FiiO KA17 High End Dongle Amplifier with Dual ES9069 DACs

The FiiO KA17 is a high-end USB dongle DAC and headphone amplifier that brings FiiO’s refined desktop mode to your pocket. Two flagship ESS ES9069Q DACs and four THX AAA 78+ amplifiers in a fully balanced design deliver up to 650mW per channel from the 4.4mm output when you flick the D.MODE switch, and a second USB-C port takes external power so your phone’s battery isn’t used. A 16-core XMOS XU316 adds a 10-band parametric EQ, and a dot-matrix screen and physical buttons put the settings at your fingertips. It won a CIHE EHA 2024 Gold Award and a VGP 2025 Summer Gold Award.

Desktop mode, taken to the next level

FiiO has refined its desktop mode through the M17, Q7, M15S, Q15 and KA13, and the perfected version is in the KA17. Switch on D.MODE and the KA17 adjusts the DAC and amplifier power supplies and the amplifier output to unlock their full potential. With enough USB power, the four THX amplifiers work in parallel for more current and more power:

A separate USB-C port for power

The KA17 has two USB-C ports. The main one connects to your phone, tablet or computer; the orange port on the side takes an external power supply, such as a charger, power bank or computer USB port. With external power connected, the KA17 reaches its higher output and better performance without draining the battery of the device it is playing from.

Two flagship ES9069Q DACs

Two of ESS’s new ES9069Q flagship DACs, using fourth-generation 32-bit HyperStream technology, give higher performance, lower power use and less digital noise than earlier generations, for a pristine, pure background. The KA17 plays PCM up to 768kHz/32-bit and native DSD512, and decodes MQA.

16-core XMOS XU316 and a precise 10-band PEQ

USB is handled by a 16-core XMOS XU316, rarely found in dongles, for lower latency, more stable transmission and better compatibility than the usual USB chips, and two crystal oscillators handle every sample rate with ease. Its processing power let FiiO add a highly precise parametric EQ with 10 bands: set the frequency, gain and bandwidth of each in the FiiO Control app or on FiiO’s website (via the KA17 FAQ page). PEQ works up to PCM 192kHz/24-bit and isn’t available in UAC 1.0 mode.

THX AAA 78+ amplifiers, fully balanced

The THX AAA 78 amplifier proved itself in FiiO’s M11 Pro and M11 Plus players, and the KA17 uses the upgraded THX AAA 78+: eight op-amps working in parallel in a four-channel fully balanced configuration, for more power and a more detailed, realistic sound.

A player’s audio circuit, in a dongle

FiiO adapted the circuit designs of its mid- to high-end players for the KA17. After precise digital handling with dual clocks and conversion by the DACs, a full analogue stage of low-pass filter voltage amplification, buffer current gain and parallel headphone amplifiers reproduces the detail and dynamics of your music as well as a serious digital audio player would.

Separate boards, clean power

The digital and analogue circuits sit on separate boards, each under its own shielding cover, so they can’t interfere with each other. Power follows desktop-amplifier principles in three stages (filtering with over-voltage protection, DC-DC boost conversion and LDO regulation) on three main rails for the digital, conversion and analogue sections, divided into ten smaller rails in all.

S/PDIF output

The 3.5mm socket can also output S/PDIF (up to 96kHz/32-bit), so the KA17 can feed a high-end external DAC.

Screen, buttons and three control layouts

A 0.91-inch dot-matrix display and physical buttons let you set screen orientation, filters, the screen timeout and more on the KA17 itself. The buttons can work in three ways:

Two volume curves (for high and low gain) suit headphones of different impedances, and you can choose 60 or 120 volume steps for faster or finer adjustment. A driver-free UAC 1.0 mode makes it plug-and-play with games consoles and other devices.

Protection for you and your headphones

Temperature and DC output monitoring protect the KA17 and your headphones if anything goes wrong, and you can set a maximum volume to protect your hearing from accidentally loud audio.

Three colours, with a leatherette case

Choose black, blue or titanium. Every KA17 comes with a leatherette case: black for the black and titanium versions, blue for the blue one.

Good to know

• Desktop mode uses more power: connect a supply to the side port, or switch D.MODE off to save your phone’s battery.
• In the box: KA17, leatherette case, short USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-A to USB-C adapter, USB dust plugs and quick start guide.
• For more power (up to 900mW) and a large colour screen, see the FiiO QX13. For a smaller step up from a phone, see the KA13.