FiiO K7 Review

FiiO K7 Desktop DAC & AMP – Sound

DAC Performance

For this section I connected the K7 to my long-time reference monitors, the Focal Alpha 80s, using RCA pre/line-out. Right off the bat, the K7 sounds clean and vivid with the Focals. The bass is round, impactful, and recuperates fast, while the texture feels natural. There is a hint of warmth around the lower mid-section, and Focals had no trouble highlighting it during Anne Bison’s “September in Montreal” track. The midrange is articulate, engaging, and clean. The detail-retrieval of this region is impressive. The vocals and instruments sound natural with a good note-weight. Upper mids feel energetic, extended, and well-pronounced. They are also controlled, with no unwanted sibilance or shrillness. The treble reaches the top octave with good control and feels snappy. Good detail here also. Soundstage-wise, the DAC’s PRE/LO provides a medium-sized stage, not wide and not claustrophobic. Imaging and positioning feel accurate.

DAC & AMP Performance

Testing Gear: Hifiman Edition XS, Vision Ears VE7, Audioquest Pearl USB A-to-B, Qobuz & MacOS 12.6

The K7’s signature is balanced with hints of warmth. It sounds clean, articulate, and dynamic. It has a linear delivery with no particular emphasis on any region. It feels unsaturated and direct, especially with equally capable gear. The XS sounds defined, clean and clear with the K7, carrying a good amount of detail throughout the spectrum. The bass is clean, defined, and has good authority. The texture is natural. The PRaT is very good, especially so out of the BAL HPO. The bass hits and recuperates without feeling sluggish and the lows feel dynamic, fast. As for the midrange, the instruments and vocals sound articulate, dynamic with a good body. The instruments feel natural and do not feel artificial or too linear/clinical. The upper midrange is exciting, extended, and energetic, especially so through the 4.4mm HPO. Going back and forth to test BAL and UNBAL using Hifiman’s Edition XS Planar headphones yielded some interesting results.

To be clear, after testing both outputs in a volume-matched condition, I found the balanced output to be superior in terms of technical aspects. Balanced output feels more expansive, more spacious. The instruments have more room to chime, and the sound is more effortless compared to the SE. As for the treble, the K7 sounds exciting with its well-extended, well-pronounced treble. It is also controlled and there aren’t any shrill or sharpness. The treble response feels more accurate and more detailed via the 4.4mm output. If you are looking to get the most out of K7, I highly recommend you get a balanced cable of any sort. You don’t need to go crazy as there are many budget options when it comes to those as well, from brands like XINHS, Tripowin, Linsoul, etc. 

The K7 sounds more refined, especially technical-wise, compared to the K5Pro. It has a wider, more spacious soundstage with an adequate depth to follow. The instrument positioning and layering feel great, particularly in this price bracket. The K7 pairs well with my modded 58X. They cost less than 350 bucks together yet perform well above that price tag in my opinion. Let’s continue with the background. With the VE7 in-ear monitor, the K7 has a low-noise background that is not completely silent but close. The hissing is subtle, but it is there. So if you are planning to use it with highly sensitive monitors, you may hear hissing. However, I can’t hear any hissing on any of my full-size headphones, which is good.

For an AIO solution, the K7 is an excellent performer in my opinion. The only problem I think is the relatively marginal performance difference between the BAL and SE, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a cable. Other than that, the K7 gets a solid thumbs up from me, sound-wise.

Comparisons

The $200 USD price bracket is a tough battleground and the competition is tough. Let’s check out the K7’s rivals.

vs. Topping DX3 Pro+ ($199 USD)

Topping DX3 Pro+ is also an all-in-one unit that features a great feature set including the addition of an LDAC capability. Topping managed to impress me with this device due to its fantastic sound quality and wireless capability. It can be used as a separate DAC and PRE. It does not have a balanced architecture and comes with a 3.5mm HPO. It is almost as powerful as the K7 as it can dish out 1.8W into a 32-ohm load. Sound-wise both devices are very good, however, with the Edition XS, fed through the 4.4mm BAL out, the K7 has slightly superior detail-retrieval and resolution. It feels a tad more dynamic and resolving compared to the DX3Pro+. The DX3Pro+ has a better soundstage depth, however, the width is better on the K7. Both of the devices are quite good and you can’t go wrong with either. Select based on your needs! 

vs. K5Pro ESS ($209 USD)

I have to say that the move I expected from FiiO came with the K7 and the update that the K5Pro deserved came out as a new product altogether. I think FiiO did a really good job with K7. It offers us a fully balanced architecture and AIO capability at a price tag of under two hundred dollars. There is a marginal difference in sound quality compared to the K5 Pro ESS, especially when we listen via balanced output. The K7 offers more detail, more spaciousness, and higher resolution. Additionally, the soundstage presented by the K7 is more accurate and layered than the K5 Pro ESS. Especially in terms of technical aspects, I don’t see much reason to buy the K5Pro ESS. The K7 is the way!

Last Words

When we look at the device’s features, material quality, and the components underlying its chassis, we can easily say that the K7 is a very competitive, price-performance-focused DAC & AMP. Especially the use of dual 4493SEQ DAC chips and dual THX 788+ amp modules is almost miraculous at this price point. I am confident that the K7 will further cement FiiO’s place in the desktop market. After making a big mark on the premium level with the K9 Pro ESS, FiiO ensured that they won’t be leaving the budget market for the taking.

I really like the K7 and I congratulate FiiO for their amazing job. If you need a solid, powerful DAC & AMP for your headphones and you are on a budget, the K7 can make you very happy.

Page 1: FiiO, K7, Packaging & Accessories, Design & Build Quality, Features, Power & Technology

Page 2: DAC Performance, DAC & AMP Performance, Comparisons, Last Words