Pros:

Very heavy and solidly built

Can function as a desktop Bluetooth receiver

Bass boost for bass heads

Enough power to drive full headphones.

Cons:

Not for low impedance in-ear monitors- faint hum

Bluetooth codec- Only SBC

Fosi Audio N3 Bluetooth receiver/headphone amplifier review

I am an audiophile from Sunny South Africa and while it is getting ready for winter here in my country, it warmed my heart as Fosi Audio sent out another product for me to review. This N3 was sent to free of charge in turn for my honest opinion. The package took 21 days to reach me and the Fosi Audio staff are a real friendly bunch and pleasure to deal with.

Unboxing:

The N3 comes in a sturdy black cardboard slide out box. When you slide the inner part out you get your instruction manual and the n3 itself and the cable in a separate compartment. Pretty standard stuff for the price and no complaints

Look & Build:

The N3 sells for $49 and I really think the build quality is above the price point. I love all the heavy metal as it gives the N3 the look and feel of quality. The little acrylic cover on the top gives you a glimpse of the machinery inside and I think it is a nice touch. The charging/power cable is standard as on most appliances so nothing to write home about. Overall, the look is very smooth. I love the old school plastic volume wheel that reminds me of our Sony Walkman days and the gain and bass boost switches work perfectly. I was scared that the volume wheel might turn when in your pocket and adjust volume by itself and I found by wearing the N3 in pockets many times it was never the case. The battery life is good as I got a solid 10 hours playback on the N3.

Specs:

Model- N3

Input- Bluetooth, AUX

Output- 3.5mm Headphone Jack

Op-Amp- OPA1656

Headphone Impedance- 16-300Ω

RMS Power- 138mW @32Ω 15mW @300Ω

SNR- 95dB

Frequency Response- 20Hz-20kHz

THD- 0.001%

Bluetooth Codec- SBC

Power Supply- 5V/1A

Battery- 1200mAh (Up to 10-hour playback time)

Weight – 300g

Dimensions- 90x50x12mm

Connectivity:

The N3 offers two types of connections. One is a standard 3.5mm line in and the other is via Bluetooth. I use the N3 mainly as a desktop Bluetooth receiver and it is a great function. I also connected various headphones like Sennheiser HD25 and HD555 and Roseselsa- Distant Mountain to the 3.5mm output.

Sound:

The sound via Bluetooth is dark and you can hear some of the resolution is taken away on songs that you know how it sounds on revealing gear. The highs are the most recessed and I notice some of the top parts on instrument like trumpets and violins seems very recessed or either cut off completely. This is only the fault of the very standard SBC codec. The bass however with the added bass boost switch on the N3 makes really good sense if you put a pair of wired headphones on with some nice EDM music, Slide the N3 in your pocket and go about some chores or cooking dinner. Or if you work out with a pair of wired headphones and don’t want to carry your phone in your gym pants, then the smaller N3 comes in very handy. I am not going to get into things like soundstage and imaging etc. as the N3 in Bluetooth mode is not geared towards sound quality and I won’t waste reader’s time. I did experience latency with YouTube videos from my tablet streaming to the N3. I did not try gaming with N3 as I don’t see the use with a codec that is known for latency. As said previously I use the N3 hooked up to my T.V headphones and I use them to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix every second weekend in season. The N3 works great as I do not experience latency watching on my tablet via The F1 app streaming to the N3 and in turn hooked up as source via 3.5mm to the HDR 175 base station. This works such a treat that the N3 is a permanent fixture in my setup now.

I wondered if the 3.5mm input would also sound dark and I have to also admit that the headphones I use for example The Sennheiser HD555 and HD25 do not really have very sparkly highs so I used the 3.5mm headphone out on my LG V40 as I know that ESS Dac goes bright and connected the N3 in turn to the Roseselsa Distant Mountain On-ear headphones. I can describe that sound as a lot better than the Bluetooth side. Streaming Tidal on the V40 my audiophile collection on Tidal with songs like Tori (Bird) by the Nicolas Parent trio sounded really satisfying. With the bass boost off I could actually start hearing some great sounding strings and the vocals sounded much more real. Being dark sounding there is absolutely no fatigue and I could listen the N3 for hours while working. If you do require some background music during work time and don’t want to have your phone connected to your wired headphones then the N3 is a great option.

Conclusion:

The Fosi Audio N3 has a permanent place on my desk as I use it as a Bluetooth receiver for my Sennheiser HDR 175 T.V headphones. Fun fact about the HDR 175 is it uses radio frequencies to the wireless headphones and not Wi-fi or Bluetooth. I can’t really recommend the N3 to audiophiles who want better than mp3 quality via Bluetooth. If you however do have a Dac and require a nice headphone amplifier and you are on a budget, then the N3 is a no brainer. If you use your phone for listening to wired headphones and you want a headphone amplifier to drive bigger headphones, then the N3 just as a headphone amplifier is great. I hope Fosi Audio brings out a newer model with LDAC as the Bluetooth sound is the only region I think that can get an upgrade on the N3