The BEST for Apple Music (& more): FiiO R7 review

[@Whamola]

The thing that boggles my mind is that Fiio is charging $700 usd for a device running Android 10, an OS from 2019 which had it's last Google security update in Feb 2023, coupled with the Snapdragon 660 which was released in May 2017. So you have a 4 year old EOL os running on 6 year old hardware for $700. You're also going to start having the problem of apps dropping support for unsupported OS versions probably by the end of the year. Fiio hasn't released any plans for updating that I've found and the only reddit post I can find mentioning it is full of fanboys drinking the kool-aid and saying you can just sideload the apps if support is dropped. That only works if the streaming service still allows for older, unsupported versions of the app. Edit: To its credit I will say that at least it's designed to be a home unit. As a portable starts to show its age and the battery starts to wear out many of them either end up in ecycle piles or become home units anyway. So it's got that going for it, which is nice.

[@citytianyu]

I don't think you really need latest google security because, after all, it's not a phone. And running an old android version means it could use affordable chips to do the job. In the end, how many are there really care about its android version?

[@tafb94force29]

Apple music and Tidal use android 5 and 4.4 OS versions respectively(my personal use case). And the limited use case for the device of streaming and sound processing the chipset is more than adequate.

[@MovieNutter]

I really appreciate that you always share "new facts" with us... so many reviews feel like they are just running through the manufacturer data sheet. Really appreciate your content, and where I have become bored of many other sites... you seem to really keep producing content I want to watch to the end and that isn't trying to drive clicks.. Thank you

[@DarkoAudio]

Thanks for the kind words. Well, of course, I am trying to drive clicks but I am also trying to produce videos that make that click worthwhile. :)

[@MovieNutter]

@@DarkoAudio Understand... but there is blatant, in-your face click bait with no content. Then there is your approach where you get the balance just right :)

[@DarkoAudio]

Veritasium made a great video about Clickbait which I think you might enjoy.

[@Whirlybird88]

This is one of the most beautifully designed electronic devices I can think of, for nearly every reason I can list. I gives the audio enthusiast just about everything they could want from a single unit, and looks sleek while doing it. I want one of these so bad. 🤤

[@BaaBaaBoozeHound]

I think the form factor of the Eversolo beats it, but that's just me. The functionality of this likely beats the EverSolo.

[@johnpischedda6951]

@@BaaBaaBoozeHound I prefer the Eversolo aesthetic as well. But the Fiio does have the headphone amp if you need it .

[@allesholz1]

A word of warning for classical music listeners. I have several Fiio products and two of their flagships DAPs. The R7 and soon perhaps the R9 use the same player. It is regularly updated and the company is quite good at fixing audiophile issues. However, the DAP software, currently 3.1.8 still has no tab for "Composer". You can only search by Album, Artist, Genre and "Folder". It's been a request for years but they unfortunaltey just don't get it. I can simply speculate on the software engineering team that has no idea what classical music is because it is easy tweak to do. So for classical music fans, you must absolutely know which album you are looking and cannot scroll by composer and have the albums under that. Very sad because it's a great product. And the R7 is very functional

[@AlexFarranGuitar]

It’s such a ridiculous over sight! Frustrating that the company won’t listen to it’s own consumers! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Hurbie_53]

I was so glad when Apple introduced the Classical Music App. As the standart music players just fail with organising classical music where you have sometimes a gazzillion different recordings for the same piece of music and I think (so far) that nailed it pretty good.

[@RacingAnt]

Organise your files into folders for each composer. Ball ache, yes, but solves the problem.

[@exocron8019]

Third Party developer have often problems with composer at apple music. Just from an developer / app developer perspective - so i could be that they tried but coudnt manage it without compromises for you - the user 😉

[@verdeazul333]

It doesn't even have the "Year," which is very essential for an old-timer like me who loves to navigate down memory lane with my collection.

[@robertkirkpatrick1826]

The R7 is actually an outstanding all in one for a gaming desk. I dont have to choose between music and gaming chops..i have both. Tons of power, great sound, throw in dolby access and i can use any headphone i want for gaming AND music. And to top it off it looks cool as heck on a gaming desk.

[@peterlundskow4061]

Most detailed review I have seen for this device so far. I noticed it soon after it was first released & just from it's look I was impressed! I have a NAD M10 which of course was more expensive & seriously thinking of selling it and buying a FiiO R7, thanks again!

