John Darko
We awarded FiiO’s R9 Product of The Year 2024 for being a vertically oriented streaming DAC with THX headphone amplifier and a native Android OS with Google Play Store-derived app installs – unlike competitive models from Eversolo and Hifi Rose.
Today, FiiO has formally announced the S15: a low-profile full-width streaming DAC with no headphone amplifier and a custom Android OS where installable apps come from a white list – just like competitive models from Eversolo and Hifi Rose.
The S15 boasts a 7.8″ horizontally oriented touchscreen that talks to a customised version of Android 12 running on a Snapdragon 660 chip, 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM. FiiO’s press release doesn’t say which streaming apps will be installable at launch but we are told that the unit is Roon Ready and that it will also support Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2 out of the box.
UPDATE: FiiO’s website suggests Qobuz, Deezer, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon HD apps will be installable at launch.
The D/A converter under the S15’s hood is AKM’s new flagship decoder that puts the filtering and delta-sigma modulation on an AK4191 chip to leave the analogue conversion to a physically separate AK4499EX chip. That separation will likely improve HF noise isolation but more technically minded readers are advised that the power supply feeding the DAC is a ’35W low noise linear’ varietal.
Analogue outputs number three: two sets of single-ended RCA sockets and one set of balanced XLR.
Want to feed the S15 from a hard-wired source? Say hello to a choice of XMOS-based USB-C, coaxial, TOSLINK and HDMI ARC inputs, the latter pointing to the S15’s potential role as a digital pre-amplifier.
For those already in possession of a third-party DAC, digital outputs include coaxial, TOSLINK and the audiophile catnip that is HDMI-based I2S. More pragmatic users will likely appreciate the S15’s two-way Bluetooth communication which supports AAC, aptX HD and LDAC in both directions via Qualcomm’s flagship Bluetooth chip, the QCC5181.
And much like Eversolo devices, the new FiiO box also accommodates an M.2 SSD in its undercarriage for self-contained file streaming — no need to connect the S15 to your home network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi if you don’t want to. And like the R9, the S15 also offers an SD card and USB-A slots on the back panel for more convenient local file access.
The FiiO S15 will sell for US$999, €999 or £999 when it goes on sale at the end of January.
Further information: FiiO
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