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Snowsky Retro Nano Review

The Snowsky Retro Nano is a refreshing and fun take on the Bluetooth dongle DAC, bringing great features and performance at an also refreshing price.
Snowsky Retro Nano Review

Disclosure: The Snowsky Retro Nano was provided by FiiO for this review. Please read more about our product review disclosure here.

Not many have heard of Snowsky, a new sub-brand of the renowned audio company FiiO. Snowsky’s products focus more on fun and uniqueness, with a retro-inspired look. One of their first products is the Snowsky Retro Nano, a portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp that is shaped like and looks like a retro portable cassette player, just miniaturized. With fundamentally the same internal specs as the FiiO BTR13, the Retro Nano differentiates itself not only by its physical design but with the addition of a replaceable rechargeable battery. Not only that, it comes in at $59 USD, which is $10 less than the BTR13. Let’s see how it performs and how it compares to its FiiO counterpart.


Key Specifications

  • Core Processor: Qualcomm QCC5125
  • DAC Components: Dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs
  • Connectivity:
    • Unbalanced output: 3.5mm (120mW+120mW @ 16Ω, 100mW+100mW @ 32Ω, 10mW +10mW @ 300Ω)
    • Balanced output: 4.4mm (130mW+130mW @ 16Ω, 220mW+220mW @ 32Ω, 55mW +55mW @ 300Ω)
    • Input: USB-C
    • Bluetooth 5.1
  • Battery Life:
    • Up to 7.5 hours (450mAh Removeable Battery)
  • Supported Sample Rates and Bluetooth Codecs:
    • Up to 16bit 96kHz PCM
    • SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, LDAC
  • Features:
    • PC DAC Mode
    • Bluetooth Receiver Mode
    • Phone DAC mode
  • Supported Platforms:
    • Windows
    • MacOS
    • Linux
    • Android and iOS/iPadOS devices
    • Game consoles
  • Case and Dimensions:
    • 55.1 x 37.5 x 13.7 mm
    • Weight: 28.3g

In the Box

  • Snowsky Retro Nano
  • Battery
  • USB-C to USB-C cable
  • Battery Storage Case
  • Lanyard
  • Sticker pack
  • Manual

Design & Build Quality

Right away you can tell the Snowsky Retro Nano stands out. It comes in two different colors, blue and white, of which I have the blue version. Personally, I think the blue color adds to the retro vibe that Snowsky is going for here.

The device itself is plastic, and due to its lightweight and overall color and look it feels like a toy when you have it in your hand. This is supposed to be more fun, though, and I think I definitely get that feeling when holding and using it.

The front of the Retro Nano is where the display is located, right between where the two cassette tape spindles would be. The UI takes advantage of this by digitally adding spinning spindles when audio is playing, but we’ll get to that in the next section. The screen size is exactly the same here as on the BTR13 (0.96 inch TFT 80×160) but it looks bigger to me, probably due to the shape and orientation of the Retro Nano.

On the top of the device is where all the buttons are located, from left to right we have:

  • Microphone hole
  • Multifunction button
  • Play/Pause button
  • Volume Up/Previous track/sub-menu button
  • Volume Down/Next Track/sub-menu button
  • Power switch

On the right end of the Retro Nano is the USB-C input connection, and on the left end is the 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended connections, along with a lanyard hole.

On the back is the cover for the removable battery. The Retro Nano comes with a 450mAh 3.7v battery. Note that you cannot use typical AAA batteries here, they need to be 3.7V.

Here are some comparison shots between the Snowsky Retro Nano and the FiiO BTR13.


Features

This will be mostly cut and paste from my BTR13 review as, you guessed it, it has the same feature set as the Snowsky Retro Nano, but there are some minor differences or updates throughout, most notably in the FiiO Control and PEQ section, and the Menu section.

The key features of the Retro Nano are the three usage modes, the global PEQ, and the ability to adjust the settings and EQ via the FiiO Control app. Let’s look at each feature in closer detail.

Mode

The Retro Nano features three modes that can be toggled via the mode selection button, or by selecting them in the menu system.

PC Mode

The PC mode is for when you want to use the Retro Nano as a USB DAC with a computer or laptop. Bluetooth will be disabled and the device will be powered by the USB port instead of the internal battery, though the battery will still be charged if needed. You can use this mode with smartphones and tablets too, just be aware that it will be powered by that device. Also note, that there is no specific driver needed for use with a computer, it is completely plug-and-play.

BT Mode

BT, or Bluetooth, mode, is to be able to use the DAC as a Bluetooth receiver. This means you can pair it with a Bluetooth device (smartphone, tablet, computer, etc) and use the Retro Nano to listen to the audio played on the device it’s paired with.

Phone Mode

The Phone mode is the same as PC mode, with the exception that in this mode the Retro Nano will be powered by the internal battery instead of through the USB port. This means it’s ideal to use with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, but it can also be used with computers and laptops.

FiiO Control and Global PEQ

The FiiO control app is how you can adjust various settings on the Retro Nano, such as exactly which Bluetooth codecs you want to use, and custom PEQ profiles. The FiiO Control app is available on Android and iOS. If you are on a laptop or computer you can access it by going to https://fiiocontrol.fiio.com/ with your device plugged in. I used to find this to be the easiest way to create custom EQ profiles as it’s easier to input all the values, but lately, the web app has worked very intermittently with both the Retro Nano and the BTR13. The Android version of the FiiO Control app has also had its own issues by being either very slow or failing to save PEQ values. The iOS app has been the most stable in my experience.

