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Review of Hidizs AP100 portable HiFi music player w/lots of pics!!!

This is a review of Hidizs AP100 portable HiFi music player. http://penonaudio.com/Hidizs-AP100 (manufacturer website: http://www.hidizs.com/EN/Products/Audio Players/AP100.html)
It takes a lot of confidence to enter a market of portable DAPs (digital audio players) considering the latest sophomore releases from FiiO and iBasso as well as a few other budget audio players. And that's exactly what I found with a freshman release from Hidizs, a new kid on the block that decided to make a bold statement with their first release. Everything from the packaging to the build quality and selection of components indicates they did their homework studying competition to match the level of finesse and also to come up with a few of their own tricks to distinguish themselves from the crowd. Let's take a closer look at what I found after spending the last few days testing Hidizs AP100.
Packaging / Unboxing
Taking a page right out of HiFiMAN book, AP100 arrived in a very elegant formal attire of a black box with a silver print of the company/model on the front and detailed spec in Chinese and English on the back. As you remove the outer sleeve, and slide out the inner tray, you see a form fitting cutout opening with AP100 wrapped in ESD bag (a similar detail I have seen in the past with HM700). Beside audio player, the included accessories are usb to micro-usb cable for charging and data transfer, a short 3.5mm male to male patch cable for connecting Line Out to external amp, a 3.5mm to coaxial cable for connection with available coaxial In/Out ports, a pair of screen protectors for 2.4" display, a quick start guide card which has walkthrough of all the ports and buttons in Chinese/English, and a very comprehensive high quality glossy print user's manual. AP100 also comes with a leather case which I'm still waiting to receive due to my shipment being one of the early samples Penonaudio (as official authorized Hidizs distributor) received in their store. I was also told, along with a leather case they're going to include 3.5mm TRRS to TRS adapter since by design AP100 3.5mm headphone port will not be able to accommodate correctly headphones with a built-in inline remote/mic. Typically high quality headphones have either audio only cables or have access to removable audio-only cable. In some cases, like my Beyer T51i where in-line remote doesn't come with a removable cable, you can easily use an adapter. I also noticed, Penonaudio eBay page list AP100 with a bonus free set of hi-fi earphones (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hidizs-AP10...ortable-HiFi-Audio-Music-Player-/291155982192), though I'm not sure about the model.
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Design overview
Once you take AP100 out of ESD bag, you are presented with a very portable and lightweight audio device, approximately 107mm x 65mm x 16mm and weighting 152g (including microSD card). The housing of the player has a solid metal enclosure (no flex) with rounded edges. Upper half of the front side hosts a flush mounted 2.4" TFT color screen with 320x240 resolution. Though not IPS, it actually has pretty wide viewing angle and it wasn't too bad for outdoor viewing. The placement of control buttons in the lower part of the front has a great layout for one-handed operation with either right or left hand. You have a dedicated volume -/+ buttons, a 4-way circle button with next/prev selection placed horizontally and fast fwd/rev placed vertically, where all these buttons are also used as navigation up/down/left/right while scrolling through the menu. In the middle of this circle you have play/pause button which also functions as Enter/Select key, and in the lower right corner a Return button which takes you back to a previous screen and also brings up song playback setting menu when long-pressed during playing music. At the top of the player you have 3.5mm jack for headphone out (HO) and line out (LO) and a power button which also turns the screen on/off while playing music or after screen display time out. On a right side you have a lock button; while enabled this one prevents accidental key presses. On the left side you have SRC button which changes the playback rate by cycling between 16b/44.1k, 24b/88.2k, 24b/96k, 24b/176.4k, and 24b/192k, and EQ button which cycles between General (default flat), Rock, POP, Classic, Jazz, Bass, and User custom EQ setting, and also Reset pinhole. At the bottom you get micro-USB charging/data port, microSD card port (supports max 64GB card), and Coaxial In/Out ports.
Under the hood and User Interface
Inside of AP100, you have 8GB of built-in internal memory (plus up to 64GB through microSD expansion), 3000 mAh li-ion battery which supposed to last 10hr, and array of very impressive chip selection from Cirrus Logic and other top premium IC manufacturers. I find it refreshing how every manufacturer decides to use different building blocks of ICs for their signal chain. Trying to stay unique with sample rate on-a-fly switching, I can see why Hidizs made a decision to use this particular chip set (low jitter phase lock loop, separate clock crystals, asynchronous SRC, etc.) which offers a very clean audio recovery and processing all under a dedicated hardware control. Processing is done using dual core Ingenic 4760B CPU, the same one used on X5.
On top of this hardware, you have a very stable firmware with a clean minimalistic GUI interface. It's not as fancy as scrolling wheel of X5, and doesn't have the same GUI details, but it's functional, easy to get around, and never locked up on me (though I don't have a large library of files to index). Actually, only one time it locked up because I unplugged AP100 from laptop without "ejecting" usb connection - my own fault since it was a part of the provided instructions which I didn't follow. Once you turn the power on, you are presented with 2 choices of going to a playlist or a setup menu. Setup menu has a lot of detailed selections and actually reminds me of X5 in it's look and feel. I tried documenting in pictures all the available options. When it comes to playback menu, it actually resembles a look of HM700 where you have a scrolling list of all the songs according to a file name. The ID3 tags are displayed during individual song playback, otherwise it's just an alphabetical list.
Once you start playing a song, you have a screen with all the detailed info indicating EQ selection, enabled SRC (with a sampling rate displayed on the screen), volume level, battery level, available cover artwork and ID3 tag content, play/pause/ffwd-rev icon indicator, track time line, and full file name (scrolling if its too long). Long pressing Return button takes you to song playback menu with more options. To assist in a better management of your playback, each song can be tagged as "favorite" to be added to a separate directory under "My favorite". Since you have access to up to 72GB of storage space, you probably would want to have a structure of separate sub-directories according to an album or an artist for a better management of content. Those with an excessive audio library probably will be looking elsewhere like X5 where you can use up to 2x 128GB microSD cards and OTG USB storage option. Also, if you want to use your DAP as external USB DAC for your laptop or computer, AP100 will not be able to support this.
Audio quality
As you can see, a lot of thought went into the design, presentation, and selection of components for this new product from Hidizs. But how does it all translates into the most important task, the sound quality? Let me re-assure you, there is NO disappointment in here. The sound is very neutral, detailed, no coloration of excessive low frequency warmth or upper mids/treble harshness or sibilance. The tonality is very natural with sound being accurately represented. Typically I prefer to leave a more detailed sound analysis to when I'm reviewing headphones, but in theory any sound representation comes down to 3 main factors: your sound source file (mp3 or FLAC or other lossless formats), the hardware decoding it (your dedicated audio player or smartphone or combination with an external DAC/amp), and your headphones. When it comes to hardware, in my opinion you want it to be as neutral as possible so you don't add any artifacts to a source, and I think AP100 accomplished that goal. It supports most of the popular audio formats, such as MP3, FLAC, WAV, OGG, WMA, APE up to 24b/192k sampling rate, and it's able to accurately decode these audio formats leaving it up to your headphone sound signature to deliver the final result.
In comparison to X5 (running the latest FW2.0) and HM700, I found AP100 (in 24b/192k setting) to be a little smoother and laid-back, a little warmer, and a bit less bright. Now, keep in mind, this is not a description of the sound, but rather a relative comparison using the same audio file source with the same set of headphones. In direct comparison of AP100 and X5, I found Hidizs soundstage to be a little bit wider and deeper, though not as wide as HM700 with balanced RE400B. Also, switching SRC to 24b/192k which I'm planning to leave on permanently, added more body to AP100 sound and on some headphones improved the sound with a better separation and layering. The results will vary from headphone to headphone, but the most significant change I was able to hear with Beyer T51i where the sound improvement with AP100 was almost like I added an amp to X5.
I do realize that for some a big question going to be if you are on a budget and at a crossroad deciding whether to go with X5 or AP100 or you need to get another DAP. From a form factor, AP100 is a little bit shorter and lighter. From a storage capacity and expansion, X5 is hands down a winner. Perhaps due to a same CPU maybe in a future updates Hidizs will add support for 128GB flash, though you are still limited to a single card and not sure about OTG. Regarding GUI and interface, I think they both have their advantage and disadvantages where I love scrolling wheel of X5 for a quick navigation through a list of songs, but when it comes down to menu selection or more precise song selection - using button navigation will give you more control at expense of slower speed. Also, there is no denial, X5 interface is more polished. Sound quality is where you going to see more distinction. If you need to invest $150-$200 into a portable amp to enhance sound of some of your headphones, perhaps a dedicated DAP might be a better option. The sound quality improvement will vary depending on headphones you use, but I can tell you from a personal experience I will be driving T51i only from AP100, while for my workouts with hifi sound - it's HM700 + RE400B in an armband for convenience. Another great pair up example of AP100 I found to be with ATH-IM50 and IM03. Beside adding more dimension to a sound, it really brings bass alive and makes it stand out especially with IM50 where low end is the strongest point to begin with. So there is no clear answer since it will depend on your individual preferences due to YMMV.
Overall, I must say I was very impressed with this DAP considering I never heard of this company before. Between hardware, firmware, and sound quality - this is one solid release for a newcomer. I especially like how they are trying to differentiate themselves by offering something different with SRC functionality. Please keep in mind, my previous DAP experience is based on Clip+, X5, HM700, and using my Note 2 w/Neutron, so perhaps other higher end DAPs already implement something similar, though I'm not sure if anybody else does it in $300 price range. Also, SRC is not a magic button to improve the sound of every headphone, but it works rather well on those that lean more toward balanced sound signature with enhanced bass response and require a stronger driving signal. Not sure if you will get the same level of improvement pairing it up with analytical headphones since I don't have my Etys and IM02 for testing anymore. Also, all the headphones in my collection are low impedance and Hidizs site doesn't talk much about HO output level driving different impedance loads. But if you look at their spec of 2.2Vrms and assume the lowest supported impedance, it will still scale up to a very decent signal level going up to 250ohm and 300ohm loads and maybe even to 600ohm. While testing with my headphones, I had my volume setting between 1/4 to 1/3 of maximum allowable volume, never approaching 50% of max volume output. That's a good indicator and also goes along with my previous comment of AP100 driving T51i like it was X5+amp. Now, I can't wait to see what future firmware updates going to bring and what other products Hidizs guys have in queue!

While I'm waiting for the leather case to arrive, I wanted to come up with a storage solution for AP100 when I throw it in my bag. Amazingly, Pelican 101 case has perfect dimensions to accommodate that but it requires a little modification.
This 1010 case is bulletproof, and cost only $13.50: http://www.pelicancases.com/1010-p/1010.htm and I'm also using pick'n'pluck foam insert: http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail_accessories.php?Case=1010 to keep it from rattling inside, but you can use any kind of spacer, or maybe just put your IEMs in there.
The plastic shell of the case itself has perfect inner dimensions, but the inner rubber lining makes it a bit too tight, pushing on the side buttons of the DAP. So, I just cut out the top part of the lining keeping the base which prevents AP100 from rubbing against the plastic. On top, I used foam insert, so it looks like this:

AP100 leather case and other accessories
As promised, here is an additional review of Hidizs AP100 accessories and other bonus goodies that come bundled when ordered from Penonaudio (http://penonaudio.com/Hidizs-AP100).
The included leather case adds a protection for AP100 and also allows you to carry this digital audio player in style. Today it's really hard to tell apart real or fake leather, but material of this case felt genuine to me. The fitment inside of the holding sleeve was secure, not too tight or loose. It has the precise cutouts to access all the control buttons, keeps the top of the player open for HO/LO and power button, and at the bottom allows access for micro-usb cable. You also have access to SRC and EQ buttons on one side, and Lock button on the other side. The flip cover stays closed thanks to a hidden magnet, and inside there is a small velctro pocket for mico-SD card.
Btw, leather case is included with AP100 purchased from anybody, but Penon audio guys add a few additional exclusive bonuses.
As I mentioned in my original review, the headphone output jack of AP100 supports a standard TRS connection which is a problem if you are using headphones with built in in-line remote control/mic. It's not a showstopper since there is a number of adapters available to allow use of headphones with in-line remote. But additional adapters cost money and some are bulky or long-wired. Included in this package is a slim 3.5mm female to 3.5mm male adapter which I found to work great with all of my "smartphone" headphones. As a matter of fact, Penon guys sell it on ebay for $4+ shipped (http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-Femal...=US_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item43af220270) for anybody who in general interested in it, but it's included for free here. I like that I don't have to worry about hanging wires, and it doesn't stick out too much.
Last but not least, they also included a pair of high quality in-ear headphones, Hisoundaudio PAA-1 model which they actually sell in their store for $20 (http://penonaudio.com/Hisoundaudio-PAA-1). Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about freebie headphones, expecting it's going to be something cheap, but was surprised to find these to sound really good!!! These are not exactly in-ear type headphones, but rather one of those iPod style, and I even put a few pictures side-by-side for a better comparison. Surprisingly, these have a nice soft cable with TPE sleeve and OFC wires. The fit was comfortable, but for some people with small ear opening it could be a problem. The sound is balanced, nothing is recessed. It has a nice punchy low-end with some sub-bass extension, great separation of mids with enough detailed clarity (great with vocals), and crisp treble extension without any hint of sibilance. One thing that surprised me the most was a super wide soundstage. I'm not gonna tell you these are giant killers that beat $100-$200 IEMs, but they sound VERY good and even for a standalone price of $20 it's a great value.
Furthermore, and to be clear these adapters below are not a part of AP100 package but definitely a good investment to have, I would like to mention about impedance adapters you can get from Penon guys ($13.90, http://penonaudio.com/3.5mm-Inpedance-Plug). As I mentioned in my review, paired up with high sensitivity headphones you are going to hear some background hissing noise listening to AP100 due to it's high output power. It's a common problem with other DAPs or AMPs as well. A solution is very simple, you need to use an impedance adapter, usually in value between 50-150 ohms. It helps to attenuate the background noise, though you also will reduce output level (will need to raise your volume up when using such adapter). Most of the adapters I have seen or own are bulky with a wire extension. In this case, you are getting a brand name DUNU impedance adapter, either 75 ohm or 150 ohm, at a very reasonable price. I have tested both with a lot of my headphones, and found that 75 ohm does a perfect job silencing the background noise without any sound quality reduction. This 3.5mm female to 3.5mm male adapter is relatively small and not going to stick out too much. It's one of those must-have accessories any audiophile should have in their tool box

Review of Cayin N6 Hi-res digital audio player w/lots of pics!!!

