FiiO KA11 Review: The Tiny DAC That Might Surprise You
Greetings mate and Welcome aboard!
Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions, so…
In this FiiO KA11 Review, we’ll quickly and concisely determine whether or not you should buy it, highlighting some important internal aspects that contribute to its overall profile: Signal-to-noise ratio, Output impedance, power output, overall value, and more.
By the end, you’ll know if it’s right for you.
If it isn’t, I’ll point you in the direction of something that is!
Build & Features
FiiO’s KA11 is just about the smallest DAC I’ve tried, weighing in at a measly 8.5g or so and containing 1 3.5mm headphone output and a USB Type-C jack or lightning at the other end. You can specify this at checkout.
- Hi-Fi Audio Performance: This USB C to 3.5mm audio adapter delivers high-fidelity audio performance with a Hi-Res DAC chip that provides excellent and stable decoding performance. It supports a maximum sampling rate of 32bit/384Khz, which is higher than most other USB C headphone adapters available on the market.
- [DAC Chip for Hi-Fi Sound Quality]: Built-in with high-peformance DAC CS43131 and op-amp allows the KA11 to effortlessly produce great Hi-Fi sound.
- [Lightweight but useful and powerful]: The tiny USB DAC KA11‘s body size is only 44×9.7×10.5mm, and it is just about 8.5g. It is convenient and portable for you to take it anywhere. The power can reach 245mW at 16Ω load and 200mW at 32Ω load, which is enough to drive most headphones.
- High-standard circuit components are supplemented by multi-layer immersion gold circuit board design, with strong decoding ability and better detail control. THD+N: <0.0006% SNR: 125dB Noise: <1.7uV
- [Multi-playing ways and portable]: KA11 amplifier with a USB Type-C/Lightning connector, you could use it on Android/iOS phones and tablets or to Windows and Mac computers to get a high resolution sound for listening music, playing game, doing chatting, doing living when you are at home or at office.
This is perhaps the most economical way to listen to music if you want a DAC without all the extra fluff. Thus far, I haven’t had any issues with build, and for a product under $50, it’s more than adequate.
I’ve read online that it can get hot, but I haven’t experienced this so far. Plus, some like it hot. 😉
Understand that products warming up with use is fairly normal.
Containing a CS43131 DAC, single-ended output power up to 245mW, 32-Bit/384kHz/DSD support, and high-purity oxygen-free palladium-plated copper wires, it’s able to connect to your phone, tablet, or computer.
According to the fine folks at FiiO, its high-precision crystal oscillator and independent power supply are combined in a specially-designed audio circuit that allows the KA11 to effortlessly produce great sound.
I’ve been using it primarily with my iPhone 11 and FiiO’s own FT1 Pro, and it’s been seamless. FiiO sent me the Type-C version, but fortunately, I have an adapter for my iPhone.
Power Output & Sound
The KA11 provides 245mW @ 16 Ohm, and 200mW @ 32. IN other words, plenty for pretty much anything you have lying around. This includes sensitive IEMs like the KBEAR KB03, standard open backs like the FT1 Pro, to even somewhat more demanding headphones like the K702, HD600, etc.
Do keep in mind that it may drain your battery quicker with the most power-hungry cans, but it drives almost anything with relative ease regardless.
- Playlist(s): Here!
- My Music: Here! (more songs coming/please follow)
- Sources: FLAC, Lossless
- Headphone Used: FiiO FT1 Pro
With a Signal-to-noise ratio of 125dB, a minuscule <0.0006% THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise), and a low output impedance (around 0.7), you can rest assured you’re getting a squeaky clean signal.
SO DON’T OVERTHINK IT!!
Remember that anything over the 90dB SINAD (Signal to noise and distortion) standard will ensure that your tracks are rendered exactly how they were recorded, so don’t get caught up in all the hogwash and go down a rabbit hole you ain’t coming back out of.
Also, keep in mind that DACs in general aren’t going to make your headphones sound any specific way (they simply portray what’s there), and they have no bearing whatsoever on Soundstage, openness, timbre, resolution, etc. Those things come down to source quality first, and the headphones or IEMs second, period.
So if you read anything that essentially credits the DAC with improving the sound, I’m telling you right now it’s a load of horse shit, and that person has no idea what they’re talking about.
