[superfrognyc]

Dacs should be flat..... they are just meant to convert 0s and 1s into sound waves, period. If I want to colour I use an EQ (Equalizer APO + Peace)

I disagree with you on this one, I had 2 high-end DAC in my systems an Ayre Acoustics QB-9 and a HEGEL HD25 both around the same price (2.5K), the AYRE was "warmer" and the HEGEL was more "analytical", to my ears the AYRE was more suitable to my solid state equipment (AYRE AX5 and HEGEL H300) but the HEGEL was perfect match for my tube amp (PRIMA LUNA INT). So DAC coloration does make a

difference.

 

[Alkaudio]

I disagree with you on this one, I had 2 high-end DAC in my systems an Ayre Acoustics QB-9 and a HEGEL HD25 both around the same price (2.5K), the AYRE was "warmer" and the HEGEL was more "analytical", to my ears the AYRE was more suitable to my solid state equipment (AYRE AX5 and HEGEL H300) but the HEGEL was perfect match for my tube amp (PRIMA LUNA INT). So DAC coloration does make a difference.

My personal view is that a Dac has to convert digital bits to sound waves as accurately as possible without altering the frequency response; an Amp has to amplify the signal with less distortion as possible and, again, without altering the frequency response as volume changes. I want to shape and fine tune my own sound with equalization. For those who don't enjoy/trust/master equalization is normal to want everything ready out of the box.

 

[xbb0]

I contacted FiiO support about the clicks and they had no clue. It always happens at the start of playback and also after:
1. 4-5 seconds of silence if you playback something for only few seconds;
2. 22-23 seconds of silence if you playback something for few minutes.
It doesn't depend on the USB port because it's there if plugged on my smartphone as well. Though, GREAT NEWS, I found a workaround: use this software, basically creates a background and silent tone in order to prevent the dac/amp to go idle: https://blog.rhysgoodwin.com/htpc/spdif-keepalive/

You are welcome.

PS: how can in 2019 an audiophile dac/amp have this "feature"? It's utterly absurd. Even smartphones don't have this "feature" and they need to save battery

Hello,

For those having issues with the K3 (and maybe others?), I can confirm it is a driver/software issue.

I almost wanted to return it because I found it very annoying, it is very noticeable if you don't use its official driver.

Try for example the speaker sound test in Windows and you'll hear it...

If you use the official driver, there is some difference and the "muting" happens with some more delay at the end of the stream.

However before I almost gave up I went to look at the driver control panel folder (C:\Program Files\FiiO\FiiO_Driver\W10_x64) and found an xml configuration file...

Inside the XML file you will find this magic setting:

   <PageOptions>
        <!-- Supported values for this page: Hidden (default), Visible  -->
        <Visibility>Hidden</Visibility>
    </PageOptions>

Set it to Visible by replacing "Hidden" with "Visible" and save (you need administrator permissions, open an editor in administrator mode and then open the file)

Before editing the file close the FiiO control panel application and reopen it after.

You will find the magic tab "Options" where you will find "Streaming" and you'll see it's set by default to "On when Needed". Set it to "Always On" and... problem solved.

Now the questions are... why this default and why is the option page hidden?


Edit:
Before finding the solution I recorded the issue:

Prodigy Cube (for comparision)
K3 with windows driver
K3 with official driver

 

[Alkaudio]

Hello,

For those having issues with the K3 (and maybe others?), I can confirm it is a driver/software issue.

I almost wanted to return it because I found it very annoying, it is very noticeable if you don't use its official driver.

Try for example the speaker sound test in Windows and you'll hear it...

If you use the official driver, there is some difference and the "muting" happens with some more delay at the end of the stream.

However before I almost gave up I went to look at the driver control panel folder (C:\Program Files\FiiO\FiiO_Driver\W10_x64) and found an xml configuration file...

Inside the XML file you will find this magic setting:

   <PageOptions>
        <!-- Supported values for this page: Hidden (default), Visible  -->
        <Visibility>Hidden</Visibility>
    </PageOptions>

Set it to Visible by replacing "Hidden" with "Visible" and save (you need administrator permissions, open an editor in administrator mode and then open the file)

Before editing the file close the FiiO control panel application and reopen it after.

You will find the magic tab "Options" where you will find "Streaming" and you'll see it's set by default to "On when Needed". Set it to "Always On" and... problem solved.

Now the questions are... why this default and why is the option page hidden?


Edit:
Before finding the solution I recorded the issue:

Prodigy Cube (for comparision)
K3 with windows driver
K3 with official driver

This is the ultimate solution!! It works. Now I wonder why FiiO didn't let us know about this hidden option...

 

[sidi0us]

@

xbb0

I can also confirm it works, before this, every time you close your music player you could hear this pop sound, now it's gone. Thank you sir!

 

[FiiO]

Hello,

For those having issues with the K3 (and maybe others?), I can confirm it is a driver/software issue.

I almost wanted to return it because I found it very annoying, it is very noticeable if you don't use its official driver.

Try for example the speaker sound test in Windows and you'll hear it...

If you use the official driver, there is some difference and the "muting" happens with some more delay at the end of the stream.

