Lifestyle, News

Plug the FiiO K9 Pro DAC and Amp on your desk for hifi luxury

Quick Summary

  • For those who desire great sound, a DAC with amp would be a great addition on your desk or coffee table, especially if you like one that sits quietly to do its job without taking up too much space or looking distracting.
  • The new K9 Pro features the industry-famous AKM AK4499, a decoder capable of up to 384 kHz and native DSD256 audio, making it one of the best in the business.
  • The printed circuit boards of the K9 Pro uses a partitioned layout, wherein not only the power supply and signals are separated, but the analog signal loop is also put in an independent section, guaranteeing the integrity of the audio signal being processed.

Editor’s brief: For those who desire great sound, a DAC with amp would be a great addition on your desk or coffee table, especially if you like one that sits quietly to do its job without taking up too much space or looking distracting. The FiiO K9 Pro is just the gadget, featuring high-end AK4499 DAC, for high-end decoding up to 32-bit @768kHz with native DSD 512. Read more below.

SINGAPORE — FiiO, the industry standard in lossless audio players, has released the FiiO K9 Pro in Singapore. From its inception, the K9 Pro was intended to be the crown jewel of your audio setup. The new premium model has a full high-end Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) with amplifier features. The hardware inside the K9 Pro is top-notch, so you can expect nothing less than pure audio bliss as you listen.

The new K9 Pro features the industry-famous AKM AK4499, a decoder capable of up to 384 kHz and native DSD256 audio, making it one of the best in the business. It also uses THX AAA 788+ chips, which deliver excellent fidelity and dynamics with any pair of headphones, regardless of impedance. When driving high-impedance loads, the K9 Pro can produce up to 46Vpp transients, and when pushing low-impedance loads, it can produce up to 2W* without distortion. With improved thermal management, the K9 Pro is able to generate 50% more power than its predecessor.

Some of the key highlights of the all-new flagship FiiO K9 Pro include:

  • Fast and reliable hi-res Bluetooth: The K9 Pro employs the Qualcomm QCC5124 to handle Bluetooth duties, with support for formats such as LDAC, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive. This chip ensures that Bluetooth connections are both reliable and quick, satisfying both the low latency needs for games/videos and the high bitrate necessary for high resolution audio.
  • Fully differential, truly balanced design: Fully differential signals go through the four-channel DAC, four-channel volume adjustment, and four-channel amp for a truly balanced design. Such a design ensures minimal interference between different components in order to fully maintain all details and large dynamic swings in music for unmatched sound quality.
  • Clearly partitioned for smooth signal transmission: The printed circuit boards of the K9 Pro uses a partitioned layout, wherein not only the power supply and signals are separated, but the analog signal loop is also put in an independent section, guaranteeing the integrity of the audio signal being processed.
  • Six-stage audio circuit that holds up to scrutiny: Every audio signal goes through a mammoth 6-stage circuit to reproduce music as faithfully as possible with every last detail.
  • Isolated digital and analog power delivery: The digital portions of the K9 Pro receive power separately from the analog portions, for effective shielding against audio interference between the two circuits. Such a design leads to a highly pure, clean sound.
  • Low drop outs (LDOs) for each audio circuit stage: While the special high-performance transformer is important to the K9 Pro’s phenomenal sound, special attention was also paid to the power stabilisation and filtering within the audio circuit. In each stage of the audio circuit, ultra-low-noise LDOs are employed for voltage regulation. No expense was spared in ensuring clean power supply, with the K9 Pro in total having a substantial amount of 20 LDOs!
  • Dual femtosecond clocks of excellence: The newest generation of XMOS chips supports dual-mode clock management technology. Under USB and Bluetooth decoding dual asynchronous femtosecond clocks are used, while under optical and coaxial decoding automatic phase-locked loop (PLL) clocks are employed. A more precise clock management system makes it easier to handle any kind of source and maintain the maximum quality possible.
  • Lossless Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) decoding: The K9 Pro supports the unfolding of MQA tracks, allowing you to listen to high-resolution audio files that are not only reasonably sized, but also retain master-level sound quality that brings you directly into the recording studio.
  • Headphones come alive with a good source: Switch between high, medium, and low gain to fit exactly your needs when listening to your particular pair of headphones. Thanks to the pure hardware gain circuit, even when listening at low gain with high-sensitivity headphones both dynamic range and musical fidelity remain uncompromised.
  • Perfection exemplified: The simple, yet elegant all-aluminium black exterior is anodised and finely sandblasted with painstaking craftsmanship for a textured, luxurious feel. Controls are clearly and intuitively laid out to make operating the device as smooth as possible. Rest assured, the K9 Pro is the very definition of a reliable and loyal music partner in your home.

Technical Specifications

  • Power Supply: AC 110~115V (50/60Hz); 220~230V (50/60Hz) (dual voltage support)
  • Digital Inputs: USB B/ Type C/ Optical/ Coaxial/ Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Version: BT5.2
  • USB Max Input: 384k/32bit; DSD256 (native)/ MQA Renderer
  • Bluetooth Formats: LDAC/ aptX adaptive / aptX/ aptX HD/ aptX LL/ AAC/ SBC
  • DAC: AK4499
  • Amplifier: Dual THX AAA-788+
  • Max Undistorted Output Power: ≥2W (32Ω SE)/≥2.5W (32Ω Bal.)
  • THD+N: <0.0003% (UAC mode, 1kHz)
  • SNR: ≥125dB (UAC mode, A-weighted)
  • Headphone Out: XLR-4/4.4mm/6.35mm
  • Line Out: RCA/XLR-BAL
  • Line In: 4.4mm/RCA
  • USB Connector: USB-B/Type-C
  • Weight: about 2.7kg
  • Dimensions: 200*220*72mm

Pricing and Availability

FiiO K9 Pro retails for S$1,149.00 (including GST) and is available immediately at AV One (av1group.com.sg), Jaben, SAM audio, Stereo Electronics and Treoo.

* As tested in FiiO Labs under balanced out

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