“I feel synchronized with the reality of time” is such a perfect assessment of that experience. Especially growing up with that sound, I understand!Awesome video 🙌🏾
Daymn.... this is what product reviews should be like. Keep up the good work! One small niggle... UAC1 and UAC2 .... Some devices like playstation and older computers do not support UAC2 so you have no choice but UAC1. In this case the device might not recognize the DAC if it's set to UAC2.
Just placed the order and saw your video afterwards :) Excellent review! Really appreciate the explanation from an engineer’s perspective 🙏🏻 Question… will this DAC pair well with OTL tube amps?
Thank you for the review! As I am considering a dedicated Headphone DAC/ Amp over using the HP output on my AVR. Just bought headphones after trying about 40 over 3 days. I Can’t Help it - Micheal Jackson (opening Bass notes for texture and the subtleties of breaths/ lip smack/ echo between words) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon (opening 15 sec for the how well the drums sound like they fill a room) Boonghusa (Polo & Pan Remix) - Limousine (This song layers the bass line at 0:53 very unusual. On a good set up it should feel like rhythmic punches of bass that are overlaid by a heavy swell of air pressure. If your listening position is directly in the phase line of a medium to powerful subwoofer you will understand what I mean.) At this point it should only be a few minutes tops to see If it passes the test tracks and if I still like a headphone I start jumping around in my music catalog over different genres. That whole process takes just a few minutes per headphone to see the kind of impression the equipment left in memory.
Hey mate, nice review! Long pressing the knob (~5 sec) turns the device on/off, there is no dedicated power button but the interface gives full control. Double tapping the power knob also gives a quick switch between line output and headphone output. My favourite music for testing are: Paranoid Android - Radiohead, Drive - Incubus, Happy Returns - Steven Wilson, Stan - Eminem, Main Theme from Interstellar and the High Res remasters of Dark Side of The Moon and Led Zeppelin IV!
Got mine a few days ago. It has some kind of remarkable characteristic that's hard to explain? Like music just feels more "real" which sounds ridiculous?
The R2R is not the last word in bass detail, it does lack a little pinpoint definition in the low frequency's BUT the vocals are very natural sounding and the treble is easy on the ears and that's probably the attractive quality of the R2R. I have both of the Fiio dacs, K11 DS and K11 R2R and the R2R vocals are more human, less digital but compare the R2R to the dac in my SMSL AO-300 (Cirrus Logic CS43131) and it cannot match the definition of the low frequency's. I would highly recommend the SMSL AO-300 to anyone looking for a very good all in one unit with exceptional sound quality and power.
@@theonlyegg ….very flexible! The presets are very well tuned imo. The ‘Tone’ leaves everything up to you so you can’t lose. Better than any tone control on any current £500+ class A/b amp, far better, much more accurate to the actual frequency being tuned rather than the smear that most amps will give you under £1000, could not say what goes on above that price.
I tried the AO300, its performance & functionality were perfect but the sound quality was no match for my Panasonic DVDA player & NAD amp, so after two weeks listening to audiophile CDs I returned it.
Well how do you get around a usb connection to the audio source then if its a PC or phone? Guess you are gonna have to suck it up and deal with distortion.
Of course I gave you my like! Very impressive review of this interesting DAC. I was aware of this device a few days ago. Is this a new launching from Fiio this 2024? Another thing I heard about is that cannot do native DSD. Saludos desde Buenos Aires hermano Brasileño!
¡Hola, hermano! Yes, it's a recent Fiio launch. And it seems to be selling well because retailers' delivery times are always changing. It does play DSD music, but it transforms the DSD information to be played at a frequency much lower than the DSD standard, which needs some MHz to be played directly.
Tiro o chapéu pra tua dedicação na produção desse vídeo. 👍 Tô com esse amp há 1 mês e continuo procurando o tal "som R2R". 😂 Me dá uma preguiça danada só de pensar em "volume matching" e fazer um A/B direto com outro DAC. De todo o modo, não posso me queixar -- pois pelo pacote -- é um baita ampzinho de mesa e até agora não presenciei nada de errado nele.
Obrigado Fabio! A ideia deste canal é ter videos sempre nesse nível. Quanto à comparação de DACs, a diferença mais perceptível vai ser nas Sub-baixas e baixas frequências 😉
@@tapedac I think that perhaps you're talking about comparing Sigma Delta Dacs to each other? But comparing them to an R2R DAC, would the noticeable difference not be the rolled off highs, as you mention in your measurements? Thanks for the detailed review.
First of all, thanks for the great review. I wanted to ask if it makes sense to connect the IFI iPower X Low Noise Power Supply AC/DC Adapter to the fiio K11 R2R, does that increase the sound quality? What do you think?
Hi i am looking for a desktop dac under £200 . I currently have an ifi zen dac mk1 . Any recomendations on a natural ,analogue sounding dac . Thank you kindly I
Try to get a CD player with PCM-61 or PCM-63, and you will hear the R2R the way it supposed to sound. Better, if you can find an older player with PCM1704-K, that's amazing sounding. Denon DVD-6000 has two of them and has a digital input to be used as a DAC.
@tapedac Yes, that was probably my first R2R DAC that I heard. Before that I was in the camp "Dynamic Range and THD+N is all you need to know about a DAC" and "They all sound the same". IMO the Burr Brown (now TI) chips are a step above the Phillips one.