This is a Review of Cayin N6 Hi-Res digital audio player (DAP). http://penonaudio.com/Cayin-N6
A lot of people think that upgrading headphones to a more expensive/multi-driver version can improve a sound quality without realizing how much impact a hardware source "plays" in order to take their sound experience to the next level. As some make a leap from using their smartphones or budget audio players to a dedicated quality DAP (digital audio player), you re-discover your headphones all over again and realize what you have been missing. Things can get quickly out of control when we are in search of perfection, don't have access to audition and to compare audio gear, and make assumptions that high quality audio hardware has to come at a premium price. Today I would like to share with you about a new flagship N6 DAP from Cayin that shatters these typical stereotypes while delivering a true high definition audio which sets itself above all mid-fi contenders and aims to challenge a more expensive hi-fi competition. Here is what I found.
I have reviewed Cayin C5 portable amplifier in the past and stayed in touch with Cayin team to quickly realize how much they are obsessed with sound quality and design details as well as customer support. Even when N6 was ready for prime time closer to the end of the last year, they still took their time to perfect everything, including a first test run limited to a small group of local pro-audio users just to get more feedback. All this hard work really paid off, and when N6 was ready for an official release and I finally received my production quality review sample - it already felt like a mature product with a polished hardware and a stable firmware. But everything starts with unboxing.
There is definitely a WOW! factor once you hold N6 box in your hands. They made it very clear you are dealing with a premium product in a premium box. You are not going to find any high res pictures on the outer sleeve, only a hand sketch of the product with some hints of its sexy curves. There is also a very minimum description of main functions and features, mostly referencing types of devices and supported formats with no further description, I guess trying to keep user in suspense. With outer sleeve off and the main box out and open, you are presented with premium "jewelry" box display setting of N6. Out of the box underneath a form fitted tray with N6, you'll find all the included accessories in another partitioned tray.
To be honest, for such a fancy box and premium flagship product, I expected to see more accessories. Don’t get me wrong, it’s on par with other DAPs I have reviewed in the past, but would have been nice to see something like a leather holster or a travel case or maybe to include 2A wall adapter. Still, there were plenty of goodies to go around. You have a quality usb to micro-usb cable, coax adapter, micro-usb to usb card reader, and two sets of round screen protectors with one already being applied to N6. One bonus that I actually found impressive was a keychain with the same carbon fiber finish as featured on the back of N6 – fancy! Also included was a silicone protection skin, but it wasn’t in the box but rather in the packaging envelope. I know it’s a shame to hide N6 curves under the “skin”, but it’s a smart way to protect it from scratches.
Unboxing and Accessories pictures.
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Looking at N6 DAP, the first thing you notice is a rather unique round display - a centerpiece of the design. Just like with their C5 portable amp that stood out from a crowd, N6 makes a very bold statement even before you turn it on and plug in your headphones. Even though display looks round, the active part of it is 2.4" IPS square screen with a high contrast and excellent visibility under any condition. With display off, it's hard even to distinguish the square part of the screen, thus you have an illusion of a round display. On the left side of the display like a watch crown you have a thumb control navigation wheel to assist in scrolling and also with a spring-loaded push action to click/select/enter. I found this scrolling wheel to have an excellent tactile response and to be of a great assistance when scrolling through either a long playlist or adjusting volume or just going through menus. It's not really necessary for navigation of N6 since all these functionalities could be done with other buttons, but still comes in very handy and blends in well with a round screen display.
Below the display, you have 4 control buttons in a very unique shape. When it comes to N6 DAP, it looks like Cayin wasn't just creating a functional audio player with a great sound, but also making a piece of art. In theory, these are your typical multifunctional 4 directional buttons with up and down list scrolling or track skip or fast forward/back, and left and right buttons for going back in navigation or selection or play/pause. It takes a little bit to get used to controls, but after a while using these becomes a second nature. I also think a custom shape of these buttons plays a very important role in a flow of navigation and controls as your finger slides across them.
You will also find a more traditional buttons, such as volume up/down in the upper right corner on the side, and a power button on the top. With a screen off, volume buttons do control volume with a single click and skip track with a long press. Also, scrolling wheel controls play/pause with a push when screen is off - a very intuitive control you can access without even looking at the player. At the top, you also have three 3.5mm ports for Line Out (LO), Headphone Out (HO), and Coaxial cable Out (CO). To eliminate confusion, I did cut off HO cover flap in silicone case so I knew right away where to plug in headphones. At the bottom you have micro SD card slot, a reset pinhole, a tiny led light pinhole, and micro-usb port. The body of the case is made out of aircraft-grade aluminum alloy and feels very solid in your hand. The back of N6 has a real carbon fiber finish.
Design detail pictures.
As impressive as it looks outside, inside of N6 you will find a true audio powerhouse. Everything from dual core processor, powerful enough to support native DSD hardware decoding as well as other formats up to 24bit/192kHz resolution with MP3/WAV/FLAC/OGG/APE/ALAC/AAC/WMA/M4A and even CUE, to 8GB of internal memory and microSD card supporting up to 128GB size. You also have a very impressive array of internal chips with top performance dual PCM1792A DACs arranged to process left and right channel separately to control high definition of a sound and a width of soundstage separation. There is also a dedicated high performance PGA2311 volume control chip, and even 3 different TCXO crystal oscillators to meet low jitter clock requirements. Power is provided by a high capacity 5600 mAh lithium battery which does a great job of supplying enough juice for up to 7-8 hours of continuous playback. For a piece of audio equipment with so many power hungry ICs, this is actually not a bad performance. Also, Cayin is constantly working on battery life optimization, especially in standby mode, so perhaps with some future firmware upgrades they might even be able to improve a total playback time.
Another important spec worth mentioning is the HO and LO output performance where HO is rated at 220mW+220mW w/32ohm load and super low output impedance of 0.26ohm, and LO rated at 1.7V of output power. I had no issues driving any of my IEMs or open/closed back full size headphones, and even in low gain setting had a volume at only 30%. Even with low sensitivity headphones I never exceeded 50% of volume level. With high sensitivity headphones, I didn't hear any hissing and found background to be solid black. But in general, if you need to drive power hungry high impedance full size headphones, you can always pair up N6 with another member of Cayin family - C5 portable amp.
Furthermore, besides being a standalone digital audio player, N6 also functions as an asynchronous USB DAC which you can connect to your laptop or computer to turn N6 into an external sound card. One thing you need to know, the internal memory of N6 has a zip file with all the necessary drivers to setup the connection. Once installation is complete, moving forward it’s a simple plug'n'play operation as long as you have DAC mode enabled in your System setting of N6.
Even with so much electronics and a large battery, N6 still feels pocket friendly and not that heavy. For a comparison, I put N6 next to X5, both wearing a silicone case, and found N6 to be 248g with 128mm x 70mm x 20mm dimensions, and X5 to be 218g with 118mm x 70mm x 16mm dimensions.
Pictures of N6 next to C5 and X5.
It is a little bit taller and thicker in comparison to X5, but overall weight felt the same and inside of the pocket N6 was actually a lot easier to operate "blind" with fast access to play/pause, skip, and volume controls.
Before I get into a sound of Cayin N6, the next topic I would like to discuss is GUI interface. Of course the sound characteristic is the most important factor, but a poorly designed controls and user interface can ruin your experience of enjoying the music even if it sounds great. I already mentioned about how much I like buttons/wheel controls of N6, and the same positive experience extended to graphic user interface as well. When you hold the power button to turn it on, you are greeted with a round vinyl-disc main interface resembling a turn table. In there, you have 5 main menu choices of Playing Now (which goes to your current playing song), Music Library (where you have an option to update the library, to view Local memory content, and removable card content), Music Category (were everything is sorted by My Favorite, Recent Played Songs, Albums, Artists, Genre, and a list of All Songs), System Setting, and Music Setting. Playing Now and Music Library is self explanatory, while in Music Category you have My Favorite based on a quick playlist you can create by tagging songs as Favorite, and the rest of the menu choices with songs sorted based on the ID tags of your music files.
Music setting has an extensive selection of options with Gain setting (low and high), Digital Filter (added in fw1.1 where you have SHARP and SLOW with a subtle change of sound attack, my personal preference being SHARP), DSD gain compensation, EQ setting (10 band EQ with 8 presets and a separate Customizable option). Play mode (to cover different repeat modes), Breakpoint resume, Gapless playback (after fw1.1 it's nearly perfect!!!), Max Volume limit setting, Startup Volume, Startup volume value, Balance control (L/R), Album art (display on/off), and Lyrics (display on/off). In a System setting you have Language selection, USB Mode (usb connection to read and to transfer files or USB DAC setting as external soundcard), Backlight time, Brightness setting, Schedule Power off (enable/disable), Schedule Power off time (this will turn off N6 after a preset time; Sleep time option is coming in the next firmware update), Reset (to factory setting), About the Player (which has model and firmware number, as well as local and microSD card total and remaining free memory capacity). Also, within "About the Player", you can skip pages from the main screen to see a very comprehensive electronic manual of the N6 with all the controls and functionality description.
GUI and Setting pictures.
Uh, so here comes a sound, and the first word out of my mouth was: WOW!!! To be honest, I personally don’t care about what DAC or volume IC or processor is being used in the design. It’s irrelevant because you can pick’n’choose the best available audio components and still mess up the signal flow, the circuit design, the layout of the board, etc. I look at every DAP as a black box, evaluating it on a sound quality, control usability, and GUI. In my opinion, Cayin N6 delivered a nearly perfect score in every single of these categories.
Reviewing sound quality of a DAP is not an easy task. What you hearing is not a direct “sound” of the audio player but rather a sound delivered by headphones according to their sound signature. So a better evaluation of a DAP is by referencing it to other sources for comparison. I have a number of DAPs in my collection, such as FiiO X1 and X5, HiFiMAN HM700, Hidizs AP100, and more budget oriented audio players from xDuoo, Sandisk, Ruizu, and also my Galaxy Note 4. If I pick the best source out of this bunch, which happens to be X5, and even after pairing it up with either of my favorite portable amps, C5 and E12A, I still can’t get anything closer to a near perfection reference sound I get from HO of N6. Yes, that good!!!
N6 sound is very detailed, transparent, and musical, with an organic tonality, close to reference quality without being cold or analytical. It has an excellent separation and layering of instruments with a wide and deep airy soundstage. Relative to headphones in my collection, there is no hissing or background noise (though I don’t have SE846 to confirm which always comes up as being over-sensitive), and I found it to have a black background. In comparison, the level of detail retrieval from N6 is on a much higher scale than X5, and the soundstage presentation is significantly better as well. As a matter of fact, the soundstage directly from N6 will remind you a lot of C5 paired up with X5. And that is a beauty of N6 where you don’t need to pair it up with any external portable amps to improve the sound quality or staging unless you want to experiment with coloring of your sound by introducing other amps. I paired up N6 with E12A, but found it handicapping the soundstage width and depth. Pair up of N6 with C5 is great if you really need to drive a demanding high impedance cans, but comparing N6 HO in low gain to N6+C5 (in low gain as well) – sound tonality was almost identical to my ears, and the only benefit was a slight improvement in width and depth of soundstage.
This brings me to how well N6 pairs up with different headphones. In this analysis, I found it more beneficial to compare every pair of headphones to see how it sounds on N6 vs X5. Also, please keep in mind, X5 is one fantastic DAP and it costs $270 less than N6. This is like a relative comparison. But my point is that value of N6 is highly justifiable considering sound quality improvement without a need to use external amps and special LO cables.
UM Pro 50:
N6 - richer bass texture, better 3D positioning/imaging, better dynamics, sound is more organic/analog, a little smoother/musical.
X5 - sound is flatter, a little more digital in comparison.
CRK10:
N6 - sound is more airy, staging a bit deeper, improved bass texture, sound has more body.
X5 – sound has less sparkle, a bit narrower staging.
A83:
N6 - amazing bass texture, super wide/airy sound, smoother upper mids/treble.
X5 - reduced soundstage, less sparkle in upper frequencies.
DITA Answer:
N6 - higher level of detail retrieval, sound is more airy, improved soundstage.
X5 - sound is a bit flatter and not as organic.
IM03
N6 - sound has richer texture, more natural, smoother, improved staging.
X5 - sound is a bit flatter, not as dynamic.
Titan 1
N6 - sound has more sparkle, wider soundstage.
X5 - sound is smoother and warmer, a bit narrower.
VSD3
N6 - bass texture is richer and more detailed, wider staging, more airy sound.
X5 - sound is flatter, less dynamic, and a bit harsher.
In conclusion, next to my other audio players and amps Cayin N6 DAP is without a doubt TOTL audio equipment. Of course a question begs to be asked how it compares to AK120 II or AK240 II, and perhaps in a near future I might be able to answer this. But N6 is still 1/2 the price of the cheaper AK120 II, and that needs to be factored in. Do I think N6 represents an absolute perfection? Well, it has a sound signature which is near a sound perfection to my ears, and I got used to and enjoying its controls very much. But based on the size and the weight, it’s not exactly super portable or a pocket friendly for everyone’s taste. Plus, I wish battery life would be a few more hours longer. I know Cayin is working hard on firmware optimization, and they have done an amazing job delivering a very stable FW1.0 followed by FW1.1 only a month later with a lot of improvements. So I hope they can do some magic to squeeze even more out of their battery life. But even as it stands, this digital audio player represents an amazing value with a true hi-def sound performance. I never really listened to DSD audio files until I got N6 where it plays these without skipping a beat with a sound quality that took my breath away. I no longer need an external amp to improve my soundstage presentation or to add that extra juice to make my bass sizzle with layers of texture – N6 internal DAC/amp is top class! I no longer have to reach out for a dedicated USB DAC to enjoy listening to hi-def audio from my laptop – flexibility of N6 design covers that. There are too many benefits to list and I can go on, but the bottom line is that Cayin delivered a remarkable hi-def audio player and set a new price bar which is quite affordable considering spending the same amount of money on mid-fi DAPs, LO cables, and external amps without even reaching 100% level of N6. Very impressive considering this is Cayin’s very first portable DAP release! Can’t wait to see what they’re going to come up with next!

