Fosi Audio S3 Balanced Streamer DAC Review – Gentle Soft Fosi Sound Now Digital
Fosi Audio S3 is a $319 USD Balanced DAC and Streamer with support for a wide range of services including Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, and other apps as well. It is designed for seamless playback and it is also Roon Ready. Today we will review the S3 and also compare it with other DACs / Streamers including Shanling EC Zero (319 USD), FiiO K13 R2R (319 USD) and HIFIMAN EF499 (299 USD). Because there are no other streamers around the price point, I have selected for comparison a couple of other devices that do have interesting unique abilities for each.
Introduction
It feels like just yesterday Fosi Audio was entering the market with some interesting products like a Stereo Bluetooth Amplifier for speakers and a couple of mini DACs, along wit the BT30D that promised 330W of Class D power, and even Fosi K5 Pro the DAC for desktop, but today we bask in the twilight of Fosi becoming more like FiiO, having a full blown selection of high-end products in their offering, with some of them being efficient midrange performers and some even beginning to touch the concept of high-end like their headphones. The S3 we review today is a direct stab in my opinion at FiiO’s balanced S15 streamer DAC which is also balanced but has a much higher 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. Audiophile-Heaven has no Ads and our Youtube Channel has no midroll ads, and our work is supported by Affiliate Links and Donations. Huge thanks to Fosi Audio for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3QwY9Wl
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3Q8byHn
Build Quality – Design
At its core, Fosi S3 is a full Streamer with a high end DAC at the core, namely an AK4493SEQ, A dac seen in some popular units like Cayin Ru9, Fosi Audio K7, TempoTec V3 Blaze and Shanling UA3. Full list of compatibility includes S3 being Roon Ready, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Google Cast, Apple Airplay and UPnP. Fosi S3 also has support for hi-res playback, with the DAC supporting 32 Bit / 384 kHz. It sports Dual Band 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz Wi-fi 6 and has Ethernet Wired connection as well. The raw DAC output has a THD+N as low as 0.00018% and it supports DLNA also.
For the balanced XLR line out, Fosi S3 has isolated analog / digital circuits, ELNA capacitors and ultra low noise LDO power supply. It comes with Dual OP-AMP differential amplification, for the widest soundstage possible. Fosi promises an easy setup with their app, as it allows you to control S3 and the EQ inside. It comes with extra features including 12V Trigger Sync, Overcurrent / Overvoltage protection, and you can switch between a selection of inputs and outputs.
For inputs you can use Optical, Coaxial, HDMI ARC, Wifi, Wired Ethernet. For the outputs, you have both an XLR balanced output, an RCA single ended output, and also an optical digital output. It is rather complete and has similar connectivity compared to what the market offers around 1000 USD.
USB DAC – Subjective Usage
Fosi is not a household name by any means when it comes to streaming. This being said, S3 simply works, it took me less than 5 minutes to connect it and get it running. You need to install the Fosi app on your phone to get it up and running, but it simply works, it connects without issue, and if you select it as output from Tidal, it simply works. Compared to most streamers, where people complain about dropouts, S3 has absolutely none, although it does take 2-4 seconds to change a song.
You really cannot use it without a phone because the mini lights on the front are not enough to understand all settings. The version I have now has the latest firmware installed already and it comes ready to play. There are some particularities that I like a lot, for example, if using a phone, and if using Tidal, phone’s volume will adjust the digital volume of S3, but not in the smartphone 10-step style, but instead it can use its own internal stepper, allowing for a very fine and granular volume control.
Although as a streamer it might seem complex, once you set it up, it simply plays, it is rather elegant and flawless, there’s nothing to do once you set it up, and it simply keeps on going. I managed to get Tidal and HDMI working right away, same for Spotify and Optical, the DAC and Digital output work really well too. There is a slight hint of hissing for the RCA and XLR output, but it is minimal and barely audible with most systems.
Although this isn’t a biggie once you sort it out, the power converter that S3 comes with has a very short cable, and it might not be long enough to run to your power outlet. It does come with a separate subwoofer output which I love, and it even has EQ, but it also has digital output, just in case you want to use it purely as a digi streamer. To make s3 visible and make it play via tidal, it just needs to be on the same LAN or Local Network as your source, be it phone or PC, and that is it.
