Here’s my review of the FIIO X7 Mark II.
My background:
I’m a 62 year old who listens and plays music all of the time. I’ve played guitar for over 40 years, as well as years on bass and some drums. I play in a church group as the bass player and lead guitar (when called for). A few years ago I filled in for the drummer for a year. My wife plays piano and we have a Steinway grand in the house. I am an avid collector of guitars (acoustics, electrics and bass). I also bought a lot of ride cymbals looking for that perfect tone (for me, it’s the ride in Brubeck’s “Take Five”). For snares I wanted the Steely Dan “Black Cow” sound.
The point of this is that I am very familiar with how instruments sound when you play them. In terms of audio equipment, my goal has always been: “If they recorded it, I want to hear it”. So, I am always listening to hear TONE. Whether it is a Goodall Guitar (Doug Smith on “Alone at Last”, a Fender tweed (a lot of people), the sound of really good set of Hi-hats clicking, etc., I wanted to hear it like I was in the room.
As having a family limited my listening to my stereo (SONY ES series through KEF 104/2 Reference), I moved to headphones. When the Ipod came out I downloaded my CD collection to the computer and Ipod. I loved the portability and accepted the sound. I invested in some better IEM’s (some old Sony’s, Monster Cables Miles Davis Trumpets, and others). Then I read an article on CNET about Neil Young’s PONO player. Lossless tracks seemed the way to go. The article noted that while the PONO wasn’t available yet, this small Chinese company, FIIO had some great products at very reasonable prices.
I first bought the X5 version 1. Started converting my CD collection to FLAC files using Exact Audio Copy. It was like taking cotton out of my ears. I subsequently added a FIIO Montblanc amplifier and the sound was even better. My biggest frustration with the X5 was that the interface was not as easy to navigate as the Ipod’s. When the X7 with Android came out, I jumped on it (I am an Android guy not IOS).
When the new X7 Mark II came out, is signed up for the review tour. Which brings us to why you are hopefully still reading this. My review will be mostly about the sound. Other reviewers have done the unboxing thing, frequency graph’s, specs, etc., so if you want that info go read those reviews.
My process.
I decided to do a blind comparison with my X7. I had a duplicate Micro SD card that I put in the MKII. For the test, I only used FLAC files that I had made from CD’s. The lineup included:
Steely Dan, Aja, “Peg”
Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees, “Lido Shuffle”
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, “Time”
Dave Brubeck, Time Out, “Take Five”
Bob Marley, Legend, “Jammin”
Paul Simon, Graceland, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”
Jeff Hamilton Trio, Red Sparkle, “Red Sparkle”
We would cue up the song in both devices and my son would insert the headphones (Grado 325’s) into one of the DAP’s play a minute of the song and then switch to the other devices. I could not see which one he was playing. We matched the volume on both devices (the MKII AM3 probably had an advantage over the X7 AM1, but I was comparing the “stock” models). I would tell him which one I liked better.
The pieces I chose were selected because of their production, complexity, and that I really liked them. Right from the start it was clear that one device was better than the other. It was the Mark II. I don’t use (or in some cases understand) the language of some reviewers. I don’t understand what “effortless” means. So I will use my own standard/language. I do understand what soundstage separation refers to and I do see that as a required factor.
The differences were at times astounding, on “Peg” I was finally able to hear Michael McDonald’s multiple harmony parts, which in the past sounded like one voice. On many records, I could hear the ride cymbal’s wash like I had hit it myself. When playing an instrument, you hear the instrument “in it’s space”. There are overtones, harmonics, finger sound’s on strings, resonances, etc. the difference between a snare with a piece of gaffer’s tape stuck to it or not. A tube amp like a great fender tweed has an aura of tone. With the Mark II these were all there much clearer than on my beloved X7. The instruments were all amazingly clear. On some tracks, I was able to hear separate instrument parts that had always sounded like one part (listen to Springsteen’s “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”) On Peter Gabirel’s “In your Eyes”, the very subtle talking drum part in the left channel was extremely clear and realistic. Snarky Puppy’s “Lingus” sounded like I was in the room.
Drum sounds were like I was sitting on my throne. Bass sounds were “right there”.
So, I had a clear favorite in the race. I decided to enlist my son and wife (also musicians) to have them do a little blind testing. Both of them found the Mark II to be better than the Mark I. For my wife, I cued up Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart/Hogwood version). It clearly was better on the Mark II.
During my review period, Tom Petty passed away, so I listened to his music this week…a lot. His great music was blessed with great production which really came through on the Mark II.
I used a variety of headphones and IEM’s for my various listening. Most of the times I used my Grado 325’s. For the IEMS, I mostly used my KEF M200s, which I use when I really want to hear the bass player. Also used FIIO EX-1’s and Etymotic ER-4’s. Towards the end of the review, I started using my KEF M500’s. KEF is a gear British Speaker company, and I have loved my aforementioned 102/4’s. The M500’s emerged as my favorite way to listen to the Mark II’s.
Pet Peeve: I wish that the file sorting would be truly alphabetic. I finally figured out that albums are sorted by title and artist. In the section of albums beginning with “The”, this can be tricky. CD 1’s and 2’s are sometimes separate and hard to find. Not knowing the artist subsort, I spent a lot of time searching through the “The’s”.
I also really liked the new volume wheel. It was easier to use than the screen swipe option. The power button on top was also much better. The two Micro SD card drives are a big plus, particularly as my one 256GB card is almost full. The soft clear case is better than the hard one that came with the X7.
