This mechanical keyboard has a headphone jack you might actually want to use


The KB3 is a new mechanical keyboard from audio brand FiiO with a built-in headphone jack that stands a good chance of sounding better than the existing 3.5mm output on your desktop computer or laptop. That’s because the headphone jack isn’t just passing through analog audio from your computer, it’s plugged into a combination DAC and headphone amp that’s integrated into the keyboard itself.
So rather than having a headphone cable snaking across your desk to reach your machine, or cluttering up your workspace with a separate DAC and headphone amplifier, all these devices can theoretically be built right into the keyboard that’s sitting underneath your hands. And it comes from a company which knows a thing or two about audio (even if its keyboard-making abilities are less proven).
I can see the argument that you’ll get better results from buying equipment like this separately, but the audio and keyboard specs of the KB3 don’t contain any major red flags for an all-in-one device at this price. On the audio side the keyboard is equipped with dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs and supports up to 32-bit / 384kHz and DSD256 audio. Alongside the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, there’s also a 4.4mm balanced output. Tom’sHardware notes that the audio specs appear to match FiiO’s $80 KA13 headphone amp.
The peripheral doesn’t appear to be a slouch in the keyboard department either. It’s gasket-mounted, with hot-swap switches (meaning they can be replaced without the need for soldering), supports both Mac and Windows, includes RGB lighting, and is compatible with the popular VIA configuration software. It’s available in a barebones option that comes without switches or keycaps, but if you want them included you get Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow switches and what appears to be a set of translucent keycaps. It uses the ever-popular compact 75-percent layout, similar to what you’ll find on a lot of laptops, and of course there’s a dial on the top-right to control volume.
FiiO is far from the first brand to have thought of building a 3.5mm headphone jack into a keyboard. The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2016, for example, could plug into your computer’s 3.5mm jack and pass through audio to a port on the keyboard itself. But the general wisdom has been not to rely on headphone jacks like these because of the audio interference passing an analogue signal through a keyboard might add. By taking a digital audio signal from a computer and converting it using a built-in DAC, FiiO’s approach is similar to the Moondrop Dash, another recent keyboard with a built-in headphone jack.
FiiO is selling the KB3 via AliExpress, where it can be had for $129.99 without switches or keycaps, or $149.99 as a fully-assembled model. It’s also available as a wireless keyboard, for $129.99 fully-assembled, but this model doesn’t have any of the interesting audio features.
The KB3 is a new mechanical keyboard from audio brand FiiO with a built-in headphone jack that stands a good chance of sounding better than the existing 3.5mm output on your desktop computer or laptop. That’s because the headphone jack isn’t just passing through analog audio from your computer, it’s…
Recent Posts
Archives
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022