ЦАПы — FiiO SnowSky Melody

The SnowSky Melody is a USB dongle DAC and headphone amplifier from FiiO, released under its SnowSky sub-brand, which focuses on design and aesthetics. Its housing is real wood, maple or walnut, stabilised through CNC carving, polishing, oiling and air drying. It is small enough to hang from a phone and powerful enough for most in-ear monitors.

Key specs that matter

It uses two Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC chips and an SPV5048 USB receiver. It supports PCM up to 32-bit/384 kHz and DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256. Frequency response is 20 Hz to 50 kHz. The 3.5 mm single-ended output delivers 100 mW into 32 ohms, and the 4.4 mm balanced output 250 mW into 32 ohms, with output voltages of 2.3 V and 4 V. THD+N is below 0.00066% single-ended and below 0.0003% balanced, and signal-to-noise exceeds 123 dB single-ended and 127 dB balanced. It measures 42 x 22.5 x 11.5 mm and weighs 10 g.

Engineering and use context

With one CS43131 per channel, the left and right outputs are fully balanced. The amplifier can switch between conventional Class AB and the more efficient Class H, which tracks the supply voltage to the signal. The USB chip supports UAC 1.0 for games consoles such as PS5 and Switch and UAC 2.0 for high-resolution audio, selectable in the FiiO Control app. The app also offers a 10-band parametric equaliser, presets, two gain modes and control of volume step and button behaviour. The 3.5 mm socket doubles as a coaxial S/PDIF output with an adapter cable, and it supports in-line controls and microphones for calls, recording and in-game chat. The 4.4 mm socket is balanced only. Into 16 ohms, the outputs deliver at least 116 mW per channel single-ended and 127 mW balanced. Crosstalk is at least 76 dB single-ended and 121 dB balanced. Adaptive impedance matching covers 16 to 150 ohms single-ended and 16 to 300 ohms balanced. Two side buttons handle volume and track skipping, and an RGB light indicates the sampling rate. When playback stops, consumption falls below 10 mA, so the dongle does not drain the host device. A detachable USB-C cable is included, and the unit works with Android, iOS, Windows and Mac. Firmware updates are installed over USB. A leather case is sold separately.

Pairing

The balanced output drives most in-ear monitors and efficient headphones, though not the most demanding full-size models. The UAC 1.0 mode lets the Melody serve consoles as well as phones and laptops.

Alternatives

FiiO's KA11 is the single-chip CS43131 dongle of the brand in an aluminium-magnesium body.