My NAD C-540 had PCM1704 DACs, it sounded very nice. After ten years hard use the laser failed & the player started skipping. It cost $200 to repair so I moved on. For the past ten years I've been using a Panasonic DVD-A110 that has DVDA DACs comparable to the C-540. I bought a spare A110 in case my main player fails. Cheers!
Bought a k11 r2r, paired it with an also recently purchased Hfiman Sundara and I'm quite disappointed. Using Deezer lossless and Flacs for music yet I sense much distortion in the highs and it just sounds so grainy. I've an old KA3 dongle, also from Fiio and even that sounds warmer and cleaner. Anyway, my question, should anyone have any experience wit this combo is: have I perhaps received a defective product, be it headphone or DAC, or do they just work this poorly together?
Hi, you also need to test this DAC with this headphone using an external amplifier. The problem may lie in the combination of the K11's integrated amplifier and this headphone. I don't have a magnetic planar headphone to compare it with. As soon as I do, I'll make a video about it.
Another try is to use a balanced cable to get more power from the K11 R2R. Here is an option if you haven't a balanced cable yet: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dl4YjnN
Always best to wait for the excitement to die down. I have the R2R and personally I would not rate it as high as 90% of you tube and online reviewers have. My SMSL AO-300 is far more capable of recovering low end detail for a start but I have to say I do like the vocal reproduction of the K11 R2R.
@@Panslapper Vocal reproduction was indeed decent for the price but it was heavily counterbalanced, with the Sundaras, by a noticeable lack of bass and the aforementioned distortion issue on higher frequencies. I've since tested the headphones on a proper integrated amp with a decent headphone out socket and they sound very well with pretty impressive bass for an open headset, so I know that the issue was indeed the K11, I managed to return it for a full refund and just ordered a Hifiman EF500 instead. Since I can't realistically test the products before buying them, basic dummy science suggests that a higher class device from the same company as my headphones might pair better. Just waiting on delivery now...
I've also had some clipping and distortion issues with this DAC. I'm running it into my xduoo t-22 and I tried it with a fiio k9 pro. Ive tried it on both my sundara's and focal azurys. I'm considering returning the device.
my r2r dac modules sound more magical, deep soundstage,micro details. but the power supplys cost around 1K.(plus the regenerative power)Fiio do the job very very good!!!im just listen 300 hours , and i like it.For that price?OMG!!!
Like the analytical stuff. Great , in depth look at the item - thanks! So the 'BIG problem' is that the K11 R2R might not reproduce higher frequencies in a consistent and pleasing way, which is particularly aparrent with the background hiss on Garoros but then aren't you also saying that in this situation, neither can DS DACS? But then R2R can be corrected to get around that simply by upping the high frequencies on an equaliser. Would the other DS DACs not be able to correct in the same way? Question: would this pair well with Aune AR5000s?
This fiio r2r dac has an RCA output port and a headphone output port. I want to listen to music, connect the jack wire to the RCA port down to the amplifiers, sing karaoke at the headphone output port, connect the jack wire to the mixer then connect it down to the amplifiers, is this setup ok?
I want the RCA output port to connect to the amplifier to listen to music, and the 3 coxial output ports and output 6.5 or 3.5 to connect to the mixer down to the amplifier to sing karaoke.
Thank you for this exzellent review. I am satisfied with the fiio K11 R2R and bought the 12V Super Capacitor Power Filter Module. But I can't start th DAC with it anymore. There is only a short sign on the display. Is ther any trick to start the DAC?
Oh, you noticed it faster than my response 😄 But yes, even with “weak” 12V adapters that supercap buffer won’t work properly. It’s recommended at least 2A.
I can tell you about that item after checking the specs: it has an “OK”sigma-delta chip DAC (not so good, not too bad), but the problem is the amplifier: less than 150mW for 32Ohms is too weak for a Headphone Amplifier. The Fiio K11 version (without R2R) would be a better investment.
Qudelix 5k has a battery. Nice review. This is the least expensive R2R DAC/amp available. Driving $1100-1500 USD headphones with $160 USD DAC/amp? Not sure. Unless you are under 40 years old or a dog almost no one can hear 16 kh anymore. Also...not to nitpick but the type of DS chip used is only one part of how a DAC will sound. Quality of parts, analog output stage, etc.
Dave, I mentioned the dog's hearing when recording the video, but I cut it off while editing it because I spent almost two minutes talking about it. 🤣 I said something like this: "People, a dog can hear at almost 45kHz. So if your dog runs away when you listen to music, something is wrong with your gear (at least in the high frequencies)."
I’m actually selling my mojo 2 to purchase this unit. I don’t use the headphone out, I use it as a line out to external headphone amplifier. I just find it a little too clean. It’s a great sound, don’t get me wrong but after owning it for about a year now I just find it too clinical. Still, it’s noticeably better sounding than any delta sigma dac I’ve heard thus far.