[@hitters07]

I have one of these for desktop use and I love it. I stream music directly from it via xlr out and connect a subwoofer via using one set of the two rca outputs. The xlr and rca are both active. In the video i noticed it was presented as if a subwoofer is not an option. In fact, you can hook up two subwoofers to this thing if you use the xlr out to your amp/active speakers since there are two sets of rca out. I haven't tried this, but you might be able to even use a sub or two with headphone listening. Pretty sure the node has sub integration and crossover settings built in which the r7 does not but i didn't have an issue integrating using the dials on the back of my powered sub.

[@Kah0ona]

Great info thanks

[@D1N02]

It has double RCA outputs so you can hook up two active subs to it. I do the same thing with me preamp.

[@DarkoAudio]

That's a good point!

[@sokrebis]

For me as Deezer user this is it, with it I will be able to use Deezer connect and gapless playback. Perfect. Thanks John for this review.

[@ibassnote]

You have a great talent at predicting what I’m going to need in my near future. Thanks again.

[@verdeazul333]

Get the r9, which is an upgrade. I own the R7 and it's already perfect, but I imagine the r9 will be beyond perfect.

[@lessutton890]

Just took delivery of an R7, w/- a remote control for just over a $Kay AUS!! Looking forward to hooking this up to my vintage analogue stack. Thanks Darko for a brilliant review.

[@thekarlouchh]

Nice to see Fiio back on the channel, great overview 🥰

[@Droog.28]

Really interesting review. I own a FIIO M11plus. A marvelous portable DAP for headphones, which also has line-out and multiple gain modes etc. At first glance, it looks like the R7 is an M11plus in a bigger box with extra output connections and extra knobs. Same DAC, same OS, similar touchscreen & same ability to run Tidal/Spotify/Apple stream and from an SD card. The price is also ~identical, which is surprising given the extra hardware. Nice!

[@gary5926]

Does the M11plus act as a Roon End Point? Be nice to be able to use it as a mini desktop solution when at home to justify the costs.

[@JamesWilliams-ps6xz]

I hope to see a review of the Eversolo DMP - A6, as I just purchased that. Thanks for the great content and audio advice.

[@professorcalculus5315]

To me this is a product which has got ‘the next one (R9?) will be significantly better’ written all over it - great start though! Excellent desk solution.

[@leafyleafyleaf]

This video clearly took a lot of work to research and produce. Greatly appreciated.

[@johnpischedda6951]

Off topic I was looking at both the Fiio & Eversolo! I’ve had the the Arcam CDS50 for a few years now it’s a SACD / streamer. But I was never able to stream Tidal off it even though it’s Tidal capable. It runs off the MusicLife App which had a recent update last week ! Hallelujah! The Tidal stream now works! If you’re in the same boat give it a go !

[@sixergixer]

Holy crap! 'The Forest' is about as deep a dive into David Byrne's catalog as one would ever want to go. It's excellent and strange. I got to see David himself perform the album in its entirety with the Oregon Symphony back in the day. Standout memory for me.

[@arthymusic]

Hi Have you heard of the EVERSOLO-DMP-A6. it has slot for internal SSD drive. It looks good and got a lot of good reviews .

[@rsg7221]

This product is so beautiful. I just want to use it as a headphone dac/amp system for my desk.

[@japeniche76]

I remember sending you multiple messages several years ago regarding the brand, it's good to know that you finally consider Fiio.

[@DarkoAudio]

You did? I'm sorry but I don't remember those. I tackled this FiiO because I've had some good experiences of late with their affordable IEMs.

[@japeniche76]

@@DarkoAudio, It was at the time that you were doing reviews of the dragon fly dacs for mobile phones, I started using fiio and it seemed good to suggest the brand to you, I did but you didn't answer me until now. Greetings from Mexico.

[@philipketchum1407]

I’ll ask the same question as all Apple users ask. 1-is it truly lossless? 2-do you bypass AirPlay without bugs and difficulty? 3-can we use our iPhone or iPad as a remote but not as AirPlay? These three questions are actually one packaged question. If all 3 are not addressed it’s still not a final solution in the Apple ecosystem. I ask because it was a little vague in the video. Thanks so much

[@DarkoAudio]

1. As far as I can tell, yes 2. Yes 3. No

[@Kahpautz]

Does it work in lossless mode or in highres mode as if a dedicated dac's been attached?

