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Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Hello everyone, we are Kaiboer, an audio company from China.
- Thread starter Kaiboer Audio
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OP
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- #4
Thank you for your interest. Here are the detailed specifications of the Kaiboer DMP-K8 PRO.
Product: Digital Music Player and DAC (no built-in headphone amplifier or speaker amplifier, designed as a digital source for external systems)
DAC: Dual ESS ES9039PRO (flagship SABRE series, two chips in balanced configuration)
Audio processor: XMOS XU316, 3rd generation, 16-core
Op-amp stage: 8x Kaiboer in-house OPA1612
Power supply: Sealed ring transformer + switching power supply, with separate independent power rails for the streaming section and DAC section
Chassis: Full aluminum, CNC machined, sandblasted finish, black
Display: 7.8-inch FHD multi-touch, 1080x1920, landscape orientation
OS: PURE OS, based on Android 14
CPU: RK3568 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55, 2.0GHz
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Internal storage: 64GB eMMC
Storage expansion:
M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD, up to 8TB
2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD bay, up to 14TB
TF card slot
Network:
Wired: RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet (1000/100/10Mbps)
Wireless: Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (2.4GHz/5GHz)
USB ports:
USB 3.0 x2: external storage and USB audio output
USB-C: audio output, OTG file transfer, external storage
USB-B: USB audio input, supports DSD512 Native and PCM 768kHz/32bit
Audio inputs:
USB-B (DSD512 Native, PCM 768kHz/32bit)
Network streaming
Audio outputs:
XLR balanced: 4.5Vrms, THD+N <0.00006% at 1kHz (-125dB), SNR 135dB, crosstalk -125dB, DNR 135dB, frequency response 20-20kHz (+/-0.07dB)
RCA unbalanced: 2.5Vrms, THD+N <0.0001% at 1kHz (-118dB), SNR 132dB, crosstalk -122dB, DNR 132dB, frequency response 20-20kHz (+/-0.06dB)
HDMI audio: PCM 24bit/192kHz, DSD via D2P/DoP
Optical: PCM 24bit/192kHz, DSD via D2P/DoP
USB Audio out (USB-A and USB-C): PCM 32bit/768kHz, DSD512 via D2P/DoP/Native
HDMI video: 4K60Hz, supports external touchscreen connection (requires USB cable to player)
Supported formats:
DSD: DSD64 through DSD512 (DSF/DFF/ISO-DSD/ISO DST)
PCM: WAV/FLAC/AIFF/ALAC/MP3/MP2/AIF, up to 768kHz/32bit
DXD: up to 768kHz/32bit
APE: 44.1kHz to 768kHz (16-32bit)
MQA: supported
Streaming protocols: Roon Ready, Tidal Connect, AirPlay, DLNA, UPnP, Qplay
Installable streaming apps: Apple Music, TIDAL, Amazon Music, QQ Music, NetEase Cloud Music, and others. Global SRC bypass for bit-perfect original sample rate output. Supports USB exclusive output mode.
File management: Auto-scan music files, categorize by album/artist/genre, custom playlists, CUE sheet support with track splitting and seek, embedded/external cover art, lyrics display, real-time sample rate and bit depth display.
Network storage: NFS, SMB, NAS, WebDAV
Remote control: Kaiboer Home app for iOS, Android, and Windows
Power: AC 110-120V or 220-240V (hardware voltage switch on bottom), 50/60Hz. Power consumption 20W.
Dimensions: 320 x 220 x 120mm
No Bluetooth, no headphone output, no built-in power amplifier. This is a pure digital source component designed to feed an external DAC, preamp, or integrated amplifier via XLR, RCA, USB, HDMI, or optical.
Please feel free to ask any further technical questions.
OP
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- #5
Thank you for the feedback. Our brand name Kaiboer (开博尔) means "exploring premium audio" in Chinese, established in 2007. We understand the visual similarity concern and are working on refreshing our brand identity.Maybe try to have a logo different from KEF for a start
To clarify, our product category is completely different from KEF. KEF is a loudspeaker manufacturer. Kaiboer focuses on digital source components — network streamers, DACs, headphone amplifiers, and integrated audio systems. Our core products use ESS SABRE ES9039PRO and ES9039Q2M DAC chips, XMOS XU316 audio processors, and our own in-house designed op-amp modules. We do not make speakers. Our products sit before the speaker in the audio chain, not at the speaker end.
We appreciate the input on the logo and will take it into consideration.
Retail price? Any actual measurements?
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- #7
Thank you for asking. Retail price is $1,499 USD.
| Measurement | XLR Output | RCA Output |
|---|---|---|
| THD+N @ 1kHz | <0.00006% (-125dB) | <0.0001% (-118dB) |
| SNR (A-weighted) | 135dB | 132dB |
| Dynamic Range | 135dB | 132dB |
| Frequency Response | 20-20kHz (±0.07dB) | 20-20kHz (±0.06dB) |
| Crosstalk | -125dB | -122dB |
| Output Level | 4.5Vrms | 2.5Vrms |
| Noise Floor | <1.4µVrms | <1.2µVrms |
What makes it worth the price?