Got it on my secondary speaker system on a musical Fidelity A1 clone. That Dac marries very well with a more detailed amp (highs). I have a Draco with reclocker on i2s for my main system and I'd say 8x more money for more definition in the highs makes me wonder if the higher end r2r DAC is worth it.😮 😢
No, no. There are two different DACs from Fiio with the same chassis and similar names: "K11" (Sigma Delta chip) and this one in the video "K11 R2R" (that uses a lot of discrete components instead a integrated chip). Thanks a lot ;)
Hello thank you O brigqdo for this review (i come to it over qnd over again) Does anyone here have issues with Idle setting? as in it will not turn off .... like ever when left on and idle... I hope to find if a firmware update would resolve this but I dont know how that would happen? The fiio k11 doesnt connect to wifi> Do i connect it via USB to a computer and hope a plug and play option will pop up and ask me to upgrade the software? many thanks
Hi! Thx for video. I got the K11 and i know everybody has different hearing and liking. Can you suggest me what is the best filter for using it? 1) Minimum phase fast roll-off filter 2) Fast roll-off, Phase-compensated filter 3) Minimum phase slow roll-off filter 4) Slow roll-off, Phase-compensated filter 5) Wideband flatness filter 6) Non over-sampling filter
Option 3 is the most “natural” filter and will be the best option for most types of music. Option 1 or 2 may be the best transient response for electronic music and some new Pop music because those genres contain many “digital” sounds.
I just used that song with "Hiss noise" because the Hiss is at a volume level below most parts of the music. That Hiss is over the whole frequency range. Because of that, some Sigma Delta DAC Chips will try to filter the song, but the filtering will not remove only the hiss. A DAC that filters our music is not what we want. That was the reason for the test.
I had one exactly like that. It worked well for just two years, and I never got around to fixing it. But it was the first amazing noise cancelling MP3 player I heard.
Great review dude. I have a fiio ka17 dongle which has a separate isolated usb C in for power only. This allows you to run a clean usb supply. The ka17 is surprisingly powerful. Check it out. It might make a good review vid for you xx
AHHHHHHHHHH esse sotaque não me engana vc é Brasileiro!!🤣🤣🤣 Eu uso um Fiio Q11 com um Hifiman 400se ,que foi minha entrada no High end Audio , e estava entre um Topping Dx3 ,o K11 e Fiio BRT17 para upgrade , Agora com a sua explicação altamente técnica , e eu fui aluno de eletrônica, eu estou menos perdido . Pelo que vc explicou a minha ideia de usar um dongle BRT17 para usar no meu celular e PC talvez de certo ,porque ele tem uma porta Usb dedicada para alimentação , teoricamente usando uma fonte limpa na alimentação Usb deve ficar bom ,eu ainda não entendo como alguém consegue usar os 1130mw num headfone , eu não consigo usar nem a metade da penitência do meu Fiio Q11 ,com o meu Hifiman 400se que é a versão não steath que possui tem impedância mais alta ,e uma sensibilidade horrível de 98 se eu não me engano. Curioso que eu tinha uma placa de som que eu guardei por anos aqui uma Xonar essence da Asus , mesmo sendo antiga e eu vi uns comentários que ela tem um problema no casamento de impedância de saída com este Hifimam ,ela destruiu o Q11 da mais Bass e uma espacialidade muito melhor . Ja o Q11 fica maravilhoso no meu celular com o dolby Atmos que teoricamente era para não funcionar direito com o Hifiman pq planar e dolby não combina...... vai entender ... Áudio é muito complicado quando vc combina o dac amp e fone e da certo é de dar graças a deus!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sim, em termos eletrônicos (sem considerar o headphone em si) o amplificador do DAC é o que faz maior diferença no som. Existem diversas possibilidades de circuito amplificador, sendo os Circuitos tipo “Classe A” os melhores. Mas para eles funcionarem perfeitamente, precisam de muita potência e esquentam muito.
Thank you for the review and the explanation on R2R as I had not heard it explained. I have been looking at getting the original K11 for IEM use (IE600) for my desktop and had read that the R2R version was coming out. In your opinion would there be any difference between the 2 and which would you say would be ideal. I do not know too much about audio gear so it is all a bit confusing.
As a K11 owner I tried the R2R version at London CanJam last July. And for music listening the K11 R2R is on par with £500/£600 sigma-delta DACs in terms of dynamics and quality. The regular K11 is too cold and analytic and misses a lot of quality around bass frequency reproduction and mid-bass dynamics (which is typical of the Cirrus Logic chip that uses). I would suggest you to try the K11 R2R unless your main focus is gaming, where the sound might feel congested with the R2R.
I think @or1on89 (🙃) already responded to you. So, if you equalize the K11 R2R as I described in the video, you can get a sound more balanced than the sound of any Sigma-Delta Chip. Regarding IEM phones, I need to make a video about them because there is a "small universe" of specific technologies and physics related to them.
Great review format. The video editing, back and forth, cut, cut, was disturbing, however. I have a long attention span, the result of decades of practice. I had to look away.
Thank you for your feedbacks and for that point related to the edition. I’m still making changes in the style to understand the best way to show the content. I will take care of it in the next videos 😉
i belong to the "un-pure" audiophile group as i run everything into an eq. no apologies but every piece of recorded music is engineered and mixed differently so your sound system will always reproduce this. i prefer the sound that my ears say sounds good and that typically requires an eq. just how i do it.
I think the best definition of "audiophile" is: a person who invests time and knowledge in modifying music to get the best possible sound experience from it. And in that case you would be a purist audiophile 😄
@stevetech5150 I too have resisted the mockery and have gotten several Equalizers (currently using an AB model 231 dual channel grqphic equalizer -with 32 switches each) I have two setups fed by the same streamer and DAC (the Wiim Ultra and the Fiio Dac here reviewed).. One goes clean into a power amp and the other goes to the equalizer and chifi mono blocks. I understand that fiddling with EQ is the fun part but I'm curios to know what is your go to settings on your eq when yo are listening generally to something? thanks in advance
Lovely sound ..but had received a defective product from seller Headphone Zone India. Seller turned up unethical and never replaced it. Apparently this kept disconnecting my FIIO m11s repeatedly.
