Fosi Audio DS3 USB-C DAC HiFi Amp Dongle, Portable Headphone Amplifier with 7.1 Spatial Audio, ES9039Q2M XMOS Powered, DSD512, 3.5mm Single 4.4mm Balanced for PC/Phone/ PS5/ Switch Black

Having the ds1 and enjoying it with music, decided to try this ds3 in gaming mode. I got the black and its def lighter in weight probably because the back is tempered glass now. It does look good but is a fingerprint magnet. People say its hard to operate but its fairly easy. It has a 60 step volume. This has a fairly low 1.2mw or 2.2mw output based on which cable tyoe you use. Balanced cable should give you the 2.2mw output but didnt seem nearly double the volume. Maybe 1/3 louder. But tweaking volume on either pc or iphone and on dac dongle you can get it to pretty high volumes. I’m using senheiser hd620s headphones. Its easy to upgrade firmware from their dl area and they have a windows driver although not sure if you really need it as the manual says drivers arent needed for windows. Unfortunately i did not find the web based equalizer that seems like it came with older versions of the firmware. But without it heres how to operate it easily. Just plugging it in will show red led (music mode), i leave it in default filter mode 1. But holding volume + and - down you will see a light blueish flash, you are now in mode filter two. Do it again, it will flash again, now filter 3. You can do it all the way to filter 8 which you will see two flashes. To get back to filter 1 hold down the buttons again it will flash once and back to filter 1. If you forgot, just unplug from your source and it should reset to filter 1. Game mode, say on your pc, before plugging dongle in your usb c port, just hold down the + volume button and then plug in. Keep holding it till you see led turns a yellow green color and let go. This is standard game mode. Holding down - and + till light changes to bluish color for fos mode. Holding it down again toll it changes purple is 7.1 surround mode. All of above is normal gain mode. If you accidentally pressed volume - & + momentary in either music or gaming modes, it changes gain to a higher gain mode and i didn't need this or use it as normal gain was loud enough. Also whatever mode youre in, with high gain on, the led light now flashes that color be it red for music, it will now flashes red. Same with gaming, if fps mode blue, in higher gain mode it will flash blue. Now to how it sounds. Music as i said i only used the default and it was perfectly fine. Gaming normal mode was ok, seemed like it was similar to standard music mode. Fps mode i think i did hear sounds more relevant to where the sound source was like voices to the side, things moving left or right things like that. So its ok but its subtle. 7.1 mode is not echoey like some people say. It does have a more 3d like sound and enhances directional sounds but it def wasnt echoey. Explosions do get louder as it tries to simulate sound from a simulated 7.1 speaker setup. I think it makes games a little funner with the more dynamic sounds. Anyways great, but would be better if they can get the equalizer on their dl site.

Works great and sounds fantastic paired with Sennheiser HD560S headphones. Amazing detail.

This thing... Wow. Where do I start? I purchased some highly rated Sennheiser headphones along with this one, in expectations that I would hear something incredible, but I found the opposite. It removes all life from all music and makes it dull and lifeless. After weeks of testing, my desktop speakers also confirm this. I would give it zero stars, but that's not an option. What is FOSI attempting with this? They are hyping it. Now it is sitting in my drawer, waiting for another day of testing... In which I know it will fail... Update: After a couple of months, I finally found something that works a little bit with this thing: some crappy Sony earbuds. My expensive AKG earbuds don't work with them as well. Even then, the Sony don't present anything remarkable. Just barely above average. Still one star for the FOSI DS3.

Excelente

Very well made and it just makes music POP with clarity. Took a chance and bought it when it had a few reviews and if ya care about good music you should take a chance and try this product too!

Sounds good, but the "7.1 surround sound" is terrible - sounds like an echo chamber. Avoid if you are getting the dac specifically for this.

Excelente calidad de sonido y de construcción. Vale cada peso gastado.

This is perfect for my iPhone Hi-Res Lossless listening needs. It works perfectly with my 50 ohms, high sensitivity, open-back ATH R50X. There was too much delivery delay though. I wasn't able to bring it in my recent excursion because of that delay. I opted for my usual Type C to 3.5mm audiojack adapter while I waited for this. It's disappointing when they tell you a date, and they don't deliver it on time.

The DAC is robustly constructed. Sound quality is a clear step up from previous ones I’ve bought. I use it with an IPhone 15 streaming Tidal in hi-res whenever possible and some decent Sennheiser headphones. I also use it for gaming on the PC. The 7.1 surround function adds hugely to the immersion experience. Many games now support 7.1 output, BF6/2042 for example. I’ve used it in the car as well feeding the car audio aux from the iPhone. If you use it in this way and also use a power/audio combo device to keep the iPhone charged, avoid the cheapest cigar lighter usb devices. Use a quality one like Anker offer, otherwise audio will keep stopping due to poor power regulation. The Anker ones also provide proper screening from the switched power electronics which can cause all kinds of problems. I can also vouch for Fosi’s very good after sales support which I have experience of. A good choice for an affordable, quality DAC.

