Surfans F28 Music Player DAP Review – Purity Of The HiFi Portable
Surfans F28 is a $179 USD Digital Portable Audio Music Player DAP with an upgraded design, Dual ESS9018 DAC combo at the heart, native DSD256 support, customizable EQ, and a large 2000 mAh battery to power this DAP with a fully balanced output that bears 400mW of power. Today we will review the F28 and see how it compares to other DAPs in the market, and although the marketing materials on the surfans website show a couple enjoying it with a pair of IEMs, one listening to each ear of the IEMs, I appreciate that they are not using AI for the marketing materials.
Introduction
Surfans is one of the companies that are super popular on Amazon and with music lovers despite the limited marketing they do for their products. A bit reason they are so popular is that they used to design DAPs with a fully physical control interface, low prices and high quality sonics. Right now we see a big departure from the original design, as the company now brings us a DAP with a touchscreen interface, exceptional UI but still a really affordable price point.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Surfans for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4miH6lV
Build Quality / Design
Surfans F28 is the kind of DAP that has an exceptional build quality, and a much more sleek design than the predecessors. We start with the top of the line Dual ESS ES9018 K2M DAC setup, combined with a high-quality EQ that is graphic and has 10 bands and a good control ability for tuning your headphones and IEMs. This won’t be a super fine tuning, but it is good for a beginner solution. Also at the heart we have the Ingenic X1000E CPU.
The I/O list includes Type-C support, with support for SPDIF output, USB input, and file transfer. We also have both 4.4mm balanced headphone output and 3.5mm single ended headphone output. But the fun does not stop there, as you can use F 28 as both a bluetooth transmitter and bluetooth receiver, with Hiby Music support, and LDAC, CSR APT-X transmission, although for the receiver as far as I tested, it right now supports AAC and SBC.
At the front we have a 3.5″ IPS display, with a zinc alloy chassis, and 2.5D curved glass. Surfans includes an ALPS volume wheel, and expandable storage, with a microSD card that can support up to 512 GB. Battery life is quoted to up to 12 hours of battery life which I found to be fairly accurate, if you use the 3.5mm headphone output and moderate volumes with no Bluetooth, but if you engage bluetooth, the 4.4mm headphone output or use a louder volume, battery life drops to around 8 actual hours of usage, which is in line with most DAPs on the market.
USB DAC / Subjective Usage
You can actually select from the menu what the USB Type-C port does, it can work to transfer files, be used as OTG for reading an external HDD or microSD reader, or USB DAC. When used as a USB DAC, there is around 100 mS of delay, so it is not adequate for real-time audio playback including movies and games. Although it is possible to use it as a SPDIF output via the USB type-C output, I have not been able to find the seting or procedure to do this.
Firmware of the Surfgans F28 is much smoother, quicker, more reliable than what I’ve seen previously with Surfans, it does not feel like a beta, it feels complete and reliable, but it is most likely made by Hiby, as it supports Hiby Link. Overall, it works as intended, EQ works well, it is fast and snappy. Indexing a large library is easy and fun.
Display is large enough for my fat fingers, and it generally works well for portability. This being said, I need a case for it, it will scratch and I really don’t want that. There is a display protector applied from the factory on the display at the front, asnd there is one applied on the back glass as well.
Sound Quality
Pairings and Match-up – Surfans F28 promises a rather high maximum output power, 400mW for the balanced output, and this seems to be per channel, which is excellent. It also should have good control for IEMs, so I have paired it with a selection of headphones and IEMs, including KBEar Cepheus, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, NFAudio NE4, NfAudio NA2+, Rose Technics QT-X, Palma DHS-1, Audeze MM-100, Kiwi Ears Atheia, FiiO FT7, ZiiGaat Luna, Erzetich Thalia, Erzetich Mania 2024, Moritz Audio Enzo, HIFIMAN Susvara Unveiled, Dunu Vulkan 2, Sivga Peng, HarmonicDyne Baroque, Mrotiz Dragon, Sivga AIVA 2, Soundz Flame, YanYin Canon, and RAPTGO LEAF D01.
