Last night I spent about 3 hours testing X7 (using Westone ES60 CIEM) and here is my initial impression. Keep in mind, it will be a more critical analysis, rather than praises. X7 deserves a lot of praises for sure, its a huge step up for FiiO, but with so many high expectations and considering I have access to a lot of other DAPs the initial reaction is more critical
Hardware:
Solid build, very slick, almost too slick and a bit on a heavy side which means "easy to drop". Will certainly require a good case for it, not the usual silicone skin but rather something with a better protection. Display glass is not flush, sticking out, and certainly will be the first point of impact "contact" if you drop it, thus needs a solid case with good corner protection and a lip around the screen.
I'm using both Left/Right hands, and after 3hrs still can't get used to symmetrical button layout, and been hitting Power instead of Play and vise verse. With symmetrical buttons - it was done intentionally where you will be able to re-assign and symmetrically flip the functionality to accommodate left/right handed operation, but I still find it a little confusing. Furthermore, while holding it in my hands I already accidentally skip tracks (buttons are easy to access), would have been better to have buttons recessed. But with a case on - this shouldn't be a problem. Also, surprised you can only skip through the song but not fast forward like in a lot of other DAPs with dedicated transport hw controls. I'm sure this will be fixed in a future firmware.
SW:
FiiO music app is slick, absolutely love it, easy to navigate, but has a few annoyances. Takes multiple steps to get to setup where you change the gain, and in EQ I don't see labels under sliders to know which frequency is being adjusted, you only see it on a graphic screen following EQ curve. I understand this app is still work in progress.
Definitely some learning curve to figure things out, especially for those not familiar with Android. Also, the clock is in 24hr format, can't change it (I'm sure it will be fixed). With apps and other stuff, I guess will have to side load apk files for now. At this point, I'm not too concerned since I don't want any extra distractions.
Sound:
I think it's pretty good, but not great. The sound is very clear and detailed, signature is more neutral-warmish. In my opinion, all the aspects that have to do with a DAC are great (LO performance is excellent), but the amp module holding it back. Soundstage is just average, and the same goes for layering and separation of the sound.
Comparing to L5Pro, LP5 Gold, and AK120ii - they sound a little more dynamic with a better layering and separation, while in comparison the X7 sounds a little flatter, and actually sounds closer to N6 and QA360 where N6 is a few ticks below and QA360 a few ticks higher (relatively speaking). I also hear an improvement over X5ii where X7 has more body and overall refined sound, but not night'n'day. Without a doubt, it's a step up from X5ii, and X7 is currently FiiO's flagship, but with a default IEM amp module you will be kidding yourself by saying that it outperforms A&K and L&P DAPs. But I think with a better amp module we can see a definite improvement.
Pair up:
X7 does better with IEMs and efficient headphones. With 320 ohm ZEN, X7 wasn't able to drive it to a full potential even in high gain, bass wasn't as tight, and sound was a bit off. With Savant, sound was great, but the texture of the bass was missing. It drove PM-3 nicely, but not so much EL-8C (some airiness and sparkle was missing, and texture of the bass not as defined), and R70x (470 ohms) needed a high gain where I raised Volume to 105/120. Again, I think a lot of these problems will be solved with a higher power amp module.
On contrary, with LO and E12A or VE RunAbout amps - sound transforms and expands with an excellent soundstage, becomes more dynamic and with improved layering. This shows the power of X7 DAC and hope for improvement with a better amp module.
