FiiO R7

TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Fiio R7

The Fiio R7 has been sent to me on loan by Zococity, under the condition that I get to use the device for a week before shipping it back. They have requested that I post my opinions in the reproductorMP3 forum but no further requests or comments have been made.

You can find a link the R7 via Zococity by visiting the version of this review published on my blog (link at the end of this post).

As with all my links, this is a non-affiliate link and I do not receive anything in exchange for clicks or purchases made.



Intro…

The Fiio R7 is an interesting device that got me curious when it was released earlier this year. While it could be simply considered a desktop DAP, it’s actually more of an all in one solution for both the desk and as a hub to serve other set ups that you may have at home.

I already run a similar set up in my home, with a central player/server feeding my desktop headphones set up, along with other systems around the house, but it is a combination of devices whereas the R7 offers all of that in one single device. At the time of putting this review together, the R7 is available on Zococity for 750€, so putting it up against all the separate units I have, the price is rather reasonable.

There is a lot going on with the R7, so I will do my best to cover most of the basics but there will be a lot of stuff I end up skipping (or forgetting) in my review, so please forgive me if I don’t answer whatever your specific query may be.

Presentation…

As this is a loan unit, I can’t be sure that all the contents and packaging are included. In fact, I received it without a power supply or even a power cable (the unit accepts both AC or DC power), so my guess is that there are items missing that would be included in a retail purchase.

As that is the case and the packaging is the least important part of the product, let’s skip straight to the build and aesthetics.



Build and aesthetics…

The best way I can describe the R7 is that it is like a small desktop computer with a screen and knobs on the front. The case is made of metal, with honeycomb openings on each side (backed by mesh) that allow for refrigeration.

The front of the device has a touch screen that takes up around ¾ of the real estate, which is basically an Android phone in portrait mode. To the right of the screen there are two knobs (with the top one being a push button also), beneath which we find a 4 pin XLR balanced headphone output, a 4.4mm balanced headphone output and a 6.35mm headphone output.

Spinning around to the back of the device, we find a myriad of connections. 2x sets of unbalanced RCA outputs, XLR balanced outputs, micros SD slot, USB C port, USB A port, optical input, optical output, coaxial input, coaxial output, RJ45 lan port, DC power input, AC power input, a selector switch for choosing between AC and DC, a 220v IEC connection and a mains power switch. As you can see, there is no shortage of connectivity on the device, and that is without the Bluetooth and WiFi connections which are internal.

The device looks modern and will fit well on any modern style desk set up, while being small enough to even be placed on a small bookshelf or similar and not stand out. There are coloured rings around the knobs which change depending on the status of the device and add to the modern vibes of the device.

Everything seems to be well built and I am a fan of the aesthetics, although that is obviously a very personal thing.



Functionality…

There are so many options and functions on the R7 that it would take ages to go through them all and, as my reviews are already too long most of the time, I am just going to go over the basics and mention some of the things that catch my attention.

As the device runs on Android, arriving with the Play Store installed (at least on the demo unit I have received), you can install most apps of your choice on the R7. It uses a Snapdragon 660 processor, which is the same processor as the M11s (and the M17) that I reviewed a while back, although in this case we have 4GB of RAM rather than the 3GB found on the M11s.

Both devices (the R7 and the M11s) run Android 10, however, even though the R7 has the extra 1GB of RAM, I do find it to be a little more sluggish in use than I remember the M11s being. As this is a tour unit and I am not the first person to use it (nor have I reset it to factory settings), it is possible that some apps have been installed and are slowing it down slightly. I haven't seen anything that stands out and it is possibly just leftovers from previously installed apps, I haven’t really dug into it too deep, but I just find it to be a little slower. Not terrible but noticeable.

Scanning my test SD card from the Fiio Music app took around 24 minutes to read and load just under 10,000 songs on the R7, whereas the M11s did the same thing in just over 7 minutes.

I will point out that the translation to Spanish seems to be the same as on the M11s, with the same spelling mistakes and incoherent phrases that I found on the portable DAP. Things like “ignore all tracks under 60 years old” are still present, so Fiio still haven’t found anyone from the 486 million people that speak Spanish natively (or the many hundreds of millions more who speak it just as well as natives) to give them a hand with checking the translations

Focusing for a moment on the hardware functionality, as I mentioned in build, on the front we get two balanced and one unbalanced headphone outputs, with two knobs located above them.

