[cqtek]

Is a good thing if FA3S has a lower gain than FA3, above 60 out of 100 the volume is too high with FA3 so the volume control of FA3S would have a wider usability. Then I hope not too lower! ("requires more than quadruple")
Some more deep bass would be welcome. Along with longer battery life, I have good hopes on the FA3S that I would receive soon.

@cqtek I was thinking about Hidizs ap80 / ap80 pro, what kept me far from it is the MSEB feature!
I mean, on one hand is an amazing thing this huge amount of sound control, bass depht, color, Q-factors, dampings etc etc etc.
On the other I would be afraid, once MSEB is available, to be tempted to try everything back and forth, ending up in listening to the DAP rather to the music...! A simple graphic EQ is enough, with custom setting (the presets usually are...wrong!)

Edit: Discovered that FA3 has some issues in playing ALAC files. Occasional sound drops, and rew/ff is messy. Ok I have few ALAC files, I will convert them onto AAC or FLAC.

I'm a purist, I never equalize and I never used MSEB in my HyBy. Hence I have problems with DAPs whose frequency response is not flat. Also, there are equalizers that manipulate the waves instead of attenuating or amplifying them.

 

[deltecdpa]

I'm a purist, I never equalize and I never used MSEB in my HyBy. Hence I have problems with DAPs whose frequency response is not flat. Also, there are equalizers that manipulate the waves instead of attenuating or amplifying them.

Basically I am purist too, My home system is pre+amp without tone controls. I have a second set, F,Audio S1+ kz zs10 that I use for jogging, no need equalize to be bass powerful fun sound that makes me run faster.
The FA3. + M6 is the audiophile set, the first that I equalize attenuating the upper bass a bit. Yes I found too bad equalizers, I remind the Creative were terrible, always off. The FA3 equalizer is mediocre, incresaing adds distortion but luckily attenuating does not ruin the sound

 

[Dobrescu George]

my in-depth written review about the M3 PRO is live!! If you need a nice DAP, if you need a good amount of detail, and if you want a calculator app on your DAP, this one should be the one for you

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2...elings-fiio-m3pro-entry-level-dap-review.html

 

[dharmasteve]

my in-depth written review about the M3 PRO is live!! If you need a nice DAP, if you need a good amount of detail, and if you want a calculator app on your DAP, this one should be the one for you

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2...elings-fiio-m3pro-entry-level-dap-review.html

Great review George. What a great starter DAP for someone.

 

[davidcotton]

Great review George. What a great starter DAP for someone.

No bluetooth in this day and age is still a baffling design flaw though. I get that they were building it down to a budget, rather than up to a spec but to leave that out just seems odd.

 

[Dobrescu George]

No bluetooth in this day and age is still a baffling design flaw though. I get that they were building it down to a budget, rather than up to a spec but to leave that out just seems odd.

Welp, I'm happy to help with reviews of other stuff out there, like Tempotec V1A, Hiby R2 and more that do have BT

 

[dharmasteve]

No bluetooth in this day and age is still a baffling design flaw though. I get that they were building it down to a budget, rather than up to a spec but to leave that out just seems odd.

Agreed that BT and LDAC are important. One problem is that on many budget DAPs that have bluetooth it works very poorly. I can vouch that the HiBy R6 (I had one) and iBasso DX160 (I had two) had BT that is substandard. Luckily my HiBy R5 is reasonable and usable, but not perfect.

 

[oneula]

regarding the walnut player and zishans. They have a private facebook user group primarily based out of the phillipines. Lots of good hacks

I bought this tiny DAP over christmas as an impulse but something to replace my M0
Been pleasantly surprised with the sound and size. Bought the non-bluetooth version for $79.
some pro reviewer here should review one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TWQZY45/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&ps

 

[baskingshark]

regarding the walnut player and zishans. They have a private facebook user group primarily based out of the phillipines. Lots of good hacks

I bought this tiny DAP over christmas as an impulse but something to replace my M0
Been pleasantly surprised with the sound and size. Bought the non-bluetooth version for $79.
some pro reviewer here should review one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TWQZY45/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&ps

Looks small and nice. How does it compare to the M0? And does it hiss with highly sensitive IEMs? TIA!

 

[oneula]

haven't run anything super expensive/sensitive on it also my music for exercising is a bit big and loud

I tried the following buds/cans with good to decent listening results:
Campfire Comets
Legacy L3
Moondrop Starfields
Etymotic ER2XR
Final E1000
Shozy Zero Carbo Tenore
Ollo Audio S4
Modhouse T50RP Argons
Gcush modded Koss kph30i

Probably gonna stick with the Starfields/Legacy L3 or Carbo Tenore as an EDC/Exercise setup
Way easier to use than the M0 as I have fat fingers and bad eyesight.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Despite it being possible to find this one on amazon, it is from China, and fairly obscure right now. Looks a bit like a vintage FiiO X5 clone, but the sound is totally worth the 80 bucks it costs right now

 

[bjd1]

Despite it being possible to find this one on amazon, it is from China, and fairly obscure right now. Looks a bit like a vintage FiiO X5 clone, but the sound is totally worth the 80 bucks it costs right now

Reminds me a bit of my beloved ACMEE MF-01, with the metal body and analog controls. Must ... resist ...

 

[NotKunvinced]

Despite it being possible to find this one on amazon, it is from China, and fairly obscure right now. Looks a bit like a vintage FiiO X5 clone, but the sound is totally worth the 80 bucks it costs right now

It's identical to an older player from Agptek and HifiWalker.

 

[rad7]

Does anyone have good suggestions for a budget DAP below $70? I don't need a lot of power as I will not be driving power-hungry headphones. I will be mostly using it with easy to drive iems and Koss KPH-30i headphones. SQ and a simple display are the most important features I'm looking for. Decent battery life would be good too. I mostly listen to Psybient & downtempo trance, love deep, punchy bass & I am sensitive to treble and piercing highs if that matters. So, most of my iems follow this sound signature.

Fiio M3 pro seems like a decent choice. But I'm wondering if there are cheaper DAPs than the M3 pro that sound good.

 

[redguardsoldier]

Does anyone have good suggestions for a budget DAP below $70? I don't need a lot of power as I will not be driving power-hungry headphones. I will be mostly using it with easy to drive iems and Koss KPH-30i headphones. SQ and a simple display are the most important features I'm looking for. Decent battery life would be good too. I mostly listen to Psybient & downtempo trance, love deep, punchy bass & I am sensitive to treble and piercing highs if that matters. So, most of my iems follow this sound signature.

Fiio M3 pro seems like a decent choice. But I'm wondering if there are cheaper DAPs than the M3 pro that sound good.

FiiO M3K should fit your bill. I have one, & now my wife is using it almost everyday. Mind, if you have lots of songs, and want to navigate through all of them, it could be a PITA .