Feiao KA1 Small Tail Ear Evaluation: A Low Cost Choice for Burning
in the author's opinion, the popularity of small portable decoding earphones is no accident. Just like Feiao KA1, small tail earphones have achieved a good balance between portability and sound quality. The price is less than 300 yuan, so that those who want to experience an introductionHi-Fi consumers can burn at a very low cost. Today's TWS real wireless headphones have taken over more of our usage scenarios, but portable Hi-Fi products are still the choice for music lovers to get better sound quality, and small tail earphones should be said to be the current optimal solution.
01's ultra-small size brings absolutely light portability.
KA1 is Feiao's second small tail earpiece product after KA3, positioning itself in the entry market. It is estimated that everyone has also noticed that the packaging of KA1 products and the front and back of the host are printed with the LOGO of FiiO and JadeAudio (Fei Sheng). As a young and fashionable technology brand under Feiao, Feisheng's products have always been selling points with higher cost performance and fashionable design, and have indeed attracted the attention of many young people.
the KA1 obtained by the author this time is the same as the eldest brother KA3 in product appearance design. They all have a tough shape, aluminum-magnesium alloy shell and RGB ring lamp, but their size is much smaller than KA3 and their weight is only about 10g. KA1 is used for daily commuting. The author's most intuitive feeling is that the load feeling after plugging in headphones is much lighter. Compared with other full-size small tail earpiece products I have used before, KA1 has absolutely light portability, which is a real experience improvement in the author's opinion.
Of course, it is precisely because of the reduction in volume and the introduction of positioning that KA1 is not equipped with a 3.5mm single-ended 4.4mm balanced dual interface design, but only retains a 3.5mm single-ended interface. In addition, the replaceable cable structure on KA3 has also become an integrated structure on KA1. However, considering the users of iOS and Android camps, the government has provided optional Type-C and Lightning interfaces. At the same time, a USB A adapter is also attached to the product package to facilitate connection with notebook computers or desktop devices.
02 is very interesting inside, and the gameplay is more diverse.
is an entry-level model, KA1 uses ESS's ES9281AC PRO chip, which integrates USB processor, decoding and ear placement, and supports 32bit/384kHz lossless music decoding and DSD256 specifications. You know, at present, the price of most other small tail earpiece products using this chip is generally around 500 yuan, which also highlights the cost performance of KA1.
on the software, KA1 also brought some new games this time. First of all, Feiao specially customized Windows ASIO driver for KA1 (to be updated to win10 and above), which can be played in ASIO channel under Windows, and also supports Native DSD, which should not be done by other competitors for the time being. There is another bright spot. KA1 supports MQA services, including FiiO music (currently supported in the test version), TIDAL, or any other MQA-enabled music services, which is more playable than KA3.
03 are more in line with the popular taste.
, let's talk about KA1's sound performance. First of all, from the positioning of this small tail earpiece and the design that only retains the 3.5mm single-ended interface, I believe everyone should be able to guess that its sound style will be more popular, but at the same time it is different from other small tail styles I have used that are more partial to the middle and lower plate. The sound characteristics of KA1 are more neutral, and the performance of the three frequencies is more balanced. To use a word in the circle to describe it is more "omnivorous". In the author's opinion, this tuning style is a safer idea and more in line with popular tastes.
for small tail earring products at this price, people are more concerned about how much substantial improvement it can bring to sound. In terms of my experience, first of all, compared with the 3.5mm interface provided by my old mobile phone, notebook computer and desktop computer, the promotion brought by KA1 is a cleaner background, especially the noise such as current sound and bottom noise, which basically disappeared. This is a substantial improvement in listening.
on the other hand, the increase in thrust is also obvious. For example, JH3 and JD3, which are easy to push, can get clearer, stronger sense of music line and more atmosphere of listening, which is especially suitable for listening to various popular music. In addition, when presenting jazz, string and other tracks, the sounds of various musical instruments are also clearly distinguishable. Although there is still a certain gap between the analytical force and the more expensive full-size small tail in terms of dynamics, the improvement in sound details is still obvious compared with the direct push of mobile phones.
Of course, in addition to the above-mentioned advantages, there must be shortcomings. As mentioned earlier, due to the low power consumption of KA1, the thrust will still be smaller than that of eldest brother KA3. Earplugs such as FD5 and FH9 that pick the front end are more difficult to push with KA1. Therefore, if the earplugs in everyone's hands are mainly high impedance & low sensitivity, KA1 is not suitable, and KA3 with greater thrust and balance port or other higher-end products can be considered.
on the whole, KA1 brings a cleaner, clearer sound and a stronger sense of atmosphere on the basis of excellent portability, balanced tuning and greater thrust (compared with mobile phones and computers). Although there is a clear gap between the analytical and dynamic performance and high-end products and professional players, after all, the volume and price are there, and we can't break away from the price gap. In addition, as long as you don't listen to heavy metal rock, large-scale symphonies, such as popular, light music, and string music that you usually listen to, there is no problem.
04 Summary & Purchase Suggestions
KA1 can be said to have further consolidated the entry-level HiFi market for Feiao. The ultra-small size, better portability, and the real sound quality improvement compared with the direct push of mobile phones have also made this small tail, which costs less than 300 yuan, full of cost performance. KA1 will be very suitable for users who pursue sound quality but do not like full-size small tails to add extra burden to their mobile phones.
author:ZOL Zhongguancun Online04-24 11:41
URL:https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404761744022044831
