Finally got my Fiio k11r2r dac
- Thread starter Bozzz
- Start date
Looking nice man
Thanks loving it so far.Looking nice man
I like both the K11 and the K11 R2R as headphone amps, but greatly prefer the r2r as a dac into my amp / speakers.
Go on, you know you want to... it's not a lot of cash
a detailed comparison with the internal dac of the ultra?I like both the K11 and the K11 R2R as headphone amps, but greatly prefer the r2r as a dac into my amp / speakers.
Go on, you know you want to... it's not a lot of cash
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Ok, let me clarify...
greatly prefer the r2r as a dac over the K11 into my amp / speakers.
Now, as for the ultra vs the r2r, I can't / won't provide a detailed comparison.
About 6 months ago I spent some time comparing the ultra analog out vs digital out into my Hegel H190.
No volume matching; no blind abx comparison; just a bit of listening to a song or two at a time and seeing how I felt.
The upshot was that I thought the ultra was really good, but the Hegel was better. More punch, more detail, more enjoyment, more toe tapping.
It's that final metric that's my measure, and I've not really used the ultra analog out since then.
This was my totally subjective reaction to adding a k11 r2r nearly a couple of months ago:
Currently got an ultra hooked up to a fiio k11 via usb and an amp pro hooked up to a fiio k11 r2r via usb.
Both of the fiios analog out to my hegel h190 and a wiim pro coax to the h190.
Then out to my paradigm speakers.
No EQ or RC on any of the wiims.
All 3 in a group.
Listening to this via combo 2 atm (k11 r2r)
Don't think I've ever heard it so good before.
I'm seriously surprised at how much better the k11 r2r is than the normal k11, regardless of whether the ultra or amp feeds it (as might be expected).
As John Travolta said, "I've got chills, they're multiplying."
Both of the fiios analog out to my hegel h190 and a wiim pro coax to the h190.
Then out to my paradigm speakers.
No EQ or RC on any of the wiims.
All 3 in a group.
Listening to this via combo 2 atm (k11 r2r)
Don't think I've ever heard it so good before.
I'm seriously surprised at how much better the k11 r2r is than the normal k11, regardless of whether the ultra or amp feeds it (as might be expected).
As John Travolta said, "I've got chills, they're multiplying."
Of course, this is just my experience, as (un)consciously biased as it may be. I've no expectation that others will agree, but I hope others won't feel the need to argue about it either.
Coming back to @gazza1101, for me adding either of the k11s as a headphone amp is a significant improvement over the ultra headphone out.
But that's not news to anyone who's been here for the last 6 months and seen my thoughts / posts on this topic.
It's a hobby - spend a little cash to try something different, and if it's not for you sell it on. (Or try to demo at a store first!)
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both ultra and fiio dac are certainly normalized to 2v ...so the comparisons are rather relevant....Ok, let me clarify...
greatly prefer the r2r as a dac over the K11 into my amp / speakers.
Now, as for the ultra vs the r2r, I can't / won't provide a detailed comparison.
About 6 months ago I spent some time comparing the ultra analog out vs digital out into my Hegel H190.
No volume matching; no blind abx comparison; just a bit of listening to song or two at a time and seeing how I felt.
The upshot was that I thought the ultra was really good, but the Hegel was better. More punch, more detail, more enjoyment, more toe tapping.
It's that final metric that's my measure, and I've not really used the ultra analog out since then.
This was my totally subjective reaction to adding a k11 r2r nearly a couple of months ago:
For that song (and many others, but not everything I listen to) I thought the k11 r2r was fantastic; better than the Hegel and by extension presumably better than the ultra too.Currently got an ultra hooked up to a fiio k11 via usb and an amp pro hooked up to a fiio k11 r2r via usb.
Both of the fiios analog out to my hegel h190 and a wiim pro coax to the h190.
Then out to my paradigm speakers.
No EQ or RC on any of the wiims.
All 3 in a group.
Listening to this via combo 2 atm (k11 r2r)
Don't think I've ever heard it so good before.
I'm seriously surprised at how much better the k11 r2r is than the normal k11, regardless of whether the ultra or amp feeds it (as might be expected).
As John Travolta said, "I've got chills, they're multiplying."
Of course, this is just my experience, as (un)consciously biased as it may be. I've no expectation that others will agree, but I hope others won't feel the need to argue about it either.
Coming back to @gazza1101, for me adding either of the k11s as a headphone amp is a significant improvement over the ultra headphone out.