The top knob, apart from being a volume control, is also a push button that switches the device on or off. Pressing the button for a couple of seconds powers the unit on, greeting us with the Fiio logo on the screen and the cycling of colours around the knobs, taking around 20 seconds to boot and be ready to play. To turn the device off, we press and hold the same button which brings up a quick mode select menu, with a power soft button at the top right, pressing the soft button brings up an option to turn off or to restart, pressing the off option brings up another off soft button which, when pressed, finally turns off the device. There is no way you will accidentally power off the device, at least from the touch screen. Underneath the screen there are 3 touch buttons which serve the same sort of features as on any Android device. These buttons are located in the black glass surround of the screen, meaning the do not take up any screen real estate and are always present, which is a nice touch.

When turning the volume knob, this brings up a red dial on the screen, reminiscent of a car speedometer, that shows the volume level in digits in the center, the current set gain level underneath and the volume level also on the dial surrounding this info. I don’t find the volume knob to be very smooth when turning, or rather the digital response (the knob itself is very smooth) as it does seem to skip a little when turning fast. However, once the dial is shown on screen, you can just slide your finger up or down to change the volume, which is much faster and smoother in its response.

The other knob on the front of the R7 is to choose the output type. There are four positions which allow you to choose between headphones+pre out (PO+PRE OUT),, headphones output only (PO), preamp output only (PRE OUT) and line output (LO). The line output disables the volume control, whereas the other modes each remember individual volume settings and gain modes when switching between them, something that is very useful.

As far as other hardware controls, we have a mains power switch on the back, along with a AC/DC selector switch. The R7 can be powered by either 100-240V AC, by means of a normal IEC cable, or via an external 12V 3A DC power supply. This means that you can opt to use an external linear power supply if you prefer (which, according to Fiio, “gives your sound an even purer, blacker, background to really make the details pop”). You can choose which power supply you want to use by using the selector switch before turning on the main power switch.

Moving on to the virtual (or rather OS) device controls, we have a quick access to the mode menu that I mentioned before by holding the power button/volume knob for a second or so (a quick press of this button just turns the screen from on to screen saver or off, depending on your settings). This quick menu allows you to choose between the following modes:

- Android mode

- Pure Music mode

- Airplay mode

- USB DAC mode

- Bluetooth Receiver mode

- COAX mode

- Roon Ready mode

- Optical mode

Selecting any of these modes will do exactly what their name suggests. The Android vs Pure Music modes are the same as those found on other Fiio DAPs, where the device can disable all other apps other than the music playback, avoiding any external interference.

In Android mode, we get the usual Android 10 user interface, with a few tweaks to suit it more to the R7. Dragging down the usual top menu, we can decide what we want it to show, with the options to:

- Turn WiFi on or off

- Turn Bluetooth on or off

- Access the same menus that we get from pressing the power button, but in a simpler text format

- Switch Gain level (between Low, Medium, High, Super High and Ultra High)

- Turn on Fiio Roon mode

- Convert all to DSD

- Activate Dark mode

- Activate Night mode

- Rotate screen (this will turn the screen upside down, no horizontal mode is available)

- Invert colours

- Send screen

- Access files

- Share with nearby

There are a couple of things that stand out to me from these options. For example, the send screen option is pretty interesting as you can mirror the screen of the R7 on other devices, such as a Chromecast or other cast devices. This means you could, in theory, show the screen of the R7 in another room of your house. However, I say “in theory” because I have not been able to get it to see any of the devices on my network. I have many kinds of different devices that can receive casts (smart TVs, smart monitors, Chromecast, Fire TVs, etc.) but none of them can be found by the R7. Now, it’s possible that I am just doing something wrong (maybe probable rather than possible, as I didn’t spend too much time with it) but I played around with different settings and still did not manage to get it working.

Another thing that I find interesting is the rotate screen option. This basically turns the screen upside down, allowing you to place the device upside down. Personally the only reason I could see someone needing this for is to have the headphone outputs at the top left instead of the bottom right, yet this would make all the text labels be upside down and, in my opinion, the physical controls harder to use. I could see the benefit of being able to rotate the screen to a horizontal mode, for real estate reasons, but that is not an option.

