FIIO SP3 High Fidelity Active Desktop Speakers (Black)

Product Information

Power : those are not deafening speakers by any means – even compared to the similarly sized Sonos One – but up to 70% of their maximum power, the result is quite impressive. From 70 up to 80, you’ll begin to feel some distortion, but nothing alarming either – and this is already above safety levels on a daily basis. From 80 to 100% though, a clean source will be mandatory, otherwise you’ll experience some bloated lows. We connect the standard cable to the main speaker through any of them, and the other side to the source. Keep in mind that the source must still be adequate, it is definitely not worth listening to these speakers with a phone. For audiophiles, a desktop DAC or Hi-Fi player with a line-up will be a good solution, you can also use the FiiO SP3 with a computer, preferably through an external DAC or a good sound card, or even with a home theater. And the model is also suitable for gamers. Sound

Inputs, 1 x Optical (TOSLINK), 1 x COAX (RCA), 1 x USB A (USB 2.0), 1 x USB C (USB 3.0). 1 x 100M Ethernet Port. The SP3 utilizes asymmetrical internal and external magnetic circuits to maximize the potential of the 3.5-inch carbon fiber midwoofer. This innovative design increases magnetic flux, reduces non-linear distortion, and ensures consistently excellent sound quality. Silk Tweeter for Unparalleled Treble Resolution You can passively run the 3.5mm cable into a budget to mid-tier amplifier with a good bass switch, or hopefully run your music through something like the Foobar2000 app or the HiBy Music app. With that, you can upgrade the bass depth and weight with the right combo set of extra add-ons. That means that the decrease in quality when streaming from Tidal could be due to the way that Tidal interacts with Fiio but I do remember that Spotify also sounded worse when I tested it on the M11s, although I haven’t tested it here.What this does mean is that we have quite a bit more power on this desktop version, very clean power I may add, with 5 levels of gain and a maximum output of 3.6W. This translates into the R7 powering anything I have on hand with ease, from sensitive IEMs through to power hungry planars (although I don’t have anything super demanding), without any noticeable issue. But counting the fact that those speakers were designed to be paired with the FiiO R7 – which gets a baffling numbers of inputs/outputs – and the actual retail price, that’s not a real issue after all And if the brand began as a chi-fi maker, with cheap but nice products, lately they’ve constantly been moving upmarket with players like the FiiO M11 Plus ESS or the mighty FiiO R7. The SP3 employs a 3.5-inch carbon fiber midwoofer, larger than typical products in its class. These larger woofers have an inherent advantage over smaller woofers in dynamics, projecting a larger soundstage, and other sonic attributes. Whether watching movies or listening to music, this woofer is truly capable of expressing the grandness of the audio even at louder volumes. In that regard, the R7 is absolutely balanced sounding with a linear frequency response and a very natural sound signature.

Appearance matters when it comes to something that will be displayed prominently on your desktop. For this reason, the FiiO SP3 has LED lights at the base of its cabinet. The moment you turn on the SP3, light floods the bottom of the device, instantly transforming the atmosphere of your desktop. The SP3 will automatically enter a pulsing light mode when in use. It cycles through its 24 different colours. Exclusive Silicone Stand With 7-Degree Elevation Noise : like many active speakers, the FiiO SP3 exhibits a slight level of noise when no music is playing. The good news is that noise levels do not increase with volume and even with the volume knob turn on to the max, only a faint ‘sshhh’ could be heard. Bad news, there is noise. In a ported speaker, the resulting bass frequencies are made by the bass woofer and the porting tube. The job of the porting tube is to further enhance bass extension and enhance bass control, for fast bass transients and overall better bass quality. Both devices (the R7 and the M11s) run Android 10, however, even though the R7 has the extra 1GB of RAM, I do find it to be a little more sluggish in use than I remember the M11s being. As this is a tour unit and I am not the first person to use it (nor have I reset it to factory settings), it is possible that some apps have been installed and are slowing it down slightly. I haven't seen anything that stands out and it is possibly just leftovers from previously installed apps, I haven’t really dug into it too deep, but I just find it to be a little slower. Not terrible but noticeable. The R7 is very musical and enjoyable with all kinds of music and proved a great match with every headphone I have used, it's really difficult to find anything to blame regarding the sound quality of the R7.

FiiO SP3 Speakers Technical Specifications

The SP3 is quality, top to bottom, and does not feel cheap in the slightest. Oh also! It has some LED lights on the bottom area that change colors. They look snazzy in the dark while I am gaming. The bass extends really low, it is tight, controlled and clearly defined with very good layering and contrasted impact.

You can even abandon the built-in AC power supply for an external DC unit, although we found the sound output was perfectly clean straight out of the box. In terms of I/O, the FiiO SP3 is surprisingly conservative and you only get two inputs: a RCA and a 3.5mm line input. A layout that might seem a bit light for many users, as you usually get a phono in, and some digital inputs on this kind of speakers.USB DAC mode: for connecting any computer or phone like for example when you are gaming or watching movies on the computer and want to upgrade your audio experience. Again, some of these things are interesting and nice to see, such as the balance adjustment, the Second Harmonic Distortion regulation) and the SPDIF type selection. The sound is crystal clear and transparent with excellent source fidelity and at the same time the R7 has a very musical and engaging character that connects the listener with the music.