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FX Audio DAC-SQ3 Review

Gremlins

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How man times are guys gonna try and use this unproven conspiracy theory to shit on ASR reviews? Every device these guys have labeled as golden sample (the SP200 comes to mind) has been shown to be no different than the retail version but facts don't matter to these guys cause they know.
Don't worry man, it's nature of human. There will always be some poor thinking people giving an "opinion" that's the way it goes
 

conuss

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From the remote control, the brightness level of the display, I hope, is adjusted up to complete dimming? ..
 

Jimster480

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I think this is the perfect example of brand dominated purchasing today. I recently received one of these as part of my testing program through Amazon vine. I offered it to Amir for testing but now I find that he has actually already tested it.
I opened the box and the device looks competent and well packaged. But I have not gotten around to using it myself.
What is amazing is that while it is not perfect; it actually has extremely good performance for $80 and as someone else noted recently after purchasing this; it is frequently on sale as well.
This basically has better performance than every single pre-2018 Schiit DAC..
We have become spoiled and picky!
 

Kevinfc

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I think this is the perfect example of brand dominated purchasing today. I recently received one of these as part of my testing program through Amazon vine. I offered it to Amir for testing but now I find that he has actually already tested it.
I opened the box and the device looks competent and well packaged. But I have not gotten around to using it myself.
What is amazing is that while it is not perfect; it actually has extremely good performance for $80 and as someone else noted recently after purchasing this; it is frequently on sale as well.
This basically has better performance than every single pre-2018 Schiit DAC..
We have become spoiled and picky!
Looking forward to replacing my 2016 Breeze Audio AKM 4495 knockoff.
 
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Gringoaudio1

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Hello Fellow ASR Members: this is a sincere question. Why would any person need to listen to music of any sampling rate over say 44.1K or maybe 48K. Sure you may claim a different sound, but would that be rather a different master -which would sound different- or a "remaster". While us as adults lose spectrum (presbycusis) every year of life with rare adults hearing past 19-20K. Again why would anyone want a 384K file.
384 is a number I find that generally is associated with a DSD file. This is a completely different animal to a PCM file. The numbers are not comparable at all. DSD is a completely different recording process.
Here is a video explaining the difference.
 
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Jimster480

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384 is a number I find that generally is associated with a DSD file. This is a completely different animal to a PCM file. The numbers are not comparable at all. DSD is a completely different recording process.
Here is a video explaining the difference.
Well yes, but there are some 384k MQA's on Tidal, might also be what they were referring to.
 

Killingbeans

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If you ask me, it depends on how much you want to spend on a waste of time ;)

Opamp rolling is a crapshoot at best, but 99% of the time it's just an adventure in the world of placebo.

The engineers know very well that they can only allow "rolling" in parts of the circuit where random opamps are least likely to cause instabilities. That means audio electronics that lets you "roll" are just like a playground with a safety surface. You are not likely to f¤¤k things up, but it's also very unlikely that you'll make an audible difference.

Our brains, on the other hand, are very good at making us experience differences when there actually are none. FX Audio knows that, and that's why they include this feature in the product.
 

Artzox

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If you ask me, it depends on how much you want to spend on a waste of time ;)

Opamp rolling is a crapshoot at best, but 99% of the time it's just an adventure in the world of placebo.

The engineers know very well that they can only allow "rolling" in parts of the circuit where random opamps are least likely to cause instabilities. That means audio electronics that lets you "roll" are just like a playground with a safety surface. You are not likely to f¤¤k things up, but it's also very unlikely that you'll make an audible difference.

Our brains, on the other hand, are very good at making us experience differences when there actually are none. FX Audio knows that, and that's why they include this feature in the product.
While I do agree that there is a certain degree to which you can expect to influence the sound I currently have a dac with swappable opamps and the difference a Burson v5i makes can be clearly heard. I am also looking at the Aune x8 where opamp swapping is a more refined process. In the end the difference is not as big as tube rolling but it spices things up.
 

Killingbeans

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I currently have a dac with swappable opamps and the difference a Burson v5i makes can be clearly heard.

