FiiO E7 Portable DAC/Amp Detailed Review

[NwAvGuy]

For anyone interested, I just published a rather lengthy review on my blog of the FiiO E7. The measurements were made with a Prism dScope and go well beyond what's possible with RMAA.

The bottom line is the E7 had a couple of weak points but is a relative bargain. It performed far better, for example, than the NuForce uDAC-2.

FiiO E7 USB DAC & Amp Review



Comments welcome!

[CrowdAds]

[lestatar]

Wow. 99% of that went over my head, but even I can tell how much time and effort you have put in.

Great stuff - I am sure this will generate some discussion here, especially among the more technically big-brained folk...

Kudos and thanks!
-les

[Satellite_6]

Interesting - keep the reviews coming!

[odigg]

Thanks for the great review! Back when I was purchased the E7 I was also thinking about the Nuforce, but I felt the E7 was a better fit. It's good to know I made the right choice.

Originally Posted by lestatar

Great stuff - I am sure this will generate some discussion here, especially among the more technically big-brained folk...

Not much to discuss since few people on ABI are going to come running with the "But my ears are so sexy and awesome and I can hear the dip at 1Ghz and so your measurements are junk." The review is quite comprehensive and pretty much addresses most discussion questions.

Of course, on other sites people have ears made of Unobtanium, unlike people on ABI where people have ears made of lead. So I expect some discussion there.

[lestatar]

^ lol. This is known.

And FYI, my own ears are not made of lead - marshmallows, instead.

[NwAvGuy]

Thanks for the kudos. If anyone has any questions let me know. The E7 has been out a while so many are already familiar with it. But it's still hard to beat for the price.

[d_headshot]

reducing the volume in windows can also reduce the bit resolution

Is there a source for this statement?

[NwAvGuy]

Originally Posted by d_headshot

Is there a source for this statement?

Yes there is. It's mostly a problem in XP. The article below explains what to watch out for with various operating systems:

http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/wiki/i..._-_Setup_Guide

There's also some good information here:

http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/I...ctPlayback.htm

[d_headshot]

Originally Posted by NwAvGuy

Yes there is. It's mostly a problem in XP. The article below explains what to watch out for with various operating systems:

http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/wiki/i..._-_Setup_Guide

There's also some good information here:

http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/I...ctPlayback.htm

Thank you very, very much for those links. The second one is an EXCELLENT resource that will probably answer all of the questions related to basic computer audio. Very mouthwatering