The best capacitors for audio signals are film capacitors. There are SMD versions, but they are too expensive to use in the Dongle DACs. If you want to filter the noise in the USB supply voltage, you need to add more components beyond electrolytic capacitors. Because that, it's cheaper to add an external power supply input.
@@tapedacI would love to hear your explanation on how Chord Mojo 2 works as I understand from Rob Watts it is totally different. I listened to a few podcasts but didn’t understand it.
@@LencoTB I got a mojo1. It's not meant to be a desktop DAC. If you do that it will overheat and kill the battery. Charge it or use it not both at the same time. The DAC part is great, the DC part and charging was an afterthought and mojo weak point.
im high end audio engineer, and i know R2R . Analog and digital stages must be perfect isolated, and noise regulated.i do this job today, and the sound just...........no words
Yes I agree with the first reply- your comment not only says absolutely nothing, but does not even give a clear sense whatsoever of whether or not you are expressing like/dislike or if you are indicating that the technology has changed or....anything, really....🧐
Never use NOS mode unless upsampling the source (e.g: 44.1kHz to 384kHz) in order to test different resampler qualities and types. Otherwise it defies the logic of the sound reproduction.
@@heatnup NOS means you don't use any digital filter... without this filter you can't reconstruct the actual audio signal and you feed your audio gear with high frequency noise... this concept defies the logic of the sound reproduction.
If higher frequencies are tamed by this unit then thank goodness. Too many modern headphones and dac/amps are reaching for ever brighter and shouty tunings, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I suggest people get their ears cleaned, it might be wax blocking it all, or try an normal headphone for a while that isn't bright AF and let your brain adjust. Listening to super bright renditions just can't be good for the hearing, and it does not sound natural for acoustic instruments or even rock which is usually poorly recorded to boot. All in all it remains a mystery to me.
Your point of view on high frequencies is very interesting. I think that the Sigma-Delta technology of digital-to-analog converters favors this problem. And it's only now that we're starting to have low-cost R-2R DACs to compete with Sigma-Delta DACs. So I also hope that this quest for extremely bright sound won't be the standard in the near future.
Well a new moden thing 🎧 we listen in the street From phones , mp3s, we dont listen music with 🎧 in the house We want dacs to eliminate the jitter from the streamenig platforms ,streamer +and better ex dac with better clocks The thing is this when you have a streamer lets say 1000 € you must go for a dac with the same price i have eversolo master edision its a great streamer and dac i use this and it will be better ? Maybe? Nope
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
“I feel synchronized with the reality of time” is such a perfect assessment of that experience. Especially growing up with that sound, I understand!Awesome video 🙌🏾
Yeah, you captured the feel 🤓
I finally found a better explanation on the settings of this device! Thank you!
Daymn.... this is what product reviews should be like. Keep up the good work!
One small niggle... UAC1 and UAC2 .... Some devices like playstation and older computers do not support UAC2 so you have no choice but UAC1. In this case the device might not recognize the DAC if it's set to UAC2.
Thanks! And yes, UAC 1 will be more compatible with older devices or even new ones with fewer capabilities.
I just ordered this DAC/AMP this is an amazing review and details :)
Glad you like it! 🤓
Obrigado pelo video! O Super capacitor tem amperagem aconselhada? É melhor do que uma LPS? Do que uma ifi power 2, por exemplo? Obrigado!
Just placed the order and saw your video afterwards :)
Excellent review! Really appreciate the explanation from an engineer’s perspective 🙏🏻
Question… will this DAC pair well with OTL tube amps?
If you already enjoy the sound of an OTL tube amps, yes, for sure. But I think in NOS mode that combination may give you a sound too warm.
Thank you for the review! As I am considering a dedicated Headphone DAC/ Amp over using the HP output on my AVR.
Just bought headphones after trying about 40 over 3 days.
I Can’t Help it - Micheal Jackson (opening Bass notes for texture and the subtleties of breaths/ lip smack/ echo between words)
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon (opening 15 sec for the how well the drums sound like they fill a room)
Boonghusa (Polo & Pan Remix) - Limousine (This song layers the bass line at 0:53 very unusual. On a good set up it should feel like rhythmic punches of bass that are overlaid by a heavy swell of air pressure. If your listening position is directly in the phase line of a medium to powerful subwoofer you will understand what I mean.)
At this point it should only be a few minutes tops to see If it passes the test tracks and if I still like a headphone I start jumping around in my music catalog over different genres. That whole process takes just a few minutes per headphone to see the kind of impression the equipment left in memory.
Which super cap do you use? On ali there are two 12V versions.
I am Portuguese and your English is 100% better than mine!
Obrigado! 🤓
Hey mate, nice review! Long pressing the knob (~5 sec) turns the device on/off, there is no dedicated power button but the interface gives full control.
Double tapping the power knob also gives a quick switch between line output and headphone output.
My favourite music for testing are: Paranoid Android - Radiohead, Drive - Incubus, Happy Returns - Steven Wilson, Stan - Eminem, Main Theme from Interstellar and the High Res remasters of Dark Side of The Moon and Led Zeppelin IV!