Nice review ! ??

Excellent review, thanks

Hello everybody,
Where can I find Tools for the subj for Win 7? I'd like to change the fonts for 4.3 FW.

Hi there,
Does anybody know how to delete all the songs on Favorites with one click but not one by one?

alex5908 said:
Hi there,
Does anybody know how to delete all the songs on Favorites with one click but not one by one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better post this queston on head-fi in corresponding thread. I used to mirror my audio reviews here on XDA and also AF, but eventually moved to HF where audio gear reviews belong And since I haven't used N6 in a long time, it will take me awhile just to charge it up before I can answer it, but I'm sure - if it's not obvious, it can't be done, probably.
Btw, their N8 flagship is just around the corner, using Korg nano-tubes
Plus, they released N5iiS stainless steel limited edition, which I just reviewed on my blog.
Cayin been doing pretty good with all these DAP release and desktop gear (their tube amplifiers are top notch), and actually today (on August 8th) is their 25th anniversary as a company.

I did that awhile ago. The thread is dead and nobody posts anything.

alex5908 said:
I did that awhile ago. The thread is dead and nobody posts anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe send a PM to "'AndyKong" in there. He will be able to help you, man.

Hi vecton, would you like to review our product?

avatarcontrols said:
Hi vecton, would you like to review our product?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, PM me.

Review of Astell & Kern AK120 II High-res Dual DAC Music player w/lots of pics!!!

This is a Review of Astell & Kern AK120ii Digital Audio Player (DAP). http://www.astellnkern.com/eng/htm/ak120/ak120_2_feature01.asp , also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Astell-Kern-AK120II-Resolution-Player/dp/B00L3NAW42/
Either if you are a novice audio enthusiast or a seasoned audiophile, you are probably familiar with a name of "Astell & Kern". It’s like a fashion brand name or a luxury vehicle known for their stylish looks, durable design, and top of the line performance. Nevertheless, for a number of people A&K products are still an intimidating mystery because of their premium price and somewhat exclusive review coverage. I've read some of those reviews and still had a few unanswered questions, especially what makes this DAP so special at a premium price? As you can see, I've already mentioned “premium price” twice, and I'm only a few sentences into my review. Unfortunately, premium price quite often clouds are judgment since we have high expectations when in reality we are looking at diminishing returns. In the last few years I covered close to a dozen of DAPs priced between $50 -$700, and as a reviewer when you focus on a performance and features it makes it easier to judge a product without a biased opinion clouded by its price, though you still have to consider it. So let me proceed with my review, to share with you what I found, and to let you be the judge if this amazing piece of electronics (oops, a biased slip!) is worth your hard earned money.
People, who appreciate the art of sound or just educated enough to understand that free earbuds supplied with your smartphone or endorsed by celebrities just don’t cut it, are usually in constant search of new headphones to get closer to their ideal sound signature. Unfortunately, a lot of the times we neglect an important variable in this sound signature equation - the audio source. No matter how good you think your iDevice or Android phone sounds, it’s not an ideal source even if you manage to load it with lossless audio files. It will not substitute a dedicated DAP designed with one specific functionality in mind - playing audio without compromises or interferences from 3G/4G radios, noisy power supplies, social media updates, and a ton of apps running in the background. I always looked at DAP as anti-smartphone, and perhaps that’s why I was happy with small screens, hardware buttons, and other mechanical scrolling options. Now, I made a full circle and came back to a product which you can almost call a smartphone without a “phone”.
Arrived in a formally dressed silver carton sleeve, A&K wanted to keep an element of surprise without any revealing glossy pictures or too much of an artwork beside a stamped logo and a company name with a sticker of DUAL DAC on the front. AK120ii is their dual CS4398 DAC version, very similar in looks to AK100ii - a single CS4398 DAC version with a slightly shorter body and a few other cut down specs. On a back side of the packaging you will find a very comprehensive device specification that resembles a typical compact smartphone spec. We are talking about 3.31” AMOLED touch screen display with WVGA 480x800 resolution, 3,250 mAh li-polymer battery, 128GB of internal NAND memory with microSD expansion supporting up to 128GB flash card, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, MTP media device connection, micro USB input, and OTA (over-the-air) firmware upgrade. Yes, we are still talking about DAP, and to reassure that – I removed the sleeve and opened an impressive black gift-box to reveal AK120ii inside of it.
Unboxing.
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I have seen pictures of AK100ii/120ii before, but the first hand experience of opening the box and taking a glance at this DAP is priceless. Out of the box I found AK120ii to be surprisingly compact with dimensions of approximate 118mm x 55mm x 15mm and very lightweight at only 177g. Along with AK120ii, included accessories were a high quality usb to micro-usb charging/data cable, clear screen protectors for the front display and the back, a comprehensive quick start guide (printed on a quality paper like it was a wedding invitation), a warranty card, and a fancy leather case. And by fancy, I mean a designer quality "Made in Italy" case with perfect cutouts to reveal all the hardware controls and ports, and to provide a full access to touch screen where only a microSD port was covered. Btw, once fitted, the case is not easy to slide out, but I found a little trick by pushing it out with an eraser tip of a pencil through micro-usb port opening at the bottom. Could A&K have included additional accessories? I certainly would be happy to see more considering the asking price, but optional color leather cases, cradles, and some cables are available for purchase directly from Astell & Kern website.
Accessories.
As I already mentioned, the unit itself felt very compact and rather lightweight despite its solid build and alloy metal housing with a front touch screen. If this would have been a smartphone, I would have already proceeded to power it up, but I was still hesitant holding it in my hand while examining design details. I think the experience of testing and reviewing other DAPs made me appreciate this design even more, including how thoughtfully it was crafted. The ergonomics was perfect for use with one hand, and it felt very comfortable to reach hardware transport controls and volume knob as well as touch screen - not bad considering I have just an average size hands. The transport control buttons are located on the top left side, and you have Play/Pause in the middle between Skip Next/Prev where single click skips a track and a long press fast forwards/backwards. Buttons felt solid, no rattling or shaking, with a very nice tactile response. At the bottom of the same left side you will find microSD slot with a card sitting flush once fully inserted. The bottom of AK120ii has micro-usb connector for charging (impressive battery life of up to 12hrs) and connection to a computer (for a file transfer and use as USB DAC). The top has 3.5mm TRS headphone output (HO which also doubles as electrical/optical Line Out) and 2.5mm balanced output with a 4-pole TRRS connector (for a balanced wired output).
The upper right corner of AK120ii is protruded with a small power button at the top and a dedicated volume knob facing to the right. There is no denial it looks and feels like a real authentic scaled down hardware volume knob you can find in high end desktop systems. The rotation of the knob felt well controlled with a nice feedback, and I was able to adjust it even with a roll of a thumb. I was kind of wishing this volume knob would also function as a push-button control, but it didn’t. I mean, the whole look of the knob design with a cap just screams to be pushed, maybe with some hidden functionality like a quick mute. At the same time, I can understand it would be too easy to accidentally trigger it in your pocket, so this volume knob can only rotate.
Design.
Finally, I was able to tear myself away from pushing the buttons and turning the knob, and went ahead to power it up. Greeted by a glowing “A” logo, it took a little while for the player to boot up. From what I understand, previous AK versions were Unix/Linux based, and the new AK100ii/120ii/240 are Android based for a better support of wireless connection with OTA updates. As a matter of fact, as soon as I booted up and connected to Wi-Fi, within a minute I had a message in notification bar informing me about downloading a system update. It felt like at home with familiar smartphone functionality, especially with touch controls and notification bar. Touch screen was very responsive with every move/slide/touch registering without a lag or a delay, thus suggesting a well optimized custom OS on top of Android. The main screen was well laid out with tiles for Songs, Albums, Artists, Genres, Playlist, and Folder – all corresponding to a specific sorting method of accessing your song library. On top of that there were also tiles for MQS Streaming and Setting. Also, there was an “invisible” Home touch button at the bottom in the middle which took you back to a playback screen. From playback screen, where you have access to touch transport controls and song/album artwork, you can also create a Playlist by clicking on the screen and selecting "+".
The Setting menu was my first stop where you have toggle switches for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EQ, Gapless playback, Line Out and Balanced Out selection, L/R Balance, Brightness control, and Theme selection. There was also system settings related to Date/Time, Language, Power management, USB Connection, and Downloads folder. Further in System Info you can keep a track of model and firmware, internal storage management, and SD card management. But I think the greatest feature of A&K OS is how you can access most of these settings from one place in pull down notification bar. It was simply brilliant how you get a bird eye view of all the important settings where you enable/disable it with a simple touch and get into a detailed setting menu by touch’n’hold of the corresponding control. With notification bar accessible from any screen, this was the best and the easiest way to change settings on the fly.
One of the settings I found quite interesting was EQ where you can create a numerous custom presets. Also, you can draw EQ curve on the screen with a finger, and every EQ-band slider will self-adjust in animated fashion following a drawn curve. It was great to see a complete set of 10-band EQ (30Hz/60/120/250/500/1k/2k/4k/8k/16k), but I found it a bit frustrating to adjust individual bands since they were too close to each other to zero in with a finger touch. I would suggest for A&K to implement a zoom-in feature to expand EQ screen for a more precise selection of the EQ band.
In general, it was a pleasure to be able to see song names and artwork, and effortlessly control the playback and selection from a large and clear touch screen without straining my eyes. But it's not only the size of the screen, but how logical everything is laid out and utilized, from pull-down notification bar with access to all the settings, to a "home" button to get back to the playback and the rest of the controls and settings. I also liked how cool it was to adjust the volume once you turn the volume knob and get on-screen volume-arc graphics to slide your finger up/down and also to quickly enable/disable Balanced output. It takes a little bit of time to figure out controls, but afterwards it becomes a second nature to navigate. Going back to my other DAPs after using AK120ii was a painful experience using small screens and clicking buttons to navigate around.
GUI/Interface.
Having an ample storage is very important when you are dealing with high resolution audio and lossless formats, where AK120ii supports everything under the sun. And despite the fact that AK100ii/120ii doesn’t support native DSD decoding (only 240 does it natively while 100/120 converts it internally to PCM), you still will be tempted to load this DAP with your DSD files. Depending on the size of your lossless library, even 128GB of internal storage and another 128GB of external one might not be enough. Or perhaps when you are at home you want to listen to a few other songs/albums without going through a hassle of copying them to a DAP. To expand your storage capacity while you are at home connected to your local Wi-Fi, AK120ii supports MQS Streaming from your local computer. All you have to do is to download a small lightweight MQS Server program to run on your laptop or PC/MAC, select your shared directory, and within seconds it will be mirrored and ready to be accessed from your AK DAP. It’s insanely easy and efficient, and there is no delay or buffering stutter as you streaming the music – sounds just like you are playing it from internal NAND memory. Of course, with a full Android based OS on my smartphone I can also stream anything from the cloud (Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, etc.), but unfortunately you can’t run any 3rd party or even native Android apps with AK120ii. Furthermore, you can also play music directly from your laptop/PC/MAC through AK120ii by utilizing its USB DAC functionality like an external soundcard.
MQS Streaming.
Obviously, AK120ii has an excellent design and one amazing GUI with hardware buttons to complement touch controls, but how does it sounds? Here, I found a few surprises. Keep in mind, the intent of my review was to test AK120ii as a standalone portable DAP rather than a puzzle piece of the equation that requires another $2.5k DAC/amp and $2.5k pair of IEMs to complete a picture in order to make it sound good. I found that it was absolutely not necessary to stack up AK120ii with other portable Amps or to use it exclusively with TOTL multi-driver IEMs in order to enjoy the sound. To my surprise, it paired up quite well with a lot of my headphones straight out of HO, but you have to be VERY selective which headphones to use - everything comes down to finding headphones with a perfect synergy to work with sound signature of AK120ii.
I had a bit of a rough start when I began testing AK120ii only to realize that warm, bassy, and generally v-shaped headphones are not a perfect match for this DAP. I found sound signature of this DAP to be neutral-smooth with a slight touch of warmth. It made my bright and revealing IEMs and Headphones to sound lush and organic while retaining clarity and high level of details. I would even go as far as saying this DAP shapes a sound to be more smooth analog rather than cold-analytical. The background was perfectly black, and I didn't experience any hissing or high level of noise, though my headphones are not that sensitive either. With a help of it's Dual DAC architecture, soundstage had a great level of width/depth, though it wasn't too airy in my opinion. I wasn't able to quite reach that precise level of detailed analytical layering and separation. Don't take this as a negative comment, actually AK120ii was able to breath in a new life into some of my brighter tuned headphones, adding more body and texture making them sound more natural and less fatigue.
As expected, once you switch to 2.5mm Balanced Output and if your headphones can support wide imaging, balanced output did improve soundstage width/depth by further expansion and even some treble enhancement. The difference wasn't exactly night'n'day, but after closer listening it was definitely noticeable, especially with my UM Pro 50 (advantage of replacement cable to go between 3.5mm and 2.5mm was priceless). To get the most out of the balanced output you really need to look into aftermarket quality replacement cables for your headphones. Just a stock OFC or cheap silver plated wires won't be enough. For example, I noticed a better margin of improvement once I switched to low impedance Linum Balanced BaX cable. A balanced wired Whiplash Pure Silver cable (part of modular system) did introduce an improvement as well, but hearing my UM Pro 50 or W40 or A83 with Linum Balanced BaX took it a notch higher, which I attribute to lower impedance of Linum Litz cable.
Speaking of headphones I used for testing, I picked Pro 50 since it has a darker/warmer signature, while W40 is smoother and brighter, and A83 hybrid delivers revealing bright upper mids/treble thanks to BA drivers balanced out by dynamic driver covering low end. I also used ATH-MSR7 since these full size cans deliver a high-res extended and detailed sound and not as forgiving when it comes to bright recording. With AK120ii a performance of all these headphones was very consistent and sound became very smooth and organic in upper mids and treble while still preserving high level of detail retrieval. It's very interesting how with the same CS4398 DAC used in Hidizs AP100 DAP and FiiO X3 2nd gen as well as AK100ii/120ii, due to variations in low path filter and voltage/current amplification there is a difference between colder analytical bright sound of AP100 vs smother warmer sound of X3ii vs analog-smooth detailed sound of 120ii. Of course, you do need to try different pairs of headphones to find a match with a better synergy. When it comes to low end (bass), AK120ii favors headphones with more quality than quantity. A sound with headphones that have a typical v-shaped signature and exaggerated bass spilling into lower mids will become muddy. Even a more controlled low end of UM Pro 50 with stock cables (or Pure Silver cables) wasn't shining until I went through cable-rolling to find a better match which turned out to be Linum Balanced BaX. In there I found Linum to be a better match to open up the sound with even more details and soundstage expansion, while their new prototype of Super Balanced BaX impressed me a lot with a smoother balance of low end.
Even so I'm not a fan of EQ tweaking and hate how other DAPs usually have one custom preset option, being able to have numerous custom presets you can name according to your pair of headphones was very convenient with 120ii. I was actually pleased with sound shaping after EQ adjustment where frequency boosting didn't introduce any unnatural harsh artifacts. YMMV since its a matter of a person taste, but I just wanted to make a point that you can sound-shape any pair of headphones to make them work with AK120ii.
Another great way of sound shaping is to pair up AK120ii with your favorite portable amp while bypassing the internal one. I really felt like a mad scientist playing with all these combinations of headphones, cables, and amps - but it turned out to be quite a rewarding experience. I know I already mentioned that my review intent was to see how it performs standalone without any external stack up, but I was actually able to shape a sound other than with EQ by pairing it up with two of my favorite amp (FiiO E12A and Cayin C5). These both amps did take a bit of an edge off analog warmth in comparison to 120ii internal amp, but they also introduced more byte to the sound with a different texture at low end and brighter crispiness at top end. Especially C5 added more analytical clarity to upper mids and a touch more details while brightening the treble, though I personally liked the "looks" of 120ii stack-up with E12A.
I'm sure a lot of you will be curious how does $1.7k DAP compares to other cheaper DAPs I tested in the past. I know the sound quality is very important, but when it comes to A&K DAPs you have to look at the whole picture where overall experience plays a significant factor. It probably sounds very cliché and some of you might think I got spoiled by having access to test and to compare different DAPs, but it's an important point where you can forget for a minute a price tag and just focus on the product's sound, ergonomics, flexibility, and control interface. All I have to say is that experience of testing and reviewing AK120ii ruined the enjoyment of my other favorite DAPs. Maybe it's a temporary infatuation since I spent the last few weeks mostly using this A&K DAP, but I felt that a touch screen interface made such a perfect sense in song browsing, playback control, and overall settings - I actually became a bit frustrated with a button clicking or a wheel scrolling to get to where I wanted in other DAPs. And this touch screen interface was not a reminder of a "smartphone", absolutely not! It enabled me to be in full control of how I wanted to listen to my music, and I found that to be quite liberating.
Nevertheless, if you compare it to other DAPs like for example Cayin N6, those who are after a lush organic sound will prefer A&K sound signature, while if you want a more analytical detailed sound - N6 is a better candidate. In my opinion, they both are relatively neutral, but AK leans more toward neutral-smooth with a touch of warmth, while N6 leans more toward neutral-bright with a slightly better retrieval of details. With something like FiiO X5, I hear X5 being thinner, more neutral, less dynamic (sound is a bit flatter), and soundstage being narrower. Especially with X5 (single DAC architecture), you can hear an advantage of dual dac design of AK120ii and N6 where the width/depth of soundstage along with airiness and improved separation/layering becomes more apparent.
Next to N6, X5, and X3ii
Conclusion.
I mentioned early that I took a pricing out of the equation, just focusing on design and performance. I guess in a conclusion with my traditional "Overall" statement, I should put this variable back in and look from a perspective of the overall AK120ii value. I have reviewed a lot of DAPs and various stack up combos of my Note 4 with portable Amps or usb otg DACs, thus I tend to believe I have a good base for comparison. With that in mind, I still feel that Astell & Kern delivered a product that took the best out of all that audio equipment and encapsulated it in a very compact Digital Audio Player with the most logical touch and hardware controls I have experienced to date. It looks solid, it feels solid, and with a right pair of headphones it sounds solid! I know some people expect $1.7k DAP to sound 2x as good as $800-$900 DAP, but you have to keep in mind that with TOTL audio equipment (just like with multi-driver IEMs) you are in a territory of diminishing returns. Can Astell & Kern keep this crown forever? Only time will tell since we are facing a number of new TOTL DAPs from other manufacturers planned for this summer, and I know that competition will heat up! But I can tell you with certainly, A&K set a very high bar (and not just in pricing) where all my upcoming reviews will be measured against this little masterpiece!

