CanJam SoCal 2023 is going on on the finish of the month and we’ve observed that only a few producers plan on saying new merchandise on the present based mostly on the shortage of communication to date this month. If new issues are coming — we might learn about it already. Has the market turn out to be smooth for DACs, Dongle DACs, DAPs, and IEMs? We wouldn’t go that far however it could seem that producers have a whole lot of “outdated” stock to maneuver earlier than they introduce new merchandise and that customers are in search of merchandise which are inexpensive proper now.
We now have been harping on this message for the previous 4 or 5 months. Affordability is big proper now. Even for the Head-Fi group. In the event you take a look at the gross sales information, high-end headphone producers solely characterize 1% of the market relating to gross sales. Apple remains to be greater than 20% of the earbuds market.
However does the current launch of the iPhone 15 create a chance with the choice to solely supply a USB Sort-C connector? We hate having to make use of adapters with our older iPhones and the transfer to USB Sort-C ought to have occurred years in the past.
How that implementation performs out with the present technology of Dongle DACs stays to be seen however the brand new FiiO KA13 appears to be like fairly intriguing. Particularly on the value. $80 USD is a steal.
The brand new KA13 Transportable Headphone DAC/Amplifier and K11 Desktop Headphone DAC/Amplifier construct upon the success of an award-winning vary of moveable audio tools from FiiO, together with the just lately launched FT3 headphones, the M15S Digital Audio Participant, and R7 Music Streamer.
The FiiO KA13 is a compact but highly effective moveable USB Headphone DAC/Amplifier. Utilising twin CS43131 32-bit DACs and 8262 Op-Amps, it delivers full help for 32-bit/384kHz and native DSD256 Hello-Res audio information.
Regardless of the KA13’s moveable measurement (a mere 56.3 x 22 x 10.5mm), to ship most flexibility, FiiO’s engineers have managed to include each single-ended (3.5 mm) and balanced (4.4 mm) headphone outputs into slender body. The three.5mm output additionally helps SPDIF output. Apple iPhone 15 house owners can now use the USB Sort-C enter for superior sound high quality.
The FiiO KA13 presents a superb answer for a variety of sources, together with Android, iOS, PCs and extra. Alongside the KA13 delivering a strong sound while on the go together with cellular sources, it additionally incorporates a ‘Desktop Mode’ which may be manually chosen to extend the facility output to a formidable 550mW.
Obtainable in black and silver, the KA13’s modern metallic chassis options an ambient gentle window which adjustments color to simply present the standard of the audio file being performed: PCM ≤48kHz will show gentle blue, PCM >48kHz will show yellow, while DSD shows inexperienced.
The KA13 works with the FiiO Management media app for Android and iOS permitting settings similar to Achieve, Filter, SPDIF Output, Ambient Lights to be simply adjusted in line with choice.
Key Options:
- DAC Chip: CS43131
- Op-Amp Chip: SGM8262
- Hello-Res Assist: As much as 384kHz / 32-Bit & DSD256
- USB Connector: Sort-C (USB 2.0)
- Ambient Gentle Window
- Dimensions: 56.3 x 22 x 10.5 mm
- Weight: 18.5g (excluding cable)
- Output Energy (Single-ended): 170mW + 170mW
- Output Energy (Balanced): 550mW + 550mW
- USB-C to USB-C Cable Included: Sure
- USB-C to Lightning Cable Included: Sure
- USB-C to USB-A Adaptor Included: Sure
Worth & Availability
The FiiO KA13 might be accessible for $75.99 at hifigo.com (£69, €74).
For extra data: fiio.com/ka13
Associated studying: Cayin RU7 Dongle DAC Evaluate