[@festerfeet7302]

The Eversolo DMP-6 might be a solution for you. It uses android 11 and the ability to use Apple Music for android runs natively. As far as I can tell (waiting for delivery so only based on what I have read at this stage) it is a yes for all three of your question.

[@viennacalling130]

I own the R7 since eight weeks. There´s a lot to like on this unit. Extremely versatile. But I encountered two problems: 1) When running Roon on the R7 and altering the volume with the RM3 remote, the Roon app frequently crashes. 2) It is possible to display the R7 screen on a HDMI monitor/TV. You just need a USB-C to DP-HDMI adapter cable. Great when you additionally use a BT mouse a BT keybord. Perfect for operating it from your couch. Problem: when you send the R7 to sleep mode for a longer time (>4 hours) while the Monitor/TV is connectet, the R7 freezes when trying to restart it. I hope FiiO is going to fix those issues soon. They also promised to release a remote app, wich everybody is waiting for.

[@suryaaje5245]

eversolo dmp a6. next ok?

[@apistosig4173]

Your R7 review is doin' me' head in. I have a Fiio X5 with amp and love it. I lust for the Cambridge streamer!!!

[@restcarl83]

Awesome job John! You're like (in the best way possible) an IKEA manual for explaining these type of devices 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Could you expand on the sound quality of the internal DAC? As someone looking to merge streamer+dac in one unit, is the R7's DAC at the level of the ZenDac, Mojo 2, or RMI's ADI-2, etc?

[@EcoHouseThailand]

The R7 popped up on my online shopping suggestions a couple of months ago and I thought it would be a perfect headphone music station in my office. The R7 takes care of music with it’s screen easily accessible while I work on my computer

[@syanhc]

You bought the black. I'm getting the white to use with Sennheiser ie900. I can tell John likes it. Obviously, you can properly EQ headphones with a dedicated third party EQ app with Apple Music on this streamer dac/amp which isn't as easy as people think with smart phones. Meaning I can power my HD800s with these and EQ the bass to get the best from native hi-res without any downsampling. I mean this is a no brainier…

[@d2kno]

Was considering the Eversolo DMP-A6, but this also looks interesting for different reasons.

[@circattle]

I don’t know what part of the world you’re in, but in the UK, I can’t help thinking that the Eversolo DMP-A6 is a vapourware product - as the owner of an Altair G1, it just seems way too good to be true.

[@GyulaHoreczki]

​​@@circattle'm in Hungary and it's also not available here, yet, but I ordered one from Germany and got it recently. The Eversolo seem much nicer and more robust, higher quality device IMHO.

[@TorToroPorco]

Other than the access to a huge music catalog off lining content is one of the best features of streaming apps on smartphones and tablets. I don’t have to worry about mobile data limits or network availability while away from home, travelling or commuting, network reliability or compromising data resolution.

[@lloydbuckley2520]

Hey John, Fiio made a DC power input for the R7, the PL-50. This apparently gives the R7 better sound.

[@weylandyutani2910]

Please make a review for Apple Music lossless over the Apple TV 😊

[@gerardjore2402]

What is the best streamer, the FIIO R9 or the Eversolo DMP-A8? Maybe a option for your next review

[@joncruz]

The R9 but At double the price I prefer the R7

[@alfonsolopez8824]

If this is Future Fi, what about Foverer Fi? Devices that won't be outdated so quickly. Streaming technology is cool and keeps getting better, but CDs and vinyl can be played without any software updates. Haven't found the best of both worlds yet.

[@graemeschultz3273]

Wonder how’s the Fiio stacks up against eversolo dmpa6

[@Kailis89]

As somebody who wants a device to power my headphones while being connected to my PC, also has other connection options for a phone or tablet, can do standalone streaming, and has a visual element, and cheaper than a Naim Atom Headphone, the R7 seems great.

[@MrFubber]

Thrilled to see you review this John. Some people are so sniffy about ‘Chinese’ products. But guess what? Some of them are really; really good!

[@przemo2539]

Dear John. Thanks for that overview. Great job. Just a question, is R7 comparable to a phone with usb dac in terms of functions and sound ? PS its great to see you smilling thinkering with R7.

[@TheOneMonk]

Looks nice. But want to mention a particular problem I have with my Android based Fiio device. I own a hi-priced Fiio DAP (M15). It sounds good. But the Operating System was already dated at the time it was released two years ago: Android 7 - and no update. And that quickly becomes a problem regarding security, app support and user experience. Android currently is at version 12 - and afaik the R7 uses Android 10. If similarly to the much higher priced M15 there are no OS updates for the R7, this thing will be dated very quickly. And then a rather competitive looking price of $700 in fact is expensive.

