Golden Ears: Fiio K9 Pro ESS Desktop DAC/Amp Review

mmorpg.com:

At MMORPG, we first discovered Fiio with its line of affordable, pocketable headphone amplifiers. It's only fitting then, that we find ourselves in this edition of Golden Ears coming full circle and looking at its flagship DAC/Amp hybrid, the  Fiio K9 Pro ESS. It's an utterly premium desktop unit, capable of taking over all of the audio duties for just about any device you'd keep on a desktop. It's powerful, beautiful, sounds great, and even supports Bluetooth wireless. Most importantly, it takes your listening experience to the next level by pushing your headphones to their full, unmitigated potential. 

At $849.99, it's clearly Golden Ears territory, but somehow, Fiio manages to make this a good value against the competition and feel worthy of that price tag. We previously reviewed the $199 Fiio K7, one step down in the K-series line-up. What exactly does that extra investment get you and is it worth it? Find out in this edition of Golden Ears. 

Current Price: $849.99 ( Amazon ) 

Welcome back to Golden Ears, our semi-regular review column where we explore the world of high-end audio and discover exactly what awaits you at the other end of the Buy Now button. 

This column is dedicated to sound quality and the technology that maximizes it. Over our years of covering tech, the world of audio is one that seems to scale ever upward. Does that extra investment net you actual, discernible improvements in sound quality and features? What exactly do those extra hundreds get you in real world terms? That’s what we’re out to reveal. 

The Fiio K9 Pro ESS is a combined digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier that’s designed to live on your desktop. Thinking of it like a self-enclosed sound system. Plugged