Good review lad. Detailed enough for me to make a competent buying decision. Thanks. Typically I run my on-ear and over-ear collection via a portable Topping NX5 or my Topping NX7 when mobile but I was looking for a quick and convenient solution for just out and about. This works perfectly for my needs.
Another application this thing shines at, since it has the balanced out, is using as a USB dac from PC into the Xduoo MT604 tube headphone amp. The neutral signature and great noise floor compliments the tubes well. This set up competes with much more expensive $1kish headphone amps.
Hey, I'm trying for a minimalist pc gaming setup for when I have guests over. I have FiiO FH3s , could I plug this into a desktop pc with a longer USB c to USB cord and use desktop volume ? Should beable to power iems right? It's a preamp dac
@@SB-ht6kf Thanks for the speedy reply. So basically I'm safe to order this with a longer usb c to usb and plug it into my desktop pc and have it lay on my desk with my iems full time? I turn the pc off nightly
Just ordered mine, will receive it in a few days. I bought it solely for using it for with my small bedroom speakers and at parties with my JVC boomblaster and various speaker systems. Not worried about it getting warm or draining a lot of battery cince line level doesnt really require amplification that is mostly done by my phone except after conversion to analog. Setting the impedance and gain to low and turning down the volume will probably be close to line level I imagine. I will give it a try with my Beyerdynamic DT1990s just for fun, these are 300 ohms but very easy to drive
My Shanling UA2 stopped working as the USB C port got damaged it works only when stationary and when the cable is not moving, i think this is because i used it often while working out and it twisted pretty far a couple times, looking for a alternative I hope this one has a more durable built usb c port, it definitely looks better built than the Shanling. Was also looking at some older USB DACS all i really care that is has a 2.5 mm balanced port. Thanks for the review!
Think I'll get one soon. I want to get a full on DAP some day, but times are tough and one of these for the phone seems a decent compromise. Just starting to get into IEMs, absolutely lethal hobby because you're like "maybe I'll just get one more pair". 😂
@gizaudio i own Sennheiser hd 6xx. What portable dac would you recommend? (My taste in audio is neutral that has detail but not to the point that the highs pierce my ears, and of course no noise hiss as you mentioned in the video.
Very compressive review, appreciate the details covered. A quick question as a complete novice - how does a DAC/Amp work on a phone that has a 3.5 mm audio jack and a c-typ3 usb? Will it work on plug and play basis through the c-type or will need an app like UAPP to be installed and used?
It will work plug-and-play, but some phones are greedy on power, i'm using HiBy Music and Tidal, both with exclusive mode - works perfectly. Without exclusive mode you may (or may not) face issues like cracking and different instabilities. Whether you have 3.5mm or not does absolutely nothing with usb.
Great review. I was wondering what audio app you are using there. I use the Fiio Ka 3 with my Fiio FH7 and I think they both sound great together. I love the way the player looks on your phone. Thanks!
Very cool...but I am really looking for is how many DB boost the amp can generate from said Output Power: 130mW@32Ω(3.5mm)? Sorry for the stupid question, I am new to mW measurements and IEM's. Thanks for you well detailed and in-depth review.
I have the Ka3. It is my first dac/amp. I've had it for around 2 months and it's pretty hard to listen to any music without them. I use it with a Moondrop Aria and a Tripowin Mele. Now, I think spec wise the ka3 should be superior in many ways to the btr3k. The deciding factor for you, I believe, would be if you already have headphones or iems with 4.4 or 2.5 connections and if you are going to need Bluetooth and/or the possibilty to walk around with the device a bit freely. In short, ka3 should be better than the btr3k but if you need Bluetooth, ka3 just won't do, obviously.
@@jpmazza4663 Oh I see, I'm very newbie in the hobby and I want the best performance in my iems, so the ka3 looks like a better option for my aria, ty :D
I recently bought a pair of Bowers & Wilkins px8 wireless headphones. Will I notice a massive difference by: - moving from Spotify (lossy) to Apple/Tidal (hi-fi/lossless) - using the wired connection option; and - getting this portable amp dac
Bluetooth stuff generally doesn't have much power, unless you are running the BandWs via a Bluetooth wireless amp, maybe. You might look into one of those first. This thing will give a good boost, but not as drastic as a full powered headphone amp. (BT or not). Plus a powered amp will not drain your phone battery, etc.
