FiiO E7 - Review
The Fiio E7 was my first ever experience with a USB DAC & headphone amplifier, back in early 2012. I stumbled upon these devices while looking to improve the audio quality of my music with headphones. I quickly realised that a USB audio source was not only an option but one that had great potential, I, for one, haven't been able to live without these magic boxes ever since. The market for these devices seems to be growing well, too. Like me (a few months ago), a lot of people don't realise that options like this exist, at work I often get asked what that funny looking thing is connected to my headphones.
Sound
Compared to the audio quality that comes with on-board soundcards (built into laptop or desktop motherboards) the Fiio E7 will offer a modest-decent boost to most aspects of audio. Bass, midrange and treble get a touch more control and detail begins to seep in to the music across the frequencies. Soundstage gets a healthy improvement and opens up to give a wider feel. Perhaps most impressively, the bass felt not only more detailed but also more powerful without colouring the overall presentation.
The Fiio E7 along with its more expensive brother, the E17, are the only DACs in my forthcoming bulk test that have batteries for using the amplifier sections only. This is if you want to boost the volume and quality of a portable media player's audio. It is helped if you can get a line-out feed from your player (easiest with an i-device - see below) but the E7's amplifier is a much tougher thing to get excited about than when it's combined with the DAC. It gives some extra volume in an emergency, but it isn't as impressive as most dedicated headphone amplifiers. Given the price and the fact that it's a side feature you really can't complain, it's also a modest step above the Fiio E5, so if you already own this and want an upgrade with more flexibility the E7 is a good choice.
Features
The Fiio E7 is a very easy device to use. With a PC you simply plug it in, and it works, no drivers, no restarting - that really is it. The most you might have to do it restart your software, or in the case of something like Foobar you will just need to select the Fiio from the 'output / device' options tab. It supports stereo audio up to 16bit / 48khz, so will be fine for CD quality but not for HD audio downloads. It's batteries charge via the USB connection (this can be disabled to save constant recharging) and the claimed 40 hours use seemed to be fair, which is impressive. There are two headphone outputs, which is nice if you want to share your music or be greedy and have two headphones for yourself. There is a bass boost feature that has 3 levels above default, and although I don't like to touch it is a nice feature for some people.
Accessories
Pairing it with a portable for amplification is very well-thought-out - you get a nice short 'L' shape 3.5mm-3.5mm cable, a rubber shield for the E7 so that the metal doesn't scratch your player and to finish it all off you get a nice rubber band to hold them together. When not in use, you get a nice felt case for the E7 which is generously sized enough to fit the rubber accessories too.
There are a few optional extras to improve or expand the Fiio E7 further. The first is a 'line out' attachment (Fiio L7) so you can use another amplifier with the E7's Wolfson WM8740 DAC. There is a powered desktop amplifier that the E7 docks on top of (Fiio E9). Lastly, there are some cables to connect Apple i-devices to the E7's Aux input (Fiio L3, L9 or L10). This is where the E7's internal batteries come into play. In this configuration, the E7 becomes an amplifier only. It can be used with any portable media player but the i-device cables enable a 'line out' so that double amplification does not occur and this helps improve sound quality. Unfortunately, the E7's DAC can only be used with computers, currently i-device DACs are at least ten times this price!
Build
For such an inexpensive unit, the E7 has a very high standard of construction. The back and sides are all metal with a nice brushed texture that feels very solid but even with batteries weighs only 100g. The front of the unit is almost a mirror it's so reflective and pair's nicely with the iPod/iPhone, although it's a bit of a magnet for fingerprints.
Summary
If you only need the combined DAC and headphone amplification for a computer, I would recommend stretching your budget to the even more capable Fiio E10 if you can. With a budget of £100-150 the USB DAC / amp options explode, but at less than £50 there is not too much competition at all, especially with this versatility. As I write this it's available for less than £42 from 'Advanced MP3 Players' which makes it not only great value but an easy recommendation for people looking to dive into the world of USB audio.
If you only need a portable headphone amplifier (not the USB DAC feature) then the E7 is much harder to recommend (the amp is it's weakest feature). If however you need both features from time to time, then the Fiio E7 is a no-brainer.
Well that's it for the review, but I just wanted to write...
A Note On Audio Improvements
A small warning here because the E7 is such an accessible option for people on a small budget willing to take a punt on this to improve their music. For those without much experience in audio enhancements it opens up questions like "will I notice the difference on this computer with those headphones" and this can be a very tricky question to answer.
The biggest problem for anyone not familiar with the differences that these devices offer is that any improvements can easily be absorbed and thus go unnoticed in the change. It's always easier for our brains to accept improvements and reject degradation, and this seems very true of sound. The E7 was my first USB DAC & amp, and I initially felt short-changed with it. I was expecting something much different (probably much better) but once I had lived with it for a while I got bored with plugging it into my laptop all the time, so I stopped and then the differences hit me, the sound just fell apart. It won't necessarily be like this for everyone, but it's important to remember that if you are approaching this kind of device for the first time hyped up and expecting miracles, you probably won't get what you wanted. Some of the improvements can depend on the synergy between the DAC, amplifier and headphones too. Just like it can with CD players, speakers and amplifiers - there can be awkward combinations that don't work, or it can be a marriage made in heaven.
It's a very difficult game to dip your toes into because these devices can rarely be tried in shops and even if they can, that won't tell you much.
Posted June 2012
by Edd