Review of Lotoo PAW 5000 HiFi DAP w/Bluetooth with lots of pics!!!

This is a Review of Lotoo PAW 5000 HiFi DAP w/Bluetooth. http://www.lotoo.cn/page/Default.asp?pageID=108, also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011XIKX5E/
This year has been quite eventful with a lot of manufacturers releasing scaled down budget versions of their flagship DAPs, such as X3ii, AK Jr, N5, and now PAW 5000 (PAW5k). With Lotoo’s PAW Gold being highly regarded in audiophile community as one of the top summit-fi contenders, their announcement of PAW5k got a lot of attention, especially considering their $350 price tag vs PAW Gold still being offered close to $2k. PAW Gold has been on my radar for a long time, and even though I didn’t have an opportunity to review it, I was still very excited to spend time with PAW5k and to see how it compares in features and performance to my ever expanding review collection of other popular DAPs.
Of course you have to be realistic that at nearly 1/6 of Gold’s price there will be some noticeable compromises in a design and a sound, but even before receiving it I already had high expectations for PAW5k. It looked good on a paper with a rather interesting list of features, including USB3.0 support, Bluetooth 4.x wireless support, and A&K style 2.5mm balanced output, all of which would add up to an impressive price/performance ratio. So, were my expectations met? Let’s find out.
Prior to describing my unboxing experience, I want to bring up the actual shipping box and how well it was packaged inside with carefully placed pieces of styrofoam around PAW5k box. I received my package directly from Lotoo, so not sure if other retailers will offer the same level of packaging care, but I was still impressed with a level of attention. The product box itself was sturdy, and focused more on a detailed description of features on the cover and a complete spec on the back. Though it was a bit of a step back from a typical premium “all black” packaging, here you can get a pretty good idea about the DAP even before you take it out of the box.
After taking a shrink wrap off, the box cover (with another accessories box inside) just separated from the bottom where PAW5k was sitting inside of a foam cutout. Probably not a big deal for some, but that part of “just separated” caused me to drop the DAP since I was only holding the top part of the box. Perhaps a packaging sleeve would have been a good idea if you want to store this DAP back in the box and to make sure it's intact.
Unboxing.
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When it comes to DAP accessories, I’m sure many manufacturers are scratching their heads trying to come up with something original. After all, besides a charging cable and maybe a case, what else would you include? Well, PAW5k got one trick up its sleeve. First, you will find a quality USB3.0 charging cable, the one with an extended micro-usb connector though PAW5k is backward compatible to charge/connect using a regular smartphone micro-usb cable. You will also get a quick manual and a warranty card. Surprisingly, I didn’t find a screen protector which would have been a good addition considering what appears to be a real glass screen.
The element of surprise came when I found a plastic removable backplate and neoprene armband. It did catch me a bit off guard, but quickly made a perfect sense. This is a very lightweight and compact DAP, measuring 98mm x 55mm x17.5mm and weighting only 110g, and it would make a perfect companion to use during exercising, especially considering wireless support of Bluetooth connection. Similar to HFM HM700 and the included armband, PAW5k setup is actually more practical in comparison by exposing all the controls when the DAP is attached to the armband. There is also no need to worry about wires (with Bluetooth connection), and of course – in theory you don’t even need DAP controls since you can play/pause, skip, and change volume straight from your wireless headphones, depending on the model you have.
Accessories.
As I already mentioned, PAW5k is very small and lightweight, about the size of a deck of cards. For the reference, it’s nearly identical to FiiO’s X1 and X3ii in size. The build quality is good, but it’s not on the same level as some other DAPs that feature solid aluminum housing. The front and the back have aluminum metal panels, while around the side perimeter you have a hard plastic frame. The back of the DAP feels solid, no flex, but the front has a little bit of flex in the area between the scrolling wheel and the buttons. On the front at the top you have 2” OLED color screen with 220x176 resolution. The resolution is not exactly high enough for an album art, thus you won’t find any being displayed, but it’s perfect for a text and a basic screen graphics with an excellent contrast and a great visibility under any lighting.
In the lower left corner you will find the main scrolling wheel control with a play/pause/enter button in the middle. The wheel has a nice textured surface around the edge, a bit loose when it comes to rotation yet with enough resistance and a subtle click to give you a good sense of control when you are scrolling through a list of your songs or stepping through a settings menu. Other control buttons are spread around with Skip next/prev and Fast fwd/back buttons right above it, and Music/Fn button in the corner which brings up different sorting lists of music folders and also could be long pressed to execute shortcut assigned to Fn button. Underneath of that you have a Back/Esc button which also brings up Setup menu when you long press it, and right below it is ATE/PMEQ buttons to bring up digital sound effects and access to Parametric EQ. The lower right corner has a glowing “gold” power button which also turns screen on/off. This power button has a fading in/out backlight ring which creates a nice visual effect, but could also be disabled in setup to extend battery life.
Right side of the DAP has USB3.0 connector for charging and data transfer. On the left size you have Gain H/L slider, Volume up/down buttons which also double as skip fwd/back with a long press when screen is off, and Damp H/L slider. In my testing I found Damp button to function like another level of gain control. The bottom of the DAP has micro-SD card slot, while at the top you have all the ports. First one is 2.5mm balanced headphone output, wired identical to A&K 2.5mm port. Next to it you will find 3.5mm headphone output, then another 3.5mm port with LO and SPDIF digital coaxial and also a built in 3.5mm optical port (though I only read about it somewhere on-line and can’t confirm it for sure). The right upper corner is labeled as “Bluetooth” indicating the location of BT antenna.
Due to a dense population of all these similarly shaped buttons, it took me a bit of getting used to the layout, but shortly afterwards operation became second nature. I do want to mention that buttons feel plasticy and a bit on a cheap side. Nothing is flimsy or has a terrible rattle, definitely not that. But in comparison to a number of my recently reviewed DAPs, PAW5k build and construction felt on a cheaper side. What else do you expect when you have to scale down from their Gold flagship? One thing for sure, nobody going to mistake PAW5k for iPod or another smartphone - it has a very unique look and super comfortable ergonomics to use in one hand.
Design details.
The heart of PAW5k is ADI Blackfin 514 DSP which handles all the audio formats and processes digital audio to condition it for DAC output. When it comes to the actual DAC selection, Lotoo went with a rather basic low-power stereo audio CODEC (encoder/decoder) TLV320AIC3105 from TI. It's basically an OK stereo audio DAC that can handle up to 32bit data and a sample rate of up to 96kHz, meaning higher rates are supported but most likely processed and down sampled by DSP before sending it to that TI DAC. Also, it has just an OK signal-to-noise ratio of 102dB. Not sure about amplification output (which could be a part of TI DAC), but I found it to be just enough for IEMs and efficient headphones. And with a more efficient DAC/amp you can expect an improved battery performance, where I have seen an endurance exceeding 10hrs under a mixed high/low gain use with a moderate volume setting.
One important thing to keep in mind, PAW Gold uses exactly the same Blackfin 514 DSP which means that firmware didn’t have to be re-written and you’re already dealing with a mature code. As a matter of fact, based on the screenshots and some of the PAW Gold reviews I have read, the GUI and control interface are very similar. To be honest, I absolutely LOVE the interface and the amount of tweaking you get with PAW5k settings. You will get a slightly pixilated font and a very basic GUI, but this retro look is very efficient in my opinion. At the same time, I can see some people finding it less appealing if you are used to high res displays of other DAPs.
From the moment you power it up (very fast start up) you are greeted by a rather efficient all-in-one display layout with everything on a single screen. Starting with a status bar, you get a repeat mode in the left corner, Gain/Damp setting in the middle, and battery icon with % indicator to the right. You can also see which DSP effect or PMEQ preset is being applied and a horizontal bar graph with L/R channel level, assuming it's calibrated by Red Book standards from -50dB to 0dB. I tend to believe the value is relatively accurate because as you raise the volume or change Gain setting, it's reflected in the dynamic meter indicator. You also get song’s time duration and current play position, and file info with a file number within a folder and format with an exact sampling rate. Below that you can see a scrolling file name. While playing you can fast forward or skip the song with corresponding Next/Prev buttons, and when Paused you get a song’s time line which you can skip through with a turn of a scrolling wheel (every turn steps in increments of 0.04sec). Also, pressing and holding Play button for a few seconds changes the screen to dynamic Spectrum Analyzer view, and one more time changes to a blank screen with a CD graphics (not really sure about the purpose of that since it's blank).
When you press Music button once (long press activates a pre-selected Fn shortcut, more about it later) you are presented with a List where you have a file view by Folder (all the files and sub-folders), by Cover (looks like a folder view only), List1/2/3 which is a selection of 3 favorite lists where you can tag and add files to, ALL where every file from every sub-directory is in a single alphabetical list, and the last choice is to Update Database after adding new files. I think "Cover" selection is a bit confusing and redundant, but otherwise you can get around with fast and easy song navigation. Personally, I don’t have flash cards with thousands of cataloged songs, but for my general listening purpose I found it to be sufficient.
