[Asabides]

Got the Fulla for Christmas.  Love that it connects to Windows with the description "I'm Fulla Schiit".  Cute.  I tried several headphones with it: Fostex TH-X00, HD-650, HE-560, Philips SHP9500.  The Fulla drives them all fairly well.  Same overall quality in audio and loudness as the O2 Amp/ODAC.  Both are very very similar to each other.

 

[ZoomZoomBoom]

Fulla and A900X arriving in the next couple of days, as well as a powered hub. I cannot wait to play around with the pair!

 

[DeeKay10]

Got this little thing today. You don't know how small it is till you see it. But whatever, let's get to the sound.
That's what I have to test with, which is basically my computer ($0), laptop ($0), Philips SHP9500 ($80), Shure SE535 ($500) and a Fiio X5+E12A stack ($500). Ecletic, to say the least. The Fulla is $80. Initial impressions are pretty much this:
It's a pretty good sounding DAC+Amp combo! It's not terribly smooth or detailed, but it has plenty of juice to drive things bigger than iBuds and it sounds a lot better than what you get in computers and laptops - much cleaner sound, lower and fuller bass and hey, it has an analog volume control without channel imbalance (PC output set to 20%). I personally think the amp module could be a bit better, since it's noisy for an IEM and the E12A squeezes a lot more SQ from it, but for $80 you get some compromises.
In regard to noise, I will comment about the Amazon reviews mentioning people hearing odd stuff from the Fulla: It's not silent, I agree. The SE535 easily picks noise from it, the SHP9500 cans exhibit similar noise at higher volume, and you can hear really angry hissing coming out of the Fulla on idle, but, once you play music, particularly of less silent genres, it gets inaudiable, or at least doesn't bother me. In fact, for headphones, I don't see this as an issue at all. For IEMs, less lucky, but the SE535 is one hell of a sensitive IEM.
 
Anyways, bottom line, when you consider a decent DAC costs $45 (say, HiFimeDIY Sabre) and requires an amp costing close to it (say, Fiio E06, $30), buying this little thing isn't such a bad deal. If I had to rate it between my PC (0%) and X5+E12A (100%), I'd give it a score of 55-60%. That's a pretty stupid rating system, but c'mon, I'm commenting on a product called Fulla Schiit.
 
Might post further impressions next weekend when I have some time to tinker with it.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

does anyone happen to own both the FiiO M3 & Schiit Fulla? If so How do they compare in term of sound quality?

 

[yacobx]

does anyone happen to own both the FiiO M3 & Schiit Fulla? If so How do they compare in term of sound quality?

But why? They are two different things? Also I've head xduoo is better than Fiio m3

 

[DeeKay10]

  does anyone happen to own both the FiiO M3 & Schiit Fulla? If so How do they compare in term of sound quality?

I'd imagine the Fulla wipes the floor with it, judging by the specs, and these two target two different audiences. I know specs aren't everything, but that's a lot crammed into a $55 product to come at the cost of SQ.

 

[jarudet]

Any comparisons with Fiio K1?

 

[Darryl Jenks]

I just received my Fulla in the mail today, very quickly after a shipping confirmation from Amy.  I was prepared for the weird packaging thanks to reviews here, so I unboxed the little fella as quickly as possible and plugged it in on a Windows 7 machine.  No connectivity issues at all; it was ready to rock.
 
Coincidentally, a new copy of Peter Gabriel's fourth solo album (security) showed up in the same delivery from the mailroom.  Some things in life are just deliciously perfect.  I ripped it in a lossless format and got ready to sample the goodness: put the phone in "straight to voicemail" mode; closed the door; asked Erin to inform any visitors that I'm, umm, not available right now; pulled the MDR-V6s out of the desk drawer and settled in.
 
Wow.  Just wow.
 
Thank you for the cool piece of kit and the great sound, Schiiters.  Once I get the office remodel done and it's all set up the way they promise us, I'll be back for some of the Fulla's big brothers.
 
Does driving my headphones with these things make me a Schiithead?  Oh well, if the shoe fits...

 

[CSdread]

I have had this DAC/Amp for about a month now and have been using it as my portable DAC/Amp for work. I listen to music all day at work. I have been using it with my HE-400i headphones. I have defiantly heard a lot better but that is moot since the price range is where it is at for this little fella. I have heard the dragonfly before and this is defiantly comparable but the dragonfly might be slightly quieter. Again price point being the primary argument here. It drives my magnetic planers well but not great. I spend most of my time in the top 1/4 of the volume dial. I find it can have a smaller sound stage than my more expensive DACs. Again price point! So i keep coming back to how great this is for the price point. The DAC is great and can do 24bit and up to 96k out of the box with OS X. It works with El Capitan which some of my other more expensive DACs do not. Its a big win for portability and a good looking well built product. 
 
One note: When changing the volume with the analog potentiometer I notices some noise, this is nothing terrible and only when turning the nob.
 
