more collocation, better sound quality! Try Feiao Q3 Decoding Ear

Although the market scale of portable decoding earphones is gradually shrinking under the double impact of today's "large and complete" smart phones and fully functional portable music players, the demand for this market will not disappear. As a result, many mobile phones have canceled the 3.5mm earphone interface so that users with better wired earphones have to find a "stage" for them to continue to play ". Secondly, many users still need to improve the sound quality of PC, notebook computer, tablet computer and other devices, while independent sound cards are weak and desktop earphones are not flexible enough. Portable decoding earphones can also take care of them while being equipped with mobile devices. In the past two years, Feiao, who has been booming in the earphone market, recently launched a "small and beautiful" portable decoding earpiece Q3. Feiao is an "old player" who has deeply cultivated the portable earphone market. The sudden launch of such a new product in an increasingly small market naturally made me interested in it.

Feiao Q3 product information

DAC:AKM4462

Ear module: THX AAA28, LPF OPA1662, XMOS XUF208

impedance adaptation: 16~100 Ω(PO)

16~300Ω(BAL)

Maximum supported sampling rate: 768kHz/32bit

DSD support: DSD64/128/256/512

battery capacity: 1800mAh

Charging time: ≤ 2 hours

interface: USB-C interface, 3.5mm single-ended interface, 2.5mm balance interface, 4.4 balance interface

endurance USB In:PO endurance 10 hours, BAL endurance 8.5 hours

AUX In:BAL lasts 19 hours.

size: 105mm × 59mm × 12.5mm

weight: about 110g (including battery)

reference price: 998 yuan

to full evolution

Feiao did not introduce a new shape on Q3, but continued the design of Q1 Mark II. Comparing the appearance specifications of the two, it can be seen that Q3's "three circumference" is almost the same as Q1 Mark II, only slightly longer than 6mm and weighs 9g more. Q3 has good portability. The width of the body is similar to that of a business card, and the length is one more finger width than the latter. The thickness is close to that of a mobile phone with a protective cover. It is easy and comfortable to hold with one hand. There is also a storage bag in the accessories for daily carrying. The all-aluminum body has high strength, fine sandblasting technology is adopted on the surface, the frames on both sides of the body are round, strong and soft, and the grip feels great. The fuselage is not too decorated, and the front is a white FiiO Logo and Hi-Res AUDIO logo.

is small, Feiao's interface configuration for Q3 is not stingy. 3.5mm single-ended earphone interface, 2.5mm balance interface and 4.4mm balance interface are one each. The configuration of double balance ports is higher than Q1 Mark II, which is believed to meet the needs of most listeners for earphone interfaces. The separate line input interface of Q1 Mark II is integrated with the 3.5mm single-ended interface on Q3 to realize reuse, so the adaptation scenarios are increased or decreased. The position of the volume knob on the right side of this head remains unchanged, but the design details have changed. The red circle decoration was moved to the top of the knob, the iconic 45 ° string pattern remained, and the RGB lamp next to the knob formed an integrated visual effect with it. The volume knob has a linear hand feel and a good adjustment texture. At the same time, it also takes into account the power switch. It is worth mentioning that Feiao solved the problem of low volume left and right deviation when adjusting the traditional analog potentiometer through ADC curve reconstruction on Q3, and greatly improved the adjustment accuracy. In addition to displaying lights of different colors when charging and starting up, RGB lamps also have a sampling rate indication function. Under different sampling rates, RGB lamps will be distinguished by different colors, which has both practical and visual effects.

▲ Complete interface configuration of 3.5mm single-ended earphone interface, 2.5mm balance interface and 4.4mm balance interface to meet the requirements of most listeners for earphone interface.

takes into account the functions of charging and USB sound card. At the same time, there is a charging switch for user control. The BASS switch on Q1 Mark II is retained beside the interface. The high and low gain function continues to be provided, but due to the addition of the filter configuration, it has changed from a toggle switch to a multi-function key. A short press switches between high and low gains. There is a light on the button. The light on represents high gain, and the light off represents low gain. Press twice to switch between steep and slow down filters. However, the latter does not have an indicator light to match the prompt. In fact, it can be considered to add lights of different colors to prompt, which is different from high and low gain switching and is convenient for users to understand the current filter mode.

▲ USB-C interface, BASS switch, multi-function key and charging switch at the other end of Q3.

