The next one is a multifunction button that when it is short pressed switches between low and high gain and when it is double taped cycles between sharp and slow roll off filters. The FiiO’s volumetric cube—sound stage—is quite large and, at times, holographic, in that it spans good depth and height and width and, yet, is intimate when called to be so. Positioning and layering are also quite good as is image solidity and there is very good transparency and thus detail retrieval. Though the best and the more expensive across this category would, no doubt, extract more detail, nuance, and microdynamics. Bass Lows have a nice small boost that gives a little fun bump to low end on most headphones. Over ears or iems that sound lean in the low end won’t be fixed by the Q3. The bass boost can indeed help with lean sounding audio gear. The bass creeped into the lower mid range a little too much for my taste so I’d leave it alone if bass is adequate enough.

The FiiO Q3 has a clear, strong and sharp upper midrange presentation with transitions that are in general fairly controlled. The upper midrange of the Q3 is well-tuned and doesn’t show any unnecessary over-sharpness/brightness that could tire your ears over time. From female vocals up to instruments such like violins and pianos, the extension, emphasis and detail retrieval of the Q3 is pretty good.

Like the Q3, and the old Q1, the FiiO gives you full volume controls on the Q11 allowing you to handle that aspect, directly from the device. No +/- button this time, all you have to do is turn the knob and the volume level will rise/lower accordingly, with the additional comfort of a gain switch, directly accessible. At the other end of the device there is the data/charging usb type C port plus three extra buttons. The FiiO Q3 features 2 (Dual) x AK4462 DAC (Digital to Analog Converters) Chips of the company Asahi Kasei. AK4462 is a power efficient VELVET SOUND DAC with decoding support up to 768kHz/32-bit PCM and DSD512.

The FiiO Q3 is catering for all your needs with its three headphone outputs. It features 4.4mm and 2.5mm fully balanced output ports as well as a 3.5mm single-ended port. Not surprisingly, while the drive of the IEMs was excellent, the level of detail retrieval from music with which I had a lot of experience, such as Jazz in the New Harmonic by David Chesky, which has the most incredibly nuanced percussion, from the Q3 was not as good as with either FiiO’s higher offerings, such as the M11 Pro, or other more expensive DAC/amps, such as the iFi xDSD or Chord Mojo.An RGB indicator next to the volume knob informs us about the sampling rate with three different colours plus whether the battery is charging or it is low and needs to be recharged. MQA, Master Quality Authenticated is the latest technology where we get high-res performance in small file sizes. The updated FiiO Q3 version now supports full MQA unfolding allowing the users to listen to the true master quality performance as the artist intended while recording. Fortunately, battery life didn’t drop down, even if FiiO uses a new THX circuit. In single-ended mode, connected through the USB port to my iPhone, I could use the Q3 for almost a full week, on a single charge.

Where they mostly differ is in the way the sound is presented from an amping point of view due to the totally different amplifier circuits. Minimal bias current and highly efficient power management to optimize and extend device battery life

Needs work

While just finishing my Hip-Dac review before taking the Q3 into testing but the Fiio didn't disappoint with most things in fact it worked much cleaner with IEMs even my Higher impedance headphones worked to a decent point but don't expect miracles its a portable after all and they all don't have the XP5's amazing power. The Q3 seems well suited to low Ohm cans and IEMs even sensitive ones. We didn’t have the chance to get this one for review, but I can give you an excerpt of the previous K5 review, by Lieven: Q3 is a simple wired DAC and headphone amplifier, but if you want to go wireless with your smart devices, I recommend their BTR5 that will offer you wireless freedom and almost the same sound quality. I like that FiiO dimmed those LEDs and knurled its volume knob to have a better feeling of it. Overall, it looks simple, modern, easy to use and really straightforward once you learn its buttons, inputs and outputs.

Distortion in high volumes feels lower than with the Q1, but it could be placebo as I don't have the equipment to measure this FiiO Q3 has a fast, pretty emphasized and controlled midbass performance, without to show remarkable negative situations such like a midbass hump or mixings. The Q3 offers a sufficient level midbass quantity and intensity for most listeners, inclusive bassheads, and is able to produce soft or strong bass notes depending of the record. FiiO went with a brand-new midrange DAC chip from Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM): the AK4462 that superseded the AK4452 that FiiO used in their K3 and in the Q1 MKII. Both chipsets are having dual-channels meaning that its internal DAC section is not fully balanced – for that a quad channel chipset will be needed or two pieces of AK4462 silicon.The sides of the device do have a curved shape that makes it comfortable to hold in your hand. On the top of the device are the FiiO and the Hi-Res Audio logos in white color. The sound of the FiiO Q3 will depend on the headphones you’re using. This section should really only be about performance, as the Q3 is designed to improve the sound of your headphones. The Q3 itself doesn’t produce the sound, but it does process the signal from your source.