Thanks a lot! 😉 I didn't know the Steven Wilson, the beginning of his song is very interesting to test the DAC's "micro steps"
Got mine a few days ago. It has some kind of remarkable characteristic that's hard to explain? Like music just feels more "real" which sounds ridiculous?
Yeah. If we were to draw a parallel with drawing, this DAC is a pencil that can leave a stronger line than a “sigma-delta pencil” 😄
The R2R is not the last word in bass detail, it does lack a little pinpoint definition in the low frequency's BUT the vocals are very natural sounding and the treble is easy on the ears and that's probably the attractive quality of the R2R. I have both of the Fiio dacs, K11 DS and K11 R2R and the R2R vocals are more human, less digital but compare the R2R to the dac in my SMSL AO-300 (Cirrus Logic CS43131) and it cannot match the definition of the low frequency's. I would highly recommend the SMSL AO-300 to anyone looking for a very good all in one unit with exceptional sound quality and power.
@@Panslapper How’s the EQ function on the AO-300?
@@theonlyegg ….very flexible! The presets are very well tuned imo. The ‘Tone’ leaves everything up to you so you can’t lose. Better than any tone control on any current £500+ class A/b amp, far better, much more accurate to the actual frequency being tuned rather than the smear that most amps will give you under £1000, could not say what goes on above that price.
I tried the AO300, its performance & functionality were perfect but the sound quality was no match for my Panasonic DVDA player & NAD amp, so after two weeks listening to audiophile CDs I returned it.
Well how do you get around a usb connection to the audio source then if its a PC or phone? Guess you are gonna have to suck it up and deal with distortion.
Of course I gave you my like! Very impressive review of this interesting DAC. I was aware of this device a few days ago. Is this a new launching from Fiio this 2024? Another thing I heard about is that cannot do native DSD. Saludos desde Buenos Aires hermano Brasileño!
¡Hola, hermano!
Yes, it's a recent Fiio launch. And it seems to be selling well because retailers' delivery times are always changing.
It does play DSD music, but it transforms the DSD information to be played at a frequency much lower than the DSD standard, which needs some MHz to be played directly.
Tiro o chapéu pra tua dedicação na produção desse vídeo. 👍
Tô com esse amp há 1 mês e continuo procurando o tal "som R2R". 😂 Me dá uma preguiça danada só de pensar em "volume matching" e fazer um A/B direto com outro DAC. De todo o modo, não posso me queixar -- pois pelo pacote -- é um baita ampzinho de mesa e até agora não presenciei nada de errado nele.
Obrigado Fabio! A ideia deste canal é ter videos sempre nesse nível.
Quanto à comparação de DACs, a diferença mais perceptível vai ser nas Sub-baixas e baixas frequências 😉
@@tapedac I think that perhaps you're talking about comparing Sigma Delta Dacs to each other? But comparing them to an R2R DAC, would the noticeable difference not be the rolled off highs, as you mention in your measurements? Thanks for the detailed review.
Can u compare it to denafrips or musician r2r
Soon I will 😉
I find your review very informative 👍. (Thanks for а "human hearing" grafs btw. 👌)
First of all, thanks for the great review. I wanted to ask if it makes sense to connect the IFI iPower X Low Noise Power Supply AC/DC Adapter to the fiio K11 R2R, does that increase the sound quality? What do you think?
Hi i am looking for a desktop dac under £200 .
I currently have an ifi zen dac mk1 .
Any recomendations on a natural ,analogue sounding dac .
Thank you kindly
I
Try to get a CD player with PCM-61 or PCM-63, and you will hear the R2R the way it supposed to sound.
Better, if you can find an older player with PCM1704-K, that's amazing sounding. Denon DVD-6000 has two of them and has a digital input to be used as a DAC.
What about the CD-Players with the chip TDA1541A? Did you already compare its sound with those?
@tapedac Yes, that was probably my first R2R DAC that I heard. Before that I was in the camp "Dynamic Range and THD+N is all you need to know about a DAC" and "They all sound the same".
IMO the Burr Brown (now TI) chips are a step above the Phillips one.
My NAD C-540 had PCM1704 DACs, it sounded very nice. After ten years hard use the laser failed & the player started skipping. It cost $200 to repair so I moved on. For the past ten years I've been using a Panasonic DVD-A110 that has DVDA DACs comparable to the C-540. I bought a spare A110 in case my main player fails. Cheers!
Bought a k11 r2r, paired it with an also recently purchased Hfiman Sundara and I'm quite disappointed. Using Deezer lossless and Flacs for music yet I sense much distortion in the highs and it just sounds so grainy. I've an old KA3 dongle, also from Fiio and even that sounds warmer and cleaner.
Anyway, my question, should anyone have any experience wit this combo is: have I perhaps received a defective product, be it headphone or DAC, or do they just work this poorly together?
Hi, you also need to test this DAC with this headphone using an external amplifier. The problem may lie in the combination of the K11's integrated amplifier and this headphone.
I don't have a magnetic planar headphone to compare it with. As soon as I do, I'll make a video about it.
Another try is to use a balanced cable to get more power from the K11 R2R. Here is an option if you haven't a balanced cable yet: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dl4YjnN
Always best to wait for the excitement to die down. I have the R2R and personally I would not rate it as high as 90% of you tube and online reviewers have. My SMSL AO-300 is far more capable of recovering low end detail for a start but I have to say I do like the vocal reproduction of the K11 R2R.
