FiiO SA1 Desktop Active Speaker

The FiiO SA1 is a pair of compact active desktop speakers with an unusually wide range of connections for their price. A turntable plugs straight in, thanks to a built-in phono preamp; a computer connects by USB, a TV by optical or coaxial, a phone by LDAC Bluetooth, and a subwoofer by its own output. A 31-band lossless PEQ in the FiiO Control app works on every input, so you can tune them to your room, and a 3.5-inch wood-fibre woofer and an aluminium-magnesium tweeter, each with its own amplifier, give a full, natural sound. They are certified for Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless, and won Headfonics’ Writer’s Choice (Bang for Buck) 2025 award.

Connect almost anything

The SA1 covers more connections than most speakers in its class:

• RCA / phono: a line input, switchable to the built-in phono preamp for a turntable.
• AUX: a 3.5mm stereo analogue input.
• USB-C: a digital input from a computer, up to 96kHz.
• Coaxial and optical: digital inputs up to 192kHz/24-bit and 96kHz/24-bit, for a TV, CD transport or other source.
• Bluetooth 5.4: LDAC (up to 990kbps), AAC and SBC, with a range of over 30m in the open.
• Subwoofer out: an RCA output to add an active subwoofer for a 2.1 system with more bass, even in larger rooms.

A built-in phono preamp

The phono preamp uses standard RIAA equalisation for faithful reproduction of your records. If your turntable has no preamp of its own (only a phono output), set the switch on the back to PHONO; if it already has one, such as FiiO’s TT13, set it to RCA IN. Using the wrong setting makes the sound very quiet or badly distorted. A phono grounding post is provided for the turntable’s earth lead.

A 31-band lossless PEQ and eight presets

Unlike most similar speakers, the SA1 has a 31-band high-precision lossless PEQ that works on every input. Use it in the FiiO Control app to fine-tune the frequency response and to correct problems such as an uneven response caused by room reverberation and standing waves. Eight presets include pop, jazz, classical, R&B and dance, plus a specially tuned monitoring curve that flattens the response so the SA1 can work as desktop studio monitors, and you can save three custom settings. The app also turns the power-saving mode on or off.

A 3.5-inch wood-fibre woofer

The woofer is the same 3.5-inch size as the SP3’s, and made with the same wood-fibre pulp process as FiiO’s FT1 wooden headphones. FiiO tuned the pulp material, the ratio and the balance of long and short fibres to make the light, sturdy cone more rigid and fine-tune its rich sound, with dense, lush vocals. A large 75mm flexible suspension lets it reach down to 65Hz.

A ¾-inch aluminium-magnesium tweeter

A monitor-grade aluminium-magnesium dome tweeter gives crisp, clear, detailed treble.

An active crossover and four-way TI amplification

An active electronic two-way crossover, using second-order filters, splits the drivers at 3.5kHz, the point that best suits the drivers, power supply and circuitry. Keeping each driver’s signal separate reduces intermodulation distortion, avoids overloading the drivers and greatly improves efficiency. Like the SP3, the SA1 has two Texas Instruments TPA3118 class D amplifiers, efficient and low in noise, driving the four drivers separately: up to 20W × 2 for the woofers and 5W × 2 for the tweeters.

A natural-sounding MDF cabinet

The cabinets are high-density MDF up to 12mm thick, with a 9mm imitation solid-wood veneer on the top and sides to reduce resonance for a purer, more natural sound. A rear port keeps the front clean and extends the bass to 65Hz, giving these compact speakers a big punch. Choose twilight black or cloud white.

Physical knobs and a remote

On the main speaker, one knob sets the volume and, with a press, changes input, with an RGB light showing which is selected: sky blue for RCA, pink for phono, green for AUX, purple for optical, yellow for coaxial, orange for USB and blue for Bluetooth (flashing red and blue while pairing). A second knob adjusts the bass, and a power button switches the speakers on (long press) and off. The infrared remote, with a range of over 20m, has direct buttons for every input, standby, mute and volume, plus play/pause and track buttons for Bluetooth and USB. The SA1 goes into standby after 20 minutes without a signal, with the light turning red and then off, and wakes automatically when the music starts; you can turn this off in the app.

Good to know

• The first time you switch on, the SA1 starts in Bluetooth pairing mode; afterwards it remembers the last input. Hold the input knob to clear Bluetooth pairings.
• A faint hiss right up close is normal and shouldn’t be heard from 30cm away; the analogue inputs are slightly noisier than the digital ones.
• Use the supplied power adapter. See also FiiO’s SP3 and, for bigger rooms, the SP5.
• In the box: main and secondary speakers, connection cable, power adapter, RCA to 3.5mm cable, remote control (2 × AAA) and quick start guide.