[BenF]

I'd be very interested in your opinion on:
1) how you'd rate them best to worst
2) what you prefer in the BTR3K over the ES100

Also, does BTR3K only have 1 customizable EQ setting?

Forgot to mention that I have Q5K too

1) BTR3K is best, UP4 and BTR5 worst (lack transparency, warm sounding), everything else is in the middle.
2) As I wrote in my original post, BTR3K has the most natural timbre on the single end output.

BTR3K has a 10-band EQ, controlled through the FIIO Control app - just like BTR5.

There is a 4$ coupon for BTR3K in the first post of the Pro 82 thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iew-impressions-and-discussion-thread.849965/

 

[sgtbilko]

Forgot to mention that I have Q5K too

1) BTR3K is best, UP4 and BTR5 worst (lack transparency, warm sounding), everything else is in the middle.
2) As I wrote in my original post, BTR3K has the most natural timbre on the single end output.

BTR3K has a 10-band EQ, controlled through the FIIO Control app - just like BTR5.

There is a 4$ coupon for BTR3K in the first post of the Pro 82 thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iew-impressions-and-discussion-thread.849965/

Is it just the one custom eq on the BTR3K or can you have more than one?

 

[BenF]

Is it just the one custom eq on the BTR3K or can you have more than one?

One custom + a few presets.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

EQ is not available in LDAC, just as BTR5. Gain is also the lowest among 3.
USB DAC is pretty weak too, only 16/48 like ES100.

 

[rustyvinyl]

My ES100 is dead...any other brands with cross-feed? please recommend.

 

[jsmiller58]

I use the Shanling UP5 with my AV setup, mainly due to aptX LL support. Honestly, the Hiby R3 Pro DAP is a much more flexible option and only slightly larger. It supports both BT TX and RX as well as Airplay and DLNA. And it's a DAP with Tidal and Qobuz streaming built-in.

Does the R3 Pro support on-device Tidal music, or does it only support Tidal streaming? Is there support for Amazon or YouTube music, again downloaded rather than streaming?

I ask specifically for my use case. I almost exclusively listen to downloaded music, and I don’t have a ready library of my own music. If I can only stream, I may as well use my 5K in conjunction with my phone.

 

[Roving poet]

I am a big fan of the ES100 and and mostly agree with your fine review. It has a smooth naturalness rare at this price point. Only slight disappointment is it doesn't have quite enough juice to properly drive my Sennheiser HD 599. An additional headphone amp is required to give proper weight to the. ES100 doesn't have a proper line out but it seems to work fine just setting it at a middling volume and plugging it into a headphone amp.

 

[Gorktastick]

My ES100 is dead...any other brands with cross-feed? please recommend.

Yes! The guy who designed the ES100 actually started his own company and makes a competing product, that has a better EQ and it has crossfeed. It's called the Qudelix 5k.

 

[rlw6534]

Does the R3 Pro support on-device Tidal music, or does it only support Tidal streaming? Is there support for Amazon or YouTube music, again downloaded rather than streaming?

I ask specifically for my use case. I almost exclusively listen to downloaded music, and I don’t have a ready library of my own music. If I can only stream, I may as well use my 5K in conjunction with my phone.

Just streaming on Tidal and Qobuz. No support for Amazon or Youtube Music, or any other streaming service. I definitely like my R3 Pro, but it's not for everybody's use case. You'll need a full android DAP for streaming service downloads, as that is only supported in the full official apps.

 

[jsmiller58]

Just streaming on Tidal and Qobuz. No support for Amazon or Youtube Music, or any other streaming service. I definitely like my R3 Pro, but it's not for everybody's use case. You'll need a full android DAP for streaming service downloads, as that is only supported in the full official apps.

Got it, thanks! Yeah, my full use case is that for downloaded music I listen on my R6 Pro, and for streaming I listen on the LG v30 with BT connection to my Qudelix 5K. I personally wouldn’t spend the money to replace the 5K to have my phone stream to an R3 Pro since I already own the 5K. Now, if I could download Tidal music to the R3 Pro to listen on the go without streaming, that tiny footprint would be a game changer!

The ES100 is a great little BT dongle, and while I have since replaced it with the BTR5 which in turn was then replaced with the 5K, the ES100 has found a great home in my son’s old car to provide a BT connection to AUX port - he loves it (and thanks to the folks on this thread who pointed us to how to fix the ground noise!).

 

[rlw6534]

Got it, thanks! Yeah, my full use case is that for downloaded music I listen on my R6 Pro, and for streaming I listen on the LG v30 with BT connection to my Qudelix 5K. I personally wouldn’t spend the money to replace the 5K to have my phone stream to an R3 Pro since I already own the 5K. Now, if I could download Tidal music to the R3 Pro to listen on the go without streaming, that tiny footprint would be a game changer!

