Can a TINY speaker sound good? FiiO SP3 review
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
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A review of the FiiO SP3 active loudspeakers including measurements, comparisons with Edifier MR4 active monitors and discussion of how they sound subjectively.
Music in glamour video: Colorplast by Ooyy
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00:00 Introduction
00:16 Glamour video
01:15 Pricing & design
04:32 Bass adjustment
05:14 LED lighting
06:08 Stand options
08:29 Sound quality
09:59 FiiO SP3 vs Edifier MR4
12:17 Final conclusions
#audiophile #audioreview #activespeaker - Наука та технологія
The FiiO R7 really reminds me of the micro-hifi systems of old. Compact little audio systems that are meant to do everything with lots of inputs and outputs at the back.
A set of these FiiO SP3 speakers are a perfect match to complete the resemblance to a classic micro-hifi system.
That's a great point. So true!
While you may not have a pair to hand, the venerable Audioengine A2 (now A2+) has been quite popular in this space and perhaps also worth comparing. Per the FiiO, the Audioengines require significant backward tilt or elevation to reduce reflection off the desk/ improve bass (such as it is) clarity. Thanks for the nicely balanced review.
Thanks for the info about the A2+. Glad you liked the review!
NIce review again!
I love my little SP3's
I actually downsized to them due to my monitor taking up the whole width of my desk, so I needed something small enough to fit under a monitor.
I hear you! That's a real challenge. Are you just using the provided stands?
@@PassionforSound yeah just the provided stands. I do agree the angle is odd. I would rather get more on them, but they are surprisingly heavy little things.
They sure are. Pretty solid and the sound is excellent for the price and size
Yup. I kind of like how 'un-picky' they are when it comes to placement and while the sound didn't blow me away with technicalities, I enjoy the tuning very much
Absolutely. One of the benefits of small drivers I believe
Yes! They can sound extraordinary in the right sort of Desk top system for instance. Years ago I had a desk top/ life style system made by Denon - tiny but solid speakers. They remained my reference for what a speaker should and should not be. Beautiful clarity. Full & natural & quick. The system came with a sub. I used dyi risers to get them at ear level . They could be mounted on the wall. In my near field set up the sound was huge and imaging was excellent.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
As seen at 5:30, mine don't have a black sticker on the frosted bottom panel. So by lifting them up from the silicon pads the hole bottom is illuminated. I can also see the 4 screws the panel is mounted with.
That's interesting. I wonder what that's about
Passion for Sound ! ,Thanks Much !.......
Great review.
Glad you liked it!
I just got these and i love the sound. A second gen with better inputs (bluetooth and usb primarily) and sub out would be awsome though. Also the RGB on mine always resets when i restart them or change the input. Is this normal?
I think the RGB reset is normal (and a bit annoying). If you leave them on, I think it stays set, but powering off resets ☹️
Good one. I just finished my R7 video on my channel…a nice product. they look great for the money and hopefully I can try as well Lachlan. Matching with the R7. I wonder if it’s possible to fix the usb lag issue in software but that’s for another day.
No, the USB lag issue is due to their choice of USB interface apparently so it's a hardware limitation to my knowledge.
@@PassionforSound I wonder if that’s possible in windows or macOS software so the delay is allowed for in the timing between video and sound for that video.
I've never seen that option, but possibly. Some video software like VLC offers this I think, but doesn't help for streamed content
they do have lovely mid range imaging try "Yello - Till Tomorrow" on these follow the pan efx on that horn - its brilliant
I agree. For the price, they perform well and are well tuned.
For that price range you should have compaired the S880DB. Just picked up Audioengine 2+, no joke only pluged them up a minute ago. I thought the Fiio would have been cheaper given the total lack of wood. What would be handy is a micro sub and a DAC with sub output via usb, never seen one but positioned subs really add to dynamics and sound field.
I can only compare what I have on hand.
As for the cost and materials, I imagine the solid metal cabinet costs are similar to an MDF/wood design and I'm not sure you could make a wooden box as small AND as strong as these.
I wonder how those LEDs on the bottom would look if the speakers were lifted on stands, and with translucent rubber pads underneath.
That could look cool, but they're not very bright
wondering how these compare to passive speakers in the same range! Something like a pair of elac debut 2.0 b5.2 will run you anywhere from $200 to $300..
