[scracy]

Chain: Tidal via Roon on Mac > FiiO K7 [ 4.4mm balanced ] > Hifiman Edition XS / Letshuoer S12

Just picked up a unit earlier today.

Let me make a disclaimer first and foremost that I paid for my K7 out of my pocket. I have never been compensated in any way for any of my reviews or impressions, nor do I intend to go down that route.

My only piece of FiiO source/amplifier gear was the humble FiiO E10K Olympus some years back. Most recently, my primary DAC/amp was the iFi micro iDSD Signature, then the JDS Element II and JDS Atom stack before that, with the iFi ZEN stack being my staple for the last year or so.

Note that I no longer own any of the units mentioned above nor do I have any other sources to conduct a direct comparison with the K7, so take the following impressions with a grain of salt.

My first impression of the K7 and the Hifiman Edition XS via the 4.4mm balanced output was: airy, pristine, clean, refined, spacious, cinematic, full-bodied, with a meaty and robust low-end that exhibits strong control and grip.

By comparison, and from memory, the iFi micro iDSD Signature sounded distinctly softer, mellower, warmer, more intimate, less precise, and less detailed, even with the GTO filter.

So far my main nitpicks are a dead zone on the volume pot between 7 to 10 o’clock on both my full-sized Edition XS and my Letshuoer S12, and the slow initial ramp up in volume before 1 o’clock.

Build quality is solid, and the volume pot is smooth, sturdy, with a pleasant amount of resistance.

These are early impressions, and time will tell how they hold up in terms of quality control. For now, colour me impressed.

There is no doubt the FiiO K7 is an outstanding value proposition. I primarily use mine as a balanced amp for my IEM's as I still prefer the WA7 tube amp for the over ear headphones that I own in the case of the HD660S in particular I have found the K7 sounds a little too clean if that makes sense?

 

[FiiO Willson]

Chain: Tidal via Roon on Mac > FiiO K7 [ 4.4mm balanced ] > Hifiman Edition XS / Letshuoer S12

Just picked up a unit earlier today.

Let me make a disclaimer first and foremost that I paid for my K7 out of my pocket. I have never been compensated in any way for any of my reviews or impressions, nor do I intend to go down that route.

My only piece of FiiO source/amplifier gear was the humble FiiO E10K Olympus some years back. Most recently, my primary DAC/amp was the iFi micro iDSD Signature, then the JDS Element II and JDS Atom stack before that, with the iFi ZEN stack being my staple for the last year or so. Other notable amps I've owned include the Drop + THX AAA 789, Monolith Liquid Platinum, and Schiit Asgard 3.

Note that I no longer own any of the units mentioned above nor do I have any other sources to conduct a direct comparison with the K7, so take the following impressions with a grain of salt.

My first impression of the K7 and the Hifiman Edition XS via the 4.4mm balanced output was: airy, transparent, pristine, clean, refined, effortless, spacious, cinematic, with a full-bodied and robust low-end that exhibits strong control and grip.

By comparison, and from memory, the iFi micro iDSD Signature sounded distinctly softer, mellower, warmer, more intimate, less precise, and less detailed, even with the GTO filter.

I certainly would not characterise the K7's sound as sterile, cool, or limp in any way. It also does not exhibit the 'flatness' and two-dimensional presentation of the JDS Atom stack, or the compressed and strained quality of the Topping gear I've owned and auditioned (Topping G5 and NX4).

So far my main nitpicks are a dead zone on the volume pot between 7 to 10 o’clock on both my full-sized Edition XS and my Letshuoer S12, and the slow initial ramp up in volume before 1 o’clock.

Build quality is solid with excellent fit and finish, and the volume pot is smooth, sturdy, with a pleasant amount of resistance.

These are early impressions, and time will tell how they hold up in terms of quality control. For now, colour me very impressed.

Thanks for your support and your Sincere comments！

About the problem you mentioned:
“So far my main nitpicks are a dead zone on the volume pot between 7 to 10 o’clock on both my full-sized Edition XS and my Letshuoer S12, and the slow initial ramp up in volume before 1 o’clock.”---------This depends on the digital encoder we chose, so there is a small section with no value. But I guess this is a small problem,

 

[ahmonge]

a dead zone on the volume pot between 7 to 10 o’clock

The same goes for the K5 Pro. Rather than a defect of the unit, it is a feature of its design.

