FiiO K9 AKM
FiiO’s K9 AKM pairs a slightly warm-neutral voice with inky-quiet backgrounds, crisp detail and a convincingly spacious soundstage. Soundnews highlights its superb noise-floor and value performance, while The Honest Audiophile praises its focused imaging, bass impact and natural tone. Balanced outputs, Bluetooth and preamp flexibility complete an unusually polished desktop hub.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
90/100
Build Quality
92/100
Features Usability
89/100
Value for Money
94/100
Pros
Clean, exceptionally low-noise presentation with strong resolution, clarity and controlled treble detail.
Slightly warm-neutral tuning delivers natural timbre, satisfying bass slam and an expansive, precisely focused soundstage.
Versatile DAC, headphone amp and preamp functions, with balanced and single-ended connections plus capable Bluetooth streaming.
Premium-feeling, sturdy machined-aluminum construction and strong value around $529.
Cons
May lack output headroom for demanding dynamic headphones around 300 ohms and above, or especially difficult planars.
No physical remote control, although the FiiO Control app offers volume control in selected modes.
WATT RECOMMENDS
Save your favorites. Compare them anytime.
Create a free HiFi Hub account to save products to your Wishlist and compare your favorites side by side.
What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 90/100
Reviewers describe a clean, detailed and expansive presentation with a slightly warm-neutral character rather than a hard-edged analytical sound. It offers strong imaging, convincing venue scale and satisfying bass impact, though one reviewer found its available power less convincing with demanding 300-ohm-and-up headphones.
Transparency Resolution
92/100
Soundnews rated resolution highly, while The Honest Audiophile heard unusually strong detail retrieval for the price, with defined and focused information that remains easy to follow. Old Guy Hifi likewise noted clearer mids and a more detailed treble presentation without harshness.
Tonal Balance Musicality
91/100
The Honest Audiophile describes the K9 AKM as slightly warm-neutral, combining detail with an inviting and spacious presentation. Old Guy Hifi found it consistently wonderful and free of harshness, supporting an engaging but controlled tonal balance.
Dynamics
89/100
Reviewers praise its dynamics, bass slam and musical momentum; The Honest Audiophile found it lively enough to maintain real rhythmic engagement. That said, its output is reported to be limited with more demanding high-impedance headphones, which can restrain its sense of authority in those pairings.
Noise Floor
95/100
Soundnews awarded the K9 AKM especially high marks for noise floor. Old Guy Hifi similarly called the background inky dark and clean as a whistle, with no reported hiss or hum concerns.
Headphone Compatibility
83/100
The K9 AKM provides single-ended and balanced headphone connections, and reviewers found it successful across a broad range of ordinary listening. However, The Honest Audiophile reports that it can struggle to properly drive demanding dynamic headphones at roughly 300 ohms and above, narrowing its appeal for those loads.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
92/100
Construction receives consistent praise: Soundnews rated build quality highly, and Audiophilepure calls the precisely machined, sandblasted aluminum enclosure exemplary, sturdy and meticulously assembled. Old Guy Hifi and The Honest Audiophile also describe it as a substantial, solidly built unit.
Features Usability
89/100
The K9 AKM combines DAC, headphone amplifier and preamp duties, with 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm balanced and four-pin XLR headphone outputs. Bluetooth streaming and configurable headphone, variable preamp and fixed-line modes add useful flexibility; there is no physical remote, although the FiiO Control app can provide volume control in selected modes.
Value for Money
94/100
At $529, Soundnews calls it a budget-friendly DAC/amp that punches above its weight. The Honest Audiophile considers it a very good value and a favorite DAC/amp at around $500, while Old Guy Hifi found it acquitted itself very well even as a DAC alone.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
No forum mentions found yet
Specifications
Manufacturer's Description — FiiO
AKM flagship DAC combo AK4191EQ+AK4499EX | Newly added Type-C port THX AAA 788+ amplifier | Dual-mode clock management | QCC5124 Bluetooth LDAC/aptX Adaptive and other high-res Bluetooth codec support | App connectivity Truly balanced design | Dual-voltage linear transformer | Variety of inputs and outputs
* Pictures are for reference only. The actual product may vary.
Note: product drawings are for reference only, all in kind shall prevail
Selling points
AKM flagship DAC combo AK4191EQ+AK4499EX
The K9 AKM applies AKM's brand-new flagship DAC combo --AK4191EQ+AK4499EX. Based on the new design technology of totally separated digital and analog sections, the DAC combo even incorporates the newly developed "DWA ROUTING technology" to improve the Signal to Noise Ratio and reduce noise from varieties of amplitude. The result is more realistic, detailed and natural sound transmission, as if you were there with the performing artists.
