Introduction

A Hi-fi mechanical keyboard… I did not anticipate typing out those words together ever and yet this is the second such instance a review here has it in the title. MOONDROP surprised everyone by entering the keyboard market with the DASH, now referred to as DASH75 to indicate more keyboards potentially on the way, as well as MOONDROP-branded mechanical switches too. The DASH keyboard offers a really nice typing experience as it is and manages to include an integrated DAC/amp inside to help power headphones and earphones alike. It isn’t a perfect keyboard though, with no dedicated volume control and I suppose it was only a matter of time before others joined the party. FiiO decided it was time, and today we look at the FiiO KB3 HiFi mechanical keyboard. It is co-branded with Jade Audio which is FiiO’s more budget-minded sister brand, so much so that the product page is on the Jade Audio website. This suggests the KB3 is likely to cost less than the MOONDROP DASH and be more affordable in general in a highly competitive keyboard market.

There are two different versions of the FiiO KB3 keyboard out on the market today. One offers hybrid wireless connectivity and has an option of a silver chassis but misses out on the USB DAC/amp feature as well as a USB hub that provides two spare USB ports on the keyboard itself. The wired version, which only comes in black, takes advantage of the extra bandwidth guaranteed and gives you these extra features which makes it the more interesting offering of the two as far as I am concerned. The two otherwise share a lot in common, be it the bold choice to go with semi-transparent keycaps or a gasket mount design complete with foam and silicone dampening galore. The KB3 also uses Gateron switches, although there is a wired kit-only option where you provide your own switches and keycaps, and has a dedicated volume control wheel in addition to RGB LEDs, so we see FiiO has taken note of the feedback that the MOONDROP DASH received. There’s a lot to go through here, especially with the DAC/amp and the two headphone outputs—one of which also supports mic in for headsets—on the side of the keyboard, so let’s thank FiiO for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp and begin this review with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

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