[wje]

  ? so your claim is you could hear the difference between dacs    Golden ears eh?

 
Not necessarily golden ears, but just a sound that I could appreciate.  But, I'm not sure how much I've read is also influencing my desire for the older D3. Even when I had the initial version of the D3 with the Wolfson DAC chip, it performed good, but remember liking the Muse DAC based around a Burr-Brown DAC chip.  Ultimately, though, I ended up selling off all the DACs that could be connected to my computer in favor of using my Squeezebox that fed a 2-channel integrated amp that I used for my headphone amplification.
 
Something recently drove me back to the computer connection and I am on a bit of a mission to get things buckled down.  I doubt I'll be able to locate one of the previous D3s (the non-Taishan version) but I did purchase another Muse DAC built around another DAC chip though which has been upgraded with new caps by many members here with the goal of improving the sound.
 
Finally, will I ever be a $1,000 DAC person?  Probably not.  I like to explore a bit in the $300 and under category which is more of an enjoyment to me.

 

[trip5]

Dont mean to dig up an old thread, but it seems like the best place for discussing the D3 and D30k. If you guys had a choice right now, which version would you go for? I believe amazon is selling both.  Thinking about picking this up and pairing it with the Schiit Magni
 
D3
http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B005PWPUW6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388959759&sr=8-2&keywords=fiio+d3
 
D30K
http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388959759&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+d3

 

[MegaMushroom]

I got the Taishan in the end.  Has served it's purpose well, and the extra cable was a nice addition.  Just go for the newer version.  All I remember from this thread is to avoid the ones built in the transition period.  I'm sure you can find the post that goes over that somewhere here. 

 

[redrich2000]

Anyone still reading this? Just wanted to check whether the 3.5mm line out is an audio line out? The instructions suggest using it connect to a wireless audio device. I don't have any RCA interconnects handy but I do have a 3.5mm>RCA cable so was gonna us that out of the DAC line out and into my stereo. Will that work?

 

[MegaMushroom]

I see no reason it shouldn't.  I use it as a line out for my mini speakers for my PC.  

 

[BobyYoo]

  Dont mean to dig up an old thread, but it seems like the best place for discussing the D3 and D30k. If you guys had a choice right now, which version would you go for? I believe amazon is selling both.  Thinking about picking this up and pairing it with the Schiit Magni
 
D3
http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B005PWPUW6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388959759&sr=8-2&keywords=fiio+d3
 
D30K
http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388959759&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+d3

on your first link
based on one of the review, he mentioned that he received a d03k instead of a d3
 
i think D3 are becoming very rare and you might all get a d03k

 

[tp4tissue]

Update..
 
Use an iphone power brick instead of the original..  bass is more consistent during loud moments..
 
using the included adapter,   the bass sometimes dropped off like (pfffuu.. pffffffuuu) instead of (mmmm.mmmmm) that you'd expect.
 
 
I am not using an amp. just driving earbuds + the d3 with the pani fr cap and opa2209.

 

[MegaMushroom]

  Update..
 
Use an iphone power brick instead of the original..  bass is more consistent during loud moments..
 
using the included adapter,   the bass sometimes dropped off like (pfffuu.. pffffffuuu) instead of (mmmm.mmmmm) that you'd expect.
 
 
I am not using an amp. just driving earbuds + the d3 with the pani fr cap and opa2209.

 
Now there's an idea.  Might try a few usb power bricks I have lying around.  See if that doesn't mess with the sound any.  Should be a fun weekend if I have the time. 

 

[artev]

Necro...
I have a sound blaster z connected to a schiit vali but was considering ordering one of these from amazon. Is it worthwhile? Should I be looking for a specific revision?

 

[hcfmax]

I have the Fiio D3 with a Micca Toslink mini-jack cable being driven by a second generation Mac Mini.  The D3 is connected with standard quality RCA cables to an older Technics receiver that is capable of driving 4 ohm speakers.  The speakers I have are vintage ADS M12s.  I also use a set of ATH-M50s if I don't want to bother the family (or neighbors).  Anyway, I have an Oppo DV-983h DVD/SACD/CD player which is considered fairly high quality and I found the output using analog cables from the Oppo was superior to the output from the D3.  I had been debating upgrading to a Cambridge Dacmagic 100 since it is capable of accepting multiple types of inputs.  But, I decided I wanted to first check the output of an Airport Express with a standard 3.5 mm audio cable since I had a spare laying around.  What I found is that the sound quality from the Airport Express was identical (at least to my somewhat older ears) to the sound quality from the Oppo.  Further research seemed to indicate that my ears weren't lying to me.  The AEx is supposed to be bit-perfect--at least to standard 44.1 K CD recording quality.
 
So I guess my point is that, to my ears at least, the Fiio D3 with a Toslink connection to a Mac Mini was inferior to a standard audio cable output from an AEx.  I really think you get what you pay for and you can't expect audiophile quality from a $30 dac.  I know that the D3 has a lot of positive ratings and that's why I bought one, but in retrospect, was not of the quality I wanted.  I would discourage anyone looking for decent sound quality from purchasing it.
 
The Audioquest Dragonfly v1.2 for $150 is supposed to be pretty good by many published reviews and I was considering it but I want to have more than one type of input connection, so I'm still considering going with the Dacmagic 100 for around $300.  Do I expect 10x better quality than the D3?  No, but maybe 10% better than the Oppo's.  We'll see.  Right now the AEx seems to be working pretty well.

 

[actorlife]

Will FiiO D3 (D03K) upgrade my sound with my Home Deck Sony CD player hooked up to my amplifier and speakers setup? Thanks. Is this basically the same thing? http://www.amazon.com/Portta-PETDTAT-Digital-Analog-Converter/dp/B003O509PY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401638801&sr=8-1&keywords=Digital+to+Analog+Audio+Converter

 

[actorlife]

Anyone?

 

[hcfmax]

Pretty much the same thing.  I don't know what the quality of the sound would be at that price, but it should function essentially the same.
 
However, if you're hooking a consumer CD player to a receiver, the CD player already has a DAC in it and I think an inexpensive external DAC would be redundant at best and degrading to the sound quality at worst.

 

[silverwolf0]

Hey guys I have a few noob questions about sound transfer and cabling. I just got the d03k from amazon. I just got a new TV with only optical out so had to get it. Both my PC and my PS3 will be plugged into the new TV via HDMI and the TV will be connected to a set of M-Audio AV40 speakers. My previous TV had two RCA outputs so didn't have to use a converter to plug into my M-Audio, which only has RCA jacks. Is this DAC far superior to the one that was built into my old TV, and will I notice any difference? When the digital audio is passed through HDMI to the TV and then outputed via optical out, is it still the same untouched digital audio data? Also, does it make a difference if I use two separate red/white RCA cables versus just a 3.5mm to red/white RCA cable? The d03k has 3.5mm output as well.

 

[Analoog]

If anyone wants to sell his first generation D3 with WM8805 and silver plugs, please PM.