FiiO E7 USB headphone Amplifier/DAC Review(pics updated)
Introduction.
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After owning a Fiio E3 a long time back, I felt there is so much more to an Headphone Amp, than plugging it directly to the sound card. Then later with the FiiO E5, i felt, this is just awesome for 1k grands, and seems to have lot less distortion than the E3, and a Li-ion battery is a wonderful feature, whereas most other AMms needs 9v batteries to run.
Here I will be using JVC HA RX-900 and Philips SHP-8900 headphones for the review. In IEM segment, I will be using SOundmagic PL-11, PL-21 for the review. Will later update the review with more headphones/IEMs I could procure.
And as a sound source, ie DAC, I will be comparing the E7 with Hot Audio Mark IV on its buffered headphone out and unbuffered Line-Out, Auzentech HDA Explosion 7.1 modded with S4580P Op-amps. The PMPs used will be Sansa Clip+ and Tsonic MP 860.
As an amplifier, I will be comparing it with FiiO E5, Mark IV's buffered output, HDA Explosion's built-in +12 dB gain mode.
Specs
These are the specifications from the FiiO website:
â—Output Power:
150mW (16Ω); 16mW (300Ω)
â—Headphone Impedance Range:
16 Ω ~ 300 Ω
â—Signal to Noise Ratio:
≥95dB (A weighted) on line-in;
≥100dB (A weighted) on USB-in
â—Distortion:
<0.009% (10mW)on line-in;
<0.008% (10mW) on USB-in
â—Frequency Range:
10Hz ~ 1000KHz
â—Power Supply:
Internal 1050mAH rechargeable Li-ion battery
â—Recharging:
USB 5V DC 400mA
â—Size: 96mm x 55mm x 15.5mm
â—Weight: 100g
Packaging and Accesories
The Box contains the following stuffs
*FiiO E7
*3.5mm interconnect cable 10cm
*Silicon Band for coupling the Amp with a PMP
*USB Cable (ferrite Core)
*Dual Layer Soft Pouch Black
*Manual
Pics
Build And Design
One thing you will quick notice after holding the DAC/AMP in hands is that its build solid. All the sides except the front is covered with machined metal with Black paint. Unlike most budget DAC, which uses plastic boxes, this one deserves a standout among a sub 100$ DAC for its build. The front face is covered by a large glass like material with a small SIM card sized OLED display, which shows Bass Boost levels, VOL, sleep timer, USB Charge On/OFF, and much more. There are four buttons on the left side which too are metal in construction.
The OLED Screen
Actual size comparison with SE K790i phone and E7 with Silicon cover
The Silicon cover is well layed and accurate
This is how the screen looks in dark
The machined/textured underneath of the E7
E7 can be used as a mirror too
Features
The FiiO E7 spots a WM8740 : High performance stereo DAC in its core, and a PCM2706 as USB interface chip. It can be used as a sound card replacement for headphone, and maybe for stereo speaker setups or a 2.1 speaker, but is intended for use with headphones. It also works as an headphone Amplifier with Aux-in port and dual output 3.5mm jacks for headphones. One intesting feature in its menu is the max volume level, which can be set anywhere between 10 and 60. It prevents damaging any low impedance IEM/headphones if accidently pumped up the volume, by friends of yours, or anyone who isnt well informed about the Amp thing
Also FiiO claims an 80 Hr battery backup. WOW. This is amazing, and could last more than a week, or even two on a single charging.
Performance
Gaming: The first thing I noticed on initial usage is it sounds really awesome. MY SHP 8900 never sounded this good, and it was like I could almost pin point every sound sources in Battlefield Bad Company 2. With the RX-900, the sound was very rich, and bass boost set to level-1 made the explosions real-like. The detailing was better than the Mark IV's line out and FiiO E5 connected to it. I though it might be the E5 who is the culprit, and plugged the headphones directly to Mark IV, and to my surprise, it was even worse, than the line out+ E5. SO the E7 is a clear winner here.
Movies: I fired up some HD 1080 rips with good SQ, and E7 didnt fail to surprise. The SHP 8900 was delivering exceptional details, with the Movie Gamer, I am legend and Transformers I. The Sound stage too was really great, much better than HDA Xplosion and Mark IV. With bass boost level-1, there was added bass, with no detereoration in mids, and highs and was more pleasant. But as its raised to level-2, we can notice the bass slighty drowning the detail, and level-3 is only for bas heads and not at all recommended for movies. The JVC RX 900 being bit bass oriented, was like pumping heavy bass into ears (but without distortions) drowning most of the detailing on level 2 and 3.
