[FiiO]

Thank you for taking the time to test this unit out.

I am very surprised how little attention this unit receives on the thread reviewing USB phone dongles. The THX version of this has a nice chip to reduce phone noise and works well. It took me a bit to figure how to get this unit to work with my iphone, but once I did it is very simple to use. The only issue is that sometimes I need to connect and reconnect the unit once or twice before it works but it always eventually will work. I use a third party OTG lightning cable as I needed a longer cable run and it works well.

I really enjoy that this unit has the AKM sound. I don't have any experience with R2R which is all the rage here, but AKM sounds silky smooth to me. I have some good ESS units but many sound a bit trebly while this unit sounds "just right".

I wonder what iphone apps people are using for SACD ISO files? I have been using the HiBy iphone app. It took me a bit to get that app to work the way I want, and the fix was to name my folders in the order I want them played. So a folder like 10 - Weather Report would play before 15 - Dave Brubeck. Then in the folder list I can play folder 10, which appears at the bottom of the list (non intuitive), and then goes on to folder 15.

I started this hobby with a portable FIIO DAC/AMP, then the X3 and then the X3II. Since then I haven't owned many FIIO units but now I am back.

I am looking forward to seeing AKM chips come back to your regular DAP line. Some version of the M11 with AKM would be great; hopefully you can include some capabilities of the Q3 like iphone native capabilities in DAC mode. And throwing in 2.5 and 4.4 jacks would be amazing. And an analog volume knob like the Q3. I really like the idea of DAP units that include Android so I can download from Amazon. So many units that offer this capability have very slow performance and don't support Android audio which I think are crucial features.

I also admire that the owner of FIIO monitors these threads himself from time to time. The only other company that I know of where this occurs is iBasso. A very classy thing to do.

Dear friend,

According to the feedback from other users, they use FiiO Music app, UAPP for playing DSD.

Best regards

 

[originalsnuffy]

Dear friend,

According to the feedback from other users, they use FiiO Music app, UAPP for playing DSD.

Best regards

To my knowledge, UAPP is only for Android. I took a look in the iphone app store and didn't see it. I do own it for Android, but right now I have no Android DAP devices.

All my Android DAP units were terribly slow and introduced various audible glitches from time to time. I had been using Android DAP units to download files for offline playback, and I tended to have a fairly large library (400GB or more). That is why for now I use my iphone for Amazon Audio with the Q3. That is far more responsive than my other devices were.

All of my cars no longer offer auxiliary inputs, which had been a key reason for me to have DAP units instead of using iphones with a dongle. The cars accept Airplay and one of the two also has Android Audio.

I did not realize that the FIIO app has DOP for DSD playback. I downloaded it and experimented a bit. It does not seem that the Apple Files IOS app recognizes this app. That matters as I had planned to transfer file folders from another music app into this app. That cannot be accomplished if the Files app does not see the FIIO app. Unless there is a workaround of course. I know the FIIO app can look at the itunes folder. Can it be directed to look at any other folders for native playback? Yes, I do see the UPNP but that is not useful when away from home.

I do appreciate that you are providing helpful suggestions and are monitoring this thread.

 

[sebaz]

Compared with the last generation,the Q3 comes with an extra 4.4mm balanced output. 3 mainstream headphone outputs, 4.4mm2.5mm/3.5mm/4.4mm jacks, allow you to connect all kinds of headphones. So you don't have to sacrifice compatibility with single-ended headphones while having fun with the balanced output!

I was wondering why is Fiio putting so much emphasis on balanced headphones in detriment of regular 3.5mm ones? Everybody has tons of headphones with 3.5mm connectors going back decades. I have at least 5 purchased in the last decade, but only one set of balanced headphones, and ownership of that one is still in doubt because it sounds great except for bass, so I'll probably send it back to uncle Jeff and try others.

Now, this only pair of balanced headphones I have, the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7bBK, has two sets of cables, one for balanced and another for unbalanced. So listening to the same list of songs in Apple Music in at least CD quality but many in Hi-res lossless, even up to 192 Khz, I couldn't tell the difference between balanced and unbalanced. I know what unbalanced is supposed to do, but listening to many kinds of music, from Michael Giacchino to The Beatles, these headphones connected to the Fiio K7, I just couldn't tell the difference, and I'm not a casual listener, I'm an audiophile, albeit one without the deep pockets to afford the gear that is thousands of dollars, but I know how to squeeze the best out of the gear I have.

