K7 Desktop DAC and Amplifier

l'm an audiophile who knows there is A LOT of snake oil in this business. A LOT. Now, having said that, the k7 deserves the $200 asking price. If you have a good sound-card, the k7 will be a mild improvement, but sure enough an audible improvement. Don't expect night and day differences, but you'll find some. Whether you like the new sound signature more than your sound-card, that's another story. The k7 will offer slightly more refined sound, but similar 'technicalities.' Where the k7 is a real upgrade is in having a dedicated volume control knob. The volume is digital so the knob has no end to it (you can keep on spinning it once it has reached its max). My unit didn't have a very noticeable delay (as some reviewers stated). Perhaps that has to do with how powerful/fast your computer is (?). Some people also find the volume odd because for the first (almost) 1/4 of it, you don't hear anything (on less sensible HPs). Fiio engineers did this on purpose: this way, users of very sensitive IEMs will not have a problem adjusting the volume to their preferred level. The k7 (unlike any sound-card that l'm aware of) offers balanced connections so you can give that a try. Personally, l did hear the difference. My HPs did open up with the balanced inputs (4.4mm and 4pin XLR). If you've been into this hobby for a while (if your brained has been trained to notice these sound nuances), you'll notice that right away. Then there's the extra power in case you need it. Some people may prefer to keep their sound-card over the k7 in favor of having more 'desktop free space.' l get that. Personally, l have a volume ring on my keyboard, but l much prefer having a knob. Besides, it's easier to plug/switch HPs from the k7 (likely placed on your desk near your mouse) than from the back of the PC, under the desk. Does the k7 get hot? Not at all (room temperature 80ºF). *Now, let's address the elephant in the room: the Fiio k9 ESS* I guess the AKM version is equally good too, but l haven't tested that one so my words will refer to the k9 ESS (non-pro). If you wonder, I didn't want a slower pace sounding device, that's why I was only interested in the ESS version. k7 VS k9 ESS: The difference between the k7 and the k9 ESS aren't mild or subtle, but very significant. We're talking about a product (k7) that has its own sound signature (warmer, slower, more bass where there shouldn't be, small soundstage), but that plays on the budget league VS a product (k9 ESS) that plays in the HI-FI realm. The k9 will be a noticeably improvement in the soundstage, dynamics, clarity and rest of the audio attributes. Example: on the k7 the HD800s treble is harsh; plug them to the k9 and the treble becomes oh so beautiful. Mind you, k9 ESS is 'fast.' The music will play faster than on the AKM which has the 'normal pace' tunning. You may like a faster pace more or less, but you'll certainly notice the difference in speed. This is supposed to be an attribute of the ESS chips (regardless of the system implementation). Have you ever heard people saying something like, "buy the best HP you can then spend the rest on a DAC-amp?" Nonsense. Once you have a good pair of HPs ($300-$500), trust me, they will sound noticeably different when paired to the k7 VS the k9. Example: You'd think my old, yet great sounding Hifiman HE-400 (non s, etc. just plain 'HE-400') sound great when connected to the k7 and also my sound-card. Now, plug them to the k9 ESS and let me read your mind: "Holly guacamole! Now we're talking business." Yes, those are your own words ;-) If my budget was $1000, l'd rather get a k9 ESS and a $300-500 HPs than spending $200 on the k7 then $800 on a HP. Even better, l'd buy the k9 ESS new (to test it for yourself in case you want to return it, and to have the always SO important WARRANTY just in case) then spend the rest of the budget on a 'second hand' headphone (in good condition with replaceable earpads). Amplifiers come defective even when new (l've already sent 2 back, the very k9 ESS l'm talking about which had a defective 'optical in' and a k9 ESS Pro), however headphones rarely fail (although they also do it seems; it never happened to me). l know l digressed quite a bit, but l hope you enjoyed my 'on the fly, all over the place' review of the Fiio k7. Remember: "Buying cheap is expensive" or the German version "We're too poor to buy cheap." Save for the k9 ESS, buy it new (return, warranty), enjoy it for years to come. Hope this helps!

