FiiO - New K3

Desktop DAC & Amplifier

Sale price₹ 8,999 Regular priceMRP: ₹ 10,990
This product is permanently discontinued by the manufacturer and continues to live on in Headphone Zone's Museum.

Unfortunately, even if we desire to, we won't be able to resurrect this product. The Museum is where we pay our respects to end-of-life, old, archived, but not forgotten products. This page was made with a lot of love and will live on for posterity. What to say, we're sentimental people. 😔

While this product is gone forever, here are others we recommend

AmpDacSound qualityProductBuildExperienceAudio outputDesktop dacDileveryZone
म
मानस गुप्ता (Lucknow)
Loving this little beauty :)

This is my 2nd DAC/AMP experience. 1st was a dongle DAC (7HZ) and that too is an amazing product, although not very suitable for connecting to PC/Laptops. I noticed that it started getting hot after being used for some time when connected to a laptop. Also, the dongle DAC wasn't adequate enough for my CCA PLA13 planar IEMs. That left me wanting to get a powerful external DAC/AMP which sits connected to my laptop always.
Coming to this FiiO DAC - the 1st thing you'll notice after unboxing is how small this thing is!! Beautifully crafted and looks premium. I would have liked it to be a bit heavier since this is small in size but that's just my personal opinion. I loved the neutral sound signature. The sound from the bass toggle feature is good (not great) and one more slight downside here is the size of these toggle buttons. They are very small in size and will take some effort to use them properly. It powered my planars pretty well. Overall a great product.

Hey Manas, thank you so much for the amazing feedback! It means a lot to us. We are so happy to hear that you are loving our products and services.

S
Sinlo Kemp (Guwahati)
My First DAC / AMP

This is my first DAC/Amp, I am truly surprised at the quality of output. It sounds well balanced and I love listening to lossless music from Apple Music. A must have for beginner audiophile.

Thank you for taking the time to write a review for our product. We are happy to hear that you are having a great listening experience, keep the music playing!

V
Vinay (Delhi)
Just amazing with all the different outputs it has and nothing else.

Missing -
1. Unable to output more than 32/48 via optical out. So there is no support for 24/96 on optical. I don't even see 24 bit while selecting. Up sampling a audio for reason to 32 bit. On windows 11 its a different story.
2. My LG G8x is beating its power to drive headphones. As mentioned by others as well.

I bought it to play Hi-Res lossless from apple music and it does that job perfectly fine. Waiting for Mediabridge ultra series coaxial cable to check if its supports 32/192 and DSD64 as advertised.

My setup I tried on -
1. Denon X3700H with Elac B6.2 x 5 and SVS PB-2000 PRO with optical and RCA - works perfectly.
2. Sennheiser HD599 with LG G8X thinq - not even noticeable.
3. Mac mini m2 pro 2023 with edifier bookshelf's R1855DB with optical and RCA - works perfectly as mac sucks on analog output through 3.5mm to y-split RCA.

Hey Vinay,
We really appreciate the genuine feedback, we'll share your thoughts with the brand as well!

A
Abbas VE (Kochi)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Great USB to Optical converter

I use the K3 as a USB to toslink adapter to feed a car DSP from an iphone. Works flawlessly and the sound quality is great. I have not tested the headphone output yet, so cant comment about the quality of the amp inside, but I wouldn't doubt it.

Thank you for your review! We're glad to hear that you're happy with the product and that it works well.

K
Krishna kanth (Hyderabad)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Worth for Money

Great product

Hey Krishna, thank you so much for the awesome review!

I
Ishan Jawade (Pune)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Great little Ch(AMP)/DAC

As you can read in title " Great Little Champ "!
I wanted DAC/AMP for my desktop and laptop use. This is very potable DAC/AMP, by the way I am using it like a desktop AMP with Sennheiser HD 599 SE. I works great. You can hear every detail in music. Usually I listen on Spotify but to explore this Dac more I purchased Apple Music subscription and DAMN !!!! This AMP - Headphones combo will blow your mind.

Lows: Bass is there. But not very boomy but it's there you will notice it. And its very clear and punchy.

