FIIO SP3 High Fidelity Active Desktop Speakers (Black)

Product Information

In that regard, the R7 is absolutely balanced sounding with a linear frequency response and a very natural sound signature.

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. Many know FiiO as a manufacturer of portable audio players (DAPs), headphone amplifiers, DACs and IEMs. With its all-new R7 system, the Chinese company is taking aim at desktop and, potentially, small room loudspeaker listening.

Our Verdict

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. Let’s start with theory, then move on to practice. In fact, at one time I was very interested in the topic of stationary systems, but here I will try not to torment you with boring data, but you and I like to read mainly about headphones. The FiiO SP3 Speakers are fantastic if you want a mellow-sounding speaker that is intended to be used when you are sitting fairly close to them. Dynamic is very good, even more, if you use high-end sources like I did – I even preferred the Node X to the CA1000T in that regards – and unless you reach top volume, you’ll never hear a shred of distortion. Paired with those two sources, the voices were natural, poised, and I could easily pinpoint each of them in the space. In addition to that, you get an excellent layering and left/right pan are delightful to listen to, even after a few hours of listening. The volume dial needs no explanation, but the output selector beneath it might. You can swap between headphones + preamp; just headphones; just preamp; or line out; the latter turns the R7 into a dedicated DAC, in case you’ll be plugging it into another amplifier. Headphones + preamp lets you hook up some active speakers or a subwoofer as well as a pair of cans.

It’s at its best with a high quality source, be it an MQA-encoded Tidal Master or DSD, with lossy streams sounding slightly more enclosed, but the R7 still does a good job with whatever you choose to feed it. FiiO R7 verdictThe 1-inch silk tweeter in the SP3 offers exceptional treble reproduction and natural timbre. With a frequency range reaching up to 35kHz, this tweeter ensures you hear every subtle vibration generated by instruments. Directional Acoustic Waveguides 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. Berkhan had the chance to get a review unit for… review purpose, and was more than pleased by the device, granting the R7 the highly sought-after HFN recommended award. A quote for your reading pleasure: I already run a similar set up in my home, with a central player/server feeding my desktop headphones set up, along with other systems around the house, but it is a combination of devices whereas the R7 offers all of that in one single device. At the time of putting this review together, the R7 is available on Zococity for 750€, so putting it up against all the separate units I have, the price is rather reasonable. Outside of that, you get a few rubber placement guides that elevate the speakers, and also all the normal paperwork that includes the guidebook and promotional FiiO materials.