FiiO K11 R2R DAC and Headphone Amplifier for Home Audio or PC, 6.35mm and Balanced 4.4mm, RCA, Coaxial, Optical, 1300mW, 384kHz/24Bit DSD256(Black)

This is THE dac to get if you’re a fan of the vinyl record warm kind of sound. Digital music never sounds quite as good as my records, not because it’s not clear enough or as detailed cuz it can be more so, but it’s not as pleasing to listen to. This thing ALMOST makes all my digital music sound as pleasing as my records. I don’t think I can ever not have an R2R dac again after having this. It’s so much nicer to listen to than a delta-sigma dac.The headphone amp in this thing isn’t all that great tho so if you’re really needing that, u might want to look for something else or just a seperate headphone amp, but even with the amp being mediocre, I still think this dac is worth full price by itself.

I’m not what I would consider an audiophile but I do have formal training in recording and mixing so I appreciate quality audio. The K11 R2R is quite a bargain for the price. First, you get an R2R DAC capable of decoding PCM 384kHz/24bit and DSD256 signals along with a balanced headphone amplifier - all for under $200. That’s quite a lot in this small desktop set.In addition there are USB, digital coaxial and optical inputs and RCA outputs for feeding either an external amplifier or powered speakers.The sound quality is very good. I prefer the oversampling setting to the non-oversampled and find the signature slightly warmer than a delta sigma DAC. The soundstage is good and the resolution is more than acceptable for this price-point. With respect to the internal amplifier, it’s fine for this price but the balanced output has a slightly lower noise floor than the unbalanced output.Things really get interesting using the K11 in DAC only mode to feed a Little Dot mkIII amplifier with high-end tubes - one quickly realizes that although the internal headphone amplifier is quite good it actually doesn’t exhaust the R2R’s full capability. Regardless, I’d be surprised if many had any disappointments with the K11 R2R - it’s an excellent unit.

I revised my review after further listening. To get the best sound quality from the Fiio K11 R2R is to use DAC mode and output to RCA at a fixed volume. I also think the best sound quality is heard when using over-sampling mode "OS", however, you mileage may vary. Digital coax and optical inputs seem to offer better audio as well, I got clicking sounds when using USB, but, it might be my particular setup. I think the audio quality is degraded through the headphone jacks. Fiiio should also improve the manual to fully utilize all the settings.

There are a wide range of opinions out there about the sound quality of this DAC. I'm firmly in the "sounds excellent" camp, for DACs in this price range. Remember - this is an entry level DAC, not $5000 R2R DAC. It should be compared to other DACs in its price range, not to R2R DACs in general. That said, it has plenty of "R2R-ness" in how it sounds.The sound staging is excellent, about as good as you can get with headphones. The accuracy and precision is high enough that crappy recordings are nearly unbearable to listen to, as they should be. I played in orchestras and big bands and I'm always listening for inner parts - that third horn bit in this piece or the bass trombone part - and that's all there. I've gone back and forth on NOS versus oversampling, and find that just like on every other DAC I have, it depends which sounds best from album to album. I'm running it with a wifi Raspberry Pi supplying signal via USB.I have noticed that choosing the right sensitivity for the headphones used matters a LOT in sound quality, and I listen through everything from custom in-ears through some really nasty and hard to drive planar headphones. This DAC doesn't do a wonderful job on the two hardest to drive headphones, but is perfect for everything else as long as I pay attention to selecting the right sensitivity. But that means that each time I use a different headphone, I have to deal with that single knob interface. I find the single knob interface to be annoying and fussy like every other similar implementation out there... would a couple of selector buttons really kill the value proposition???Overall, happy with performance, sound quality. Fun to listen through. You'd be hard pressed to match the sound quality anywhere near this price

I am very pleased with this DAC. Although I am not an audiophile, I can hear a definite improvement in the way my CDs sound: more clarity, instruments that I was barely hearing before now more present. An excellent price for an R2R DAC. I haven't tried it yet with headphones, not my main priority.