The Back/Setup button brings up Setup menu when long pressed where you presented with Play settings, System settings, Bluetooth settings, Sport mode settings, and Fn key definition. Play settings gives you Repeat Mode (sequence, single repeat, repeat all, and random), Time Display (current time and remaining time), DSD gain (from -12dB to +12dB in 6dB steps), Line Out Level switch to enable/disable it, and Channel L/R balance. System settings gives you Power off timer (enabling it and setting the actual time), Auto power off time selection, Language selection, Display extinction (timeout), Breathing Led (the pulsating light around power button, on/off), Brightness level (3 levels), Battery info (percent indicator, the same as in a status bar), Database update (file refresh), uSD card info (capacity and free/used space), uSD card speed test (pass/fail test based on read speed), Format (uSD card), Factory settings reset, System info, and Firmware update.
Bluetooth setting enables BT radio and lists Bluetooth devices available for pair up. I found BT performance to be pretty good with all of my wireless headphones, though similarly to AK120ii a wireless distance was a bit on a shorter side of 10-15ft. Other than that, I found wireless sound quality to be better than A&K. There is no apt-X codec support which I'm used to with my Galaxy Note 4, and being intimately familiar with a sound I'm expecting from my Wireless headphones, I do hear PAW5k wireless sound quality to be slightly inferior. In reality, BT wireless mode in here is more for a convenience in conjunction with sports armband when you want to use this DAP during your active lifestyle endeavors. And speaking of that, you have Sport Mode setting where upon enabling you get an option in your main Play screen to speed up/down the tempo of your music by +/- 20%. This was definitely something I have never seen before with any other DAP, a very clever way to get you going with a faster rhythm/beat. The last selection in Setup was Fn shortcut assignment where you have a choice of 8 functions to assign to Fn key when you long press it. I ended up assigning Mute to this function key, making it very convenient to mute a sound with a single key press.
Overall, my inner geek was delighted with a very comprehensive level of controls and system setup/customization options. Sure, graphics is pixilated and it's not the prettiest GUI I have seen, but it's very functional and easy to get used to. There is just one thing I wasn't too happy about. When used with wireless headphones you have a full playback control from your headphones (volume, track skip, and play/pause), but in a wired mode with screen off you can only change Volume by short pressing corresponding buttons and skip the track next/prev with a long press of the same buttons. Otherwise, there is NO play/pause option when screen is off and you have to turn the screen on (w/power button) and then press Play button in the middle of a scrolling wheel. I really hope in the next firmware update this issue will be addressed.
GUI interface.
Before I get into sound analysis, there is one more feature I would like to talk about - Parametric EQ. I have A LOT of DAPs, some don't even have EQ while others have Graphic EQ where you have certain amount of bands each at a fixed center frequency and fixed bandwidth. With graphic EQ you get a nice "graphic" visual of which band you are adjusting and the amount of adjustment, but you have no control of selecting a specific frequency or the bandwidth of that frequency. Parametric EQ gives you all these controls where you can customize F0 (center frequency), Gain (level adjustment), Type (Low Shelf, High Shelf, or Band Pass filter), and Q (bandwidth of the filter band). Lotoo recognized importance of PMEQ and digital effects, thus you have a dedicated button assigned to this menu selection. You get 8 quality presets covering different styles and 6 Custom User presets where you can fine tune your own setting. Each custom setting gives you a level of control per my description above, and in addition to that you can export and import PMEQ presets to share with others.
Also, under the same menu selection, in addition to PMEQ you have ATE digital effects giving you a selection of 7 distinct choices to customize your sound. One thing to note, you can only select one specific ATE effect or one PMEQ preset, but not both at the same time. Depending on your ATE or PMEQ selection, the main playback screen will display the choice right below status bar.
ATE/PMEQ.
Sound analysis.
Considering PAW Gold reputation, it's natural to approach PAW5k with high expectations of scaled down “mini-me” performance, though you have to be realistic considering price difference. I never heard PAW Gold but have read a number of reviews from trusted sources to get an idea of what Lotoo flagship sounds like. I also read PAW5k impressions where some people auditioned it in their local audio store (in Asia of course, we don't have this luxury in US/Canada), comparing Gold and 5000 side by side. For sure that created a noticeable contrast and influenced a negative biased opinion. You really have to step back and to evaluate it on a level of other similar mid-fi DAPs.
Despite its summit-fi heritage, PAW5k is mid-fi quality DAP with a neutral-warmish sound signature, an average soundstage expansion, good (not great) retrieval of details, and an average level of layering and sound separation. I actually found PAW5k very enjoyable with its clear and smooth musical sound quality, extended and slightly relaxed low end, detailed full body warm mids, and a smooth treble with a good extension and tamed airiness. While comparing 3.5mm vs 2.5mm headphone outputs, I found sound to be nearly the same. Maybe a little more power in balanced versus single ended, but not too much difference in soundstage expansion or background noise (low level of hissing only noticeable with sensitive low impedance IEMs/CIEMs).
While testing PAW5k with my headphones, I set DAMP permanently to High which yields the best sound performance. Gain setting (H/L) varied between full size and IEMs depending on power requirements, but there was no question about DAMP setting. Here are the notes I took while looking into PAW5k pair up:
MSR7 - in low gain closer to max volume - nice smooth relaxed sound, not as detailed as with some of my other sources, but for those who find MSR7 on a bright side this pair up would mean a definitive cure.
R70x (470 ohm) - in high gain closer to max volume - nice smooth organic sound, also not as detailed and lacking some airiness like I have experienced with these open backs paired up with some other daps. But sound was still very smooth and natural. Considering high gain and max volume, I was really pushing this DAP to the max and felt like it wasn’t driving these open cans to their full potential.
EL-8C - in high gain with a mid volume setting – a sound was slightly bright and a bit metallic, and I found bass to be not as tight. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the best pair up.
PM-3 - in high gain closer to max volume – this was a rather good pair up with a surprisingly nice low end impact and bright detailed mids. Color my surprised!!! I totally didn’t expect it to sound better than pair up with EL-8C, but apparently it had a good synergy with PAW5k.
VE ZEN (320 ohm) - in high gain closer to max volume – another great pair up, detailed sound, nice low end extension, clear mids, and smooth treble.
UE600 - in low gain toward the middle of volume scale – I found no hissing, clear smooth sound, though the performance was not very dynamic or detailed.
Ei.xx - in low gain toward the max volume – has a nice clear sound with a good bass slam, not too dynamic or layered, and with an average soundstage.
DN2kJ (8 ohm) - in low gain toward the max volume - bright slightly peaky sound, not as dynamic or layered, but clear and with tight low end, just upper mids are a bit harsh.
I was a bit worried that I won’t be able to drive a lot of these headphones, but turned out that in high gain closer to max volume PAW5k was able to pump some serious juice. Unfortunately, it left no headroom to drive anything more powerful. Bottom line, PAW5k is intended for more efficient headphones with impedance under 300 ohms. But if you need more power, use LO to stack PAW5k with your favorite portable amp.
Comparison to AP100, X5ii, X3ii, N5:
I saved the best comparison for last. I know I’m being a little critical about PAW5k because I had a slightly higher expectation for it, but in reality this is actually a very good DAP under $350 which compares nicely to some of my other DAPs in this price category.
PAW5k vs N5: N5 has more power, sound is more dynamic, and you can hear a better layering and separation, including more transparency. Soundstage of N5 was also slightly wider. Despite similarities of USB3.0 support, 2.5mm balanced output, and a similar scrolling wheel (though PAW5k feels looser) – I find N5 to have a definitive edge when it comes to sound quality, more solid build, and support of 2 flash cards while PAW5k has more flexibility in features such as Bluetooth, PMEQ, sports mode, and DSP effects. Sound difference is not exactly night’n’day, but N5 has an upper hand in here.
PAW5k vs X5ii: X5ii has more power, slightly better dynamics, a little better layering and separation, and a similar staging. Here, the gap in sound starts to close in but X5ii still has a slight edge in sound quality and support of 2 flash cards, while PAW5k is more compact and has other unique features such as BT, USB3.0, dsp effects, and PMEQ.
PAW5k vs X3ii: similar in sound quality and performance, though X3ii has more power. I would actually position PAW5k between X3ii and X5ii, where pair up with some headphones made it sound closer to X3ii while with others made it closer to X5ii. But overall I hear it as a closer match up. Of course, you have to realize there is $150 price difference toward the X3ii advantage, but the amount of extra features in PAW5k justifies it more than enough.
PAW5k vs AP100: AP has a brighter, airy, and more transparent sound, slightly better dynamics and improved layering and separation. While AP100 has an advantage in sound quality, PAW5k steps all over it in user experience, flexibility of settings, and other bonuses such as PMEQ, Bluetooth, sports mode, and DSP effects.
Conclusion.
I started my review by mentioning a recent popular trend where manufacturers releasing scaled down versions of their flagships. In case of PAW5k and considering I’m only familiar with PAW Gold from reading other reviews, I think Lotoo took a little different approach by taking a step back and then another sideways. While keeping the same DSP core, interface, and even similar button layout (with an exception of a scrolling wheel in PAW5k over 4-way gold-plated disc in Gold version), they really scaled down in sound quality by utilizing TI stereo audio DAC. It’s not necessary that bad since it actually compares fairly to some other mid-fi DAPs with more popular DACs and separate amp sections. Where it actually makes up for this scaled down sound performance is in features that elevate it to a whole new level. With a fast USB3.0 bus, BT 4.0 wireless support, sports armband with a mounting backplate, sports mode to speed up and to slow down music tempo by +/-20%, support of meaningful DSP effects, excellent Parametric EQ, and a great battery life of about 10hrs (at max output) – PAW5k will not replace your audiophile quality portable rig, but it will make one fine companion for any audiophile or audio enthusiast with an active lifestyle!

Review of FiiO X7 Android Digital Audio Player (DAP) w/SRC bypass with lots of pics!