High-end amplifier Refreshingly capable
The FIIO K9 AKM's ace up its sleeve is the THX AAA 788+ amplifier, giving it an extraordinary 1% undistorted power output up to 780mW at 300Ω and up to 2000mW at 32Ω. No matter if you use low-impedance or high-impedance headphones, the K9 AKM will drive it with aplomb.
Precisely designed
Electricity is the mother of sound
Dual-mode clock management Even more improvement to sound
Accurate and stable dual-mode clock management allows the K9 AKM to easily play back high-resolution audio with the greatest fidelity, as if you were there with the performing artists.
* Supports up to 768kHz/32bit PCM and DSD512
High-res Bluetooth Adept at all of your audiovisual needs
The K9 AKM employs the QCC5124 Bluetooth chip with support for LDAC/aptX HD/aptX Adaptive and other high-res Bluetooth codecs. With the K9 AKM, you can listen to music, watch videos, and play video games with high quality and low latency.
*Bluetooth 5.1, supported formats: LDAC/aptX Adaptive/aptX/aptX HD/aptX LL/AAC/SBC
Compatible with UAC1.0/UAC2.0 Highly adaptable
The K9 AKM supports both UAC1.0 and UAC2.0 modes, allowing you to use the K9 AKM with either devices that are simply plug-and-play or with devices that can work with the K9 AKM with an additional driver for even better compatibility. And the FIIO Control App allows you to easily switch between UAC1.0 and UAC2.0 modes.
*UAC1.0 for PS5 and other device support
Comprehensively capable No matter where you look
Neatly handsome Horizontal or vertical
The K9 AKM adopts the well-received design language of other FIIO desktop units, and features an all-aluminum construction made from an integrated stretching + CNC process to ensure the body's strength and precise finish. And with the vertical stand, the K9 AKM can be used either vertically or horizontally, allowing it to become a versatile part of your desktop setup.
A weighty feel For a weighty sound
The iconic, weighty FIIO volume knob is powered by ADC curve reconstruction to allow you to precisely and smoothly adjust through 120 levels of volume, with minimal noise and volume deviation between the left and right channels.
Light it up Let the high-res music commence
Not only do the RGB lights around the knobs give the K9 AKM and the desk space around it some fun personality, they also conveniently indicate the current audio sampling rate and Bluetooth codec.
Professional PEQ For what you love
Through the FIIO Control app, you can quickly switch between 7 music tuning styles preset on the K9 AKM. If the selected tuning style fits the music you are listening to, you can acquire a more vivid and pleasant experience. If the preset tuning style is not to your liking, the 3 self-define PEQ (Parametric Equalizer) designs will help to fine adjust to your favorite listening style.
*This function is only valid for Bluetooth decoding.
To show off your skills One app is enough
You can connect the K9 AKM to your phone via Bluetooth, and with the addition of the FIIO Control app you get access to even more functionality. Adjust various settings such as 6 types of filters, status indicators, EQ, and channel balance to exactly your liking.
*EQ only works in Bluetooth mode.
Multiple intelligent protection systems Always ready to go
Three intelligent protection systems – preventing overheating, overload, and DC protection – constantly make sure that the K9 AKM delivers high-energy music without wearing itself out. Listen worry-free with the K9 AKM!
Immerse yourself in fabulous music
Abundant accessories
① K9 AKM*1 ② Power cord*1 ③ Headphone plug adapter*1 ④ USB data cable*1 ⑤ Feet pads*6 ⑥ Fuse*1 ⑦ Stand*1 ⑧ Quick start guide*1 ⑨ Voltage selection card*1 ⑩ Warranty card*1
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
All Dealers
Zoom out the map to see more dealers
Authorized dealers for FiiO K9 AKM
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
- Addicted to Audio — online and in-store — Epping, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Advanced MP3 Players — online and in-store — Musselburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (website)
- All Elite Audio — online and in-store — Perry Hall, Maryland, United States (website)
- Alpha Audio Pte — online and in-store — Singapore, Singapore (website)
- Apos Audio — online and in-store — Oakland, California, United States (website)
- Audeos — online and in-store — Żywiec, Województwo śląskie (website)
- Audio 46 — online and in-store — New York, New York, United States (website)
- Audio Affair — online and in-store — Deritend, England, United Kingdom (website)
and 59 more verified dealers