Music: This is the most important part about a DAC/AMP and E7 really shines in this segment too. Music felt very much refined when using it as USB DAC, and each Bass boost levels was like tweaking an equlizer for more bass, but the distortion was very less than using extreme high values in an equalizer on a MP. Ive also heard, the DAC section of E7 is really great, and its very much true. It beats Mark IV's line out and HDA explosion with ease.I feel the E7 has a real neutral and balanced sound with a nice touch in sound stage, with 3 levels of bass boost to satisfy varying levels of listeners and bassheads (level-3). The sound stage is amazing with even my budget range headphones. It might do wonders with a better headphone like AD-700 or any other sub 300 Ohm HP.
The Amp section is good, but nothing great. Its ofcourse better than an E5, and you need to use a hard to drive headphone with good detailing to spot the difference, and with that, the difference is good enough to be called superior to E5. One thing i noticed is that, it has a hard time driving two high impedance headphones at once. Whenever i connect my RX 900 and 8900 on both headphone outs, the Philips ones's volume is cut by half, but not much change in RX 900's level. Tried swapping the ports, but still no use. And the Amp section is miles ahead of the Mark'Iv buffered output stage. With PMP, the Amp wasnt enough to deliver proper power for two headphone, to even acceptable volume levels, but was more than enough for a single headphone.
The E7 sound nice on IEMs, much better than straight out of the PMP. But a portable amp of this size is not a good idea, but if you can live with the size, then you wont be dissapointed with the sound for a sub 4k Amp. And at heard, its also a HQ DAC its an added advantage, especially for frequent PC users. But for pure amp purpose, there might be better choice for same or lesser price.
Conclusion
I believe FiiO has come up with another winner. Winner in DAC performance as well as a DAC+AMP in a price tag of 4k. As its a neutral sounding, one can always tweak the sound to his liking using EQ on PMP, MP, or even add some warm boost in lows by bass boost function. There is absolutely no hissing with any of the headphones, or IEMs like even the PL-11. I dont have any lower impedance IEM with higher sensitivity to test further.
Pros:
Good DAC Performance.
80 hr battery backup.
good buid quality.
drives a single high impedance headphone with ease, upto 300 Ohm.
Price
Cons:
Hard time driving two high Impedance headphones at once.
No Line-Out without AMPing.
bass boost level change takes a sec to apply, and the volume sinks for a sec.
Pardon any mistakes, as this is my first review here and im not an audiophile, and has just stepped into the world of Audio stuffs
Introduction.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
After owning a Fiio E3 a long time back, I felt there is so much more to an Headphone Amp, than plugging it directly to the sound card. Then later with the FiiO E5, i felt, this is just awesome for 1k grands, and seems to have lot less distortion than the E3, and a Li-ion battery is a wonderful feature, whereas most other AMms needs 9v batteries to run.
Here I will be using JVC HA RX-900 and Philips SHP-8900 headphones for the review. In IEM segment, I will be using SOundmagic PL-11, PL-21 for the review. Will later update the review with more headphones/IEMs I could procure.
And as a sound source, ie DAC, I will be comparing the E7 with Hot Audio Mark IV on its buffered headphone out and unbuffered Line-Out, Auzentech HDA Explosion 7.1 modded with S4580P Op-amps. The PMPs used will be Sansa Clip+ and Tsonic MP 860.
As an amplifier, I will be comparing it with FiiO E5, Mark IV's buffered output, HDA Explosion's built-in +12 dB gain mode.
Specs
These are the specifications from the FiiO website:
â—Output Power:
150mW (16Ω); 16mW (300Ω)
â—Headphone Impedance Range:
16 Ω ~ 300 Ω
â—Signal to Noise Ratio:
≥95dB (A weighted) on line-in;
≥100dB (A weighted) on USB-in
â—Distortion:
<0.009% (10mW)on line-in;
<0.008% (10mW) on USB-in
â—Frequency Range:
10Hz ~ 1000KHz
â—Power Supply:
Internal 1050mAH rechargeable Li-ion battery
â—Recharging:
USB 5V DC 400mA
â—Size: 96mm x 55mm x 15.5mm
â—Weight: 100g
Packaging and Accesories
The Box contains the following stuffs
*FiiO E7
*3.5mm interconnect cable 10cm
*Silicon Band for coupling the Amp with a PMP
*USB Cable (ferrite Core)
*Dual Layer Soft Pouch Black
*Manual
Pics
Build And Design
One thing you will quick notice after holding the DAC/AMP in hands is that its build solid. All the sides except the front is covered with machined metal with Black paint. Unlike most budget DAC, which uses plastic boxes, this one deserves a standout among a sub 100$ DAC for its build. The front face is covered by a large glass like material with a small SIM card sized OLED display, which shows Bass Boost levels, VOL, sleep timer, USB Charge On/OFF, and much more. There are four buttons on the left side which too are metal in construction.
