Yes, but not as good implemented as in the micro iDSD Signature or even Black Label.
FiiO Q7 Portable Desktop-Class DAC and Headphone Amplifier Discussion & Impressions Thread
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FiiO BTR5, BTR7, and Q7 together for some visual context on this absolute unit:
gto88
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Can I set display on without auto shutoff, useful when on DC power, but leave it for user to turn on/off would be great.
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sonance
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Anyone have a desktop THX amp like the drop 789 as a point of (subjective) comparison?
gto88
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for the first time, I can get MQA out of Foobar2000 (2.0 beta)
stuck limo
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@FiiO Will this have bluetooth functionality?Very nice, looks awesome! Quick question though: What's this other device on the left side of the picture?
KaiFi
500+ Head-Fier
28:30
I kind of have to agree it's a strange DAC. It's portable, but it's very big and has a cooling stand. Is the cooling stand something you're going to "need"? I'd rather not use it if I don't have to.
I'm not too concerned about the size because I mainly use a laptop and I don't need this to fit in my pocket.
Only the Drop ones, and they sound rather thin, unless you add a linear PSU. The Q7 is a bit warmer-sounding than the M17 though. I wonder if that is from the super capacitors.
Dear friend,
Thanks for the kind feedback. The screen '1min, 2min, 5 min, 30min' time out option will be added in later firmware update. You could check whether this option could meet your need.
Best regards
Chapter 3 What power supply design is needed for higher output power?
Today we are going to talk about the Q7's power supply.
Power supply is the heart of electronic products, and almost all launch events of mobile phones would talk about their battery capacity and charging technology. While for audio products, we require an appropriate power supply system, as well as a more reasonable adaptation of sound performance.
Different products have different requirements for sound quality and power supply systems. General MP3s or music mobile phones do not have independent amps or do have low output power. So an independent LDO and a large-capacity ceramic capacitor filter would be adequate. However, for professional headphone amplifiers, a more careful design and debugging are required for great reliability and excellent sound quality.
Take FiiO's small portable DAC/Amp Q3 as an example. It adopts the design of separate digital-analog power supply, separate power supply for the front and rear stages, and multiple tantalum capacitors for filtering. While for the portable DAC/Amp Q7, it has 10 times higher output power and 3 times higher power supply voltage. So, the design of the power supply must be carefully optimized (See picture 1).
In a product with a nominal dynamic range of 110dB, the corresponding peak output voltage range is between 80uV and 35V. Such a high dynamic requires the power supply to have low noise and high precision when replaying small signals, and can provide a sufficiently fast and stable transient response for large signals.
In the vocabulary of audio, capacitors mean the space to store energy. The Q7's output power comparable to a desktop device decides that it does need capacitors. Traditional large electrolytic capacitors cannot be fitted in the Q7. So we can only choose Murata's high-performance DMF supercapacitors with higher cost and higher energy density. With 45mΩ ultra-low impedance, 10A discharge capacity, -40℃ to +70℃ ultra-wide operating temperature and other excellent performances, it ensures super transient power supply capability. 470mF is equivalent to 1000 470uF electrolytic capacitors and 100 4700uF electrolytic capacitors (just the comparison of capacity) (See picture 2).
In addition to the supercapacitor at the main power supply, a large-capacity filter capacitor is also placed in the power supply of the grading circuit. Especially in the rear-stage four-way amp driven power supply, more than 10 aluminum electrolytic capacitors were added with near 2000uF total capacity. The participance of aluminum electrolysis can not only meet the energy demand, but also provide a fuller and warmer sound performance than ordinary ceramic capacitors. (See picture 3).
Having talked about so much about the power supply design and capacitor matching, let's take a look at the actual performance of the Q7 through a power and distortion graph (See picture 4).
*The abscissa in the figure stands for output power, and the ordinate stands for distortion.
Take a simple look at this graph. First, under the nominal undistorted power output of 3W+3W (left and right each for 3W), it can keep less than 0.05% distortion. Second, in the commonly used mW-level power segment, the distortion maintains an excellent level of 0.001%.
