Alright so K13 R2R.
It's very slim, but very deep, like X9 depth on the desk but PA7 width and height The side USB port is actually convenient lol, didn't think I would make use of it but phone/monitor's type-c port etc no problems.
It feels the same fit and finish as the K11 R2R, sharp cut edges and the knobs feel exactly the same between K11 and K13 too, as does the pot notches when turning. The display is also exactly the same. The main difference is underneath where FiiO has finally used proper anti slip feet:
Though one step forward, one step back, the remote remains wobbly on the desk:
The remote has all the desired options so no mucking in menus unelss changing OS/NOS and DSD mode:
I
don't know if Fiio has an ASIO driver as the download for the K13 R2R installs a HD Audio Player, not what I want, but - The FiiO driver worked in the end after a reinstall. The driver contains ASIO support just like the Eversolo driver and drivers for other USB DACs. Windows also has native WASAPI Exclusive which worked fine for bit-perfect testing and is the same thing as ASIO just without a control panel applet that installs with those third party drivers to see status etc:
On sound, it's definitely a noticeable boost over the K11 R2R, the relationship is there you can tell it's the same family which makes sense since the DAC board is the same still, the upgraded amp and power supply present a nicer soundstage that's closer to the X9, and yeah it's 100% more musical than the DX5 II with none of the upper end compression or soundstage narrowness that I found with that model. Through both HE1000se and LCD-5 this is doing extremely capable job producing bigger sound than the price would suggest. I'd could be happy with this as an all in one for music and gaming. The soundstage is very wide, as wide as the X9, stereo imaging is close as well, too close to call one better over the other, will come down to subtle preference here.
The differences come in the finer details in the above. Some instruments that live in the upper FR pop out in stereo image a little more on the X9, it's subtle and without A/B between both this could be easy to not notice. The mid-range vocals and general timbre is also not far from the X9. In some songs it sounded identical on the HE1000se but in songs mastered for the details the X9 resolves to a greater degree and instruments have more "air" between them.
Comparing to the X9 is unfair though as it's way more expensive and using high end components, but I think it's useful to see where the K13 R2R sits since to my ears it beats the DX5 II fairly easily on sound. the DX5 II wins for its screen and Aurora UI, that side of Topping is almost perfect barring a few omissions that I mentioned previously. The K13 R2R also shares one quirk with the DX5 II in that you can very easily press the Line Out button and send whatever is being played at max volume to your active or passive speakers. this button should always have been a long press to activate function, not single short press!
In Pre-amp mode it was fine feeding the PA7 and my speakers sounded great, if a little lighter in body in the mid-range vocal areas in some songs where the X9 does better. The K11 R2R is not as outgoing here, even though it did a fine job on its own without comparing to the K13 R2R.
The bass quality is on par with the bass the X9 outputs, it's only in the upper end and some upper mids where I can tell there is less refinement vs the X9, but again it's subtle.
The main difference is outside of the musical capability, and this is something i noticed with all Class D amps previously. In Windows when a sound immediately plays there is a short delay before audio begins playing. My NAD D series had this, my Toppings all had this, the FiiO K7 had this, the X9 does not have this. I assume this is a timing trait with the DAC stage delaying output as a safety measure to avoid initial clipping or something, although sometimes some crackle or clipping can happen right at the very start of the sound playing.
Here is a video:
Notice it? As I say, all my previous class D DACs did this so I always thought it was normal for them. When music is playing or the unit isn't idle then all's fine without the clip/crackle. Hence why I think it's a safety/idle feature implemented into the DAC instead of having individual clocks to sync with or whatever, just guessing here. The X9 instantly plays all sounds 100% clean, though it is class AB and has dual timing clocks. I suppose this is one of the areas where costs can be kept down too.
^^ This is now resolved after reinstalling the FiiO USB driver.
It runs warm to the touch after a few hours, much cooler running than the X9, cooler than the DX5 II and actually slightly cooler than the K11 R2R probably due to the bigger housing and so space inside I guess.
^ That is with the RGB lighting and display set to brightness 1, perfectly fine and not distracting in lights-off computing sessions..
Other observations:
- The gain slope from low to medium is not that far apart, from medium to high is a massive dB boost.
- You cannot use both USB-C inputs individually, seems the amp priorities the last port plugged into something.
- The volume dial and display increments react instantly and no increments are missed. The dial is also metal like on the K11.
- Batteries are included in the box lol.
- The included USB cable is a generic cheapy looking one, nothing new here. I used my own cable.
- A UK plugged IEC cable was in the box to my surprise given this cam direct from HK, they usually always have non-UK plugs.
- Inserting headphones whilst on the head I can hear some noise as the jack gets inserted which indicates there is no jack detection that silences the jack until fully inserted to avoid shorting the terminals of the plug during insertion, this is why many online prefer XLR, there is no way to short an XLR plug. the X9 isolates the SE and balanced jacks until fully inserted, then switches the output to them avoiding any shorting. Cannot actually remember if the DX5 II does this too as never paid attention to this, someone with one still can confirm
- In the PEQ menu there is EQ off and EQ BYPASS, both seem to be the same thing, why do both exist lol?
- The PEQ system via web driver is really great, no software to install, just click teh connect button from Edge/Chrome like I do with my web driver keyboards/mice:
- There is a PEQ database of headphones that you can search and apply target curves to.
- The User Preset slots cannot be renamed, so when you save a custom curve, you need to note down which is in which slot. This is annoying.
- PEQs cannot be applied to a specific output port, they are global, you can cycle through PEQ slots using the remote though so easy enough to toggle.
Erm that's it I guess. K13 R2R = Very good.
similar in quality to SVS PB1000 to PB1000 Pro
