Yes, USB type-C.
Strictly speaking, I prefer the sound quality of the K7 but somewhere you said that you don't want to spend much money.
Anyway, good luck choosing
Thanks . Always looking to save money if I can, but not if it is for significantly inferior sound. I know this is subjective, and I don't have the opportunity to test any of these products .
I'm just curious why you purchased the K11 if you already have the K7? Or perhaps you don't own the K7?
Thanks . Always looking to save money if I can, but not if it is for significantly inferior sound. I know this is subjective, and I don't have the opportunity to test any of these products .
I'm just curious why you purchased the K11 if you already have the K7? Or perhaps you don't own the K7?
Thanks, these reviews were great (and all of your back-and-forth support). Hmm, I'm not sure I'm any closer to a decision haha.
I definitely don't want something clinical sounding, though I recognize you say in your review that the KA13 isn't clinical sounding, but perhaps "lean" and "dry". I've tried the Dragonfly Cobalt before which sounded "sharp" to me in a way that may be fatiguing. For comparison sake, I also tried the Questyle M12 and didn't have the same impression. Any impressions where the KA13 would sit between these two?
Thanks, these reviews were great (and all of your back-and-forth support). Hmm, I'm not sure I'm any closer to a decision haha.
I definitely don't want something clinical sounding, though I recognize you say in your review that the KA13 isn't clinical sounding, but perhaps "lean" and "dry". I've tried the Dragonfly Cobalt before which sounded "sharp" to me in a way that may be fatiguing. For comparison sake, I also tried the Questyle M12 and didn't have the same impression. Any impressions where the KA13 would sit between these two?
Somewhere in the middle. Just luminous sometimes but not sharp or fatiguing. The K7 is warmer, more organic from both the KA13 and K11 if that matters. For a little warmer than the KA13 I would check the KA5 but less power.
This is what I was talking about desktop sounding better. The K11 is less sharp and more natural in the treble than the KA13, especially when the latter gets pushed to its limits.
I notice you said in there "Mids and highs are clean, airy and spacious with plenty of energy and a mostly natural timbre especially with the NOS filter". How much of the listening impressions section is based on using NOS - did you switch back and forth between filters when judging all the different frequencies, detail, stage etc.?
Also, I noticed some other reviews say the stage width on the KA13 is just "good" but not the best. Can you confirm if there are devices that absolutely undeniably sound wider than the KA13? Thanks!
I notice you said in there "Mids and highs are clean, airy and spacious with plenty of energy and a mostly natural timbre especially with the NOS filter". How much of the listening impressions section is based on using NOS - did you switch back and forth between filters when judging all the different frequencies, detail, stage etc.?
Also, I noticed some other reviews say the stage width on the KA13 is just "good" but not the best. Can you confirm if there are devices that absolutely undeniably sound wider than the KA13? Thanks!
I have tested all filters but ended using the NOS. Differences are rather subtle for my ears. I find the NOS the less digital sounding and is my most valued feature of the CS43131. Of course this is not real NOS but a filter that mimics the impulse response.
What exactly do you mean other devices? Most of the USB DAC dongles I have tested have satisfying staging abilities like the KA13. A few of them are really spectacular, like the Cayin RU7 or the Questyle M15.
No I meant just what I said: other devices, without further qualification - any devices, desktop, portable, anything. Are there DAC/amps in existence that you would say absolutely do sound wider left-to-right than the KA13?
No I meant just what I said: other devices, without further qualification - any devices, desktop, portable, anything. Are there DAC/amps in existence that you would say absolutely do sound wider left-to-right than the KA13?
Too many to mention.... staying in the FiiO camp, from the entry level to the K9 they both outperform the KA13. Then we can add tubes to the equation and go figure out...
But this kind of compensation is not valid. This is an entry level dongle.
Well I want to compare stuff when I see for example below-audible crosstalk specs on 2 devices but reviewers say their staging is very different, where one is super wide but the other is restricted. At that point I have to wonder what else is going on - did they test with the same songs, did they test with the same headphones? For example since traditionally small portable DAC/amps have not been great at pushing high-impedance headphones, probably very few people spent time evaluating their staging performance by listening with high-impedance headphones, they probably preferred low-impedance headphones or even IEMs. But low-impedance headphones create a different load circuit with different voltage divider math that by itself leads to multiple 10s of dB worse crosstalk, and voila: worse separation and imaging. In that case it would be clearly wrong to blame the small DAC/amp for having "bad staging" when it was really the headphones that introduced substantial crosstalk.
Well I want to compare stuff when I see for example below-audible crosstalk specs on 2 devices but reviewers say their staging is very different, where one is super wide but the other is restricted. At that point I have to wonder what else is going on - did they test with the same songs, did they test with the same headphones? For example since traditionally small portable DAC/amps have not been great at pushing high-impedance headphones, probably very few people spent time evaluating their staging performance by listening with high-impedance headphones, they probably preferred low-impedance headphones or even IEMs. But low-impedance headphones create a different load circuit with different voltage divider math that by itself leads to multiple 10s of dB worse crosstalk, and voila: worse separation and imaging. In that case it would be clearly wrong to blame the small DAC/amp for having "bad staging" when it was really the headphones that introduced substantial crosstalk.
Idk what technically contributes to this, but I have both the KA13 and K9 Pro and I would say one of the clearest differences between them is the staging capability. The K9 pro gives a wider, deeper sound stage with more instrumental separation. In my comparison I kept everything else the same: headphones, source, songs, volume to the best of my ability.
EDIT: Based on your comments it would be advisable for me to test with other headphones as well to see if I consistently notice better staging across all of them. This actually might a fun little activity for this weekend.
The K9 pro gives a wider, deeper sound stage with more instrumental separation. In my comparison I kept everything else the same: headphones, source, songs, volume to the best of my ability.
Nice, that's a step closer to having solid info on this. Now for stage depth and layering I'd say power/synergy/driveability still plays a big part via dynamic performance, so the chosen headphones should not be underpowered by the smaller source ideally. The best choice would be the widest and flattest sounding headphones you have with low impedance (but not too low) and high sensitivity, preferably wired balanced. The rest should then be pretty much down to the differences between the sources themselves: device-internal crosstalk, if any, and coloration differences maybe.
so I just tried my new HD6xx with the apple dongle. Suffice it to say, the sound was thin and quiet. An amp is definitely needed.
I’m still debating whether to pick up the KA13 and hope that it can be a main driver, or just go straight to the K7 as I may always be wondering what I was missing?
so I just tried my new HD6xx with the apple dongle. Suffice it to say, the sound was thin and quiet. An amp is definitely needed.
I’m still debating whether to pick up the KA13 and hope that it can be a main driver, or just go straight to the K7 as I may always be wondering what I was missing?
so I just tried my new HD6xx with the apple dongle. Suffice it to say, the sound was thin and quiet. An amp is definitely needed.
I’m still debating whether to pick up the KA13 and hope that it can be a main driver, or just go straight to the K7 as I may always be wondering what I was missing?
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. Always looking to save money if I can, but not if it is for significantly inferior sound. I know this is subjective, and I don't have the opportunity to test any of these products 
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