Without being too technical, the Mark II amplifier section is a big advancement over the X7. All I have to do now is convince Santa that I have been a very good boy and should get one of these under the tree on Christmas
My background:
I’m a 62 year old who listens and plays music all of the time. I’ve played guitar for over 40 years, as well as years on bass and some drums. I play in a church group as the bass player and lead guitar (when called for). A few years ago I filled in for the drummer for a year. My wife plays piano and we have a Steinway grand in the house. I am an avid collector of guitars (acoustics, electrics and bass). I also bought a lot of ride cymbals looking for that perfect tone (for me, it’s the ride in Brubeck’s “Take Five”). For snares I wanted the Steely Dan “Black Cow” sound.
The point of this is that I am very familiar with how instruments sound when you play them. In terms of audio equipment, my goal has always been: “If they recorded it, I want to hear it”. So, I am always listening to hear TONE. Whether it is a Goodall Guitar (Doug Smith on “Alone at Last”, a Fender tweed (a lot of people), the sound of really good set of Hi-hats clicking, etc., I wanted to hear it like I was in the room.
As having a family limited my listening to my stereo (SONY ES series through KEF 104/2 Reference), I moved to headphones. When the Ipod came out I downloaded my CD collection to the computer and Ipod. I loved the portability and accepted the sound. I invested in some better IEM’s (some old Sony’s, Monster Cables Miles Davis Trumpets, and others). Then I read an article on CNET about Neil Young’s PONO player. Lossless tracks seemed the way to go. The article noted that while the PONO wasn’t available yet, this small Chinese company, FIIO had some great products at very reasonable prices.
I first bought the X5 version 1. Started converting my CD collection to FLAC files using Exact Audio Copy. It was like taking cotton out of my ears. I subsequently added a FIIO Montblanc amplifier and the sound was even better. My biggest frustration with the X5 was that the interface was not as easy to navigate as the Ipod’s. When the X7 with Android came out, I jumped on it (I am an Android guy not IOS).
When the new X7 Mark II came out, is signed up for the review tour. Which brings us to why you are hopefully still reading this. My review will be mostly about the sound. Other reviewers have done the unboxing thing, frequency graph’s, specs, etc., so if you want that info go read those reviews.
My process.
I decided to do a blind comparison with my X7. I had a duplicate Micro SD card that I put in the MKII. For the test, I only used FLAC files that I had made from CD’s. The lineup included:
Steely Dan, Aja, “Peg”
Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees, “Lido Shuffle”
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, “Time”
Dave Brubeck, Time Out, “Take Five”
Bob Marley, Legend, “Jammin”
Paul Simon, Graceland, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”
Jeff Hamilton Trio, Red Sparkle, “Red Sparkle”
We would cue up the song in both devices and my son would insert the headphones (Grado 325’s) into one of the DAP’s play a minute of the song and then switch to the other devices. I could not see which one he was playing. We matched the volume on both devices (the MKII AM3 probably had an advantage over the X7 AM1, but I was comparing the “stock” models). I would tell him which one I liked better.
The pieces I chose were selected because of their production, complexity, and that I really liked them. Right from the start it was clear that one device was better than the other. It was the Mark II. I don’t use (or in some cases understand) the language of some reviewers. I don’t understand what “effortless” means. So I will use my own standard/language. I do understand what soundstage separation refers to and I do see that as a required factor.
The differences were at times astounding, on “Peg” I was finally able to hear Michael McDonald’s multiple harmony parts, which in the past sounded like one voice. On many records, I could hear the ride cymbal’s wash like I had hit it myself. When playing an instrument, you hear the instrument “in it’s space”. There are overtones, harmonics, finger sound’s on strings, resonances, etc. the difference between a snare with a piece of gaffer’s tape stuck to it or not. A tube amp like a great fender tweed has an aura of tone. With the Mark II these were all there much clearer than on my beloved X7. The instruments were all amazingly clear. On some tracks, I was able to hear separate instrument parts that had always sounded like one part (listen to Springsteen’s “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”) On Peter Gabirel’s “In your Eyes”, the very subtle talking drum part in the left channel was extremely clear and realistic. Snarky Puppy’s “Lingus” sounded like I was in the room.
Drum sounds were like I was sitting on my throne. Bass sounds were “right there”.
So, I had a clear favorite in the race. I decided to enlist my son and wife (also musicians) to have them do a little blind testing. Both of them found the Mark II to be better than the Mark I. For my wife, I cued up Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart/Hogwood version). It clearly was better on the Mark II.
During my review period, Tom Petty passed away, so I listened to his music this week…a lot. His great music was blessed with great production which really came through on the Mark II.
I used a variety of headphones and IEM’s for my various listening. Most of the times I used my Grado 325’s. For the IEMS, I mostly used my KEF M200s, which I use when I really want to hear the bass player. Also used FIIO EX-1’s and Etymotic ER-4’s. Towards the end of the review, I started using my KEF M500’s. KEF is a gear British Speaker company, and I have loved my aforementioned 102/4’s. The M500’s emerged as my favorite way to listen to the Mark II’s.
Pet Peeve: I wish that the file sorting would be truly alphabetic. I finally figured out that albums are sorted by title and artist. In the section of albums beginning with “The”, this can be tricky. CD 1’s and 2’s are sometimes separate and hard to find. Not knowing the artist subsort, I spent a lot of time searching through the “The’s”.
I also really liked the new volume wheel. It was easier to use than the screen swipe option. The power button on top was also much better. The two Micro SD card drives are a big plus, particularly as my one 256GB card is almost full. The soft clear case is better than the hard one that came with the X7.
Without being too technical, the Mark II amplifier section is a big advancement over the X7. All I have to do now is convince Santa that I have been a very good boy and should get one of these under the tree on Christmas
