[reihead]

  Well my dream player wouldn't have a playing time of 10 hours or even less, but more in the direction of 30 hours, so I wouldn't need to load it every day.
Would compromise in size and weight, and even reasonably in sound quality for that.

 
I agree in part, but I wouldn't compromise SQ at all!

 

[Duncan]

I agree in part, but I wouldn't compromise SQ at all!

Agreed - especially when you can get cheap USB battery packs, so - if push came to shove, you could plug one of those into the micro USB port...

Seems counter intuitive to have a compromised reference player...

 

[doki81]

  Honestly I think MSRP USD699 is a little bit high to me. I'm expecting maybe about around $499, but who knows.

agreed..x7 rrp is really on a high side...

 

[Duncan]

...for a reference grade player that people are hoping to rival the AK240 (or whatever comes out between now and then), I wouldn't want to pay too little, else there will be a question of where the compromises are going to come from...

 

[doki81]

...for a reference grade player that people are hoping to rival the AK240 (or whatever comes out between now and then), I wouldn't want to pay too little, else there will be a question of where the compromises are going to come from...

maybe we can sacrifice touch screen with physical button? it will definitely help to reduce the costing...

 

[mochill]

Android wouldn't work then without touchscreen

 

[shakur1996]

The ideal player for me:

a) dimension: FiiO X5 is ok; I would accept a little bit more thickness;

b) build quality: FiiO X5 is ok; I like solid DAPs;

c) UI: FiiO X5 ok, although some features from Rockbox would be much appreciated - for example full parametric EQ;

d) battery life: 10-12 hours minimum; 20 hours optimum;

e) storage capacity: at least 64 GB, although more would be appreciated; DAP should have some internal storage, for example 4 GB;

f) features: headphone out, line out, USB OTG, USB DAC; I don't care about coaxial out;

g) playback formats: all most popular; I don't care about DSD;

h) power: enough for driving CIEMs/IEMs; I completely don't care about driving headphones (to me for these purposes one have desktop units or may add external amp);

i) definitely physical buttons, no touchscreen;

j) no hiss;

k) SQ: completely neutral sound (wihtout any added warmth or alike), dynamic, with a lot of details, extending well on both ends, spacious but intimate soundstage (more into your face presentation); I don't tolerate any bumps or dips or roll-offs in the sound. X5 is a little bit too dark, Studio V 3ANW is just a tad too bright (or it is more close my vision of neutrality);

l) price: ? Of course as consumer I would like to pay less, but if all the above requirements are met I guess that around USD 650 would be a good and fair price.

 

[mochill]

No. Built in storage, dual SD slot, dead neutral and flat with extreme transparent sound and highly detailed , removable battery, high power 15-20 hrs,Android,dual sabre dac with balanced architect power supply, 2.5ghz processor..$700 no problems

 

[JonathanCandel]

No. Built in storage, dual SD slot, dead neutral and flat with extreme transparent sound and highly detailed , removable battery, high power 15-20 hrs,Android,dual sabre dac with balanced architect power supply, 2.5ghz processor..$700 no problems

Sounds good!
But for me:

- High quality, high-tech look is important! (What happened to the X1 when the kiddy colors were added after the cool Black/copper look just made me want to poke myself blind...)
- removable battery, meh, maybe
- as above, decent DAC, amp
- batterylife 15 hours+
- touchscreen!
- cool desktop stand and other acces.

 

[S2Avantde]

I wonder why nobody is asking for an USB 3.0 connection. As typical albums mastered in 24 Bit / 192 KHz are at least 1.2 GB big, you need four and a half minutes to Transfer it on a Fiio X3 with an USB 2.0 connection. I think an USB 3.0 connection will significantly improve this boring slow transferring speed.

 

[mochill]

^+1

 

[mochill]

Brushed aluminum in black silver and gold would be nice

 

[Makiah S]

I saw  $699 and I saw the use of an ESS Sabre Dac chip count me in! I felt the Line out of the X5 was pretty meh. My HM801 Line out sounded much better sadly! 
 