Sound Quality
Pairings – Fosi Audio S3 is basically a streamer DAC, it has a good balanced XLR output, and thus I have paired it with multiple AMPs to drive both headphones and IEMs, but also speakers. The full AMP list includes FiiO K17, Singxer SA2, Fosi Audio GR70 and Aune N7. The full list of IEMs and Headphones includes Lily Audio Genesis One, Raptgo LEAF D01, Palma DHS-1, KBEar Cepheus, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, Erzetich Thalia, TinHIFI T7, NFAudio NE4, Sivga Peng, Crosszone CZ-8a Enhanced, Tangzu TianPeng, Soundz Flame, YanYin Canon PRO, Dunu Vulkan 2, Letshuoer Mystic 8, Moritz Aura, HarmonicDyne Romantic, Hiby Digital Yume, HIFIAN HE600, HIFIMAN Audivina LE, HIFIMAN Ananda Unveiled, Westne Mach 80, BQEYZ Winter II, Fosi Audio IM4, Aune AC55, Oriveti Bleqk PureCaster and Noble Knight.
Because one can do this, I have also used Fosi S3 to drive a couple of speakers, mostly active speakers, including FiiO SP5, FiiO SA1, SVS Prime Wireless Pro, and Rub Young Master R830. For most of those, it is a bit redundant because almost all of those speakers can do streaming and advanced features, but still it is nice to have the alternative of using the software of Fosi which is generally faster and more stable than what SVS prime wireless pro uses for example. We are reviewing and describing the XLR and RCA line outs that use the DAC, as those have a well-defined sonic character, while the optical line out is theoretically much more neutral with less coloration, as it does not get processed by the DAC or OP-AMPs.
Overall Signature – Warm, smooth, soft and gentle, S3 follows the same tuning and psychology that Fosi had for all their products to date, delivering a more detailed, but still soft and enjoyable tune, with a vocal focus, smooth and silky treble, and a big, bouncy bass. It is perfect for basically all music styles, plays sweet pop, renders a beautiful female voice, and it simply sounds pleasant.
Bass – Bottom end is bouncy, rounded and big, with an emphasis on bass quantity, even with all EQ levers set at dead zero. Fosi S3 has a rounded bass, similar to other more vintage products we’ve seen using the same DAC and especially that OPA1612 OP-AMP combo. While most fosi products are a bit midrange focused, S3 is the first one that produces a slightly warmer, deeper bass with more volume.
Midrange – Still, voices and the mid is the focus for S3, as it has a fluid, rich midrange with exceptionally sweet voicing, and a wide, separated sound. Fosi S3 renders female voices as emotional, sweet and profoundly impressive, while it renders male voices deep without a lot of texture, and you will notice that the sound it produces is almost always a bit smooth, always lacking fatiguing elements or edge. There’s a bit of warm and bloomy coloration in the midrange, inherited from the increased upper bass as Fosi S3 renders all instruments with a good amount of presence and body. Out of all its characteristics I would say that naturalness stands out, it is enjoyable and fun, musical and romantic sounding. There’s not a single trace of digital glare, but with an AKM DAC chip and a set of OPA1612 it is only normal that it would sound warm.
Treble – You will hear very little treble coming from Fosi S3, as it has a very smooth, relaxed treble that is laid-back and free of fatigue. In fact, treble gently rolls off above 6 kHz continuously, having far less presence and impact, less bite and less edge than the midrange. Even with very bright and sharp sounding setups, Fosi s3 sounds really relaxed and treble is always a little too little. This means that it is much better for pop, edm, rap than it is for rock and metal, where it lacks cymbal crashes and sounds a bit too non-aggressive.
