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FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier

The new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier, which FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. is now launching on the market, is designed to be particularly easy to use and is the first solution of this kind with an integrated OLED display.

Story Highlights
  • For the first time, FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. presents such a solution with an integrated OLED display with the new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier.

The new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is a solution in the field of personal audio devices that the Chinese specialist FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. is bringing to market not only under the FiiO brand itself, but also as Jadis Audio. This is the brand that the company intends to use specifically for solutions that are intended to address a particularly broad customer base.

The new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is, as the name suggests, a combination of D/A converter and headphone amplifier that is very common in the field of portable solutions, whereby source devices with USB-C can be connected and the Apple iPhone with Apple Lightning connector is also supported.

D/A converter and headphone amplifier as a particularly flexible solution

The new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is said to be a particularly flexible solution, with the manufacturer even referring to it as a DAC with a high-performance headphone amplifier and thus pointing out that it can be operated without any problems with a wide range of different headphone models and achieve the best results with them.

Flagship Dual DACs

The new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is also designed to convert signals at the highest level, which is why it uses two CS43198 DACs from specialist Cirrus Logic Inc.

This means that the new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is able to process signals in Linear PCM with up to 32 bits and 768 kHz as well as DSD including DSD256.

On the analogue side, an ultra-low-noise SGM8261-2 operational amplifier from SG Micro Corp. is used, and the developers also rely on a six-layer printed circuit board for better audio performance.

Headphones can be connected via a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack as well as a 4.4 mm Pentaconn and thus both unbalanced and balanced. The 3.5 mm connector can also be used as S/PDIF.

USB-C is used to connect source devices, and in addition to a USB-C to USB-C cable, an adapter for the Apple Lightning connector is also included in the scope of delivery.

Integrated OLED Display

A special feature of the new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is its OLED display, which allows the user to make various settings directly, such as choosing from the DAC’s five filters.

Alternatively, you can control the FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier with the help of the FiiO Control App, which the manufacturer provides for Apple iOS and Google Android.

Of course, this solution comes with a very solid metal housing in a very compact form.

Prices and availability

The new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier is available immediately from specialist retailers. The manufacturer lists the recommended retail price at € 129,-.

Getting to the point

It’s a portable D/A converter and headphone amplifier that boasts an impeccable feature set, particularly accurate signal conversion and a powerful output stage, according to the promise from FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. In addition, and this is the real special feature of the new FiiO KA5 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier, it has an integrated OLED display for particularly simple control.

PRODUCTFIIO KA5 PORTABLE DAC AND HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
Price€ 129,-
BrandFiiO
ManufacturerFiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.
DistributionNT Global Distribution GmbH
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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