In the normal Android settings we get the options we would expect on the device, with a couple of things that are a nice touch (although I haven’t had chance to use them personally). These are things like the ability to add VPN’s and share WiFi, which could both come in handy.

As far as the specific audio options in the general settings, we get the following:

- Enable/Disable Optical and COAX outputs

- Select SPDIF output type (DoP or D2P)

- Select Gain (just another way to access this)

- Choose between 3 filter modes

- Choose Bluetooth encoder (LDAC, LHDC, aptX-HD, aptX, AAC, SBC)

- Choose LDAC playback quality (the usual “optimized for audio”, “best effort”, etc.)

- Bluetooth volume adjustment mode (synchronized or independent)

- Balance (adjust from L to R)

- All to DSD (another way to activate this)

- Second Harmonic Distortion regulation (3 different levels).

Again, some of these things are interesting and nice to see, such as the balance adjustment, the Second Harmonic Distortion regulation) and the SPDIF type selection.

Focusing on the actual music playback, as usual, I have used the included Fiio Music app, along with installing Tidal. You can try out the Fiio app on any of your Android devices by downloading it from the Play Store, so I am not going to go deep into it. Basically we can choose between local files stored on the device (which accepts both a micro SD card or an external USB drive, via the ports on the back), or play from DLNA or NAS.

One thing I did find strange with the Fiio Music app on the R7, which I don’t remember being an issue on the M11s, is that I could not play back all files from the SD card except in “All Songs” view. When navigating to the folder that contains all of the albums (each in their own folders), the “Play All” option appears but tapping it does nothing (although the screen does show that it has been tapped).

In my review of the M11s, I mentioned that it had a multifunction button that could be assigned to skip to a next random track, without setting the device to random. This is a function that I really liked as I listen to music a lot in that way when on PC (using Foobar). I will have the player set to just play in normal order, with a quick shortcut that just skips to a random track when pressed. This means that when I get bored of listening to whatever album I am listening to, I hit the random skip button which takes me to something completely different. When I have randomly skipped a couple of times (sometimes more or less), and I come across an album I feel like listening to, the player just keeps playing that album in normal order.

I can put up with not having that “random” button that was so convenient on the M11s but not being able to play back the whole library from anything other than “Songs View” and set it to random is something that I can’t do without. This is because, in “Songs View”, the files are no longer ordered by album but in alphabetical order, so I can’t do the random jump and then keep listening to an album from there. This is obviously a personal thing but is something that I use a lot.

Accessing my music server was fairly quick from the Fiio Music app, a lot faster on first load than my PC using Foobar. I am not sure how many tracks (or albums) I have but my main music server is around 4TB, so there is quite a lot of music on there. Switching between views, from Album view to Song view etc., is also pretty quick, taking just 10 seconds or so, which is quite respectable.

Once again, when playing back from the server, the “Play All” function only works in “Song View” mode, so I face the same issue as above.

One last thing to mention before moving on (this section is already far too long!) is that the coloured rings around the knob change colour depending on the format of the track. In other words, depending on the quality of the track (44.1/16, 44./24, DSD, MQA, etc.), the knobs will give you visual feedback by means of illuminating in yellow, blue, purple etc.



Sound…

Ok, so finally we get to the sound part and here I have found that the R7 suffers from the same issue that the M11s did. When comparing the playback between streaming services and local files, the sound quality is very different.

As I said in my review of the M11s, it is normal for all players to exhibit a difference in sound between local and streamed files but on the Fiio it is much more apparent than on other devices. When comparing the local files to those on Tidal, there is much less liveliness to the tracks that are being streamed. Again, this is something to be expected to a certain extent but is more exaggerated in the differences than I would like.

To be honest, I don’t usually use Tidal at home as I already have plenty of music on my server, it is more something I use when out and about or in the office for music discovery. My wife is the one that uses streaming services in our house and she is still a die hard Spotify fan (due to how easily it integrates into all of our systems throughout the house).

That means that the difference between Tidal files and local files are not as much of an issue for me with the R7 as they were on the M11s, as the R7 is a stationary “at home” or “in the office” device, not something that I would take with me away from my networks that already have my music collection available on them.

I say that it is not an issue as playing back the tracks from my server via the network presents no audible difference to the same track being stored locally on the SD card of the R7. Admittedly this is not a blind test but switching between server and local seemed to sound exactly the same and at the same volume level from both sources.