Amazing DAC/Amp for the price! 2000mw through balanced 4.4mm output; plenty of power even with single-ended output (6.3mm; I'm using the 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter until my balanced cable arrives). Clean power and clean sound; no detectable distortion when running to my HiFiMan Edition XS Headphones. Gets very loud; enough to add 6db headroom, put +5.5db low shelf EQ, and listen to even semi-quiet Classical recordings at substantial volumes. Sounds WONDERFUL! I highly recommend FiiO and came from a portable KA13 which was also top-notch. The K7 produces more bass and better volumes without distortion compared to the KA13. If you have the capability to use a Desktop DAC, I highly recommend the K7 over the KA13 for quadruple the power output and no distortion; the KA13 distorts slightly at near max to max volumes, which was necessary for some material. Headroom wasn't much of an option with the KA13. Gets slightly warm after 15-30 minutes of use, but is just a little warm to the touch. The KA13 gets hot, and I suspect could overheat in some scenarios. The K7 seems like it will never overheat.

I love this little thing. I bought it for the office, just needed something small, cheap, sounds good, and works well for the office and this ticks all the boxes. I love that you can save money by not getting BT which for my use case is unnecessary. I like the smooth knob, LED around it, build quality, and most importantly the sound and power it produces. I use it with my Focal Elegia at the office and things sound clear, dynamic, fun, and detailed in a way that I think most people would be impressed with. For a compact, all-in-one, starter amp/dac combo I don't think there is anything better. Honestly I don't think most people would ever need anything more than this unless you need certain ports or power this may not be able to provide. At home I have both a SMSL SU-10 hooked up to a Aune S17Pro, and previously came form a Schiit Asgard/Modius stack. Before that I came from a JDS Labs amp/dac combo unit. The headphones I have include Meze Empyreans, HE1000V2, ZMF Auters, HD660s, and Focal Elegia headphones. Is it possible to get better or a different sound signature than this with spending more? Probably, but not by much and that that point you are really just searching for that specific sound signature or to get those last couple % to reach perfection. This thing is great and would highly recommend to anyone looking to get into dedicated amp dacs.

I think this is sort of the sweet spot for dac's and price. I have to admit that I no longer have it but have moved up to the k9. I don't feel like there was a huge change in sonic clarity or sound stage. There was a difference in both but not to the tune of another $300 tbh. I think the bigger differences where in the xlr output and bluetooth connectivity with the k9. Either is still a balanced dac topography and a decent akm chip. A lot of people will play up DAC's to be a major change to sonic clarity, but the reality is they are all small nuance things that you notice over time. The reality is that I ran for decades with on board chip sets, and found my motherboard had known issues on it later. Since that time I played with most of the FIIO line up and found that I like the k9 best, but they are all minor changes. I've used both with a rotel amp and a set of DIY scan speak speakers as well as meze empyrean headphones. The larger irony is that I changed the rotel amp for a douk audio and noticed little difference there as well. The reality is that you get more flexibility, options, and connectivity with the k9 and a small bump in sound quality. If you don't need all the options this is a sweet spot.

Teknik detaylara girecek kadar bilgiye sahip değilim ama iyi bir müzik dinleyicisi olarak şunu diyebilirim ki Sennheiser 660s2 yi Fiio K7'de 4.4 mm dengeli giriş ile kullanmaya başladım. Daha önce İfi Zen Air Dac kullanıyordum çok kötü diyemem bu DAC için ama Fiio K7 kullanmaya başladıktan sonra kulaklık resmen 2-3 level atladı diyebilirim. Geniş sahne ve enstürman detayları büyük ölçüde arttı. Ayrıca kulak tırmalayan müzikler netleşti ve berraklaştı. Daha zevkle ve keyifle müzik dinliyorum.

