KaiFi
500+ Head-Fier
Looks like Q7 is on Amazon now but already out of stock 
FiiO Q7 Portable Desktop-Class DAC and Headphone Amplifier Discussion & Impressions Thread
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A few days old. But I didn't see this posted when I went back in this thread. Pardon if I missed it ...
https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/fiio-q7/
Yeah! Finally, a bench test that should be reminiscent of the M17 too. Sure it, and how i assume my M17 would test, could be a bit better. But I also know I wouldn't hear it! Lol. So, I'm happy to see this.
https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/fiio-q7/
Yeah! Finally, a bench test that should be reminiscent of the M17 too. Sure it, and how i assume my M17 would test, could be a bit better. But I also know I wouldn't hear it! Lol. So, I'm happy to see this.
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Dear friend,Looks like Q7 is on Amazon now but already out of stock
The Q7 is still on the way to Amazon USA. Will be in stock soon.
Best regards
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My review is fully published now for those interested: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/fiio-q7-portable-desktop-class-dac-amplifier/
sandysaan
New Head-Fier
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Thanks for the detailed and well articulated review. I was planning to get Q7, as I intend to use this a dac with external amp( gustard h16) for headphones (with LO using ifi xlr cable) , and as a standalone dac/amp for iems. But one aspect holding me back is the hiss you have mentioned for sensitive iems. I believe porta.fi was also mentioning on the hiss. I intend to use with 64 audio trio, so would good to know if hiss is audible with trio, as I am very sensitive to hiss.
Good day. I choose a portable device. And then came Fiio. According to the reviews, an excellent device. But too big. There are also competitors Fiio M11plus ess, ibasso dx240 and Shanling m6 pro21. Which device has the best sound? I don't like too much monitor sound, but I also don't like it too much. I don’t have tight headphones, so I don’t have high power requirements. The main focus is on sound. I listen to a variety of music. Thank you.
You ask for a comparison of apples and pears. The devices you mentioned are DAPs. The Q7 is a mobil DAC/Amp.
The Story of FiiO Portable Desktop-Class Amplifier Q7
Chapter 4 Design ideas- Making a portable device basede on desktop concepts
Today we are going to talk about some design ideas of the Q7, which designs on the M17 are continued and some new designs that are different from the M17.
A copy of the M17? (See picture 1)
From the appearance, it is very intuitive to see that the Q7 is an M17 without the playback function. Indeed, this was our original idea. Because the M17 itself adopts the separate digital-analog section design. Therefore, by replacing the digital section with decoding amps, we can smoothly iterate a high-performance DAC/Amp.
This was a discussion thrown by our CEO James after the release of the M17. It received positive feedback from users.
Pictures 2 and 3 are the internal PCB diagrams of the Q7 and M17. We can see that the layout of the two products is very similar. The analog board is the commonly-used single ES9038PRO, while the digital board is replaced by our newly designed core board including the XMOS XU316 chip.
Surveys and discussions are just a guide, and the focus is on user feedback and needs, as well as the actual evaluation of subsequent projects. As the current supply environment and the economy are frustrated, it is indeed difficult for us to make products, and there are many constraints. Based on the development of the M17, it is a democratization of cutting-edge technologies, not necessarily a complete copy.
First, we have continued the widely recognized designs on the M17 to the Q7.
- External power supply design similar to desktop devices, which can provide more abundant power supply than batteries.
- Up to 3W output amp circuit, suitable for ear buds and full-sized headphones.
- Comparable to the 9200mAh battery with the capacity of the mobile power supply, which can guarantee more than 10 hours of battery life.
- In addition to DC and battery power supply, energy storage is also closer to desktop devices; also, super capacitors and multiple aluminum electrolytic capacitors ensure sufficient dynamics.
- Features a standard USB-B optical port and RCA coaxial port, which can be connected to the audio source without an adapter cable.
Second, some audio configurations have also been retained.
- A single ES9038PRO DAC that flagships will definitely choose.
- Fully balanced audio circuit for better crosstalk and dynamics.
- The audio channel uses high-precision film resistors with low temperature drift, low noise, and low-loss film capacitors to ensure audio reproduction.
- 5-level gains that support supply voltage adjustment and hardware amplification adjustment, which can adapt to a wider range of headphones.
