- The new SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier from FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. has the design of a Sony WALKMAN.
The Chinese company FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. is currently focussing on solutions with a certain retro touch, which can either be seen as a direct reinterpretation of solutions from the 1980s and 1990s, or which borrow from products from those years in terms of design. Such as the new SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier.
This solution is deliberately reminiscent of a Sony WALKMAN in terms of design, and from a technical point of view, this solution would fit into the FiiO BTR range if it were not a product that FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. is launching on the market under the new SNOWSKY brand.
SNOWSKY as a new brand of FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.
This is not the first new brand under which FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. has marketed products in certain regions; for example, the company has been using the Jade Audio brand for some solutions in the field of personal audio devices for some time. SNOWSKY is now likely to be added.
Design in the style of a Sony WALKMAN
As already mentioned, the new SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier has the design of a Sony WALKMAN from the early 1990s. However, it is actually a solution that primarily makes contact with source devices via Bluetooth or via a USB-C interface.
The new SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier is therefore suitable for use with smartphones, tablets and notebooks.
It offers a Bluetooth mode, a PC mode and a phone mode, whereby it is easy to switch between these three modes.
Bluetooth module from Qualcomm
The Bluetooth module of this device comes from Qualcomm Inc. and is a Qualcomm QCC5125, which allows Bluetooth 5.1 and the codecs SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency and aptX Adaptive and therefore signal transmission up to 24 bit and 96 kHz.
This dual-core chip from Qualcomm Inc. also serves as the central CPU and DSP, which therefore controls the entire device and also handles data traffic via USB.
Signal conversion is handled by two CS43131 DACs from Cirrus Logic Inc., which support up to 24 bit and 96 kHz.
Display as the central user interface
The SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier has a 0,96 inch IPS colour display with 80 x 160 pixels and a number of buttons for direct operation. The FiiO Control app is also designed to ensure particularly simple control.
Headphones can be connected either via a 3,5 mm stereo mini jack unbalanced or a 4,4 mm Pentaconn balanced, with up to 100 mW per channel at 32 ohms in the first case and up to 220 mW per channel in the second case, also at 32 ohms.
It should be expressly mentioned that the SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier has a replaceable battery, namely a 10440, which is designed as a 3,7 V 450 mAh lithium-ion battery and is said to offer a playing time of up to 7,5 hours. It is charged via the USB-C interface.
The SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier measures 55,1 x 37,5 x 13,7 mm and weighs just 28,3 g.
Prices and availability
The new SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier will be available in white and blue these days. The price is listed at € 64,98.
Getting to the point
In principle, you might think that this is another solution from the successful FiiO BTR Series, as it is a Bluetooth receiver combined with a D/A converter and headphone amplifier that is primarily designed for use with smartphones, tablets and notebooks. However, FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. is also using a new brand for this new solution, namely SNOWSKY, so that it is not a new device in the FiiO BTR Series, but the new SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier.
| Product | SNOWSKY Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier |
|---|---|
| Price | € 64,98 |
| Brand | Guangzhou FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | FiiO |
| Distribution | NT Global Distribution GmbH |
| More about this manufacturer at HiFi BLOG |