Is anyone else experiencing a really bad hissing with the KA3? It's not always audible, mostly with acoustic songs or quieter songs, but it's really annoying
CDA M1 still has the same ESS glare though minimal. look up for Centrace DACport HD or Ovidius B1. the best of both worlds. analytical and musical at the same time. and they are so powerful you can throw anything to them. but if you have more budget, Cayin RU6 is the best for analogue sound
sorry for the noob question: can I connect the KA3 or the KA1 to my windows 10 tablet and then send the audio signal from the 3.5 minijack plug of the DAC to a yamaha integrated amplifier in order to use my pc as a streamer? (Tidal)
Can I connect the 3.5mm out jack to my external AVR via RC socket input of CD on AVR ? And if its Dac will work via this set up or just bypass the original input and passes out?
Just as a comment to add, it is not recognized by the Motorola g(20) cell phone, I have updated it with two more "complete" roms and for some reason that I did not find documented it could never be recognized. I tried it with Samsung cell phones of various models, iPhone and Xiaomi and no problem, they all recognize them except Motorola. If someone has it connected to a Motorola, I appreciate your comments. Greetings !!!
KA3 cuts out the first like 0.7 seconds of audio Has this happened to anyone else? How did you fix it? It’s annoying because after audio has not been playing for a certain amount of time it will cut out, but it just takes so long to cut back in that often I won’t even hear a notification, or the beginning of a song or video is just unheard and I have to rewind it.
I've got one recently. It's not better than sound quality i get from a very old HP laptop (duo core). Maybe this model laptop is dedicated for entertainment, then its audio chip's really good. I still keep KA3 beside it now.
Hello, can someone help me? I'm thinking of buying this DAC, I would use it on an iPhone 13 and with TIDAL mainly, but for what I see it doesn't have MQA (I really don't know much about it), so my question is: should I buy this DAC or better look for one that does have MQA? If so, which one would you recommend in the same price range?
this one has the common ESS glare too, though quite minimal. I try to like it but I have other dongles that can perform technically similar or even better with more natural sound.
@@puntybrah oh man there're too many to name my fav. I had many before but I sold most of them. those that I love are mostly organic-sounding unlike many ESS-based dongles. but that doesn't mean DAC chip alone can influence the whole sound. ok let me try to be brief. I love Cayin RU6 for its analogous sound and being the only R2-R ladder dongle. Ovidius B1 for its neutral with thickest note density among all. CENtrance DACport HD for its vibrant sound with monstrous single ended output that can be dialed to the perfect loudness with its rotary volume wheel. Lotoo PAW S2 for its beautiful and smoothest sound among all. xDuoo Link2 BAL for its neutral and balanced sound. Apogee Groove for its effortless performance and being the smoothest ESS dongle and followed by Hidizs S9 Pro.
Your S22U does not output that unless youre playing through the speaker exclusively. It doesn't have a headphone jack so the only output using the phone's dac is the speaker. Even if you use bluetooth headphones, youre not using the built in dac of your phone, rather a dsp inside your bluetooth headphones. Otherwise, anything you play on it is going throigh the built in dac of whatever USB C headphones youre using or if you have another external dac. All that said tl;dr you definitely need a usb dongle to get 32bit/384khz but whether you need that level of quality is up to you!
@@kyron42. You can tell the difference between a computer generated drum sound and real drums can’t you. If not, may I suggest you are in the wrong hobby!
@@kyron42 no drum simulator in existence can replicate the sound of real drums. Just like a live performance sounds much different then a studio track. If you can’t tell the difference then you are indeed in the wrong hobby. I love Depeche Mode, but even they have the sense to use a real drummer during live shows. Why? Real drums can’t be replicated and fake drums sound like crap relatively speaking.
@@rajeebdas1724 reason you find it hard to explain is because you're trying to explain one snake oil term in terms of other snake oil terms. Try using technical terms search as frequency response distortion transient response etc. Define rich, thick in technical terms.
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
Good review lad. Detailed enough for me to make a competent buying decision. Thanks. Typically I run my on-ear and over-ear collection via a portable Topping NX5 or my Topping NX7 when mobile but I was looking for a quick and convenient solution for just out and about. This works perfectly for my needs.
