Hidizs S3 Pro Review Roundup

Hidizs has made a name in the Portable HiFi audio gear market with its excellent USB DAC/AMPs such as the S8 Pro, S9 Pro, and more. Quite recently, Hidizs released the latest addition to its range of Portable USB DAC/AMPs with the Hidizs S3 Pro. It is an ultra-portable Hi-Res DAC/AMP dongle that supports MQA unfolding. It also supports Hi-Res 32-Bit/384kHz PCM as well as DSD128 decoding with a regular smartphone. The DAC uses the latest generation ES9281C Pro DAC chip from ESS Sabre Technologies. Further enhancing the user's listening experience, the Hidizs S3 Pro is equipped with four high-performance capacitors from Panasonic. Hidizs S3 Pro is priced quite attractively at just 69$.

There have several reviews of Hidizs S3 Pro now posted online, let’s check out what some experienced audio reviewers have to say about the compact and wonderful S3 Pro.

Prime Audio Reviews(Youtube Video Review):-

David from Prime Audio Reviews has done a great job in exploring the Hidizs S3 Pro. He has briefly explained the build, design, functionalities, and sound of the S3 Pro in his video review. He finds this compact and tiny device to have enough juice to drive most of the IEMs and low power requiring Headphones with ease. Stating his words from his review, “Hidizs S3 Pro is not a beast in terms of output power, but for most regular stuff like FiiO FD3, TRN VX Pro, TRI Meteor, or even the Meze 99 Classics, the S3 Pro can power them easily”.

“In terms of sound, the best part about S3 Pro is that it has three different firmware versions with each of those having a slightly different sound signature, you get your treble one, your balanced one, and your bass one”.  This feature allows the users to choose their appropriate sound profile with the Hidizs S3 Pro. He tested the S3 Pro with Balanced firmware installed and here are his sound impressions, “S3 Pro has a balanced, uncolored sound presentation with a little bit of elevation in the bass region and a touch of smoothening in the treble region”. David says, “S3 Pro is a nice little resolving DAC that doesn’t have trouble driving most of the IEMs in the market, it has good bass control, wide soundstage presentation, the layering and imaging are also pretty good for its price point”.

You can check out the complete video review by David on the Prime Audio Reviews Youtube channel here.

Medium.com:-

Bedrock Reviews have done quite an in-depth review on the Hidizs S3 Pro where they have covered everything right from the package and contents to the functionality, power consumption, and more. Just stating their words here, “The Hidizs S3 Pro seems average in terms of its power delivery compared to similar devices but is more than capable of powering any IEM”. They tested the S3 Pro with Moondrop S8 which was adequately powered at just 32% of the system volume. In terms of sound quality, the Hidizs S3 Pro falls into the broad bucket of adequate. It sounds as uncolored and clean as I would expect any competently designed generic source device of its price to sound. It also lacks any real distinguishing characteristics in terms of its intangibles or transient delivery. Following their words, they find the S3 Pro to have a clean and balanced sound profile though there are some limitations with the S3 Pro in regards to USB functionalities which they want Hidizs to address. Fair enough for the asking price we would say, check out their complete review here.

Passion For Sound(Youtube Video Review):-

Passion For Sound has presented a complete showdown of all the latest launched USB DAC/AMPs including the Hidizs S3 Pro, IKKO Zerda ITM01, E1DA9038D, Hidizs S9, and a few other Portable DAC/AMPs. About the Hidizs S3 Pro, he states, “This is the smallest, most compact Dongle DAC I have ever seen”. He finds the S3 Pro to have a thicker, richer sound profile. It sounds rich and smooth with a slightly warm touch to the tonality. S3 Pro has a forward sound signature where vocals come out to be more prominent.

Check out the complete review of Hidizs S3 Pro on Passion For Sound YouTube channel here where he has put it up against several different newly launched dongles too.

Alex Hong(Youtube Video Review):-

Looking for a to-the-point review for the Hidizs S3 Pro?? Alex Hong on Youtube has done a fantastic job in covering everything right from the unboxing to detailed sound impressions in a 3-minute video on his channel. He states, “The Hidizs S3 Pro is actually surprisingly small and has a nice build quality”. He finds the S3 Pro to have a neutral sound profile where he tested the S3 Pro mainly with the Etymotic ER4XR. Following his words, He finds the S3 Pro to have better clarity than the Apple Dongle with improved treble response too. The S3 Pro has better clarity but the female vocals sound a bit thinner. It also has better power in comparison to the Apple Type-C Dongle. He has tested the S3 Pro with a 300Ω earbud too where it drove them well enough.

Check out his complete review here.

No Theme Reviews(Youtube Video Review):-

In this highly detailed review of the S3 Pro, we get to hear about the different firmware sound profiles of the S3 Pro along with a comparison with Audiofly, Lotoo Paw S1, and IKKO Zerda USB DAC/AMP. As per his review, The S3 Pro has a silent background presentation with no noticeable noise or hiss in the background. It has a fairly neutral sound signature on the stock balanced firmware. He has tested the Hidizs S3 Pro with plenty of IEMs and Headphones including the Moondrop Quarks, Aria, AKG K371, and even the Senn HD6XX. He finds the S3 Pro to have an identical sound signature to the IKKO Zerda ITM03 and the Dragonfly Cobalt. It shows no problems in driving headphones with high-impedance of up to 300Ω(like the HD6xx). However, it will struggle to drive 600Ω headphones or planar magnetic headphones that require extra power to shine their best.

Check out their complete review on their YouTube channel here.

ICHOS(Written Review on Head-Fi):-

From his review, it looks like ICHOS actually finds the S3 Pro to be quite useful in day-to-day use scenarios. He has tested the S3 Pro with multiple new IEMs including the DUNU Falcon Pro, FiiO FD3, and the Final Audio B3. He also finds it powering the HD660s adequately. Just following his words, “The S3 Pro has a linear, balanced sound profile with a good engagement factor. It has a mildly warm presentation with a hint of treble brightness.” The top end has good sparkle and energy, it sounds a little bright but not harsh. The treble region with the S3 Pro is transparent and true to the source but the timbre is slightly metallic/artificial with a sense of roughness. S3 Pro has a full-bodied and weighty lower-end presentation with sufficient layering and tight texture. Midrange sounds open and atmospheric with a good sense of separation, the timbre here in the midrange is natural and lifelike.

Check out his completely detailed review on the head-fi website here.

Hidizs S3 Pro looks like an amazing USB DAC/AMP that packs a decent punch in a small form factor and comes at an attractive price tag too. All these reviews are evident that Hidizs has created an excellent device for just 69$ that has MQA decoding support. Check out more details about the Hidizs S3 Pro here.