@@Panslapper Vocal reproduction was indeed decent for the price but it was heavily counterbalanced, with the Sundaras, by a noticeable lack of bass and the aforementioned distortion issue on higher frequencies. I've since tested the headphones on a proper integrated amp with a decent headphone out socket and they sound very well with pretty impressive bass for an open headset, so I know that the issue was indeed the K11,
I managed to return it for a full refund and just ordered a Hifiman EF500 instead. Since I can't realistically test the products before buying them, basic dummy science suggests that a higher class device from the same company as my headphones might pair better. Just waiting on delivery now...
I've also had some clipping and distortion issues with this DAC. I'm running it into my xduoo t-22 and I tried it with a fiio k9 pro. Ive tried it on both my sundara's and focal azurys. I'm considering returning the device.
I returned it ! When fiio m11s is connected and invariably gets disconnected when connected to this DAC. Weird issue.
my r2r dac modules sound more magical, deep soundstage,micro details. but the power supplys cost around 1K.(plus the regenerative power)Fiio do the job very very good!!!im just listen 300 hours , and i like it.For that price?OMG!!!
For sure, it is. Fiio can change the industry standard for DACs with this K11 R2R.
Like the analytical stuff. Great , in depth look at the item - thanks!
So the 'BIG problem' is that the K11 R2R might not reproduce higher frequencies in a consistent and pleasing way, which is particularly aparrent with the background hiss on Garoros but then aren't you also saying that in this situation, neither can DS DACS? But then R2R can be corrected to get around that simply by upping the high frequencies on an equaliser. Would the other DS DACs not be able to correct in the same way?
Question: would this pair well with Aune AR5000s?
This fiio r2r dac has an RCA output port and a headphone output port. I want to listen to music, connect the jack wire to the RCA port down to the amplifiers, sing karaoke at the headphone output port, connect the jack wire to the mixer then connect it down to the amplifiers, is this setup ok?
You need to choose just one of the outputs. If I understood your setup correctly, the RCA output would be better.
@@tapedac It's true that the RCA output is correct, but I want to ask if it's possible to set up two output ports to listen to music and sing karaoke.
I want the RCA output port to connect to the amplifier to listen to music, and the 3 coxial output ports and output 6.5 or 3.5 to connect to the mixer down to the amplifier to sing karaoke.
Thank you for this exzellent review. I am satisfied with the fiio K11 R2R and bought the 12V Super Capacitor Power Filter Module. But I can't start th DAC with it anymore. There is only a short sign on the display. Is ther any trick to start the DAC?
Sorry, it was the wrong adapter
Oh, you noticed it faster than my response 😄
But yes, even with “weak” 12V adapters that supercap buffer won’t work properly. It’s recommended at least 2A.
Can you review the SMSL M300SE next? I really enjoyed your technical analysis of this DAC AMP and want to see more.
I can tell you about that item after checking the specs: it has an “OK”sigma-delta chip DAC (not so good, not too bad), but the problem is the amplifier: less than 150mW for 32Ohms is too weak for a Headphone Amplifier. The Fiio K11 version (without R2R) would be a better investment.
Great content
Qudelix 5k has a battery. Nice review. This is the least expensive R2R DAC/amp available. Driving $1100-1500 USD headphones with $160 USD DAC/amp? Not sure. Unless you are under 40 years old or a dog almost no one can hear 16 kh anymore. Also...not to nitpick but the type of DS chip used is only one part of how a DAC will sound. Quality of parts, analog output stage, etc.
Dave, I mentioned the dog's hearing when recording the video, but I cut it off while editing it because I spent almost two minutes talking about it. 🤣
I said something like this:
"People, a dog can hear at almost 45kHz. So if your dog runs away when you listen to music, something is wrong with your gear (at least in the high frequencies)."
What made you choose Qudelix over Chord Mojo 2?
@@LencoTB wanted something small with EQ. I have an old school Samuels SR-71 Blackbird portable amp for power use.
@@LencoTB not soundquality for sure 🤣
👂🏼🦇
I would love if you could review the Chord Mojo 2 and compare it against Fiio K11 R2R.
I will try to get the Chord Mojo soon 😉
I’m actually selling my mojo 2 to purchase this unit. I don’t use the headphone out, I use it as a line out to external headphone amplifier. I just find it a little too clean. It’s a great sound, don’t get me wrong but after owning it for about a year now I just find it too clinical. Still, it’s noticeably better sounding than any delta sigma dac I’ve heard thus far.
Got it on my secondary speaker system on a musical Fidelity A1 clone. That Dac marries very well with a more detailed amp (highs). I have a Draco with reclocker on i2s for my main system and I'd say 8x more money for more definition in the highs makes me wonder if the higher end r2r DAC is worth it.😮 😢
great review, do you need to upgrade the regular k11 to r2r?
No, no. There are two different DACs from Fiio with the same chassis and similar names: "K11" (Sigma Delta chip) and this one in the video "K11 R2R" (that uses a lot of discrete components instead a integrated chip). Thanks a lot ;)
It is not an upgrade, it is a subjective choice of sound quality.
Video recomendado pelo RUclips..gostei muito do review e me inscrevi no canal. Parabéns pelo Video
Obrigado pela força! Tem algum assunto específico sobre audio que você gostaria de ver aqui no canal?
@tapedac sinergia entre headphones ( speakers) dac e amp
@tapedac clear power and it's effect in sound
@tapedac proper equalization
@@leonardotov8733 If I may.. + proper (digital) player\source and it`s optimal
ecommended settings 😍
Hello thank you O brigqdo for this review (i come to it over qnd over again) Does anyone here have issues with Idle setting? as in it will not turn off .... like ever when left on and idle...
