Turning a Stone into a Gemstone: FiiO R9 All-In-One Review

[@ayo1097]

I bought the R9 based on your favorable rating. I received it yesterday Feb 4. While the unit looks great, and sound is as you described it, there is a significant flaw in the unit which is also on the Fiio forum. I listen mostly classical and jazz music. When there is a deliberate pause in a music which there is a lot especially in classic music, the R9 thinks the music has ended. So as soon as the musical score picks up , the R9 stutters. Take for example Beethoven’s fifth symphony…the first 4 notes…the R9 has a problem playing the piece thinking each time the notes are pauses it thinks the score is finished . I hope fiio quickly updates with a firmware. I just thought people who are considering buying this should know.

[@michau_12]

That's bad for twice the money as R7

[@patrickmccrank8414]

Good luck on that future update.

[@JonYeoAU]

Keep us updated please. Otherwise a no go for me as well

[@ancientalien815]

This is a badass unit. Just wish it was a little cheaper.

[@Letechno]

Following your test of the Fiio R9 I bought this one and I am very very satisfied with it. I returned the R7 finding it disappointing from a sound point of view. The sound of the R9 is really good. I really like your videos! Goodbye from Canada!

[@aceofspades6667]

This is a nice step in the right direction… in another 3-5 years at this pace we will have such great improvements to functionally and sq at great prices. I hope we can keep this pace of innovation up.

[@marklloyd4153]

Yes innovation will keep accelerating . It definitely will like a snowball going down a mountain getting bigger and going faster

[@gauravtyagi5900]

How does it perform as a Roon Streamer? How does it compares against q7?

[@ayo1097]

I really like your channel. I have the R7 and use it only for music /headphones. Is R9 worth 2x? I am willing to get if it sounds that much different-I only listen to classical and jazz. Thank you.

[@verdeazul333]

I have the r7 and love it. Now I have the r9. I love it so much more!

[@restcarl83]

According to your review and the chip implementation, the R9’s DAC seems to be at the level of the SMSL SU 10. Is that a fair statement, or is the DAC there actually better? Thanks

[@sookeatlee7885]

How does the R9 compare with the Eversolo DMP-A6?

[@ianconroy568]

I recently purchased an R9 and was wondering if you are using a VU meter app on yours? If so where can I find it and does it work in sync with the music? Great review and I'm very impressed with mine!!

[@jeanlaurent3003]

Nice video. Does it do Tidal Connect ?

[@igorkravchuk8724]

Hi ! Nice review, but mostly in relation to headphones. Is this one OK for big floor speakers Focal Aria 948 (with power amp of course) ? Would You prefer this one or Eversolo dmp a6 master edition for smooth jazz music ? Thanks in advance !

[@sandechoir]

i really happy with R7 ❤❤❤ connected to amps sabaj A30 and Heco direkt speakers sound really great i dont need to ugrade anymore

[@marat3137]

Привет! Отличный обзор, но не освещен вопрос по ROON. Стою перед выбором R7 или R9, но мне нужен ROON. Fiio на своем сайте пишет, что устройство ROON ready, но ROON используется через костыль, если верить faq и на сайте самого ROON устройство не указано вообще, в отличии от R7. Тестил R7, с ROON работает как положено. Вообщем, пока не знаю что брать, хотя конечно R9 выглядит привлекательней, кроме цены. Подразумевается использование с ушами от Audeze lcd-x и lcd2c. R7 их вытягивает отлично. Удачи!

[@NeilLavitt]

I’ve been waiting for this one. The R7 was just not compelling enough. This looks like it fixed the issues.

[@PositiveLemonSlice]

What was the R7 main issue for you? cos I'd like to get one for my analogue marantz amp soon.

[@PatrickBarnaby]

Is the FIIO JadeAudio/FiiO PL50 better than the iFi iPower Elite 12v which I use with FiiO M17? The Jade has 12v and 15v. I have time to send back to Amazon the iFi iPower Elite and replace with the JadeAudio/FiiO PL50.

[@ranotuitam]

I have a question. Can I connect R9 to my system Denon N10 and listen Hi Res 24bit/192 kHz, from Apple Music? If yes, how can I connect R9 to Denon N10? By optical in/out?

[@DuranInternational]

Is it worth the update from the R7?

[@Soundnews]

If you watch the video, you'll have your answer

[@sergiistepanov947]

thank you for your review, I need some help with the choice of my future amp/dac. At the momemnt I am keeping my eyes on Topping DX9, Topping A70/D70 combo and this unit - R9, I'm using Audeze LCD-2C. Can you tell me what should I peek, keep in mind that I what to upgrade my headphones as well, for this reason I want amp that could handle the majority of hi end headphones.