But the Q3 MQA has only one 3.5mm output, which also seems to serve as an analog input, and then two balanced outputs. That's something I would expect from a really expensive niche market amp, not a $130 one. Most people don't even have one set of balanced headphones, much less two. It's a very small market, while the market for people with a collection of headphones going back decades and wanting a better sound quality is far far larger.

And a lot of those people have different music listening situations, at times being connecting it to the phone or computer via USB, but other times they just need a simple 3.5mm input to connect to another portable player, even an old cassette walkman or discman. And with the Fiio Q3, if you want to do that, then you're forced to use balanced headphones. To me that doesn't make any sense. What would make sense would be to have the same set of inputs and outputs the Q1 Mark II had, one 3.5mm input, one 3.5mm output, and one balanced output.

But the Q1 Mark II is discontinued, and if you want to get a new one, you have to pay it like 4 times what it should be. And so are a lot of the other Fiio amps that can take a 3.5mm input from another player, like the A series, of which you can only get the A1 on Amazon, the other two are grossly overpriced. Every single Fiio amp I checked out that has a 3.5mm input is pretty much a goner.

Now, if you tell me that at least you include some kind of adapter to connect 3.5mm headphones to the 4.4mm jack, maybe, but as far as I've read, that is a big no-no, since it can damage the amp circuits, even though those adapters are being sold. So two balanced outputs and one unbalanced input/output seems absurd to me. What the Q1 Mark II had made sense, this doesn't.

I'm all for having a balanced output, but I'm not going to throw away all my older headphones and start buying balanced ones at a premium because they're balanced. Fiio should get a better grasp of the market before jumping head first into the balanced fad. I ordered the Q3 MQA, which I received today, and I'll probably return it without even opening it because of all this. Sure, it was an impulse purchase, but if it had one 3.5mm input, one 3.5mm output, and one balanced output, I would definitely keep it.

 

[FiiO]

I was wondering why is Fiio putting so much emphasis on balanced headphones in detriment of regular 3.5mm ones? Everybody has tons of headphones with 3.5mm connectors going back decades. I have at least 5 purchased in the last decade, but only one set of balanced headphones, and ownership of that one is still in doubt because it sounds great except for bass, so I'll probably send it back to uncle Jeff and try others.

Now, this only pair of balanced headphones I have, the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7bBK, has two sets of cables, one for balanced and another for unbalanced. So listening to the same list of songs in Apple Music in at least CD quality but many in Hi-res lossless, even up to 192 Khz, I couldn't tell the difference between balanced and unbalanced. I know what unbalanced is supposed to do, but listening to many kinds of music, from Michael Giacchino to The Beatles, these headphones connected to the Fiio K7, I just couldn't tell the difference, and I'm not a casual listener, I'm an audiophile, albeit one without the deep pockets to afford the gear that is thousands of dollars, but I know how to squeeze the best out of the gear I have.

But the Q3 MQA has only one 3.5mm output, which also seems to serve as an analog input, and then two balanced outputs. That's something I would expect from a really expensive niche market amp, not a $130 one. Most people don't even have one set of balanced headphones, much less two. It's a very small market, while the market for people with a collection of headphones going back decades and wanting a better sound quality is far far larger.

And a lot of those people have different music listening situations, at times being connecting it to the phone or computer via USB, but other times they just need a simple 3.5mm input to connect to another portable player, even an old cassette walkman or discman. And with the Fiio Q3, if you want to do that, then you're forced to use balanced headphones. To me that doesn't make any sense. What would make sense would be to have the same set of inputs and outputs the Q1 Mark II had, one 3.5mm input, one 3.5mm output, and one balanced output.

But the Q1 Mark II is discontinued, and if you want to get a new one, you have to pay it like 4 times what it should be. And so are a lot of the other Fiio amps that can take a 3.5mm input from another player, like the A series, of which you can only get the A1 on Amazon, the other two are grossly overpriced. Every single Fiio amp I checked out that has a 3.5mm input is pretty much a goner.

Now, if you tell me that at least you include some kind of adapter to connect 3.5mm headphones to the 4.4mm jack, maybe, but as far as I've read, that is a big no-no, since it can damage the amp circuits, even though those adapters are being sold. So two balanced outputs and one unbalanced input/output seems absurd to me. What the Q1 Mark II had made sense, this doesn't.

I'm all for having a balanced output, but I'm not going to throw away all my older headphones and start buying balanced ones at a premium because they're balanced. Fiio should get a better grasp of the market before jumping head first into the balanced fad. I ordered the Q3 MQA, which I received today, and I'll probably return it without even opening it because of all this. Sure, it was an impulse purchase, but if it had one 3.5mm input, one 3.5mm output, and one balanced output, I would definitely keep it.

