• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

FX Audio DAC-SQ3 Review

deprogrammed

Active Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Messages
183
Likes
252
Location
Dayton Ohio
This DAC's performance is beyond the threshold of hearing. So you want even more beyond threshold of hearing at the expense of less functionality?

Some of you all sure have a numbers fetish.

And I love the I need this or that. But this doesn't have this or that. There are dozens and dozens of DACS to choose from. There is a big ol world out there and people have different needs. Hard to understand, I know.

Also I wish it was balanced,more in/out, etc. But no rise in cost..

We are SO spoiled.

Sorry Rant Over.
 

gvl

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Messages
3,425
Likes
3,979
Location
SoCal
Volume control and spdif transmit is part of the stock USB firmware.

Even if so, doing it in XMOS to support an obscure use case instead of utilizing an optimized and easy to use feature on the DAC for the most typical application seems illogical.
 

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
Even if so, doing it in XMOS to support an obscure use case instead of utilizing an optimized and easy to use feature on the DAC for the most typical application seems illogical.
Totally possible, well in all cases we'll have to wait for more info, as I said, no clear operation manual is to be found, and nobody seem to have tested the feature, so really no need to argue on speculations. I was just stating that it's possible, there's more than one way to design a DAC/USB to SPDIF converter. Interesting discussion none the less but with no answer... The Manufacturer would be to blame for this.. I saw in some descriptions: "4. Combines two functions: decoder and independent headphone amp"... Obviously... We'll have to do the testing cause whether it's langage barrier or just being careless, we will have to get the info from sites like ASR...
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,368
Likes
234,381
Location
Seattle Area

Tangband

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 3, 2019
Messages
2,994
Likes
2,789
Location
Sweden

HifMAn

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
13
Likes
3
What do you mean?
I mean that an ordinary buyer gets a lot of cheap non-original components. Do you really think original spare parts will be used for such a price? The cost of spare parts is 2-3 times higher than the cost of the device itself
 

HifMAn

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
13
Likes
3
That's quite an accusation. Do you have facts to back that up?
I mean that an ordinary buyer gets a lot of cheap non-original components. Do you really think original spare parts will be used for such a price? The cost of spare parts is 2-3 times higher than the cost of the device itself. Yes, as much as you want. Search the Internet. Or disassemble the purchased DAC yourself in the usual ebay or Aliexpress
post (1).jpg
post (2).jpg
post (3).jpg
post.jpg
 

HifMAn

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
13
Likes
3
Can you point a cheaper version of this device that are known to use fake capacitor and simplfied circuit? Wait what is a fake capacitor? You mean falsified branding? Do you have exemples of these you are talking about?
You never disassembled Chinese devices?
 

HifMAn

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
13
Likes
3
your measurements are good. But why not buy like a regular user on ebay and compare with what the manufacturer sent you? You will be very surprised...
 

JSmith

Master Contributor
Joined
Feb 8, 2021
Messages
5,152
Likes
13,211
Location
Algol Perseus
why not buy
Buy one and send it in including permission for a teardown thread... I'm sure Amir will be more than happy to test, inspect and compare same.

To be clear, the pictures you posted, I assume they're general examples or are they specific to this product? If general, it may be better to start a new thread about internal parts of all audio devices, without focussing on a place of origin, rather the specific products themselves. I'm sure if the thread is evidenced and factual it will be of interest to the membership.



JSmith
 

sarumbear

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Messages
7,604
Likes
7,313
Location
UK
I mean that an ordinary buyer gets a lot of cheap non-original components. Do you really think original spare parts will be used for such a price? The cost of spare parts is 2-3 times higher than the cost of the device itself
Do you mean that this is a copy of another make/model device? If so what is it?

Also a correction: manufacturers do not use spare parts.

Please define what do you mean a non-original component?
 

Killingbeans

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
4,088
Likes
7,544
Location
Bjerringbro, Denmark.
I mean that an ordinary buyer gets a lot of cheap non-original components.