I haven't tested any cheap passives yet, but it's worth remembering that you need to add the cost of an amp on top of any passive speaker so they're not really the same price for a complete solution.
Im torn between these and IK Iloud micro monitors. Which one should i get? Hard to choose when i cant try them before, so i have to listen&read reviews to get a hunch.
The iLoud are a proper monitor so they're going to be a more accurate sounding speaker (tonally). Unless you specifically like the look and size of the FiiOs, I'd go for the iLouds.
@PassionforSound Thanx fir the reply! I forgot to mention I don't mix music,so I only intend to use the monitors for multimedia purpose.
I'd still personally choose a more tonally balanced speaker for general usage so the iLouds would be my pick from a sound quality perspective, I think.
I wish more hifi companies would try to make small speakers like this (other than Genelec). I'm fantasizing about building a tiny super high end system that won't annoy the neighbors or take up so much space.
It's a challenge to get it right I think and there are definite compromises made to get them so small.
Have you looked into the iLoud monitors? They're meant to be excellent
@@PassionforSound I haven't tried the iLouds. I have a pair of active Alesis monitors which sound surprisingly good in terms of soundstage and imaging, with the help of minimal room treatment. I'm just wondering with all the niche areas of audiophilia, why I haven't come across the group of people who are focused on little near field setups?
I agree that it's a surprisingly little discussed area
iloud user here, I have them ontop of my moderate presonus eris E5 BT that are fine, but theres a gap on those with soundscape that i cant put my finger on :/
Anyway the ilouds i just dont think you can find anything better for the price or size for what they do, and they are identical in soundscape but slightly toned down on some parts due to power, but boi they fill a 15x15 room easily, these will easilly be mistaken for someones cheapo 8" speakers to the uninformed
I mean, If you just want some speakers, and have the cash, The ilouds are just a go to for anywhere you need a small set of better speakers, Ill put these on TVs and laptops anywhere else i can, They are not party speakers, but to pin details out of sounds they really are their own thing, mostly because of the size, they aint perfrect, sometimes they might be "echoy" at loud volumes, but spacing will sort that out most the time and i feel they do need quite some time to settle burning them in, but i dont think much more can be done in a package this small, Also they are front ported that is preference to me, they blow a lot of air if you do have them loud, and typicaly you will be limited by the clipping notification on the led of the speakers.
On the other side of things, the Kali IN-UNF that are... 2 small speakers and a sub... but its not really a sub like a 2.1 setup? they are effectively supposed to be used in a fixed small enviroment, so it can have room to bounce the sound from.
Oh boy, yu guys are in for a treat- re hi end super nearfields!
I’m looking at them right now as I write this! Have had mine for about four years now. They are tiny for what they are. Probably a little bigger than the units in this review. But on a different level in terms of sound and build. Mine are made of concrete. But the usual units are made using wood. They are no nonsense looking with perfect proportions at 132×155×205mm (WxDxH) and 1.6ltr in volume. Yep
tiny. They have a 4in Woofer with a 1in neodymium ring radiator
tweeter. They weigh in at 2.6kg each and for the their size, the stats are
unbelievable.
They are fully analog, with no bass reflex ports, no passive radiators and no dsp. Just a tiny closed box
design that some how manages 20khz-35hz linear(-6db)frequency
response. They somehow achieve this using their in-house designs. Namely their own Dolifet amps
(Drain-Output Load-Independent Field Effect Transistor). Some how
this design of amp allows them maximum control of the woofers resulting in exceptional dynamics in such a small enclosure.
I can most definitely vouch for the sound of the C-Box3. They are super
clear and clinical, whilst being warm and ever so musical all at the same
time. Oh and that bass. They do not boost it unnecessarily, in the way a
lot of other small speakers do to overcompensate. Whatever frequency is present in the low end,
they reproduce it as is. The bass is both fast(stops dead on a penny with no overhang or ring), detailed
and tight as fk. Basically if the mix is balanced, then you hear exactly what is there minus any fuss, effort or hype. I’m not sure how Abacus do it? But am certainly glad they do!
Apparently these monitors are a German mastering house secret. I know Retroengineering mastering in France use them- one of the first
places I saw them on line when was researching them years before I bought mine. Luckily there’s no
need to take my word for all this!
They offer a service called Test kit- I think.. Basically, you pay a small deposit and they send you the
model of speaker you want to test. If you end up keeping them, you pay
the the remainder, minus the test kit fee.
