Fiio KA15 Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amp

The FiiO KA15 squeezes a color screen, dual flagship Cirrus Logic DACs and a genuine desktop mode into a dongle that weighs about as much as a house key. It is the middle child of FiiO's dongle range in size only; the feature list reads like a much more expensive device.

Type and Technology

The KA15 is a portable USB DAC and headphone amplifier built on dual CS43198 DAC chips and dual SGM8262 op amps. It decodes PCM up to 768kHz/32bit and DSD256 over USB, offers coaxial SPDIF output up to 384kHz through its 3.5mm jack, and unlocks 560mW per channel balanced at 32 ohms in desktop mode with external power.

Sound Character

CS43198 chips are prized for their natural, slightly warm musicality, and the KA15 follows suit: smooth vocals, well textured bass and an unfatiguing top end. FiiO's 10 band lossless parametric EQ lets you reshape that baseline precisely for each pair of earphones.

Build and Features

The 0.96 inch IPS color screen, a first in this class, shows volume, format and EQ status, with physical buttons alongside. Outputs include 3.5mm single ended and 4.4mm balanced in a body of just 52 x 25 x 11 mm and about 21g, so it disappears between phone and pocket.

Best For

IEM listeners who value tone and tuning flexibility over raw wattage, but still want desktop mode headroom in reserve. Compare it with the THX powered KA17 in our portable DAC/Amps collection, or see the whole brand range in the FiiO collection.

What's in the Box

• FiiO KA15
• USB-C to USB-C cable
• USB-A to USB-C adapter
• Quick start guide
• Warranty card

Specifications