[Gymboy]

Anyone tried KA3 with Camfire Cascade? Mine KA3 coming tomorrow, sometimes I dont feel like to take M17 and have it on a table in front of laptop, much more convenient to use KA3.

 

[madams5000]

Running this for a few days and when the audio is clear it is quite nice. Balanced out still not quite enough power to get the deep end going properly on he-400s, but bought this primarily for phone and iem use. On Andromeda single ended output need too much volume to get full low end, but found it almost perfect with these on balanced out. The problem I have is random rf interference. It's horrible when it kicks in, at times turning into a straight up audible seizure. Messing with mute toggle helps, but doesn't fix. Confirmed this is rfi while it was in full seizure by 1st killing my music app (Amazon)....seizure continued....popped into airplane mode and it stopped immediately.

So, my 2 cents.... primary use for this device is with phones, rfi should be a primary design consideration addressed by hardware design, not applying software filters to buffer/correct. I don't like this at all and will be returning unit for something else.

 

[senorx12562]

Running this for a few days and when the audio is clear it is quite nice. Balanced out still not quite enough power to get the deep end going properly on he-400s, but bought this primarily for phone and iem use. On Andromeda single ended output need too much volume to get full low end, but found it almost perfect with these on balanced out. The problem I have is random rf interference. It's horrible when it kicks in, at times turning into a straight up audible seizure. Messing with mute toggle helps, but doesn't fix. Confirmed this is rfi while it was in full seizure by 1st killing my music app (Amazon)....seizure continued....popped into airplane mode and it stopped immediately.

So, my 2 cents.... primary use for this device is with phones, rfi should be a primary design consideration addressed by hardware design, not applying software filters to buffer/correct. I don't like this at all and will be returning unit for something else.

I guess I have been lucky, because I have not had a single instance of this in maybe 100 hours of usage. And now that I've doomed that propitious run of good fortune to eventual failure, I will have to do some research because I am pretty ignorant on how this whole issue works. Did you contact Fiio? I'm curious about their response, if any.

 

[madams5000]

I guess I have been lucky, because I have not had a single instance of this in maybe 100 hours of usage. And now that I've doomed that propitious run of good fortune to eventual failure, I will have to do some research because I am pretty ignorant on how this whole issue works. Did you contact Fiio? I'm curious about their response, if any.

Heh, I hope you haven't jinxed your good fortune. It really does sound great to me when clean, keep enjoying!

I haven't reached out to support at all. Its an intermittent issue that I'd seen other reports of that I just don't have the patience for. We could troubleshoot for a while, and then maybe try a new unit and maybe resolve maybe not. In the meantime there are so many good options out there I could also just return to vendor and have another well regarded brand in my hands as quickly as anything else.

 

[FiiO]

Running this for a few days and when the audio is clear it is quite nice. Balanced out still not quite enough power to get the deep end going properly on he-400s, but bought this primarily for phone and iem use. On Andromeda single ended output need too much volume to get full low end, but found it almost perfect with these on balanced out. The problem I have is random rf interference. It's horrible when it kicks in, at times turning into a straight up audible seizure. Messing with mute toggle helps, but doesn't fix. Confirmed this is rfi while it was in full seizure by 1st killing my music app (Amazon)....seizure continued....popped into airplane mode and it stopped immediately.

So, my 2 cents.... primary use for this device is with phones, rfi should be a primary design consideration addressed by hardware design, not applying software filters to buffer/correct. I don't like this at all and will be returning unit for something else.

Dear friend,

Interference problem could not be avoided completely but we will go on improving about that in our product.

Best regards

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Caro amico,

Il problema dell'interferenza non può essere evitato completamente, ma continueremo a migliorarlo nel nostro prodotto.

Distinti saluti

@FiiO Oh yes? and why products like BTR5, THX Onyx and Qudelix 5K have no interference problem?

 

[FiiO]

@FiiO Oh yes? and why products like BTR5, THX Onyx and Qudelix 5K have no interference problem?

Dear friend,

Do you mean when using as USB DAC as well? There may be interference problem when there are a lot of Wifi devices or Bluetooth devices nearby.

Best regards

 

[elfgesang]

Been using this little powerhouse as a portable solution for about half a year now with headphones like HD660s, T1 and HD800S. Been very satisfied with the results. Only thing i would wish for is a control app for iOS. Is there any development going on for that?

 

[dadarodos]

Dear friend,

The 'fade in' is designed for KA3. Please check whether you have switched the output device to KA3 in the Windows sound panel page? And if you are using Win10, you may try to uninstall the USB Audio driver to check again.
We will also report to the engineer and check whether we could report this issue first.

Best regards

It seems like deleting the FiiO USB Audio Driver fixed the problem for me! Thanks! But the sound on my pc is now super loud I dont know if its good or not

 

[FiiO]

It seems like deleting the FiiO USB Audio Driver fixed the problem for me! Thanks! But the sound on my pc is now super loud I dont know if its good or not

Dear friend,

You could try to adjust the volume of the Ka3 via the FiiO Control app before connecting to the PC.

