Applying old article to new device might not always get you the right answer. When that article of mine was written back then, the 6th G was barely out and Apply has just changed their previous policy of leaving the chip marking intact. Instead, Apple started to remark most of the chip they used since 6G, making it much harder to know exactly what chip it was (and of course all the detail about its spec and performance). That being said, most mass marketed DAP todays still lack true 'line-out' - the word is used to described the output of line-level, best possible, cleanest, highest SNR signal in the system. Instead, a lot of resistors, caps and even FM circuit are put between the DAC's line-out pins and the connector on the housing (and that's assuming we are not getting the buffered amp signal on the first place). Manufacturer still call it line-out, as do we most of the time. But are these the best signal you can get? At least for me, 'line-out', from what manufacturer want us to believe in, is more myth than a electronic standard. If they even have a standard to define line-out, we will be getting 2Vrms instead of 0.5Vrms from most iPod / iPhone's line-out (and most other DAP as well). It is the best we was given, but probably not the best that we could have been given. But in the portable world, compromises are everything.
Admittedly, I don't know much about the 7th G. I only own one iPod and (hopefully) never need to get another one. I am not a iPod hater, just never quite see iPod as the cure-all as a DAP user - as good as they are..
