[duyu]

The iPhone and iPad should output bit-perfect without down-sampling, if you're using a newer phone with a newer iOS, and you're using the Camera Connection Kit or similarly compatible cable with it.
Android would usually down-sample -- I don't remember if the latest Android versions fixed this.
More information about what iOS and Android version you're using would be helpful here.

Thanks, Currawong. You're right that the output is bit-perfect. I've tried other songs with 96k, it shows that correctly. So I guess the distortion is not caused by downsampling, but the decoding work didn't bypass iphone or ipad's internal dac. However, there is no problem using the MacBook Pro. Comparing Ed's "The Joker and the Queen" with an iPhone/iPad and a Macbook, I find it obvious the treble from the former is distorted.

For Android, I'm using a dumb Redmi phone. It is Android 7.

 

[armstrj2]

but the decoding work didn't bypass iphone or ipad's internal dac

If you are outputting via lightning or a UBS C port there's no DAC to bypass surely? The iPhone or iPad is just acting as transport and it's the DAC that is in the Q7 that is in use. I don't think there is a DAC in iPhones or iPads since the jack was removed. The DAC is located in the little Lightning to 3.5mm dongle that they make you use now.

 

[duyu]

If you are outputting via lightning or a UBS C port there's no DAC to bypass surely? The iPhone or iPad is just acting as transport and it's the DAC that is in the Q7 that is in use. I don't think there is a DAC in iPhones or iPads since the jack was removed. The DAC is located in the little Lightning to 3.5mm dongle that they make you use now.

I've tried both iPad (usbc) and iPhone (camera kit). It is the same. I think you're right that there is a default DAC bypass for the iPhone. So it is probably Apple Music's software issue. The "master" version of the same song wouldn't send to the external DAC, unless you use the MacBook.
My solution is to give up Apple Music and subscribe Tidal. I've found that MAQ works perfectly via my iPhone. The "master" version of the same Ed's song can be successfully transmitted. I will do a close comparison later between Apple Music (MacBook) and Tidal later.

 

[FiiO Willson]

Finally got mine today! Here are some of my random thoughts:

-This is the most expensive headphone amp I've ever owned. Theoretically, it should then be the best-sounding and that does seem to be true. It beats out the iFi Gryphon in my opinion.
-Although I was worried this would be "semi-portable", it is not quite as big and ungainly as I was imagining. It's heavy for a portable, but it is portable, and as a laptop user, I think this is perfect for laptop listening.
-I wish the color on the volume knob indicated volume level rather than bitrate. The lights on the side already indicate bitrate. We don't really need two bitrate indicators. One thing I liked about the Gryphon was the use of color to indicate volume level, so it's instantly obvious which volume range you're in. Here the only way to tell is to wake up the screen with the power button. So having to wake up the screen to adjust the volume between genres (because some genres need to be listened to at different volumes) is kind of annoying.
-Which brings me to my next gripe: the screen. I wish there were a way to rotate its orientation. It's clear that this amp is meant to be used in one orientation. But with my setup, it makes much more sense to use it lying flat on the desk or couch or whatever with the headphone-out and knob toward me and the USB connection away from me (and this is indeed how I used the Gryphon and the Fiio Q5). But doing this with the Q7 means the screen is upside-down. For something portable it should be more accommodating to different uses rather than the one orientation.
-As with all devices that have these filters, I really don't understand them or how they affect the sound.

Other than that, I'm really liking it so far and I can't wait to test it with more headphones.

The flip of this screen, as you mentioned, is really a good idea.
And the color on the volume knob.
We will discuss if it can be achieved. At least we will take this into our subsequent products.
Thanks for the feedback~~

 

[FiiO Willson]

Okay, one thing I’m not liking about the Q7 after testing it more today is that if you pause/stop music, after about a minute or so, the Q7 partially shuts off, dropping the connection, and when you restart the music, it takes a little while for the device to start back up again (including a pop in the audio signal). I don’t know if this is a battery-saving feature or something, but it’s kind of annoying since other portable amps I’ve used don’t do this.

It doesn’t take long to turn the device on and off, so I’d rather do it myself or there could be an auto-shut off after 15 minutes or something. I don’t like the way it currently handles this though.

Hello,
This is normal, because the Q7 is powered by a battery, so we set up the power saving shutdown function, which is detected that when there is no data, the power supply will be turned off within 2 minutes to achieve power saving. This is also the usual feature of some products.

But the question you mentioned, I think we can consider an improvement.
I think we can discuss whether we can do some other time selection, so it can solve your problems?

 

[dsrk]

Hello,
This is normal, because the Q7 is powered by a battery, so we set up the power saving shutdown function, which is detected that when there is no data, the power supply will be turned off within 2 minutes to achieve power saving. This is also the usual feature of some products.

But the question you mentioned, I think we can consider an improvement.
I think we can discuss whether we can do some other time selection, so it can solve your problems?

Good but it's better if users can set the power off timers from the menu.

 

[armstrj2]

I've tried both iPad (usbc) and iPhone (camera kit). It is the same. I think you're right that there is a default DAC bypass for the iPhone. So it is probably Apple Music's software issue. The "master" version of the same song wouldn't send to the external DAC, unless you use the MacBook.
My solution is to give up Apple Music and subscribe Tidal. I've found that MAQ works perfectly via my iPhone. The "master" version of the same Ed's song can be successfully transmitted. I will do a close comparison later between Apple Music (MacBook) and Tidal later.

Are you using the same cable to connect the iPad to the Q7 as you are with the Mac? I've had issues in the past with USB cables as not all of them are made the same. Some are meant for charging only and high res won't work with them. Generally the cables Apple bundle are rubbish.