That means that the decrease in quality when streaming from Tidal could be due to the way that Tidal interacts with Fiio but I do remember that Spotify also sounded worse when I tested it on the M11s, although I haven’t tested it here.

So, how does the R7 sound? Well, focusing solely on songs stored locally (or on my network), I think it sounds pretty good. Going by memory, I think it is a little colder than I remember the M11s being but it is still very reminiscent of the sound of the DAP.

On the R7 we have a ES9068AS DAC (rather than the ES9038Q2M of the M11s) paired with dual THX788+ amplifiers, which I feel could be responsible for that slightly more clinical sound. Again, this could be all in my mind, as it is a while since I listened to the DAP, but that is the impression I get.

What this does mean is that we have quite a bit more power on this desktop version, very clean power I may add, with 5 levels of gain and a maximum output of 3.6W. This translates into the R7 powering anything I have on hand with ease, from sensitive IEMs through to power hungry planars (although I don’t have anything super demanding), without any noticeable issue.

Playing with the second harmonic functions, it does take away a bit of the coldness that is present in normal (level 0) mode, so that allows us to tailor the sound a bit more to our personal tastes if that is something we like, although I would say that it never really becomes “warm”.

Using the balanced outputs to feed my main speakers proved to also be very clean and rather clinical, something that can be a very good thing, depending on what the speakers are and what you prefer to feed them with. If you have a speaker set up that provides you with a sound signature you like, then the output of the Fiio is not going to interfere with it.



Conclusion…

The Fiio R7 offers a lot of functionality in a package that I feel is very well priced.

If we focus solely on sound, then I can’t say that it is amazing and it isn't something that I have fallen in love with, but that does not mean it sounds bad, far from it. I have used it for many hours, with many different headphones (and a few speaker set ups), and I really don’t have any complaints about it, just that there are other combinations that I prefer personally. I think this competes with the majority of combo units out there that are priced at the same level or below.

But that is not what makes this device special. The things that set this unit apart from the crowd are that you can use it as an all in one streamer and headphone DAC/Amp, or just as a DAC/Amp, or just as a DAC, or just as a streamer, or as a Roon endpoint, or just about anything you wish, except for a simple amplifier, as there is no analog input. To be honest, although I obviously haven’t been able to test it purely as an amplifier, I don’t think it would be my choice for that purpose at this price anyway.

There are a few things that Fiio could polish in the UI of the device but at the same time, I think that the multiple use scenarios put it in a position where it really doesn’t have much competition. The only other similar device that comes to mind is the Shanling EM5, which has similar functionality but is a different format (much larger and with the screen on the top) and is also more expensive than the R7.

Again, while it wouldn’t be my first choice based solely on the music reproduction (because of personal preferences and not because it is bad), I could easily think of half a dozen scenarios where I could fit an R7 in my system, and many more scenarios where I would recommend it to others (in fact, I already did recommend it to a couple of people I know).

____
As always, this review is also available in Spanish, both on my blog (www.achoreviews.com) and on YouTube (www.youtube.com/achoreviews)

FiiO R7 Integrated DAC/Amp/Streamer: a capable all-in-one?​

Hi everyone, and welcome back The Neighborhood! Today we’re looking at the FiiO R7 thanks in part to MRS, or Mark, over at Super Reviews. I really thank him for supporting this channel and sending this unit in for review! Let’s get inToit!









So, I was instantly attracted to the FiiO R7 when it first came out. You see, I’m a sucker for DACs which implement ethernet, as I stream with Roon, and this offers me a ton of versatility in my home. I just find that ethernet, generally, also just transmits a less corruptible audio signal, so I’m always in favor of using it where and when I can. Unfortunately, there aren’t many DACs under $1000 that feature it. So, when this FiiO released with a Roon Ready touch screen interface at a price of $699, I was excited. It also sports a THX AAA 788 amplifier with five gain stages, 3.6W of output power, and a variety of balanced and unbalanced outputs for headgear and other devices. It can be used as a fixed line out, a preout, a headphone out, or both a preout and headphone out at the same time; selectable via the lower knob on the front of the unit. But be advised, plugging in a headphone in preout/headphone out mode does not disable the preout functions from the back of the unit. The top knob adjusts the volume from left to right, and enters and output selection screen when held down. It also wakes the device up from slumber with a single press, and returns to the home screen with additional presses.









