FiiO K9 Pro ESS

FiiO K9 Pro ESS - Desktop headphone amplifier at its best

The FiiO K9 Pro ESS stationary headphone amplifier in summary: The FiiO K9 Pro is probably one of the most versatile devices in the entire range, even if you might not think so at first glance. Not only does it contain a top-class DAC, but also a first-class Bluetooth receiver and a powerful amplifier in its elegant and unobtrusive housing, which together provide excellent sound from a wide range of sources. The whole thing is then controllable via app or directly via the front on the device. Either way, the FiiO K9 Pro is a lot of fun!

The highlights of the FiiO K9 Pro at a glance:

    Always high quality connection - via Bluetooth 5.0, optical, coaxial, USB and more

    Extremely connectable - a multitude of analogue and digital connections

    Separate, yet powerful together - analogue and digital sections separated

    Fully balanced design - powerful and low-noise thanks to THX-AAA

    Operable via app - volume, channel balance, sleep timer and more

Ready for a permanent connection - Wireless via Bluetooth 5.0 and more

The flexibility of Bluetooth...

The Bluetooth protocol has evolved steadily since its development more than twenty years ago, and with its current version 5.0, it has truly "grown up". The progress compared to the previous Bluetooth version alone looks brilliant: Double the transmission speed, four times the range and eight times the amount of data that can be transmitted simultaneously.

However, the underlying Bluetooth version is "only half the battle", after all, the corresponding Bluetooth codecs must also be supported so that the music travels in high quality. This is not a problem in the FiiO K9 Pro, as SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and LDAC are available here. This makes the FiiO K9 Pro both up to date and backwards compatible with virtually all Bluetooth-enabled devices on the market.

...and the uncompromising nature of wired connectivity in harmony

Bluetooth today delivers remarkable sound quality and is therefore fully supported, but on the input side, FiiO prefers to rely on "traditional ways". A whole range of analogue inputs (stereo RCA, 4.4 mm jack), digital inputs (optical, coaxial and USB) and outputs (stereo RCA, balanced 3-pole XLR output and 4-pole XLR output, 4.4 mm balanced jack and 6.35 mm jack) are available as classic connection options.

Or in other words: Everyone can find a connection here. Analogue and digital, balanced and unbalanced. And the best thing about it: You decide for yourself whether you want to use the FiiO K9 Pro as an analogue headphone amplifier, as an analogue preamplifier or "only" as a high-quality D/A converter. At the touch of a button.

Huge format variety - you press play, and the K9 Pro does the rest.

The 2 x ESS 9038Pro digital-to-analogue converter chip built into the FiiO K9 Pro is already something of a legend in its field. It convinces with its high degree of transparency and resolution, paired with high dynamics and extremely low noise values.

But not only with this, but also with the multitude of supported bit rates and resolutions. Whether it's PCM at up to 32 bits and 384 kHz, studio quality with MQA or native DSD256, you simply press play and the DAC proves that its legendary status is well deserved.

Uncompromising amplifier technology and balanced construction - THX AAAâ„¢.

THX AAAâ„¢ stands for "Achromatic Audio Amplifier", which is an amplifier technology that is virtually free of sound coloration of any kind. And the almost unavoidable background noise and distortion in the sound image are also reduced to an absolute minimum.

Also good to know: The AAAâ„¢ technology has been specially designed, developed and optimised for use in combination with headphones and impresses with gigantic power values of up to 2 watts when low impedance headphones are operated. And it's completely free of distortion!*

At the same time, the FiiO K9 Pro has a strictly balanced internal design, ensuring extremely low noise and preventing the two channels from "getting in each other's way". And this continues with the analogue and digital sections...

*Tested in the FiiO test lab on the balanced output.

Work is done separately - To achieve the goal together

Namely: outstanding sound. And in order to achieve this, not only do the components that process the sensitive music signal work in a separate area of the circuit board from the power supply, which is manufactured according to FiiO specifications, but the digital section itself is also separated from the analogue section on the circuit board.

And that's not all! Because the analogue section and the digital section are both supplied with power separately from each other, so that there can be no interference with each other. All that remains is sound of the highest quality.

Everything under control - with the handy FiiO Control app.

Especially when playing music from your smartphone or tablet, you'll appreciate the benefits of the FiiO Control app, available for iOS and Android. You can easily control the volume via Bluetooth, adjust the channel balance, configure the sleep timer and much more. And of course, all this also works when the K9 Pro is not playing music via Bluetooth, but via one of its other inputs.

Convincing "hands-on" as well - with the volume control and the buttons

And those who prefer "analogue" will be pleased with the numerous setting options directly on the front. For one thing, there is the rotary volume control, which is not only softly illuminated (the colour changes depending on the sampling rate) and has a high-quality feel, but also controls the volume precisely. And in doing so, it makes channel imbalances in volume and noise virtually impossible.

And there are a whole lot more sensible controls. Buttons for the 3-stage gain (the amplification factor with which the headphones are to be driven), the input selection as well as the selection of the operating mode; headphone amplifier, DAC or pure preamplifier.

No matter what you end up using the FiiO K9 Pro as, one thing is certain: you'll have a lot of fun with it. Guaranteed.