FiiO SR11 HIFI Mini Desktop Streaming Music Receiver – Surge Of Rhythmic Jive
FiiO SR11 is a $109 USD Entry-Level Mini Desktop Streaming Music Receiver with a multitude of inputs and outputs, and it will be the star of our review today. It is designed to be paired with FiiO K11 R2R, but it can be used alone for other DACs and DAC/AMPs, offering both wireless and wired streaming options. Today we will review and explore SR11, what it can be used for, whether it has a different sound from other digital sources, and if it is a good purchase for a new system.
Introduction
FiiO wants to make life dandy and cheerful for those who have a limited budget, so SR11 is part of their ultra affordable series of products, being what I am willing to call a great call if you don’t have wireless abilities for a system, but want a solid hardware and strong support to implement it. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. A huge thanks to FiiO for providing us with the sample for this review.
PROs – Low price, Solid Build Quality, Nice Design, Flawless Airplay integration, Strong Roon support, Very stable Wifi signal, and flawless integration with iOS and Mac. Rich selection of promised upcoming features, including FiiO Link, Bluetooth Sink, and Local file playback.
Cons – Roon is pricey to use, and there are no options for Windows PC and Android to use Tidal or anything else that does not cost money right now. Airplay support extends only to Airplay 1.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/3YZBaFR
Build Quality/Aesthetics
FiiO SR11 feels and looks exactly like FiiO K11 R2R, with the exception that it has a completely different function, with SR11 being a receiving streamer, and having only Wifi and Ethernet inputs, and only digital outputs, with no Analog output or input.
While DLNA is currently not officially supported, FiiO can offer you, free of charge, a test firmware that includes the support. For the USB connection, we have a type-c power input, which needs to be populated at all times. The two USB outputs can also be connected to external decoders, they will not output sound at the same time, and will only output to the first one that was connected.
For using SR11 as a USB DAC, that is not possible, it can only output digital signal through USB, Coaxial and Optical, with the input being only digital from Ethernet or Wireless sources. There is a Mix mode which allows you to use both AirPlay and Roon, but not at the same time, and only one can be connected at any given time. If you connect SR11 at the same time with a wireless and a wired network, the wired network will be prioritized, although both can stay connected at the same time.
Connection to the wireless network is very standard stuff for a streamer and if you have used a camera before. You connect to SR11 as a hotspot, then connect to the main wifi network to give SR11 proper instructions, and then it will always connect to the same wifi network when starting up. The wired connection works right out of the box with no extra action needed on your side.
For a windows PC, the options are actually fairly limited, and I personally don’t use Roon, and dislike their pricing policy – a trial should not include me introducing a credit card data into the website, especially if it is free. This is a predatory policy companies use to bet on you forgetting that you’re going to get billed by the company. Roon pricing is also high as it costs more than Tidal, Youtube Premium and any other service, while offering no library to stream, just a playback software.
Airplay support is also very limited on windows as that is a mac and iOS feature, but if you look hard enough, you will find a few integrations that will work. Tidal Connect would be a great future idea for FiiO to support, but currently it is not supported, so Android users will not be able to use SR11 unless they have Roon. The issue with Roon is that it costs 15 USD per month, so in a year, it is pricier than having SR11 to begin with. This means that SR11 is a streamer made for iPhone users, as Airplay integration is flawless, but for Android and Windows, all options cost money. With this out of the way, FiiO promised to add FiiO ink, Bluetooth reception and even local playback to SR11 in the coming months, so after those updates it should be the most complete listening solution in the entry-level range, and should also work well with Android and Windows machines. As I am testing it right now, I will report on what works right now, and report in the future about the new features.
The CPU at the heart of SR11 is an Ingenic X2000, and the Ethernet is provided by an YT8531C processor from Motorcom. This allows SR11 to have gigabit speeds, and with the Wifi being supported by AMPAK AP6256, SR11 has support for both 2.4GHz and 5.0 GHz bands in the wireless format.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test SR11 I have paired it with iBasso D16, FiiO K9 PRO, HIFIMAN EF600 and even FiiO SP3 BT. It generally pairs well with all of them, using either Bluetooth or Coaxial, although the optical output tends to sound a bit soft. I had to borrow an iPhone from a friend, as I was not able to get any app or streaming service to work with either my Windows PC or S23 Ultra Smartphone, because I do not use Roon. I was able to borrow a device with Roon from a friend and everything works flawlessly, but in the light of the pricing of SR11 I am hesitant to recommend Roon for it.
Overall Signature – To fully explain why a streamer would have a sound of its own, you have to understand that SR11 has internal volume control, which you can simply set to fixed max at all times, but this means that it has internal processing of the digital signal. There are also a few reported inconsistencies between the data rate of the file that was sent to it and the data rate of the file that is currently being played. This is normal, and part of the normal operation of SR11. The sonic tuning of SR11 is natural, clean and with good detail, with no added background noise. As there is no sonic coloration in any way, it is impossible to explore the Bass / Mid / Treble part, SR11 will sound exactly as any other streamer in tuning.
What is different is the output coloration, and I have noted on this before, but either because they are designed differently on the input, or because there is some extra processing, Optical sounds much softer, gentler, Coaxial sounds warmer and thicker, while USB sounds the most detailed, crisp, but also the most aggressive with all the devices. I tested multiple cables and setups, but this seems to be the case always with all devices. There are some Optical receivers like those made by ECDesigns for their PowerDAC-SX which sound really crisp, but usually, the output you decide to use will have a slight effect on the sound.
Volume Control – Although there is volume control on SR11, I found myself using it less often than you’d imagine. The main reason is that I always have volume control on the DAC, AMP, PRE or any other point. This being said, I can see SR11’s volume control as a useful feature, if you have an active DAC with no PRE, and an active power AMP also with no PRE, or for setting the volume to powered speakers. When I did touch the volume control it seemed to work alright, although as it is a digital volume control, it does affect sound quality, and it is always better to use the analog volume control if you have one.
Value and Conclusion
We knew right from the start that SR11 was going to have a high price performance ratio, but we didn’t know just how much FiiO could offer for that low price, and SR11 is basically the most affordable, but also highest performing streamer in the range it sits at. While very specific, it works only with iOS and MAC devices, it is extremely useful for those who have one of them and need a way to stream music wirelessly from their iPhone to a stereo system.
At the end of the day, if you use Roon or Airplay, you will be happy with SR11, and the performance it offers, plus assuming you were already subscribed to Roon, an SR11 that offers lossless pure and clean sounding USB, Optical and Coaxial output will cost less than a Roon subscription for a year. On the other hand, if you have a Windows PC or Android device, make sure to check out FiiO and their updates, as SR11 will become compatible with them and should receive a Bluetooth sink function, local music playback and FiiO link very soon.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/3YZBaFR
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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