FiiO K17 Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier - Silver

FiiO's Flagship Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier

The FiiO K17 is the company's premier desktop DAC and headphone amplifier, positioned between the K9 Pro ESS and the flagship K19 in the FiiO desktop lineup. Replacing the well-regarded K9 Pro series, the K17 brings a retro-inspired design, significantly increased output power, local playback capability, a 31-band parametric EQ, and wireless connectivity — making it one of the most versatile desktop audio units FiiO has ever produced.

Dual AK4191EQ and AK4499EX DAC Architecture

At the heart of the K17 sits an AK4191EQ digital filter chip paired with dual AK4499EX DAC chips operating in a fully balanced configuration. This combination delivers an SNR of 124dB (A-weighted) and supports native DSD512 and up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM decoding over USB. Three ultra-low phase noise femtosecond crystal oscillators maintain exceptional clock accuracy, while a dedicated ES9821Q ADC feeds the separate 31-band parametric EQ section, which is clocked at 360MHz and runs on 64-bit floating point arithmetic for lossless equalisation. A linear power supply rated at 35W keeps the noise floor to an impressive level throughout.

Discrete Amplifier Stage with Balanced Output up to 4,000mW

Unlike the THX AAA-based amplification of the K9 Pro series, the K17 uses a fully discrete Op plus transistor current amplification design based on ON Semiconductor MJE243 and MJE253 transistors. This circuit is optimised for high current delivery and low output impedance (1.5 ohm), and can drive headphones with up to 4,000mW per channel from the balanced XLR and 4.4mm Pentaconn outputs at a 32 ohm load. The front panel provides 6.35mm single-ended, 4.4mm balanced, and XLR balanced headphone outputs, as well as a front-mounted USB-C input for convenient connection without reaching behind the unit.

A 3.93-inch touch screen displays the current operating mode, selected input, EQ settings, and playback information. Five selectable gain stages allow fine tuning for everything from sensitive IEMs to demanding planars. The K17 also functions as a preamplifier or analogue amplifier, with rear-panel 4.4mm and RCA line inputs alongside coaxial, optical, RCA, and XLR line outputs. Bluetooth 5.1 via Qualcomm QCC5125 supports aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and LDAC. Wi-Fi provides Roon Ready and AirPlay 2 streaming, and a USB-A port on the rear supports direct playback from flash drives and powered hard drives up to 384kHz/32-bit and DSD256.