Chi-Fi brand FiiO has announced a slew of new products at the first show of the year, CES 2025 in Las Vegas, and while we've taken a look at the FiiO S15, the brand's first full-width audio streamer, it would be remiss of us not to mention the new K17 headphone amplifier and JM21 audio player.
FiiO K17 HEAD AMP
While the FiiO K17 is classified as a headphone amplifier, the great thing about it is that it can be paired with active speakers to create a full-fledged hi-fi system. Equipped with the AK4191 and two AK4499EX flagship AKM DACs, the unit offers a claimed 4,000mW + 4,000mW output for headphones, ensuring it can easily drive most popular headphones.
There's a fully discrete Class-AB transistor amplification circuit and fully balanced audio architecture with three ultra-low phase noise femtosecond oscillators, with everything powered by a 35W low-noise, low-frequency linear power supply.
The FiiO K17 can be controlled via an included remote or through the 3.93-inch LCD touchscreen, and the 31-band parametric equaliser (PEQ) feature looks to be an ideal way for you to customise the sound to your liking.
Many connection options are available, including balanced XLR outputs, as well as coaxial and RCA. There's also an RCA line level input, which means the K17 can be connected to a CD player or even a turntable, although an external phono preamp might be needed for the latter.
FiiO JM21 DAP
For a more portable option, the FiiO JM21 is a new digital audio player that's only 13mm thin and very enticingly priced. While this might not be the flagship device some might be hoping for, it's a great audio player for people looking to take the first step away from wireless streaming or their old iPods.
With dual CS43198 DACs, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage expandable to 2TB via a MicroSD slot, the player can support high-res music streaming services and output audio via the 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone ports.
The JM21 is powered by the Snapdragon 680 processor and runs on Android 13, so apps such as Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music and more can be downloaded and used, in addition to the preloaded FiiO Music app.
When used as a USB DAC or with local decoding, the player can support up to 384kHz/32bit and native DSD256.
The FiiO K17 retails at US$900 / €1.000 / £899, while the FiiO JM21 is priced at US$199.99 / €199.99 / £179.99. Both are expected to be available from late January onwards.
Visit FiiO for more information
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Posted in: Hi-Fi | Headphones
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