Expensive headphones are often not enough for music to have exquisite quality when played from your smartphone or from your computer. This is due, in part, to the type of DAC that the device you are using has. That’s why using a higher quality external DAC can make a world of difference when listening to your favorite songs.
In short, a DAC is a digital-to-analog converter. All smartphones, tablets and computers have one inside, even headphones, but using a DAC and an external amplifier takes sound quality to another level. And in this case, the FiiO KA3 is a great alternative with very good audio quality, at an affordable price for what it offers.
The FiiO KA3 is a USB DAC/Amp. That is, it is both a DAC and a headphone amplifier. The way to use it is very simple: the box includes a cable with USB-C connectors at both ends, one connects to the KA3, and the other to the phone or device with which we are going to use it. On the other side, we connect the headphones, and that’s it. Plug and play, basically. It’s time to listen to music.
These types of devices can be used to listen to the music you have on your device, or even Spotify, but the reality is that they are designed to work with high resolution audio files. What we call Hi-Fi, high-fidelity audio (like what Tidal and Qobuz offer in streaming), and for this you have to connect wired headphones. In my case, most of the use I have given it so far has been with headphones in ear (also called IEMs or monitors) FD1, also from FiiO, although I also tested with other headphones with different demands.
Because although this device is really small and weighs less than 20 grams, it has enough power to move headphones. in ear y over ear of different demands. The KA3 offers a maximum power of up to 130mW for the unbalanced output (3.5mm) and 240mW for the balanced output (4.4mm). Yes, you read that right, this little dongle It features two outputs, balanced and unbalanced, so it can easily drive higher impedance headphones than you might imagine. In fact, it’s so powerful that when I plug it into my phone I always remember to check the volume level, which if it was all the way up it might be too loud for my ears. And of course, not having an internal battery, using this type of DAC/Amps dongles consumes power from the device to which it is connected. Consumption is not excessive, yes, but it is something to take into account.
The sound with the 32 Ohm FD1s is delicious, full, detailed. You can feed them very easily. In the case of 80 Ohm and even 120 Ohm headphones, I was able to verify that the KA3 moves without any problem with headphones. over ear. I couldn’t test with any 150 Ohm headphones, but I suspect it should also power them without losing detail in the sound. On the other hand, with my 250 Ohm Beyerdynamic headphones, although the volume is loud enough, the detail is not the same as with a more powerful amplifier. It sounds pretty good, but not perfect.
Although the KA3 can be used plug and playSimply plug and play, FiiO also offers an app called FiiO Control from which you can set low or high impedance, low or high gain, and even some filters for the lower frequencies. It is a very useful tool, but I would not recommend touching the filters if you do not know what each change means.
As for the sound, the KA3 has a signature that I can define as natural, almost linear. What does it mean? That the music is heard in a fairly precise way without having modifications or intonations, what many call “coloring”, in any particular frequency range. Or at least not exaggeratedly. Everything feels just right, the bass is fine without being over the top, and the treble is detailed without being overly bright, something sensitive ears will appreciate. Combined with the FD1s that have a slightly more colored signature in the lows and highs (and less pronounced mids), they make a nice marriage especially for listening to rock and even jazz. From Gary Clark Jr. to Dream Theater, going through Pink Floyd and, why not, a bit of Billie Eilish.
In conclusion, combined with some good in ear and preferably in conjunction with a service like Tidal or Qobuz (or with your own files, as it supports up to 768KHz sample rate PCM and DSD512 files, so there’s plenty of scope), the KA3 de FiiO y Jade Audio is a versatile and capable DAC/Amp, which can give a very good audio quality connected to any portable device.