[GreatDane]

The i7 has shockingy good SQ for its price/size imo.

I recently did a lengthy comparison to my 5.5G 80 GB iPod using my Etymotic ER4P(using P to S conversion) as my reference. No EQ was used on either player. With the higher impedance "S" conversion I did need to use at least 30/40 on the i7 volume. It sounds clean even at full volume(40/40) into my Eclipse HU.

Using the iPod's headphone jack vs. the i7 it was no contest...i7 easily beats it. I find the i7 to have better extension at both ends with a more accurate sound overall (more detail). Even using the Aux. input on my Eclipse HU in my truck (using Eclipse Point Source speakers) I can easily hear the more detailed sound/wider FR that the i7 offers(using no EQ or other sound enhancements). With high quality compression (245~320 kbps) it sounds very close to playing a Redbook CD...which the iPod failed to do using the headphone output.

I do realize that beating the iPod is no huge task for some lesser known DAPs...read on.

My second challenge for the i7 was to compare it to that same iPod using the line-out into my Meier Porta Corda MkIII-USB portable amp. It held up very well. There was a slight difference, a small advantage favoring the iPod->line- out->amp. With the iPod/amp setup there was a slightly wider/more open soundstage with all other aspects(bass & treble extension/detail) being nearly equal if not indistinguishable.

Of course when you get into driving full size headphones with higher impedance ,the portable amp is a must with SQ differences becoming very obvious.

Thanks for reading

 

[kaldaim]

My friend let me try his iAudio 7 and I, too, was happy with the sound quality, but the swing touch pad and the clunky/unstable interface were enough for me to avoid it.

 

[uraflit]

the I7 gettin good reviews on its SQ...

 

[rr423]

does it have a warm sound to it ? I owned a d2 and it had a cold sound signature.

 

[pablobaluba]

i know and read a lot about his great sound. but can you make me a short description of how easy to use it is? that's something very important to me, as i am quite active and need to control it without taking it out o f the pocket. can you control it easy? i also heard not that great things about that clunky button. is it too sensitive?

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rr423 /img/forum/go_quote.gif does it have a warm sound to it ? I owned a d2 and it had a cold sound signature.

I think personal preferences and perceptions make it difficult sometimes for us to describe the "sound" in an accurate way for each other. Also which headphones/IEMs used have a large impact on the issue.

I might describe a "cold" sound as being accurate and desirable so when I say it sounds great you might say "boring".

...so tough to describe exactly as you might but the i7 is not warm imo.

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pablobaluba /img/forum/go_quote.gif i know and read a lot about his great sound. but can you make me a short description of how easy to use it is? that's something very important to me, as i am quite active and need to control it without taking it out o f the pocket. can you control it easy? i also heard not that great things about that clunky button. is it too sensitive?

..will comment later, time for me to walk out the door for work...

edit: I'll make a longer list of features and sound enhancements later in this thread. To directly answer your question, as far as being able to control it without taking it out of your pocket you would probably need to use the hold feature.

The hold feature has 3 options which can be found by going to Settings->General->User defined button->Set hold state.

Those 3 options are:

1.Hold all button
2.Use upper buttons(FF/REV) [locks all other buttons except Menu which becomes Pause]
3.Use upper buttons(volume) [locks all other buttons except Menu which becomes Pause]

Normally the two upper buttons to the right of the menu button control volume. I use the "Use upper buttons(FF/REV)" hold feature. This option disables the ability to change volume while in this hold state.

The touch pad might seem odd to some people but I have no problem with its basic design. There are 3 levels for touch sensitivity, Low, Normal & High. Even at High I don't find it to be overly sensitive. I have had a problem with the pad being unresponsive if tapping the top or bottom of the pad but during this same time, moving my finger was effective in moving the cursor, which is a more effective(quicker) way to use it.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rr423 /img/forum/go_quote.gif does it have a warm sound to it ? I owned a d2 and it had a cold sound signature.

I'm using D2 + ER4p. My impression is that they're "super" bright, can't find some warm I need

 

[Caribou679]

Thank you for the review.

So the iAudio 7 does not need an amp to perform well?
I understand it's like 60mw per channel!

For the purpose of the review you listened with no EQ, but have you listened to the 7 with some EQ (jeteffect)? Do you like it with EQ?

How is the battery usage, do you go a long time before recharging?

I hope it's like a Cowon U3 on stereoids! Being very small and loaded with options. Also it does Flac and Ogg!!


regards,

P.S.: I like the "Cowon" EQ and SQ of their player. The interface are pretty much similar in their sequence and it's very systematic, once you control one they all behave about the same way.

 

[ho1ming]

Thanks for the review, I don't like the swing pad very much but impressed by the sound quality. I am looking for a new MP3 player to replace my lost ipod video and currently interested in the Samsung p2

 

[numbskull]

Right now, I'm in doubt between Iaudio 7 and Sony NWZ-A818
Main concern is SQ, of course!

I would also want to know, like caribou679, what do you think of jeteffect enhancements? I have the U3 and find that BBE 1, mach3bass 1 and all other effects off sound better (mostly V0 files), but I use stock phones (waiting for my im716), so...