Excellent Hardware Escort

can see that although Q3 has not changed much in shape, Feiao mainly focuses on the increase of functions and the completion of interfaces. This is also reflected in the internal hardware configuration. In the DAC chip part Q3, AKM's new low-power VELVET SOUND DAC AK4462 is adopted, which improves the signal-to-noise ratio compared with the previous generation and can support DSD512 native decoding. On the USB decoding chip, Q3 is equipped with XMOS XUF208 of the same model as Feiao flagship decoding ear Q5s, which can support a PCM sampling rate of 768kHz/32bit and can hardware DSD512.

earpiece is also the highlight of Q3, which uses two THX AAA28 chips. THX AAA earpiece technology has been applied to Feiao's high-end music player before. Its characteristic lies in THX's patented feedforward error correction technology, which can achieve lower sound dyeing and distortion, taking into account both sound quality and thrust. Its sound style is liked by many listeners. In order to ensure purer sound quality, Q3 not only adopts an all-aluminum alloy body, but also cooperates with the nickel-plated white copper shielding cover on the chip and high-efficiency absorbing materials to build a comprehensive radio frequency interference protection to ensure that Q3 is bundled with the mobile phone to avoid interference of mobile phone signals. Q3 has a built-in 1800mAh battery, and the battery life can reach more than 10 hours under the condition of USB decoding, which is enough to meet the listening needs of heavy users for a day or two.

▲ Q3 is still rich in accessories, including storage cloth bag, 3.5mm recording line, Lightning to USB-C short line, USB-C long data line, double USB-C data line, four binding straps (two long and two short) and binding anti-skid pad.

audition feeling

Q3 has a full range of interfaces and functions, and has many daily games. Around the popular USB-C interface, we can connect Android phones with dual USB-C lines, connect various iOS devices with Lightning-to-USB-C lines, connect PC and notebook computers with USB-C lines... and connect various earphones with complete earphone interfaces. It can be said that Q3 is suitable for a wide range of application scenarios. In order to achieve better compatibility and application effect, Feiao has spent a lot of energy to pass various official certifications such as Thesycon, USB-IF, THX, Hi-Res Audio, etc. At the same time, Q3 has also obtained Apple's authorized chip, which can fully adapt to iOS system devices. Therefore, players can rest assured of their compatibility when using Q3 with various devices.

▲ Hi-Res AUDIO is only one of the certifications passed by Q3. USB-IF, THX, Thesycon and other corresponding official certifications have also passed. In addition, it has also obtained Apple's authorized chip and can fully adapt to iOS system.

audition, I used an Android phone without a 3.5mm earphone interface to connect Q3 through dual USB-C lines. What needs to be reminded is that it is best to turn off the charging switch at this time to avoid additional consumption of mobile phone power. The earphones for the audition include Feiao's EM5 flat-head earplugs and large earphones such as Sennheiser HD 600. At the same time, the effect of connecting the earphones with the USB-C to 3.5mm adapter provided in the accessories of the mobile phone is compared. Although the mobile phone's own adapter can also make a large earphone like HD600 emit normal sound pressure, it is only "ringing. In the BVS movie soundtrack "Is She With You?", the opening electric guitar, drums and bass under the self-contained adapter are mixed together, which is very shocking. Using Q3 instead, the level becomes clear, and the texture of instrumental music is restored in place while the music atmosphere is well displayed. I also compared several large-scale music, whether it is EM5 or HD600, they have an audible expansion of the shaping of the sound field space, and at the same time the sense of position and distance of instrumental music have a more accurate expression.

in the direction of sound style, Q3 maintains the general orthotonality of Feiao products. Different headphones can show their original sound characteristics when matched with it, without obvious traces of tuning. The mobile phone has a relatively flat three-frequency performance under its own adapter, and has a better performance under Q3. The change of low frequency is more that the outline of the sound becomes clear. While maintaining a large amount of feeling, its clear and non-muddy performance brings a better sense of hearing. The intermediate frequency part is naturally in place for the restoration of sound, with high density and moderate amount of information in sound details.

At the same time, the singer's voice is full enough, the knot is clear, and the overall listening tolerance is very good.

the high-frequency part, Q3 brings a high-resolution transparent hearing feeling, rich in details, and sounds silky and smooth. EM5 has 2.5mm/3.5mm/4.4mm three rotary-lock replaceable plugs, so I compared its performance with Q3 single-ended and balanced interfaces. Under the balanced interface, the sound is cleaner, the sound field space, especially the longitudinal part, is expanded more, and the dynamic performance and details of the sound are also improved.

in the niche market of portable decoding earphones, Feiao still showed enough sincerity. With flagship Q5s on the top and entry-level Q1 Mark II on the bottom, Feiao still created Q3 for the needs of the subdivided population. As a product connecting the preceding and the following, Feiao has integrated a variety of good hardware on Q3 as much as possible, providing consumers with a comprehensive application experience at a price of less than 1,000 yuan. Through Q3, I believe that more listeners can experience the music fun brought by portable decoding earphones.

author:microcomputer official microblog11-25 15:13

website: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404575167450841320