FiiO BTR3k Balanced HiFi Bluetooth Amp

Product Information

The FiiO BTR3K has an instrument tonality that is neither too thin nor too bold. Guitars for example are slightly bright and do show a good level of extension. Violins on the other hand are very successful in terms of intensity, detail and extension. Side flutes are fast, a bit bright and stirring. The BTR3K is the updated version of the original BTR3 which is a Hi-Res Bluetooth receiver with a very compact size that features 2x AK4377A DAC Chips, one for the 3.5mm TRS and one for the 2.5mm balanced TRSS output. It sports also Qualcomm’s CSR8675 BT 5.0 SoC which supports lossless Bluetooth codes such like LDAC and aptX HD and can be used also as USB DAC with your PC, Tablet of Smartphone. BTR3K is downsized in every way from BTR5. The weight is smaller, its shape is smaller, which means that it is much better for running and jogging, it is less powerful though, and it can mainly drive IEMs, where BTR5 can do headphones just fine, and even hard-to-drive headphones like HIFIMAN Deva, Sundara, Brainwavz Alara, Verum One and many others, making it more versatile. BTR3K is specialized on IEMs and Earphones, and it can also act as a bluetooth receiver, USB DAC, and has the same wide-codec support for bluetooth codecs like BTR5. Overall tonality is flat and natural with a slight hint of warmth as we are accustomed to FiiO's house sound and AKM velvet dacs.

Bluetooth receiver remains the CSR8675 but is upgraded to bluetooth 5.0 for even better battery consumption and operation range. It mostly does sound about the same as the DragonFly, but you’ll notice the Fly is a bit more open and cool sounding. While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy. The midbass region on the other hand is mildly pronounced, pretty controlled and fast, without to show any remarkable negative situations like muddiness, mixings or a midbass hump. The midbass quantity and extension is on an average level. Instruments from guitars up to the drums do show a pretty fast bass response which is a remarkable plus point for the BTR3. If I’m being honest, it pretty much is. There’s nothing about the more expensive Fly that I would say is better than the cheaper FiiO.

FiiO BTR3K Technical Specifications

Not only that, but BTR3K even sounds better standalone than SMSL Idea/Sabaj DA2, which sound a bit too dry without O2. The bluetooth signal strength is similar, so you won’t have issues with either, and BTR3K also sounds better in wired mode, if you want to take it to the maximum. We’re still talking about a Type-C port, so FiiO did not cheap out when designing BTR3K.

Yo dog we heard you like listening to music at the same time someone else is on the same dac, so we made an amp/dac that allows you to listen to music at the same time someone is else on the same dac, and we made that joint wireless so you don’t even need wires neither.” Power output is thus raised to a whole 78mW under 32ohm load for the balanced out and although remains the same 25mW for the single ended one we now get greater current capability resulting to 50% more power under 16ohm loads. I’m not sure if this specific ESS chip is a bit different from the one present in the DragonFly, but the point is that I didn’t hear much in the way of sound difference between the 2.

Customer reviews

Fiio BTR5 2021 supports USB 1.0 mode with driver free, meaning you can simple plug it in and use it, without needing to install drivers, while USB 2.0 mode, allow for you to install the drivers if you want Asio and MQA support at your desktop. Both can be swap to in the device options. In addition to this, the FiiO BTR3K features a Qualcomm CSR8675 Bluetooth chip with a modern BT 5.0 version that offers A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP profiles and supports lossless wireless codecs. From female vocals to violins and pianos, the extension, emphasis and detail retrieval of the upper midrange are quite successful.

If you listen to music mostly at home/office, you still would be better off investing in a synergy combo for Pro 82 - Comparison of DACs/Amps On the front of the device shining through the glass pane is the FiiO logo that lights up various colours when the BTR3K is powered up, advising you which codec is being used. With Takstar Pro 82 v2, BTR3K was a revelation - I did not expect this level of performance from such a tiny and cheap device. With two high-performance AK4377A DACs, the power output has increased by 50% compared to the AK4376 used in the BTR3 as well as greatly improved measurements and actual sound. Not only that, but with its full, lush sound, smoother midrange and unintrusive, relaxing treble, BTR3K is a great pair for brighter, colder, neutral and typically aggressive or fatiguing IEMs and Headphones, making it an ideal source, especially if you’re deep invested in Chi-Fi in general.It started after I paired with my Samsung S6 Tablet using LDAC. I tried clearing all of the BTR5 pairings then cleared the BTR5 pairings on each device, powered down all the other devices (completely, not just turning off BT), and I still get a 2nd connection chime when pairing / connecting to a BT device with the BTR5 - PC, Samsung S20 Ultra, Samsung S6 tablet. To smooth out the form factor, the BTR3K has rounded ends on all 4 edges and concave ends that are far from showing any sharp parts – resulting in a very comfortable and natural grip. Greetings comrade and Welcome aboard… Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions, leading to a beautiful audio experience that will make you fall in love with music (NOT gear) all over again, so… Table of Contents Foxing’s “Night Channels” may sound ever so slightly more lively and with perhaps a tad too much sheen over hi-hats and cymbals, but it’s extremely subtle and won’t be discernable to the majority of people.

The bass was able to shows a good performance in terms of speed and tightness in genres with complex bass passages like trash metal, which makes the BTR3K also to a successful device in terms of dynamism. If there are multiple players connected as DAC at the same time, you can only choose one of them as output device. But you can easily switch between the devices through the sound panel or through the settings of the music player application (no need to reconnect the player). The ASIO driver can only work with one device at a time, so by default it will choose the player that's connected first as ASIO output device. The BTR3K has a very compact size with dimension of 58×25×11mm and weight’s only 23.5grams that makes it highly portable. The overall build quality of the BTR3K is of high quality and I really do like to hold this object in my hands. The Go Blu, even with its Burr-Brown chip, sounds remarkably similar to the BTR3K/5. For this comparison,The treble of BTR3K is smoother, less sparkly and less energetic than that of BTR5, but still fairly complete and energetic by itself. It has the best synergy with bright IEMs, and pairing BTR3K with dark IEMs is not recommended, because it may result in a fairly dull sound. FiiO BTR3K vs FiiO M6 (60 USD vs 150 USD) – M6 is a full fledged DAP, or portable music player also made by FiiO, but for a much higher price. The main reason I included it here is that I already stated that BTR5 outweighs it when it comes to sonic quality but between M6 and BTR3K, it is another story. M6 is more analytical, more detailed, but doesn’t really have more driving power, and struggles to make a compelling competitor for BTR3K, which ends up being more convenient to use often, especially as I’ve grown quite accustomed to having bluetooth, and although I dislike notifications interrupting my music, and M6 would make a great tiny DAP, the shape and size of BTR3K make it more likely to be grabbed when you’re going for a jog or for a run. If you are an owner of recent FiiO products, you should expect the same level of heavy-duty build with the FiiO BTR3K.