This is a review of Android based FiiO X7 Digital Audio Player (DAP). http://www.fiio.net/en/products/45.
Looking back at the last few years and the amount of audio players I have reviewed and compared, ranging from $20 to $2k, I still hold the original X5 in high regard because it was my stepping stone into the world of DAPs. Though I skipped their original X3, there was no turning back afterwards with X5, X1, X3ii, and X5ii - all of which I had a privilege to test and to review. While DAP market got saturated with a lot of new releases, I still consider FiiO to be one of the trendsetters pushing the envelope of price/performance ratio, regardless if they are outperforming the competition or being outperformed by the competition.
Going back to the original X5, in my review I compared its performance to a smartphone stack w/E18, and in conclusion mentioned that "... when you are relaxing and enjoying the music, you don't want to be interrupted by email or text message or social media update... smartphone is a jack of all trades, while X5 is a master of one - the music..." The touch screen interface of a smartphone offered a great convenience, but the baggage of everything else it comes with loaded and running in the background was a turn off, not to mention a sub-par sound quality (back when I had my Note 2).
Realizing challenges and benefits of Android based audio player, and considering that FiiO was overdue for flagship summit-fi level DAP, they shifted their design focus to a touchscreen based DAP supercharged with special audio enhancement features to set it apart from a typical smartphone and/or other android based DAPs. The discussion about this DAP has been circulating for a year, with a lot of people waiting in anticipation the release. Now with X7 out in the open, the big question is if it lived up to expectations? Let’s find out!
Unboxing and Accessories.
The unboxing experience of X7 is nothing short of a typical smartphone. You start with a cover picture of the DAP on the packaging sleeve which looks exactly like a smartphone without even a hint of being a dedicated audio player and a display shot of a typical Android screen with audio widget of FiiO Music app. On the back of the box you will find a spec which could also be easily mistaken for a smartphone, except when you come across a support of 384kHz/32bit decoding. Not everybody aware of this, but in Android OS you are facing a Sample Rate Conversion (SRC) limitation which keeps audio downsampled to a common denominator in order to ensure compatibility with different apps. FiiO was able to overcome this limitation which I'm going to discuss later in my review.
With a sleeve cover off, you will be greeted with a sturdy gift box construction and X7 sitting securely inside of a form fitted foam cutout. If you find the cover sleeve picture to be deceiving, looking at X7 in person and holding this 220g touch screen gadget in your hand still won't convince you this is not a smartphone.
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With my X7 being a review unit, I'm not sure if I received all the accessories that going to be bundled with a retail version. Included were 2 sets of screen protectors where the 3rd one was already applied to the display. Keep in mind, screen protector will give you just a minimum protection from scratches. Considering X7 design has a display which is not flush mounted, until you get a proper "smartphone" case with a corner protection and the front lip to keep the screen off the surface - you have to exercise extreme caution handling this DAP.
Also included is a short coaxial cable with 3.5mm TRRS style connector due to a shared LO/Coax port. Furthermore, you will find a quality usb to micro-usb cable for charging/power and data transfer, a quick start guide, and a torx screwdriver w/4 extra torx screws. If you paid close attention to the spec on the back of the packaging box, screwdriver will explain a reference to a swappable headphone amplifier module which is located right below the glowing led light underneath of the display.
Design.
X7 design is camouflaged to look exactly like a smartphone, with only a few DAP hints when you take a closer look. Just like with any smartphone, the focal point of the design is a touchscreen display, 3.97" IPS (178deg viewing angle) TFT supporting 16.7mil colors with resolution of 480x800 and pixel density of 233 PPI. Is this the highest resolution or the best pixel density or the most accurate color reproduction? Absolutely not, which is quite ok considering the intent of X7 is not for playing video games or watching hi-res movies and videos. 4" touch screen is convenient for one handed operation, the experience I forgot all about after 3+ years of using various Galaxy Note smartphones. I found touchscreen to be adequate for audio application, use of other audio apps, and some occasional browsing. The screen is responsive, though not exactly on the same level as I'm used to with my Galaxy phones.
With dimensions of 130mm (H) x 64mm (W) x 16mm (D), the screen occupies close to edge-to-edge space and about 105mm in height, which leaves 25mm below it for removable amp module. There are 2 torx screws on each side of the module, holding it securely in place with absolutely no wiggle once properly connected. One unique feature of this DAP is a glowing soft blue light, radiating from led in the middle under the screen through a light pipe which dims the glow toward the edges. The light is always on, can't be disabled. I personally like it because it gives me a visual indicator of power being on, but I think it would have been a good idea to provide an option to disable it in order to save battery or if you don’t want a “nightlight”. Also, I would have loved to see it being customized to change colors to indicate low power or when charging.
The bottom of the DAP, where amp module is located, has HO 3.5mm port and a standard micro-usb connector – by default X7 comes with IEM low power module. These ports will vary between different amp modules, depending on functionality. For example, one of the upcoming replacement amp modules should have 2.5mm TRRS balanced port and 4-pin kobiconn balanced connector. With Line Out being common to X7 main frame as part of DAC output, this 3.5mm port (shared with Coax) is accessible from the top of the unit. Left side at the bottom of the frame also hosts micro-SD card slot which supports 128GB card and most likely the latest 200GB. The only other controls you will find on X7 are 6 buttons, placed symmetrically in groups of three on each side.
By default, on the right side you have transport control with a separate Play/Pause button and double buttons for Skip/Next/Fwd and Skip/Prev/Rev functionality. In the opposite spot symmetrically on the left side with an exactly the same look and feel, you have Power on/off button and double buttons for Volume up/down. The whole idea of such design was to be able to accommodate left/right handed operation where you can map Power/Volume and Play/Skip functionality to either side. I do appreciate the thought behind it and find it quite clever, but personally after a month of playing with X7 I still find it a bit inconvenient. Perhaps I got spoiled by DAPs with dedicated analog volume knob, or used to other DAPs where volume/power is on one side and transport controls are part of multi-function front/side buttons, but I'm not too crazy about this symmetrical button arrangement. Part of the problem is that X7 is a bit on a heavy side, and without a protective case I feel like its slick body, CNC machined out of a solid block of 6061 aluminum (polished, sandblasted, brushed, and color anodized), will slip out of my hand. As a result, my grip usually tighter around the sides, and when pushing the volume sometime I press a track skip button on the opposite side of X7, or turning the screen on with a power button sometime triggers me pressing play/pause on the opposite side. Is this a showstopper? Not really if you get a quality case with buttons that take a little more effort to press (even recessed cutout for buttons should work).
Overall, exterior design is smartphone vanilla-plain which I find polarizing. Without any extra knobs and a uniform bar shape this is a very slick and comfortable unit to handle, to pocket, and to operate with one hand. But it loses personality of a flagship status by looking plain and "boring". I don't mind a bulge on the back (extra space for the battery), and the resulting slimmer part toward the top which makes a nice resting spot for my index finger. It also enhances the grip and helps to id front/back of X7 when in my pocket. But the screen sitting on top of the X7 body exposes the edges of the glass, making it vulnerable to break/chip if you drop it. The protective case is definitely a must for X7, and creating one could be a challenge to keep the design slim while still providing an adequate protection.
Under the hood.
If this would have been a smartphone, a processor would be the crown of the design to go against the competition. But since we are dealing with an audio DAP, all eyes are on the DAC selection. Here FiiO decided to pull out all the stops and go for a knock out with TOTL desktop quality ESS 9018 8-channel DAC with channels bridged 4-a-side for the highest dynamic range. Also, a "classic" OPA1612 buffer was used. I don't know exactly the guts of IEM amp module, but it's speced at >100mW (32 ohm load) with output impedance of less than 0.5 ohm. Don't jump into conclusion about the power and max headphone impedance it can drive until you read my sound analysis further in the review.
When it comes to the actual processor, FiiO selected Rockchip RK3188T SoC with quad-core Cortex A9 and 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM (w/1.4GHz clock speed, reduced from the original RK3188 w/1.6GHz), and also 32GB of internal memory in addition to microSD expansion. This SoC is not sufficient enough for playing cpu intense games or watching high def videos (as a matter of fact, I noticed on YT sometime colors get messed up). It’s typically used in a budget tablets and Android TV boxes where you don't need to support integrated cellular radio basebands. It ensures a low power consumption to maximize battery life. And speaking of that, the battery is non-replaceable and with a capacity of 3500 mAh, which I have tested to provide about 8-8.5hrs of playback time with screen off. For a standby time, it all depends on which mode you are in. In a regular Android mode you can last a day due to all system processes running in the background. When booting up X7 in a Pure Music mode, I found X7 to idle for over 2 days.
Also, typical for Android based system, you have a support of 802.11 b/g/n wireless connection and Bluetooth v4.0. WiFi support is a huge plus enabling wireless internet connection so you can stream audio from on-line services in addition to being able to access the internet. But I'm not too happy that aptX codec support is not available. With some of the advanced wireless speakers that utilize its own decoding and DSP/DAC processing this is irrelevant, like in case of B&W Zeppelin Wireless I recently tested. But with a number of other wireless headphones supporting aptX codec, there was a level of improvement comparing my Note 4 (BT4.0 w/aptX) vs X7 (BT4.0 w/o aptX). But nevertheless, I was more than happy to use X7 as a source to drive my BT wireless devices without a need to drain my smartphone battery. Also, X7 BT wireless performance is much better than AK120ii where signal strength is rather poor.
With so much electronics under the hood and a support of WiFi/BT, naturally you might be wondering if X7 is prone to EMI or any other related interference. I tested it sandwiched between our smartphones and next to the tablet - no interference causing problems with audio was detected.
Amp modules.
To wrap up hardware overview, next I would like to talk about replaceable amp modules. The design architecture of X7 allows you to replace the amp module based on your power requirements and wiring needs. By default it comes with IEM module, a single 3.5mm TRS connection with low power output designed to drive efficient headphones and sensitive IEMs, though in my pair up test I found X7 to be capable of driving some higher impedance and planar magnetic headphones without a problem. Amp module plugs into the main frame of the DAP and gets secured by two torx screws on the sides. Attached together it feels like one solid unit. Also, apparently this module should be plug'n'play where I was able to power up X7 without amp module being attached. I wouldn't recommend doing that because it will expose the connector and you can short contacts.
Other optional amp modules will be available to buy separately, and FiiO promises they will be reasonably priced. In addition to IEM module, FiiO going to make available Standard, High-Power, and Balanced (2.5mm TRRS and 4-pin kobiccon) modules. There is also a talk about releasing connector spec and making housing available for 3rd party amp modules. In my opinion, this is a much better idea than the one implemented in HiFiMAN HM901 with replacement amp cards. At the same time, it becomes inconvenient where you have to physically swap modules when you are switching between different headphones. It makes sense with efficient vs demanding (high impedance, low sensitivity) headphones, but for many who use IEMs/CIEMs with either standard or balanced cables - this will be a headache. Personally, I would have loved to see a universal amp module based on the currently planned balanced module with an addition of 3.5mm TRS connection and maybe a hardware high/low gain switch.

