I'm relatively new to USB DACs but not DACs in general and the FC3 sounds lovely, I don't think it can be beat for the price.
The other one I would have gone for out of your suggestions is the Earman Sparrow, simply as it uses the same Sabre chip as the FC3 but has more power.
I was listening to the FD3 last night with my IER-Z1Rs and I was enjoying a cathedral-like sound stage. I felt like the music was TALL and it was surrounding me. I switched over to the E44 and IMMEDIATELY heard a distinct difference. The E44 soundstage felt deeper, BUT.......it was SO FLAT! It sounded like the E44's soundstage was a pancake shape.
Just something I observed. I have been really impressed with the FD3, as most have observed in my comments. I didn't get to test with more tracks or different IEMs (FIR VxV demo arrived yesterday), so the E44 might make other IEMs sound better that don't have the qualities of the Z1R.
Would anyone be kind enough to post a list up to 150 and 150+ list of DAP that could be used balanced and unbalanced descending sound on sound quality? My all headphones are unbalanced, but have couple, that could be rewired to balanced if required(needs soldering, drilling...). New phono usb only, started looking Tempotec E44(looks like it has adapter balanced to single 3,5) and possibly incoming Ibasso dc05? Somebody complained E44 is flat, got confused. Using multiple Ultrasone.
Thanks
Would anyone be kind enough to post a list up to 150 and 150+ list of DAP that could be used balanced and unbalanced descending sound on sound quality? My all headphones are unbalanced, but have couple, that could be rewired to balanced if required(needs soldering, drilling...). New phono usb only, started looking Tempotec E44(looks like it has adapter balanced to single 3,5) and possibly incoming Ibasso dc05? Somebody complained E44 is flat, got confused. Using multiple Ultrasone.
Thanks
You'll have to check for yourself which are balanced and which are not. I followed his advice and got the Ovidius B1, it matched his review and description to a "t" and as such, I have been very VERY happy with it. All this to say, I consider Andy to be someone who expresses themselves clearly and whose opinion I can trust
Good luck!!
edit: Sorry - just noticed you said DAP, not DAC. I assume you meant DAC (that you can plug into the USB socket of your phone) as opposed to DAP (standalone Digital Audio Player). For DAP, I bought the iBasso DX220 with Amp8 (Balanced) and I love it to bits. Now the 300 has been released and I believe it may be even better.
I see both Hiby FC3 and FD3 mentioned in this thread. I am personally more interested in the FD3 due to the additional connections and I prefer the form factor, but I was wondering how they compare against each other?
This would mainly be used for trying out IEMs and also casual listening with Dusk.
No it's not a typo... The sound can be compared to a mojo and most players at that price range when connect to a PC or laptop. However, it has some hissing / noise floor with sensitive iems.
Still using and comparing it before giving my final thoughts tho.
Hello, my neighbor from the country next over. How do you feel about this dongle after the honeymoon phase ended?
I am very pleased with mine, for most iems & dynamic headphones that don't require a forgiving source. (Hd800s didn't work out cause it a forgiving treble or eq, but everything else was great).
Unexpectedly, it has a very clean mids transients coming out of an AKM dac. Was really surprised.
TBH, I really just wanted to justify getting the E44 and checking out the 4V RMS.
I compared the S9 Pro to the Hiby FD3 I have, Sony IER-Z1R with 4.4mm (had to use 4.4 to 2.5mm adapter with the S9P). The S9P puts out 200mW, I think the FD3 does something like 160mW 138mW, so I was already leaning towards the S9P.
FD3 seems to have more of a musical signature, S9P is more analytical (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I was listening with the IER-Z1R which are known to have low mids. The S9P sounded like all the vocals were very low or far away; FD3 brought them closer.
That basically was my reasoning. I was really impressed what Andy had to say about the E44 and it shot up to his #1 spot. The IER-Z1R loves power, so I'm interested to see how 4V of power affects them.
Brief comparison, just how I reason on the two, what i prefer is in bold.
- S9 Pro -
- 2V RMS (not published, but ASR shows the S9 non-pro to have 2V RMS)
- 200mW* @ 32Ω
- single DAC chip
- no external controls
- 20Hz-50kHz (by comparison, FD3 supports 20Hz-90kHz, which suits the Z1R well)
- detachable cable/can use different cables
- 2.5/3.5mm ports directly on the unit (FD3 has 2.5/3.5/4.4mm outputs directly on the device)
- small form factor (so I can fit it in my headphone case)
- E44 -
- 4V RMS
- 175mW* @ 32Ω
- dual DAC chips
- only external volume controls (prefer play/pause/skip button(s) as well; FD3 has all 3 built in)
- 0Hz-40kHz
- cables attached/can't change out if either side has problems
- 4.4mm port is connected to unit by cable
- not sure about form factor since I haven't held it in my hand, but I imagine the footprint is bigger especially because of the cables connected directly to the unit
* - both of these units have enough mW to power virtually any headphone
If anything goes wrong, I ordered from Amazon and can always return it.
I have both the S9 Pro and the E44. While both are excellent, I prefer the SQ of the E44 as it just seems to portray the music more effortlessly with greater depth and dynamics. I also really appreciate the the convenience of the E44 volume control.
My comparisons were done using the UAPP app and my Dunu Luna, Shozy Black Hole and IMR Astra IEMs. Both were able to easily drive my iBasso SR2 cans although they quite sensitive and don't present much of a challenge to either device. Hiss was not apparent with any of the phones used
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