While the Forbes Innovation Channel brings you the latest technological developments, it’s good to see that established technology sometimes has a resurgence. Just as vinyl records saw a massive boost in popularity over the last decade, so have CDs. The music format that brought an end to the clicks and plops of traditional vinyl is on a roll right now.

CD sales revenue is up 58% in the first half of 2026 — and 45% in volume — in the US and the success of portable CD players such as the FiiO DM15 R2R shows that listeners are starting to buy new CDs as well as digging out their old music collections.

To mark this upsurge in CD popularity, FiiO has unveiled its new DP11 CD player. Designed as a hi-fi or desktop companion, the DP11 can add CD playback to almost any sound system or hi-fi setup and it also works with active speakers. A USB socket on the CD player enables easy ripping of CDs straight to a USB memory stick for lossless transfers from favorite albums.

The new player has extensive output options, which means it’s suitable for use as a partner for streaming headphone amplifiers like FiiO’s K17 or dedicated speaker amplifiers. For a compact desktop headphone system, FiiO also makes the K13 R2R.

On the front of the player is a 3.7-inch LCD screen and there’s a quiet tray loading mechanism for cueing up the discs. The player has been designed with a retro look and includes a dedicated remote control. MQA-CD bitstream passthrough is also included.

Inside the player is a CS43198 DAC that joins two separate power supplies and PCB sections for powering the CD servo, digital section and analog circuitry.

Pricing and Availability:

The FiiO DP11 CD player will launch in October and is priced at $185 / €184.99 alongside the FiiO Modular Hi-Fi Device Storage Rack .

  • Mechanism: Low-noise and tray loading with optimized servo firmware.
  • DAC: CS43198.
  • Display: 3.71-inch LCD.
  • Remote: Infrared.
  • Analogue output: Stereo RCA line.
  • Digital outputs: AES (XLR), coaxial (RCA) and Optical.
  • USB connections: USB firmware update port and a USB recording port for CD ripping.
  • USB DAC: up to 32-bit/384 kHz PCM and native DSD256.
  • AES and coaxial outputs: up to 24-bit/192 kHz.
  • Optical output: up to 24-bit/96 kHz.
  • CD ripping: CDDA audio discs only; FAT32-formatted USB storage required. A USB drive of 32 GB or less for ripping and updates.
  • RCA Line-output: 2.2Vrms (1kHz into 10kΩ).
  • Signal-to-noise ratio: 109dB, A-weighted.
  • Dynamic range: at least 109dB, A-weighted.
  • THD+N: below 0.00068% in USB audio mode; below 0.0014% in CD mode (1kHz, 0dB, into 10kΩ).
  • Noise floor: below 8.1 microvolts, A-weighted.
  • Frequency response: 20 Hz-20 kHz; attenuation below 0.1 dB in USB audio mode and below 1.3 dB in CD mode.
  • Dimensions (L x W x H): 213 x 230 x 67 mm, excluding feet.
  • Weight: 1,802g.
  • Mains power: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, via the built-in switching supply.
  • External power option: DC 12 V, rated at 2 A or more; compatible with a suitable external linear power supply.
  • Supplied Accessories: Infrared remote, ​USB-C to USB-C data cable, Mains lead.