Surfans F20 Pro — An Engineer’s Perspective on Building a Streaming HiFi Player
By the Surfans Audio Engineering Team
Over the past few years, we’ve received countless messages from users around the world. Many of them said something surprisingly similar:
“I use streaming every day, but I still want the sound quality of a real HiFi player.”
That sentence stayed with us.
The Surfans F20 Pro didn’t start as a spec sheet or a feature list. It started as a question we asked ourselves internally:
Can an Android-based player still feel like a true HiFi device?
This article is not a product announcement. It’s a look at how we approached the design of the F20 Pro—from an engineering point of view.
Why We Chose Android — And Why We Limited It.
Streaming is no longer optional. For many listeners, it’s the primary way they discover and enjoy music.
We chose a customized Android 12 system because it gives users direct access to platforms like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Musiccolet. But from day one, we were clear about one thing:
Android should support listening, not distract from it.
That’s why we stripped down unnecessary background services, optimized system behavior, and focused on playback stability rather than multitasking performance.
The goal wasn’t to turn the F20 Pro into a mini smartphone.
It was to make sure the system stays out of the way once the music starts.
Dual ESS9018 DACs — A Deliberate Choice
We’re often asked why we selected the ESS9018 DAC instead of newer chipsets.
The answer is simple: familiarity and control.
The ESS9018 has a sound character we know extremely well. It offers strong detail retrieval without sounding sharp or artificial, especially during long listening sessions.
By using dual ESS9018 DACs, we were able to:
Improve channel separation
Maintain consistency at different volume levels
Reduce strain on each DAC under load
This wasn’t about chasing numbers. It was about predictability and musical balance.
The Hardest Part: Tuning the Analog Stage
If we’re being honest, the most challenging part of the F20 Pro wasn’t selecting components.
It was finding the right balance.
Using dual OPA1612 amplifiers, we spent a significant amount of time tuning how the analog stage behaves with different headphones—from sensitive IEMs to full-size models.
What we listened for wasn’t just clarity, but how the sound holds together over time.
We wanted:
Stable bass without bloom
Clean mids that don’t fatigue
Treble that remains controlled at higher volumes
Extended listening comfort mattered more to us than instant “wow” effects.
Output Design: Balanced and Single-Ended, Done Properly
The F20 Pro includes both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended outputs, delivering up to 500mW of output power.
From an engineering standpoint, this wasn’t just about adding ports.
Balanced output provides higher headroom and better channel isolation, while the single-ended output remains efficient and widely compatible. We tuned both paths carefully rather than prioritizing one over the other.
Users should be able to choose based on their headphones—not feel forced into one connection type.
Why We Kept Physical Controls
Touchscreens are convenient, but they aren’t always ideal for music listening.
We decided early on to keep:
A physical ALPS precision volume wheel
Dedicated playback buttons
This wasn’t a nostalgic decision. It was based on how people actually use their players—while commuting, working, or listening in low-light environments.
Being able to adjust volume or skip tracks without looking at the screen still matters.
Wireless Support Without Compromising the Core
Although wired playback remains the foundation, we know wireless listening is part of modern life.
That’s why the F20 Pro supports:
Bluetooth 5.0 with LDAC
Dual-band WiFi for stable streaming
Wireless performance was tuned to be reliable and clean, but never at the expense of the wired signal path. For us, wireless is an option—not a replacement.
Storage for Real Music Libraries
High-resolution files take space. A lot of it.
Supporting expandable storage up to 1TB wasn’t a marketing decision—it was practical. Many of us on the team still maintain large FLAC and DSD libraries, alongside streaming playlists.
The F20 Pro is designed to handle both, without forcing users to choose.
Designed for Long Sessions, Not Short Demos
One thing we constantly reminded ourselves during development:
People don’t listen to music for five minutes.
They listen for hours.
That’s why we paid close attention to:
Weight and ergonomics of the CNC aluminum body
Thermal behavior during extended playback
A sound signature that remains comfortable over time
The F20 Pro isn’t tuned to impress in a quick demo. It’s tuned to stay enjoyable after the first hour—and the third.
Closing Thoughts from the Team
The F20 Pro represents our belief that modern convenience and traditional HiFi values don’t have to conflict.
By focusing on balance instead of excess, we created a player that feels purposeful—one that respects how people actually listen to music today.
It’s not about adding more features.
It’s about getting the essentials right.
— Surfans Audio Engineering Team