But but BUT! The DX90 is out spouting Dual Ess Sabre Dacs, one for left and right channel I assume, which as a Guy using line out of my DAP into my balanced Amp [which spilts the Signal it gets from the dac into 4 channels] the use of Multiple Dac Chips is optimal imo 
 
OR at the very least it's enough to get me to shell out the money, either way I use a fully balanced Amp so a good line out is important to me ^^ 

 

[Scorpion667]

Fiio I'm going to tell you how to make a lot of money and make a lot of audiophiles happy. Make a ZX 1 with expandable storage and better amp. That is all. Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tomscy2000]

 
Model: X7
 
ETA: 2015
 
MSRP: $699 in US 
 
OS: Custom OS based on Android, can supports some third party APP from our website.
 
Weight: Less than 300g
 
Size: Thickness will be almost the same as X5 , the other size is almost the same as 5 inch Android Phone.
Since the X5 is 15.6 mm thick, 18 mm maximum thickness would be good.
 
Screen: 3.5 inch ~ 4.3 inch Full Touch Screen. To be decided.
The screen should have a luminance sensor to allow for auto brightness control in Android (but may be manually overridden, of course).

Key layout: Full touch control + Buttons + Volume Knobs
If the volume is a rotary knob, it should be oil-dampened and/or stepped, and protected from accidental bumps and alterations. For individual volume buttons, the volume control should be bevel-in for volume down, and bevel-out for volume up. Volume control should be a continuous sliding scale. Hold the volume down button for greater than two seconds, and it should quickly scale down to zero volume and soft-mute. Volume up should scale slower than volume down so that ears can be protected from volume increases that are too fast. The volume up button can also be weighted for heavier force pull than the volume down button. These are not a novel concepts; many higher-end consumer electronics employ these subtle design principles. High-end supercars often bias their paddle shifters differently such that upshifts are heavier than downshifts.
 
A screen-lock button is necessary for any Android-based device, to go with the typical slide to unlock screen.
 
Output power: > 300mW/32 ohms, Power supply: +/- 6V ~ +/-11 V  . To be Decided.
As a reference, the DX100 is a 2/2.8/5 Vrms output design, the DX90 is 1.3/2.0/2.8 Vrms. My suggestions would be low gain at 1.0 Vrms (ideal for IEMs), medium gain at 2.0 Vrms (for Red Book equivalent line-out voltage), and high gain at 4.0 Vrms.

Playtime: 10 hours
 
Battery: Build in Battery.

Data transfer: USB 2.0 ( Micro USB), WiFi
The X7 as an USB DAC would be a welcome feature, since both the X3 and X5 already possess that feature. However, to take advantage of the ES9018, data support should be increased to 32/384 input (or at least 24/352.8) and support for DSD64/128 over DoP. Most people will use a maximum of 24/192 and PCM only, but higher support will present a selling point that may attract others.

Bluetooth: YES, supports APT-X

DAC chip: ES9018, not ES9018M2K, The ES9018 includes 8 channels DAC which means it is equal to 4 X ES9018K2M
The interface should allow for user selection of digital filters to take advantage of the pre-programmed filters and ASRC bypass, 8x OSF bypass options.
 
Volume control should be registered with the Sabre chip with 32-bit control for least loss in DNR. Additional interpolation with 64-bit floating point would be welcome, though probably not absolutely necessary. Stepping should be maintained at the minimum 0.5 dB increment. There are people who complain about volume control stepping being too small on the X5 (as well as the AK100/120/240) and that it takes forever to take the volume up to the desired level, but it is only ethically responsible for the volume stepping to be very small to allow for fine control of volume and to prevent users from blowing out their ears. If people want faster stepping control, then perhaps a toggle choice between 0.5/1.0/1.5 dB steppings inside the settings menu can be written into the interface.
 
Enclosure: Metal
Magnesium alloy would be nice for the main frame, aluminum for non-critical parts of the frame and casing.
 
Build in memory: To be decided.
If there are already two SDXC slots, then built-in memory should only be as much to support the ROM and to support those third-party apps, but others might disagree. If more memory is built-in, then it should come pre-loaded with sample tracks from high-resolution store partners like HDTracks and 2L Records to showcase the player's capabilities.
 
Extra Memory: Micro SD slot X 2

Accessory : Leather Case X 1,  Micro USB cable X 1, 
I don't believe it needs to be strictly a leather case. FiiO products have always strived to look contemporary and simple; a microfiber case would look fine. Leather only looks good if it's designed well. The key is good design, rather than expensive materials. Then again, quality microfiber is not cheap, either.