Fiio did an ideal job filling out its portfolio of late, and top-of-the-line additions is the Q7. The DAC is aimed on the high-end phase, and has an attention-grabbing origin story. It primarily options the center of the M17 digital audio participant — which retails for $1,800 — however with out the participant portion. So the Q7 does not have a display screen and it misses out on all of the bits wanted for an audio participant: there is no Android interface for starters, and it is not powered by the Snapdragon 660.
What you get as an alternative is identical audio circuitry because the M17, and that makes the Q7 very attractive. Going this route not solely makes the Q7 that rather more versatile, but it surely additionally brings the worth down by a big quantity: $749, or simply 42% of the price of the M17. You are still getting the identical unimaginable DAC and amp modules — it options ESS Sabre’s ES9038Pro DAC and the stellar THX AAA 788 amp — all in a transportable kind issue that is usable with a cellphone or in a desktop setting.
The Fiio Q7 launched in November 2022, and you’ll your palms on it at Amazon for $749 (opens in new tab). I used the DAC for the higher a part of 4 months, and having used most of Fiio’s current launches, I can truthfully say that this is likely one of the model’s greatest efforts. The flexibility mixed with the design and the {hardware} on provide right here makes the Q7 an exceptional DAC, and it could simply be the all-in-one endgame DAC you are on the lookout for.
Let’s begin with the design. The Q7 shares Fiio’s new design aesthetic, and which means you may discover aggressive styling with jagged sides and RGB lighting alongside the vents on the perimeters. With dimensions of 158.4 x 88.5 x 28.3mm and a weight of 620g, the Q7 is an absolute unit, and whereas it’s designed for moveable use, it’s too massive and heavy to simply throw round in a bag, and you will be higher served by the likes of the BTR7 as an alternative.
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The Q7 is made out of aluminum, and even from a primary look, it is easy to see that it is a high-end product. The machined aluminum chassis mixed with the gold accents give the DAC a number of character, and the glass panel that runs alongside the size of the Q7 on the entrance offers a pleasant distinction to the design and makes the DAC look that rather more elegant.
The display screen is situated on the entrance, and the 1.3-inch TFT panel has a decision of 240 x 240, which is greater than ample for the supposed use case. You will discover THX and Hello-Res Audio labels on the backside, and the again of the Q7 has a textured end that feels nice to carry. The proper aspect of the Q7 has the buttons for energy and music playback, and including to the daring styling of the DAC, these are hexagonal.
The amount knob is on the high, and it’s decked out in gold. It options an RGB LED ring on the underside that adjustments shade primarily based on the supply getting used: blue for music playback as much as 44.1KHz/48KHz, yellow for 88.2/96/176/352.8/384/705.6/768KHz, inexperienced for DSD64/128/256/512, and magenta for MQA playback. Just like the K9 Professional, it is a good visible indicator that tells you the standard of information being performed.
The underside of the Q7 homes all of the enter choices, and also you get optical and coaxial inputs together with USB-C, and a DC port. All of the ports have covers to make sure mud does not get in, and you will find the facility toggle on the backside. There’s additionally a nifty toggle that permits you to swap between DC energy and battery: the Q7 has an enormous 9,200mAh built-in battery, however it may be powered by the DC port. If you happen to use the latter, you may bypass the battery altogether, and this makes probably the most quantity of sense in the event you intend to make use of the Q7 in a desktop setting.
If you happen to’re eyeing the Q7 for moveable use, know that the battery lasts simply over ten hours on a full cost, and charging the unit takes an agonizing 4.5 hours. There is no such thing as a quick charging right here, and I solely noticed the cost go as much as 10W when linked to a USB PD 3.0 outlet on the Nexode 200W.
You will discover all of the outputs up high, and also you get a single-ended 3.5mm jack, balanced 2.5mm and 4.4mm ports, and even a full-fledged 6.35mm connector. The 6.35mm port will get a mud cowl, and it is nice to see Fiio bundle the full-size port on this machine. The three.5mm and a couple of.5mm ports work as line out as nicely.
