John Darko's review of the FiiO EA13 is called "the 18kg room heater that sounds incredible", and both halves of that are the point. This is a full-size, pure Class A valve amplifier with six tubes and a 17.7 kg chassis, and FiiO is selling it for €769.
That number is why the review exists. EL34 integrated amplifiers from established valve brands usually start around €1,500 and climb from there. The EA13 undercuts the category by half and then insists on doing it the hard way: no Class AB shortcut, no digital volume, no switching supply.
Watch the review
Darko runs the EA13 with a FiiO SR11 as the source and Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 S2 standmounts, then spends the middle of the video doing the comparison most people actually want: the EA13 against a WiiM Amp Ultra at 7:20, and against a Marantz Stereo 70s at 10:18. Both of those are streaming amplifiers that do far more on paper. The EA13 does one thing.
What's actually inside
The power section is four JJ Electronic EL34s in a pure Class A push-pull circuit running in pentode mode. The input and voltage stages use two Sylvania NOS PCF80s, which is an unusual thing to find at this price: new old stock tubes are a cost line most budget designs delete first.
Output is 28 W + 28 W into 4 Ω or 8 Ω, and it's worth reading the small print on that. The 28 W figure is rated at THD+N below 5%. At the stricter sub-1% threshold FiiO specifies at least 18 W + 18 W, which is the number to plan your speakers around. There are separate gold-plated binding posts for 4 Ω and 8 Ω rather than one compromise tap.
- Custom potted output transformers. EI silicon-steel laminate cores, epoxy-filled and sealed, which is where valve amplifiers either earn or lose their bandwidth.
- Fully analogue volume. A high-quality potentiometer and a four-position encoder input selector. Nothing in the signal path is digital.
- Mechanical VU meters. LED-backlit moving needles, with adjustable RGB lighting under the tube deck if you want it.
- 6.35 mm headphone output. 185 mW into 300 Ω, so it's aimed at high-impedance headphones rather than sensitive IEMs.
- CNC aluminium chassis. Aviation-grade machined front panel, unibody shell with electromagnetic shielding, vibration-damping feet.
The room heater part
Darko gives the heat its own chapter, "A possible gotcha?", and it isn't a throwaway. Pure Class A means the output stage draws close to full current whether you're playing music or not, so the EA13 runs hot from the moment it warms up and stays there. That's the trade you make for the topology, not a fault in this particular amplifier, but it does decide where the thing can live: open shelf, clearance above the tubes, not inside a closed cabinet.
The perforated cover over the tubes is part of the same story. It lifts off in seconds with the supplied screwdriver if you want to watch the EL34s glow, and it goes back on if there are curious hands in the house.
What other reviewers found
Headfonia scored it 4.5 out of 5 and called it "a killer amp for the price", describing a "dense, full-bodied presentation with real weight behind every note" and build quality that "felt like it belongs in a higher price bracket, with the kind of finish and tolerances you'd expect from a $1500+ product". Their caveats line up with the physics: it's heavy, it's hot, and the headphone output is not for sensitive IEMs.
ecoustics made the value argument directly: "Six real tubes, nearly 40 pounds of hardware, pure Class A push-pull operation, custom potted output transformers and proper 4-ohm and 8-ohm speaker taps represent a surprising amount of amplifier for less than $800."
Quick specs
| Price (incl. VAT) | €769 |
| Topology | Pure Class A push-pull, pentode mode |
| Tubes | 4 × JJ Electronic EL34, 2 × Sylvania NOS PCF80 |
| Speaker output | 28 W + 28 W into 4 Ω / 8 Ω (THD+N below 5%); 18 W + 18 W (below 1%) |
| Headphone output | 185 mW into 300 Ω, 60 mW into 32 Ω, 6.35 mm |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz to 60 kHz (attenuation below 2.9 dB) |
| Signal-to-noise | 97 dB or better, A-weighted |
| Inputs | 4 × RCA line, 12 V trigger |
| Dimensions | 430 × 339 × 145 mm |
| Weight | 17.7 kg |
Who it's for
Buy it if you have efficient standmounts or floorstanders and want valve tone from a real Class A circuit without a five-figure budget, if your sources are line level and you'd rather have one excellent volume control than a menu of features, or if you want the amplifier to be visible in the room instead of hidden in a rack.
Look elsewhere if you need streaming, a DAC or a phono stage built in, because the EA13 has none of them and expects a separate source. Skip it too if your speakers are inefficient enough to need real wattage, if there's nowhere in the room with clearance above and around a hot 17.7 kg box, or if you were hoping to drive sensitive IEMs from the headphone jack.
Pre-order and availability
The FiiO EA13 is €769 at Soundium in silver or black, expected in October 2026. Pre-orders are open now and the EARLY5 code takes 5% off.
Not sure whether your speakers are an easy enough load for 18 real watts of Class A? Talk to the Soundium team before you order.