 

[GreatDane]

From the Cowon website, here are the iAudio 7 features:


• MP3, OGG, WMA,, ASF, FLAC, WAV, MPEG4 (video) playback, FM Radio listening and recording, voice recording, Line-In recording
• TXT(Text), JPEG(Image) File Viewer (Image Zoom, Wallpaper)
• Internal flash memory 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
• USB 2.0 Interface
• 1.3 inch 160x128 dot, 260,000 color TFT LCD
• Long Battery Time: Up to 60 hours (Based on company test result)
• Multi-language Support
• Enhanced Integrated Navigator
• Play/Pause during Playback, Record/Pause during Recording
• Next Track/Previous Track, Fast Forward/Fast Rewind, Infinite Loop
• Resume, Fade In, Auto Play feature support
• Search Speed, Skip Speed Setting
• Digital Volume Control :40 levels
• Various EQ and Sound Effects (JetEffect)
- User adjustable 5-band EQ
- Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal, User
- BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, 3D Surround Support
• Clock, Alarm, Scheduled Recording, Sleep Timer, Auto Power-Off
• Auto display off feature to save battery power
• Easy firmware download and upgrade
• Title Display with ID3Tag or File Name
• Display Product Info (Firmware version, Total Capacity, Total Usage)

Specifications
Playback
format MP3: MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer 3, ~320kbps, ~48khz, mono/stereo
WMA: ~256kbps, ~48khz, mono/stereo
OGG: ~q10, ~44.1khz, mono/stereo
FLAC: compression level 0 ~ 8, ~44.1khz, mono/stereo
WAV: ~48khz, 16bit, mono/stereo
AVI: XviD, MPEG4, 256 ~ 384 kbps CBR, up to 160x128, 15 fps *
JPEG(Except for Progressive JPG)
TXT
Memory Internal Flash memory 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
PC interface USB 2.0 High Speed
File Transfer Speed Max. 40Mbps (Upload Max. 40Mbps)
Battery Built-in Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery
Continuous Playing Time
Max. 60 hours of continuous playback based on company test result
Charging Time Approx. 3 hours 50 minutes
Buttons Swing Touch(REC, <, >, PLAY), Power/Hold, VOL+, VOL-, MENU
Display 1.3 inch 160x128 dot, 260,000 color TFT LCD
SNR 95dB (A-Weighted)
Max Output 16 Ohm earphones : 26mW + 26mW
Frequency Range 20Hz ~ 20KHz
Size 1.3 X 2.9 X 0.7 inch (Width x Length x Thickness)
Weight
(Include Lithium Polymer battery) 1.8 oz (includes lithium polymer battery)

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caribou679 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you for the review. So the iAudio 7 does not need an amp to perform well? I understand it's like 60mw per channel! For the purpose of the review you listened with no EQ, but have you listened to the 7 with some EQ (jeteffect)? Do you like it with EQ? How is the battery usage, do you go a long time before recharging? I hope it's like a Cowon U3 on stereoids! Being very small and loaded with options. Also it does Flac and Ogg!! regards, P.S.: I like the "Cowon" EQ and SQ of their player. The interface are pretty much similar in their sequence and it's very systematic, once you control one they all behave about the same way.

I have used my Grado 325i with the i7 with very good results. I did try my 250 Ohm DT-880 but as you might expect, that was a bit too much to ask-at full volume the 880 was usable but not recommended.

Cowon specs the i7 max. output at 26 mW x 2 @ 16 Ohms which is enough power even for the Ety ER4S.

In regards to the EQ and other effects I find them to be very useful, I use them with my ER6 and ER4P at all times.

Starting with the EQ might be where many users find the most useful tweak for their IEMs and have no desire to use the other audio enhancement options.

The 5-band EQ has 10 user adjustable presets in addition to the other presets(Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal).

The EQ is very tweakable. Adjustments possible via "Advanced EQ filter setting" are as follows:

Each of the 5 bands have 4 choices for center frequency.

Band 1 - 80 -105 -135 -175
Band 2 - 220 -300 -385 -500
Band 3 - 650 -780 -1,100 -1,400
Band 4 - 1,800 -2,400 -3,000 -4,100
Band 5 - 6,900 -9,000 - 11,700 -13,000

Each band can also be set for "Narrow" , "Normal" or "Wide".

Each of the 10 user definable EQ presets can have a different combination of the above variables so as you might imagine there is the possibility for a wide range of custom EQ settings for each music genre, IEM type, etc.

Each of the "Jet Effect" settings( BBE, Mach3Bass,MP Enhance, 3D Surround,etc) can also be set differently in the 10 user definable presets.


For low-level listening in bed with my ER6 (8~10/40 in volume) I do use the following Jet Effect options:

EQ:

80 Hz: flat
220 Hz: flat
650 Hz: +1
4.1 kHz: +3
13kHz: +6

BBE : 3

Mach3Bass: 8

MP Enhance: On (most times)

3D Surround : 2

At such a low volume I find that these settings work very good for giving the perception of improved detail and intelligibility. At higher, normal volumes I do not use 3D Surround with many of the features at much less intensity.


There are more features than I have time to comment on in this post but a few features worth noting that I find very useful are:

Fade in: This simply fades in the music to the level at which it was after pause is deactivated. It can be set from 1 second to 5 seconds.

"Punch Through" as I call it. The REC and Menu buttons can be set to take you directly to any number of features by holding them "long".

Resume. This is a basic feature that all DAPs should have, but don't. It simply resumes playback at the exact point in a song when the player is powered on.

I haven't done an accurate battery life test but I'll believe that it does exceed 50 hours. For the first week that I used the i7 it was just while sleeping and 2 hours at the gym. The battery lasted for 5 nights (40 hours+), in addition to pre and post gym use(6 hours)..at that point I recharged it.

 

[K2Grey]

For what it's worth I don't have any problems at all with my iAudio 7's SQ. But it's hard to tell how much of what I hear comes from the player and how much from my IEMs (Westone UM1). I do notice many things now that I didn't notice back when I had a iPod Video (5th Gen), but it was so long ago, and my perception has probably become better, etc... so don't read too much into this post.

 

[uraflit]

this is the player i would get if my rockboxed nano dies.