To use this device with Roon, one has to enter a separate application from the “Input/Mode selection” screen. I would have liked to be able to enter Roon and begin playback automatically from devices such as my computer or phone, as I can do this with my Gold Note DS-10, but on the R7 the Roon Ready application has to be running for the device to be recognized. It was also somewhat clunky to switch to a different output mode from the Roon Ready application, as other output modes had a built-in icon that you could access via the touchscreen, but from the Roon Ready application, the only way to access the selection screen was via a long press and hold of the top knob. Overall, I just found the software to be a tad bit confusing, un-user-friendly, and somewhat clunky in its general execution. For example, there was an observable lag towards the beginning of some tracks at times, especially when the device would switch codecs from one to another. Perhaps the Snapdragon 660 can be optimized with further firmware updates by FiiO, but as things stand at the time of this review, the interface needs some work in my opinion. And I mean, FiiO is doing this. There were at least two firmware updates while I had the device in for testing for this review.







Speaking of codecs, the R7 makes use of the ES9068AS; which is cable up to 32bit, 384kHz PCM, DSD2256, and decodes and renders MQA. There’s even an all to DSD mode for those that prefer send out a cedec that is converted to all DSD all the time.










Regarding power-handling. I found that the due to its five stages of gain, I had no problem running sensitive IEMs and most high impedance cans. But, the internal, dual THX AAA 7788+ amplifiers were not powerful enough to drive my 600 Ohm DT880 Special Edition, even balanced, but were strong enough to drive the 470 Ohm Japanese r70x, as well as, a number of other 300 Ohm headphones; such as the Sennheiser 6xx and 8xx. In testing sensitive IEMs like the Orchestra light and the KZ ZSX, the R7 produced a black background on low gain, but I could still observe some noise floor if the gain was not on the lowest setting.












But diving deeper into the sound, its here where I have the biggest my biggest gripes with the R7. Does it sound bad? No, no it doesn’t… I mean it sounds pretty good, but does it sound $700 dollars good? No, not really… Generally speaking, it lacks emotion at times, and there is some particular, peculiar, mild harshness, grit, and grain to the sound, which is most glaring in the upper mids. Both vocals and guitars were noteworthy offenders.









This was particularly evident and troublesome on more revealing gear. Using the R7 as the DAC, feeding into an integrated Circle Labs A200 amplifier, driving a set of Wolf Von Lagna Sons- this is a very revealing system, and it was fairly obvious that the FiiO R7 was the weak point in the chain.









It may not be a fair comparison, as it is currently at least twice the price of the R7, even when on sale, but my Gold Note DS-10 smashes the sonic performance of the FiiO. And, it’s not even close! Now the Gold Note screen is not a touch screen, and it cannot display album art like the FiiO can, but it functions better with Roon, and sounds much better than the FiiO otherwise.









With the Wolf Von Lagna Son field coil dipole speakers putting on a show, as they tend to do, there was no harshness coming from the DAC of the Gold Note, while midrange and treble harshness were clearly evident coming from the R7. Honestly, I was genuinely let down by the performance of the R7 to a certain extent. I had hoped that it might at least keep up with sonic performance of my old SU-8, which is a much cheaper $200 DAC from SMSL, but although the R7’s performance was closer to that DAC, if I had to pick between the two, I would still likely take the SU-8 based on sonic performance alone.









Using the R7 at the review desk with my Cessaro Mini Wagners; which is another revealing speaker powered by my Sprout 100, I had to put the Darkvoice 336 in the chain as a preamp to add some tube goodness and tamp down the harsh character of the R7’s upper mid-range. And don’t get me wrong, the harshness here with the R7 might pass many people’s listening tests with an acceptable rating, but in the end, it’s a deal breaker for me, and its simply just not good enough to remain in my system for the long-term.









