On the rear of the device are the USB C input, and the digital and analog output options. The front of the device has 2 outputs, then there are 2 black switches, and finally, there is a volume knob that doubles as a power switch with inlaid RGB LED lighting that indicates the sample rate. It’s still housed in a rounded aluminum chassis that’s painted in matte black to avoid some scratches or dings. The new K3 remains quiet while pushing quality power of up to 114mW into 32Ω through the single-ended output, and 200mW into 32Ω through the balanced outputs.įor a featured-packed little DAC/Amp, the new K3 keeps the same sleek aesthetic as the older K3. These components are all combined in a small aluminum chassis to ensure that the new K3 measures extremely accurately with a diminishingly low SNR of 121dB through the single-ended output, and 120dB through the balanced outputs. Finally, the output section of the line out of the new K3 uses an OPA 1612 opamp as an output stage opamp to maintain the quality of the variable line-level outputs. This combination allows the new K3 to decode PCM streams up to 32bit/384kHz, and DSD256, which covers most of the files that are available in the market.ĭownstream to the DAC chip is an SGM8264-2 opamp that’s configured to work as a low pass filter.
ESS SOUND CARD DRIVERS SERIES
The heart of the new K3 is an ES9038Q2M DAC chip, which is part of ESS Sabre’s top range 9038 series of DACs. Also in the chain are dual oscillators that ensure accurate time-based reproduction of the analog signal. Internally, the new K3 has a standard XMOS XU208 USB controller, connected to a new UM8005 microcontroller. While externally, the new K3 looks identical to the old K3 that was previously released, the internals have been overhauled and updated for 2021. However, with the changing times, FiiO has released a new version of the K3, called the ‘New K3’ or sometimes referred to as K3s on FiiO’s official website, and naturally enough comes with some improvements or upgrades. In fact, the original K3 has also come across our office for a thorough review 2 years ago. I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers FiiO releasing a DAC/Amp that’s also called the K3.
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