Another application this thing shines at, since it has the balanced out, is using as a USB dac from PC into the Xduoo MT604 tube headphone amp. The neutral signature and great noise floor compliments the tubes well. This set up competes with much more expensive $1kish headphone amps.
How you setup this dac to xduoo mt604!! Balance 4.4 to the back balance xlr mt604 .:
@@stevenconnectingtogether6703 4.4 to xlr will do the same. I use the 4.4 to 4.4 setup and it works great
Hey, I'm trying for a minimalist pc gaming setup for when I have guests over. I have FiiO FH3s , could I plug this into a desktop pc with a longer USB c to USB cord and use desktop volume ? Should beable to power iems right? It's a preamp dac
@@brentgaulton Yes, you won't have any problems driving IEMs with this dongle DAC. It's one of the best/most powerful on the market.
@@SB-ht6kf Thanks for the speedy reply. So basically I'm safe to order this with a longer usb c to usb and plug it into my desktop pc and have it lay on my desk with my iems full time? I turn the pc off nightly
I may just pick this up as a backup to the BTR 5, thanks for the direction.
I always use my btr5 in wire mode.
Oh me too, always wired.
@@FabioKasper Where can I read about it?
Just ordered mine, will receive it in a few days. I bought it solely for using it for with my small bedroom speakers and at parties with my JVC boomblaster and various speaker systems. Not worried about it getting warm or draining a lot of battery cince line level doesnt really require amplification that is mostly done by my phone except after conversion to analog. Setting the impedance and gain to low and turning down the volume will probably be close to line level I imagine. I will give it a try with my Beyerdynamic DT1990s just for fun, these are 300 ohms but very easy to drive
Stunning presentation...and marvelous item. I CRAVE IT! (and yet ordered it, costed 112 €)
I’d love to see ifi come out with something to compete with this. A true bass button in a sub 100 dongle 🔥
I tried the fiio ka3 and ibasso dc05. I kept the ibasso dc05. No difference in sound and the dc05 is much lighter. Only buy the ka3 if you need 4.4.
What about the detachable cable in the ka3? thats very importance for the long term durability
My Shanling UA2 stopped working as the USB C port got damaged it works only when stationary and when the cable is not moving, i think this is because i used it often while working out and it twisted pretty far a couple times, looking for a alternative I hope this one has a more durable built usb c port, it definitely looks better built than the Shanling. Was also looking at some older USB DACS all i really care that is has a 2.5 mm balanced port. Thanks for the review!
Wow you read my mind, just today i was looking for KA3 reviews, thanks for the vid...
How does this DAC compare to the Hidizs S9 Pro?
Think I'll get one soon. I want to get a full on DAP some day, but times are tough and one of these for the phone seems a decent compromise. Just starting to get into IEMs, absolutely lethal hobby because you're like "maybe I'll just get one more pair". 😂
yeah just one more doesn't hurt...
How does this compare in sound to dragonfly black or red?
A rare review from foreigners on a DAC/AMP dongle! nice one.
Which is better in just audio output alone? Btr5 vs this ka3. Only through balanced n wired connection 🙂
Ka3
If you only use IEMs just get the BTR3k. It’s more versatile and cheaper. Got mine for 47 USD on Ali.
Wow saved me some money! Ali is where its at for the deals
@gizaudio i own Sennheiser hd 6xx. What portable dac would you recommend? (My taste in audio is neutral that has detail but not to the point that the highs pierce my ears, and of course no noise hiss as you mentioned in the video.
Comprehensive review, what's the music player on your phone? Thanks
Will u review qudelix 5k and XDuoo link 2 bal
Very compressive review, appreciate the details covered.
A quick question as a complete novice - how does a DAC/Amp work on a phone that has a 3.5 mm audio jack and a c-typ3 usb? Will it work on plug and play basis through the c-type or will need an app like UAPP to be installed and used?
It will work plug-and-play, but some phones are greedy on power, i'm using HiBy Music and Tidal, both with exclusive mode - works perfectly. Without exclusive mode you may (or may not) face issues like cracking and different instabilities. Whether you have 3.5mm or not does absolutely nothing with usb.