I also tested a number of high-end headphones I own or had into the channel for review, including the Rosson Audio RAD-0, the Meze Empyrean, and the Arya Stealth. The mellow, warm character and easy to drive nature of the RAD-0 made it a patricianly good match for the R7, as it also curbed some negative aspects of the sound profile; which we’ve already discussed. The Arya Stealth, being a bit more transparent was not generally as pleasant on the R7 as it is on other devices. It really displayed the problems that I have with this device and it fatigued me to listen to it for prolonged periods of time. I will note; however, that it sounded significantly better sounding with the R7 employed purely as a DAC; driving the Arya Stealth with the 789. The Meze Empyrean was also able to mask some of the blemishes in the sound quality, here or there, but I’ve also heard it sound much better. Of particular note, the bass here was a bit boomy and bloomed on occasion- going overboard on particular tracks.









Now FiiO does make an external power supply that works in conjunction with the R7, but despite trying to obtain one from both Apos Audio and FiiO themselves, I was unable get one in for this review in the end. Apos could not source them, and FiiO wouldn’t send one into the channel for a reasonable price. My hope is that the power supply could both clean up the sound of the R7 and improve its ability to drive higher impedance cans, but without the power supply here for comparison I could not accurately say either way.









Positively, the tonality of the THX amps were some of the most neutral that I have come across. Yet while it’s a tad bit warmer and fuller compared to the 789, it’s also a bit less exacting, less separative, not as spacious sounding, and comes across with less articulation within the presented soundscape.









But I guess for an all-in-one unit, it comes close to matching the performance of separates. And on less revealing, lower-tiered gear, the R7 kept up much better. Nevertheless, I have placed it in my main head-fi system, and lived with it as my main DAC for a few weeks for the sake of this review. But, when this review is over with, I won’t say that I will be sad to see it go. Still, with FiiO’s power supply; which I wasn’t able to test, and some additional firmware updates, I might be convinced to change my mind in the future, as its performance was potentially close to being good enough to stay. Its just not quite there as it stands. Maybe the R7 MK2 will be better?

Check out my YouTube Video of the FiiO R7!

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links.
The price of the FiiO R7 is $699.99 and you can order it from here.



FiiO R7

So what is exactly the FiiO R7 and what is all this fuss about it?
Well, the FiiO R7 is an all-in-one desktop Hifi system combining a player, a DAC, a streamer and headphone amplifier with a large 5" screen for easy navigation and many possibilities of connectivity.
It is a successful fusion of a DAP which is embedded into a compact sized chassis of regular DAC/amp.
You have all the connectivity at the front of your desk or a small side table without the need of anything else and without messy cables lying around.



FiiO R7 internals

The digital/analog conversion stage is equipped with a single piece of the ESS ES9068AS DAC chip.
This one, in addition to ensuring a decoding of a great quality, allows the support of high resolution audio streams, up to PCM 32bit/768kHz, DSD256, MQA and is also roon ready.
The FiiO R7 features a specially designed high-power desktop-grade THX amplification circuit with dual THX AAA 788+ headphone chips on the amplification circuit.
It produces a high-power output delivering up to 3000mW of clean power with five-level gain modes to ensure good pairing with both sensitive IEMs as well as high-power requiring headphones.
A 4th generation FPGA with phase-locked loop clock technology and two femto crystal oscillators are used for vanishing jitter while premium, audio grade, components are used inside the board.



DC/AC dual power supply design

Inside the R7 is a 30W switching power supply.
The AC input circuit employs filtering and purification with a large capacity choke and dedicated high-voltage capacitors.
The DC input circuit is of a ±12V high-voltage power supply design. Both power circuits contribute to the robustness of the power supply system, to better give that dynamic sound to your music.
The R7 can also be used with external DC power supplies, such as the FiiO PL50 linear power supply or other 12V-3A power supplies for a better audio performance.



Design and build quality

The R7 has a rectangular, almost square, shaped body with the shorter surface sitting at the desk and the longer one featuring the portrait oriented display.
The package includes two non-slip basses, one flat and another slightly angled, which I found the most ergonomic, for positioning the R7 onto them and you can even use the included double sided adhesives to secure the contact.
The chassis is very compact, measuring 110x160x134mm, and it doesn't occupy too much space.
You can fit it almost everywhere, from your desk to a small table near a bed or your armchair.
The appearance resembles that of a desktop active monitor like the upcoming SP3 that FiiO has under development and from the photos it looks like that the R7 is going to be the perfect visual match.
The chassis is made from solid aluminum with an excellent build quality and a smooth black or white finish, featuring side honeycomb vents serving both as heat dissipators and giving the R7 a futuristic touch that shares the same design language with FiiO DAPs.



