FiiO - K5 Pro ESS

FiiO introduces the latest K5 Pro ESS desktop DAC and amplifier. Building on the K5, a pure desktop amplifier, the team added DAC functionality coupled with the high performance of K5 to create the new K5 Pro ESS Desktop DAC and Amplifier. The K5 Pro ESS connects to an audio player via a digital audio interface and works with a computer as a professional desktop decoding amplifier. Adopting Sabre's high-performance audio DAC chip, ES9038Q2M with 32-bit processing, to achieve a new height of decoding audio. The audio architecture is further elevated with an XMOS USB decoding chip with an all-new clock matching management system, with unprecedented capabilities that support decoding up to a sample rate of 768kHz PCM and native DSD decoding.

The new FiiO K5 Pro ESS has been upgraded to keep up with the times to offer high-fidelity audio. The K5 Pro ESS employs the flagship portable ESS DAC chip, the ES9038Q2M, with outstanding performance and richer audio details. Compared to the last generation K5, the distortion has reduced by 50%, the crosstalk has increased by 6dB with greater channel separation, and the dynamic range has increased by 3dB. The K5 Pro ESS also features a high-performance XMOS XUF208 USB decoding chip equipped with a clock matching management system, allowing decoding up to a sample rate of 768kHz/32bit and DSD512 natively. This capability enables the K5 Pro ESS to decode and play your music at the highest quality.

The upgraded FiiO K5 Pro ESS now offers amplification functionality. The K5 Pro ESS features a carefully-tuned feedforward amplifier circuit design that increases the power output of the TPA6120 op-amp by more than 60%. This offers a total power output of up to 1.5W under a 32ohm load, and up to 20Vpp at 300Ohms. To add to this, you also get 3 gain level settings - Low, medium, and high gain, allowing you to use the K5 Pro ESS with almost any headphone at comfortable volume levels. Through the reconstruction of the ADC curve, the K5 Pro ESS's volume control allows you to smoothly adjust the volume at extremely fine increments without any undesirable noise or with any channel imbalances. With the K5 Pro ESS, you can comfortably use various headphones with all kinds of sensitivities.

FiiO K5 Pro ESS does not fall behind when it comes to amplification power. The K5 Pro ESS has generous space to embed and package the necessary components for exceptional analogue amplification. It packs a four-level audio circuit capable of providing extraordinary audio fidelity in its class with Second-order LPF + Analogue Volume Adjustment + Voltage Amplification + Current Drive. Each part of the amplification circuit works perfectly together in harmony for excellent dynamic range and high resolution of sound. This entire audio architecture has been specifically designed to extract the optimum performance of the K5 Pro ESS.

No matter what audio equipment you use, digital audio has advantages in the integrity and fidelity of audio signals transmitted. The team of acoustic engineers at FiiO understood this and granted the K5 Pro ESS capabilities to allow you to take advantage of digital audio with optical and coaxial inputs supporting up to 96kHz inputs. This connectivity is convenient for connecting various music players and digital interfaces. Besides the wide variety of digital inputs options, the K5 Pro ESS also features a traditional analogue RCA line-in. RCA line-in is not only more robust and less prone to breakage than 3.5mm line-in, but it also has better resolution. The RCA line-out line signal is adjustable up to a maximum of 2Vrms, allowing the K5 Pro ESS to be used with a variety of active speakers and external amplifiers.

FiiO K5 Pro ESS is designed with quality materials featuring a one-piece all-metal oversized volume knob that is seamlessly integrated within the aluminium front panel, allowing you to easily and comfortably control volume. The RGB light indicator lights up with different colours according to the sample rate of the played audio. The input selection and gain are controlled by tactile toggle switches, which are clearly labelled, allowing you to control your music. The K5 Pro ESS utilises a DC 15V power supply engineered to minimise noise. The incoming DC power is filtered with a secondary power supply, which then independently supplies power to the amplification part of the audio circuit and the rest of the components. This design effectively suppresses power supply ripple and minimises power supply crosstalk between the two major sections of the circuit. This allows for more stable and less noisy power.