[Jeff Y]

  I think that combining line out and coaux out might have been ti reduce costs? having 2 ports instead of 3 might be viewed as a good move for some, and bad for some. 

Good observation. Bad for me because there's no chance of me using line out and it makes it harder to look for a custom cable to the new specs (but then, not too hard).

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Good observation. Bad for me because there's no chance of me using line out and it makes it harder to look for a custom cable to the new specs (but then, not too hard).

you should not be very angry about this.
 
There were very little people who used both the line and coaux out. 
 
for example, if you already had an external amp, you either had an amp or an DAC+amp, there is much lower occurence in people who used x5 with both an external amp and an eternal dac+amp. this based on the ideea that most people have one ultimate setup that will get most usage. 

 

[headwhacker]

This thread is still buzzing. Do we have a release date in site?
 
I just traded my DX90 with an HDP-R10 and now I understand why it's the ultimate DAP SQ-wise. In my impression, the SQ is still better than the newer DAPs (e.g AK100ii, AK Jr, X5 and DX90/50).
 
I don't know how much of it is because of the ES9018 DAC. But suffice to say I regained my interest on X7 after listening to the beautiful sound of the R10. If X7 can capture the same magic with a sleeker, more portable, prettier design, better and stable UI with the option to have powerful output, then this product will be a killer at ihis price point.

 

[Jeff Y]

  you should not be very angry about this.
 
There were very little people who used both the line and coaux out. 
 
for example, if you already had an external amp, you either had an amp or an DAC+amp, there is much lower occurence in people who used x5 with both an external amp and an eternal dac+amp. this based on the ideea that most people have one ultimate setup that will get most usage. 

? 

I wasn't angry don't get me wrong haha.
But yes, it's not something most people would care about.

 

[vinland029]

  This thread is still buzzing. Do we have a release date in site?
 
I just traded my DX90 with an HDP-R10 and now I understand why it's the ultimate DAP SQ-wise. In my impression, the SQ is still better than the newer DAPs (e.g AK100ii, AK Jr, X5 and DX90/50).
 
I don't know how much of it is because of the ES9018 DAC. But suffice to say I regained my interest on X7 after listening to the beautiful sound of the R10. If X7 can capture the same magic with a sleeker, more portable, prettier design, better and stable UI with the option to have powerful output, then this product will be a killer at ihis price point.

 
Got an answer from the FiiO Facebook page suggesting around September? So we can keep our eyes peeled till then.

 

[Jeff Y]

  This thread is still buzzing. Do we have a release date in site?
 
I just traded my DX90 with an HDP-R10 and now I understand why it's the ultimate DAP SQ-wise. In my impression, the SQ is still better than the newer DAPs (e.g AK100ii, AK Jr, X5 and DX90/50).
 
I don't know how much of it is because of the ES9018 DAC. But suffice to say I regained my interest on X7 after listening to the beautiful sound of the R10. If X7 can capture the same magic with a sleeker, more portable, prettier design, better and stable UI with the option to have powerful output, then this product will be a killer at ihis price point.

But the HDP-R10, AKA DX100, is from iBasso, not FiiO. Nevertheless, the X7 should be a game changer I bet for its price.
Cheers.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  But the HDP-R10, AKA DX100, is from iBasso, not FiiO. Nevertheless, the X7 should be a game changer I bet for its price.
Cheers.

Yes, I think that he meant that the interest was re-kindled because the DX100 uses the same DAC chip that is to be put in X7. 

 

[JamesFiiO]

I am very sorry that the X7 is our first DAP powered by Android . and we need to make sure everything is ok and them sell to oversea market. so it still take time for you guys to wait a " perfect " X7. anyway. good thing worth to wait. 

 

[good sound]

 

  But the HDP-R10, AKA DX100, is from iBasso, not FiiO. Nevertheless, the X7 should be a game changer I bet for its price.
Cheers.

Yes, I think that he meant that the interest was re-kindled because the DX100 uses the same DAC chip that is to be put in X7. 

Does it use the same DAC chip though? The X7, from what I remember, is using the multi-channel version, stacked. Does the DX100 use the multi-channel version?

 

[JamesFiiO]

  Does it use the same DAC chip though? The X7, from what I remember, is using the multi-channel version, stacked. Does the DX100 use the multi-channel version?

 
 
so far there are only 2 DAP carried the ESS9018 ( not ESS9018K2M or other ), one is HM901/901S which used 2 pcs ESS9018 and DX100 which used 1 pcs ESS9018.

