jobbing said:

Thank you so much for this review, it's very helpful.

Just wondering
1) would it be possible to pair the X7 with the Hybrid Valve?
2) have you tried the T1 with X7? How does T1 respond to the 'standard' module?

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Beyer T1 600ohm?

uncle e1 said:

Beyer T1 600ohm?

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Yep :biggrin:

I'm aware T1 is 600ohm and FiiO announced a 'power' module. Just curious how the T1 responds to the 'standard' one provided with the tour. Since @Brooko has the T1 I thought why not ask him?

How long the battery will work with power module?

brooko said:

  X7 review posted - http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-x7/reviews/14456

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i am sorry reading your review totally made me now not think of buying the x7 if you sonically barely could not pick the x7 over 3xii 
 
as i once owned the x3ii and it was simply not in league with ak100ii which is 100 times better than the x3ii

sound eq said:

  i am sorry reading your review totally made me now not think of buying the x7 if you sonically barely could not pick the x7 over 3xii 
 
as i once owned the x3ii and it was simply not in league with ak100ii which is 100 times better than the x3ii

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do note that it is not a final production unit, further changes are expected

sound eq said:

  i am sorry reading your review totally made me now not think of buying the x7 if you sonically barely could not pick the x7 over 3xii 
 
as i once owned the x3ii and it was simply not in league with ak100ii which is 100 times better than the x3ii

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The review was great...  but it did leave you with an impression that fiio took the electronics out of either the X5II or the X3II and put them in a fancy case and android UI...  for a fairly high price...    
the main draw that I see is the fact that the amp modules should scale the X7 further as fiio begins bringing the amp modules out..  

dixter said:

The review was great...  but it did leave you with an impression that fiio took the electronics out of either the X5II or the X3II and put them in a fancy case and android UI...  for a fairly high price...    
the main draw that I see is the fact that the amp modules should scale the X7 further as fiio begins bringing the amp modules out..  

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The two components of dap design, the DAC and the amp output stage. If the output stage is similar to prior designs, chances are the sound will take the same direction even though the DAC is different, at least that's the conclusion I could draw but again, ask someone else with different manufacturers and the answer can be completely different.

to be honest broko review was extremely disappointing and now i feel the wait has been for nothing special 
 
anyway still i have on my radar the new onkyo dap

jobbing said:

Thank you so much for this review, it's very helpful.

Just wondering
1) would it be possible to pair the X7 with the Hybrid Valve?
2) have you tried the T1 with X7? How does T1 respond to the 'standard' module?

Click to expand...

 
Hi - the unit is actually packed up now (early Monday morning in NZ), and wiull be on it's way to next tour recipient in about an hour.  So unfortunately can't pair it with the tube amp.  See no reason why it wouldn't sound great though.  I didn't try it with the T1 as the IEM module was at its upper limits with the HD600, so I didn't see the point.  Fairly safe to say that it won't be able to give the T1 enough head room.  You'd need the power amp module.

m-13 said:

  I wasn't too interested in the "medium" gain amp module until I read the description.
 
So will the medium one offer the best absolute sound quality or will the balanced module do that? Assuming you have reasonably efficient headphones and or IEMs. Which one will be pricier and or use higher end components and layout?

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musicheaven said:

I don't want to find fault with Fiio for designing X7 amp modules but I thought Hifiman was not getting too popular with theirs, having to cough up extra cash for something that should seriously be part of the main unit and selectable through firmware setting just like the X5, is not something I was seeking. Secondly, removing two screws, seriously? Can't they just design some lockable modules using side slidable locking connectors. I have seen a few of those for things like battery modules. It's obvious I'd like to use iems and powerful cans with the dap but not at a point of switching modules and pouring cash for allowing it to happen so here we go, a separate amp has to be stacked for that to happen.

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Unfortunately gents - until we actually have the higher power modules to test, anything said is purely conjecture. Who is to say that the more powerful module can't do both IEMs and full sized cans?  I'd wait until they actually exist before jumping to conclusions.

violencer said:

  How long the battery will work with power module?

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It doesn't exist yet - so no-one knows.

brooko said:

Hi - the unit is actually packed up now (early Monday morning in NZ), and wiull be on it's way to next tour recipient in about an hour.  So unfortunately can't pair it with the tube amp.  See no reason why it wouldn't sound great though.  I didn't try it with the T1 as the IEM module was at its upper limits with the HD600, so I didn't see the point.  Fairly safe to say that it won't be able to give the T1 enough head room.  You'd need the power amp module.

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Thanks for the confirmation on the T1, I was expecting that outcome, good to be in the know.

Re tube amp, too bad....planning on using same configs X7+U6/Delta/T1 to name a few I was curious how they'd pair if stacked. Maybe there's an opportunity here for Martin being 3rd party manufacturer for tuby amp module?

