An audiophile keyboard now exists and it’s straight in at no.1 on my Christmas list

The world now has a hi-res keyboard and I want it

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Just when you reckon you’ve seen it all, Chinese audio specialist FiiO comes up with a ‘hi-fi keyboard’ and for me, changes the game.

It may look like a fairly commonplace gamer-specific keyboard, but becoming one of thebest gaming keyboardsis not its aim. No, this compact keyboard’s USP is the audio chops you get out of it, rather than anything you might key in.

Hook the KB3 up to your Mac or PC via USB and it can receive and deliverhi-res audiofiles up to 32bit/384kHz, plus audiophile-friendly DSD256 (which has a sample rate that’s 256 times as high as a regular CD).

How? By bypassing the lowly digital-to-analog-converter or DAC in your PC monitor (see ourbest portable DACsguide for more info) and instead heading for its own onboard dual ‘high-performance and efficient’ CS43131 DACs, its two ‘low-noise’ amps and on to your choice of thebest wired headphones. Yes, the keyboard includes 3.5mm or 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs – music to my ears.

Does the Fiio KB3 look like a hi-fi separate? No. Does it look like something I want to own before I bone up on the details? Also no. But those audio credentials are impossible to ignore – and remember, this is the company that in 2023 alone has released thefive-star Fiio FT3 headphones, theexcellent wireless BTR7 DACand thediminutive M15S musical powerhouse, for starters.

Those key caps are both swappable and transparent (Fiio has gone with Gateron G Pro 3.0 switches here, which are highly-regarded for their durability and reliability) and the company tells us there are multiple presets for the RGB lighting – which I hope can also be turned off entirely to eliminate noise in the audio signal path. I’m not here for its lights and whistles, I want its sound.

Opinion: I’m no gamer and RGB lights don’t interest me – I want those dual DACs and amps under the hood

The KB3 also sports an integrated, step-less volume control; it’s that matte red thing on the top right edge. Is Fiio seeking to emulate Astell & Kern’s trademark top-right-for-volume rotary knobs here? Maybe, although it’s hardly as chic or brutalist as the one onA&K’s A&norma SR25 MKII, for instance.

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Look, as a non-gamer I’m not 100% sold on the aesthetic, but it’s a keyboard after all. It’s what is squirrelled away under those keys (and mounted on the side, for my 4.4mm terminated cans) I’m into.

And Fiio has had a bumper year in 2023; see the September-issueportable KA13 and K11 DACsfor yet more promising releases. I really think the firm is onto something here, you know. The gaming market is undeniably booming and audiophile-curious – see the July-issueFinal Fantasy 14 turntablefor starters. Should a novel, hi-fi grade keyboard open up fresh revenue streams (and convert dyed-in-the-wool gamers to budding audiophiles to boot), so much the better. After all, in SeptemberPlayStation bought hi-fi maestro Audeze, earlier in the yearRazer launched inexpensive THX-certified wired in-ears– and that’s before we even get to thePlayStation Pulse Exploreearbuds.

The Fiio KB3 comes in either ‘Midnight Black’ or ‘Morning Silver’finishes, and at just $149 / £139 (so around AU$265) my curiosity is well and truly piqued. Will it sound the absolute business? If Santa doesn’t get the memo this year (he’s a busy guy, it’s cool), I just might treat myself, you know…

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Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.

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