Surfans F28 is more than able to drive all of the IEMs in this list, and most headphones, but it struggles with very hard to drive headphones, for example not being able to fully drive Susvara unveiled or Erzetich Mania V2024. This being said, especially with a bit of EQ engaged, it is perfect for driving Palma DHS-1 and Crosszone CZ-8a Enhanced. With IEMs,. You can hear electronic noise and background noise, even if they are not super sensitive, and especially when using F28 as a USB DAC, but it is not loud, only barely noticeable.
Overall Signature – Surfans F28 sounds natural, slightly laid back and relaxed, with soft edges for all textures, a fun and lean presentation for male and female voices, it has a clean and full, warm sound. Bass is always warm and a bit full, although not necessarily colored or tilted, while midrange is organic and rich, with a smoother, more relaxed and laid-back treble. Surfgans F28 makes a good pair of chifi IEMs that usually are on the aggressive and edgy end of things.
Bass – Starting from the bottom end, Surfans F28 is rather full and deep sounding, with a thunderous, deep bass. It is not necessarily colored far above what is neutral, but it has excellent punch and kick delivery, it fills in the entire sound space, while keeping control tight, to not allow for distortion and too much bleeding of bass into the midrange. The most enhanced and forward part is the lower mid bass, which means that you hear a kick and drum presentation that most closely resembles a dance club.
Midrange – with a rich and organic midrange, Surfans F28 is rather versatile, it presents both male and female voices with the same strength, with an actual slight tilt towards the lower midrange, giving male voices a slightly more present, more forward tone. There’s a good balance between voices and background instruments without a strong tendency to push or pull either more. Separation is good and clean cut, without an analytical, and more of a musical edge.
Treble – With a smoother, more relaxed and laid-back treble, Surfans F28 is enjoyable with most music, it gives music space to breathe and shine without making it fatiguing. If anything, it is a bit too relaxed for my taste, as it doesn’t quite paint the energy and harsher edge of rock and metal music, but it is enjoyable with most other music styles, especially pop, electronic, EDM, and Jazz.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – Surfans F28 has an organic, rich texture presentation. It gives music brilliance, depth and detail without making it analytical or harsh. This kind of presentation helps music sound natural, so it would in theory emphasize more with acoustic, and rock, but it works fairly well for EDM and Dubstep as well. There’s a strong separation between voices and background instruments, F28 has a good clarity and it is generally excellent for more critical listening too.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – The gradient of voltage / power is good, it gives good control at lower volumes, but keeps that control at higher volumes too. Surfans F28 sounds best at medium volumes, as at lower volumes the background noise becomes more audible and can be distracting, while at higher volumes it can struggle a bit with the midrange. This is surprising but the highest THD levels can be found in the midrange, at close to maximum volumes. As it has a somewhat relaxed treble, it always has very low treble distortion.
Soundstage – With a natural, rounded and warm soundstage, F28 is not an analytical presenter and it is rather a musical type of DAP, which allows for a clean separation, without forcing music to be too wide spread apart. It allows wide and holographic IEMs to sound as such, but will never push the boundaries too much.
Value and Conclusion
Surfans kept the price super low relative to the market, yet they offer better and better features for their products, F28 being a prime example of how a company can keep improving their product, adding a touch screen, bi directional bluetooth, and a natural, clean sound.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a DAP from a smaller company, with more features per paid dollar, if you want your music to be fun and enticing, with an excellent resolution, but a natural, organic midrange, and no hard edges, Surfans F28 is a top choice right now and should be a good match for all your IEMs and easy to drive headphones.
PROs
- Practical and fun
- Small and portable
- Good battery life
- Reliable software and good hardware to support it
- Dual DAC and balanced headphone output
- Natural clean sound with no deviations
- EQ that you can use when playing local files
- Bi Directional Bluetooth
- Excellent price performance ratio
- Does not get hot during usage
Cons
- EQ does not work for USB DAC
- USB DAC has a 100 ms delay which you can notice
- Background noise audible with most IEMs
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4miH6lV
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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