I was originally going to let these posts go - but then I thought why should I? 
 
First - hyperbole much?  So the AK100ii is 100x better than the X3ii?  Better close up shops boys - there is nothing in this world will beat it!  If I had a DAP that was twice as good as one I owned, that would be enough to sway me - but 100x - must be something special huh?  Or is it one of those "audiophile" DAPs which has a warm organic sound (audiophile speak for harmonic distortion)?
 
I haven't heard the AK100ii - so I'll wait for someone to compare the two before I make a giant leap.
 
Second - I take careful pains to explain my bias in every review I post.  I'm 48.  I don't have perfect hearing.  But I also try to be very objective - which means I don't try to overhype.  So I'm going to tell you exactly what I hear.  I take it from your comments that you have never performed a volume matched blind test?  If you haven't, you should try it.
 
See the comments from some comparing one DAP to another and talking about massive differences in dynamics and soundstage?  Try the same test volume matched and blind. The differences often are minimised or disappear entirely.  We hear louder as better - its how we are wired.
 
Now, if you go back to my actual review you'll note here is what I wrote about the X3ii

 I really think I’d struggle to tell these two apart in a blind test.  They are both essentially pretty neutral, but what I’ve noticed (and I’m not sure if this is placebo or not), is that the longer I listen, the more the X7 feels effortless and slightly more refined, where the X3ii by contrast is just the tiniest bit edgier or more vivid. 

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and about the X5ii

Like the X3ii, again I’d be struggling to tell the two apart completely blind tested, so tonally both are extremely similar again. But once again, the X7 over time shows a similar effortlessness, and ability to pull me into the music.  Again this could be simply sighted placebo, because the two are very close in overall presentation, but in longer sessions the X7 time and again seemed to be a little more effortless and almost 3D in its presentation.  

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And in my summary - 

 The X7 sounds neutral, detailed, but also has a hard to describe quality – an expansiveness and layering – which just pulls me into the music.  Last night in my final session, while I was finishing my last critical comparisons, I was sitting on the sofa, with the X7 and Adel U6’s, and playing around with Genre. I pulled up Classical (I think I might have been testing dynamic range), and before I knew it, 2 hours had gone, and my wife had gone to bed without me.  I actually remember saying goodnight to her – but the rest was pretty hazy. The fact that it was Classical – something I might listen to for 30 minutes to an hour at most – speaks volumes about the musicality of the X7 to me. I find it difficult to put into descriptive words, apart from saying it truly sounds wonderful.

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That last one is an experience I've never had with either X3ii or X5ii - so take that as an indicator.
 
However I would suggest:

1. wait until there is someone who can compare AK100ii with X7 directly
2. guys like Mimouille have already said that they thought the X7 tickled the toes of the $2K+ DAPs - including the AK240SS - link
3. if you choose to ignore the X7 - it's your loss.  It's among the best I've heard.

 
 
Quote:

sound eq said:

  i am sorry reading your review totally made me now not think of buying the x7 if you sonically barely could not pick the x7 over 3xii 
 
as i once owned the x3ii and it was simply not in league with ak100ii which is 100 times better than the x3ii

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sound eq said:

  to be honest broko review was extremely disappointing and now i feel the wait has been for nothing special 
 
anyway still i have on my radar the new onkyo dap

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brooko said:

   
 
 
Unfortunately gents - until we actually have the higher power modules to test, anything said is purely conjecture. Who is to say that the more powerful module can't do both IEMs and full sized cans?  I'd wait until they actually exist before jumping to conclusions.

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I totally agree with your assessment but I have heard from well known dap designers that providing a well designed amp that accepts such a wide headphone load is very hard, not impossible, but very hard to implement. Usually when they tune the player for high power, the iems tend to suffer through either setting too low a volume or if kept at high level, possible earphone distortion, that's if you still have your earing intact after pushing that much power through your iems. I haven't even discussed the need for much power and therefore less battery life. As far as the opposite, we all know the end results. The bottom line, unless they can design different circuitry for each type that can be combined and separately controlled, this is what we gents have to deal with. It's the unfortunate world of compromises.

brooko said:

   
 

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well my freind then u better go and buy yourself an ak100ii and see what i mean by the ak100ii is at least 10000 times better than x3ii before you go about and start quoting me like this, I can tell you simply once u hear the ak100ii compared to the x3ii its a huge huge huge difference in favour of ak100ii 
 
your review is honest and i appreciate it and it made up my mind that i do not have any interest in x7 anymore 
 
and to be honest i wish all reviews are like urs, as that is what i want to read an honest review, so that when i read about an item i do not get fooled by people with agendas and yours sounds to be a real honest review
 
if i did not have an ak100ii i might have bought the x7, as its a good dap but now i feel moving from ak100ii to x7 won't justify it as an upgrade