But that's not news to anyone who's been here for the last 6 months and seen my thoughts / posts on this topic.
It's a hobby - spend a little cash to try something different, and if it's not for you sell it on. (Or try to demo at a store first!)
I have therefore not forbidden you to make the direct comparison easily....
(a quick observation on the test signal and sound level meter on the phone helps to remove any possible doubt)
These are not trick questions...but so many people no longer dare to go down this path...
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The thing is I'm quite happy with the Ultra as a headphone amp but it's across my room 3m away so I have to drape a headphone cable across the floor, doesn't worry me too much but I thought about using the coax connection out of the ultra in to a headphone amp where I sit as I have an unused subwoofer cable end in this location (from hifi location area) and it got me reading about headphone amps and with the low cost and great reviews of this device even when compared to much higher cost dacs has my attention.Ok, let me clarify...
greatly prefer the r2r as a dac over the K11 into my amp / speakers.
Now, as for the ultra vs the r2r, I can't / won't provide a detailed comparison.
About 6 months ago I spent some time comparing the ultra analog out vs digital out into my Hegel H190.
No volume matching; no blind abx comparison; just a bit of listening to song or two at a time and seeing how I felt.
The upshot was that I thought the ultra was really good, but the Hegel was better. More punch, more detail, more enjoyment, more toe tapping.
It's that final metric that's my measure, and I've not really used the ultra analog out since then.
This was my totally subjective reaction to adding a k11 r2r nearly a couple of months ago:
For that song (and many others, but not everything I listen to) I thought the k11 r2r was fantastic; better than the Hegel and by extension presumably better than the ultra too.Currently got an ultra hooked up to a fiio k11 via usb and an amp pro hooked up to a fiio k11 r2r via usb.
Both of the fiios analog out to my hegel h190 and a wiim pro coax to the h190.
Then out to my paradigm speakers.
No EQ or RC on any of the wiims.
All 3 in a group.
Listening to this via combo 2 atm (k11 r2r)
Don't think I've ever heard it so good before.
I'm seriously surprised at how much better the k11 r2r is than the normal k11, regardless of whether the ultra or amp feeds it (as might be expected).
As John Travolta said, "I've got chills, they're multiplying."
Of course, this is just my experience, as (un)consciously biased as it may be. I've no expectation that others will agree, but I hope others won't feel the need to argue about it either.
Coming back to @gazza1101, for me adding either of the k11s as a headphone amp is a significant improvement over the ultra headphone out.
But that's not news to anyone who's been here for the last 6 months and seen my thoughts / posts on this topic.
It's a hobby - spend a little cash to try something different, and if it's not for you sell it on. (Or try to demo at a store first!)
I currently the dac in my Arcam avr because I think it has a slightly cleaner sound, but I found it's really difficult to hear any difference between the Arcam and the Ultra.
So far I’m loving it. Right now I’m using it from my ultra via coax with my home stereo. Sounds amazing
That "presumably" should be the nagging doubt in the back of any audiophile's head ...
But I know it isn't.
There's just room for 3.141592 million steps of "massive improvement" between all those 2.718218 million devices we listened to. 
submarinedog
Member
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2024
- Messages
- 13
Great to hear the positive feedback. I've been looking at this one for a while and finally bit the bullet.. look forward to receiving it, hopefully before Christmas
May i ask why you are going the coax way instead of USB Out by the Wiim Ultra to the R2R?
Any benefits using coax instead of USB Out or vice versa?
No not really at all. I’ve used both. They both sound very good. Honestly the reason I use coax over usb is I have a Belkin Soundform connect going into the optical in on the ultra for Apple Music. It’s powered by the usb on the ultra. I’m using a power conditioner strip to power my stereo and other electronics and don’t have any spare plugs lol. If I were to use the usb for the dac I wouldn’t have any way to plug in the Belkin for Apple Music. I use tidal for streaming but occasionally use Apple music via airplay. Plus my wife doesn’t care about high res audio and loves her Apple Music.
You can use the subwoofer output in combination with the coaxial (or optical) digital output. This is currently not possible with USB out.
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slartibartfast
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2024
- Messages
- 4,153
Surely independent L/R room correction doesn't work at all with a subwoofer at the moment.
castalla
Major Contributor
Audiophile nonsense - the Rossini Apex dac costs 32.5 K . Madness.That "presumably" should be the nagging doubt in the back of any audiophile's head ...
But I know it isn't.
Oopsie. I will correct this immediately.
Isn't that still too cheap for the caring audiophile? They must have cut some corners at that bargain price.
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