However before I almost gave up I went to look at the driver control panel folder (C:\Program Files\FiiO\FiiO_Driver\W10_x64) and found an xml configuration file...

Inside the XML file you will find this magic setting:

   <PageOptions>
        <!-- Supported values for this page: Hidden (default), Visible  -->
        <Visibility>Hidden</Visibility>
    </PageOptions>

Set it to Visible by replacing "Hidden" with "Visible" and save (you need administrator permissions, open an editor in administrator mode and then open the file)

Before editing the file close the FiiO control panel application and reopen it after.

You will find the magic tab "Options" where you will find "Streaming" and you'll see it's set by default to "On when Needed". Set it to "Always On" and... problem solved.

Now the questions are... why this default and why is the option page hidden?


Edit:
Before finding the solution I recorded the issue:

Prodigy Cube (for comparision)
K3 with windows driver
K3 with official driver

Dear friend,

Thanks for sharing those information to us. We will report to the engineer and ask them to check about that. Sorry for bringing inconvenience to you.

Best regards

 

[CagedTiger]

Thank you for that solution as the clicks are gone after I applied the fix. I don't use my K3 for music files but I did hear the clicks when, for example, I switched from one Youtube clip to another. I'm sure Fiio will correct this in the next driver version but in the meantime the clicks were getting on my nerve.

As for the K3... I've been very happy with it (aside from the clicking issue). I bought it mainly to fix the audio interference issue I was getting with my H/K Soundsticks connect to my Win10 PC's (NUC Hades Canyon) audio port. When I added the K3 between the Soundsticks and the NUC, not only were there no audio interference but the sound seemed to have changed to more Hi-res (although I mainly stream via Spotify and Youtube). I do also have headphones (Sony 1000XM3 which I use wired for gaming etc.) but unfortunately I didn't realize that the K3 doesn't disable to speakers when I connect my headphones to it. The K3 does have that balanced port (which I believe taker priority over the rear Audio Out) but my headphones do not support it. This is not a biggie as my NUC does have a front headphone port which I can use. Of course I could just manually turn the volume to zero on the Soundsticks (annoying as it would be as there is no know but + and - volume buttons) when I use the headphones but it's just a bit too much work.

 

[bgtip]

In Buffer settings:
1. What 'Safe mode' means?
2. What should be the Preferred ASIO Buffer Size for use with foobar2000 ASIO mode?

 

[FiiO]

In Buffer settings:
1. What 'Safe mode' means?
2. What should be the Preferred ASIO Buffer Size for use with foobar2000 ASIO mode?

Dear friend,

If you have a very large Buffer Size, you may notice a lag. If you have a very small Buffer Size, you will notice little to no lag. However this can also place more strain on your computer, as it has very little time to process the audio.
So you would need to choose a suitable buffer size in order to reduce the lag but not place too much strain on your computer for check.

Best regards

 

[egrassa]

Hello guys.
Have a few questions about some strange behavior of my K-3 and a Win10 64 sleeping mode:
1) First of all, K-3 is warming during the time when Win10 is in SleepMode.Playing every format doesn't make it so warm (even DSD256 with a huge bitrate) as Win10 sleep mode. What is the max working temp of K3?
2) The second thing is much stranger then the first one - If K-3 is turned on it is blocking OS awakening from sleeping. Once K-3 is turned off OS successfully wakes up.
Thanks, everyone in advance.

 

[hseldon]

I don't know much about this site but they seem to be doing a very detailed , trough review of DACs/AMPs .
His review isn't much favorible to K3 . Any similar experience?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...iew-and-measurements-of-fiio-k3-dac-amp.6859/

I was going to buy this to use with Hifi 400i , but kinda back pedalled .

 

[crabdog]

I don't know much about this site but they seem to be doing a very detailed , trough review of DACs/AMPs .
His review isn't much favorible to K3 . Any similar experience?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...iew-and-measurements-of-fiio-k3-dac-amp.6859/

I was going to buy this to use with Hifi 400i , but kinda back pedalled .

I love the K3 and it has a permanent place on my desktop for use with IEMs. As long as you understand what the K3 was designed for it's really hard to find fault with it for the low price. I don't have the 400i but the K3 should not have any problems driving it. If you want better performance you'll have to pay a significantly higher amount.

 

[Klots]

K3 was great even with my Focal Clears. If it is a headphone that does not need a lot of juice, then its a perfect little dac/amp. You can't expect to drive HE6 with it, lol

 

[hseldon]

I love the K3 and it has a permanent place on my desktop for use with IEMs. As long as you understand what the K3 was designed for it's really hard to find fault with it for the low price. I don't have the 400i but the K3 should not have any problems driving it. If you want better performance you'll have to pay a significantly higher amount.

Same test suggests Topping NX4 DSD costs only a bit more but is significantly better in performance.

 

[crabdog]

Same test suggests Topping NX4 DSD costs only a bit more but is significantly better in performance.

Like I said, "As long as you understand what the K3 was designed for". The guy doesn't even mention IEMs. Also, the NX4 DSD does not have a 2.5mm balanced output which is one of my favourite things about the K3.