 

[musicheaven]

   
 
so far there are only 2 DAP carried the ESS9018 ( not ESS9018K2M or other ), one is HM901/901S which used 2 pcs ESS9018 and DX100 which used 1 pcs ESS9018.

 
Yes that's true but the problem with them is that their proper implementations require a lot of hardware around the DAC to make it hi-end audible at par with hi-end gears which eventually make them bulky.
 
Therefore James, you are certainly ahead of the game with your design since it looks like it's somewhat smaller. As far as the other chips I would not quite bat them down, some gurus out there can really make them sing and I am not talking about the K2M but the AQ2M which is now their flagship stereo DAC, if you do it right pulling two of those together in dual mono mode can brake the hold on the old ESS9018 DAC with the proper power supply of course.
 
As you can see iBasso has retired their DM100 design because let's face it people don't like the bulk and I think HiFiMan still has a bulk and should I say weird dial issues. So again, I do not think they'd be much of a competition for true portability but for desktop usage then that's another ball game (HM901/901S).
 
Give it another half a year to a year and the turf might be changing again so getting the DAP out as soon as possible will keep you in the race.

 

[Alje]

I am very sorry that the X7 is our first DAP powered by Android . and we need to make sure everything is ok and them sell to oversea market. so it still take time for you guys to wait a " perfect " X7. anyway. good thing worth to wait
 
Ballpark ETA, before xmas?

 

[headwhacker]

   
Yes that's true but the problem with them is that their proper implementations require a lot of hardware around the DAC to make it hi-end audible at par with hi-end gears which eventually make them bulky.
 
Therefore James, you are certainly ahead of the game with your design since it looks like it's somewhat smaller. As far as the other chips I would not quite bat them down, some gurus out there can really make them sing and I am not talking about the K2M but the AQ2M which is now their flagship stereo DAC, if you do it right pulling two of those together in dual mono mode can brake the hold on the old ESS9018 DAC with the proper power supply of course.
 
As you can see iBasso has retired their DM100 design because let's face it people don't like the bulk and I think HiFiMan still has a bulk and should I say weird dial issues. So again, I do not think they'd be much of a competition for true portability but for desktop usage then that's another ball game (HM901/901S).
 
Give it another half a year to a year and the turf might be changing again so getting the DAP out as soon as possible will keep you in the race.

 
^ A design around the ES9018 more suitable for a portable DAP will be a game changer. I don't mind you James taking the time to smooth things out with your Android implementation as long as you get the best sound possible with the DAC. DX100/R10 employs a full Android OS (gingerbread). But using an underperforming SOC to power a resource hog version of android makes the UI experience atrociously painful.
 
Stripping down the stock Android package that comes with the R10 further and overclock the CPU smoothen things out and making the experience enjoyable. (I'm not yet done tinkering). The stock HDPlayer is actually better implemented than the players that come with DX50/DX90. These optimizations comes at the cost of battery life. So I'm now in the hunt for a higher capacity battery for my R10.
 
I'm excited with X7 and as long as it matches the level of SQ that R10 can produce then this is my next DAP.

 

[Gurashieruro]

I would rather have a smooth and bug free launch than the opposite, even at the expense of time. We see this problem happen currently in the gaming PC world where companies release unpolished games to consumers, like Battlefield 4 and Batman. The point I want to make is that waiting for a stable launch is, and should be, a necessity. This fact is even more true in a small market of DAPs.
As for chips, I feel implementation and general cohesiveness of the system UI is more important than the chipset alone. You have a killer DAC and if the Amp and its other components are up to par, then all that is left is to make it work. Knowing that it's FiiO making this, I don't worry to much.

 

[ElMariachi]

I would rather have a smooth and bug free launch than the opposite, even at the expense of time. We see this problem happen currently in the gaming PC world where companies release unpolished games to consumers, like Battlefield 4 and Batman. The point I want to make is that waiting for a stable launch is, and should be, a necessity. This fact is even more true in a small market of DAPs.
As for chips, I feel implementation and general cohesiveness of the system UI is more important than the chipset alone. You have a killer DAC and if the Amp and its other components are up to par, then all that is left is to make it work. Knowing that it's FiiO making this, I don't worry to much.

Completely agree. The only reason i kept the zx1 with its scrawny muscles over the x5 and dx90 is the UI.