Fiio k7 BT with Hifiman Edition XS

[Sultankami]

Hello, I am a newbie in this space and in this site to bare with me I need your help.
but before we start I'd like to talk about My experience with Audio:
I have Philips HD9500, Jubilee 58X, Audio Tec m50x, dt770 pro 250 ohm, Astro A50 4th gen, . My use case for the Headphones and dac, is mainly gaming, watching movies and TV shows, and youtube videos, and broadcasts. Never experienced true Hifi sound or accurate sound before. I only focused on comfort and convenience thats why I always get back to HD9500 for my large head. but recently I got curious to check what everyone is talking about (Edition XS) with new pricing. So I ordered it and it arrived.

First: my setup consists of, a desktop, intel 9th generation with a moderate GPU. one TV and one 48 inch asus oled. all the USBs are occupied due to many accessories.
connected to the desktop directly to the motherboard is the Fiio k7 by a long 5m cable USB A (Old 2nd Gen) to USB B (Dac) that i purchased for my printer long ago.

now after I warmed up the XS with pink noised and some low frequency videos, I started to listen to my music list and played it one by one total of 4.5 Hrs, and the difference that I felt made me almost cry. it was huge and it made me compare my headphones with each other. night and day.
thankfully my cousin brought his set of headphones to compare.
HD6XX, Grado SR125x, Beyerdynamics 770 80 ohm. we both have the same dac Fiio k7

What I found is that the edition xs is superior in all aspects and we both agreed. but we found an issue that no other headphone had.
there are tracks like at the top of my head (FFDP wrong side of heaven) at the start with the piano, the Fiio k7 nob is turned to max the EXS produced some electrical sound and it is irritating, we changed the dacs, we removed all accessories from the desktop, we removed all electrical sockets near the dac's, we did all we can but still similar issue.
1- I'd like to know what is the upgrade path from Fiio k7 that complements and improve the EXS with similar signature of the K7 warmer tone.
2- Is the cable of the printer is sufficient enough for the dac?
3- Is a balanced cable would resolve this issue or any in the future?
4- Is my unit damaged even though it works fine in everything else.
5- Where can I get the best balanced cables for the edition xs

 

[msing539]

1- I'd like to know what is the upgrade path from Fiio k7 that complements and improve the EXS with similar signature of the K7 warmer tone.

It will depend on how much you're looking to spend. Because you have a single dac/amp, you'd either be buying both, or another all in one.

2- Is the cable of the printer is sufficient enough for the dac?

Do you mean the usb cable? From personal experience, I would say this is worth upgrading. No need to spend a ton of money... the Odin 2 USB knock-off cable from AliExpress is what I use, and is roughly $25 USD depending on length.

3- Is a balanced cable would resolve this issue or any in the future?

If you are maxing out the volume on the K7, a balanced 4.4 cable should get you some more headroom. So I would say this is also worth trying.

4- Is my unit damaged even though it works fine in everything else.

I wouldn't immediately assume it is since you're maxing out volume on the K7.

5- Where can I get the best balanced cables for the edition xs

Considering the cost of the XS, AliExpress is again where I would look for a 4.4 balanced cable.

 

[dunring]

The best value is Openheart cables on AliExpress. I got several of them and really good quality without breaking the bank. The 6ft 4.4mm or XLR are terrific.

 

[Sultankami]

It will depend on how much you're looking to spend. Because you have a single dac/amp, you'd either be buying both, or another all in one.

- Looking for both stack or all in one around 600$ which ever sounds better and more options and future proof and scales well with Edition XS.

Do you mean the usb cable? From personal experience, I would say this is worth upgrading. No need to spend a ton of money... the Odin 2 USB knock-off cable from AliExpress is what I use, and is roughly $25 USD depending on length.

-I dont think there is an official store in aliexpress for this specific cable (Odin 2) knock off, if you can provide me with a link I'd appreciate it (for 3m long) 10ft long

If you are maxing out the volume on the K7, a balanced 4.4 cable should get you some more headroom. So I would say this is also worth trying.

-I ordered a balanced cable from openheart aliexpress 3m long, I hope it solves.

I wouldn't immediately assume it is since you're maxing out volume on the K7.

-Here is where I am confused ... based on the specs of Fiio k7 does it have enough to fully power the edition XS ? not good with the technicalities still

Considering the cost of the XS, AliExpress is again where I would look for a 4.4 balanced cable.

-Done That just now.

 

[Sultankami]

The best value is Openheart cables on AliExpress. I got several of them and really good quality without breaking the bank. The 6ft 4.4mm or XLR are terrific.

