FiiO X7 | DXD | DSD | 384K/64B | ESS9018+ Android | WiFi | Bluetooth | 4 AMP modules | Balanced Out |

gregc said:

  I think Fiio makes great products.  I commend Fiio for their continued firmware support to improve the products they released.  I have no doubts the SQ will be incredible on the X7,  At the end of the day that is the most important feature in a high-end DAP.  
 
I own an X3 and at its price point it provides amazing sound quality and value.  
 
I have already commented on my disappointment regarding the lack of user replaceable battery.  Unfortunately that is an absolute deal breaker for me since I know of competitor's products like the Geek Wave that will have similar features and SQ as the X7; however, it will also offer a user replaceable battery.
 
James, please let me know if there is even a remote chance the X7 can use a standard cell phone battery before I make my final purchase decision.

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sorry not, I remembered that I have listed some reasons about why we choose build in battery but not replaceable batter:
 
The disadvantage of replaceable battery.
 
1, Need more space which means bigger size, or you have to decrease the battery volume in the same size.
 
2, Need a battery cover or something which make you can open the X7 to replace the battery.
 
3, The reliability is not so good as build in battery cause the extra connectors .
 
4, User may buy the low quality battery. ( there are so many fake batteries in ebay and other online shop ), and it may cause serious risk.
 
The advantage of replaceable battery.
 
1, Longer hours of use.  but a extra portable battery pack work as the same,  in my opinion, a portable battery pack is more flexible than a battery cause you don't need a special charger and you can use to charge your other device.
 
2, Longer life . yes, you can just replace the battery when it is die, but DAP is not like a smartphone works 24 hours and 7 days in one week, for normal use, there will have not big problem in 5 years. and I believe you will buy another one but will
 
    not keep the old one.

guys, you shouldn't worry about battery diying cause by then i'm pretty sure you are going to want to buy another shiney new DAP

replicant187 said:

  guys, you shouldn't worry about battery diying cause by then i'm pretty sure you are going to want to buy another shiney new DAP

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And what if people want to sell their X7 in order to finance the purchase of a newer DAP?  How are they going to sell it if the battery is dead and there's no easily-available replacement then?

jamesfiio said:

 
 
1, the amp module is a individual part of X7,  not like the HiFiMan, it is not a amp card. 
 

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Can you clarify this statement, please, James?
 
 
 

jamesfiio said:

   
Any suggestion about the amp module ?

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For the IEM module, the most obvious suggestion (which I know you will already be aware of) is to have a very low output impedance.
 
But just because the module is for IEMs, please don't make the mistake of assuming that IEMs don't need much current delivery. I would like to see the IEM module have at least 150mw-200mw p ch, maybe even a bit more. Any less than that, and the dynamic ability may suffer, and that is not acceptable on a flagship device.
 
Thanks
 
 

---

 
 
Since the substantial battery is not a standard, widely-available item, I request that you make identical replacement batteries available via your international dealer network, so that those of us who invest in an X7 can buy a spare one, to futureproof the DAP (international buyers cannot order one direct from China, owing to postal restrictions on lithium cells).
 

jamesfiio said:

Any suggestion about the amp module ?

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1. Zero output impedance. X5 suffers from its output impedance.
2. High peak current. Even if you may assume that e.g. 50mW is enough for most of IEMs, it should be able to provide at least 150-200 mW in short peaks. More is better. Well, this also depends on the quality of the battery!
3. Avoid decoupling capacitors, especially at the headphone output.

James- I don't care what you put in there, as long as whatever it is is powerful enough that folks who use it as a portable don't need to amp it.  Stacks are bad.  Powerful is good.  I use it with iems, so a good strong clean amp module will make me very happy indeed.

lurker0 said:

1. Zero output impedance. X5 suffers from its output impedance.

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I don't get this. C5 already has a very low output impedance.

mython said:

  And what if people want to sell their X7 in order to finance the purchase of a newer DAP?  How are they going to sell it if the battery is dead and there's no easily-available replacement then?

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A non-user-replectable battery doesn't seem to bother the majority of DX100, iriver AK series, Cowon Plenue P1, Calyx M or Sony ZX1 buyer so far, nor make these DAP especially hard to sell in the 2nd market. I'll say it is fair chance it won't be a particularly problem for X7 as well. On that matter, it also never seem to bother most people from picking up a 2nd hand smartphone with non-user-replectable battery as well. The point is, while crap does happen, a person can't be worry about every possibility of a bad situation all the time, or else there won't be much of a life to live.

Having had to replace my J3 battery, just a few days ago, it does matter to me that a viable way of replacing the battery exists (yeah, I know it's only an old J3, but I do still use it, for general purposes)
 
I was just lucky that the Sony BA700 cellphone battery is a viable replacement. Otherwise, I would have had to throw it in the bin, since there is no point in sending it all the way to Korea.
 
I'm not asking for the world, here.
 
Since James is determined to make the X7 battery non-swappable/non-standard, it really isn't asking too much for Fiio to make the battery available through it's dealer network.
 