Mids: Vocals are clear AF, with this open back headphones you can really hear those little crackings in singers voice and drums in songs like "Boulevard of brocken dream" are very realistic and really hits you.

Highs: High are there but will not hurt your ears. I think highs are toned down in this DAC and also because of HD 599 SE highs are not so concentrated. But for me that's an advantage.

Sound Stage: It's great! Instruments seperation is very good. I used it for gaming ( CSGO, PUBG, Valorant, GTA Online) it perfomed very well, I never heard gunshots so clearly in my whole gaming career and I could accurately identify enemy position in PUBG.

Compatibility: I was concerned about USB 2 compatibilty with MacOs and Android but it works like Plug and Play. On Windows 10/11 also it does not require any drivers because in latest updates of windows Microsoft given USB 2 audio drivers built-in. So no drivers required for Computers and Mobile phones. But I connected this with My Android TV which has Android 9 Pie, that doesn't have USB 2 drivers, so I have to switch it to USB 1 mode. I haven't tested its Balanced output which is a big feature of this Dac because I don't have 2.5mm connector.

Overall it's a great experience with New FIIO K3 DAC/AMP.

A
Arun Thomas (Kollam)
My First DAC/AMP

A very compact build, with very clean and natural audio output.
Used it with Beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X and Audio-Technica Ath-E40 delivers excellent sound quality.
The bass boost gives a nice and clear bass with no distortion.
Thank you Headphone zone for the faster dilevery

Hey there, nothing makes us happier than knowing you loved your purchase, hope you had a comfortable shopping experience & thank you for the great review & ratings!

A
Arun Thomas (Kollam)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
My First DAC/AMP

A very compact build, with very clean and natural audio output.
Used it with Beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X and Audio-Technica Ath-E40 delivers excellent sound quality.
The bass boost gives a nice and clear bass with no distortion.
Thank you Headphone zone for the faster dilevery

Hey there, nothing makes us happier than knowing you loved your purchase, hope you had a comfortable shopping experience & thank you for the great review & ratings!

R
Raghav Rana (Delhi)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all

FiiO - New K3

Thank you for the awesome ratings, Raghav Rana!

V
Vidur Malhotra (Mumbai)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all

FiiO - New K3

Thank you for the awesome ratings, Vidur Malhotra!

S
Saurov Baidya (Guwahati)
Pretty good starter amp.

Using it with my DT-990 pro 250 ohm. Sounds nice.

Wow! Your positive review made our day! Thank you for recognising our efforts to provide a great shopping experience! So delighted that you are loving your purchase. We value your feedback and can't wait to have you back!

H
Hari Prakash Sathyan (Chennai)

FiiO - New K3

Hey there, thank you for the awesome ratings!

D
Dr Kalyan Ammisetty (Bhimavaram)
amazing sound experince

great product, i can hear the difference using fioo new k3 dac, recommend for desktop users and for car users- amplifiers with dsp [with optical input] from chinese android headunit. only neutron music player and uapp will work for usb audio,

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to write it. We're glad to hear that our product has helped you improve your sound quality.

R
Reji T. Nair (Kochi)
Pathetic Power Output at the 3.5mm Port

I have been using FiiO E10K for the last of couple of years and I felt very satisfied with the experience. I’m a diehard fan of FiiO, indeed. I read somewhere that FiiO K3 is an upgraded version of older E10Ks and I decided to have a try. I was too eager and excited to receive it. Barely 24 hours have passed and I’m totally disappointed. The power output of the 3.5mm port is pathetic.

I tested the 3.5mm SE output on four devices, on Sennheiser HD598, Logitech Z625 Computer Speakers and an a sub-1k INR Edifier IEM, and the 2.5 mm Balanced output on my FiiO F5 IEM.

As you are aware, the HD598 is a fairly easy to drive Head Phone with an impedance of 50 Ohms. I had to adjust the volume wheel of the K3 to 3 o’clock position to get a fairly decent volume. That’s way above 50%! That too with the Gain switched on.

