Obscure Chinese DAPs

[theMUKe]

Tempotec drops the bomb for the 200$ category

https://www.tempotec.net/pages/v3-blaze-details

No idea if there will be an IndieGoGo campaign... but it is already available at https://www.tempotec.net/products/tempotec-v3-blaze-portable-digital-audio-player

 

[Ben86]

Received and tested my new "PCM 56 dual dac" from Aliexpress for 30€. Great sounding DAC, especially with vocal and instrumental music very musical



Also tested my new Rod Rain PCM1794 mini dac/amp from Aliexpress (60€), great sound for the price, musical and detailed presentation



All tested with Douk U3 mini amp (Burson V6V and V7C op-amps inside) and HD650, great match, very musical

 

[vilders]

Hello
Maybe someone has the firmware files and also XMOS for the F Audio FA5 player?
It is impossible to download archives from the baidu page.

 

[losber]

Maybe someone has the firmware files and also XMOS for the F Audio FA5 player?

Link for download all F.Audio firmwares (on Google Disk) is here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/obscure-chinese-daps.720512/post-18569166

 

[iloveopeth]

Hi! So Ruizu DAPs are the only thing abundantly available in my country (and fit within my budget ). What's the best one to purchase? Or should I save up for something better?

 

[vilders]

Link for download all F.Audio firmwares (on Google Disk) is here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/obscure-chinese-daps.720512/post-18569166

Thank you very much

 

[losber]

Thank you very much

I also re-uploaded the latest FA5 firmware version 8.2 from baidu https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1lj1w44p88s7h/FA5_8.2_20250113

 

[Wahid]

Hi! So Ruizu DAPs are the only thing abundantly available in my country (and fit within my budget ). What's the best one to purchase? Or should I save up for something better?

Pretty easy to tell by price, make sure it has a memory card slot, some don't. The higher the price the better it is. I had d16 which is very cheap but it was nice to listen to. They only get better from there. Also keep an eye out for Xduoo x2s, you can get them cheap sometimes, ess dac, 250mw power, up to dsd128

 

[Usr7530]

I'll tell them if possible, but they don't change the functionality.

Upd: for T3 new FW v10.1


Added new firmares for T3. Many FW for F.Audio:


If need a FW for any F.Audio device - tell me

I've just upgraded my T3 to FW v10.1 and it does not boot anymore.
I can't believe it. Perhaps it isn't bricked but it looks like a dead DAP to me.
I've plugged it in to recharge it, maybe it will boot afterwards, i don't know yet...

 

[FrozenNyQuilTastesGreat]

I've just upgraded my T3 to FW v10.1 and it does not boot anymore.
I can't believe it. Perhaps it isn't bricked but it looks like a dead DAP to me.
I've plugged it in to recharge it, maybe it will boot afterwards, i don't know yet...

Thanks for letting us know, I normally just update without an extra thought, I'm glad I read this first.. And update us please on whether it comes back to life or not.

 

[povidlo]

Pretty easy to tell by price, make sure it has a memory card slot, some don't. The higher the price the better it is. I had d16 which is very cheap but it was nice to listen to. They only get better from there. Also keep an eye out for Xduoo x2s, you can get them cheap sometimes, ess dac, 250mw power, up to dsd128

Ya, x2s is very impressive for its size and price.

How do you know it has ess chip? As far as I remember, the chip on this dap was not officially announced while actual chip model numbers inside are scratched off/erased.

 

[Usr7530]

Thanks for letting us know, I normally just update without an extra thought, I'm glad I read this first.. And update us please on whether it comes back to life or not.

Okay, so, long story short : F.audio T3 DAP is just fine. Thanks to Mr.HiAudio whom told me about it, the trick is about the screen brightness : after FW update the screen brightness setting is reset to 0%. So get a flashlight and shine it onto the T3 screen while pressing the power button. You should be able to barely see what's displayed on the screen. Then press the "Settings" icon (bottom right) and select "Brightness" setting (second line). Set it back to a value > 0%. Et voilà !