Chapter 4 Design ideas- Making a portable device basede on desktop concepts
Today we are going to talk about some design ideas of the Q7, which designs on the M17 are continued and some new designs that are different from the M17.
A copy of the M17? (See picture 1)
From the appearance, it is very intuitive to see that the Q7 is an M17 without the playback function. Indeed, this was our original idea. Because the M17 itself adopts the separate digital-analog section design. Therefore, by replacing the digital section with decoding amps, we can smoothly iterate a high-performance DAC/Amp.
This was a discussion thrown by our CEO James after the release of the M17. It received positive feedback from users.
Pictures 2 and 3 are the internal PCB diagrams of the Q7 and M17. We can see that the layout of the two products is very similar. The analog board is the commonly-used single ES9038PRO, while the digital board is replaced by our newly designed core board including the XMOS XU316 chip.
Surveys and discussions are just a guide, and the focus is on user feedback and needs, as well as the actual evaluation of subsequent projects. As the current supply environment and the economy are frustrated, it is indeed difficult for us to make products, and there are many constraints. Based on the development of the M17, it is a democratization of cutting-edge technologies, not necessarily a complete copy.
First, we have continued the widely recognized designs on the M17 to the Q7.
- External power supply design similar to desktop devices, which can provide more abundant power supply than batteries.
- Up to 3W output amp circuit, suitable for ear buds and full-sized headphones.
- Comparable to the 9200mAh battery with the capacity of the mobile power supply, which can guarantee more than 10 hours of battery life.
- In addition to DC and battery power supply, energy storage is also closer to desktop devices; also, super capacitors and multiple aluminum electrolytic capacitors ensure sufficient dynamics.
- Features a standard USB-B optical port and RCA coaxial port, which can be connected to the audio source without an adapter cable.
Second, some audio configurations have also been retained.
- A single ES9038PRO DAC that flagships will definitely choose.
- Fully balanced audio circuit for better crosstalk and dynamics.
- The audio channel uses high-precision film resistors with low temperature drift, low noise, and low-loss film capacitors to ensure audio reproduction.
- 5-level gains that support supply voltage adjustment and hardware amplification adjustment, which can adapt to a wider range of headphones.
WarrenS
100+ Head-Fier
Great write up!
What are your impressions of the HE1000SE with the Q7 vs a desktop setup? I have the HE1000V2'S and the Q7 would be a compelling option if the pairing sounds great.
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For me the HE1000se paired better with R-2R DACs and something like the EF400 worked well to effectively be a warm smoothening filter over the otherwise bright and potentially fatiguing upper mids and treble response. With the Q7 I did use the FiiO Control app to have a few EQ filters that help but the pairing isn't the most ideal- more to do with the headphones than the Q7.Great write up!
What are your impressions of the HE1000SE with the Q7 vs a desktop setup? I have the HE1000V2'S and the Q7 would be a compelling option if the pairing sounds great.
WarrenS
100+ Head-Fier
Many thanks for your reply. I totally understand where you are coming from regarding this pairing
dsrk
Headphoneus Supremus
Excellent review and very nice photography. Seems like Q7 is not my cup of tea. If FiiO comes up with an R2R DAC something like R7 or M17R, I am going to jump right in.
I really liked HE1000v2 paired with EF400 better than HE1000se which was still a little bright for me. I'm a warm head
. EF400 did help tone down the brightness of HE1000se and warm it up a little.
Just received this today! I'm currently listening with my U12T. I started off wired, but switched to bluetooth to walk around more comfortably and the sound I'm hearing is still fantastic. I need to put this head-to-head with my BTR7. I've read how much of a chonk this unit is, and while it definitely has some heft, I'm content with the size.
It's an awkward piece of gear to justify keeping between my Pendant SE desktop amp and my portable BTR7, but I'm happy knowing that I will have ample amounts of power and better sound quality when I'm lugging this around the house, a buddy's place, or the workplace with my IEMs or over-ears. I'm usually seated when I'm listening to music anyway.
It's an awkward piece of gear to justify keeping between my Pendant SE desktop amp and my portable BTR7, but I'm happy knowing that I will have ample amounts of power and better sound quality when I'm lugging this around the house, a buddy's place, or the workplace with my IEMs or over-ears. I'm usually seated when I'm listening to music anyway.
