First off, I want to thank Ed Holmwood of Old Guy Hi-Fi for loaning me the K9 headphone amp/DAC for review. This is my first piece of FIIO gear that I’ve been able to spend more than a couple of minutes with. And based on the K9 here, I really wish I would’ve had more experiences with FiiO before this.
The K9 AKM is a headphone amplifier/DAC that in a pinch could also be used as a preamp. However, since FiiO has the K11 with a remote which is designed to be a true triple threat of headphone amp/DAC, preamp, it really isn’t fair to place the K9 in a preamp comparison situation because it doesn’t have the remote. But as a standalone DAC, why not?! That being said for someone who is let’s say using Roon or other music streaming app where you can control the volume, from let’s say the computer or phone/tablet that’s sending the signal to the K9, It can be done and I did do this after my headphone time was done during the review.
The K9 comes in a very solid case and it is not light at either. This piece has substantial weight, plus the finish quality is exceptional. There’s no sharp edges, the aluminum case work is very good. The screws on the back panel are slightly recessed. Everything about the K9 screams quality upon appearance and external feel. If you look at the front panel you see it has an XLR headphone jack, as well as the standard quarter inch and the balanced 4.4mm smaller jack. In the center, you have a volume control, while it is a smooth rotation and a nice depth, I do wish it had a bit more of a true attenuator feel with a step click capability. It does have an LED ring light around the base of the knob. That’s a nice way of showing that the power is on. When powered up you can choose between a gradient pattern or single color. The colors signal the sampling rate, and it’s just a bit of fun from the engineers. tMore on that when we talk about the app. To the right is your output for your headphones, Preamp, fixed output as a DAC. Next you have your gain choices of high, medium, and low. Followed by an input selector button with the lights up near the top right for USB, Optical, COAX, Line In, and Bluetooth. Finally, you have the Power/Mute button.
Along the right side panel near the front is a USB–C input jack. The back panel starts with the power socket and rocker switch, followed by the Bluetooth antenna with the USB input below it, Coax and Optical, then you have your inputs next you have your RCA Single end inputs followed by single and outputs and then finally your balanced out XLR.
Under the hood
The K9 AKM uses dual THXA788+ chips that output 2W into 32 ohms per channel. This is some serious power. The signal the noise ratio is 128DB, which is quite clean. For the DAC, the K9 employs the smooth-sounding AKM 4499ex and 4191eq dual chips which are delta sigma. The DAC can decode up to 768kHz-32bit/DSD512. An XMOS chip is employed to reduce jitter and noise in the signal. A worthy linear power supply provides the juice. Measurements are: 7.87 inches wide, 8.82 inches deep, and 2.83 inches tall. Once again, the K9 tips the scales at 5.6 pounds.
2660 g OK 2660G in pounds 5.6 pounds and it feels heavier
200mm 7.87 x 224 8.82 x 72 2.83
The App
While the app has nowhere near the controls of other manufacturers, it does give the user almost everything one could want.A six band equalizer with customization settings., equalizer customize where you can customize individual frequencies not just the six points that are set the filters are actually part of the deck rather than the analog stage so your choices are a sharp roll off slow roll off short delay, sharp rolloff short delay slow roll off super slow and low dispersion short delay filter. At some point, you wanna mess around with these and try the one that you like best. I will give credit to the software app design team for including an illustration of both the front and back panels of the K9 with identifying the ability to have an annual goal guide as the app itself to the app. Sadly, the one missing feature is a volume control. If the app had this, the K9 would be the unit to beat at it’s $599 price.
Listen to the music.
I spent a week listening the K9 AKM as a headphone amp/DAC, using my trusty Master and Dynamic MD 400’s, the originals. It’s immediately apparent that the AKM chip set deck provides a wonderful sense of body to the music. It is quite smooth and powerful. The K9 just provides a richness that the SMSLDO 400 even with all its power and setting such as the Warm or Tube output coloration choices, just cannot match.
One only has to listen to a few minutes of Miles Davis or Sade to hear that the key provides tremendous soul to the music, and its natural. It sounds right. I do regret not having my Sennheiser HD 800 headphones still with me because they were in many ways a very technical and detailed sound. The FiiO K9 I think would’ve given them that same touch of warmth that my Opoo HA-1 did with them. More than that comparison with the HA-1 in a little bit.
It didn’t matter what music I threw at the K9 the AKM velvet sound chip set has definitely become my favorite of the Sigma Delta chipsets that are out there. Now remember, I am a ladder R2R DAC fan, but I will tell you I can quite comfortably live with the AKM dual chip set without hesitation. Listening to Lorde’s new album, which personally I think is too infused with the electronic washing of her voice, the K9 gave me so much more than the SMSLDO 400 could. While the refinement between the two was similar the depth and height of the sound stage, along with the richer and more natural tones, including decay, made the K9 the easy winner.
Listening to the Royal Philharmonic recording of The Who’s classic Quadrophenia, you hear the bassoons and the trumpets as well as the cellos and violins find that sweet spot that can easily be missed. The undercurring thematic sound from one song to another where the orchestra sounds deep in the sound stage was spot on, then came the energy of the classic “Can You See The Real Me”, the punch when the song starts and then you hear the instruments spread out when the K9 was used as a preamplifier into my listening space was thrilling.
To compare it with my Oppo HA-1, with the ESS9018 DAC chip maybe is a bit unfair in some ways. The Oppo is I believe about 12 years old now. But it does have a class A output section and a powerful head amp, but while the 9018 DAC chip is still pretty darn good, it just can’t match up in pulling out the inner detail nor that elegance smooth sound that the AKM dual chips provide. Where the K9 is providing clean piano strokes of Dan Fogelberg‘s approximately 1970 recording “To The Morning” the Oppo just has more haze with each note that continues throughout. It’s not a dealbreaker and it won’t force me to sell my Oppo, but it’s there for those people who listen carefully. Feature set-wise, The Oppo HA-1 does have XLR Inputs, as well as a remote, and a nice screen with a choice of VU Meters, or my favorite spectrum analyzer. But as I stated, sound output-wise, The K9 wins, period.
Final thoughts
The FiiO K9 Headphone Amp/DAC at $599 is an excellent value for those in the market. While it doesn’t have a fancy screen, it doesn’t need to as it does everything you wanted to do in a very simple straightforward layout. There is no wasted engineering here. The build quality is absolutely exceptional. The weight will surprise you, and most importantly, the AK M dual chips provide a sonic experience that will never leave you itching to do something else. The K9 is truly an all day comfortable, enjoyable, listening experience. Definitely, give it an audition.
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