I connected my iPad Pro to my Fiio K9 Pro and selected some 192khz/24 music and it is outputting from the iPad correctly. No issues with Apple Music or the iPad in my testing anyway. I have to say, I much prefer Tidal though for the UI and to my ears anyway, it seems like there is better quality content on it, but I'm not opening that can of worms

 

[KaiFi]

Hello,
This is normal, because the Q7 is powered by a battery, so we set up the power saving shutdown function, which is detected that when there is no data, the power supply will be turned off within 2 minutes to achieve power saving. This is also the usual feature of some products.

But the question you mentioned, I think we can consider an improvement.
I think we can discuss whether we can do some other time selection, so it can solve your problems?

I think if we could set the shut off time to be 10 or 15 minutes instead, this would be ideal. Mine is working the way it’s supposed to, it’s just that I think 2 minutes is too short of a time to shut off the power. That could be the default, but if we could set a longer time if we want to, that would be helpful.

 

[FiiO Willson]

I think if we could set the shut off time to be 10 or 15 minutes instead, this would be ideal. Mine is working the way it’s supposed to, it’s just that I think 2 minutes is too short of a time to shut off the power. That could be the default, but if we could set a longer time if we want to, that would be helpful.

Got it,we will discuss your suggestions later
Thanks for your feedback !

 

[duyu]

Are you using the same cable to connect the iPad to the Q7 as you are with the Mac? I've had issues in the past with USB cables as not all of them are made the same. Some are meant for charging only and high res won't work with them. Generally the cables Apple bundle are rubbish.

I connected my iPad Pro to my Fiio K9 Pro and selected some 192khz/24 music and it is outputting from the iPad correctly. No issues with Apple Music or the iPad in my testing anyway. I have to say, I much prefer Tidal though for the UI and to my ears anyway, it seems like there is better quality content on it, but I'm not opening that can of worms

Yes, I used the stock cable. I'm happy with Tidal now. To find out the issue of Apple Music, you can compare the same song (one with a master version) using the Macbook (and with a correct Midi setup).

Time to say goodbye to Apple Music.

 

[BS5711]

Yes, I used the stock cable. I'm happy with Tidal now. To find out the issue of Apple Music, you can compare the same song (one with a master version) using the Macbook (and with a correct Midi setup).

Time to say goodbye to Apple Music.

If you are comparing a Lossless or Hi Res Lossless song from Apple Music to the same "Master" song from Tidal you are not comparing the same thing and can't use that comparison to judge if there is some fundamental problem with Apple Music software or Apple devices.

Tidal uses MQA on "Master" tracks and I understand applies the same sort of digital filtering on "Hi Fi" tracks so when you play anything from Tidal you are hearing the difference in digital filtering versus Apple Music more than you are hearing some difference in the inherent quality.

If you apply GTO digital filtering on an iFi DAC it mimics MQA and essentially makes any streaming service or local file music sound somewhat akin to Tidal.

Many would tell you, and I believe they are technically correct, that while you might prefer the sound of a Tidal MQA "Master" track it is technically lossy and technically inferior to a "Lossless" or "Hi Res Lossless" track from Apple or other streaming services which are truly lossless.

Additionally, while you seem content that Tidal from iPhone or iPad is superior to Apple Music from the same device, the Tidal native iOS or Android apps don't actually bypass processing within the Android device, iPhone or iPad, the device does part of the processing and the USB DAC does the rest of it. That is, you cannot do MQA Pass Through on these devices, only on Mac or PC or if you use Tidal through UAPP on Android.

I can't hear any difference between the native Tidal apps with the device doing part of the processing versus UAPP or Mac or PC where they do MQA Pass Through but it isn't the technically superior data transfer that you seem to think it is.

That isn't any criticism of Tidal on my part, just a bit more information for your scenario. I like Tidal and use it alongside Apple Music with an Android DAP, iPhone, iPad mini 6 (USB-C), MacBook and HP laptop, I like Apple Music equally well and use different services on different devices for reasons other than sound quality.

 

[KaiFi]

I gave up on Tidal when I listened to a non-MQA track on both Tidal and Qobuz, and the Tidal track sounded inferior. I could hear distortion in the high notes that was not present in the Qobuz stream of the exact same track. It was the kind of distortion you can hear with Spotify's heavily compressed free tier. I don't know why it happened, but it was repeatable on both my PC and Mac and with different DACs. That told me Tidal was out as an option.

 

[Currawong]

I'll try Apple Music to the Q7 with my iPhone when I get home (I'm returning from a holiday at the moment) and see if I can't work out what is going on.

I think that the TIDAL and Qobuz apps deal with external DACs better sometimes, at least on Android. I don't use them much on iOS, so I haven't checked. Things seem to change a bit with each version of iOS and there is a lack of detailed information.

 

[Ichos]

@FiiO Willson

Your next portable DAC amp should really be something with an embedded WiFi streamer.
Something like the Chord Mojo 2 with the Polly streamer.
It is more compact than the Q7 so the chassis has enough room for accommodating the WiFi module.
Make a Q9 or Q17 with a WiFi streamer and you have a real winner.

 

[FiiO Willson]

@FiiO Willson

Your next portable DAC amp should really be something with an embedded WiFi streamer.
Something like the Chord Mojo 2 with the Polly streamer.
It is more compact than the Q7 so the chassis has enough room for accommodating the WiFi module.
Make a Q9 or Q17 with a WiFi streamer and you have a real winner.

Thanks for your suggestions!
We are working on these technologies and will launch products with these features at the right time.