I hope to find if a firmware update would resolve this but I dont know how that would happen? The fiio k11 doesnt connect to wifi> Do i connect it via USB to a computer and hope a plug and play option will pop up and ask me to upgrade the software?
many thanks
Hi! Thx for video. I got the K11 and i know everybody has different hearing and liking. Can you suggest me what is the best filter for using it?
1) Minimum phase fast roll-off filter
2) Fast roll-off, Phase-compensated filter
3) Minimum phase slow roll-off filter
4) Slow roll-off, Phase-compensated filter
5) Wideband flatness filter
6) Non over-sampling filter
Option 3 is the most “natural” filter and will be the best option for most types of music. Option 1 or 2 may be the best transient response for electronic music and some new Pop music because those genres contain many “digital” sounds.
0:40 What is your first RUclips channel about audio?
The channel is in Portuguese only: @emenery
The content, in significant part, is related to recording and editing audio.
Obrigado pelo video e pela explicacao. E possivel usar o mesmo como DAC para computador tambem ligado a colunas activas?
Sim, se houver entrada desbalanceada nas colunas. Como por exemplo há nas iLoud Micro da IK Multimedia
@@tapedac as colunas em questão que tenho são as Edifier R1280
Boa. Funciona então na mesma 😉
Ele é realmente um upgrade ao k5 pro ess ou não vale a pena se já tem o k5?
É difícil dizer se é “melhor”. Com certeza tem uma sonoridade diferente, tanto pela implementação do DAC em si quanto do circuito de amplificação.
I did not catch the BIG issue . . . a desire to achieve tape hiss?
some music: check out Ghost Dubs for bass range; Jack Cooper & Jeff Tobias Tributaries for mid range and detail
I just used that song with "Hiss noise" because the Hiss is at a volume level below most parts of the music. That Hiss is over the whole frequency range. Because of that, some Sigma Delta DAC Chips will try to filter the song, but the filtering will not remove only the hiss. A DAC that filters our music is not what we want. That was the reason for the test.
Love the Walkman picture behind you.
I had one exactly like that. It worked well for just two years, and I never got around to fixing it. But it was the first amazing noise cancelling MP3 player I heard.
Great review dude. I have a fiio ka17 dongle which has a separate isolated usb C in for power only. This allows you to run a clean usb supply. The ka17 is surprisingly powerful. Check it out. It might make a good review vid for you xx
Thank you for the suggestion. I will try to get one KA17 to review it 😉
AHHHHHHHHHH esse sotaque não me engana vc é Brasileiro!!🤣🤣🤣 Eu uso um Fiio Q11 com um Hifiman 400se ,que foi minha entrada no High end Audio , e estava entre um Topping Dx3 ,o K11 e Fiio BRT17 para upgrade , Agora com a sua explicação altamente técnica , e eu fui aluno de eletrônica, eu estou menos perdido . Pelo que vc explicou a minha ideia de usar um dongle BRT17 para usar no meu celular e PC talvez de certo ,porque ele tem uma porta Usb dedicada para alimentação , teoricamente usando uma fonte limpa na alimentação Usb deve ficar bom ,eu ainda não entendo como alguém consegue usar os 1130mw num headfone , eu não consigo usar nem a metade da penitência do meu Fiio Q11 ,com o meu Hifiman 400se que é a versão não steath que possui tem impedância mais alta ,e uma sensibilidade horrível de 98 se eu não me engano. Curioso que eu tinha uma placa de som que eu guardei por anos aqui uma Xonar essence da Asus , mesmo sendo antiga e eu vi uns comentários que ela tem um problema no casamento de impedância de saída com este Hifimam ,ela destruiu o Q11 da mais Bass e uma espacialidade muito melhor . Ja o Q11 fica maravilhoso no meu celular com o dolby Atmos que teoricamente era para não funcionar direito com o Hifiman pq planar e dolby não combina...... vai entender ... Áudio é muito complicado quando vc combina o dac amp e fone e da certo é de dar graças a deus!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sim, em termos eletrônicos (sem considerar o headphone em si) o amplificador do DAC é o que faz maior diferença no som. Existem diversas possibilidades de circuito amplificador, sendo os Circuitos tipo “Classe A” os melhores. Mas para eles funcionarem perfeitamente, precisam de muita potência e esquentam muito.
Thank you for the review and the explanation on R2R as I had not heard it explained. I have been looking at getting the original K11 for IEM use (IE600) for my desktop and had read that the R2R version was coming out. In your opinion would there be any difference between the 2 and which would you say would be ideal. I do not know too much about audio gear so it is all a bit confusing.
As a K11 owner I tried the R2R version at London CanJam last July. And for music listening the K11 R2R is on par with £500/£600 sigma-delta DACs in terms of dynamics and quality.
The regular K11 is too cold and analytic and misses a lot of quality around bass frequency reproduction and mid-bass dynamics (which is typical of the Cirrus Logic chip that uses).
I would suggest you to try the K11 R2R unless your main focus is gaming, where the sound might feel congested with the R2R.
I think @or1on89 (🙃) already responded to you. So, if you equalize the K11 R2R as I described in the video, you can get a sound more balanced than the sound of any Sigma-Delta Chip. Regarding IEM phones, I need to make a video about them because there is a "small universe" of specific technologies and physics related to them.
