CONCLUSION

    From overall audio detail (mids stand out more than highs) and separation to rich bass levels (especially when using XBass) and a flat audio curve which makes the hip dac 3 easier to tweak based on what music genre you listen to everything checks out. Yes, in terms of soundstage it may not be the widest I’ve heard to date from a portable DAC but it's still very accurate/detailed. Unfortunately, not having used either the original hip dac or the hip dac 2 I can’t do a direct comparison but overall, the hip dac 3 offers detail with plenty of volume. Now, iFi audio claims that you can use the hip dac 3 for up to 12 hours but that largely depends on two things, your headphones and volume levels. For example, I used the FiiO FT3/FT5/FA9 and the Meze 109 Pro for my tests and well, I never recorded over 10 hours with 8+ hours being the usual number. That being said, even 8+ hours is a great number for a portable DAC, I mean, not like you’ll be on the road for that long without access to charging. I feel that I also need to point out build quality and even though the hip dac 3 is certainly nothing special its aluminum enclosure is very well crafted and should easily outlast your smartphone and/or music player.

    As I type these lines the hip dac 3 by iFi audio retails for USD199 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 199Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is more or less balanced for one such product. Overall, I don’t have any complaints from the hip dac 3, yes, the XBass feature is not perfect (bass sometimes sounds a bit dull) and having to choose one of 3 firmware versions to get specific features is certainly not ideal (a switch from which you could choose the preferred mode would work much better) but at the end of the day it does deliver as advertised and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Aluminum Enclosure)
- 16 Core XMOS Processor & Burr Brown True Native DAC
- Supported Formats (MP3, PCM/DXD 32-bit/384kHz, DSD 64/128/256, MQA)
- Audio Quality (Detail / SoundStage)
- Battery Life (Up To 12 Hours)
- 3.5mm & 4mm Balanced Outputs
- 2 USB C Ports (Data Input & Charging)
- IEMatch, PowerMatch & XBass Technologies

CONS

- Different Firmware Versions
- XBass (Doesn’t Work Well At Times)