 

[Roxaos]

Really hoping I can find a solution to this problem. Literally the only thing stopping me from using the K7 full time.

 

[scracy]

Really hoping I can find a solution to this problem. Literally the only thing stopping me from using the K7 full time.

I cant help but think that both yourself and your friend are running a piece of software that is causing a conflict with the K7 driver. Have you tried using any of the other inputs other than the USB in particular the RCA inputs?

 

[morpheus620]

Hello,

I got the K7 yesterday and it's really good for the price. He will even replace my Geshelli combination.
Only I have one problem. When starting Windows, the K7 is not recognized. I have to switch the K7 off and on again. Only then does Windows recognize it. The driver is from FiiO.

 

[reiserFS]

If you're running Win 10 / 11, you won't need a driver, unless you're planning to run ASIO, which was deprecated by WASAPI.

 

[Roxaos]

I cant help but think that both yourself and your friend are running a piece of software that is causing a conflict with the K7 driver. Have you tried using any of the other inputs other than the USB in particular the RCA inputs?

No we’ve only been using USB. I wonder what software could be the culprit assuming that is the problem.

 

[scracy]

No we’ve only been using USB. I wonder what software could be the culprit assuming that is the problem.

The thing is only yourself and your friend have this issue with two different K7's which is why I suspect a software conflict or perhaps even a background process from an installed piece of software that may not even being running at the time but the background process for that software is, if that makes sense?

 

[rodel808]

If you're running Win 10 / 11, you won't need a driver, unless you're planning to run ASIO, which was deprecated by WASAPI.

I had to install the Fiio driver to get "exclusive mode" working in Amazon Music (desktop app, Win11). Weird thing after installing the driver, the Fiio K7 is identified as "Fiio Q series".

Edit. Not sure if Amazon Music is using WASAPI or ASIO.

 

[godlikegamer]

I had to install the Fiio driver to get "exclusive mode" working in Amazon Music (desktop app, Win11). Weird thing after installing the driver, the Fiio K7 is identified as "Fiio Q series".

Edit. Not sure if Amazon Music is using WASAPI or ASIO.

it is not weird to be named as Fiio Q Series, Fiio said before all same categories to be same name due to easier programming...

 

[rodel808]

it is not weird to be named as Fiio Q Series, Fiio said before all same categories to be same name due to easier programming...

I wonder what happens if you have multiple Fiio dacs connected. Do you get something like:
Fiio Q (1)
Fiio Q (2)

I guess the word "weird" was wrong to use. I was just expecting to see the name of the product. I do still have one of the first Fiio products they produced named Q1 which is also a dac\amp so when I saw it I was thinking of that old dac and not the K7.

 

[godlikegamer]

I wonder what happens if you have multiple Fiio dacs connected. Do you get something like:
Fiio Q (1)
Fiio Q (2)

I guess the word "weird" was wrong to use. I was just expecting to see the name of the product. I do still have one of the first Fiio products they produced named Q1 which is also a dac\amp so when I saw it I was thinking of that old dac and not the K7.

Yes, it will show as (1) (2).. in window you will see all same categories named as same model, DACs is Q for example, in order to find the specific model you had to go under the their Fiio Control Panel...

 

[Roxaos]

The thing is only yourself and your friend have this issue with two different K7's which is why I suspect a software conflict or perhaps even a background process from an installed piece of software that may not even being running at the time but the background process for that software is, if that makes sense?

The only thing I can confirm is him and I being the only instances of this happening in this thread. Our systems aren’t by any means identical, and the software we use (discord, Spotify, edge/chrome) isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.

 

[scracy]

The only thing I can confirm is him and I being the only instances of this happening in this thread. Our systems aren’t by any means identical, and the software we use (discord, Spotify, edge/chrome) isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.

Its strange though that you have two K7's with the same issue and only yourself and your friend have this issue which suggests you are both running something on your computer that nobody else is, it may not even be audio related software and unlikely something common that you just mentioned. I remember on my P.C that an anti-virus program that shall remain nameless (starting with the letter K) completely destroyed my Corsair Cue software installation after an update to the point where I could not just re-install Corsair Cue I had to re-install Windows to solve the Corsair cue issue, needless to say took forever to find the conflict. Hopefully your issue wont come to that but yeah I suspect a conflict somewhere on both your P.C's. Ideally try using your K7 on a completely different machine to 100% eliminate both the K7's being the issue.