Intro + FiiO Brand

So today we are going to be checking out FiiO’s latest and greatest the FiiO R7 so let's get into it. So talking about FiiO as a brand. FiiO started around 2007 doing research and development for a lot of audio products and they slowly started getting into the portable amplifier and DAC market, starting with portable amplifiers. I personally owned one a few years back and until now it does work. That's really where I got the love for the brand and looking at the brand starting with those tiny portable amplifiers like the FiiO A1 and now they are making crazy stuff like this the FiiO R7 really shows how well the brand is going honestly.

What Really Is The R7?

Talking about what really is the FiiO R7. So it's kind of a unicorn per se, it doesn't fit under any particular category like a DAC and Amp or just a Digital Audio Player (DAP). It does a lot of things like I could come up with literally 10 or 20 things that I could do with the FiiO R7 like permutations and combinations. So for example, recently I was using the FiiO R7 as just a source because you could even plug in a linear power supply to it and you as such get a very clean source. So from the FiiO R7’s coaxial output to a DAC the Gustard x26 and connected that to the Cayin HA3A and honestly it was a very good experience.

Features

So talking about the few features of the FiiO R7. One of the main interfaces that you have is this beautiful 5 inch screen, which is running Android and it's kind of stock and it's very easy to use because most people understand how to use Android, so it's very intuitive. Next is the volume knob, the output selector and the headphone jacks and at the back you have a host of digital and analog inputs and outputs and we will talk about those in the video further.

Under The Hood

So talking about what's under the hood of the FiiO R7. It's got a ESS Sabre DAC Chip and a THX AAA 788 plus amplification stage and talking about a DAP part of things it is running a Snapdragon 660 Plus processor with 4 gigabytes of RAM which makes it extremely smooth and silky to use. Honestly I don't think this product is just for an audiophile but for someone who just wants to enjoy listening to music.

Way To Use The FiiO R7

Broadly there are around five main use cases that I could categorise. A person using it as a standalone DAC and Amp - how I use it is using the type-C port at the back to connect it to my phone or laptop. You have also got the options of connecting coaxial and optical inputs. Next is using the FiiO R7 as just a DAC, which you could use to connect to a pair of speakers or under the amplifier via the RCA as well as three pin balanced outputs. At the back next is using it as an amplifier so you take an unbalanced RCA input an analog input from another DAC and use this as an amplifier a headphone amplifier. Next is using it as a streamer, so what I was doing recently is using this with another DAC, so taking a digital output, this has got coaxial as well as optical digital output and then from that I was connecting it to another amplifier. Multiple reasons why I did this, I wanted a clean source, I didn't want to connect my phone, so that's one use case and another is using this as a standalone digital audio player which is one of my favourite features. It's got an SD card slot at the back where you can load on files onto an SD card. Let me take it out here and via the interface running Android you can use any of your streaming applications - Apple music, Spotify, Amazon music and play high resolution music and also it's got the feature where you could connect it to your mobile phone via Bluetooth to stream music and also to an Apple device via AirPlay. So you Apple Fanboys will definitely be happy.

DAC & Amp

So talking about the DAC & Amp of the FiiO R7, which is one part of the puzzle. Honestly, overall, whichever headphone I pair it with, from the Meze 109 Pro, to the Audeze LCD 5, I really enjoyed the listening experience. It's not going to colour the sound as such because of the THX AAA amplifier so don't expect it to be very warm lush. It's got more of a detailed analytical kind of sound, very sterile, which some people may not like but for the most part it's an enjoyable experience.

Our Take

Here is my take on the FiiO R7. I may be a little biased because I'm a FiiO fanboy but the general consensus here at Headphone Zone has been positive for this product. Whether it be running it with IEMs or headphones, it's been a great product. The noise floor is very low, it sounds very nice and detailed and overall it's extremely versatile. It can literally be on any person's table and they will find a use case for it. This is literally a device which you could use wherever you are in the house. It doesn't have its own inbuilt battery you still have to power it but say for example you are on your bedside table and you just want to put on a pair of headphones you don't need to mess around with a DAC and Amp. Say for an example you want to just run this to your powered speakers, just take a balanced output or an RCA output and you're sorted. The only other product which was similar to this was the Astell&Kern CA1000, which was almost double or tripled the price. You may say a DAP but that's battery powered it may have a life of five or six years. If you take care of this, this is going to last you a lifetime, which honestly is at a point right now where I know for sure it is going to last the next at least five, six, seven, eight years and you will get updates. FiiO in general has been very stable with the updates. The headphone outputs at the front - the 6.35mm to 4.4mm and the four pin balanced outputs are truly amazing to have and with lots of products sometimes, rarely, but a crazy audiophile like me would feel like I wish I had this, I wish I had that, I have not come across that feeling with this product and it blows my mind that there is a product like this which exists. If I don't have Wi-Fi I can literally hook it up with a LAN port at the back, it's got a proper DC input at the back which you can use to connect it to a linear power supply so that you get cleaner output. I mean why not of course FiiO would do this because they have the PL 50 linear power supply but truly and the price point at which it is, it is a bargain honestly. When you're getting DAC and Amps at the same price point which have less power output you're getting this device which has such a powerful DAC and Amp. It has a digital audio player literally in it. I mean what more do you want.

Conclusion

So summing up the FiiO R7. FiiO has been coming up with a lot of bangers off late, like the FiiO K7, the FiiO M15s, the FiiO KA5 and finally this bad boy FiiO R7 with its amazing RGB lights, amazing vents on the side and honestly amazing build quality. If you are interested in learning more about the FiiO R7 and if you're based out of Mumbai you can book a free audio tour from our website and visit us at the experience studio here in Mumbai or if you are based out of anywhere else in India you can catch us at a Headphone Connect event happening near you. So see you!