Retro Nano Menu

The menu system of the Retro Nano is largely the same in terms of UI and functions. All the typical things like allowing you to enable/disable Charging Protection (charges only to 80%), screen brightness level, switch languages between English and Chinese, and Gain selection are present here. You can also select the EQ setting, choosing between one of the 8 included presets, or one of three custom profiles that you can add via FiiO Control. The Retro Nano has the exact same EQ settings and modes as the BTR13, except with the addition of a “Retro” EQ mode. More on this in the Sound Quality section.

One of the coolest things about the Retro Nano though is the UI options for when content is playing. There are 5 UI options, giving you ample choice to accent the retro experience. They can be cycled through at any time by single pressing the multifunction button. Pictures and video of them are below:

Snowsky Retro Nano UI

Battery Life

Snowsky rates the battery life as 7.5 hours. In my testing, using LDAC playing FLAC files at a similar volume level to what Snowsky tested with (volume level 22) on the 3.5mm connection, I managed to get just over 7 hours. Using the USB-C connection, High gain, volume level 22, on the 3.5mm connection, I managed to get 9.5 hours. Yes, it has a bit less battery life than the BTR13, but here you get a removable battery, a worthy compromise in my opinion. It also charges rather quickly, with a full charge requiring just under 2 hours.

From testing all of the features and settings I can say that everything worked exactly as it should. I encountered no glitches or issues of any sort, which is becoming a rarity these days for newly released products. It’s nice to have something that just works as it should. The menu and button functions take some time to memorize and get used, but otherwise, the whole experience of using the Retro Nano is relatively pain-free.


Sound Quality

Sources used for this review:

  • Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 (LDAC)
  • Surface Laptop 7 (USB)
  • 2020 iPad Pro 11” (USB)

Headphones used for this review:

  • Sennheiser HD 660S2 (3.5mm)
  • Sennheiser HD 620S (4.4mm balanced)
  • HIFIMAN Sundara (4.4mm balanced)
  • Simgot EW300 (3.5mm)
  • Sivga Que (3.5mm)

The Snowsky Retro Nano sounds extremely similar to the FiiO BTR13, which makes sense given the internals are exactly the same.

Just like the BTR13 too, the sound profile of the Retro Nano is extremely consistent between USB and Bluetooth modes, given that the Qualcomm chip that is being used here handles both functions. The overall sound profile is relatively neutral, with good dynamics and a slightly warm midrange. The upper midrange is slightly emphasized, resulting in vocals and some instruments being more forward. Overall, it is closer to a reference sound, making it very versatile for use to listen to many different genres, with different types of headphones and IEMs.

Speaking of IEMs, when listening with IEMs in both Bluetooth and USB mode I noticed no hiss or noise, and a very silent background.

On the power side, this is one of the most powerful portable Bluetooth DACs on the market in the $60 price range. It offers 220mW @ 32 ohms on the 4.4mm balanced connection, and 100mW @ 32 ohms on the 3.5mm single-ended connection.  Trying a variety of headphones that I have listed above I found there was more than sufficient power for them. There are two gain options, Low and High, and I only needed to enable High when using the Sennheiser HD 660S2.

One last word here on sound performance. I mentioned earlier that the Retro Nano features a “Retro” EQ preset. From what I can tell it tones down the treble and brings the mids forward a bit for a flatter, yet still fun sound.

Bluetooth Performance

Testing a variety of codecs, such as AAC, aptX HD, and LDAC, all performed exactly as expected. The Bluetooth range is very good, allowing me to have my source device across the desk or even across the room (7 or 8 meters away) with no discernable impact on audio quality, and the connection was always stable with no dropouts or static.

USB DAC Performance

The Retro Nano also performs well as a USB DAC. You are limited to a maximum of 16-bit/96kHz sampling rate, which I think is fine for a device of this price and intended use case. There is no driver required to use with a computer or mobile device, it is literally plug-and-play with no setup needed, which is always the preferred experience.

Microphone and In-Line Controls

The Snowsky Retro Nano includes a microphone that can be used to take calls or record audio. It sounds relatively good and was able to pick up my voice without including too much background noise. I would classify it as good enough for phone calls and meetings when no other option is available.

In-line controls are also supported, as well as microphones built into the in-line controls, and I can report that both work exactly as expected.


Final Thoughts

The Snowsky Retro Nano is one of the more fun audio devices I’ve seen lately, and it’s nice to see a company take chances on something like this. The device specifications are not too remarkable on paper, but the device as a whole I think does everything right. On top of that, the price is just perfect. A powerful Bluetooth DAC/Amp that will power most IEMs and headphones without issue, 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced connections, driverless USB support, and solid Bluetooth codec support for $60 USD? How is that not a great deal? If you want slightly better battery life and a fairly conservative aesthetic, the BTR13 is $10 more. But the Retro Nano has sold me on the replaceable battery and fun retro design, I hope to see more companies release products like this in the future.


I’m not always able to cover all the details of a product, both hardware and software, in our reviews. If you have any specific questions you’d like answered about this product please feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.

Be sure to check out our excellent Buyer’s Guides, as well as our other Reviews.

HiFi Oasis Verdict

HiFi Oasis Verdict
9 10 0 1
  • Design & Build
    9/10 Amazing
  • Sound
    9/10 Amazing
  • Features
    9/10 Amazing
9/10
Total Score

Pros

  • Excellent value, attractive price
  • Global PEQ with multiple EQ profiles
  • Great battery life
  • Replaceable battery
  • More than enough power for majority of use cases
  • Fun retro design

Cons

  • No case available
  • Sample rate limited to 16-bit
  • FiiO Control app not entirely reliable
Total
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