Secondly, I connected the K3 to the Logitech speakers. Z625 is a very good computer speaker with clear output and could be driven easily without an Amp. The problem with Z625 is that you cannot adjust its volume beyond 30-40% level without distortions creeping in. I had to adjust the K3’s volume to 100% to get a decent volume on the Logitech with its volume on 30-40% level!

Thirdly, I connected an Edifier IEM (ED-P180 Plus) with an impedance of 32 Ohms. Still the same result. Volume dial adjusted to 3 o’clock position.

Finally, I connected the FiiO F5s to 2.5 balanced output. The result was very good this time.

This is not an upgrade of the mighty FiiO E10K. My advice is to look elsewhere and avoid this model altogether. There are other excellent FiiO models.

R
Ramai Hembram (Bhubaneswar)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Beautiful Device

Oh Man, I can't express in words how I felt while I listened to the songs. I paired it with KZ ZS 10 Pro and the quality improved significantly. Mind you the stock cable with KZ IEM is garbage, I use Jcally's cable. Listened to the playlist sent by HPZ. I used this mainly for gaming. You will notice the difference when you will play games like PUBG, Warzone, etc. Previously I was using HyperX headphones for gaming, which has 7.1 surround sound and even used Logitech G Pro X. But this one with KZ is top-notch. Best decision I have ever made. Go for it and I seriously recommend this for Gaming as well as Music. You won't be disappointed.

Hey Ashish, thank you so much for this amazing review. We are glad that you are enjoying it! Keep the music playing.


Chi-Fi
Excellence

1 Year of
Warranty

Ideal for
Indoor Use

2.5mm
Balanced Output

DAC Chip

You may not even realise it, but most of us use a digital-to-analogue converter (commonly known as a DAC) daily. Built into your computers, tablets and smartphones, a DAC is fundamental to unlocking the convenience of digital music. Any device that acts as a digital sound source will need a DAC to convert digital audio to analog. A DAC converts the digital information stored in “0s and 1s” into an analog signal that's passed to speakers or headphones and ultimately our ear. In short, DACs play a large part in making digital music hearable.

While this technical process is undoubtedly impressive, the DAC embedded into your smartphones or laptops is nowhere good enough to listen to your favourite music recordings in high quality. So, if you want to listen to music in high quality, an external DAC is essential to allow headphones or speakers to perform at their potential. An external DAC, first and foremost, will improve audio quality dramatically.

Aluminium
Build

Pair with Laptop via USB

A majority of people use a laptop as the primary source device to listen to music or watch movies. Since the laptop is an essential part of the audio chain there are headphones and devices designed to work a laptop or computer system flawlessly. With the availability of USB connectivity, it becomes easier to pair various devices like an Amp, DAC or even headphones without worrying about drivers or any additional piece of software.


Connect With
USB-C

Upto 220mW @32Ω
Power Output

Volume Controls

UPGRADED WITH XMOS USB RECEIVER CHIP AND DUAL CRYSTAL OSCILLATORS

The new FiiO New K3 has been upgraded with an XMOS USB receiver chip that enables high-resolution PCM and DSD decoding support. FiiO New K3 supports PCM decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz and DSD up to DSD256 over the USB connection. Elevate your computer audio performance with the advanced USB decoding from the new K3. It also has dual crystal oscillators ensuring quality performance. The New K3's dual crystal oscillators ensure that any digital audio signals being fed into the DAC are precise and clean for further enhanced sound quality.

NOTE:     Due to limitations in engineering, only two-bit depths could be supported, and their engineers chose the 16-bit and 32-bit.

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FLAGSHIP GRADE ACOUSTIC ARCHITECTURE FOR TOP-NOTCH PERFORMANCE

The new FiiO New K3 employs the flagship-grade portable ESS DAC chip, the ES9038Q2M. Compared to the previous versions AK4452, the signal-to-noise ratio has increased by 14dB and distortion has reduced by 13dB. The circuit design implemented in this DAC has been optimised for a low noise floor and clean sound. The ES9038Q2M DAC is matched with the mature OPA926 OP-Amp in a re-optimised LPF circuit for lower distortion and higher resolution. The New K3 has noticeably improved various performance indicators and the overall sound quality so you can get immersed in your music.

