FIIO R7
Contents
The other brand new streamer is the FiiO R7. A desktop model that can be used widely: as a station for listening through headphones, an area where FiiO is strong, as a complete hub where you hang active speakers or as a standalone streamer with DAC in a HiFi setup. You can configure in all directions, making it a product for the tech enthusiast. We will explore the capabilities of this unit in more detail for a review.
The playback
In the livestream, we use the Roon Ready functionality and it works quickly and flawlessly.
The FiiO displays a soundstage that sounds open, pleasantly fresh is perhaps a better description, with plenty of detail. The sound is somewhat dry, meaning there is little reverberation and you don’t hear much of the room in which the recording was made. The soundstage is slightly more forward than with the Audiolab, but the dimensions of the soundstage are about the same.
On Joan Osborne’s track, the speed and impact of the kick of the bass guitar and bass drum stand out. The Rhodes keyboard takes on that typical glow you associate with Rhodes. In comparison, the Audiolab sounds darker and the music takes on a brooding character. With the FiiO, the music sounds bright and takes on a sunnier character. Here we hear a difference that is taste-related, so there is something to choose from. Qualitatively, the two players do not differ much.
The FiiO is very precise in its sound, just as Yamaha is, but not as rhythmic as the Audiolab. The FiiO lets out more small details, such as in the strings of Bill Withers’ guitar and the sound of the individual violins on “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
Specifications FIIO R7
| Price | 749 Euro |
| DAC | ES9068AS (also for pro industry) |
| Outputs | XLR, RCA (2x), headphones (THX AAA 788+), coax, optical |
| Inputs | Optical, coax, USB, SD, Ethernet, Wifi |
| Airplay | Yes |
| Else | Bluetooth |
| ROON | Yes |
| Own app | Yes |
| Power supply | Internal |
The Primo is interesting…I’ve been using a Pi2design Mercury (CM4 rpi based streamer) with Volumio to really good effect. The software has some adjustability via pluggins that can improve the sound further – particularly Sound shield which can quiet the cpu and lower its functions while playing music. Then also a lps (all the typical things like cabling etc that you guys have covered with great care). Crazy how small and well-placed tweaks can go a long way.
And now of course, that Eversolo DMP is looking to be yet another paradigm shift in this arena and similar price range. Would love your impressions of that one!
Hello John. It seems the Eversolo is the new WiiM. All of the internet is praising it. We’ll see if we can get a review sample (at some point).
Thank you Marrjin! That would be great. Yes, everyone is going kind of crazy over it. But I know you guys would render a very balanced comparo. So many out there now 🙏🏼
Pardon me, misspelled: Martijn
I have toes for thumbs 😂 🙏🏼
Very nice comparison, and I know you can’t compare all streamers in this price category. However I must admit I was a little disappointed to first see my streamer in the list to be tested (cambridge CXN v2) and then noticed it wasn’t present anymore when I sat down to listen to the shootout. Still curious how it would have compared, just like the Innuos ZENmini MK3 which I also have (or the more recent model the Innuos Pulsemini). Maybe in a future test after all you like doing mega tests :-). Like the recent excellent bookshelf speaker test. In any case succes in future shootouts!
Cambridge never send us the unit. Innuos doesnt have samples at the moment. But we get the Zen pretty soon!
Hey Rico!
You know you can switch languages with the language-flag in the menu? :-).
The Node n130 is somewhere in the middle, I think. The Volumio wins, we know for a fact. I don’t know the Node X yet. Maybe I will get a sample.
aaah ok i see the flag now.. thank you for the respons. I get the X in a few days and will compare it with the N130.
Hello Alpha
Would have like 2 see the bluesound node n130 between these streamers. Curious how it would compare.
I ordered the new node X, hopefully 🤞 it has the same powerboard, so I could change it and hook up the sBooster. Pretty interesting product, new DAC an pretty 🤩
Hoi Rico, ben benieuwd hoe de X bevalt en hoe deze zich verhoudt tot de N130? Mvg Guus
Dag Guus. Ik zie nu pas je bericht. Ik ben erg tevreden over de nieuwe node X. Helaas had ik de N130 al verkocht voordat ik de X binnen had. Maar dit is duidelijk beter. Heb wel gelijk een externe voeding aangesloten en alleen zo beluisterd via Roon.