Thank you man for your suggestion, I just completed my order
https://ar.aliexpress.com/item/1005...00032557961879!sh!BH!0!X&gatewayAdapt=glo2ara

 

[msing539]

-I dont think there is an official store in aliexpress for this specific cable (Odin 2) knock off, if you can provide me with a link I'd appreciate it (for 3m long) 10ft long

This is moonsaudio store. The cables are drop shipped from warehouses so as long as it looks like this, they're the same cable sold by different stores. Just find the cheapest in your country. Check the homepage of AliExpress and the store home for coupons.

 

[msing539]

Here is where I am confused ... based on the specs of Fiio k7 does it have enough to fully power the edition XS ? not good with the technicalities still

The K7 should have enough power for the XS. This is probably one of the primary headphones people are buying the K7 for. I only meant that if you are maxing out the volume, balanced will get you a little more power and headroom. So try the cable first before upgrading the K7.

 

[Sultankami]

The K7 should have enough power for the XS. This is probably one of the primary headphones people are buying the K7 for. I only meant that if you are maxing out the volume, balanced will get you a little more power and headroom. So try the cable first before upgrading the K7.

I didnt know the Fiio k7 is enough for the EXS I was afraid it wasnt. but I know I can operate the EXS with the PC amp or phone it gets load but the clarity and soundstage between the Fiio and phone/PC is incomparable. I asked for the upgrade from Fiio because I heard reviewers saying it scales well with Amps and Dacs.

But for Now, I have ordered both the balanced cable from (Openheart), and a USB A to USB B Nordost Odin from (MoonsAudio) 3 meters. it should be more than enough.
Appreciate it man, thank you great help.

 

[msing539]

I didnt know the Fiio k7 is enough for the EXS I was afraid it wasnt. but I know I can operate the EXS with the PC amp or phone it gets load but the clarity and soundstage between the Fiio and phone/PC is incomparable. I asked for the upgrade from Fiio because I heard reviewers saying it scales well with Amps and Dacs.

But for Now, I have ordered both the balanced cable from (Openheart), and a USB A to USB B Nordost Odin from (MoonsAudio) 3 meters. it should be more than enough.
Appreciate it man, thank you great help.

You're very welcome. Let us know when they arrive. There are upgrade options for an amp and dac but I think you should try running the XS balanced first.

 

[Sultankami]

You're very welcome. Let us know when they arrive. There are upgrade options for an amp and dac but I think you should try running the XS balanced first.

Both arrived, The Balanced cable and The Odin cable.
First Odin Cable is damaged, I think,
because when I connect it to my dac and play any sound for any headset i have, there is a sudden electrical pulse that is irritating and very loud. so I will return it

The balanced cable however, is an ammmmazing upgrade it made the Edition XS an entirely different Beast, everything is way clearer, the separation and Bass and even the volume it is very much noticeable upgrade.

I think I'll stick with the original USB B cable that came with the dac, and continue my journey with the balanced cable.

If you know anything about this issue with the Odin cable any work arounds that might help before I return it, I recorded a video showing the electrical pulse but i dont know how to export it here or I'll just upload it to youtube and provide the link if my setup need anything,

 

[msing539]

Both arrived, The Balanced cable and The Odin cable.
First Odin Cable is damaged, I think,
because when I connect it to my dac and play any sound for any headset i have, there is a sudden electrical pulse that is irritating and very loud. so I will return it

If you know anything about this issue with the Odin cable any work arounds that might help before I return it, I recorded a video showing the electrical pulse but i dont know how to export it here or I'll just upload it to youtube and provide the link if my setup need anything,

Glad the balanced cable helped! For the Odin usb, plug it in directly to the laptop, not the Anker hub. And don't run it over the top of the laptop. Still same issue?

 

[Sultankami]

Glad the balanced cable helped! For the Odin usb, plug it in directly to the laptop, not the Anker hub. And don't run it over the top of the laptop. Still same issue?

It doesnt get recognized by the laptop if i connect it directly, and i did connect it to the desktop , the only usb attached to the desktop is the odin cable, and the cable was on the carpet. Still same issue

 

[msing539]

It doesnt get recognized by the laptop if i connect it directly

That's a strange one. Even after a restart with the cable connected during boot?

 

[Sultankami]

The cable is not consistant and weird, I bought the anker hub for extra Usb 3s thinking that the one on my laptop is a Usb 2, but it turns out its a full usb 3 ... now the hub is connected to a thunderbolt 4, with usb 3 speeds up to 5GB, it worked fine with the hub.
As for the desktop, i have both usb 2 and 3 near eachother and same thing , on usb 2 didnt recognize it on 3 it did immediately.

Keep in mind, i removed everything from the desktop all accessories and still got the electrical sound,
On the laptop however, when it got recognized the pulse sound (i dont know which terminology i should use) it became louder, thats why i wanted to capture the video very fast so i dont damage the edition xs.

 

[msing539]

I'm not sure what's up but yes, I'd return that cable.