r/snowsky

Hi! I’m trying to decide between the FiiO Echo Mini, Echo, and Disc.
Mainly for everyday music listening and maybe clipping to pants.

Price isn’t really a concern — I just want to know which one is actually the best for the money and best to use daily.

- comfort/portability
- UI and controls
- battery
- overall experience

I like compact players and the Disc looks really cool, but I’m not sure if it’s too bulky for clip use. Would love opinions from people who tried them.

Link to my original Post on what I bought and what my thoughts behind it were. https://www.reddit.com/r/snowsky/s/iltkEOLtrL

Before I give you my thoughts to this beautiful device, I want to let you know my listener Profile, since I think it’s important to decide how valuable my Input is for you:

I work in IT in a lower Management Position, so my day is stuffed with Meetings. If I have time in between meetings I listen to Tidal with my Sennheiser Momentum 4.

So what do I need a DAP for? I like to start my day with a Walk. About an Hour, through Fields and Forest, to get a clean head before Work. No Distractions, no Messages. Just Music, Nature and me.

And that’s why I decided to go for the Echo. It has 8GB of ROM which gives me enough room for a dedicated, curated list of music (Right now about 220 songs), it drives my IEMs (KZ ZSN Pro) on low gain perfectly fine, sounds absolutely great and has no touch screen so I can just throw it in my pocket or keep it in hand without accidentally pressing a button. I think the Menu Navigation is perfectly fine for the use case, but I have to mention that the German Menu Translation is absolute garbage. Dear Fiio, if you need help, I do it in exchange for Audio Hardware ;) Shuffle works fine for me, but that may be because of the small selection of songs.

My wife got the Snowsky Disc and uses it when taking our newborn twins for a stroll. She’s not really into that DAP topic but she thinks it’s cute and she likes the Jade Audio JH13 IEMs. So that’s a Win/Win in my books.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything about it. But I can recommend this little fidget toy to anyone who wants something to just throw your FLACs on and go for a walk.

No Distraction, just Music.

Hello everyone, I recently bought a Fiio disc and realized that its screen is too small. Technically, considering modifications to the casing, is it possible for me to replace its display with a larger diameter one?

It came. I ordered orange and seller said no more stocks so i just chose green. 💚

Just uploaded a new album in my echo mini, it’s a Flac album as many others I have, but every time I try to play any track it react like this…

What can I do?

Didn't think i'd have something to post so soon after yesterday post. But here we go.

TLDR: it no longer read any SD card. for no reason at all.

Timeline:

Bought a 256 Extreme (pictured) 3 weeks ago to prepare for the nano.

Got some albums on it. (FLAC)

Bought the Nano last week via official Taobao Fiio flagship.

It arrived yesterday.

Out of the box it read MOST of the songs from the SD card. Some didn't show up. < This is when i made the post yesterday, after 1-2 hours of listening to what shown up.

Thought it was just formatting problem of sort. So i changed folder names and all that (Japanese folder name to alphabets). Formatted the card once or twice via both PC and the Nano itself.

Now the Nano don't even read my card anymore. But the card read fine from a USB card reader.

At this point i contacted Fiio via mail and facebook.

"Hi, Please try reformatting the TF card to exFAT or FAT32, then import the music files again."

Only got this so far.

Was gonna make a post at this point but thought to myself:
May be i got a defective card. Ordered a brand new Sandisk extreme PRO 256 GB just now. This is from a reputable shop with full on warrantee and all that. not a "good deal" i found 3 weeks ago.

Didn't work either. So here we are. I'll update if there's any support or mistake from my part. but it's a bummer for now.

Edit: So i reformatted it again, and put the Allocation size setting to default, instead of 282kb or something value it was. and it kindda work normally now? still need to properly check if it got everything on there or not. plus future imports.

Absolutely love it so far. Some gripes though:

1. It’s a fingerprint MAGNET
2. The controls are iffy but I imagine learning it will come with time.

I got mine through AliExpress and I think I paid more than the RRP… (£60 GBP) but still amazing.

I do wish it was slightly bigger, but other than that, I love it.

Now the question, what songs are YOU putting on it?

EDIT AFTER A DAY OR TWO: tried the DAC functionality with my pc and my kiwi ears Belle IEMs. Couldn’t tell much difference between the DAC function and just normal listening on my pc. Maybe I’m just dumb idk.

I tried the Bluetooth scanner on my echo mini and it detected my 8bitdo sn30pro controller but it never connected, is this possible? Could it be possible?

I mean it would be cool if we could connect mini controllers like the 8bitdo mini or Zero2 to use as a media controller and skip music, better volume controls, jump folders, playlists etc.