Dual-mode operation.
I already mentioned that FiiO found a way to overcome Sample Rate Conversion (SRC) enforced by Android OS. As a result, their Music app utilizes its own driver to communicate with ESS9018 DAC without SRC handicap. But you still have to deal with a burden of Android OS system running in the background and all the corresponding processes and apps, some of which are not easy to disable manually. This will contribute to excessive battery drain and taking away CPU resources, especially when dealing with decoding of hi-res lossless audio formats.
To mitigate this problem, FiiO came up with a dual mode operation where you can boot up X7 into a regular Android Mode with everything loaded at the startup or a Pure Music mode where FiiO Music app is loaded as a default Launcher and you can't exit into a regular Android interface. This Pure Music mode is highly optimized to load only specific drivers/processes required to run their native music app and nothing else besides it. This dual boot switch could be accessed from notification bar or in a setting menu, just keep in mind after making a selection - you will need to reboot X7. Also, if you want to upgrade firmware, you need to boot up into Android Mode. In summary, Pure Music mode turns X7 into a touch screen DAP running one specific FiiO Music app without access to internet, streaming, or anything else associated with it, though you can still enable BT for wireless listening.
Android mode is you typical full mode where you can install and run different apps and widgets. But, there is a limitation to that as well. X7 doesn't support Google Play store and as a result you will have to side load apps (apk files) except for those which do require Google Play for registration. To make things a little easier, FiiO included a folder with "whitelisted" apps to download directly to X7. The list is limited, so you better off Googling for some of your favorite apk install files. One thing to keep in mind, the performance of X7 is optimized in Pure Music mode with their native Music app. In Android mode this optimization is out of the window. It's convenient to run your streaming apps, like Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, etc., but battery drain is rather noticeable. One thing for sure, I wouldn't recommend putting FiiO Music audio widget on the screen because it drains battery like crazy.
I think implementation of Pure Music mode was a great idea, though FiiO music app is still work in progress. In Android mode – you’re faced with a typical Android "smartphone" performance where battery drain will be a quick reminder that you are no longer dealing with a dedicated DAP. But now you can run streaming services or load another audio player app. Luckily, you can gain back the performance by switching to Pure Music mode where I was able to keep X7 in idle for 2 days and 3 hours.
With Spotify / HibyMusic
FiiO Music app.
I'm sure by now you realized the importance of FiiO Music player app - it's your gateway to an optimized X7 performance and to get the best of ESS9018 DAC. Yes, you can boot up in Android mode and use any of your favorite music app and I guarantee it will sound great with your 320kbps mp3 or FLACs, but for a true audio purist who demands the best - FiiO native Music player app is the way to go.
Unlike a number of other people, I don't have a huge library of hi-res music with numerous albums collected over the years. I'm still a certified EDM-head who listens to a lot of separate tracks. Also, I have a collection of carefully selected tracks from various genres I use to analyze performance of audio equipment I review. That is a reason I usually don't lose my sleep over improperly tagged files which is a must for those who rely on a proper sorting of the songs/albums. As a result of my listening habit, I have a lot of loose songs and often organize them by partitioning into folders. Thus, I usually focus on the usability of the app in terms of a general song/folder navigation and playback.
With all that in mind, my personal opinion about FiiO Music app is actually not that bad, though it's not as intuitive and requires some learning curve. Upon start up you have the first screen with a last played track in the upper 1/3rd of the partitioned screen - you can flicker to skip the song or use hardware transport control to hit play button to start playback. Underneath, you have a selection to access Favorite playlist, Folders, or DLNA streaming. Right below it you can access either Recently Played or Most Played songs. Clicking on artwork of the track thumbnail at the top will bring up the main Playback screen.
Going into Folders link brings up another screen with Local Music list where you have more choices to scroll through All the songs, sort by Artist, sort by Album, sort by Genre, and access Local folders. While making a selection through these choices, you have a narrow playback bar at the bottom with a thumbnail artwork of the currently playing song, scrolling name, and Play/Pause and Skip buttons. Clicking on that playback bar opens up the main Playback screen as well. I found going through All the songs and Folders to be more useful for my style of song browsing. But it gets a little confusing now between the first start up screen and this second navigation screen, where in my opinion they have to be combined - list of Favorite songs should be part of the sorting choices. Also, in the Folder view, I don't want to see every single Android OS folder, but would prefer to select and to display only the folder where I store my music locally and on micro-SD card.
The main Playback screen is where things start to shape up to my liking! In top half of the screen you have area to view artwork of the song or a default image if artwork is not available. Tapping it once shows embedded lyrics (if available, and a new setup icon where you can scroll or change the font size), tapping second time brings up info about the song. This part of the screen also has in the upper left corner an icon to bring you back to the first original screen of the app (why?) and in the upper right corner a search icon. In the middle you have a playback progress bar with a scrolling song name and at the left edge of it index number of a song and a total number of songs in the current playback folder. Swiping screen left-to-right brings out a list of all the songs in the currently playing folder, and swiping playback progress bar will fast forward through the song.
Lower part of the screen has Playback and other Control buttons. In the middle you have Play/Pause with a current playback time above it. To the left of it you have icon to access Graphic EQ, turn BT on/off, change playback loop mode, and Skip back. To the right of it you have Heart icon to tag song as Favorite, an icon to access more option to provide a detailed info about the song or to delete the song, icon to add the song to your Playlist, and Skip forward button. By holding a finger along the right edge of the screen brings up a volume slider menu to adjust the volume. In EQ screen, you have access to 10-band equalizer, actually with a very nice graphic representation in the upper part of the screen. Lower part of the screen has access to 5 band sliders with +/- 12dB adjustment, but there is no frequency label to indicate which band you are adjusting - this has to be fixed because it gets confusing when you flip to the next 5-bands and don't know which band you are adjusting. You can see the graphical representation of the adjustment, but you doing it blindly because sliders don't have a frequency indicator. Sliding finger up brings up 8 EQ presents (genre related) and 1 custom preset. All 8 pre-defined presets could be adjusted further. Also, on the main playback screen there is no indicator of EQ selection, something I would like to see being implemented in future updates.
In my opinion, FiiO Music app has a lot of potentials and considering it's still a work in progress - I will continue to look forward to more updates. Flexibility of Android interface opens up a door to shape this music app to perfection where sky is the limit. Yes, it is still work in progress, but I have a hope that progress will pick up soon, the way how I have seen it with sound tuning improvement.
Sound Analysis.
Often people get a dedicated DAP because they are not happy with audio performance of their smartphones, and then they realize they miss streaming capability and touch control of their phone and decide to look for usb DAC stack. With X7 you have a chance for a dedicated DAP with touch controls and streaming capability and different amp modules – all integrated in one compact design. FiiO is known for their budget oriented products where their DAPs usually considered having mid-fi performance. X7 is a big step up, nearly doubling the price of their previous X5ii flagship with high expectations to determine if FiiO was able to finally cross the threshold of summit-fi performance.
When I received X7 with its initial beta FW release, I was a little bit disappointed. Not necessary because it sounded so bad, but rather because I set my expectations very high. I didn't feel that sound was on a level of summit-fi performance. I quickly attributed that to a beta firmware and a default IEM module, assuming that fw is still work in progress and amp module will be updated with different versions. Following that, a few more fw updates were released and I started to notice an improvement. But not until the last FW 1.1 update I realized that FiiO means serious business and finally started to unlock a true potential of the ESS9018 DAC paired up with their IEM amp module.
Based on the latest FW 1.1, I'm hearing X7 to have a neutral and slightly warmish signature with a very clear and detailed sound. It doesn't necessary strike you with analytical micro-detailing, but it definitely leans more toward a more revealing sound signature. The layering and separation is pretty good (improvement over the initial fw release), sound never gets congested, but the transparency is not at the highest reference level and I actually hear a little thickness in a sound, thus my reference to a slightly warmish signature contributed by a fuller body of lower mids and some noticeable impact of lower end. Soundstage width/depth/height is slightly above the average where sound has a more intimate feeling, yet placement of instruments is still very convincing.
Based on what I hear across different headphones, I find X7 to have an excellent impact and speed at the lower end and a decent extension. Bass is well controlled and that is one of the reasons why I hear such a high level of clarity and details because bass is confined without spilling into mids. Lower mids give some nice thickness to a body of the sound, but they are not too thick. Upper mids are full of details, but not too analytical, treble is clear and has a nice definition without contributing to sibilance.
Describing a DAP by itself is not always helpful, thus I prefer to include a relative comparison to some of my other DAPs to give an idea how it stacks up against the competition.
X7 vs PAW Gold - LPG is more neutral, soundstage wider/deeper, I hear more transparency in the sound, while layering and separation is similar.
X7 vs L5Pro - similar neutral-warmish sig, L5P soundstage is a little wider, other than that sound is very similar in layering/separation, even matching the dynamics. But overall L5P sound is tighter and a little faster.
X7 vs AK120ii – AK has a very similar neutral-warmish sig, soundstage is a little wider, bass has a touch more impact, but everything else is very close in performance.
X7 vs QA360 - 360 is slightly brighter (leaner lower mids), soundstage is wider/deeper, mid-bass has slightly more impact; overall sound of 360 is a little smoother.
X7 vs LP5 Gold – similar sound signature, LP5G has a little wider/deeper soundstage, more transparency and faster speed, and slightly better layering and separation, but the gap is not that wide.
X7 vs N6 - N6 is a little brighter (neutral-bright), soundstage is a little wider, very similar dynamic sound and separation/layering. The bigger difference is that N6 sounds a little leaner in comparison. X7 has more body and sounds more musical.
X7 vs X5ii - X7 has a fuller sound with more body, also more natural tonality. Soundstage is rather similar. X7 sound is a little more dynamic, and has a slightly better separation/layering of a sound.
To test the DAC output of X7, I connected LO to different external amps.
w/E12A - a great pair up where the sound is very close to HO of X7, but w/E12A you get a little more transparency. Makes me wish FiiO would have used MUSE02 amp in their IEM module.
w/VE Runabout - excellent pair up, improves dynamics, improves width/depth, sound becomes more transparent, layering/separation is also improved.
w/HA-2 - nice pair up, improves soundstage depth, also makes sound a little bit warmer (adds more body to lower mids).
w/C5 - nice pair up, improves soundstage width/depth, also makes sound a little bit warmer.
For those who are wondering if they should get X7 or external USB DAC to pair up with their smartphone, I tested N4 with HA-2 to find:
X7 vs Note 4 w/HA-2 - X7 sound has a little more transparency and sounds a little tighter, otherwise a very similar performance.
Pair up with different headphones.
Though you have option to select high/low gain, I found the sound in high gain to have more energy and to be more dynamic. Thus all my headphone testing was done with X7 set in high gain, and I also indicated a volume level for each. Not every pair up turned out as I expected.
ES60 (35/120) - some hissing, nice clean detailed sound, good low end expansion, good transparency.
ZEN (83/120) - high gain is the way to go with these 320 ohm earbuds, though X7 doesn't drive them to a full potential, especially when it comes to bass which lost a little bit of weight/body and sound is a little mellow (not as fast or tight).
Savant (49/120) - very clear detailed smooth sound, modest sub-bass quantity (sub-bass rumble is there), excellent soundstage expansion, nice transparency.
W60 (45/120) - smooth warm detailed sound, a bit more on a laidback side, missing a little bit of speed.
UM Pro 50 (42/120) - deep bass impact, nice smooth detailed sound, good dynamics, missing a bit of sparkle at the top.
DN2kJ (52/120) – not the best pair up with these 8 ohm IEMs; bass missing some sub-bass texture and upper mids/treble a bit too revealing/harsh.
MSR7 (56/120) - excellent pair up, clear detailed sound, good soundstage expansion, nice transparency and great retrieval of details.
PM-3 (70/120) – excellent pair up, drives them with authority! nice punchy bass, good soundstage depth, clear detailed sound.
EL-8C (80/120) - doesn't drive it to full potential, bass is not as tight and missing sub-bass texture and treble has a little bit of metallic sheen, sound is a bit thin.
R70x (95/120) - excellent pair up with these open back 470 ohm cans, clear detailed sound, excellent transparency, but pushing it closer to X7 max driving limit.
Conclusion.
It’s hard to evaluate X7 as a finished product because I didn’t get a chance to test different amp modules and the firmware is still work in progress, but so far it shows a lot of potential. As a matter of fact I was very impressed with the progress of sound improvement from the day I received X7 to the latest FW1.1 update. At $650 it still represents a great value considering high performance desktop quality DAC, wireless connection with access to streaming services, modular amp design, and touch screen interface. More work needs to be done to finish their Music app and probably to optimize DAC performance with new amp modules, as well as a desperate need for a good case. But if you take into consideration this is their first Android-based release, I think it turned out pretty good! Just like with a classic X5 and their mechanical wheel introduced and later improved throughout X1/X3ii/X5ii releases, FiiO is breaking their own new grounds with X7 release which I’m sure will get only better moving forward toward their ultimate goal of setting the World on FiiO-R!

Bravo! Wonderful review. Know FiiO, actually owend E5 sound amplifier myself. Couple'd it with Grado SR-80, and had a catholic wedding
May I ask where did you get your's?

Rampage14 said:
Bravo! Wonderful review. Know FiiO, actually owend E5 sound amplifier myself. Couple'd it with Grado SR-80, and had a catholic wedding
May I ask where did you get your's?
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Different companies send me their products for review, this one came directly from FiiO. It's already available for pre-order in US and for sale outside of US.

vectron said:
Different companies send me their products for review, this one came directly from FiiO. It's already available for pre-order in US and for sale outside of US.
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Where can i pre-order it in the US?

RMXO said:
Where can i pre-order it in the US?
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I know B&H Photo/video has it listed on pre-order, but as soon as it available in US you will see it on Amazon as well. I think they are putting finishing touches on the next firmware update before making release available worldwide. Right now updates are manual by downloading zip file and running it from within. The next fw update will enable a true OTA support. I will definitely post an update in this thread as soon as it officially released in US. But for now it looks like B&H is the only place where you can pre-order it.

vectron said:
I know B&H Photo/video has it listed on pre-order, but as soon as it available in US you will see it on Amazon as well. I think they are putting finishing touches on the next firmware update before making release available worldwide. Right now updates are manual by downloading zip file and running it from within. The next fw update will enable a true OTA support. I will definitely post an update in this thread as soon as it officially released in US. But for now it looks like B&H is the only place where you can pre-order it.
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B&H Photo has it on "notify once its in" and not pre-order since I'm on the notification list, unless there is another link I don't know about.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1192104-REG/fiio_fx7121_x7_portable_high_resolution_audio.html
Sweet, please do keep us in the loop.

RMXO said:
B&H Photo has it on "notify once its in" and not pre-order since I'm on the notification list, unless there is another link I don't know about.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1192104-REG/fiio_fx7121_x7_portable_high_resolution_audio.html
Sweet, please do keep us in the loop.
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Ready, Set, Go!!! $650 w/free shipping, limited available stock: http://www.miccastore.com/fiio-andr...s-music-player-early-release-units-p-148.html

vectron said:
Ready, Set, Go!!! $650 w/free shipping, limited available stock: http://www.miccastore.com/fiio-andr...s-music-player-early-release-units-p-148.html
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Thanks but reading their rep has me scared. I just recently lost an ipod classic i bought for $170ish to mod due to package not being where USPS said it was delivered. Not going to risk with their poor rep.
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Micca_Store

RMXO said:
Thanks but reading their rep has me scared. I just recently lost an ipod classic i bought for $170ish to mod due to package not being where USPS said it was delivered. Not going to risk with their poor rep.
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Micca_Store
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MICCA Store is a front end of TekFX - the Official FiiO US distributor. MICCA Store is where BH Photo/Video and every other US retailer gets their FiiO products, that is a reason why they got it first. If any of your FiiO product break and you buy them from BH or other places, they send it to MICCA/TekFX to get replaced, repaired, returned. This is the most legit place to buy because they are FiiO distributor
Regarding resellerrating - it's a paid service, which is very misleading. They charge retailers a fee to be a part of their program and actively solicit reviews from customer after they make a purchase, and also hide/discourage some of the bad reviews. As long as you pay them, they will "manage" your rating. I talk to TekFX about it, and MICCA store had almost a perfect rating when they were paying their dues, as soon as they stop that nonsense, their rating dropped to force them to continue paying.
Amazon is cracking down on 5-star one-line reviews as well; there are companies specializing in boosting star rating when you pay them. Now, amazon checks to make sure its a detailed/comprehensive review or if it's a short one - to make sure it was from a verified buyer. A lot of shady business, hard to determine whom to trust...

Finally, available on Amazon.

vectron said:
Finally, available on Amazon.
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No seller when I checked and had to come back a few times before a seller showed up. I initially placed an order but cancelled it. Probably going to stick with my iPod Classic I plan to mod soon.

Since this device running on Android, can it be rooted or its already pre-rooted? So you can install V4A..

darkmantra said:
Since this device running on Android, can it be rooted or its already pre-rooted? So you can install V4A..
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I'm sure you can root it, but it will defeat the purpose of custom drivers FiiO implemented to bypass Sample Rate Conversion (SRC), used by android to downsample the audio files. Thus, you won't be using ESS DAC to its full potential.

