FiiO K13 R2R

The good bloke Yellow at Fiio has kindly sent out the K13 R2R dac/amp for review with no expectations of a positive review – and that’s exactly what he’s getting. This little beasty retails for $320 USD and comes in black or silver. I got the Dark Lord’s version…….. I like to add on all my reviews – I’m listening with my ears, not yours. I’m listening with my gear, not yours. I’m listening with my love of audio, and not yours. YMMV….. I am not going to bore you with all the technical stuff, as you can go the Fiio page or read the above Headfi.org spiel, but the basics are: This compact Dac/amp boasts 2400mv p/ch (balanced) into 32 ohm, with 3 a level gain adjustment, and a fully-differential true 24-Bit R2R Dac setup. It runs NOS/OS Dual-Operating modes, XLR+RCA pre-amp/line-out functionality. It has Bluetooth v5.4 with LDAC and a dual DC/AC power supply. It also has a 10-Band high-precision PEQ functionality, AND a remote control! Ok, to start, it looks killer! I love the exposed top, revealing the ladder Dac and I really like the different LEDs for different streaming audio quality - 44.1. 48 and 96 each get their own colours (this can be changed to suit in the app). It comes with a remote control and you can also control the K13 via the Fiio Control app. This is what I used, I didn’t use the remote control. The app is very easy and intuitive. You can change just about everything, except Uncle Wally’s favourite hanky…it’s crusted on…….. You can EQ here. I didn’t as I’m not great with PEQ. Give me a clunky old 10 band graphic equaliser any day, I’m old school….. The Guide is fantastic on the app – it takes you through everything, including each and every function on the unit’s display itself. I didn’t know how to change between OS and NOS until reading this (yes “SAM” should have been the giveaway, but for this little idiot-savant (without the savant), it wasn’t…….. I tried OS vs NOS. There was a clear difference. OS was more dynamic, fuller and a fraction smoother. NOS was a tad grainier, and lacked a bit of the OS’ body. I kept it in OS. The xDuoo DP-10/K13/Audeze LCD-5s is a magical combo. I did test with the new and wonderful Sendy Egrets as well, and they sounded particularly amazing also. On 4 Seasons (Summer), the detail and clarity is a joy to experience. Staging is all around my noggin and every instrument has a place. A real tester – One by Metallica, comes out firing (literally – it’s all about the atrocities of war). The helicopter starts way left, but also behind my ears, and comes around, all BEHIND my head. It’s almost surreal. James comes in with crisp, clean and powerful guitar. The bass digs deep and the whole songs sounds marvellous. This is my real first time with and R2R Dac. I have read and watched and heard discussed that R2Rs are warmer, they’re smoother, and more spacious. I can certainly understand the more spacious part, but I am not getting warm or smooth as yet. I am getting clean, detailed, full bodied, timbral precision with a naturality that is just lovely. I am hearing subtle nuances in music, not a rolled off sound like I had potentially envisaged. Firestarter begins with punchy, dynamic and fun guitar and the vocals come in strong but not over-bearing. Resolution is top notch and the song sounds cohesive and exciting. Passacaglia, like 4 Seasons is vibrant, with clean treble, smooth and natural mids (strings are life-like and in no way crisp or sibilant). I guess there is a rich smoothness to this track, as it is a lovely classical piece with a jazz infusion. But detail and clarity don’t take a back seat. Valhalla Calling……wow!! The bass goes deeper than the desolation of realizing your ‘endgame’ lasted exactly 3 1/2 days ……. This is huge, punchy, electrifying and ‘deep’ly satisfying………Bombastic is actually a good adjective here. It’s exciting. Make Us Stronger comes in EDM/Dance-hard. The staging again is outside my head, all around and everything is placed spaciously. It’s again pulsating, vivacious and electrifying. Resolution is clean and punchy. Bass is tight, well controlled and well in control. A song made for this audio setup! We roundup with Dance Monkey. Tones’ vocals can get crisp on some gear but on this combo, her voice is just clean and natural sounding. The little pops at the start of the song are crisp and detailed and when the bass kicks in, it’s punchy and well controlled. Another great song for this setup. I realise that a lot of the je ne sais quoi comes form the option to oversample, but this clearly does add another level of detail, body and staging to the music, and I much prefer this mode.