Therefore, the name of the Q7, portable desktop DAC and amplifier, is not just talking on paper, nor is it just piles of materials gathered in one device in order to brag about the higher output power. It is a confession that we put ourselves in the shoes of users and think about the exact needs, and put into practice the spirit of perseverance and excellence.
Today we are going to talk about the Q7's power supply.
Power supply is the heart of electronic products, and almost all launch events of mobile phones would talk about their battery capacity and charging technology. While for audio products, we require an appropriate power supply system, as well as a more reasonable adaptation of sound performance.
Different products have different requirements for sound quality and power supply systems. General MP3s or music mobile phones do not have independent amps or do have low output power. So an independent LDO and a large-capacity ceramic capacitor filter would be adequate. However, for professional headphone amplifiers, a more careful design and debugging are required for great reliability and excellent sound quality.
Take FiiO's small portable DAC/Amp Q3 as an example. It adopts the design of separate digital-analog power supply, separate power supply for the front and rear stages, and multiple tantalum capacitors for filtering. While for the portable DAC/Amp Q7, it has 10 times higher output power and 3 times higher power supply voltage. So, the design of the power supply must be carefully optimized (See picture 1).
In a product with a nominal dynamic range of 110dB, the corresponding peak output voltage range is between 80uV and 35V. Such a high dynamic requires the power supply to have low noise and high precision when replaying small signals, and can provide a sufficiently fast and stable transient response for large signals.
In the vocabulary of audio, capacitors mean the space to store energy. The Q7's output power comparable to a desktop device decides that it does need capacitors. Traditional large electrolytic capacitors cannot be fitted in the Q7. So we can only choose Murata's high-performance DMF supercapacitors with higher cost and higher energy density. With 45mΩ ultra-low impedance, 10A discharge capacity, -40℃ to +70℃ ultra-wide operating temperature and other excellent performances, it ensures super transient power supply capability. 470mF is equivalent to 1000 470uF electrolytic capacitors and 100 4700uF electrolytic capacitors (just the comparison of capacity) (See picture 2).
In addition to the supercapacitor at the main power supply, a large-capacity filter capacitor is also placed in the power supply of the grading circuit. Especially in the rear-stage four-way amp driven power supply, more than 10 aluminum electrolytic capacitors were added with near 2000uF total capacity. The participance of aluminum electrolysis can not only meet the energy demand, but also provide a fuller and warmer sound performance than ordinary ceramic capacitors. (See picture 3).
Having talked about so much about the power supply design and capacitor matching, let's take a look at the actual performance of the Q7 through a power and distortion graph (See picture 4).
*The abscissa in the figure stands for output power, and the ordinate stands for distortion.
Take a simple look at this graph. First, under the nominal undistorted power output of 3W+3W (left and right each for 3W), it can keep less than 0.05% distortion. Second, in the commonly used mW-level power segment, the distortion maintains an excellent level of 0.001%.
Therefore, the name of the Q7, portable desktop DAC and amplifier, is not just talking on paper, nor is it just piles of materials gathered in one device in order to brag about the higher output power. It is a confession that we put ourselves in the shoes of users and think about the exact needs, and put into practice the spirit of perseverance and excellence.
Looks like it, else what is the function of AC/DC flip switch - If battery was there then comes all the battery longevity problem.
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I have both G5 and M17. For M17, actually I think the sound quality difference between battery and DC mode is over exaggerated. Both G5 and M17 are fantastic sounding devices. There are no DAPs in the market that would make me want to replace my M17.
G5 is also a ridiculously good, clean sounding device with lots of power. It is amazing. Two things though: Its battery doesn't last much with demanding HP. 4000 mAh compared to 9200 mAh from Q7 and M17. Second issue is the charging, as the recent (QC 4.0? I am not sure) chargers cannot charge it.
Still I love the G5 and Topping as always did great engineering there. But I would still rate the FiiO devices more mature (not comparing from sound but feature completeness point of view). I also think that FiiO is the most consumer friendly manufacturer of all. They are always here, checking and responding to our messages. They also do great engineering.
So I am quite happy with both.
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