Another not: While it drives my magnetic planers well (HE-400i) I think it is just barely able to do it. I find myself lacking detail at the higher volumes like it struggles to push enough power to be loud and detailed at the same time. As it is USB powered it would be tough to do much better. I would say this is great if you are on a tight budget like I am but I would not say that the HE-400i and the Schiit Fulla were made for each other.

 

[pavement714]

  I have had this DAC/Amp for about a month now and have been using it as my portable DAC/Amp for work. I listen to music all day at work. I have been using it with my HE-400i headphones. I have defiantly heard a lot better but that is moot since the price range is where it is at for this little fella. I have heard the dragonfly before and this is defiantly comparable but the dragonfly might be slightly quieter. Again price point being the primary argument here. It drives my magnetic planers well but not great. I spend most of my time in the top 1/4 of the volume dial. I find it can have a smaller sound stage than my more expensive DACs. Again price point! So i keep coming back to how great this is for the price point. The DAC is great and can do 24bit and up to 96k out of the box with OS X. It works with El Capitan which some of my other more expensive DACs do not. Its a big win for portability and a good looking well built product. 
 
One note: When changing the volume with the analog potentiometer I notices some noise, this is nothing terrible and only when turning the nob.
 
Another not: While it drives my magnetic planers well (HE-400i) I think it is just barely able to do it. I find myself lacking detail at the higher volumes like it struggles to push enough power to be loud and detailed at the same time. As it is USB powered it would be tough to do much better. I would say this is great if you are on a tight budget like I am but I would not say that the HE-400i and the Schiit Fulla were made for each other.

I used the Fulla with my 400i exclusively for a year or so, until I get a desktop amp/DAC. Your write-up is spot-on, it sounded great at the time but I always felt there was more to the 400i with better ampage. Got a Class-A amp (Audeze Deckard) and it's definitely noticeable.
 
I still think the Fulla is an incredible product at $79 for entry-level hifi.

 

[CSdread]

Thanks! I also like the Fulla because it is nice to have a small and compact grab and go DAC/Amp combo that if it gets smashed or stolen or destroyed its not a big of a deal compared to the other more expensive DAC/Amp USB dongle devices.

 

[Happybottle]

Hey everyone, I was hoping I could get some advice/opinion on something.
 
The Fulla arrived yesterday afternoon.  I've some mixed feelings :-/
 
Every now and then, I have to work remotely.  I would have my work laptop (Lenovo T440s running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS) with me and my Sony MDRv6.  I was looking for a portable DAC/amp that I could use to listen to music, (from my laptop) when this happens. 
 
The Fulla, when paired with my work laptop sounds flawless -- up until about 30% volume.  At 30% and above, I hear static and hissing.  Now, here's where I'm a bit torn.  Honestly, I don't think I'd ever listen to these past 25% volume.  That's really loud for me.  So do I care if there's static at 30%+ ?  Well, yeah.  If I'm honest, I do.
 
I should add that with my Macbook Air, I only hear the static when I'm adjusting the volume knob on the Fulla.  Even at 30, 40, 50+% volume, it's quiet on the Macbook.  Unfortunately, that's not the laptop I'd be using to feed the DAC/amp when I'm working remotely.  I only mention it to feed your opinions on the matter.
 
And here's where I ask the question.  Am I expecting too much in a sub $100 portable DAC/amp?  Would I run into the same problem with, for example, the Fiio E10K?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[AKGunkie]

if it's computer like sounds would lead me to believe it's grounding issue
 
just regular static could be poor power, you may be able to go into the computer's settings and make sure that it's not restricting power supply to USB accessories.  The fulla is a VERY powerful amp for it's size so the issue might not be present on other DAC/AMP combo's but it might be due to the fact that the fulla has so much headroom for it's size and cost.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I am also a fan of the Fulla. Got great results with it with everything from easy to drive headphones to ones with lower sensitivity and/or higher impedance.
 

Am I expecting too much in a sub $100 portable DAC/amp?  Would I run into the same problem with, for example, the Fiio E10K?

 
Some amp/DACs under $100 don't have these noise issues. An example is the cheap Creative Sound Blaster E1. However, the Fulla is much better in every other respect.

 

[Happybottle]

  if it's computer like sounds would lead me to believe it's grounding issue
 
just regular static could be poor power, you may be able to go into the computer's settings and make sure that it's not restricting power supply to USB accessories.  The fulla is a VERY powerful amp for it's size so the issue might not be present on other DAC/AMP combo's but it might be due to the fact that the fulla has so much headroom for it's size and cost.

Thanks for chiming in!
 
Based on what you wrote, I did some research and found a configuration that reduced the static (disabling Intel SpeedStep Technology in the firmware).  Linking it here for any others using Ubuntu 14.04 experiencing this issue:
 
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2219579
 
The static is still there, but it's much easier to ignore.
 
I did end up ordering the Fiio E10K over the weekend.  When it arrives, I'll race them
 
Thanks again!