Related Video:
The more important aspect of a product like this is convenience and price. It’s cheap, works instantly, and is perfect on the go.
Gaming/Console Compatibility
FiiO claims the KA11 supports 2 modes, UAC2.0 and UAC1.0.
In 1.0, devices such as a Switch and PS5 are plug-and-play, but UAC 1.0 needs to be switched on in the FiiO control app.
With the control app, a few colors display according to sample rate:
- PCM≤48kHz: Blue Light
- PCM > 48kHz: Yellow Light
- DSD: Green Light
Because I have an iPhone, I can’t use the FiiO control app with the KA11. If you have an Android, you’ll be able to test out UAC 1.0 with a console. Please let me know in the comments if it works for you.
Final Verdict
FiiO’s KA11 is a no frills, easy-to-use portable dongle Amp/DAC with plenty of power, a strong Signal-to-noise ratio, low output impedance, and Total Harmonic Distortion of basically nothing. It’s cheap, can be taken anywhere, and works flawlessly per my experience.
If anything changes, I will update this article.
If you’re looking for something fairly powerful that will work with most any headphones or IEMs, I think it’s a great value at around $40.
SOUND DECISION? YES.
FiiO KA11: Pricing
In The Box
Specifications
- Colors: Midnight Black, Sunrise Silver
- DAC: CS43131
- Op-amp: SGM8262
- Max Supported Formats: 384kHz/32bit, DSD256
- Input: Type-C or Lightning
- Output: 3.5mm Headphone Jack
- Dimensions: About 44.5*9.7*10.5mm
- Cable Length: About 65.5mm
- Weight: Around 8.5g
- Output Power 1: L+R≥245mW+245mW (16Ω/THD+N<1%)
- Output power 2: L+R≥200mW+200mW (32Ω/THD+N<1%)
- Output power 3: L+R≥22mW+22mW (300Ω/THD+N<1%)
- Signal-to-noise ratio: ≥125dB (32Ω, A-weighted)
- Noise Floor: PO < 1.7µV (32Ω, A-weighted)
- Output Impedance: <0.7Ω (32Ω)
- THD+N: <0.0006% (32Ω) / <0.00038% (300Ω)
Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this FiiO KA11 Review and came away with some valuable insight.
Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please leave them down below or Contact me!!
If you love what I do here and want to support the blog and channel in a more personal way, check me out on Patreon and discover all the value I have to offer you.
Does the KA11 sound like a worthwhile investment? I would love to hear from you. Until next time…
All the best and God bless,
-Stu
Hi Stu,
I used to own a full desktop dac/amp like Fiio K5 pro ESS to run my Sennheiser HD650 or AKG k702, then i bought this tiny little KA11 and it was to run both of them perfectly fine. I noticed no big difference in sound between the two dacs and no big difference even when comparing the Fiio Ka11 to topping dx3 pro +. So i sold my dac/amp stacks and now i’m only using this dongle and an Onix Alpha Xl1. Do you think I’m loosing something sound-quality-wise using a dongle instead of stack like an Atom Stack 2? I’m talking just about sound quality because i don’t need extra features like RCA nput, RCA output, EQ, bluetooth etc etc.
Thank you for the reply!
Hey man!
Love that you understand how easy headphones are to drive. This simple concept is lost on so many new to this awful niche who read a bunch of audiophile bullshit and then get more confused than when they started. So HECK NO! Keep the KA11 and don’t go down this rabbit hole! You’re exactly right and I’m glad you realized it sooner rather than later.
While I love the ATOM Stack and respect John Seaber over at JDS labs immensely, I don’t think you should drop everything and get the ATOM, especially if you don’t need any of the extras as you mentioned. This is a big reason why I recommend based on value and features rather than some arbitrary “sound” metric which in reality doesn’t exist at all. Your comment needs to be read by everyone looking for the unicorn that doesn’t exist.
Keep me posted!
-Stu
Yes of course. I strugge to find differences between a 30 euros dac like this and a 100 euro dac like onix alpha, but they are very very subtle and mostly due to the amp. I couldn’t notice without doing A/B test. I just bought an used chord mojo 2 for 300 euros just to see if the difference is worth the money but I’m probably going to sell it and stop chasing the dragon 😅
Fabio,
Nice! Glad to hear. Keep me posted on everything!
-Stu