Accessories

Inside the box you are going to find a power cord, a USB data cable, a flat base, an angled base, the quick start guide, two dust proof plugs, four double-sided tapes for attaching the R7 to the base, a MicroSD card holder already installed, a spare fuse and a 6.35mm adapter.



Connectivity

The FiiO R7 features numerous connectivity options without anything really missing:

At the front you have the three headphone outputs, one 6.35mm single ended, a 4-pin XLR and a 4.4mm balanced ones.
The unit comes with two rubber covers for concealing the XLR only or all three headphone outputs when not in use.

At the top right side of the front face there is the multifunction knob for volume adjustment, menu navigation and powering the unit.
Underneath there is a knob for selecting the desired output mode:
PO is for the headphone only outputs, LO only the rear audio outputs are active and fixed at full scale, PRE OUT only the rear audio outputs are active but this time with an adjustable volume and PO+PRE OUT both headphone and rear audio outputs are active.
Both knobs are surrounded by circular, multicolor, RGB lights that will change color according to the input sampling rate and can be further customized through the menu.



At the rear there are:

A micro SD card slot which supports up to 2TB of capacity and hot swapping without the need to power off the R7.
A type - C USB port which supports data transfer, DP output mode, USB DAC and USB host related functions.
A USB host interface that supports external USB devices such as external decoders (USB transport mode), hard disks, keyboards etc.
One optical input and one output.
One coaxial input and one output.
A balanced XLR and two stereo RCA line outputs.
Ethernet for wired connection to the network.
WiFi and Bluetooth antennas that are inbuilt and hidden into the main body.
AC and separate DC power inputs with a selecting switch.



User interface and operating experience

The FiiO R7 can be operated and used in various modes:

Android mode: for a full android experience which bypasses internal SRC like a DAP and with full Google store support so you can download your favorite applications right from the start.
The unit is operated exactly like a DAP with the aid of the 5" touchscreen which is very responsive and has excellent visibility with vibrant colors while you can also use the three customizable touch buttons that are located underneath the display.
You can always place the R7 in landscape position and the display will auto rotate in case that you want to watch a video.
The R7 runs a rather old Android 10 version but thanks to the use of a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, associated with 4GB of RAM it runs very smoothly without any lagging at all.

Pure music mode: where it runs the exclusive FiiO pure music application, killing all other tasks, for a purer audio experience.

USB DAC mode: for connecting any computer or phone like for example when you are gaming or watching movies on the computer and want to upgrade your audio experience.

Bluetooth receiver mode: with support for the LDAC, SBC and AAC codecs but not aptX or aptX HD.

Bluetooth transmitter mode: for connecting to a Bluetooth headset or speaker with support for the SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and LHDC codecs.

The Bluetooth connection is stable and reliable but with so many options lying around the Bluetooth would be my last choice and I would use it only for transmitting music to a Bluetooth headset.

AirPlay receiver mode: for wirelessly connecting to iOS devices.

Roon ready mode: for roon integration

Coaxial/optical decoding mode: for receiving digital signals from external sources like a CD transport or a TV set.

Coaxial/optical and USB output mode: for using the R7 as a digital transport to an external DAC.

You can also use the USB host interface to connect external hard drives and the FiiO KB1 keypad for controlling your music playback with ease.
The R7 also supports the Display Port user interface so you can connect it to an external monitor for an enhanced visual experience.
The unit can also be operated with the aid of the FiiO RM3 Bluetooth remote control which is very handy when you are too lazy to reach for the touchscreen or when you have the R7 placed to a rack and using it as a digital transport to an external DAC.
The remote control is sold separately and while it is not very expensive it would be better if it was included in the package.



I have been using the R7 continuously for more than a month now and I have tested pretty much everything, from the SD card slot to streaming music, hooked my CD transport or used it as a digital transport to an external DAC.
I am happy to report that everything works as advertised without any software issues and I am completely satisfied with the overall user experience.



The remote control

The optional remote control is very useful for the lazy user who likes to control the R7 from a distance.
You can have access to all functions and it is very easy to use it despite some minor quirks.
This is a Bluetooth remote control and not infrared, pairing is very easy, the remote control will enter seek status upon inserting the batteries.
You can control almost everything, from volume to music playback, access your favorites, there is a shortcut to the home screen etc.
A very clever function is that of the mouse which displays a cursor at the R7 screen that will follow your hand movements and allows for even easier control of the R7.
Build quality of the remote control is solid and the only complaint is that it makes an annoyingly audible clicking noise every time you press a button.



