In the past 2 years, the DAC/AMP market has witnessed the launch of many new product lines. However, not all products have an ultra-compact design like the Hilidac Audirect Atom 3.
As an upgraded version of Atom 2, Atom 3 not only has a more compact design and more impressive decoding capabilities but is also equipped with many quality components that allow for improved detail and dynamism. of sound.
Table of Contents
Packaging and accessories
Compared to its predecessor, Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 has a much simpler packaging design. Perhaps the manufacturer has cut packaging costs and put all resources into processing and manufacturing circuits for Atom 3.
The DAC/AMP is packaged in a very compact transparent plastic box instead of a large cardboard box like its predecessor. On the front of the box, in addition to the product name and Audirect brand logo, there will be a detailed description of the indicator light on the DAC/AMP. Information about the manufacturer is printed on the back, accompanied by a QR Code.
A very thick layer of foam is lined inside the box to minimize impact and unwanted vibrations during transportation. The Hidilac Audirect Atom 3 DAC/AMP will be placed in this foam layer. There will not be any other accessories included with the Atom 3.
The interesting point is that users can completely use this plastic box as a storage box for Atom 3.
Design
The most notable change in the Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 lies in the design. In the predecessor version, Atom 2, due to its rather bulky and oversized design, using Atom 2 with a smartphone will be a bit inconvenient. To increase convenience, the manufacturer has shrunk the appearance of Atom 3. Instead of being rectangular like Atom 2, Atom 3 has a more square shape and is 3 times smaller.
The weight of Atom 3 is only 5g while Atom 2 weighs 18g. Super light size and weight help Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 become one of the most convenient DAC/AMP models on the market.
Although small, the durability of Atom 3 is very impressive. By using monolithic aluminum to make the outer shell, Atom 3 has extremely effective shock and impact resistance. The cutouts on the outer shell are made using CNC technology, so they have extremely high precision and perfection. Covering the entire surface of the Atom 3 is an extremely eye-catching blue rough paint.
The brand name Audirect and the product name Atom 3 are also imprinted on the outer shell. Regarding connectivity, Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 is equipped with Type-C/Lightning input and Single-Ended 3.5mm output. Right below the 3.5mm port, there will be an indicator light displaying the music format and current sampling frequency.
The red light corresponds to PCM format 44.1 – 48kHz
The blue light corresponds to PCM format 88.2 – 384kHz
The green light corresponds to PCM 705 – 768kHz format
Yellow light corresponds to DoP
The cyan blue light corresponds to the DSD Native format
Outstanding features and technology
Although it has a tiny size and is much smaller than other DAC/AMP models on the market, Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 possesses state-of-the-art equipment. Among them, the most prominent is the ES9280AC Pro DAC chip with extremely impressive decoding performance. The clearest proof of this is the ability to handle Hires music files such as DSD512 Native or PCM with a maximum resolution of 32bit/768kHz. The audio signal after decoding has high detail and an extremely clean sound background. This is clearly shown through the total harmonic distortion index at 0.0004% and the SNR index > 119dB.
Not stopping there, the manufacturer also integrated into Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 a Femtosecond crystal oscillator. Accompanied by a set of high-quality capacitors manufactured by Panasonic. This series of equipment will increase the accuracy of the output sound while reducing jitter noise and improving signal clock speed.
Possessing a pulling capacity of 22mW@16Ohm, 62mW@32Ohm, and 7.4mW@600Ohm, Atom 3 is completely powerful enough to pair with in-ear headphones and earbuds in the entry segment.
In order not to consume too much power from the source device, Hilidac integrates inside the Atom 3 a management chip that controls and stabilizes energy consumption. Thanks to that, the performance of Atom 3 is optimized and does not get hot when used for many hours continuously.
Because there are 2 input options: Type-C and Lightning, Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 is completely compatible with all source devices (except Apple’s 5th generation iPad tablet).
Sound quality
Volume control on the Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 will depend entirely on the source device. Compared to plugging in, using headphones with Atom 3 will help improve the clarity of the sound ranges. Not only the vocals but also the instrumental parts become more separate and clearer. In addition to the soundstage becoming more open, the sound imaging is also more accurate.
The bass range sounds more solid and the response speed is improved. The subbass will go a little deeper but the volume will not be added. The midbass sounds clear, slightly warm, and does not overwhelm the mid-range.
The fact that the mid-range is not overwhelmed by the bass range helps the vocals feel clearer, more vivid, and smoother. Meanwhile, the treble range sounds more detailed and has a wider spread. Although the treble sound is well extended, it does not cause unpleasant sibilance.
The background sound that Atom 3 provides is extremely clean and has extremely little noise. Headphone models from KZ are very susceptible to background noise when combined with Avani. However, when connected to Atom 3, the background boiling phenomenon does not occur even when the user opens the volume to a high level. Power consumption is also very reasonable and much lower than Apple or Avani dongles.
With a compact design, eye-catching appearance, and relative pulling power, equipped with ES9280AC Pro chip that supports PCM 32bit/768kHz decoding and DSD512 Native, supports both Type-C and Lightning connections, … Hilidac Audirect Atom 3 is a powerful assistant to help bring a more attractive music listening experience.
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