[@Soundnews]

Hi, R9 and DX9 can power every headphone out there, but their feature set differs greatly. If you already own a streamer, get the DX9 and call it a day and if you don't have a streamer yet, then R9 makes a lot more sense. Tonally wise, DX9 is by a hair "warmer and sweeter sounding", while R9 wins in the transparency and transient response departments.

[@sergiistepanov947]

@@Soundnews Thank you a lot, have a nice day

[@renedepaula]

what about connecting it to speakers? thanks in advance and regards from Sao Paulo, Brazil!

[@verdeazul333]

I have the r7 and it is connected to speakers. I'm very happy with it. I've just bought the r9 for my living room.

[@1derment]

Thanks for the insightful review. Maybe this may be able to drive the Mod House Tungsten?

[@joncruz]

Is is possible to turn the screen off in standby mode like you do with a cell without turning the device off? I'm afraid of the screen life.

[@Soundnews]

Yep, you can do that on the R9 and on the R7 as well.

[@Flavius7]

What headphone is that next to the ALMIGHTY...FIIO FT5? Juuust kiddin', waiting for an improved Susvara with lower current needs. About the R9...looks very nice if you are not a design snob, gets a little better chips, more power and some functions. From my perspective if you get a juicy amplifier and connect it to the R7 you get very close. Still a very versatile beautiful gadget.

[@c34webb]

Can it drive the tungsten’s to 100%?

[@ВячеславКазаков-к6з]

HI! Can I use it to connect an external disk or download a movie to SD to send video and audio signals to a TV receiver for viewing on a big TV in HD and DTS-HD sound?

[@charleskatz2606]

Seems like a gret alternative to Eversolo,NAD eyc if you have a desk in your living room.Those small screens arw gard to awe across the room but there am IPad makes most aense as md this is maybe vest option with full Android compatibility dor seak operation and IPad TV for the couch

[@jeffhernandez5098]

Would this be an equal replacement for my SMSL D400EX and Burson Soloist 3XP? I am using the R7 as a streamer only in this setup.

[@abhik6503]

Thanks for the review mate. Please review Aroma Audio A100TB if possible.

[@Soundnews]

First time hearing about this little amp. Seems quite powerful for the size.

[@abhik6503]

@@Soundnews yeah mate it also has a seperate power supply called PS100 Pro. Its been getting good word regarding its dynamics.

[@sleeper1023]

Are all the outputs at the back active? e.g., running digital out and line out simultaneously.

[@Nidus123]

Does the EQ still only work in the Fiio Music app or have they extended it to the other inputs/outputs ?

[@MrWindmad]

Vs. DMP-A8?

[@cratervanawesome]

Can i use an RCA to Coax cable to connect my Record Player directly to it, getting rid of the need for my Fosi preamp?

[@justinparkkyung4287]

Could I use this R9 to pass through audio by coax to my powered speakers?

[@garrygalloway5043]

Hi people. I am seriously considering the F9, but am looking for some active speakers that I can connect to the F9 both via wired and a Bluetooth (option) connection. I am looking for speakers for a 5 x5 meter room. Hopefully at least 70w RMS and am looking to spend between £500 to £1500 Any suggestions, please?

[@RAMIRO61FERNANDES]

Where is the HDMI 2.1 the new standard introduced in2017 for the format, making it superior in every way to HDMI 2.0? They could upgrade to ES9039PRO NEWFLAGSHIP!

[@Lead_Foot]

Why would they use HDMI 2.1? The benefits are useless to a streamer and the increased cost of components and licensing would push the price up quite a lot considering how low volume the product is. Why would a streamer need higher resolution/refresh rate when the SoC can barely handle 1080p, why would it need EARC when all the audio formats it needs to output fit into ARC's bandwidth.

[@B.A.E.]

Tiene alguna opinión en comparación con el eversolo 6 máster, que tienen un precio similar. Dejando aparte que el eversolo no tiene salida de auriculares con cuál de quedaría. Favor del fiio está también Android abierto. Cuál sería su elección?

[@MrHara1984]

Great Review ty

[@allandresner]

Any cast feature like the A6?

[@x32i77]

You should definitely get yourself the Ibasso 320 max ti . You won't need your desktop system anymore 😅

[@Soundnews]

You should check my HiBy RS8 review, mate ;)

[@x32i77]

@@Soundnews awesome will do now . Although I am finished with my dap journey, I bought the 320 max ti and it's really really good .

[@Warzone2Videos]

More old components they had lying around. They haven’t made a decent sounding product since the M17. They also should have made this a DAP that separated from the unit for multi purpose use but it’s FiiO and they never give you what you really want.