The OLED Screen
Actual size comparison with SE K790i phone and E7 with Silicon cover
The Silicon cover is well layed and accurate
This is how the screen looks in dark
The machined/textured underneath of the E7
E7 can be used as a mirror too
Features
The FiiO E7 spots a WM8740 : High performance stereo DAC in its core, and a PCM2706 as USB interface chip. It can be used as a sound card replacement for headphone, and maybe for stereo speaker setups or a 2.1 speaker, but is intended for use with headphones. It also works as an headphone Amplifier with Aux-in port and dual output 3.5mm jacks for headphones. One intesting feature in its menu is the max volume level, which can be set anywhere between 10 and 60. It prevents damaging any low impedance IEM/headphones if accidently pumped up the volume, by friends of yours, or anyone who isnt well informed about the Amp thing
Also FiiO claims an 80 Hr battery backup. WOW. This is amazing, and could last more than a week, or even two on a single charging.
Performance
Gaming: The first thing I noticed on initial usage is it sounds really awesome
. MY SHP 8900 never sounded this good, and it was like I could almost pin point every sound sources in Battlefield Bad Company 2. With the RX-900, the sound was very rich, and bass boost set to level-1 made the explosions real-like. The detailing was better than the Mark IV's line out and FiiO E5 connected to it. I though it might be the E5 who is the culprit, and plugged the headphones directly to Mark IV, and to my surprise, it was even worse, than the line out+ E5. SO the E7 is a clear winner here. Movies: I fired up some HD 1080 rips with good SQ, and E7 didnt fail to surprise. The SHP 8900 was delivering exceptional details, with the Movie Gamer, I am legend and Transformers I. The Sound stage too was really great, much better than HDA Xplosion and Mark IV. With bass boost level-1, there was added bass, with no detereoration in mids, and highs and was more pleasant. But as its raised to level-2, we can notice the bass slighty drowning the detail, and level-3 is only for bas heads and not at all recommended for movies. The JVC RX 900 being bit bass oriented, was like pumping heavy bass into ears (but without distortions) drowning most of the detailing on level 2 and 3.
Music: This is the most important part about a DAC/AMP and E7 really shines in this segment too. Music felt very much refined when using it as USB DAC, and each Bass boost levels was like tweaking an equlizer for more bass, but the distortion was very less than using extreme high values in an equalizer on a MP. Ive also heard, the DAC section of E7 is really great, and its very much true. It beats Mark IV's line out and HDA explosion with ease.I feel the E7 has a real neutral and balanced sound with a nice touch in sound stage, with 3 levels of bass boost to satisfy varying levels of listeners and bassheads (level-3)
. The sound stage is amazing with even my budget range headphones. It might do wonders with a better headphone like AD-700 or any other sub 300 Ohm HP. The Amp section is good, but nothing great. Its ofcourse better than an E5, and you need to use a hard to drive headphone with good detailing to spot the difference, and with that, the difference is good enough to be called superior to E5
. One thing i noticed is that, it has a hard time driving two high impedance headphones at once. Whenever i connect my RX 900 and 8900 on both headphone outs, the Philips ones's volume is cut by half, but not much change in RX 900's level. Tried swapping the ports, but still no use. And the Amp section is miles ahead of the Mark'Iv buffered output stage. With PMP, the Amp wasnt enough to deliver proper power for two headphone, to even acceptable volume levels, but was more than enough for a single headphone.The E7 sound nice on IEMs, much better than straight out of the PMP. But a portable amp of this size is not a good idea, but if you can live with the size, then you wont be dissapointed with the sound for a sub 4k Amp. And at heard, its also a HQ DAC its an added advantage, especially for frequent PC users. But for pure amp purpose, there might be better choice for same or lesser price.
Conclusion
I believe FiiO has come up with another winner. Winner in DAC performance as well as a DAC+AMP in a price tag of 4k. As its a neutral sounding, one can always tweak the sound to his liking using EQ on PMP, MP, or even add some warm boost in lows by bass boost function. There is absolutely no hissing with any of the headphones, or IEMs like even the PL-11. I dont have any lower impedance IEM with higher sensitivity to test further.
Pros:
Good DAC Performance.
80 hr battery backup.
good buid quality.
drives a single high impedance headphone with ease, upto 300 Ohm.
Price
Cons:
Hard time driving two high Impedance headphones at once.
No Line-Out without AMPing.
bass boost level change takes a sec to apply, and the volume sinks for a sec.
Pardon any mistakes, as this is my first review here
and im not an audiophile, and has just stepped into the world of Audio stuffs 