The ES100 is a great little BT dongle, and while I have since replaced it with the BTR5 which in turn was then replaced with the 5K, the ES100 has found a great home in my son’s old car to provide a BT connection to AUX port - he loves it (and thanks to the folks on this thread who pointed us to how to fix the ground noise!).

Yeah, understood. I stream from both Tidal and Qobuz around the house over wifi and the R3 Pro is really handy for that (and the battery lasts much longer than my other DAPs and BT receivers). I also sometimes use Spotify and Apple Music (family plan for the the wife and kids) which is easily done with Airplay, although I have to control with my phone/tablet/Mac. I have a local library on the SD card for the occasions where I don't have wifi or hotspot, which is very rare for me these days (recently retired)... I have other android DAPs if I ever feel the need for offline streaming. I just use BT from my iphone in my truck when traveling - no point in anything better with all of the background noise...

 

[perfecious]

Forgot to mention that I have Q5K too

1) BTR3K is best, UP4 and BTR5 worst (lack transparency, warm sounding), everything else is in the middle.
2) As I wrote in my original post, BTR3K has the most natural timbre on the single end output.

BTR3K has a 10-band EQ, controlled through the FIIO Control app - just like BTR5.

There is a 4$ coupon for BTR3K in the first post of the Pro 82 thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iew-impressions-and-discussion-thread.849965/

Hey. I've been struggling to make a purchase decision here. The BTR3K is very affordable over here, and your praise for it intrigues me. As a config (2 AKM DACs, balanced etc), it's basically the same as the ES100. And I really like the sound of the ES100 (I think it's the best device I've heard so far), unfortunately I can't get one for a good price over here (I could by a used one, if someone is selling?). So, my question is, what is the difference in sound exactly, between the ES100 (which I really love, especially for it's smooth and alive/dynamic mids, and it's neutral but snappy bass)? Aside from listening to my IEMs balanced, the device would be used as a DAC/SOURCE (with it's 3.5 single end output), so any type of "coloration" or strangeness is a no for me. When it comes to it's other competitors, people say the BTR5 is muddy and warm, but also sharp in the treble, so it's definitely not what I want. The Qudelix 5K has also been described as very harsh and dry, so that one is also not gonna work for me.

Also, it's probably best if you (or anyone else who has both of those devices) can record a comparison between BTR3K and the ES100 (I will provide two songs that I am familiar with), using the 3,5 output with a good Line In (or USB interface, 16/44.1 is OK). If you (or anyone else) is willing to help me out with this, It would be great. Thanks!

 

[BenF]

Hey. I've been struggling to make a purchase decision here. The BTR3K is very affordable over here, and your praise for it intrigues me. As a config (2 AKM DACs, balanced etc), it's basically the same as the ES100. And I really like the sound of the ES100 (I think it's the best device I've heard so far), unfortunately I can't get one for a good price over here (I could by a used one, if someone is selling?). So, my question is, what is the difference in sound exactly, between the ES100 (which I really love, especially for it's smooth and alive/dynamic mids, and it's neutral but snappy bass)? Aside from listening to my IEMs balanced, the device would be used as a DAC/SOURCE (with it's 3.5 single end output), so any type of "coloration" or strangeness is a no for me. When it comes to it's other competitors, people say the BTR5 is muddy and warm, but also sharp in the treble, so it's definitely not what I want. The Qudelix 5K has also been described as very harsh and dry, so that one is also not gonna work for me.

Also, it's probably best if you (or anyone else who has both of those devices) can record a comparison between BTR3K and the ES100 (I will provide two songs that I am familiar with), using the 3,5 output with a good Line In (or USB interface, 16/44.1 is OK). If you (or anyone else) is willing to help me out with this, It would be great. Thanks!

BTR3K sounds similar to ES100, but with better (more natural) timbre and deeper hitting bass with better texture.
And the best part - it hasn't died on me, like two ES100 have done in the past (on my third one now).

 

[davehutch]

Anybody using their ES100 on a new M1 MBP? I used to use it set to the 24bit/48KHz setting in the list but this doesn't seem to work any more. I now have to use 16bit instead. Can anyone else confirm please?

 

[RumbleWeed]

Got my ES100 MK2 for Xmas present from my daughter and I'm loving it so far
I'm using it with various monitors and would like to know what are the best settings to apply when i am using my UM MEST MK2 with extreme bass boost? In particular which is the best
'Eq Processing Headroom'
'Ak4375a DAC Digital Filter"
'Dot Level' & 'Crossfeed Level'
I'm using as VERY aggressive bass boost '+10db@31.5hz' & '+8db@63hz'
Which are the best settings for the above modes with this extreme EQ booster?
Thanx for the help its much appreciated