[@joncruz]

Insisting in the R7 "low price" is what makes FiiO to shut this one for double the price, a fair price is $1,000

[@ScottHarris-o9i]

072 Glover Overpass

[@michau_12]

How can this be twice the price as R7, is it twice as good?

[@ChatGPT1111]

That's not how anything works, or haven't you noticed.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

well it has twice as many DAC chips and double the headphone amplifier power…

[@masterazlan6999]

Nice 1...Peace!

[@aRc11-11]

Not a fan of THX's amp to this point. "Sounds" like they made a winner here?

[@Soundnews]

K9 PRO and M17 weren't sterile or bright sounding (as opposed to the rest of their doings) and R9 feels very similar in this regard.

[@gteaz]

3 lines out. zero lines in. That stopped me buying the R7 and now the R9

[@boba2783]

I didn’t know the R7 was so bad.

[@zdenekcanada5408]

R7 - 999$ .. R9 - 2170$ .. it is canadian $ of course +tax .. price is only my complaint .. also why not Android 14 ??

[@DjBunito]

how dumb would this be to use with a PC as a USB-DAC?

[@Soundnews]

Quite smart if you ask me. It was made to be used mostly in front of a PC ;)

[@_Gonec_iz_Pizy]

It is always interesting to watch you, but I would like to ask, do you ever smile? Everything is as serious as if a review of a new nuclear reactor is underway 😊

[@patrickmccrank8414]

I bought a FiiO R7. Their lousy app doesn't even connect to Their own unit. So why would I ever pay double to a company that told me, maybe it'll be in a future update? Future update? F'them. I bought an EverSolo DMP-A6 master. Not as good as blue OS but hey, they both connect with their own app. Forget the Fiio and go with bluesound or EverSolo.

[@psysword]

Topping dx9 is so much better than this fiio cash grab

[@PantsaBear]

I mean theyre 2 completely different devices. If you solely need an amp/dac, then yeah go with the Topping

[@NeilLavitt]

One has streaming capabilities, superior user interface, has display output abilities and the other arguably a higher profile DAC. It will depend on what feat you want.

[@zzezzobike]

😂another and another and 😂

[@josebrivera1716]

It’s short sighted to stream (rent music). You own nothing. Be smart and buy your music.

[@natalyakeane]

wow. having affiliate links for the thing you are reviewing is wildly unethical

[@Soundnews]

You can chose to use them or Not use them. It is up to you if you want to support a content creator's work or not. Nobody forces you to access those links.

[@natalyakeane]

@@Soundnews doesnt change the fact that you are essentially getting paid by people buying the products you review. this massively incentivises over emphasizing positivity as that would likely result in more people using your affiliate links. the fact that someone can choose whether or not to use your links doesnt change the incentive structure. and this at least in our opinion compromises your reviews, risking making them essentially advertisements. we understand that monetisation is complicated, but this isnt the way. especially if you want to build any kind of respectibility in the space.

[@Soundnews]

@@natalyakeane Every single channel out there, regardless of the their nature uses such links. Do you think that a $5 bonus from a confirmed purchase, will make me say positive things about that product? I'm sorry, but I'm not that low as you imagine. Every information that I'm giving over my website (www.soundnews.net) and over this KZbin channel is given for free. Compared to other reviewers, I'm Not forcing you to have a Patreon subscription and pay me monthly, I don't force you to buy me a coffee, I'm not waving my PayPal account either. Everything is given for free around here, if you can't appreciate that, then I'm sorry, go support others that are openly asking for money. You either trust my opinions or not and that's up to you to decide. My honesty was never tainted and it never will.

[@marklloyd4153]

@@natalyakeaneI c what u r saying but watching his videos he tells u about the hardware and how it performs good and bad . He mentions shortcomings . He gives you his opinion which could varying drastically from your own because we all like different things and c things hear things and have varying opinions on them. I c him compare different products some have pluses the other may have minuses . He is not getting rich off this . His small percentage helps him buy cameras mics ect for sharing his reviews on media. If he was blatantly a sellout you would see many people like your post calling him out . I don’t c that. Him getting this perspective of a product isn’t free. He pays for it .

[@ValterSuriZis]

Please, does the Topping D90 le make a big difference in sound compared to the Topping D30 pro and the Topping L50. Have a nice day

[@icantwait]

I bought it and I normally use airpods to listen to music. There is no 3.5mm so I just used bluetooth. I have no idea what you are talking about in this review. I only bought it because it looks cute.

[@maxvk7827]

😂

[@ksojoel]

You sure can't wait before buying things 😄

[@verdeazul333]

It comes with an adapter for 3.5 mm.