Well I have been on the fence on getting this for the past month. I needed a new DAC and figured having another headphone amplifier would be nice too. Finally pulled the trigger after this review. It’s sounds like what I’m looking for. I’ll post my thoughts on it here after I get it and use it for a few days.
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Honestly Josh review was so much better in pointing out the key pros and cons. But yeah I do hope this will be the baseline for future dac/amps since this AIO does so much right.
This AIO unit looks compelling, seems to be getting solid reviews. Endgame reviews, in fact.
I’m one who preferred a lowly hip dac V1 to a very good XDUOO XA-10. Mainly running Sundara (balanced) and FH3 (SE).
I wonder if I have weird or lucky hearing in that I like gear that happens to be inexpensive.
Wonder if the K9 Pro would be different enough to justify itself.
If Fiio ever ceases support for the companion app, can the K9 Pro still function at almost peak functionality?
It honestly depends on what you are looking for really. As with what Josh said its a precise sounding amp thats is mostly tonally accurate with slight thickness and very precise imaging. Yeah its pretty much endgame for me but some people might find hearing every reverberation of the string at the expense of a more lush overtone a bad thing so ymmv.
If you are chasing IFI smooth warm slightly slower decay more sustain getting Zen DAC/Can Signature with a 4.4 to 4.4 interconnect might be better. If you are ok with a more aggressive midrange burson playmate is another choice to consider.
With reguards to app honestly its pretty useless. The only thing worth nothing is that the filters can be changed via the app but honestly there is hardly a need to change the filter in my book as the stock filter gives the most precise sound.
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Anyone A/B’d this against a Matrix mini 3? I’ve loved my mini up to now but it’s not super good with some of my favorite cans (LCD XC 21s, ZMF Auteur) and I’m hoping the K9 here is a better match.
The mini-i pro 3 headphone out is pretty meh, K9 pro is much better control and resolution with less lower mids smoothing as well assuming you dont need the streaming capabilities.
That being said the line out of the i pro 3 is really nice and where I think majority of the budget went. Somthing like a used Cayin iha-6 or singxer SA-1 might be worth if you plan on using the matrix network features. Otherwise if bluetooth is enough for when you need wireless functionality then yes I can safely rec the K9 pro.
Personally I only have the HE560v1 and HE6se v1 planar wise and the K9 pro runs them no problem.
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Nice, just what i was hoping for.
Yeah the line out is implemented very well, I originally bought this thinking it would serve some 2Ch use but that just isn’t where I ended up going with my stereo setup, never used the streaming once (
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Hows the balanced outs on the K9? If i ever get over needing a clean desk I’d love to run a tube/hybrid out of it.
Just as good as the headphone out. Personally i have balanced into the ath-bha100 to act as a tube buffer for my speakers and when im feeling like adding extra low mids and dimentionality for my headphones.
LOL thats the exact tube amp i had in mind, i saw some chatter on headfi about it being nice with planars and having enough juice for ZMFs.
Sounds like a winning pair then, im sold. Thanks for the info, looking forward to getting this thing on my desk.
If this is true (k9 is more refined than other chifi dacs with akm ak4499 chip) pricewise it is definitely worth buying. I have smsl sp400 and m500. I’m somewhat looking into upgrading/changing m500 and what I’m going to buy should synergize well with sp400. Do you think K9 pro would be worthwhile? Also a guy selling his matrix mini-I pro 3 around the same price. Its streaming capabilities is intruguing but I’m not so sure about the dac section.
I’m looking at this to potentially replace my current stack: SMSL M100 and Atom Amp. Been having weird connection issues with the m100 lately - just randomly drops out until I turn it off and back on or cycle through the inputs. Alternatively, since I love the atom, I was thinking of an upgrade to the EL stack. Either option would probably be my endgame stack.
The mini I pro 3 line out is only a slight improvement over the m500 imo so it would be mostly how much do you need the wireless/networking features. Also the mini I pro 3 headphone section is pretty meh, usable but quite dead so if you are looking for a all in one solution I would rec the K9 pro over the mini I pro 3 any day.
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Has anyone tried this with the Hifiman Arya Stealth? I recently acquired one with the Topping A/D 30 pro stack but if this has enough power to sufficiently drive it…then it could be more compelling
Thanks, from what I see, mini-i 3 pro’s streaming use cases don’t look like they will suit mine.
Why did you prefer K9 to the Bifrost/Jot 2 stack? Wondering because I am currently chasing after that Schiit stack.
I was looking for an All-In-One solution, a one-stop shop instead of the Schiit stack I had. The K9 Pro is a fantastic option in that regard, but unfortunately something about its integration was fatiguing to me, so I had to return it.
Interesting. So you decided to stick with the Bifrost/Jot. This seems like a stack that everyone on forums is running. This is why I want to try it out lol.
Could I use this with a shiit lokius?
Is the K9 Pro on par with Topping D90/A90 stack? I am considering both at the moment
I have never heard the d90/a90 stack, but I do have the k9 pro. Looking purely at specs though, the a90 has quite a bit more power. The a90 discrete even more so. That combo will cost you quite a bit more ($1200ish vs $850), but if money is not an issue. I’d go that route.
The k9 pro has plenty for most headphones (2.1watts). It sounds great, and get a lot of versatility with Bluetooth, line in/out, and a decent app with EQ. I have found I prefer running the line out to another amp for tougher headphones like my t60 argons. The DAC on the k9 pro is very very good.
The Hifiman ef400 might be another one to consider. It’s $600 and has more power (4 watts).