FiiO X7 | DXD | DSD | 384K/64B | ESS9018+ Android | WiFi | Bluetooth | 4 AMP modules | Balanced Out |

[PinkyPowers]

That's a good point. The statement should probably be added to the first page.

 

[majo123]

hi joe and thanks for your input ...i did read the statement about sensitive iems and i am very happy with the x7 performance!
I was pairing it with my e12a amp for my akg 702 headphones but after doing a lot of comparisons i actually prefer the sound straight from the x7 seems to have alitlle more detail ...all though its right at the top of what the amp module can do, ......cant wait for the other modules to be  released for sale in the uk.

 

[alpha67]

I have a couple of questions, if anyone can chime in, it would be appreciated:
 
1. Did anyone experience temp blackout when streaming from TIDAL or similar when the screen goes into standby? The music would stop for like 1-2 seconds before resuming. Is this normal?
 
2. When in Fiio Music and playing a song, when I tap equalizer the sound level will increase as if equalizer was off. The little slider blue button on the top is lit up, which I assume means it is ON. I have it on user setting which is flat, this should not produce any differences in sound levels if I am not mistaken, unless I select (pop, rock...) or any other presets.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I am again really close to grabbing an X7, but I am concerned about the bundled amplifier. I am using Oppo PM3 as my portable and they seem fairly easy to drive right from my Blackberry Leap (a very good sounding phone by the way). I of course like the sound more when I use my E12, but I HATE the extra cord!! Would the IEM amp module be enough of an improvement over just my phone to allow me to escape the use of the E12 or am I wasting my time? I doubt many herehave heard the Leap so I know your first-hand experience won't be there. Thanks.

 

[majo123]

dont know if this helps??????? if you read my previous post i was running my x7 through my e12a to run my akg 702 ....after lots of comparison i prefered the sound just from the fiio x7 not pairing ....found it was slightly more detailed ,,,but it was running at nearly full volume and max gain .....but just about ok enough not to bother with e12a 

 

[Sonic Defender]

^ Thanks, but isn't the E12a designed for IEMs and has less power than the E12, or am I confused? As well, do you like loud listening? I listen quite loud it seems, but I can't imagine that the Leap puts out anywhere near the 100mW that the X7 IEM amp does. Thank you for the reply. I am also wondering how people feel the Android OS is doing with only 1G of RAM?

 

[majo123]

yes e12a is designed for iems but would run my akg 702 with ease couldnt go much over halfway volume....and yes i like loud

 

[RebeccaSugar]

 I am also wondering how people feel the Android OS is doing with only 1G of RAM?

For a music player and light streamer, it shouldn't be THAT much of a problem.
 
I mean, what will you really be doing with an X7 other than listening to music.
 
Internet?
 
It can manage, I'm sure.
 
I  hope.
 
 
 
Maybe.
 
so-so
 
 
gulp

 

[Unfie]

I don't if anyone is being a weird power user with the Fiio X7, but I find the RAM works fine for me. I don't ever find myself wishing I had more. 
 
What I do wish is that the X7 would be more reliable with reading my SD card. Firmware 1.5 looks like it kinda sorta hepled, but I occasionally need to re-scan my card.

 

[SodaBoy]

The touchscreen is probably the best new feature as I need the onscreen keyboard to run song searches on my bloated library nowadays. The SOC is pretty decent for a device of this class, should be able to run Neutron MP with all the features enabled, and be able to play most multimedia as well.
 
If FiiO consistently pushes out software updates, this will be a PMP staple for sure.

 

[wldcohso]

I've noticed after long listening times the device gets VERY warm, almost hot - anyone else experience this?

 

[wldcohso]

Looks like there's a delay with the leather cases . Message from Fiio AliExpress

2016-01-06 19:49:17
Dear
We're sorry to inform you that, due to the quality issue with the X7 leather case that we just received from our supplier, we have decided to postpone the shipment of the leather case following the principle of ensuring product quality and being responsible for customers.
You can cancel this order right now and the money will be returned to your bank account. And we will send messages to you when the case is available.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience brought to you.

BTW, the stickers are still available. If you wish to get the stickers first, please cancel this order and place another one of the stickers only.

Best regards,
FiiO

 

[chowmein83]

  I am again really close to grabbing an X7, but I am concerned about the bundled amplifier. I am using Oppo PM3 as my portable and they seem fairly easy to drive right from my Blackberry Leap (a very good sounding phone by the way). I of course like the sound more when I use my E12, but I HATE the extra cord!! Would the IEM amp module be enough of an improvement over just my phone to allow me to escape the use of the E12 or am I wasting my time? I doubt many herehave heard the Leap so I know your first-hand experience won't be there. Thanks.

Well, I'm not sure if this will help, but I was just able to pair a Sennheiser HD 650 with the IEM amp module of my X7 tour unit. It actually sounds pretty good - far better than I would have thought if I just looked up the spec sheets.
 
