Check Out Schiit’s New Hel and Fulla 3
Schiit is one of those very rare companies that don’t mind poking fun at themselves and their products, and this is quite evident in their naming-schemes. But, in all seriousness, Schiit actually do make some really interesting products which tend to pack in a ton of value for the asking price. As with any company who produce consumer electronics, every now and then they will release new products as well as refreshes of existing ones. As such, the time has come for Schiit too and they’ve announced a new iteration of their popular Fulla desktop DAC/Amp, as well as a new and more beefed-up product called the Hel.
Not so Fulla Schiit
The Fulla line of affordable desktop DAC/Amps have proven to be rather popular, and Schiit themselves have stated that most people honestly won’t need more than what the Fulla can deliver. However, there is always room for improvement and perhaps other small little changes, and that’s exactly what the Fulla 3 brings to the table as compared to the previous Fulla 2. 
For the most part, the Fulla 3 is essentially the same thing as the Fulla 2, but now has a microphone input. The input is handled by a 24-bit AKM analogue-to-digital converter which features automatic gain control and full USB-integration. In order to accommodate this new feature, though, one of the more minor features of the Fulla 2 had to be given the boot. Most people probably had no need for this, but the Fulla 2 featured both a fixed and a variable (preamp) DAC line output. For the Fulla 3, there is now only a variable output.
Other than that, there seems to be little to no difference between the Fulla 3 and the Fulla 2, and so if you’re considering an upgrade, then it would only make sense to do so if you require a mic input.
The only other change which is more noticable is that the Fulla 3 now has a two-tone colour scheme of silver and dark-grey, whereas the Fulla 2 (and practically every other Schiit product) have traditionally always had a monotonous silver colour-scheme. 
Hel’s Bells
The Hel is kind of like the Fulla 3, but with a couple of more bells and whistles. It’s basically a Fulla 3 on steroids.
Let’s first look at what’s similar. Both feature an AKM AK4490 coupled with a TI OPA1662-based filter stage, both can be used as a preamp, and both feature a microphone input. But, the worthwhile differences lie in the details such as the fact that the Hel features an adjustable microphone gain, and has a high and low gain switch for the headphone output in order to accommodate both hard-to-drive headphones and sensitive IEMs. The Fulla 3’s headphone gain is specified to be 1.7 (4.6db), whereas the switchable gain of the Hel is 1 (0dB) or 5 (14dB).
Other performance measurements are also slightly different between the Hel and Fulla 3 whereby the former achieves a THD measurement of <0.0015% and a signal-to-noise ratio of >108dB, and the latter is rated at <0.002% for the THD and >105db for the signal-to-noise ratio.
The Hel also features a new colour-scheme to set it apart from the rest of Schiit’s lineup, and this comes in the form of a black/grey and red combo. To some extent this looks somewhat reminiscent of Asus’s Republic of Gamers colour-scheme. 
Pricing
Both the Fulla 3 and the Hel seem to be in stock and can be ordered directly from Schiit’s website, although there is a 1-3 day lead-time for the items to get shipped.
The Fulla 3, despite offering some new features, will still only set you back $99 (excluding shipping and taxes), just like both the Fulla 2 and original Fulla.
The Hel, seeing as it’s a more capable and feature-packed device, does cost more at nearly double the the price of the Fulla 3. And, at $189 it costs almost as much as a Schiit Stack (Magni 3 + Modi 3), but a Schiit Stack does not include any sort of microphone input function and also requires a fair amount more desktop real-estate.