This is incredible value for money it transformed my desktop audio listening experience. So I recently went through an audio revamp. New pairs of cans, new amps, new library of CDs ect. I wanted a new desktop amp dac to replace the slightly aging e10k Olympus, also from fiio. That is also still a great dac amp, not quite desktop station worthy though. As most reviewers point out fiio has undeniably some of the best desktop units for the price. If you were like me you'd be tied between the fiio k5 pro and the k7. In my opinion both are extremely valid and good choices. For £50 extra the k7 is negotiable, newer hardware, lower SE output but higher through Bal, non ESS amps. Should be good to note that the k7 gets seperated dual mono while the k5 and recently released k11 does not. This makes stage on large open backs much more positional. To me both are valid and if you want the most power then you can't go wrong with the k5pro. All in all the amp dac is incredible, clear powerful sound with adequate power for 90% of cans. I can imagine £1000 800ohms might not have enough juice but if you were spending that much then you wouldn't look at this. In terms of competition I have no qualms giving some options if your price point is different. Ifi zen DAC air + can air combo. I have the can air it is an incredible amp for the price and even gives the k7 a run for its money balanced. It's a good choice if you use tidals mqa for your listening. Loxjie p20 hybrid An alternative from housebrand SMSL. A hybrid tube amp so you have tubes if you want that warmer tone. Also has balanced xlr if that's what you want. Far less power but at nearly half the price. In my opinion if you can afford it, it will shine for a while. If you can't afford it then there a couple other options but I think you should save it and grab this instead.

Der FiiO K7 war für mich eine richtig gute Entscheidung. Ich hab ihn mir ursprünglich gekauft, um meine Kopfhörer besser auszureizen, und was da rauskommt, hätte ich so nicht erwartet. Der Klang ist absolut klar, kraftvoll und einfach lebendig. Musik wirkt damit nicht nur besser, sondern auch echter. Gerade bei detailreichen Tracks merkt man, wie viel da noch drinsteckt, was vorher einfach unterging. Was mich besonders beeindruckt hat, ist wie hochwertig das ganze Gerät wirkt. Das Gehäuse ist massiv, die Regler laufen geschmeidig, und die Anschlüsse sind ordentlich verarbeitet. Da wackelt nichts, da knackt nichts, das fühlt sich nach Qualität an. Und dazu kommt noch die Beleuchtung, die dezent und stylisch ist, ohne zu nerven. Der K7 ist super vielseitig. Egal ob ich ihn über USB am PC nutze oder mal andere Quellen anschließe, alles funktioniert problemlos. Und er hat genug Power, um auch anspruchsvolle Kopfhörer ohne Mühe anzutreiben. Ich nutze ihn mit dem FiiO FT3, dem Meze 99 und dem Dan Clark Æon 2 Noire und alle profitieren davon. Für mich ist der K7 mehr als nur ein DAC oder Verstärker. Er ist das Herzstück meines Setups geworden. Kein unnötiger Kram, kein übertriebener Schnickschnack, einfach solide Technik, die klingt und funktioniert. Klare Empfehlung an alle, die aus ihrem Sound das Maximum rausholen wollen, ohne gleich ein Vermögen auszugeben.

Tenía un K5 Pro que se rompió a los 4 años de manera totalmente aleatoria. Estaba funcionando y, de un momento a otro, dejó de hacerlo. Se iluminan pero no sueltan sonido, cosas que pasan supongo. Ahora estoy con este K7 y sí se nota la mejora. No voy a entrar en detalles de audiófilo porque no lo soy, y tampoco creo que haga falta. ¿Se escucha mejor que con los cascos solos? Sin duda. ¿Se escucha mejor que el K5? Creo que, si los pones uno frente al otro y haces una prueba a ciegas, rara vez notarás la diferencia. Es un buen producto y se siente premium. No os compliquéis demasiado pensando entre X o Y, porque al final hay mucha gente elitista que le gusta gastar dinero en este hobby y marean mucho la perdiz con cosas que fuera de un laboratorio son irrelevantes. Suena bien y no creo que haga falta darle más vueltas.

Amplificador muito bom. Som muito limpo sem ruidos e faz qualquer fone tocar 4x mais alto. Top.