Anybody else tried this?

Repost to change picture and all, but also got a few things to add.

Overall menu is alright. i just need to figure out to arrange my library to make it work better, especially the heavy rotation. As well as the Favorite. There's no custom playlist tho.

Was a pleasant surprised to find out the side with the dial got a tiny hole specifically for a lanyard. So if you gonna wear it like Persona 3 then it's good to go without the clasp that came with it.

Body is very solid. There's a rumour that there's a batch that have the screen slightly tilted, but i guess mine is not so that's a relieve.

I’m coming from a couple modded iPods (Classic 5th and Mini 2nd) but never really got warm with the new Way of putting Music on them via Apple Devices. Also Rockbox never was my thing either. Going to give one of them to my Wife loaded with her favorite Music, just have to figure out which one I want to keep :D Just wanted to share my joy, but if you have tips and tricks for the everyday use, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

After my experience with the Snowsky DISC, I've been trying out the new Snowsky ECHO player almost every day for about 20 days now. This isn't the Echo Mini version. It's a completely different, new model with an aluminum body and a more analog presentation, equipped with the CS43198 DAC.

I've had the opportunity to try the Echo with many different music genres on walks, at home, on the train, during nighttime listening sessions and I wanted to compile these experiences. I bought this product myself and wanted to share my experiences with you.

If you have any questions about Echo, I'll do my best to answer them.

* Head-Fi :  You can read the rest of the in depth review here >>

First Impressions & Sound Signature:

With its dual CS43198 DAC architecture, the ECHO delivers a denser, smoother, and inherently more analog sound compared to the more energetic and clean presentation of the DISC's CS43131 implementation.

You notice the difference within minutes.

The CS43198 chip has a reputation among audiophiles for delivering sound with a somewhat more organic and fluid tonality. Instead of trying to neutralize this, the ECHO seems to have managed to keep it at a fairly analog level, entirely thanks to FiiO's tuning.

The result, in my opinion, was a musical presentation that was rich without becoming dark, smooth without being veiled, and didn't sacrifice control.

If I were to summarize the overall sound signature:

Warm, Neutral, Organic, Smooth, Slightly Analog, Deep, Non tiring

The bass response is one of ECHO's strongest points.

I get a satisfying sense of physicality and fullness in the low frequencies. The sub bass can reach convincing depth when needed, but avoids exaggerated spread and muddiness. What impressed me most was the texture. The bass notes feel layered and textural rather than one dimensional.

The mid bass carries a slight warmth that gives drums, bass guitars, and cinematic soundtracks a fuller presentation. But unlike many warmer DAPs, ECHO tries to maintain control in its own unique tone. Without becoming muddy and without tiring you out.

This is where, in my opinion, the CS43198 execution begins to show its sophisticated side.

The mid frequencies are the emotional center of ECHO.

Voices come across as rich, slightly intimate, and naturally weighty. Male vocals, in particular, benefit from ECHO's tonal density, gaining a very realistic chest presence and fullness. Female vocals remain smooth and expressive without artificially overpowering them.

Strings sound excellent here.

Pianos carry natural harmonic weight, acoustic guitars have a slightly reverberant feel, and jazz recordings in particular benefit from ECHO's analog style presentation. There's a softness in the presentation of the notes that feels deliberately musical rather than overly clinical. This is a small example of Fiio's masterful tuning philosophy, but it's certainly very well tuned.

ECHO isn't chasing "impressive over detail" like many of its competitors.

Perhaps that's the most accurate and concise way to describe it.

And for long listening sessions, this tuning philosophy works wonderfully.

The treble response is smooth, controlled, and mature.

There's enough extension to maintain airiness and separation, but ECHO avoids aggressive upper treble emphasis. Cymbals sound metallic in a realistic way, not artificially sharpened. Poor recordings become more easily tolerated, while high quality recordings still retain good layering and detail. Long sessions become enjoyable without being tiring.

Pros: 

Excellent dual CS43198 implementation with a natural, analog character
Rich, smooth, and highly musical sound signature
Strong tonal density and vocal realism
Deep and immersive soundstage presentation
Highly fatigue free listening experience
Excellent synergy with both hybrid and single dynamic IEMs
Very consistent and natural overall tuning
Stable operating system and reliable playback performance
Compact, elegant, and nostalgic industrial design
Strong price to performance ratio for musical listeners

Cons: 

Small font size can occasionally hinder usability
Not ideal for users seeking an ultra analytical sound
Power output may be insufficient for demanding full size headphones
Physical button navigation requires a period of adjustment

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You can follow all my reviews here 

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Thank you for taking the time to read this.