[ExpatinJapan]

I did a few tests.

On high gain and low gain. Results were same If not similar.

Andromeda. Stock litz 3.5mm I could not really detect any audiable hiss to my ears. With music playing at various volumes.
With no music and at full volume I still couldnt really hear/detect any hiss.

2.5mm balanced out with ALO Litz.
I could detect and hear hiss at all volumes, the hiss volume didnt really increase with the changes.
The hiss wasnt significant to me as it wasn't so strong and easily went into the background while the music played.

I use the Andromeda a lot as it is one of my favorites and also my reset my ears earphone whilst reviewing. I dont notice hiss much If at all on the many daps I use.

Only on the Hifi-m8 which later had a special lower gain version for iems.

If you are sensitive try the ifi IEMatch ifi ibuddy?

The difference between 1 and 2 ohms output impedance is audiable but not too significant.
The CEntrance has an impedance switch of 1,2,1 which is useful for testing.

@haoyuan

Edit: This made me go back and read my review
I mention about the faint hiss (2.5mm) in the last section.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Thank you for your reply. So would you say the level of hiss is acceptable, comparing to other players like KANN? I was using 32 Ohm XBA-Z5, and it exhibited no hiss at all. I connected the Andromeda to the A5 amp, and while all of the hiss was gone completely, the .3 OI actually made the headphones so bass heavy it was not listenable.

I haven't ever heard hiss with music playing, even with the most hissy pairing I have.

When something is in idle, some pairings can cause some hiss, but it really isn't audible in any way with music playing.

With all my IEMs, X7mkii didn't really hiss with anything so far. Then again, my collection is not very hiss prone by itself. I can hear a slight hiss with Megamini, so I think I can pick it up when it is there, but with X7mkii it shouldn't be an issue with most equipment.

Hi,
When switching the low or high gain, the output impedance wouldn't be affected.
Best regards

I like the honesty of FiiO

 

[Luke Redgen]

This vs AK70 II paired with Sony Z1R?

 

[Dobrescu George]

This vs AK70 II paired with Sony Z1R?

X7mkii is designed as a TOTL Flagship, while AK70ii isn't even close to being the flagship of AK.

X7mkii sports an ESS Flagship DAC which can be found on ultra high-end sources, while AK70ii sports a CS chip that was also featured on FiiO X3ii.

Of course, AK70ii has two of those, but really, we're talking about a well implemented ESS DAC on X7mkii.

You also have the modular AMP modules with X7mkii, which is always nice to have

X7mkii is really done to be a flagship, from the speed of the device, connection abilities, streaming abilities, sound, battery, construction quality, everything is high-end.

 

[SoundSquare]

X7mkii is designed as a TOTL Flagship, while AK70ii isn't even close to being the flagship of AK.

X7mkii sports an ESS Flagship DAC which can be found on ultra high-end sources, while AK70ii sports a CS chip that was also featured on FiiO X3ii.

Of course, AK70ii has two of those, but really, we're talking about a well implemented ESS DAC on X7mkii.

You also have the modular AMP modules with X7mkii, which is always nice to have

X7mkii is really done to be a flagship, from the speed of the device, connection abilities, streaming abilities, sound, battery, construction quality, everything is high-end.

i don't agree to call "high end" the X7mk2 software. Nothing that compares to even the cheapest A&K, their software is way superior to the Fiio one, faster and way more stable.
Fiio hardware -> very mature !
Fiio software -> still a lot of work to do !

 

[Dobrescu George]

i don't agree to call "high end" the X7mk2 software. Nothing that compares to even the cheapest A&K, their software is way superior to the Fiio one, faster and way more stable.
Fiio hardware -> very mature !
Fiio software -> still a lot of work to do !

I have way too little experience with AK software to comment

But from what I've seen, I have not had a single crash or bug with X7mkii so far, it works like any high-end DAP I had. The software seems flawless now, but again, I don't know what AK does and how. I liked Hiby a lot as well, for example, but I don't know what to say about X7mkii not being mature, it feels pretty mature to my needs.

I only listen from mSD cards or internal memory, only FLAC 16 / 44.1 files, so maybe my usage scenario doesn't fully reflect more, but for my usage, X7mkii is as good as it gets

In fact, X7mkii has the one feature I really want that is sometimes forgotten, which is play through folders! I love having that!

 

[SoundSquare]

I have way too little experience with AK software to comment

But from what I've seen, I have not had a single crash or bug with X7mkii so far, it works like any high-end DAP I had. The software seems flawless now, but again, I don't know what AK does and how. I liked Hiby a lot as well, for example, but I don't know what to say about X7mkii not being mature, it feels pretty mature to my needs.

I only listen from mSD cards or internal memory, only FLAC 16 / 44.1 files, so maybe my usage scenario doesn't fully reflect more, but for my usage, X7mkii is as good as it gets

In fact, X7mkii has the one feature I really want that is sometimes forgotten, which is play through folders! I love having that!

Everything went fine with mine until i decided to go for 256Gb cards anf fill them up completely. The X7 doesn't handle very large libraries wel (+10 000 Flacs including HD, & also DSD) It's when it began to get sluggish, to crash instead of resuming after pausing it etc.

 

[gfabbri]

Anyone had issues with the DAP starting playback in the middle of a song? Has happened to me a few times in the handful of days I’ve owned the unit.

This is not just pausing and playing, but rather when switching to a new song while one is already playing and not done.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Everything went fine with mine until i decided to go for 256Gb cards anf fill them up completely. The X7 doesn't handle very large libraries wel (+10 000 Flacs including HD, & also DSD) It's when it began to get sluggish, to crash instead of resuming after pausing it etc.

Woah, I'll test for this

I didn't know that this can happen, I currently have 1 x 128 GB and 1 x 256 GB mSD cards.

 

[superuser1]

Woah, I'll test for this

I didn't know that this can happen, I currently have 1 x 128 GB and 1 x 256 GB mSD cards.

I am sorry to say that the software if definitely not perfect. In reality far from it.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I am sorry to say that the software if definitely not perfect. In reality far from it.

I don't dobut that some people encountered issues with it, what I'm saying is that I didn't really - I'm curious to emulate more of this since I need to review it objectively, so I should know of its shortcomings even if they don't really surface during my typical usage

 

[superuser1]

I don't dobut that some people encountered issues with it, what I'm saying is that I didn't really - I'm curious to emulate more of this since I need to review it objectively, so I should know of its shortcomings even if they don't really surface during my typical usage

I will give you objectivity. Take for example the music app compared to the foobar app. Just as an example lets say indexing files for building the music library (for the app).
Once you perform that comparison we won't be having this debate anymore.

 

[sklaus28]

I experienced slugishness if i use both slots. Currently I only use single slot, all good now. My songs arent that much though..

 

[mrmoto050]

i don't agree to call "high end" the X7mk2 software. Nothing that compares to even the cheapest A&K, their software is way superior to the Fiio one, faster and way more stable.
Fiio hardware -> very mature !
Fiio software -> still a lot of work to do !

I have the AK120 and AK100II. THe FiiO X7MkII is on the same level as far as software goes imho. Maybe the newer models have been upgraded, but as far as Value vs cost Fiio hands down in this thread, although the DX200 is great also but more costly.

 

[SoundSquare]

I experienced slugishness if i use both slots. Currently I only use single slot, all good now. My songs arent that much though..

i'm not surprised, one of the slots is awfully slow, maybe it explains why A&K and most other brands stick to one slots for their DAPs, fiio has been playing with fire implementing dual slot.