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

x relic x said:

This has been covered many times before.

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mython said:

   
ES9018 should accomplish 90% of what 2 x ES9018K2M could accomplish, and, in certain aspects, more, so I have no qualms with James decision to use 1 x ES9018 desktop chip.

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spatzi said:

I know they want to add spotify to x7. My point is that it's overkill and overpriced for my needs. I just want spotify, long battery life and a small player.

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I'm skeptical about long battery life, wherever streaming is being used, on a DAP (or even a smartphone), but that aside, you might care to consider the forthcoming Echobox Explorer X1 for your particular needs:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749496/echobox-the-unveiling-ces-2015

mython said:

I'm skeptical about long battery life, wherever streaming is being used, on a DAP (or even a smartphone), but that aside, you might care to consider the forthcoming Echobox Explorer X1 for your particular needs:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/749496/echobox-the-unveiling-ces-2015

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Thanks for the link. Looks interesting. Finally, someone took the hint! I started to womder what year I was living in. Spotify out for five years already and it took this long for a company to look at streaming as a priority.

Just one picture shows how the amp module connect to X7.

Ingenious :O

jamesfiio said:

Just one picture shows how the amp module connect to X7.

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James, how many different amp modules will be available upon X7 release? Can you also explain a bit more what are the different amp modules purpose and application for?
Thanks and waiting anxiously for the official release.

there are amp module for IEM, big Cans, and balanced amp. we will develop more module in the future.

jamesfiio said:

there are amp module for IEM, big Cans, and balanced amp. we will develop more module in the future.

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Very nice, indeed. May 
I ask which balanced connector you will be using? I am a fan of Kobiconn - since all my cables I ordered have this. Alternatively a 2.5mm TRRS?
 
Cheers,
K

same as ALO, RSA and Pioneer. 
 

James, did you consider creating a dock station for X7 (to be used as desktop DAC)?
Something simple that will charge the device and offer some additional inputs (like optical), maybe usb port for external devices (HDD, SSD).
 
About the amp modules... What is the strategy here? Will one standard amp be included with X7? Will we have the option to choose one when purchasing the player (like different stock packages - X7iem, X7balanced, ....)? And what about pricing? I'm guessing that 699$ is for the player alone...

jamesfiio said:

  same as ALO, RSA and Pioneer. 
 

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YEAH!
Thanks, so RSA/ALO, Kobiconn all the same thing. Amazing. Glad to hear.
 
Cheers,
K

awayeah said:

  James, did you consider creating a dock station for X7 (to be used as desktop DAC)?
Something simple that will charge the device and offer some additional inputs (like optical), maybe usb port for external devices (HDD, SSD).

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I asked James about a docking solution, privately, many months ago, and I'm sure he won't mind me telling you that he felt, at the time, that it would be too difficult to source a multi-pin docking connector of sufficient quality/reliability (remember, Apple and Sony have so much money and manufacturing resources available to them to design and manufacture their proprietary connectors).
 
However, I don't know what the possibilities are with a standard mini-USB connector. Maybe sufficient for some docking functionality, or maybe not... On the first page of this thread, James did specifically mention that the mini-USB connector chosen for the X7 is an 11-pin variant, so this looks promising for docking functionality.
 
 
Quote:

awayeah said:

  About the amp modules... What is the strategy here? Will one standard amp be included with X7? Will we have the option to choose one when purchasing the player (like different stock packages - X7iem, X7balanced, ....)? And what about pricing? I'm guessing that 699$ is for the player alone...

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This is only my opinion, but I feel that if a DAP is marketed to a certain price-point (in this case, $699), then that should mean that your $699 buys you a working DAP, not half a DAP.
 
Therefore, I hope James will be offering a choice of standard modules, so that a customer can pay $699 and get one module, of his/her choice included.
 
However, I would have no objection to more expensive amp modules being offered, either purchasable (with an added premium) at the time the DAP itself is purchased, or purchasable at a later date, at a higher price than a standard amp module, just so long as the difference in price is legitimately justified by higher quality components.
 
It would be a big mistake to pretend a DAP is $699 if no module is included in that pricetag.
 
But I trust James to do the right thing, so I am confident he won't play silly games like that, with the pricing.
 
 
.

I am getting a pair of Philips Fidelio X2s today. I was thinking about picking up a X5 as the DAP I was going to use to play my lossless music on. I previously had an Astell & Kern AK100 II that I returned because I couldn't justify the sound that I was hearing for the $900 price tag. After reading this thread I'm torn as to whether I should wait for the release of the X7, or if I should just jump on the X5 now and if the X7 seems like something that I'd want, then I can sell the X5 to help fund the X7. 

In my opinion, the first place money should go to is headphones/IEM's. Looking at the Fidelio, I think an X5 might be good enough — DAC-wise. I have X5 myself and find it quite good with the Sennheiser HD600, although it lacks a little bit in the amp section, but still very decent. Unless you're looking for a (more )portable solution, you could consider an external amp. And since the AK100II wasn't $900-special', I doubt the difference in money between X5 and X7 is going to do a lot for you in terms of sound quality, especially with the Fidelio. 
 
edit:
Also, check this review:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/philips-fidelio-x2/reviews/12247
 
All this, is of course my opinion.
YMMV
 
G.

Get the X5, it's quite good.  Or get a Pono, it is, to me better and just above the X5 price point.  The X5 does a few more things than does the Pono, but the Pono plays lossless music beautifully and with more detail than does the X5.  Either way, it is 400-500 bucks cheaper than the AK.