The display screen will get vivid sufficient and has a full-color panel, and is good for viewing supply info and accessing the menus. You’ll be able to navigate the menus with the amount knob — which doubles as a multi-function button — and you can choose the language and swap between the 4 modes: USB, Coaxial, Optical, and Bluetooth. On that be aware, the Q7 has an intensive number of Bluetooth codecs, together with AAC, SBC, AptX, AptX LL, AptX adaptive, AptX HD, and LDAC.
Fiio is understood to bundle a number of equipment with its high-end merchandise, and that is no totally different with the Q7. The packaging for the DAC is the most important I’ve seen but from Fiio, and contains a number of gear: the DAC is encased in a stunning brown leather-based case within the field, and it has cutouts for all of the ports, buttons, and RGB lights on the perimeters.
You additionally get a good set of cables, together with USB-C to USB-C, USB-C to Lightning, a smaller USB-C to USB-C cable that is angled (that is fairly useful), and a USB-C to USB-A cable. Because the Q7 works in a desktop configuration, you get an influence provide throughout the package deal that is capable of ship 24W to the unit. The most important accent within the package deal is a customized cooling stand that is designed for the M17.
Fiio bundles this stand for the Q7, and the explanation for that is apparent: the DAC will get sizzling when plugged in, and because it does not have any lively cooling, it wants an adjunct to do the job. The angled cooling stand is powered off USB and has a big fan that does an admirable job managing thermals, and the fan has three settings.
As for the audio {hardware}, the Q7 is outfitted with ESS Sabre’s flagship ES9038Pro DAC together with THX’s AAA 788+ linear amplifiers, and you will find Qualcomm’s QCC5124 driving the Bluetooth portion. Fiio is not messing round right here, and the caliber of the {hardware} clearly alerts the model’s intent — the Q7 is a high-end DAC that holds its personal in opposition to nearly every other machine on this class.
The Q7 gives 32-bit/768kHz PCM decoding and DSD512 in USB DAC mode, and also you get 24-bit/192kHz together with DSD64 in coaxial mode and 24-bit/96KHz by way of optical. There’s additionally MQA rendering for Tidal, though it is at 8x. With the achieve set to Extremely Excessive, the Q7 is ready to ship 1500mW of energy at 16Ω, 1100mW at 32Ω, and 130mW at 300Ω over the single-ended 3.5mm and 6.35mm ports.
For the two.5mm and 4.4mm balanced connections, the Q7 delivers 1500mW of energy at 16Ω, 3000mW at 32Ω, and 500mW at 300Ω. For sure, the Q7 has greater than sufficient energy to drive nearly any headset no matter how demanding it may possibly get.
With regards to the sound, the Q7 is in a category of its personal. I used it with the Audeze LCD-X, Meze 99 Classics, and the HD6XX, and it did an exceptional job driving all of the headsets. The {hardware} on provide means you get wonderful lows paired with clear mids and hovering highs, and the tonality was on par with the K9 Professional, an enormous achievement in and of itself.
Whether or not it is total layering or the soundstage, the Q7 will carry the most effective out of no matter headset or IEM is linked to it, and Fiio did an impressive job sustaining the audio constancy in what is basically a transportable machine. The soundstage is totally clear, and you will not discover any distortion right here.
Merely put, the Q7 is the most effective moveable DAC you will get proper now, and whereas it’s massive and cumbersome to hold, it has the facility and tonality to place its rivals to disgrace. The most effective half is which you could simply plug it in and use it as a full-fledged desktop supply, and that is what I have been doing with the DAC. If you need a flexible DAC that does not miss out on any options, the Q7 is my present suggestion.
With a daring design and all of the connectivity you may ask for, the Q7 nails the basics. The high-end audio {hardware} makes this a superb selection in the event you’re on the lookout for an all-in-one moveable DAC.