[@citytianyu]

One thing is that not only OS, but whole DAC/streaming technology iterates very fast. Even the OS keeps updated, the device would still be outdated soon.

[@festerfeet7302]

Great Job, there is a lot to cover on a unit like this and you gave us a good idea of the units flexibility as well as your experience.

[@hamidrezahabibi8111]

My only problem with this gem 💎 of FIIO is the lack of HDMI. I’ll buy the version II and connect it to a pair Nelson Pass Amp Camp kits and a high sensitivity loudspeaker for my villa. That Apple 🍏 Music 🎼 is where all my music is and with FIIO it should be a lot of fun 🤩. We should repeat 🔁 this Mantra 🕉️ for most manufacturers: HDMI HDMI HDMI HDMI HDMI HDMI HDMI ….

[@zachcheroff7970]

I was on the fence with the R7. Ended up taking the safe but expensive route with the A&K ACRO CA1000T. I use it in my office. I’m super happy with my purchase but now, I’m considering also getting the R7 to connect to my Hifi system. Ugh….. the FOMO never goes away

[@salreda7470]

I use my AK25 as my streamer. Works great for that purpose

[@squidwerd1981]

The downside with this is that eventually its Android OS will stop receiving Security Updates; which will result in malware, and it will become sluggish and obsolete.

[@michaelh9]

But you aren't using it to browse the broad Internet so where would the malware come from ?

[@abdulshabazz8597]

Malware is just a numerical byte stream which can de detected as system commands (eg. taskkill, logon, etc) or data (audio and video frame data) by the app or (worst case!) by the operating system. Such dubious command hooks could be embedded in an audio or video stream regardless of its source, or within the app's load directives, itself. The vulnerabilities are plentiful.

[@sandybee01]

great video sir - dont need one, but its a pretty interesting product I think.

[@alex-slater]

Great video. Thank you John. Will you be able to compare the R7 with the new R9 soon?

[@WhoobieD]

I now have the r7 on my wish list. Although I am not anywhere near as fancy as you are. My IEMS are the Hisenior Mega5est. In terms of bookshelves I was thinking of pairing this with The Fives by Klipsch. My reasoning is the Klipsch have their own integrated amp as well as balanced XLR inputs. I think it makes sense.

[@rodjets8208]

Connected my iPod Classic to a 2020 Skoda Superb via USB and quite surprisingly it worked. Picked up Artists, Albums, Playlists and Artwork. If the FiiO R7 could do that I'd be very happy!

[@bl1721]

I have heard several people talk about the sound getting a lot better when you use a different power supply. I was so hype when I saw the R7 for the first time, but my wishes for the R7 plus or R8 is that there is a mic input, because it would be the best DAC/amp etc. for a PC setup, and I agree that it is just missing hdmi and sub output.. that said, you get a lot for your money in the small box

[@peterbriggs2771]

The interface looks a dream. Is the interchangeable base for viewing angle. Great Review. 😎

[@tariqaziz6551]

Excellent video John. I think this FiiO R7 is more versatile than the Bluesound node x. At least the FiiO R7 isn't a limited edition so can wait a few months for it.

[@Tewac7051]

Hello John, nice to see you answering messages on youtube :-). Those 2 streamers seem very fine and you are certainly right to speak about the quality of their analog outputs. But what about their digital outputs ? Do you consider those equal in all situations ? Do you hear some differences ? Would you use those in a more high end system with a nice DAC like the ones you used to show in your rack in Berlin ? I watched a lot of your videos (a lot !) and I don't think you ever spoke - of course I may miss the one where it happened - about the differences in quality of digital outputs on those (raspberry, bluesound, fiio, wiim, ...) and your opinion on streamers without analog outputs. Thank you so much for your highly instructive and super didactic videos. Keep up !

[@Ricardo-mp8kc]

Thank you, great videos. I appreciate the side by side comparisons

[@bzcup]

Support for squeezebox protocol would also be great for those who don't afford the roon subscription, but with an airplay plugin in LMS it works, no gapless though.

[@hansoosterwal4073]

Enlightening! Thanks!