You have to on OTG in settings
Is this just for headphones? How might it sound if connected to a pair of loudspeakers? 🤔
Which one you think is better, the K3 or the KA3?
Great review. I was wondering what audio app you are using there. I use the Fiio Ka 3 with my Fiio FH7 and I think they both sound great together. I love the way the player looks on your phone. Thanks!
Very cool...but I am really looking for is how many DB boost the amp can generate from said Output Power: 130mW@32Ω(3.5mm)?
Sorry for the stupid question, I am new to mW measurements and IEM's.
Thanks for you well detailed and in-depth review.
I was thinking to pick the fiio btr3k for a first dac but this one looks very nice too, what's the best option of both?
I have the Ka3. It is my first dac/amp. I've had it for around 2 months and it's pretty hard to listen to any music without them. I use it with a Moondrop Aria and a Tripowin Mele. Now, I think spec wise the ka3 should be superior in many ways to the btr3k. The deciding factor for you, I believe, would be if you already have headphones or iems with 4.4 or 2.5 connections and if you are going to need Bluetooth and/or the possibilty to walk around with the device a bit freely. In short, ka3 should be better than the btr3k but if you need Bluetooth, ka3 just won't do, obviously.
@@jpmazza4663 Oh I see, I'm very newbie in the hobby and I want the best performance in my iems, so the ka3 looks like a better option for my aria, ty :D
Get a Qudelix-5K Bluetooth USB DAC AMP
And learn how to EQ
@@kyron42 gotcha
I recently bought a pair of Bowers & Wilkins px8 wireless headphones. Will I notice a massive difference by:
- moving from Spotify (lossy) to Apple/Tidal (hi-fi/lossless)
- using the wired connection option; and
- getting this portable amp dac
Bluetooth stuff generally doesn't have much power, unless you are running the BandWs via a Bluetooth wireless amp, maybe. You might look into one of those first. This thing will give a good boost, but not as drastic as a full powered headphone amp. (BT or not). Plus a powered amp will not drain your phone battery, etc.
Is anyone else experiencing a really bad hissing with the KA3? It's not always audible, mostly with acoustic songs or quieter songs, but it's really annoying
How does it compare the Colorfly CDA M1 (priced the same) and the Qudelix 5K?
CDA M1 still has the same ESS glare though minimal. look up for Centrace DACport HD or Ovidius B1. the best of both worlds. analytical and musical at the same time. and they are so powerful you can throw anything to them. but if you have more budget, Cayin RU6 is the best for analogue sound
Colorfly CDA M1 is better hands down
@@barbasour How would those three compare to the Qudelix 5K? I've heard the 5K is one of the best Bluetooth DAC/AMP on the market.
@@btfr5129 The main reason why the Q5K is considered the best is because it has Parametric EQ within the app, no other BT DAC AMPs have this feature.
@@mayonotes9849 How would the Q5K sound without utilizing the EQ?
This is a good dongle to replace a Asus XONAR D2X, to drive a Sennheiser HD 598, to listen to music (Tidal Hifi Plus) and gaming?
DAC + AMP = DAMP
Dis stuff moist, yo?
sorry for the noob question: can I connect the KA3 or the KA1 to my windows 10 tablet and then send the audio signal from the 3.5 minijack plug of the DAC to a yamaha integrated amplifier in order to use my pc as a streamer? (Tidal)
Can I connect the 3.5mm out jack to my external AVR via RC socket input of CD on AVR ? And if its Dac will work via this set up or just bypass the original input and passes out?
Poweramp 🔥is hidiz s9 pro is better than this?
I asked the same question, in other reviews they said the S9 Pro perform slightly better than the KA3 with a cleaner and more natural sound...
Sorry for the stupid question, but I have fiio ka3 dongle dac/amp and fiio Q5 dac/amp. Can I connect both of them together and use Q5 just as an amp?
Hi anyone can help plz
Which is better between Fiio KA3 and Moondrop dawn pro?
What eartips do you use for Moondrop variations?
I believe they are the Acoustune AET07
@@Audio-In-Reviews thx a lot!
there is no usb dac mode in poweramp, how do you do it?
sirve para samsung j7 prime?
Does it support UAC1?
