[Alberto01]

Do music apps such as foobar2000 and VLC media player work through the BTR3? If so, will their equalizers also work in the BTR3? VLC has a 10 band equalizer and foobar2000 has an 18 band equalizer.

Mr. FiiO, please answer these questions.

 

[rkw]

Do music apps such as foobar2000 and VLC media player work through the BTR3? If so, will their equalizers also work in the BTR3? VLC has a 10 band equalizer and foobar2000 has an 18 band equalizer.

Yes. The BTR3 is a receiver and plays whatever is sent by any media player.

 

[Alberto01]

Yes. The BTR3 is a receiver and plays whatever is sent by any media player.

Thank you!

That is what I thought about how it works. But, it was better to ask before getting the MTR3. I always use an equalizer to raise the frequencies below 100 Hz, around 1000 Hz and above 5000 Hz. The sound is so much better with those adjustments. Mr. FiiO, that is the reason why people here are requesting that you give them an equalizer in the BTR3 app.

 

[Alberto01]

rkw, do you have a BTR3?

 

[PeterMac]

Hi guys, This is actually my first post on Head-fi, but I am a long time lurker! I have been especially interested in this and the ES100 thread. I own both devices and they have made me realise that Bluetooth is absolutely a viable option at last!

As my name suggests I am about simplicity. I want to find a great portable audio solution that is as compact as possible but that still provides great sound and versatility. I'm an Apple music user and have an Samsung S8 and an iPhone 6s at present. I love the idea of this this tiny device, my IEMs and a smartphone as my setup. Also the idea of my smartphone being free of cables is fantastic.

Just to share some of my thoughts on this product. I think the build is fantastic and a step up from the ES100. I hate the idea of choosing one product over the other based on aesthetics, but durability is so important when talking about a portable product. Initially I thought the lack of balanced out would be a huge negative, but so far it is not presenting any real issues. I think the sound is great, lots of detail and very chunky in the low end and no noticeable noise. IMO It feels like it has a lot more weight in the sound delivered compared to ES100, but of course that is probably just the way the product has been tuned and could probably be replicated by the ES100 with the EQ. Which brings me on to EQ, does anyone know when the EQ functionality will be launched in the FIIO app? I feel that this will really start to unlock the true potential of the device. @FiiO Can you share a timeline for EQ functionality please?

My biggest issue with the product so far is the Bluetooth signal and this is becoming a major issue for me. Sitting in my kitchen, with the phone on the table, just walking around the small room I find it stutters and drops audio regularly. Even just obstructing with my body, but still being at close range. I also experience these issue when out and about, just having my phone in one pocket and the BTR3 in the other. Do people think this could be helped by future firmware upgrades, or is it linked to the design, due to the metal housing (that would be such a shame)? These kinds of issues seem much less with the ES100.

Just my input so far!

Someone here said that ES100 have worse BT range to BTR3. You say ES100 have much better ?

 

[minimalist82]

Someone here said that ES100 have worse BT range to BTR3. You say ES100 have much better ?

I haven't carried out any scientific tests, but for my use case described above or out and about with the device in one pocket and my handset in the other I have certainly found the ES100 to have a more solid connection. I want to be clear though, the BTR3 is far from unusable in this regard!

My intention was to test both the ES100 and BTR3 and settle on one or the other as my portable solution. I want simplicity and not two products doing the same thing, but I'm finding it so difficult to decide. On paper, the ES100 should be the safer bet, but there is something about the sound of the BTR3 that I am finding more enjoyable. It has a certain 'thickness' I just can't seem to replicate with the ES100. This is of course very subjective and purely my personal taste.

Just to give more context to my findings, I have been using AKG N5005, AKG K550MKIII & VE Monk Plus. I'm a little AKG-centric as you can probably see due to being a Harman employee!

@FiiO please give us EQ control soon, so we can really unlock the potential of this device!

 

[waynes world]

I haven't carried out any scientific tests, but for my use case described above or out and about with the device in one pocket and my handset in the other I have certainly found the ES100 to have a more solid connection. I want to be clear though, the BTR3 is far from unusable in this regard!

I don't have the BTR3, but the ES100's BT connection seems pretty darned good to me.

My intention was to test both the ES100 and BTR3 and settle on one or the other as my portable solution. I want simplicity and not two products doing the same thing, but I'm finding it so difficult to decide. On paper, the ES100 should be the safer bet, but there is something about the sound of the BTR3 that I am finding more enjoyable. It has a certain 'thickness' I just can't seem to replicate with the ES100. This is of course very subjective and purely my personal taste.

Interesting. Fwiw, I like some bass, and on my more neutral gear, I often use the ES100's "bass boost" EQ setting to warm up the sound a bit. But you say that you can't replicate, so you probably have already tried EQ'ing.

 

[kiruenauk]

Hi, a quick question on using the BTR3 as a USB DAC through an Android phone. I'm currently using a Xiaomi Mi A1 playing FLAC files on USB Audio Player Pro going through the BTR3 connected through a USB OTG cable. Most of my FLAC files are 96kHz/24bit. The USB Audio Player Pro shows that the BTR3 USB DAC sample rate is only at 48kHz.

Is the BTR3 internal DAC sample rate is locked at 48kHz only when using it as a USB DAC?

 

[highlightshadow]

I think it's limited to 44.1KHz/16Bit on USB

 

[Darkestred]

Someone here said that ES100 have worse BT range to BTR3. You say ES100 have much better ?

Unless it was a faulty unit. I find the ES100 has better and stronger range. I own both. If i use the ninja to blend protein my BTR cuts out. The ES100 does not. I can go through multiple walls in my house and the ES100 will not cutout, the BTR struggles. Cupping both units the ES100 does not cutout but the BTR does. I love both units, though.

And as someone else mentioned the BTR has that FIIO airy "Thickness."

 

[MarkF786]

Someone here said that ES100 have worse BT range to BTR3. You say ES100 have much better ?

I was doing some testing comparing Bluetooth signal strength of both devices using an app LightBlue on my iPhone. Under the conditions I tested, signal strength was very similar between the two, and in practical terms, they've performed similarly well for me in my day-to-day use.

 

[highlightshadow]

Think it's partly, at least, down the the fact that the ES100 has a totally plastic shell and the BTR has an aluminium shell except glass front.
Both use a chip antenna which aren't the best for range.

But i would agree that the ES100 has the edge albeit slight on range or connection stability. But i find most BT devices have a sweetspot in terms of their position/orientation when you'll get the best connection, similarly there's a position that'll kill it within a metre.

Not sure why they couldn't have run an antenna around the glass edge to create a much larger one rather than the chip

 

[rkw]

rkw, do you have a BTR3?

Yes

 

[kiruenauk]

Hi, a quick question on using the BTR3 as a USB DAC through an Android phone. I'm currently using a Xiaomi Mi A1 playing FLAC files on USB Audio Player Pro going through the BTR3 connected through a USB OTG cable. Most of my FLAC files are 96kHz/24bit. The USB Audio Player Pro shows that the BTR3 USB DAC sample rate is only at 48kHz.

Is the BTR3 internal DAC sample rate is locked at 48kHz only when using it as a USB DAC?

I did some searching online and found that the DAC used in the BTR3, AK4376A actually supports multi sample rates up to 384kHz, so I'm confused why it's stuck to one sample rate.

Anyone from @FiiO or @JamesFiiO can shed some light? I'm planning to use it extensively as a USB DAC

 

[Alberto01]

Yes

How is the sound quality of your BTR3 compared to other stuff that you have?