Gostei, obrigado.
Great review format. The video editing, back and forth, cut, cut, was disturbing, however. I have a long attention span, the result of decades of practice. I had to look away.
Thank you for your feedbacks and for that point related to the edition. I’m still making changes in the style to understand the best way to show the content. I will take care of it in the next videos 😉
i belong to the "un-pure" audiophile group as i run everything into an eq. no apologies but every piece of recorded music is engineered and mixed differently so your sound system will always reproduce this. i prefer the sound that my ears say sounds good and that typically requires an eq. just how i do it.
I think the best definition of "audiophile" is: a person who invests time and knowledge in modifying music to get the best possible sound experience from it. And in that case you would be a purist audiophile 😄
@stevetech5150 I too have resisted the mockery and have gotten several Equalizers (currently using an AB model 231 dual channel grqphic equalizer -with 32 switches each)
I have two setups fed by the same streamer and DAC (the Wiim Ultra and the Fiio Dac here reviewed).. One goes clean into a power amp and the other goes to the equalizer and chifi mono blocks. I understand that fiddling with EQ is the fun part but I'm curios to know what is your go to settings on your eq when yo are listening generally to something?
thanks in advance
Lovely sound ..but had received a defective product from seller Headphone Zone India. Seller turned up unethical and never replaced it. Apparently this kept disconnecting my FIIO m11s repeatedly.
Subbed,, Hi from Ireland,,,
Thanks a million! 🙌
Dongle DAC are weaker not because of the usb noise. It is limited because they could only use MLCC, not electrolytic caps.
The best capacitors for audio signals are film capacitors. There are SMD versions, but they are too expensive to use in the Dongle DACs. If you want to filter the noise in the USB supply voltage, you need to add more components beyond electrolytic capacitors. Because that, it's cheaper to add an external power supply input.
@@tapedacI would love to hear your explanation on how Chord Mojo 2 works as I understand from Rob Watts it is totally different. I listened to a few podcasts but didn’t understand it.
As soon as I get one, I'll take it apart to understand how they did it. And I'll make a video explaining the details. 🤓
@@LencoTB I got a mojo1. It's not meant to be a desktop DAC. If you do that it will overheat and kill the battery. Charge it or use it not both at the same time. The DAC part is great, the DC part and charging was an afterthought and mojo weak point.
im high end audio engineer, and i know R2R . Analog and digital stages must be perfect isolated, and noise regulated.i do this job today, and the sound just...........no words
I am not sure what you meant with this?
Yes I agree with the first reply- your comment not only says absolutely nothing, but does not even give a clear sense whatsoever of whether or not you are expressing like/dislike or if you are indicating that the technology has changed or....anything, really....🧐
Do you mean this FiiO K11 is a good DAC?
Franca Lingua = Technology Knowledge
I build my own Power Supplies for DACs like that Ultra low noise
Hey...can you point me toward any good power supply kits...or plans?( for a newbie diyer)
Never use NOS mode unless upsampling the source (e.g: 44.1kHz to 384kHz) in order to test different resampler qualities and types. Otherwise it defies the logic of the sound reproduction.
This is true, but this video suggest otherwise!
“defies the logic of the sound reproduction” means what exactly?
@@heatnup NOS means you don't use any digital filter... without this filter you can't reconstruct the actual audio signal and you feed your audio gear with high frequency noise... this concept defies the logic of the sound reproduction.
@@meaninthemirror It works just fine. Idk what you mean.
@@meaninthemirror What is "the logic of the sound reproduction"
I can see that you have two cameras.
Or three if you count the B-Roll scenes 🙃
If higher frequencies are tamed by this unit then thank goodness. Too many modern headphones and dac/amps are reaching for ever brighter and shouty tunings, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I suggest people get their ears cleaned, it might be wax blocking it all, or try an normal headphone for a while that isn't bright AF and let your brain adjust. Listening to super bright renditions just can't be good for the hearing, and it does not sound natural for acoustic instruments or even rock which is usually poorly recorded to boot. All in all it remains a mystery to me.
Your point of view on high frequencies is very interesting. I think that the Sigma-Delta technology of digital-to-analog converters favors this problem. And it's only now that we're starting to have low-cost R-2R DACs to compete with Sigma-Delta DACs. So I also hope that this quest for extremely bright sound won't be the standard in the near future.
My tip to you...Fix your Microphone, Mister electrical engineer !!
😂 Each record session is a fight, man. But soon, I will upgrade my microphone to fix that issue. Thank you for sharing your appointments.
Do you have a good hifi, snakeoil doctor in your neighbourhood???!!!
bye bye blackbird Patricia barber -Regenerative power - r core transformers- 4x lt3045 special edition-Sound just more magical, all better!!!
Fiio k7 is better.
Well a new moden thing 🎧 we listen in the street
From phones , mp3s, we dont listen music with 🎧 in the house
We want dacs to eliminate the jitter from the streamenig platforms ,streamer +and better ex dac with better clocks
The thing is this when you have a streamer lets say 1000 € you must go for a dac with the same price
i have eversolo master edision its a great streamer and dac i use this and it will be better ? Maybe? Nope
For a €1000 DAC I would invest in a €3000 power regenerator first, as AC mains noise is a much bigger problem than clock jitter.
@@tapedac I never knew that thanks I make some research you're right grund
, electronical noise from cables, plugs, and you name it
Thank you