I have a feeling the difference will disappear completely if you do a blind comparison.

If there's an actual audible difference, there's a real risk that the fancy new opamp hasn't really caused an improvement, but is instead oscillating or doing something similarly nasty. If you want to improve a DAC, analyze the cicuit and use engineering skills to change the design, and then use measurements to verify the performance. Opamps are rarely the bottleneck in audio electronics. Even the "filthy" cheap ones are usually good enough to perform beyond the capabilities of human hearing when implemented correctly.

If you really want to "spice things up", you can just change some random resistor values and keep your fingers crossed you won't fry everything. Way cheaper than throwing money at Burson ;)
 

Midnight Audiophile

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I just bought one of these on Amazon for $59.49 (using a 15% off coupon). Looking forward to checking it out. My other DAC is an ifi Zen Signature DAC v1. I like it, very simple with only the analog preamp volume control (switchable) which suites my needs. I know probably won't hear a diference unless there's some kind of noise issue. I do like the legacy of the Burr-Brown products (gives you that warm feeling) and you know those Sabre DACs sound sharp and metallic : ) and remotes and LEDs are just...well so digical age.
 

nsfgp

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I just bought one of these on Amazon for $59.49 (using a 15% off coupon). Looking forward to checking it out. My other DAC is an ifi Zen Signature DAC v1. I like it, very simple with only the analog preamp volume control (switchable) which suites my needs. I know probably won't hear a diference unless there's some kind of noise issue. I do like the legacy of the Burr-Brown products (gives you that warm feeling) and you know those Sabre DACs sound sharp and metallic : ) and remotes and LEDs are just...well so digical age.
I have one. Works fine for about 5 months so far. The only glitch I find is compared to my E30/DX3Pro+. It introduced some tiny amount of ground loop type hum which is very sensitive to RCA cable quality when using w/ PC. Keep this in mind if you need to deal with this. YMMV not saying you will get it. Changing RCA cable eliminated 90% off it for me. No such issue with my pi2B.
A good tool to have as well for a test SPDIF source if you need to test SPDIF input on another DAC, etc. on the fly. Just a laptop and it is a portable source available for use.
 

Midnight Audiophile

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I have one. Works fine for about 5 months so far. The only glitch I find is compared to my E30/DX3Pro+. It introduced some tiny amount of ground loop type hum which is very sensitive to RCA cable quality when using w/ PC. Keep this in mind if you need to deal with this. YMMV not saying you will get it. Changing RCA cable eliminated 90% off it for me. No such issue with my pi2B.
A good tool to have as well for a test SPDIF source if you need to test SPDIF input on another DAC, etc. on the fly. Just a laptop and it is a portable source available for use.
Right on. I run two systems from my MacPro and have also found that on the 3.5mm output there is less noise with a decent 3.5mm to RCA cable than 3.5mm to 3.5mm. I have that going into a Rolls SS32 switch and a Mediabridge 3.5mm to RCA runs almost silent. I use a USB 3.0 cable to my DAC and have had no noise issues at all. I plan to use a USB 2.0 cable with the FX DAC.
 

Midnight Audiophile

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So...mine arrived in the mail today. The shipping pouch was sealed and when I opened it and grabbed the box I felt something sticky:
IMG_4207.jpg


It's some kind of chocolate candy or food. This was sold by HiFi College and fulfilled by Amazon. Whoever packaged this in the warehouse knew it was like this or was probably drooling a Milky Way, you can see their freakin fingerprints. I left appropriate feedback and suggested they should investigate.
 

nsfgp

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Yucky ... Since the seller is in college it must be summer semester final exam time so chocolate/sugar rush time for them!! Does it sound sweeter and chocolaty though?! :p
How does it work for you?? Any hum/noise issue??
 

Midnight Audiophile

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Yucky ... Since the seller is in college it must be summer semester final exam time so chocolate/sugar rush time for them!! Does it sound sweeter and chocolaty though?! :p
How does it work for you?? Any hum/noise issue??
Haha! I'll give it a run through tonight and let you know. I'm gonna make the screen on mine red with some Rubylith. It's a nice looking little unit!
 
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