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FIIO 2026 New Product Schedule-By FIIO James-Part 14 Tube Series In 2025, FIIO launched its first audio device using vacuum tubes: the WARMER. Tube products are essentially retro products. Given their high-power consumption, low measured performance, and high costs, they became a niche category once transistors and integrated circuits appeared and rapidly took over the market. Since FIIO has decided to carry the banner of #HIFIRetro, tube product is an indispensable part. Unlike other brands, we didn’t start with the portable devices we know best. Instead, our first tube product is a relatively niche desktop tube DAC and headphone amplifier. The main reasons are: 1. Compared with portable products, desktop tube devices have a more ample power supply and can use standard-sized vacuum tubes. In contrast, miniature tube products impose greater limitations and make it harder to fully utilize the tonal advantages of vacuum tubes. 2. Desktop tube audio circuits are mostly classic (and essentially open-source). As long as the details and craftsmanship are executed well, excellent sound comes naturally. 3. The JJ tubes used in WARMER are still in mass production, and most importantly, they offer excellent consistency. This is critical for FIIO, because we never rely on heavy manual labor in production. Poor consistency would require extensive worker screening, driving up labor costs, lowering efficiency, and ultimately pushing the retail price much higher. 4. Desktop tube DAC is currently a niche category in tube equipment, with almost no manufacturers. Therefore, the WARMER will face far less market competition in the future. Due to the above reasons, and given that the WARMER is FIIO's first tube product, our primary goal was to test the waters. So, the price was at an extremely low level. Ultimately, the WARMER's market performance far exceeded our expectations. Therefore, in 2026, we will continue to increase our investment in tube products, hoping to develop more high-quality tube products for you. ❤️WARMER NANO This is a compact and cost-effective tube headphone amplifier. Unlike the WARMER, the WARMER NANO is an all-in-one DAC/amplifier that adds headphone output. WARMER NANO’s much smaller size makes it suitable for most people’s limited desktop space. Since fewer tubes are used, the WARMER NANO does not have a built-in linear power supply, resulting in a smaller size and lower structural costs. The final retail price will also be noticeably lower than WARMER. Therefore, the WARMER NANO is an ideal first tube audio product (tube amplifier) for young enthusiasts. If you find this soothing and warm sound suits you, you can upgrade to a higher-end product later. The WARMER NANO is scheduled to be launched in November. ❤️WARMER PRO As mentioned earlier, the WARMER actually belongs to a smaller market segment. Most users still need to pair it with a separate headphone amplifier. Many customers have asked us to create a true all-in-one device. This is the origin of the WARMER PRO. We plan to make significant upgrades in several areas: Functionally—We will port the core functions of the K17, thus providing streaming media, Bluetooth, and basic local player functionality. Performance—Based on the WARMER tube buffer, we will upgrade the R2R DAC to FIIO’s higher-tier self-developed R2R PRO. Design—A larger all-aluminum chassis will be used due to structural, heat dissipation, and power supply requirements. The WARMER PRO project is more complex and technically challenging, so it is expected to be available in March 2027. ❤️Tube Power Amplifier LEVEL 2 The LEVEL 2 is a power amplifier product under FIIO’s sub-brand, Jade Audio. It adopts the mainstream “tube front and transistor back” architecture, combining the advantages of high-power output, small size, and high efficiency of digital amplifiers with the excellent sound quality of tube products. It features a retro design, primarily targeting the traditional stereo HIFI market. This represents FIIO’s expansion into stereo systems and tube product line, as well as the enrichment of its retro-designed product range. In short, whatever you need, FIIO will do its best to deliver. LEVEL 2 is also expected to be launched in November. ❤️Pure Tube Power Amplifier EA13 The EA13 is one of my personal favorite tube product—a true 100% pure tube amplifier. Why? Because the EA13 follows the most classic tube amplifier design principles: 1. Pure linear power supply. 2. Pure tube voltage amplification. 3. Pure tube power amplification. 4. Pure output transformer design. Generally speaking, the mainstream tube amplifiers available to most people today still use a “tube front and transistor back” architecture. The core reason is, of course, higher cost-effectiveness—achieving a tube-like sound without excessively high cost. However, the "tube sound" we're referring to doesn't just mean using tubes as buffers or voltage amplifiers; it means using tubes for power amplification as well. Another often-overlooked element is the output transformer. For low-impedance loads like speakers, the output transformer's primary function is impedance matching. This is because typical power tubes operate at high voltage and low current, with high internal resistance. Therefore, an output transformer is usually needed to convert the signal to low output impedance, low voltage, and high current to drive current mainstream speakers effectively. The core of an output transformer is a magnetic core plus primary and secondary coils. Those with basic circuit knowledge know that the magnetic core and coils form a large inductor, a non-linear component. Music signals passing through the output transformer will generate harmonics. Therefore, a good output transformer will produce richer even harmonics—what we call “tube sound”. So, it's no exaggeration to say that the true "tube sound" is half due to the characteristics of the vacuum tube and half due to the output transformer. The EA13 was originally planned for 2025 but was delayed. Our intention was to pair it with the TT13 turntable and the SV13 horn speaker to create a classic pure analog stereo system. Due to R&D resource constraints and our genuine commitment to making a product we ourselves are fully satisfied with, the EA13 is ultimately estimated to be released in May 2026. #FIIO #FIIO2026NewProductSchedule #TubeDAC #WARMER #TubeAmplifier #JadeAudio