Fiio KA3 USB

FIIO KA3 – USB DAC i pojačalo za slušalice. FiiO KA3 koristi DAC čip ESS Technologies ES9038Q2M. Ovaj čip je korišćen na nekim prilično skupim DAC-ovima pune veličine i ima impresivne brojke

Founded in 2007, FiiO is one of the biggest companies in the audiophile world, thanks to an extensive range of (usually) affordable but (mostly) excellent products. IEM, headphone amps, DACs, and obviously DAPs, they did it all and did it well. So much that when a new player comes out, it usually becomes the benchmark that other brands have to refer to, like the FiiO M11 Plus or the Q3. But, this time, the brand is coming back to its root with a small, USB-Key sized DAC, that reminds me of the first FiiO E5 and E3, labeled the FiiO KA3. A model even more portable, and affordable, embedding a whole new “ optimized HiFi audio architecture” . If not as small as the K3, the FiiO KA3 dongle remains supremely portable. End to end, the KA3 is just 56.3 mm long, 20.2 mm wide, and 12mm thick.

To those measurements, you can add the USB-C cable, or USB-C to 8-Pin if you’re using an iPhone like me. Thanks to that, the DAC can easily be carried in a jean’s pocket, a jacket, or simply stick to your phone if you’re ok with QI-wireless charging. Entirely made of aluminum, the FiiO KA3 looks and feel much sturdier than many of its competitor. From afar, you could easily mistake the DAC for a rugged USB-Key.

Also, like most USB-DAC, it is made of two parts: the body itself, working as a protective case and thermal radiator, covered on each side by gold-toned plates. Like every product recently released by the brand, the FiiO KA3 is absolutely flawless in this regard. Black anodized aluminum, golden plated 4.4mm Pentaconn output, screw-less design, everything looks and feels nice to grasp. It feels almost as premium as Maktar’s X2 Lightning Dongle, which was absolutely exquisite with its matte-black tubular frame, but the KA3 is approximately three times cheaper, so I’m okay with that. And, above all, this is one of the sturdiest devices I reviewed recently. By mistake, I stepped on it, after it fell from my pocket, and the FiiO KA3 came back completely unscathed: no scratch, no impact, nothing. Impressive! All in all, it’s a very solid piece of work, and it really gives a good impression. The FiiO KA3 is extremely simple to use.

You plug it into your phone, insert your headphone jack, and you’re good to go. There were nos issues with my iPhone 13 Pro Max + TC28i + USB-C cable + KA3, or with my MacBook: each time, the FiiO KA3 was immediately recognized by the source, and music came out almost instantly. On Windows, I had to wait a minute, until the OS got the right driver but after that, it worked flawlessly. Unlike NuPrime’s Hi-mDAC – but like every other USB-DAC – there are no volume controls on the KA3: everything has to be done from your source directly. Thankfully, for Android users, FiiO has an app that allows fine-tuning such as balance, volume, or digital filters. Nothing for iOS users, alas…

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