FiiO KA17 vs WiiM Pro Plus

97 facts in comparison

Based on 307 Reddit opinions. Pro PlusWiiM Pro Plus leads by 14 points.

307 opinions

Pro Plus leads by 14pts

81%

B+

Based on

166 Redditors

FiiO KA17

~$164.99

73 opinions

tldr; Flagship dongle DAC. Insane power, great PEQ, runs hot. The dongle that ate your desktop stack.

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Reddit's Pick

95%

A+

Based on

476 Redditors

Winner

WiiM Pro Plus

~$219

234 opinions

tldr; Reddit overwhelmingly recommends the WiiM Pro Plus. With 97% positive sentiment across 477 mentions, this is a clear community favorite.

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🎵SOU

⭐FEA

⚡AMP

🔧BUI

⭐VAL

Points

Score by Category

Sound Quality

94%97%

Features & Connectivity

100%100%

Amp Performance

100%0%

Build Quality

—100%

Value

0%93%

Why is WiiM Pro Plus better than FiiO KA17?

Higher Reddit score (95% vs 81%)

Based on 642 Reddit opinions

Clear Winner

Reddit prefers the Pro PlusWiiM Pro Plus

Winning by 14 points (95% vs 81%)

Higher Reddit score (95% vs 81%)

High confidence (642 mentions)

💬Reddit Sentiment

Based on 642 Reddit mentions

Overall Rating

FiiO KA17

8.1/10

166 mentions

Pro Plus

9.5/10

476 mentions

AMP SECTION

FiiO KA1710.0/10

Pro Plus0.0/10

FEATURES

FiiO KA1710.0/10

Pro Plus10.0/10

SOUND QUALITY

FiiO KA179.4/10

Pro Plus9.7/10

VALUE

FiiO KA170.0/10

Pro Plus9.3/10

BUILD QUALITY

FiiO KA17N/A

Pro Plus10.0/10

⚔️

Head to Head

Topic	FiiO KA17	Pro Plus
Amp Section	100%	0%
Features	100%	100%
Sound Quality	94%	97%
Value	0%	93%
Build Quality	N/A	100%

Category Wins

FiiO KA17: 1|Pro Plus: 3

Head to Head

FiiO KA17: 1|Pro Plus: 3

Amp SectionFiiO KA17

FiiO KA17100%

Pro Plus0%

Features

FiiO KA17100%

Pro Plus100%

Sound QualityPro Plus

FiiO KA1794%

Pro Plus97%

ValuePro Plus

FiiO KA170%

Pro Plus93%

Build QualityPro Plus

FiiO KA17N/A

Pro Plus100%

FiiO KA17

81%

95%

Pro Plus

FiiO KA1781%

Pro Plus95%

Pro Plus wins by 14 points

Key Specs

Spec	FiiO KA17	WiiM Pro Plus
DAC Chip	Dual ESS ES9069Q	AKM4493SEQ
USB Chip	XMOS XU316 (16-core)	—
Amp Chip	Fully balanced THX AAA 78+	—
Output Power Balanced Desktop Mode	650mW at 32 ohms	—
Sampling Rate Usb	Up to 768kHz/32bit, DSD512, MQA full decoding	—

Key Highlights

FiiO KA17

⚡ Powers planars

🔧 Full PEQ onboard

🔥 Gets hot under load

💰 Premium dongle price

WiiM Pro PlusWinner

Solid community reputation

Frequently recommended

Topic Battles

FiiO KA17: 1|Tied: 1|Pro Plus: 3

🎵Sound Quality

Pro Plus wins

FiiO KA17

94%

Pro Plus

97%

⭐Features & Connectivity

FiiO KA17

100%

Pro Plus

100%

⚡Amp Performance

FiiO KA17 wins

FiiO KA17

100%

Pro Plus

🔧Build Quality

Pro Plus wins

FiiO KA17

—

Pro Plus

100%

⭐Value

Pro Plus wins

FiiO KA17

Pro Plus

93%

Based on Reddit sentiment across 5 categories

📈Where They Rank

💬What Redditors Actually Say

What Redditors Say

Best praise vs top criticism for WiiM Pro Plus

Best Praise

+11 pts

“Get a WiiM Pro or WiiM Pro Plus. You can create your own 10 filter parametric EQ. I use microphone and REW to record frequency sweeps for my L and R. I create preset EQ for my desired music. I pair them with minidsp parametric EQ for my subwoofer.”

r/BudgetAudiophile

View

Top Criticism

+1 pts

“Yes, now that you mention it, it was after the latest firmware. Thank you for the link, I see that audio dropouts is a common problem with the Pro Plus, will look into it”

r/BudgetAudiophile

View

3 more quotes available below

What Redditors Say

Best praise vs top criticism for FiiO KA17

Best Praise

+4 pts

“Your hearing the intended tuning rather than the changes that come with your high output impedance sources. Run it balanced and use EQ. The KA17 is just straight up miles ahead of onboard audio, no matter what. And using almost all Bluetooth headphones wired bypasses the built in DSP that makes their tuning not total crap.”

r/HeadphoneAdvice

View

Top Criticism

+1 pts

“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”

r/headphones

View

3 more quotes available below

Sentiment Over Time

FiiO KA17

WiiM Pro Plus

📈Historical Price Data

FiiO KA17

WiiM Pro Plus

FiiO KA17

All-time low: $144.99(2025-11)

WiiM Pro Plus

All-time low: $175.2(2023-11)

Which is Better?

