A portable digital-to-analog converter with a built-in headphone amplifier FiiO KA3 is more like a USB stick in a 56.3×20.2×12 mm case weighing only 17.5 g. But inside this black aluminum structure, it was possible to place an ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chipset the FiiO KA3 is capable of 32 bit / 768 kHz resolution and DSD up to DSD512.
The type of signal is indicated by a multi-color indicator LED: blue indicates PCM signals with a frequency of less than 48 kHz, green – more than 48 kHz or DSD. FiiO KA3 is connected to the source device via USB-C. That is, FiiO KA3 can be paired with smartphones, tablets, PC or Mac.
True, the manufacturer himself noted that the new product is only compatible with Android. This is not entirely true: with the help of the appropriate adapter, FiiO KA3 will work quite well with the iPhone.
However, unlike Android, in this case it will not be possible to use the FiiO Control app with the ability to select seven different types of filters, adjust the balance and choose between high and low gain. However, the appearance of similar opportunities for Apple devices is not excluded in the future.
The FiiO KA3 managed to accommodate two headphone outputs at once in the minimum dimensions: a stereo unbalanced 3.5 mm mini-jack and a balanced Pentaconn 4.4 mm.
The new product delivers 130 mW into 32 ohms unbalanced headphones and 240 mW into 32 ohms balanced output. In Asia, the device will be marketed under the Jade Audio brand name.
In Europe, the FiiO KA3 was priced at 96 euros.