Dear friend,

Thanks for your kind feedback. We made some questionaires and found that more and more users are using 4.4mm headphone output mode and USB DAC input mode now. Besides, balanced output has higher output power , larger channel separation, stronger stereo sense generally.
But we will still try to report your feedback to the product manager for reference.

Best regards

 

[sebaz]

We made some questionaires and found that more and more users are using 4.4mm headphone output mode and USB DAC input mode now. Besides, balanced output has higher output power , larger channel separation, stronger stereo sense generally.

Sure, but then why not put one 4.4mm for users of balanced headphones, which can easily order or you can include a 4.4mm to 2.5mm balanced adapter, and then use the space that you have for the 2.5mm balanced for a 3.5mm unbalanced, covering what is most likely 99% of headphones owners in the world. Then you give everyone what they need. If they have balanced headphones, they can use the 4.4mm output, and let's be honest, balanced headphones are a niche market for people with money, who most likely will not buy expensive headphones with an itty bitty flimsy 2.5mm plug. And then you don't push away people who have tons of 3.5mm headphones collected over decades, even some very expensive ones, and need something easy like a way to connect their older portable player with a 3.5mm headphone output to an amp for better sound.

Also a lost opportunity, is to have an amp so sophisticated in that even decodes MQA audio, a really really niche market for now, and probably one of those that will fall into oblivion sooner than later, and connects to the phone via USB, but doesn't have a phone app to EQ anything, only a bass switch. The best recorded album will sound flat without a proper 10 band EQ to adjust to each user's taste. And the Apple Music app only has like 15 presets that can't be changed in any way, and for which you need to go into the settings.

Meanwhile, the Qudelix-5K is about the same price, I think cheaper, and has an app with a proper EQ. Seems like a wasted opportunity to me.

 

[Sigur Ros]

Is there a working firmware check tool ?

 

[FiiO]

Is there a working firmware check tool ?

Dear friend,

Seems yes. Please check whether you have installed the FiiO USB DAC driver first? (Download link: https://forum.fiio.com/note/showNoteContent.do?id=202105191527366657910&tid=17)

Best regards

 

[Ieonasj]

hello,my firmware shows v 1.02 .it is latest. no new firmware? i read it is v 1.05

 

[Ieonasj]

Dear friend,

Seems yes. Please check whether you have installed the FiiO USB DAC driver first? (Download link: https://forum.fiio.com/note/showNoteContent.do?id=202105191527366657910&tid=17)

Best regards

hello,my firmware shows v 1.02 .it is latest. no new firmware? i read is newer v 1.05

 

[FiiO]

hello,my firmware shows v 1.02 .it is latest. no new firmware? i read is newer v 1.05

Dear friend,

There is no new firmware for the Q3 MQA.

Best regards

 

[Ieonasj]

Dear friend,

There is no new firmware for the Q3 MQA.

Best regards

what sound difference 1 chip dac vs 2 chip dac in amplifiers?does better buy fiio dac/amp with 2 ak dac chips or with 1 ess?or best with 2 ess chips?

 

[FiiO]

what sound difference 1 chip dac vs 2 chip dac in amplifiers?does better buy fiio dac/amp with 2 ak dac chips or with 1 ess?or best with 2 ess chips?

Dear friend,

The main differences between Q3 MQA and Q3: https://www.fiio.com/newsinfo/659673.html
And due to individual preferences, you could read the professional reviews and comparisons, as well as try out by yourself.

Best regards

 

[iSavra]

Dear friend,

Yes, I have send the newer firmware file for you via PM.

Best regards

Hi! Can you please send me the latest FiiO Q3 firmware? I couldn't find it online because your website doesn't have a section for updating it for the FiiO Q3.
I attached my FiiO Q3 model info below.

Thank you for your help!

 

[iSavra]

Hi! Can you please send me the latest FiiO Q3 firmware? I couldn't find it online because your website doesn't have a section for updating it for the FiiO Q3.
I attached my FiiO Q3 model info below.

Thank you for your help!

@FiiO Do you have any updates regarding my request?
Best regards.

 

[FiiO]

Hi! Can you please send me the latest FiiO Q3 firmware? I couldn't find it online because your website doesn't have a section for updating it for the FiiO Q3.
I attached my FiiO Q3 model info below.

Thank you for your help!

Dear friend,

You are using the latest suitable firmware for your Q3. So you don't need to update the firmware for it again.

Best regards