If you go looking for coveted components on eBay, there's definitely a risk of being scammed.

Do you really think original spare parts will be used for such a price? The cost of spare parts is 2-3 times higher than the cost of the device itself.

Not if you order 100.000 or a million. Besides, the DAC-SQ3 doesn't utilize any components that can be considered expensive, even when they are original?

your measurements are good. But why not buy like a regular user on ebay and compare with what the manufacturer sent you? You will be very surprised...

The question of "Golden Samples" have been raised many times on ASR, and Amir has addressed it a few times:
 

sarumbear

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Messages
7,604
Likes
7,313
Location
UK
I mean that an ordinary buyer gets a lot of cheap non-original components. Do you really think original spare parts will be used for such a price? The cost of spare parts is 2-3 times higher than the cost of the device itself. Yes, as much as you want. Search the Internet. Or disassemble the purchased DAC yourself in the usual ebay or AliexpressView attachment 158595View attachment 158596View attachment 158597View attachment 158598
A) This is a manufacturer. By calling them ordinary buyers you are slandering them.
B) By calling components as "spare parts" you are showing your ignorance to the terms used in manufacturing.

You do not understand manufacturing or there is a language barrier and we cannot understand what the hell you are complaining about. If spare parts used to manufacture a device yes the total price will be astronomical. That is because spare parts are marked up by many multiples to reflect storage costs and inflation. No manufacturer use spare parts to manufacture an product!
 

renaudrenaud

Major Contributor
Joined
Apr 20, 2019
Messages
1,299
Likes
2,860
Location
Tianjin
Hello, does anybody know if a pi could power one of these OR if one of those Y usb cables (power/data) would work?
If yes, this could be the "ultimate hat", for just a little bit more than a regular audio hat....

From an Orange Pi
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20211012_191315.jpg
    IMG_20211012_191315.jpg
    188 KB · Views: 155
  • Like
Reactions: MCH

GeorgeWalk

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Messages
469
Likes
791
Hello, does anybody know if a pi could power one of these OR if one of those Y usb cables (power/data) would work?
If yes, this could be the "ultimate hat", for just a little bit more than a regular audio hat....
My Pi powers a Topping D10s. I am not sure what the current draw of these devices is, but the D10s works without any other power source.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MCH

GWolfman

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
624
Likes
1,041
Nice to have different outputs as an option.
 

garbz

Active Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2021
Messages
120
Likes
183
This FX Audio seems to be one of these chinese products showing a fake CE marking on the back plate…
That's a problem with the CE process itself. Being self certified they can very much chose to do anything including putting a real CE mark on it. No one would question them. This "China Export" variant comes up just as often on actual legitimate devices too, e.g. my Plantronics Voyager 5200 bluetooth headset. These days the discrepancy in the markings is somewhat meaningless and if you think about it it makes perfect sense too. There's no honour among people who would fake a marking in such a way that they all make it immediately obvious.
 

Diable

Member
Joined
May 23, 2021
Messages
44
Likes
27
your measurements are good. But why not buy like a regular user on ebay and compare with what the manufacturer sent you? You will be very surprised...
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.
 

Dominique-T

Active Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
104
Likes
93
Location
Cologne
That's a problem with the CE process itself. Being self certified they can very much chose to do anything including putting a real CE mark on it. No one would question them. This "China Export" variant comes up just as often on actual legitimate devices too, e.g. my Plantronics Voyager 5200 bluetooth headset. These days the discrepancy in the markings is somewhat meaningless and if you think about it it makes perfect sense too. There's no honour among people who would fake a marking in such a way that they all make it immediately obvious.
In this case, there is a deliberate intention to confuse people. I already bought 3 Chinese DAC, then for good reason (SMSL story), I decided to stop buying these product. An this fake CE marking reinforce my opinion that we cannot trust these companies.
 
Top Bottom