This is a review of FiiO X7 accessories. http://fiio.net/en/products/49, leatherette and leather cases available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B2D1336/?tag=vectron00-20 and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B2DHQIM/?tag=vectron00-20
Just like with smartphones, many people enjoy personalizing their DAPs and search for accessories to make their gadget stand out from the crowd. Some accessories are not just about the visual enhancement, but also the improvement of usability and safety. Here are a few essential ones released by FiiO for their latest X7 flagship.
FiiO X7 Stickers (ST-X7) – available from FiiO Aliexpress store http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Sticker-for-FiiO-X7/1473108_32563966868.html for $6.90
Here you will find 5 sticker kits, each one with 10 self-adhesive textured pieces that feel like a vinyl sticker to the touch. Each of these kits correspond to a specific theme with Carbon fiber, Light wood, Dark wood, Shield (resembling Captain America), and Spider (resembling Spider-man). With a material being textured, they actually enhance the grip, making X7 slick metal body not as slippery, and can also enhance the fitment into the case. I personally didn’t apply one yet and not sure if I will since I prefer using the case, but I can probably see myself using a set with carbon fiber finish. One thing to keep in mind, X7 amp modules are removable/replaceable and different modules will have different port opening at the bottom (between 3.5mm and additional balanced port). Thus, if you want to keep your X7 covered head-to-toe in stickers, take your time to decide which amp modules going to get it!
FiiO X7 Tempered glass screen protector (PF-X7) – Available from FiiO Aliexpress store http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...ass-screen-protector/1473108_32566963466.html for $10
While using a sticker is a matter of personal preference, I highly recommend the tempered glass as a must have accessory. X7 comes with a regular film screen protector which only protects display glass from scratches. If you drop your X7 face down or drop something on top of it – the glass can easily crack or chip. Tempered glass absorbs some of the impact and if/when it breaks – your display glass stays intact. This is Japanese brand Asahi glass with a typical 9H hardness rating and anti-scratch finish. I also have a feeling it has an oleophobic coating since it kept fingerprints off.
Application of this tempered glass screen protector was very easy, just have to remember to remove default film screen protector from X7 first, clean the glass with a provided alcohol wipe, remove the sticker off the glass, align and press it down squeezing all the bubbles from the center outwards. Right after application there was a few “wet” spots but they disappear within hours. Also, this screen protector works great with FiiO protective case. I did test sliding X7 in and out at least a dozen of times and glass stayed securely attached.
FiiO X7 leatherette (LC-X7A) and full leather (LC-X7B) cases. Both cases are available from FiiO Aliexpress store: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/leatherette-case-for-FiiO-X7-LC-X7A/1473108_32584272247.html (leatherette for $14.99) and http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...e-for-FiiO-X7-LC-X7B/1473108_32584288008.html (real leather for $18.99). If you don’t have account on Aliexpress, you can try Penon (http://penonaudio.com/FiiO-X7-Slide-in-Case) or on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B2D1336/?tag=vectron00-20 and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B2DHQIM/?tag=vectron00-20), though you will end up paying a slight premium.
I only received leatherette case which is a synthetic leather case (PU material), but found it to have a very convincing leather finish with a fake stitching and overall nice build quality. While having synthetic leather outside, inside it has a soft felt material protecting X7 shell from scratches and extra padding at the top to even out the battery hump. At the top of the case you have a generous cutout around LO port, and Left/Right sides have a symmetrical oval opening/cutout for the control buttons. For me personally that was the biggest advantage of using this case since now I was able to get a good grip around X7 without worrying of pushing buttons on the opposite side of X7 shell. As a matter of fact, the cutout made these buttons recessed, protecting from accidental pressing – perfect to carry in your pocket.
The bottom of the case was completely open to allow X7 slide in and out with ease. For a basic everyday use X7 stays securely in, but if I throw my arm down with some force – X7 did slide out by about an inch. It didn’t fly out, which is good, and was convenient for removing the DAP. The same with connected headphones, if I pull on the cable at the bottom – I was able to slide X7 out. I’m sure if I would have applied stickers, the fitment would be tighter. Overall it stays secure inside of the case, but it’s not 100% secure as if you would have with a fully enclosed case.
I also really liked the fact that now my display was recessed and I was able to place X7 face down on the surface. As I mentioned before, there was no interference with tempered glass screen protector. The only thing I wasn’t too happy about was the case covering the glowing blue light underneath of the display. Coincidentally, I read another impression where this wasn’t a problem and light was exposed. This suggests a marginal variation between builds. I know that some people don’t even care about this light and permanently turn it off. But for those who find it useful, just be aware that you might end up with a case covering it, unless if you can get a piece of sandpaper and expand the screen opening at the bottom.
Overall, in conjunction with a tempered glass this case does a great job protecting X7 DAP and enhancing its functionality. For under $30 (case and glass), this is a smart way to protect your $650 investment.

This is a Review of FiiO K5 Docking Amp. http://fiio.net/en/products/46, available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BBX1NNM/?tag=vectron00-20
Can you refer to a docking desktop amp as “jack of all trades”? You certainly can when you start playing with FiiO’s latest K5. Prior to receiving it, I was expecting K5 to be a desktop accessory for X7 only. But was I wrong! In addition to being compatible with FiiO’s latest X-series DAPs (X1/X3ii/X5ii/X7) and their E17k DAC/amp, it can also work with other audio sources connected to RCA Input, and even take advantage of DAC processing inside of a docked DAP while feeding audio from your laptop. After spending over a month with it, here is what I found.
Unboxing & Accessories.
Arrived in a sturdy cardboard packaging box, I like how FiiO choose to have an all black background with a glossy image of K5 and a docked X7 popping out in “3D” from the front cover. All the promotional pictures of K5 I’ve seen featured X7, but make no mistake – it’s intended to work with other FiiO X-series DAPs. The back of the box has a detailed spec, including a very impressive output power rating for such a compact desktop amp.
Before opening the box, I did take a notice of the weight since we are dealing with an amp, though later turned out that part of it was contributed by external power converter. Once taken out, you can feel that the actual amp is not that heavy at 450g, packed into 120mm x 130mm x 55mm compact enclosure. The power supply converter is external, a typical AC/DC supply with 15V/1.5A output you can find with a number of laptops. As a matter of fact, my review unit arrived with non-US plug and FiiO kindly included an adapter which got temporary misplaced, so I ended up using power converter from my old Thinkpad.
Other included accessories were 4 rubber bumps/feet, 2 insert adapters for different DAPs, usb cable (full size usb-B to usb), 1/4” headphone adapter, and a user guide. Considering a number of all the inputs and outputs, it would have been nice to see other cables included with accessories, for example a pair of RCA to 3.5mm cables or 11pin micro usb connector, and maybe balanced 3.5mm cables. Of course, these extra cables are not a showstopper to get you going, but still would have been great to see at least FiiO’s proprietary 11pin micro-usb interconnect cable. The docking can only accommodate X-series DAPs without a case/skin, and you need to use this extension cable connected to “dock in” micro-usb port on the back of K5 if you want to keep your DAP dressed.
Accessories.
Design.
Since I’m into portable audio gear, I rely mostly on standalone DAP use, though have one desktop amp and a handful of portable amps. In my opinion, K5 design fits somewhere in the middle. It’s obviously a docking amp designed for a desktop use, but it doesn’t weight a ton especially since power supply is external to the case. It’s lightweight, but still has a solid build with a nice titanium color aluminum shell. It has a relatively small footprint that not going to occupy too much space, and yet it is sturdy enough on a flat surface. As a matter of fact, I dragged it next to me on a couch and had no problem using it even so the surface wasn’t perfectly flat. Ergonomics of the design and tight fitment and placement of the micro-usb connector contributes to a nice weight distribution without anything tipping over, even with X7 docked.
With K5 being a “docking” amp, the key feature of this amp is micro-usb docking port on the top under the flip panel. When not in use or using external ports, the panel is flush with a top surface with an exception of a small tab to open it up. The flip panel mechanism is smooth and the panel turns into a solid back support of a docked device when flipped open. Inside you can see a pocket to cover micro-usb connector when it’s closed and another elongated pocket for a rubber adapter to accommodate different DAPs, depending on thickness variation.
The main focus of the front panel is a large rotary volume knob that also functions as a power switch once you turn it clockwise, greeting you with a brief red backlight glow while it initializing and then turning blue. I absolutely love this detail which matches X7 blue light for a visual feedback when power is on. Turning the power on will also turn the power on X1, X3ii, X5ii, X7, and E17k, and the same when you turn it off, though you can dismiss power-off from the DAP screen. And with power on, your DAPs will also be charging. The knob is big, yet easy to grip, has a perfect potentiometer resistance for a better control of the adjustment, and a clear white marker indicating rotary position which goes from -90 dB to 0 dB.
The front panel (the same as a back panel) is slightly recessed with a nice bezel trim design, and you can find to the left of the knob Input switch for Dock vs Line selection and Gain switch for Low (0 dB), Mid (6 dB), and High (12 dB) gain setting. Input switch will correspond to a source selection of either DAP from the dock (or micro-usb “dock in” port) or the Line input. In High Gain you can drive your HO output with a VERY impressive 1.5W (32 ohm load) power which scales down to 150mW (300 ohm load), and most likely with enough juice to drive your 600 ohm cans. I found these flip switches have a nice click action. To the right of the knob you will find 1/4" headphone output, keeping in mind that 3.5mm adapter was included with accessories. I was happy to see FiiO didn’t clutter the area around HO with switches, keeping it clean.
The back panel of K5 reveals a Power in connector jack for 15V supply, all the way to the right, and a number of additional connection ports. You have usb-B USB IN connector for digital input from your computer while processing a signal through X3ii, X5ii, X7, or E17K internal DAC, DOCK In input for 11pin usb interconnect cable if you can’t dock your DAP (due to case/skin), a pair of RCA Line In and Line Out connectors for external input connection from any audio source and to other audio source inputs, and Balanced Line Output. This dual 3.5mm Balanced Line Out output can be used only in conjunction with X5ii or X7 to connect to another external amplifier stage.
Sound Analysis.
While testing K5, I focused on 3 main pair up scenarios with docked DAPs, external connection from LO of the DAP, and digital input from my laptop. In every case I found K5 as an amp to be rather neutral, transparent, and contributing to a noticeable soundstage expansion (especially in width).
Of course, pair up with X7 was at the top of my list. By default, this flagship DAP from FiiO comes with IEM amp module which does a good job with in-ears and other efficient headphones, though I have to keep it in high gain. K5 pair up really stepped up X7 performance with a deeper sub-bass, more organic mids, and additional sparkle in treble - a very consistent improvement I found across R70x (470 ohm) and both planar magnetic PM-3 and EL-8C. Another change was in soundstage expansion, in all three dimensions of width/depth/height where width was the most noticeable. I can't judge yet how other X7 amp modules going to compare, so keep in mind this is relative to IEM module.
Docked with FiiO other DAPs, I found X3ii + K5 pair up to make sound more transparent, with a slightly improved dynamics and expanded soundstage, and with X5ii + K5 a found more body in lower mids giving sound a little smoother organic tone, and also the improvement in soundstage expansion.
Docked with X5ii
Docked with X3ii
The docking convenience of FiiO DAPs is great, but K5 is not limited to only that and can be paired up with other DAPs. Using a common RCA to 3.5mm cable you can feed Line Out of any DAP into Line In of K5. I went straight to the top using PAW Gold as my guinea pig for this test, as well as AudioQuest Evergreen RCA to 3.5mm cable, and ended up with a big surprise. Using Beyer's T5p 2nd gen, I found PAW Gold HO to sound nearly identical to PAW Gold LO + K5. Sure, there could be a few subtle differences, but overall it sounded very close where K5 combo even had a slightly wider soundstage.
Last but not least, I put to the test my ThinkPad T430s driving USB In through DACs of the docked X3ii and X7 while monitoring through T5p 2nd gen. This was really a proof of concept just to verify that both of the DAPs will be recognized by my laptop while docked, function as expected in USB DAC mode, and able to play FLAC files from Foobar2k on my computer. Everything worked flawlessly, with a loud and clear sound improvement. Pretty much anything would be a sound improvement over my laptop's HO from integrated motherboard sound chip. But it also fared very well against a number of my other USB DACs, especially in conjunction with X7 DAC where sound became more dynamic, more detailed, and with a consistent improvement in soundstage width.
Conclusion.
For sure you can call K5 a docking "jack of all trades" and "master of expanded dynamic sound". This latest FiiO docking amp is quite versatile in boosting the performance of portable FiiO DAPs as well as any other DAP, and you can also use it connected to a computer/laptop as USB DAC powerhouse. But among all of this it really shines with X7, replacing its IEM amp module with a more powerful alternative to take full advantage of ES9018S DAC performance. In my opinion, K5 bridges the gap between X7 portable and desktop use where on the go you can enjoy your IEMs and efficient headphones, while at home you can supercharge X7 not only by "charging" it up when docked but also by giving it an extra jolt of output power.

Any hack for this device? Can we install vipermod?

ranjitotski said:
Any hack for this device? Can we install vipermod?
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Probably better ask on Head-fi Btw, FiiO X5iii is just around the corner (already released in Asia). I got a review ample and it's full android with Playstore and apparently has V4A too. Also, X7ii should be released soon.

Holy crap, that's insane!
And now I'm thinking what am I doing with cheap xiaomi headphones. Someday I will have the money to buy some of this stuff.

applesauceChris said:
Holy crap, that's insane!
And now I'm thinking what am I doing with cheap xiaomi headphones. Someday I will have the money to buy some of this stuff.
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X7 is old news, now they have X5iii, full Android, even comes with VIPER effects I should have review soon!