Overview
The Fiio btr3k is a good amp for the money, selling at just $109 AUD (or around $70 USD) this amp can be used as a USB C dongle or a Bluetooth headphone amp. this, combined with it's small form factor (approx 6x2.5mm), make it ideal for use on the go. one thing that makes this amplifier even better value, is that it has 2.5 mm balanced output, so you can use it with all of your headphones, or use a balanced to single ended adapter to get a bit more power, which some headphones will need, as this amplifier isn't all that powerful.
Design/Build quality
this amp is built very well for the money, with a metal casing and glass faces. it feels very good quality, despite it's small size. Especialy considering that this is a sub $110 amplifier. the only issue (in my view) is that the USB C port is at the top, and the Headphone outs at the bottom, whereas i prefer it the other way around (with the headphone outs at the top).
Features/specifications
this is where the BTR3K excells in some areas, but also falls short in others. this DAC/amp is full of features, such as the inbuilt mic, format indicator light, and balanced output. where the BTR3K falls short however, is the small details. It has and independent volume control, to fine tune volume (which is often required, as the BTR3K only has a 32 step volume rocker)
but, this is not optionable in the IOS Fiio Control app, which many would like it to be.
The basic specifications for the BTR3K are as follows:
Power output
Single ended: 25mw
Balanced: 78mw
Capable of driving headphones of up to 100 Ohm's
Bluetooth:
Bluetooth 5.0
Formats:
SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD, LDAC
Power Output
the BTR3K has many good things going for it, but power output is not. one of them. Technically there is nothing wrong with the amount of power that it has, but, seeing as the BTR5 (the next model up) has 80mw single ended, and 240mw balanced, and seeing that the BTR3K is still 3/4 the size, the output power could have been much higher.
this is not an Amp for driving high impedence/low sensitivity headphones.
However, the relatively low power helps to conserve battery life, which i will say is excellent
Sound Quality
the BTR3K sounds, as is to be Expected from Fiio, excellent for the price, especially when using IEMs or highly sensitive headphones, as it has very little noise, and an impressive sound quality, especially at this price and this size. the soundstage is relatively good, though not as wide as the Ifi Hip Dac (though this is an innapropriate comparison, as the Hip Dac costs over twice as much. this is just the only other portable DAC/Amp that i own). The BTR3K has very good detail retreval, and sounds very airy and open.
Overall impression
Overall, the Fiio BTR3K is an excellent portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp, for not much money.
despite some small issues, this is excellent value.