Attachments
I am running it 7/24 in Ultra gain with the Focal Clear Mg and it doesn't get hot at all.
The Story of FiiO Portable Desktop-Class Amplifier Q7
Chapter 5 Digital control core module
Today we will continue the topic of the Q7's design ideas. This time we will talk about some new designs of the Q7 that are different from the M17, mainly in the digital audio part and the interactive part.
In the Q7, we upgraded the previous digital audio decoding core, and made a small separate module at the same time (see picture 1).
This module covers (USB) digital audio processing, optical and coaxial decoding, dual audio clock, system operation controller and other components. Their features are explained as follows.
1. The latest XMOS XU316 decoding chip, mainly for AI and high-performance DSP applications. (See picture 2)
The previous XU208 used by FiiO before is 65nm process, but due to the overlap with automotive electronic semiconductors, it was out of stock with an increasing price. The XU316 process has been upgraded to 28nm. In addition to the advantages of supply, the power consumption is lower. Equipped with 16 cores as standard, the computing power is doubled, and it supports PCM 768k, DSD512, as well as MQA Full Decoder. The significance of MQA Full Decoder is when playing MQA tracks on any playback software, such as Foobar, it can realize the whole process of MQA decoding + rendering. (See picture 3)
2. A new generation of SPDIF decoding technology
In the newly developed digital core board, a SPDIF receiver chip is added for optical and coaxial signal reception. Different from the conventional receiving + decoding of SPDIF signal two-in-one processing, our new technology first receives SPDIF signals through the chip, and then transmits them to the XMOS chip for decoding before converting at the final stage. After being processed by the XMOS chip, the quality and performance of audio restoration are higher. Other than supporting PCM 192K, it also supports DSD64 in DoP mode. (See picture 4)
3. The operating system is more efficient
In order to manage the switching and operation of USB, SPDIF, and Bluetooth decoding functions, the Q7 uses an industrial-grade Ti Cortex M4 controller. The small real-time operating system equipped with it can also ensure the smooth operation of UI interaction while driving the color LCD. FiiO's DAC/Amps have since entered the era of visual interaction. This system from the BTR7 to Q7 has been gradually improved to be mature, and it will appear on our future new products, bringing users a more intuitive, efficient and vivid operation experience. (See picture 5)
Chapter 5 Digital control core module
Today we will continue the topic of the Q7's design ideas. This time we will talk about some new designs of the Q7 that are different from the M17, mainly in the digital audio part and the interactive part.
In the Q7, we upgraded the previous digital audio decoding core, and made a small separate module at the same time (see picture 1).
This module covers (USB) digital audio processing, optical and coaxial decoding, dual audio clock, system operation controller and other components. Their features are explained as follows.
1. The latest XMOS XU316 decoding chip, mainly for AI and high-performance DSP applications. (See picture 2)
The previous XU208 used by FiiO before is 65nm process, but due to the overlap with automotive electronic semiconductors, it was out of stock with an increasing price. The XU316 process has been upgraded to 28nm. In addition to the advantages of supply, the power consumption is lower. Equipped with 16 cores as standard, the computing power is doubled, and it supports PCM 768k, DSD512, as well as MQA Full Decoder. The significance of MQA Full Decoder is when playing MQA tracks on any playback software, such as Foobar, it can realize the whole process of MQA decoding + rendering. (See picture 3)
2. A new generation of SPDIF decoding technology
In the newly developed digital core board, a SPDIF receiver chip is added for optical and coaxial signal reception. Different from the conventional receiving + decoding of SPDIF signal two-in-one processing, our new technology first receives SPDIF signals through the chip, and then transmits them to the XMOS chip for decoding before converting at the final stage. After being processed by the XMOS chip, the quality and performance of audio restoration are higher. Other than supporting PCM 192K, it also supports DSD64 in DoP mode. (See picture 4)
3. The operating system is more efficient
In order to manage the switching and operation of USB, SPDIF, and Bluetooth decoding functions, the Q7 uses an industrial-grade Ti Cortex M4 controller. The small real-time operating system equipped with it can also ensure the smooth operation of UI interaction while driving the color LCD. FiiO's DAC/Amps have since entered the era of visual interaction. This system from the BTR7 to Q7 has been gradually improved to be mature, and it will appear on our future new products, bringing users a more intuitive, efficient and vivid operation experience. (See picture 5)
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