OP
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- #9
| DAC | Dual ESS ES9039PRO. This is ESS Technology's flagship SABRE series chip, currently used in reference-level DACs from brands like Holo Audio, Denafrips, and Eversolo. Two chips in balanced configuration, not a single chip. The ES9039PRO alone retails for significantly more than the ES9038Q2M or ES9039Q2M used in lower-tier products. |
| Audio processor | XMOS XU316, 3rd generation 16-core. Handles USB audio input up to DSD512 Native and PCM 768kHz/32bit. This is the current flagship XMOS USB audio chip. |
| Op-amp stage | 8x in-house designed OPA1612 modules. This is not a stock op-amp configuration. We designed custom discrete op-amp modules based on the OPA1612 architecture, with 8 channels for fully balanced I/V conversion and output staging. |
| Power supply | Sealed ring transformer plus switching power supply, with completely independent power rails for the streaming section and DAC section. The DAC power supply is isolated from the CPU and network circuitry. This dual independent power supply design is typically found in products at $3,000 and above. |
| Storage | Dual storage bays. M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD up to 8TB plus 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD bay up to 14TB. This allows massive local music libraries without relying on network storage. Most streamers at this price point offer one storage option or none. |
| Display | 7.8-inch FHD multi-touch display (1080x1920). Most DACs and streamers in this range have no display, a small OLED, or at best a 4-5 inch screen. The K8 PRO uses a tablet-grade panel for full graphical interface control. |
| Chassis | Full aluminum, CNC machined, sandblasted finish. 320x220x120mm. The chassis size and weight are comparable to separates from established audiophile brands. |
| Connectivity | XLR balanced (4.5Vrms, 135dB SNR), RCA unbalanced (2.5Vrms, 132dB SNR), USB audio out (DSD512, PCM 768kHz), HDMI audio (24/192), optical (24/192), Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, USB-B input, USB-C OTG. This is a full set of inputs and outputs that covers essentially every use case. |
| Streaming | Roon Ready, Tidal Connect, AirPlay, DLNA, UPnP, Qplay. Plus installable apps for Apple Music, TIDAL, Amazon Music with global SRC bypass for bit-perfect output. The OS is based on Android 14 with 8GB DDR4 RAM and 64GB eMMC, which is significantly more processing headroom than most streamers that use 1-2GB RAM. |
OP
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- #10
It is primarily a network streamer and DAC integrated in one unit.
Yeah, but why is it $1500 for something so basic?
The company's posting multiple threads and were all locked. Not sure what's up.
OP
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- #14
We have been making audio products since 2007.
We offer a two-year warranty. If any issue arises, we have a dedicated return and repair team. We have our own hardware and software engineers, and our own manufacturing facility.
Regarding the hardware, we use dual ES9039PRO chips and a 7.8-inch multi-touch display. The $1,499 price is our global unified retail price, not a regional markup.
OP
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- #15
We sincerely apologize for the confusion. ASR policy allows one account per audio company. A new colleague on our team was unaware that the company had already registered, and created an additional account by mistake. The previous account has been discontinued. This account is now the sole official Kaiboer account on ASR.
Meh, being around for a few years isn't so important, but maybe some explanation/examples of your previous products could be enlightening. Just seems $1500 for that unit is excessively priced for its feature set...of course, IMHO.
OP
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- #17
Ha ha, we do indeed have that intention. We hope Amir can test our product. It would be an honor for us. We have only recently joined, so we are still familiarizing ourselves with the culture and rules of the ASR community.
Good, hope you continue and are successful with your claims and pricing !
Pricing seems , not cheap not insane either ? If the build quality supports it .
Missing features for me to bite .
LMS support .
Analog input .
Digital input spdiff and optical .
PEQ and room correction.
Subwoofer output and crossover.
eARC hdmi input.
Digital out spdiff and optical .
Unecessary features IMO .
HDMI audio out with DoP ? Is this an I2S feature. For esoteric DAC’s
USB audio out .
The DAC in your product seems good enough for all purposes, why cater for external ones .
The purpose of digital out for me is to connect to digital speakers
It seems like a WiiM Ultra Pre best you regarding features, your product seems to have analog XLR out and slightly better analog out performance .
Good luck , it migth find buyouts with another feature set in mind .
Send one in for independent measurements
Missing features for me to bite .
LMS support .
Analog input .
Digital input spdiff and optical .
PEQ and room correction.
Subwoofer output and crossover.
eARC hdmi input.
Digital out spdiff and optical .
Unecessary features IMO .
HDMI audio out with DoP ? Is this an I2S feature. For esoteric DAC’s
USB audio out .
The DAC in your product seems good enough for all purposes, why cater for external ones .
The purpose of digital out for me is to connect to digital speakers
It seems like a WiiM Ultra Pre best you regarding features, your product seems to have analog XLR out and slightly better analog out performance .
Good luck , it migth find buyouts with another feature set in mind .
Send one in for independent measurements
It looks quite good and can display VU meters