Dynamics And Textures – Fosi s3 has a highly dynamic sound with very little compression, but a smoother, rounded texture that makes music pleasing and relaxing. It is technically capable of rendering details, but lacks the bite and edge to be a true critique of a recording, it makes all music enjoyable, joyful and smooth, with that silky top end and slightly forward midrange. Overall, it is great for commercial music, edm, pop, at times classical and music that can sound too analytical and bright, where it tones that down to musical and pleasing. In fact, it has this effect with all setups, so if you ever felt that your setup is too bright, too analytical or too sharp / edgy, a fosi S3 would be the best thing you could get to tone down that setup.
Soundstage – Fosi gave s3 a wide, deep soundstage. It is deeper than it is wide, it has a good layering and separation between instruments, but it feels personal, joyful and musical more than it feels analytical. This means that you can expect the sound to be natural, easygoing at all times, rather than surgically separated. S3 blends instruments and gives music a good amount of space, it never feels narrow, but it is still fairly personal rather than distant.
Comparisons
Fosi Audio S3 vs HIFIMAN EF499 (319 USD vs 299 USD) – EF499 is the closest you can get to S3 feature and design wise in our review today, but EF499 has no volume control for the line out, so it is more of a headphone amplifier while S3 is more of a desktop DAC based on streaming. They end up doing each exactly what the other cannot. S3 sounds far smoother, silkier and more relaxed, while EF499 is a bright, energetic, dynamic and punchy sounding DAC / Headphone AMP. For hard to drive headphones, EF499 is excellent, while S3 has no AMP inside and needs an external one. You can theoretically combine the two together, but they are from different worlds. EF499 can do tidal playback equally well compared to s3.
Fosi Audio S3 vs Shanling EC Zero (319 USD vs 319 USD) – EC Zero is more than a DAC, and it is a full CD player cosplaying as a desktop DAC, it has a good headphone amplifier and even though it is not the priciest player Shanling makes, it currently is my favorite. S3 is for streaming, Ec Zero for CD playback and USB DAC usage. Sonically, both are warmer, smoother and silkier sounding, but EC Zero is far more dynamic, more engaging and works better for rock and metal, while S3 is far more relaxed, has less treble and less impact, less edge and sounds more musical. Both are great choices, but are very different products, yet at the same price. You ideally cannot use EC Zero as a desktop DAC while s3 is first and mainly a desktop DAC.
Fosi Audio S3 vs FiiO K13 R2R (319 USD vs 319 USD) – Feature-wise, K13 R2R uses a USB input for most of the time, but it has an XLR balanced output also. K13 has an R2R DAC chip at the core, but S3 sounds smoother, silkier and more relaxed, while K13 can sound either gentle in NOS mode, or more aggressive and more technical in OS mode. K13 R2R can drive headphones and IEMS while S3 needs a separate speaker or amplifier to produce sound. I would generally recommend S3 if you have a good system but which sounds too bright, too analytical, while K13 R2R is a great choice if you need a good all-in-one setup with a clean and detailed sound.
Value and Conclusion
We are assisting at a new reign of prices in the market and Fosi Audio is a key player in lowering the price of all products, by creating and offering products priced far lower than the market but with far higher performance, effectively forcing all the other players to abide. This makes Fosi S3 one of the streamers with the highest values out there, it is efficient, it has an awesome sound, and the most important aspect for it as a streamer is that everything simply works.
While I was least expecting to like a fosi audio product so much, the company decided to surprise me twice in the past quarter, first with their i5 headphones and now with the S3 Streamer. Everything Fosi makes these days feels more and more refined, with a sound tuning that seems to always sway towards a softer, more relaxed, musical and cohesive presentation.
PROs
- Superb design with an awesome set of features
- Top support from Fosi Audio
- Balanced output
- Dual Band Wifi with Wi-Fi 6 support
- Top end AK84493SEQ DAC
- Tidal Connect, Google Cast and DLNA support
- Fosi Audio App support for phone control
- Balanced towards soft sound
- Bouncy and detailed sound with an organic midrange
- Clean and fun
- Works really well and integrates better wit a phone than most streamers
Cons
- No headphone output
- Very short power converter cable
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3QwY9Wl
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3Q8byHn
--- Please remember to stay safe, and always have fun while listening to music!---
- If you have a dime to spare, please donate, and help us! It would make the day brighter for me and my wife-
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
--- Contact Us ---