Vocals and notes don't sound all that grainy. Bass is actually really well-controlled and the soundstage doesn't collapse on itself like with a bad amp. However, the soundstage is a tad small with this pairing.
 
I would think that the PM3 is much easier to power than the HD650, so I would guess that the IEM amp module should do okay. YMMV and all that though.

 

[chowmein83]

Hey all, I was able to visit the FiiO booth at CES 2016, and yes they did have some of the other amp modules there.
 
Specifically, I could only listen to the medium power amp module. They had such a module that was already screwed onto the base of a X7 unit they had there, and since I didn't have a screwdriver on me I just compared that unit to my X7 tour unit with the IEM amp module which I did bring with me. I compared the same exact files of music by swapping micro SD cards.
 
(They also had the balanced amp module there, but I couldn't listen to it because (1) I didn't have any balanced headphones on me and (2) FiiO actually lost their balanced headphone due to the airport misplacing some of their baggage.

)
 
I did my comparisons between the IEM amp module and the medium power amp module using the Sennheiser HD650 they had there. Both amp modules definitely could push the headphone loud enough to be heard over the enormous amount of noise at CES. Although this did require the IEM amp module to go about the 100 level range (as indicated on the X7), while the medium amp power module needed the X7 to be at about the 70-80 range.
 
Like I stated in my previous post, I already felt that the IEM amp module did a surprisingly good job with the HD650. Notes didn't sound very grainy, the soundstage didn't collapse on itself and the bass was well-controlled and not boomy. From experience, the HD650 will exhibit disappointing soundstage and bass performance if the amp isn't enough to snuff. So things are already looking good for FiiO here.
 
However, the medium power amp module really takes things up a notch. The soundstage was noticeably widened on the HD650 (but no, it won't transform it into the HD800, the huge soundstage monster). Separation between notes definitely got better, and thus details were more easy to pick out. The bass perhaps hit a bit harder, there wasn't any major differences here. There also seemed to be a bit more depth to the soundstage, though I want to emphasize this wasn't a huge difference.
 
Overall, I think you guys are in for a treat when listening to the medium power amp module. It takes the precision and clarity of the IEM amp module but puts it into a package so that harder-to-drive headphones can also sound this way. I honestly cannot wait to see what their higher-powered amp module will do.
 
And thanks to the very friendly staff at FiiO for going along with all of my requests!

 

[OSiRiSsk]

  Hey all, I was able to visit the FiiO booth at CES 2016, and yes they did have some of the other amp modules there.
 
Specifically, I could only listen to the medium power amp module. They had such a module that was already screwed onto the base of a X7 unit they had there, and since I didn't have a screwdriver on me I just compared that unit to my X7 tour unit with the IEM amp module which I did bring with me. I compared the same exact files of music by swapping micro SD cards.
 
(They also had the balanced amp module there, but I couldn't listen to it because (1) I didn't have any balanced headphones on me and (2) FiiO actually lost their balanced headphone due to the airport misplacing some of their baggage.

)
 
I did my comparisons between the IEM amp module and the medium power amp module using the Sennheiser HD650 they had there. Both amp modules definitely could push the headphone loud enough to be heard over the enormous amount of noise at CES. Although this did require the IEM amp module to go about the 100 level range (as indicated on the X7), while the medium amp power module needed the X7 to be at about the 70-80 range.
 
Like I stated in my previous post, I already felt that the IEM amp module did a surprisingly good job with the HD650. Notes didn't sound very grainy, the soundstage didn't collapse on itself and the bass was well-controlled and not boomy. From experience, the HD650 will exhibit disappointing soundstage and bass performance if the amp isn't enough to snuff. So things are already looking good for FiiO here.
 
However, the medium power amp module really takes things up a notch. The soundstage was noticeably widened on the HD650 (but no, it won't transform it into the HD800, the huge soundstage monster). Separation between notes definitely got better, and thus details were more easy to pick out. The bass perhaps hit a bit harder, there wasn't any major differences here. There also seemed to be a bit more depth to the soundstage, though I want to emphasize this wasn't a huge difference.
 
Overall, I think you guys are in for a treat when listening to the medium power amp module. It takes the precision and clarity of the IEM amp module but puts it into a package so that harder-to-drive headphones can also sound this way. I honestly cannot wait to see what their higher-powered amp module will do.
 
And thanks to the very friendly staff at FiiO for going along with all of my requests!

This is very helpful comparison - thanks for this. Currently I have 32ohm on-ear headphones, and they are powered just fine (I am comfortable with sound level at 80). I am also wondering to pair my X7 with different on-ears, which have impedance of 

46 Ω. I still think X7 could power these. Should I consider buying different amp module? Will it actually improve the sound of headphones, or the only change will be that it will be able to play the music louder?​