To my ears the X7 sounded really boring and unpleasant with the Zeus. It was brittle and overtly "digital" to me without any natural qualities to the music, and it ended up being quite fatiguing to listen to for more than a few minutes at a time. The X7 was somewhat better than other Sabre-based DACs I've heard in this regard, but it still sounded thin and had noticeable treble glare. If you like a highly analytical sound the X7 or other Sabre-based DACs are not a bad direction to go when looking for a DAP, but I definitely prefer the warmer/lusher sound signature that my Plenue S brings in spades.
The X7 also had some EMI noise issues when the WiFi was turned on, and that was literally the only feature that I would be buying it for. The Cowon Plenue DAPs don't have the extra bells and whistles like wifi or bluetooth connectivity which leads a lot of people to not look at them seriously when shopping for a DAP,. I found that 99% of the time when I'm using a DAP I either am using it as a USB DAC from my work computer streaming Tidal while at the office, or on a plane where I won't be streaming music anyway, so I didn't need the extra connectivity.
With that said, I've heard the Lotoo Paw Gold is amazing too and is a bit warmer sound signature. I know that
@Mimouille
owned the Plenue 1 for quite awhile, and then sold it when he got the LPG. Mimo, can you comment on the differences between the sound of the P1 and the LPG?