Not long ago, FiiO, a Chinese manufacturer, released their new FF3 earbuds inspired by the “drums” instrument. Their unique earbuds were engineered with a bass-enhancing acoustic tube inside to deliver powerful and incredible Bass intended to satisfy the needs of audiophiles. FiiO is again in the spotlight with their refreshed Q3 MQA edition portable DAC and amplifier, packing an all-new XMOS XU316 chip.
The FiiO line’s top sellers in the past have been DACs and headphone amplifiers, two comprehensive product lines at the time of the peak. Attributed to the impact of portable music players, USB audio adapters, and Bluetooth DAC/Amps, the brand decided not to issue any new ones.
Additionally, outdated models like the Q1MKII, Q3, and Q5s are not in production due to a chip shortage. Owing to such a chip shortage, the Q3 MQA officially released this time is only a product with slight modifications. It satisfies user needs by giving them an alternative to music players and USB dongles.
Bringing absolute brilliance
The new Q3 MQA Edition packs the next-generation XMOS XU316 controller chip to become compatible with USB DACs. Due to a lack of available chips, the Q3 MQA edition uses the brand-new, intensively developed XMOS XU316, also XMOS’s strategic chip to debut in the AI industry.
The XU316 packs 16 cores to deliver high performance in processing and has been engineered under an advanced manufacturing process. The chip further allows support up to PCM 384kHz/32 bit along with DSD256 high-resolution audio formats and consumes even less power.
The MQA function is also added with the support of the powerful XMOS XU316. Users can fully immerse themselves in a master-quality audio experience when utilizing the Q3 MQA with a music app that features MQA.
The new edition comes with two THX AAA-28 amplifiers delivering maximum power output up to 330 mW in USB DAC mode and 370 mW in Line in mode. Such powerful amplifiers will give users powerful, realistic, and extraordinary sound.
Upgrading user experience
Moreover, the powerful XMOS chip supports decoding MQA format, letting users unfold or render any folder while using an MQA-compatible player. Engineered with a dual power supply design, users can use the Q3 MQA Edition as either a portable or a static device.
Not only that, but users also get the option of switching between power supplies using the Charge switch button. Battery lasts up to 23+ hours using AUX and 12+ hours using USB. The brand-new strapping kit created to attach the Q3 MQA Edition to your phone vastly enhances the previous experience.
The high transparency straps no longer obscure your phone’s display. Innovative X-shaped straps are also provided, revealing more of the phone’s display and expanding the operation area. After doing pertinent research and evaluations, the brand’s R&D team decided to employ the related AK4552 knowing that production of the AK4462 would not be resumed.
The developers put much effort into improving the audio quality and indicators to the level of the previous generation. The distortion performance is even more consistent across all frequencies, and the power output of the headphone amplifier has increased by 10%. The ADC curve reconstruction method is also enabled to solve channel imbalances and greatly enhances the accuracy.
It also features an RGB indicator & Bass enhance buttons to enable users to achieve rich music while easily knowing the audio specs and sampling rate. Relish your ears with the kind of music you want with the Q3 MQA Edition amplifier!