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EASY AND RELIABLE CONNECTIVITY WITH THE UPGRADED USB TYPE-C PORT

The New K3 adopts the modern USB Type-C input interface for a more reliable and stable connection, including the power supply. However, measures to ensure an uncompromised power supply doesn't stop there - the New K3 implements over-voltage protection (OVP) and a double-filter circuit to ensure power supply stability. The digital and analogue audio circuits each get their power supply to reduce crosstalk. The New K3 supports both USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 modes selectable via a switch.

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ADC VOLUME CONTROL WITH TWO-LEVEL GAIN SWITCH AND BASS BOOST SWITCH

The new FiiO New K3 is equipped with an ADC volume control wheel on the front. It allows for fine, easy, and precise volume adjustment. It enables you to use headphones/IEMs with different sensitivities with the New K3 2021 without any trouble. FiiO New K3 has a two-level gain switch and bass boost switch to enhance the sound experience for its users. With the hardware bass boost option, you can elevate the lower frequencies, adding more punch to your music. The high gain mode is perfect for high impedance headphones that benefit from higher output power.

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PRECISION-MADE ALL ALUMINIUM BODY OFFERING DURABILITY AND ELEGANCE

The black, all-aluminium body of the new FiiO New K3 is precision made with a CNC machine and is further anodised and sandblasted for a durable and textured feel. The small and compact size of the New K3 makes it highly portable so that you can carry it around easily. If you don't have access to a device that connects to the New K3 via USB Audio Class 2, you can seamlessly shift to USB Audio Class 1 mode using a switch. You need to download and install the FiiO USB driver to use the 2.0 mode. Once you switch the USB modes you will have to either turn the New K3 off and on or unplug and plug in the USB cable.

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UNIQUE TACTILE AUDIOVISUAL EXPERIENCE WITH RGB LIGHTS AND VOLUME KNOB

The volume knob integrated into the FiiO New K3 comes with 45° notches and is designed perfectly to aid one-hand use. The design of the volume knob complements the design of the New K3 perfectly. Right next to the volume knob you get an RGB light that shows digital audio currently being used. You get multiple connection options allowing you to connect the New K3 with your desktop computer. While during the business trip you can use the New K3 in driverless 1.0 mode.

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OFFERING MULTIPLE CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS FOR CONVENIENCE AND EASE OF USE

The new FiiO New K3 is optimised for indoor desktop use and equipped with 3.5mm single-ended and 2.5mm balanced headphone jacks. Both these outputs have audio jack detection capabilities, which means that when headphones are inserted into the balanced out, the balanced boost feature automatically activates, resulting in about a 50% output power increase compared to the single-ended out. The 3.5mm line out is driven directly by the OPA1612 OP Amp to ensure high-quality sound. The line out output is also adjustable with a maximum power output of up to 2Vrms, to ensure compatibility with a wide variety of active speakers and external amplifiers. It is advised that when using the line out, please disconnect any connected headphones. The XMOS USB receiver chip in the New K3 directly converts any USB audio input to digital signals output via the coaxial and optical connectors, allowing you to connect to speaker systems, amplifiers, or other external decoders.

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1 Year Warranty

Don't sweat it, this FiiO - New K3 comes with a 1 Year warranty from FiiO that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about FiiO's warranty in India.

Inspiring Audio Excellence Worldwide

FiiO creates high-quality music gear like DACs, Music Players, and Amplifiers at affordable prices, appealing to music lovers worldwide. With a presence in India via its FiiO India website and global availability on various platforms, FiiO focuses on user needs and innovation to deliver exceptional audio solutions. Their product range, spanning players, speakers, earphones, and DAC & Amp, aims to inspire with soulful music experiences.

Fun fact:The brand name FiiO is composed of Fi (fidelity from HiFi) and iO (number 1&0), representing the convenience that the digital world brings to life.

Explore Collection
Headfonia

"The new FiiO K3 is a very clean-sounding and very impressive device in terms of sound. The performance is simply excellent for the price."

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Majorhifi

"Being a refresh of an older product, the new K3 does a great job by updating most of the internal components to compete with the market in 2021."

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