WiiM Pro Plus Wins

95%

Plus

81%

KA17

WiiM Pro Plus leads by 14 points based on 642 Reddit opinions.

Why Pro PlusWinner

Better Value for Money (93% vs 0%)
More discussed (476 vs 166)

Why FiiO KA17

⚡ Powers planars
🔧 Full PEQ onboard

❤️The Love/Hate Breakdown

Sentiment Breakdown

48%Positive

Positive

48%

Neutral

51%

Negative

Based on 476 Reddit opinions

Sentiment Breakdown

37%Positive

Positive

37%

Neutral

56%

Negative

Based on 166 Reddit opinions

Specification Comparison

Spec	FiiO KA17	WiiM Pro Plus
DAC Chip	Dual ESS ES9069Q	AKM4493SEQ
USB Chip	XMOS XU316 (16-core)	—
Amp Chip	Fully balanced THX AAA 78+	—
Output Power Balanced Desktop Mode	650mW at 32 ohms	—
Sampling Rate Usb	Up to 768kHz/32bit, DSD512, MQA full decoding	—
Headphone Outputs	3.5mm single-ended, 4.4mm balanced	—
Brand	FiiO	WiiM
Manufacturer	FiiO	Linkplay Technology Inc.
Color	Various	black
Weight	33.5 grams	0.88125 pounds
Height	12.7 mm	1.6 inches
Audio Output	—	RCA, Optical, Coaxial, USB
Wi-Fi	—	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth	—	Bluetooth 5.1
SNR	—	120 dB
THD+N	—	0.00032% (-110 dB)

Feature Checklist

FiiO KA17: 5|Pro Plus: 1

Feature	FiiO KA17	Pro Plus
Powers planars
Full PEQ onboard
Gets hot under load
The KA17 utilizes a four-channel fully balanced THX AAA 78+ headphone amplifier architecture, featuring a new design that significantly increases the output power. XMOS 16-core XU316, supporting 768kHz/32bit, DSD512 and full MQA decoding.
PLEASE NOTE: AirPlay Receiver Only – WiiM Plus can receive AirPlay streams but cannot transmit AirPlay to other AirPlay-enabled speakers or devices.
Premium dongle price
The KA17 is a professional HiFi USB headphone audio adapter designed for connecting to mobile phones, tablets, and computers. With high-spec configuration, functionality, performance, and experience at HiFi level, it offers a high-quality listening experience.
The latest USB dongle product, equipped with two ES9069Q DAC chips, further reduces the digital noise inside the DAC, achieving a dynamic range of 130dB and total harmonic distortion of -120dB, providing a purer sound background.

Features extracted from Reddit highlights and enrichment data

⚔️Head to Head

Metric	FiiO KA17	WiiM Pro Plus
Reddit Score	81%	95%
Mentions	166	476
Sentiment	+ 61- 12	+ 227- 7

Where to Buy

FiiO KA17

Price unavailableCheck prices

All-time low was $144.99 on 2025-11

~50 sold/month on Amazon

WiiM Pro Plus

Price unavailableCheck prices

All-time low was $175.2 on 2023-11

~500 sold/month on Amazon

Prices may vary. We may earn a commission from purchases made through these links.

FiiO KA17Check prices WiiM Pro PlusCheck prices

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, WiiM Pro Plus or FiiO KA17?

Based on 642 Reddit comments, WiiM Pro Plus is the preferred choice with 95% positive sentiment vs FiiO KA17's 81%. WiiM Pro Plus leads by 14 percentage points.

Should I buy WiiM Pro Plus or FiiO KA17?

If you want the safer choice based on community sentiment, WiiM Pro Plus has stronger approval ratings (95% vs 81%). However, FiiO KA17 may still be better depending on your specific needs, budget, or use case.

What do Redditors love about WiiM Pro Plus?

WiiM Pro Plus has 476 mentions on Reddit with 95% positive sentiment. Users consistently recommend it based on real ownership experiences.

What do Redditors say about FiiO KA17?

Reddit users highlight: Powers planars. Full PEQ onboard. Gets hot under load. With 166 mentions and 81% approval, it remains a popular alternative.

How many Reddit reviews were analyzed?

This comparison analyzed 642 Reddit comments: 476 about WiiM Pro Plus and 166 about FiiO KA17. Data was sourced from DACs community discussions.

How accurate are these ratings?

Our sentiment analysis is approximately 80-85% accurate compared to manual review. Well-discussed products with many mentions tend to have more reliable scores than niche items with fewer data points.

Why trust Reddit over professional reviews?

Reddit users bought products with their own money and have no incentive to mislead. You're seeing hundreds of real opinions across different use cases, not just one reviewer's take. This crowdsourced approach surfaces both common praise and recurring complaints.

307 Reddit opinions analyzed · Last updated 7/28/2026

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