What’s Different Between the FiiO K11 and K11 R2R? – Initial Impressions

The FiiO K11 is one of the best entry-level DAC/AMP combos on the market. Those looking for a desktop amp have a lot to be impressed by with the original K11. The minimal footprint, neutral audio quality, detailed soundstage, and $129 price-tag makes me question if the new version is a lateral or forward move by FiiO. At the same time, the R2R costs $40 more which begs the question of what changes have been made to warrant the price increase. Let’s take a look at what makes the R2R an improvement over the original K11.

What’s In The Box – FiiO K11 vs. K11 R2R

Looks

I don’t have much to say on this topic considering the looks of the K11 R2R remain virtually identical aside from an R2R logo on the top. Those with minimal space in their set-up will enjoy the surprisingly small footprint. I use the term surprisingly considering how well the K11 can power high impedance headphones. I’ll address the power of the R2R later. I’m elated that FiiO has taken the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach in terms of looks. The durable aluminum frame, small package, and unoffensive styling makes the original K11 a fantastic looking item. Resources haven’t been wasted on refreshing a good looking product.

Design Differences – Fiio K11 vs. K11 R2R

The clearest difference between the R2R and K11 is in the chip that’s used. Originally, it was built around a CS43198 ΔΣ chip. Delta Sigma chips are found on many lower-level dongle amps due to their high-bit depth and high performance in regards to cost of manufacturing. This comes at the cost of THD+N and noise being higher than an R2R chip. With this in mind, R2R chips are more difficult to manufacture and often come at a much higher cost. Developing an R2R chip for a budget friendly item isn’t an easy undertaking. Along with this, making a high resolution R2R chip that supports 384kHz/24-bit is a recent development and it’s yet to hit entry-level devices. Seeing R2R in a sub-$200 DAC/AMP is a marvel in it of itself.

Many of you may be asking yourselves, ‘what’s the difference between R2R and ΔΣ chips’. For those of you who know, feel free to move to the next paragraph. Theoretically, you’ll be able to get a warmer sound from most R2R DACs without sacrificing the transparency of higher range frequencies. Although the THD+N and noise floor of the K11 and the K11 R2R are very similar, you still get less harmonic distortion, recreating high frequencies more naturally. This means that the R2R should have a warmer yet more transparent sound. This is said to increase the accuracy in soundstage, considering there’s less hazy distortion blocking out analytical highs.

In regards to other changes, the NJW1195A volume controller uses a resistor ladder potentiometer. This means a more controlled and even volume dial which won’t ‘hiss’ as gain adjustments are made. The output power on both of these devices hasn’t changed, and you’ll still be able to power all the same headphones you were able to power before. The I/O have also stayed the same. They’ve ditched the filter settings due to a ladder resistor array. What’s added to compensate for this is an OS/NOS mode, allowing for a more faithful recreation of waveforms.

Summary

Instead of giving listeners a product with new looks, FiiO has decided to dramatically improve the quality and internals of their entry level DAC/AMP. Some companies recreate items by slapping a label on them and investing in marketing to pass off lower quality products at the same price. This isn’t the case with FiiO, who have made some great technical improvements in the K11 R2R. In my opinion, the K11 R2R’s $169 price-tag is well-worth the $40 increase. If you’re in need of a desktop amp under $200, this item is a blind-buy to me.

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