FiiO Taishan D03K Digital and Analog Audio Decoder (Coaxial, Optical),Black

I purchased the FiiO D3 for my parent's audio system which doubles for television playback. The source is the Apple TV box, which only supports optical audio out and HDMI. Most audio systems (other than home theater receivers) do not support HDMI, and the digital audio signal from the Apple TV had to be converted to analog for any sound to play through the stereo system. The FiiO D3 works very well in this scenario. As to the sound- I do not know what the bandwidth is, what the response looks like, what the clipping point is, or the level of distortion. What I do know is that it serves its purpose well for the price. It will not cover up the compressed Apple TV streaming broadcasts, nor is it within reason for it to turn such compressed audio into DVD or BlueRay quality audio. I have not used it outside of television duty to really evaluate what it is or is not capable of, and I do apologize. What I can say is that it is a plug and play unit for $35 that allows anyone to hear their digital source through their stereo separates system. There is no need to program it, nor select different modes as it can automatically recognize the incoming bitstream. The case is black metal, and features two LEDs to indicate that power is on and to allow the user to know if it has detected a signal from the source. The Fiio D3 includes a USB cable and a compact outboard switch-mode power supply that plugs directing into a receptacle, thus converting the 120VAC to 5VDC with a USB port output. Normally, switch-mode power supplies can make a high pitched ringing sound, but this small power supply does not emit any audible noise, and is always cool to the touch. The FiiO will also work with other USB power sources, but the supplied SMPS will only work with the FiiO D3. Power drain is a miniscule 1-3 Watts. I would recommend the FiiO D3 to anyone who wants a simple and affordable solution for digital audio playback.

After using this product (almost daily) for the last 6 months, this is without a doubt - an excellent stereo DAC. As the description and product photos mention, this device can connect unidirectionally from: 1. Digital In - Either Optical or Coaxial cable on one end to 2. Analog Out - Both Standard 3.5mm (headphones or old 2.1 audio systems) and AV audio on the other end. The old speakers of my 2.1 Audio system could only connect via 3.5mm jack -- because the 3.5mm Output port was not present on the LED TV. Since the LED TV had Optical Audio Out, I interconnected a Digital Optical Audio cable (purchased separately) from the TV end with the 3.5mm jack (from Audio system) using this product and confirmed that the switch on the DAC is set to 'Optical input' in my case. After connecting the DAC, it needed a couple of minor confirmations on TV Software side (actual process differs based on TV manufacturer hence only describing generic steps below): 1. Confirm Digital Audio Out in your TV's Sound Settings is set to either: Auto or PCM as this DAC supports PCM only. 2. Switch on both TV and Audio system, play any random audio and listen for any lag/echo between the two systems. You may need to manually adjust PCM delay until both sounds seem to merge. After confirming above settings on the TV software side, the resulting audio sounded flawless from both the TV and speakers simultaneously. Audio was perfectly in sync between both systems. Since no power adapter is provided (only USB cable provided), any basic 1Amp power adapter can work. Luckily, the DAC can even be powered by the TV itself (just confirm if TV USB Connection is 1Amp; anything less may lead to static noise heard in audio system) Delivery was prompt (as per scheduled date), packaging was perfectly done and build quality is top-notch. After an initial setup requiring 5 mins, I've almost forgotten about the mini-DAC in the ensuing months.

I was dubious because of the cheap price, but this thing sounds great. No complaints.

Tardonu poco en llegar pero da excelente resultado en audio.

With this dac i switched from the internal Sony tv dac to this small external dac. Its solid and looks good. The sound improved. No more clipping and the sound is more clear. I cannot hear the difference anymore on my hifi speakers between the chromecast audio dac and this one. I guess the quality is similar.