Best regards

 

[dadarodos]

Dear friend,

You could try to adjust the volume of the Ka3 via the FiiO Control app before connecting to the PC.

Best regards

Ok, I'll try it, thank you sir.

 

[FiiO]

Dear friends,

Check the following picture to get the comparisons of our KA series products~

 

[D00M]

I just posted my review on KA3 https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-jade-audio-ka3-dac-amp.25575/reviews#review-29338

On my neutral headphones, I don't find KA3 bright at all. Even HD560S, which is neutral to slightly bright, KA3 was not bright at all. However, on Audio Technica ATH-A700, which is a very old headphone with v-shape profile, it sounded awful with KA3. A700 by itself is not bright, and mid is recessed. But combined with KA3, the vocals sound piercing and thin. Trebles sound bright, harsh, and metallic. I don't know why.

I believe 660S has muted trebles. So it shouldn't be bright combined with KA3. But you never know until you try it. Or if someone has tried it.

I have owned KA3 for over 6 months now. I have being using it with my IEMs (Letshuoer S12 and sometimes Tin Hifi T3 Plus). Just listening to the KA3 without A/B comparison sounds fine. Recently, I got new desktop amp, so I did some A/B comparison. There is quite a bit of difference.

Setup:

• Samsung S20 FE -> (USB-C) -> KA3 DAC/Amp -> (Single Ended) -> Letshuoer S12
• Samsung S20 FE -> (Bluetooth) -> SMSL SU-8S DAC -> (RCA Single Ended) -> Drop THX AAA One -> (Single Ended) -> Letshuoer S12
• Samsung S20 FE -> (Bluetooth) -> SMSL SU-8S DAC -> (XLR Balanced) -> Monolith Liquid Platinum -> (Single Ended) -> Letshuoer S12

Songs:

• &Burn, by Billie Eilish and Vince Staples
• Read All About It, Pt. III - From The Voice Germany Final, by Emili Sande and Nick Howard
• You Say, by Lauren Daigle

The desktop DAC and Amp do cost a lot more than KA3. I'm not trying to make direct comparison on performance or value. Because comparison is how the audio signature differences do show up, so I am comparing and contrasting the sound on these 3 setups.

KA3: At first listen, KA3 sounded exciting. Then I realized that mid/vocal sound a bit recessed. This excitement is from recessed mids, which then placed emphasis in the treble and bass. Vocal difference do come thru quite clearly in these 3 songs listed above. Read All About It and You Say particularly do focus on vocals. Analogous to V-shaped headphones, this can create somewhat of dynamic and exciting audio experience. But downside is recessed vocals. In additional, this dynamics is kind of fake. Because bass and treble are not any more dynamic, but only feel more because mid is withdrawn.

Thinking back, KA3 had extremely awful pairing with Audio Technica ATH-A700, which is v-shaped headphones. I suspect the reason is that with both KA3 and the headphones being "v-shaped", this combined exacerbated the issue with mids. Vocals became too thin, piercing, and thrilling.

THX AAA One: This comparison is similar to the review I wrote above. Sound is quite similar to KA3. The biggest different is in the mids. AAA One is neutral, whereas KA3 mid is recessed. The second is that AAA One has more natural sparkly treble, whereas KA3 treble is a bit harsh. The bass impact is very similar.

Liquid Platinum (LP): Difference is quite drastic. LP is warmer. Much more bass impact. And vocals that is forward and present. There is a reverb in the bass and vocals, like the sound is live, instead of recording. Because of its warmth, LP's treble is a bit withdrawn; so treble is smooth and less detailed. This can be a pro or con, depending individual preference. In comparison, KA3 bass is weak, vocals recess, and treble is slightly bright.

So my assessment of KA3 hasn't really change. Its performance is close in performance to desktop solid state amp like THX AAA One. For my preference (bass impact, good mids and vocals, I dislike v-shaped sound), KA3 is still not as good as THX AAA. Then compared to Liquid Platinum (hybrid tube and solid state circuit), the difference is drastic. LP took what I enjoy about music (bass impact, vocal presence) to another level. KA3 weakness really showed up in comparison to LP.

 

[Dust by Monday]

I don't have an Android phone so I can't change the settings... that sucks...

I have a friend that has an android so maybe I can use his to change the settings. If I'm using 300ohm headphones, do I choose High Impedance in the app? Does that make the device output more power, or does it make the device have a higher impedance output? I'm confused about that part.

 

[rafaelo]

I don't have an Android phone so I can't change the settings... that sucks...

I have a friend that has an android so maybe I can use his to change the settings. If I'm using 300ohm headphones, do I choose High Impedance in the app? Does that make the device output more power, or does it make the device have a higher impedance output? I'm confused about that part.

For 6XX choose high gain. Even for 660s or 58X. All the sennheiser 6 series high gain.