I just bought a FiiO K3 (new) portable desktop amplifier/dac . Here is my initial impressions and a few questions.
This is a good looking ,small unit . I used it both with Senn 598cs and Hifiman 400i. Power output is enough for Senn 598 on low gain. It is also more than loud on low gain for Hifiman , but some may prefer high gain and setting the knob on a lower level, which works fine too. Anyway ,Hifiman 400i is the most power-hungry headphone I have and will use, K3 can drive it properly. It seems I don’t need a Amp that is self powered.
If you set the switch on the back to USB Audio 1.0 , then driver isn't needed. Windows installs it quickly and ready to use. The sound is clear, strong enough only problem I heard is the small low cracking sounds when switching to a new audio file. I ‘m not sure if this is fixable by a firmware update or if FiiO provides firmware updates.
For some reason, Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos Headphone do not work. Googling it did not provide a solution. This is especially important if you are going to use it with movies and games. These two technologies add impressive 3d soundstage to moves, games and I would not want to watch a movie without it.
If you plan to use it both speakers and headphones, then this may not be the best solution since you have to unplug the headphone while listening from speakers.
Also, unit is designed to be portable. But If you are not going to move it between computers another model maybe more suitable . It is a small device. Knobs, switches are bit tiny and hard to interact with.
I’m trying to solve a few problems I encountered with this.
Since Windows 10 supports USB Audio 2.0 (since 2012?), why is a driver from FiiO is needed? I have had all kinds of problems with USB audio drivers from other brands/modes so I’m hesitant to install any audio driver if really not necessary. Does anyone have experience with FiiO’s drivers? Does the cracking sounds still persists with the FiiO drivers?
Some of their drivers and documents are on Google Drive. While it's not a problem, it does not look professional for a well know brand like FiiO.
Does anyone know how to enable Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos with FiiO K3?
This is a good looking ,small unit . I used it both with Senn 598cs and Hifiman 400i. Power output is enough for Senn 598 on low gain. It is also more than loud on low gain for Hifiman , but some may prefer high gain and setting the knob on a lower level, which works fine too. Anyway ,Hifiman 400i is the most power-hungry headphone I have and will use, K3 can drive it properly. It seems I don’t need a Amp that is self powered.
If you set the switch on the back to USB Audio 1.0 , then driver isn't needed. Windows installs it quickly and ready to use. The sound is clear, strong enough only problem I heard is the small low cracking sounds when switching to a new audio file. I ‘m not sure if this is fixable by a firmware update or if FiiO provides firmware updates.
For some reason, Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos Headphone do not work. Googling it did not provide a solution. This is especially important if you are going to use it with movies and games. These two technologies add impressive 3d soundstage to moves, games and I would not want to watch a movie without it.
If you plan to use it both speakers and headphones, then this may not be the best solution since you have to unplug the headphone while listening from speakers.
Also, unit is designed to be portable. But If you are not going to move it between computers another model maybe more suitable . It is a small device. Knobs, switches are bit tiny and hard to interact with.
I’m trying to solve a few problems I encountered with this.
Since Windows 10 supports USB Audio 2.0 (since 2012?), why is a driver from FiiO is needed? I have had all kinds of problems with USB audio drivers from other brands/modes so I’m hesitant to install any audio driver if really not necessary. Does anyone have experience with FiiO’s drivers? Does the cracking sounds still persists with the FiiO drivers?
Some of their drivers and documents are on Google Drive. While it's not a problem, it does not look professional for a well know brand like FiiO.
Does anyone know how to enable Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos with FiiO K3?
