# FiiO K11 vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt: specs and price compared

A sourced, side-by-side comparison of the FiiO K11 (FiiO) and AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt (AudioQuest) among dac amps. FiiO K11 is the cheaper of the two at $142.99.

## Side by side

| Spec | FiiO K11 | AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| US price | $142.99 | $300 |
| Brand | FiiO | AudioQuest |
| Form factor | desktop | dongle |
| Dac chip | CS43198 | ES9038Q2M |
| Max pcm (kHz) | 384 | 96 |
| Max dsd | DSD256 | — |
| Max power mw | 1400 | — |
| Snr (dB) | 123 | — |
| Thdn percent | 0.00035 | — |
| Balanced output | Yes | No |
| Headphone jacks | 6.35mm/4.4mm | 3.5mm |
| Digital inputs | USB-C/optical/coaxial | USB-A |
| Weight grams | 407 | — |

## Key differences

- Form factor: FiiO K11 desktop vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt dongle
- Dac chip: FiiO K11 CS43198 vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt ES9038Q2M
- Max pcm (kHz): FiiO K11 384 vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt 96
- Balanced output: FiiO K11 Yes vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt No
- Headphone jacks: FiiO K11 6.35mm/4.4mm vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt 3.5mm
- Digital inputs: FiiO K11 USB-C/optical/coaxial vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB-A

## What reviewers say

**FiiO K11** — Positive but single-sourced: among whitelisted testers, only SoundGuys published a hands-on review of the exact standard K11 (What Hi-Fi and TechRadar covered only the R2R variant or other FiiO DACs). SoundGuys praised the clean, detailed output, plentiful I/O and compact size, but flagged a clunky menu, over-bright default LED and too-light chassis. No lab measurements taken. (1 sourced review.)

**AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt** — Two whitelisted testers, What Hi-Fi and TechHive, reviewed this exact DAC; both praise its clean, precise, detailed sound in a tiny plug-and-play package and rate it among the best small DACs, while flagging the premium price. Neither ran instrumented measurements, so all findings are subjective listening. No SoundGuys or PCMag review found. (2 sourced reviews.)

## Sources

- FiiO K11: https://www.fiio.com/k11_parameters (fiio.com, verified 2026-07-11)
- AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt: https://www.audioquest.com/products/dragonfly-cobalt (audioquest.com, verified 2026-07-11)

Canonical: https://frontdeskreview.com/gear/dac-amps/fiio-k11-vs-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt/
Cite: Per The Front Desk Review, FiiO K11 ($142.99) vs AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt ($300) — sourced spec-by-spec comparison at https://frontdeskreview.com/gear/dac-amps/fiio-k11-vs-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt/
License: CC BY 4.0.