Thanks for the review. How close would you say the Fiio is to the other two Daps you made comparisons with, in percentage terms.
Its not an easy thing to measure exactly. Twister6 did an excellent comparison already, as well as various dap comparisons on Headfonics review of the FiiO X7ii.
The FiiO X7ii is an excellent dap, but its apples and oranges. There is surely a jump up to the Opus#2 and iBasso DX200 to my ears in terms of depth, timbre, layering, imaging, micro detailing, resolution and sound stage. As there is a jump from the Opus#3 to the Opus#2. But generally i try to steer clear from comparisons in my reviews and just try to describe the dap as it is, there are other writers who cover such points.
My testing and results do stem from comparative listening though.
From the review: "The slightly higher priced Opus#2 and DX200 surpass it in more micro detailing, layering, timbre and a larger and defined sound stage.
But that is to be expected and the jump between them can be quite noticeable to the trained ear, it is also incremental to an extent and takes nothing away from the FiiO X7 Mark 2 decent performance."
To an extent the differences are incremental, but with decent in ears the differences are noticeable and significant.
But bear in mind this doesnt condemn the FiiO X7ii (which is why I shy away from comparisons as they can be misleading at times) as the FiiO X7ii is an excellent performer in itself, and its tone and signature is somewhat different from the afore mentioned daps, it bears a closer resemblance towards the Opus#3 in terms of features, sound signature and target audience.
Fantastic review.
I see you mentioned alien+ but just stopped short of comparing them. Does alien + belong to same league as x7ii and opus#3?
Thanks.
the Alien+ is a review I am still working on, as I have just crawled out of the abyss of the Opus#2/FiiO X7ii review combo...phew.
The Shozy Alien+ is in a world of its own compared to many recent releases, no touch screen, no wifi, SD Card only, basic screen, AK dac chip (advanced version) as compared to the ES/ESS chips.
The sound signature is quite different to the FiiO X7ii/Opus#3 also. Deeper, richer, fuller..with details..
In terms of sound quality alone it belongs up there with the X7ii and Opus#3 but is a distant cousin to them.