I got mine (randomly)from another outfit in Sweden, that do concrete versions of hi end speakers. Their
name escapes me?
Also Abacus don’t do much in the way of marketing and advertising But if you look up Abacus Electronics
and activate google translate- if you don’t speak German that is- you will not be disappointed.
🔈🔈🔈
What are the best desktop / pc speakers ?
I don't feel qualified to answer that question. So many I haven't tried
You can also use passive speakers with a small modern amp. Studio monitors. "Multimedia speakers". There's too many to call one best
Very true. With all the new Class D speakers around, our options are endless.
Sounds like these are decent desktop speakers. That said, why does everything computer related have to come with RGB LEDs? It would have been far better for the extra cost to have been put in to better design, or to design an included stand etc. My desk does not need to look like a circus!
I totally agree. The LEDs add nothing to the design IMO
Target markets I guess. If it doesn't remember to keep the off setting, I would be disconnecting it internally ;p Did that with a mouse that had the most obnoxiously bright LED logo.
i stopped using my headphones after i got these. i love them!
Danke!
Thank you, Rainer!
Active crossover, 30w on the woofer, 10w for the tweeties.
Thanks for adding this info
No sub output, a small sub would make them for more versatile like alot of monitors available.
Absolutely! I think that's a bit of an oversight from FiiO (and a lost marketing/product opportunity)
No Bluetooth , how to solve this problem?
You'd need to add a Bluetooth capable DAC before them. Something like an xDuoo MU-603 could be fun.
there is also a sp3 bt version now
might be good for editing podcasts that is all
I've found them good for UA-cam watching, background music, editing and even some casual gaming
sadly the lack of front power switch or auto on/off put me off this one
Yeah, me too
So no bluetooth?
No. Wired only, probably because the R7 had Bluetooth and they're kind of designed to go with that I think.
@@PassionforSound ok thanks
Hmm.. do tiny speakers sound good ? Do you like headphones ?
This suggests to me that the closer a speaker is to your ear, the smaller it could be, and still sound good.😂
To some degree that is true, but the headphone distance is a scale of magnitude smaller than any speaker can get and they're also generally sealed to the ear in some way 🙂
@@PassionforSound That’s also true, but keep in mind that small bookshelf speakers are great for near field listening, large speakers, not quite. Large floorstanding speakers are for bigger, more open spaces and smaller speakers are more for near field listening; that’s why I have several types of speakers, big floorstanders, small bookshelf speakers, items in between, subs, open-back and closed-back headphones, they all have their strengths, all can sound reasonable, and all have their place.😉 Available Listening Spaces, setup concerns, living circumstances, personal preference, and budget concerns for system components all drive the appropriate speaker type chosen in any situation. That’s why nobody agrees on anything in particular; there’s quite a bit of a dynamic involved that needs addressing a priori to arrive at a satisfying conclusion. This is the crux of what audio is about for me, and the end goal is the satisfaction of musical enjoyment.😉
What a dumb question.. can iem’s sound good? But its soo small~~ tf..
Yes a tiny speaker can sound good. No those tiny speakers do not sound good
I think it all depends on your reference point, expectations and preferences. I think the SP3 is solid for what it's delivering (i.e. not a natural/reference sound, but an enjoyable sound nonetheless)
@@PassionforSound I don't know if it has to do with your reference point for the sound to cost point. There a complete failure for me and my sound preference and expectations. But yes I do understand everyone has different tastes . I really enjoy good vocals and detailed highs and these just did not deliver I do not care for the audio engine A2 either . But both do sound bigger than they are but also left me unimpressed after a 30 minutes of listening and some real buyers remorse . But if you can enjoy them after 30 minutes that is great !!! And I'm glad someone likes them. But for me they suck all enjoyment out my music with each passing minute
@@PassionforSound my apologies for harshness in my comment, thank you for the review and for your content. This time we have different opinions. But still a valuable asset to see the reviews none the less
I can definitely relate to your take on them. They're not a speaker that I would personally choose or specifically recommend. I think you and I might have similar tastes based on your comments about wanting a more enjoyable sound. These will suit some people really well and others not so well. I try to balance my reviews so that it's not about what's good/bad according to me, but will hopefully give people a sense of what they might like and what they might not. These are definitely not for people who like a fuller midrange/vocal sound and a smooth, engaging (dare I say "analog"?) sound.