FiiO KA17 vs Topping DX5 II

“Very common. My ears are very sensitive to sibilance, for example. My DX5 II introduces it in some of my favorite songs on my cans while my other DACs do not. I almost sent it back over it but kept it because of the price and network features which my older dacs do not have. I don’t need a blind test to know when my ears hurt because an “s” sound is too sharp for me, regardless of volume level. I don’t think all of these dacs really sell themselves on complete audio transparency. A lot of them add some color or filters or roll off to the music. The question is whether their respective additions or changes make your music more enjoyable to you or not.”

“I’m experiencing popping and clicking sounds in the Tidal app when playing music in Exclusive Mode. I'm using a FiiO KA17 connected via a high-quality USB cable. I’ve also tried using a Type-C connection, but the same issue persists. The popping and clicking only occur with certain tracks, and only when Exclusive Mode is enabled. I’ve tried various fixes, including installing Soundkeeper, but nothing has helped. However, as soon as I disable Exclusive Mode, the issue disappears—even on the same problematic tracks. Has anyone else encountered this issue? And if so, how did you resolve it? For reference, my FiiO KA17 is updated to the latest firmware. My main settings are: Gain: Low Filter: Fast”