without it, the iphone's amp drove the arya's decently well. definitely a cool little device. i would be curious to know how the different year iphone internal headphone amps stack up against each other, ie 2011 vs 2017.

Edit: I learned from other users that it was not actually my iphone's amp, but the DAC/AMP that is built into my Lertosen usb-c to 3.5mm dongle. I thought it was just a cable adapter. The take away from this is that the Fiio KA11 seemed to have more headroom powering my Arya's than the Lertosen

 

[CedarX]

even without it, the iphone's amp drove the arya's decently well.

iPhones haven’t had an audio port (and amp.) in a long time if I’m not mistaken…
Which amp. are you talking about???

 

[Grenadine]

iPhones haven’t had an audio port (and amp.) in a long time if I’m not mistaken…
Which amp. are you talking about???

what was powering my speakers then?! when i wasn't using the fiio dongle, i used a standard usb c to 3.5mm cable and good quality sound was coming out.

 

[IsaacOscar]

what was powering my speakers then?! when i wasn't using the fiio dongle, i used a standard usb c to 3.5mm cable and good quality sound was coming out.

The amp inside the USB-C cable (which itself is powered by the iPhone)

EDIT: unless it's using the old "Analog Audio Adapter Accessory Mode" (in which case the DAC & AMP are provided by the phone) but very few devices support that...

 

[Grenadine]

the

The amp inside the USB-C cable (which itself is powered by the iPhone)

EDIT: unless it's using the old "Analog Audio Adapter Accessory Mode" (in which case the DAC & AMP are provided by the phone) but very few devices support that...

the usb c cable im using does not mention any amplifier included. i'm confused. i get that fiio one DOES have DAC and amp, but the other cable im referring does not claim to amplify the sound, only dac.