FiiO didn’t take a breather in 2023 with a continuing stream of latest merchandise within the Dongle DAC, DAP, desktop DAC/headphone amplifier, IEM, and headphone classes; it might be honest to say that they’ve turn into the Chinese language equal of Schiit Audio with only a few misfires to debate. Their give attention to the private audio class has begun to broaden with a spread of desktop streamers and DAC/headphone amplifiers like the brand new FiiO R9 that can be making its debut at CES 2024.
There are such a lot of connectivity choices on the R9 together with HDMI ARC which may very well be used together with your TV and analog outputs (RCA and XLR) for a pair of lively loudspeakers, it might be honest to name this one of the vital ahead considering hi-res streaming hubs we’ve seen lately and for lots much less cash than a few of its rivals.
It’s also moderately compact at 160mm x 115mm x 27mm (H x W x D) and solely weighs 5 kilos.
The brand new R9 flagship Desktop Audio Participant/Streamer & Balanced DAC/Amplifier builds upon the success of FiiO’s award-winning R7launched in 2023.
Outfitted with twin high-performance 8-Channel ESS Sabre ES9038PRO DACs and high-power 8-Channel THX AAA 788+ desktop-grade amplification — delivering as much as 7300mW of energy output — the R9 is a very highly effective and versatile answer for listening to your digital audio.
That includes a wealth of enter and output choices — together with HDMI ARC — the FiiO R9 has been designed to work brilliantly with a bunch of units, together with: wired headphones, wi-fi headphones, lively audio system, smartphones, PCs, and extra.
The FiiO R9 helps high-resolution PCM as much as 768kHz/32-Bit, native DSD512 audio, and options MQA decoding. Sporting 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage (expandable to 2TB through SD card), your private assortment of audio recordsdata will be performed again utilizing the extremely intuitive pre-installed FiiO Music utility.
As well as, your entire favorite streaming functions — together with TIDAL, Apple Music, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Deezer, Spotify, Soundcloud and plenty of extra — will be put in straight on to the R9 through both the pre-installed Google Play Retailer or FiiO Retailer apps.
The R9 runs on a customized model of Android and bypasses Android’s SRC restriction globally — that means the FiiO Music app and different third celebration streaming functions will ship their audio in its native high quality. Nothing is downsampled as can typically occur on different Android units.
Navigating across the FiiO R9 is straightforward, because of its full-colour Full-HD 6-inch touchscreen show. As well as, the R9 comes equipped with a Bluetooth distant management.
The FiiO R9’s 64GB of inner storage is complimented by SD, USB, Optical, Coaxial, and Ethernet inputs, with the FiiO R9 additionally supporting wi-fi connectivity because of having each 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 on board.
Entry your music recordsdata saved on the onboard reminiscence or SD card; bodily join your audio supply, similar to an exterior HDD; wirelessly ship audio to the R9 through DLNA or Airplay, or utilise the R9 as a Roon Prepared endpoint. You’ll be able to even transmit music through Bluetooth out of your smartphone or PC.
Because of its 8-Channel THX AAA-788+ amplifier and twin 8-Channel ESS Sabre ES9038PRO DACs, the FiiO R9 is a extremely completed and highly effective headphone amplifier, providing a selection of wired and wi-fi connections to your favorite headphones.
Single-ended 6.35mm and balanced 4.4mm connections function, in addition to a balanced 4-pin XLR output. With an influence output of as much as 7300mW, the R9 is greater than able to driving each low-and high-impedance headphones.
As well as, the R9 is ready to output audio through Bluetooth utilizing a variety of various requirements — together with AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, and LDAC — that means you’re certain to get the highest quality connection, no matter wi-fi headphones you’re utilizing.
The FiiO R9 is obtainable from mid-January, priced £1,399 / $1,499
For extra data: fiio.com/r9
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