I don't mean to make a big deal about this, as it's not the main thing in discussing a new DAP, but I think it is a reasonable request (and an environmentally-friendly request, too), hence my reason for asking.

If I understand correctly, this is the latest available to users list with FiiO X7 specifications (maybe with exception of 2nd microSD slot, which may be sacrificed in favor of some other components, like wifi, if I remember the related information from FiiO developers correctly):

01 Dimension: 128x16x64mm
02 Screen: 3.97 inch full touch IPS
03 Battery life: > 8 hours
04 Battery: 3700mAh
05 Hardware buttons: power, play/pause, previous/next, volume+/- and one secret bottom
06 Input/Output interface:
- microSD slot x 2
- micro USB x 1 (as docking connector too close we used 11 pins Micro USB)
- 3.5mm Line Out
- coaxial output
- Headphone out x 1, the output jack will change from 3.5mm output jack
- 4 pin balanced output ( same as ALO/RSA ), depended on the headphone amp module
07 Built in memory: 16 or 32 GB depended on the cost when it is released
08 Wifi/Bluetooth support
09 DAC: ESS9018 X 1, ESS9018 already includes 8 channels DAC so it does not need 2 DAC chips
10 OP and Buf for AMP, depended on headphone amp module
11 Output power and power supply: depend on the amp module
12 SoC: RK3188
13 Built in memory: 32GB
14 RAM: 1GB
 
At this moment, I only have couple of USB related points to clarify -
- USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 ?
- will there be USB Host (USB OTG) support ?
 
In case if I missed something, or if there is a more accurate version of X7 specs, please refer me to the  right section of this thread.

mython said:

... Since James is determined to make the X7 battery non-swappable/non-standard, it really isn't asking too much for Fiio to make the battery available through it's dealer network.
 
I don't mean to make a big deal about this, as it's not the main thing in discussing a new DAP, but I think it is a reasonable request (and an environmentally-friendly request, too), hence my reason for asking.

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For what I know, you do able to buy FiiO's battery by contacting the customer service directly. Asking the dealer to stock battery will be much harder, since it is a niche market that doesn't have much profit for the dealer themselves.
 
What I'll like to see, in which a way that I think will benefit both FiiO as well as customer in the long run, is to have service centers in major region of the world in the future. Might be a bit far fetched for company of FiiO's size at the moment, but certain a great strength to have and put it well above most of the competition. That's another story though.

mython said:

  Having had to replace my J3 battery, just a few days ago, it does matter to me that a viable way of replacing the battery exists

(yeah, I know it's only an old J3, but I do still use it, for general purposes)
 
I was just lucky that the Sony BA700 cellphone battery is a viable replacement. Otherwise, I would have had to throw it in the bin, since there is no point in sending it all the way to Korea.
 
I'm not asking for the world, here.
 
Since James is determined to make the X7 battery non-swappable/non-standard, it really isn't asking too much for Fiio to make the battery available through it's dealer network.
 
I don't mean to make a big deal about this, as it's not the main thing in discussing a new DAP, but I think it is a reasonable request (and an environmentally-friendly request, too), hence my reason for asking.

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I completely agree that a compromised solution is to make replacement batteries available through the dealer network so people in the US do not have to send the DAP to China if a battery needs replaced.  For the X3 I was an early adopter and paid $199 (it has been on sale for as low as $129), so I am more willing to accept the fact that it is disposable if I decide to not have the battery replaced.  For a $699 player I do not apply the same standards and consider it a long term investment. 
 
The new Geek Wave will support 32/384, 128 DSD, wi-fi, bluetooth, have a small form factor, AND provide a user replaceable battery. This can be purchased for far less than $699 and I expect the sound quality to be excellent.  I appreciate James explaining the battery engineering decisions, and I would greatly prefer to stay loyal to Fiio, but one of the most important features in my purchase decision was omitted from the X7.

clieos said:

   
For what I know, you do able to buy FiiO's battery by contacting the customer service directly. Asking the dealer to stock battery will be much harder, since it is a niche market that doesn't have much profit for the dealer themselves.

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The only reason I'm requesting international dealers to stock the battery is because they will more likely have import licenses for lithium batteries, whereas single users can't just have a lithium battery shipped around the world, due to postal restrictions. It's silly to expect customers to ship their $700 DAP across the world, to China, just to have a replacement battery.

mython said:

   
 
The only reason I'm requesting international dealers to stock the battery is because they will more likely have import licenses for lithium batteries, whereas single users can't just have a lithium battery shipped around the world, due to postal restrictions. It's silly to expect customers to ship their $700 DAP across the world, to China, just to have a replacement battery.

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I understand your reasoning, but whether the dealer want to stock the battery is up to the dealer, not FiiO. Unless there is a really good business reason to do so, say strong enough demand or high enough profit, they are just not going to be interested. Convincing FiiO will be the easy part, but dealer? There is a big question mark there.

Maybe custom order by the retailer upon demand.  Which there shouldn't be for a number of years, until the batteries begin to wear out.