What is missing

The R7 has pretty much everything covered and the only input really missing is a line level input for connecting an external analogue source like a phono while a 4.4mm line output would be very handy.

The R7 doesn't support the UpnP protocol out of the box so you cannot control it with your phone through the bubble UpnP application.
This is very important when you have the R7 placed at a distance from you and using it as a streamer to an external DAC.
I hope that this is something doable that FiiO engineers can implement in a future firmware update.



Power output and noise floor

With 3650mWpc/32Ω or 39Vp-p from the balanced output the R7 can easily drive almost every headphone in existence including notoriously difficult loads like the HiFiMan Susvara and the HEDDphone.
Even the single ended output is powerful enough and with 1250mWpc/32Ω it will not have any problem with most of the headphones.
The R7 is absolutely dead silent, especially with the FiiO PL50 linear power supply, and at the low gain setting is perfectly suitable for very sensitive earphones with zero channel imbalance.
The unit stays cool even after a few hours of use at the ultra high gain.
I have used various earphones and headphones like the FiiO FDX, Sennheiser HD8XX, Focal Clear Mg, HiFiMan Ananda Stealth and Meze Liric.
All of them with pure silver cables made by Lavricables.



Listening impressions

The R7 reminds a lot of the FiiO M11 Plus ESS DAP but on steroids, despite using a single ES9068AS DAC chip, thanks to the upgraded amplifier modules, the beefier power supply and the high quality capacitors that are used for fine tuning the sound.
In that regard, the R7 is absolutely balanced sounding with a linear frequency response and a very natural sound signature.
The sound is crystal clear and transparent with excellent source fidelity and at the same time the R7 has a very musical and engaging character that connects the listener with the music.
You wouldn't call it too analogue and organic sounding but still it is not artificial at all and keeps digital glare under control if not completely absent.
The R7 offers a more relaxed and smooth presentation than the FiiO K9 PRO, it might not be as analytical and resolving as the FiiO flagship, not that ultimately transparent and refined but it manages to sound a little more fun and, dare say, engaging.
What is very likable about the R7 is it's timbre realism, the tonal harmony and the frequency coherency, the sound is very harmonious and colorful, rich, lush and quite full bodied, especially in the lows and the mids while it sounds a little drier and leaner in the treble.
The R7 is very musical and enjoyable with all kinds of music and proved a great match with every headphone I have used, it's really difficult to find anything to blame regarding the sound quality of the R7.
I have listened to a lot of classical music, like the following superb interpretation of Mozart's 24th piano concerto, and I honestly think that the R7 offers a listening experience that is extremely satisfying and it greatly surpassed any of my primary expectations.



In the technical department, it might not be to the level of the FiiO K9 PRO ESS as it can't match the sheer dynamics, impact and definition of it's bigger brother but it is eerily close and really not lacking that much.
The bass extends really low, it is tight, controlled and clearly defined with very good layering and contrasted impact.
The R7 is fast and dynamic with great transparency in the mid range, it is articulated, resolving and detailed with plenty of clarity and luminosity in the treble without any associated brightness and sharpness, you can use your already bright headphones without the fear of crossing the harshness line.
The single ended output is very good but switching to the balanced you are rewarded with an expansive and holographic soundstage that draws a solid center image with deep layering and precise imaging while the R7 is very communicative especially when listening to live recordings.

In the end

The FiiO R7 is not something really new, there are already a handful of similar products, but it is so well designed and implemented that it condemns all competition to obscurity.
FiiO has made the perfect all-in-one desktop device that embodies a streamer, a DAC, a headphone amplifier and an Android DAP under the same, very compact, chassis that can fit virtually everywhere.
The FiiO R7 is the audiophile's dream, a swiss army knife that can successfully fulfill various needs, from forming the heart of a desktop audio setup to being your bedside companion and all these with great sound quality too.
The FiiO R7 is the most innovative and intriguing product FiiO has ever designed, it points the way to the future and makes us wonder about the already announced FiiO R9.
Well done FiiO.

Test playlist

Copyright - Petros Laskis 2023.