Just as a comment to add, it is not recognized by the Motorola g(20) cell phone, I have updated it with two more "complete" roms and for some reason that I did not find documented it could never be recognized. I tried it with Samsung cell phones of various models, iPhone and Xiaomi and no problem, they all recognize them except Motorola. If someone has it connected to a Motorola, I appreciate your comments. Greetings !!!
KA3 cuts out the first like 0.7 seconds of audio
Has this happened to anyone else? How did you fix it? It’s annoying because after audio has not been playing for a certain amount of time it will cut out, but it just takes so long to cut back in that often I won’t even hear a notification, or the beginning of a song or video is just unheard and I have to rewind it.
Try turning off the dynamic power management in the companion app.
same chip as Ka1??
Hi, does anyone know, can I individually control the device volume of dac ka3 and smartphone separately, like in btr5 2021 ?
Within the app you can change the volume of the dac, there are no on device controls however
I've got one recently. It's not better than sound quality i get from a very old HP laptop (duo core). Maybe this model laptop is dedicated for entertainment, then its audio chip's really good. I still keep KA3 beside it now.
Hello, can someone help me? I'm thinking of buying this DAC, I would use it on an iPhone 13 and with TIDAL mainly, but for what I see it doesn't have MQA (I really don't know much about it), so my question is: should I buy this DAC or better look for one that does have MQA? If so, which one would you recommend in the same price range?
Have a look at the HIBBY FC4? MQA on board.
Still need USB audioplayer pro with Android???
Recommended
No, I don't use it, and have up to 24/192 through the USB-C of my S22ultra
this one has the common ESS glare too, though quite minimal. I try to like it but I have other dongles that can perform technically similar or even better with more natural sound.
care to share those dongles u have?
@@puntybrah oh man there're too many to name my fav. I had many before but I sold most of them. those that I love are mostly organic-sounding unlike many ESS-based dongles. but that doesn't mean DAC chip alone can influence the whole sound. ok let me try to be brief.
I love Cayin RU6 for its analogous sound and being the only R2-R ladder dongle. Ovidius B1 for its neutral with thickest note density among all. CENtrance DACport HD for its vibrant sound with monstrous single ended output that can be dialed to the perfect loudness with its rotary volume wheel. Lotoo PAW S2 for its beautiful and smoothest sound among all. xDuoo Link2 BAL for its neutral and balanced sound. Apogee Groove for its effortless performance and being the smoothest ESS dongle and followed by Hidizs S9 Pro.
Is Timmy dead again?
Hi all, need your advise, if my S22U output already 32bit / 384 khz, do i still need a usb dongle DAC or should I get an IEM cable with USB-C input?
Your S22U does not output that unless youre playing through the speaker exclusively. It doesn't have a headphone jack so the only output using the phone's dac is the speaker.
Even if you use bluetooth headphones, youre not using the built in dac of your phone, rather a dsp inside your bluetooth headphones. Otherwise, anything you play on it is going throigh the built in dac of whatever USB C headphones youre using or if you have another external dac.
All that said tl;dr you definitely need a usb dongle to get 32bit/384khz but whether you need that level of quality is up to you!
What a pain to carry a portable dac, carry cables to connect to your phone. Most portable dacs are low quality. Just buy a dap.
hated this dac , it scratches your phone, stopped working after a year and the sound is just bass nothing else, even with a good equalizer.
"organic sound signature" snake oil alert!
@@rajeebdas1724 define organic sound signature.
@@kyron42. You can tell the difference between a computer generated drum sound and real drums can’t you. If not, may I suggest you are in the wrong hobby!
@@73split it depends how good the drum simulator is.
@@kyron42 no drum simulator in existence can replicate the sound of real drums. Just like a live performance sounds much different then a studio track. If you can’t tell the difference then you are indeed in the wrong hobby. I love Depeche Mode, but even they have the sense to use a real drummer during live shows. Why? Real drums can’t be replicated and fake drums sound like crap relatively speaking.
@@rajeebdas1724 reason you find it hard to explain is because you're trying to explain one snake oil term in terms of other snake oil terms. Try using technical terms search as frequency response distortion transient response etc. Define rich, thick in technical terms.
With Wired Beats Headphones does the "ControlTalk" function Click to pause, volume etc work through the amp?
So these things are just for headphones ?