The KB3 is a new mechanical keyboard from audio model FiiO with a built-in headphone jack that stands a good probability of sounding higher than the prevailing 3.5mm output in your desktop laptop or laptop computer. That’s as a result of the headphone jack isn’t simply passing via analog audio out of your laptop, it’s plugged into a mixture DAC and headphone amp that’s built-in into the keyboard itself.
So quite than having a headphone cable snaking throughout your desk to attain your machine, or cluttering up your workspace with a separate DAC and headphone amplifier, all these units can theoretically be constructed proper into the keyboard that’s sitting beneath your arms. And it comes from a firm which is aware of a factor or two about audio (even when its keyboard-making skills are much less confirmed).
I can see the argument that you’ll get higher outcomes from shopping for tools like this individually, however the audio and keyboard specs of the KB3 don’t comprise any main crimson flags for an all-in-one machine at this value. On the audio aspect the keyboard is supplied with twin Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs and helps up to 32-bit / 384kHz and DSD256 audio. Alongside the usual 3.5mm headphone jack, there’s additionally a 4.4mm balanced output. Tom’sHardware notes that the audio specs seem to match FiiO’s $80 KA13 headphone amp.
The peripheral doesn’t seem to be a slouch within the keyboard division both. It’s gasket-mounted, with hot-swap switches (which means they are often changed with out the necessity for soldering), helps each Mac and Windows, contains RGB lighting, and is suitable with the favored VIA configuration software program. It’s out there in a barebones choice that comes with out switches or keycaps, but when you want them included you get Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow switches and what seems to be a set of translucent keycaps. It makes use of the ever-popular compact 75-percent format, comparable to what you’ll discover on a lot of laptops, and naturally there’s a dial on the top-right to management quantity.
FiiO is much from the primary model to have considered constructing a 3.5mm headphone jack into a keyboard. The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016, for instance, might plug into your laptop’s 3.5mm jack and go via audio to a port on the keyboard itself. But the final knowledge has been not to depend on headphone jacks like these due to the audio interference passing an analogue sign via a keyboard might add. By taking a digital audio sign from a laptop and changing it utilizing a built-in DAC, FiiO’s strategy is comparable to the Moondrop Dash, one other current keyboard with a built-in headphone jack.
FiiO is promoting the KB3 via AliExpress, the place it may be had for $129.99 with out switches or keycaps, or $149.99 as a fully-assembled mannequin. It’s additionally out there as a wi-fi keyboard, for $129.99 fully-assembled, however this mannequin doesn’t have any of the fascinating audio options.