Musik und Gaming. Insgesamt ist es ein solides Gerät mit gutem Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis, aber nicht ohne Schwächen. Die Klangqualität ist für diese Preisklasse wirklich überzeugend. Der verbaute ESS ES9039Q2M DAC liefert einen klaren, detailreichen und eher neutral abgestimmten Sound. Im Vergleich zu integrierten Audioausgängen wirkt alles sauberer, mit besserer Trennung und weniger Hintergrundrauschen. Gerade bei verlustfreien Dateien oder guten Streaming-Qualitäten macht sich das bemerkbar. Die Ausgangsleistung reicht für In-Ear-Kopfhörer und viele gängige Over-Ear-Modelle problemlos aus. Bei hochohmigen oder sehr leistungshungrigen Kopfhörern stößt das Gerät aber an seine Grenzen. Dafür ist es auch nicht wirklich gedacht. Das beworbene 7.1 Spatial Audio ist ein interessantes Feature, vor allem für Gaming. Die Ortung von Geräuschen in Spielen wird tatsächlich etwas verbessert, insbesondere bei Shootern. Allerdings ersetzt es kein echtes Surround-Setup und wirkt je nach Spiel eher wie ein Effekt als eine präzise Abbildung. Positiv ist die einfache Nutzung: Plug-and-play ohne Treiberinstallation, sowohl unter Windows als auch mit mobilen Geräten. Das Gehäuse ist sehr kompakt und leicht, ideal für unterwegs. Die Verarbeitung wirkt solide, auch wenn es kein Premium-Finish ist. Negativ aufgefallen ist mir die fehlende Software zur Feinabstimmung. Man ist auf die vorhandenen Modi angewiesen. Außerdem könnte das Kabel etwas länger sein. Fazit: Der Fosi Audio DS3 ist ein sinnvoller Upgrade gegenüber Onboard-Sound und besonders für mobile Nutzung und Gaming interessant. Wer viel Leistung für große Kopfhörer oder maximale Kontrolle über den Klang sucht, sollte sich aber in einer höheren Preisklasse umsehen.

I have a large collection of DAC's, approximately 25 without including my desktop DAC's. What I like about DS3 how Fosi is a company that listen and actual respond to their customers. Fosi DS3, despite some reviewers have called it underpowered on specialized sites, it's all relative. It handle hard-to-drive Planar IEM's like KZ PRX and KZ PR2 HBB using balanced 4.4mm flawlessly. Pros: - 32-band Parametric PEQ accessible via Web tool (A dedicated Android App is in the works and should be released soon). - Working Gaming modes - 100% compatible with graph.hangout.audio which allows to get any of custom PEQ tuning for your IEM's and push it to Fosi DS3 with a plug and play procedure. DS3 needs to have latest official firmware upgrade and 32-band PEQ selected for this to work. It works exactly as Crinear Protocol Max DAC does. - Great audio quality and sound signature out-of-the-box Cons: - Since DS3 lacks a screen, it was difficult to handle all UAC modes, Filters and switching gain mode using physical buttons combinations, but Fosi Web tool allows to do those changes on the fly without relying on manual buttons. - Annoying red light blinking on high gain mode can be disabled via Fosi Web Tool.

Ho già una catena musicale decente fissa, ma volevo anche qualcosa in mobilità. Con UAPP e un paio di cuffie in ear bone (magari delle planari) la qualità esplode (ovviamente se avete dei file di buona qualità da riprodurre). È un dongle semplicissimo e molto leggero, con uscite 3,5 e 4,4 bilanciata e dotato di alcune possibilità di configurazione sul gain e sui filtri (8 in totale). Tuttavia il manualetto è molto chiaro e, una volta presaci la mano, gestibilissimo. Ha due pulsanti per il volume coi quali gestire tutto, e non necessita di alimentazione, che ricava dal telefono (piccolo cavo USB C-USB C on dotazione). Davvero una soluzione pratica per portarsi in mobilità la propria musica.

Produces amazing sound through my Sony headphones 🎧. Exactly what I was hoping for. This DAC is amazing, great detail at just the correct level for my experience. Well worth the money, well built in an aluminum case, but yet light enough to not pull on the USB-C connection. Great features included with and easy to figure out once uou read the instructions included. Way to go FOSI, I am all in for this great piece of technology.