[@padde1]

I've had the R7 for 5 months now running Emby off a NAS, works really well (sounds really similar to Plexamp). Only issues are it takes a few seconds for the audio to kick in after starting the first song so you miss the beginning (subsequent songs are fine). Also if you are not in the Emby app on the R7 you can't control playback via the phone Emby app even if it's still playing something, the app has to be active on the screen. Otherwise it's been great, just ordered the remote and Fiio's LPS so we'll see if it affects the sound.

[@andrewalexander9508]

I have been using a M11s for a while and there is a neat trick for something like this. If you drag up so you can see the app to close or moce quickly to a previous app, there is a symbol for the app near the top of the card. If you press that you get an option to pin the screen. By doing that it will keep it active, even to the point of not closing the screen. Though on my M11s it stays active even if i press the power button to turn off the screen. You can drag up from the bottom of the screen (on plex amp it means scrolling to the bottom of the play next list) and holding for a bit, to unpin it.

[@TheShadowseesyou]

ive always liked FiiO products love my FiiO M11S great portable player

[@BaaBaaBoozeHound]

Can we crowdsource (*crowdforce) an Ever Solo DMP-A6 into this guys hands?

[@JorgedeLumiarFerreira]

I am not really an audiophile (not even a Music First Audiophile), I just love the music and started paying more atention to sound quality. I am looking for a streamer to complement my retro style LEAK Amp and CDT, and I use apple music as much as Spotify, so your video left me inclined to go for the FiiO R7, although I was definitely considering the EverSolo DMP-A6 (both as a streamer and a DAC). I believe you listened to the EverSolo here in Lisbon at Delaudio, so maybe you could share some thoughts on the strenghts of each one...

[@RetapitarecanapeleRoTapiter]

EverSolo DMP-A6 is a winner ! Quality and price !

[@AaronSkogThomas]

OP8 and Giant Sand are excellent music recs. Anyone curious about this needs to seek out Lisa Germano from the 90s era for exquisitely rendered music.

[@willplaister9743]

Just thinking there could be a way to use an Android button re-mpaper to launch those apps like Tidal etc. with one double-click. But I suppose you'd still have to use the on-screen keyboard. Also, has anyone tried using Tidal through Plex Amp? Wouldn't this sort of be a jerry-rigged Tidal connect?

[@Brown_Sound]

Great review, John! I thought you were going to get a finger cramp for sure, during your RHCP skip episode and what a grin, lol. Stay safe, sir.

[@chriscuthbertson]

Is it wrong that I want to put this in a car?

[@tryharder1316]

Is Apple Music bit perfect on Fiio R7?

[@frankbernharduebler]

Great review, and very interesting concept! What I don’t find convincing is the form factor and the design. I would start with the Beosound 5 as an inspiration.

[@mcash2189]

on the one hand this seems like a really good idea and product but I would be concerned about connecting it to my home network just considering that it's using an out-of-date version of Android and companies like FiiO tend to do a terrible job at continuing security patches

[@towertone]

Does it allow Apple Music to pass Dolby Atmos and Hi-res files?

[@PixelViking]

I believe, for Dolby Atmos you would need an HDMI eARC output.

[@towertone]

@@PixelViking and yet I can download Atmos audio files on my iPhone (actually more curious about Spatial Audio now).

[@Max-nf4jc]

Future-fi?? I’d love to hear about cabasse rialto powered stereo speakers or the cabasse abyss amplifier, or both! Great review as always 👍🏼💪🏼👏🏼

[@Max-nf4jc]

Btw I use Apple Music too and it’s great that there’s finally a streamer that has Apple Music natively installed 👏🏼👍🏼

[@drewstevens7153]

Great little device for music, but if you plan to use it as a PC DAC be aware that the latency on USB is pretty high so it's not ideal for watching KZbin or other videos..

[@DarkoAudio]

Have you found the fix? I did. And it's not hard to find in the FiiO's menu.

[@reziel51]

​@@DarkoAudiodo you mind sharing the solution you found? 😅

[@chandrakalashetty8035]

You should have talked about possibility of high resolution playback from apple music

[@neilprofitt1381]

I’m just starting my journey and looking to get a streaming set up for my living room. I’m getting swamped and bogged down. I have nothing currently. No speakers. No amp. No network streamer. Just an iPhone 13pro max and AirPods. I’m heading down the route of an amplified network streamer but this Fiio option looks pretty good. If you had £1500-2000, what would you spend your money on?

[@neilprofitt1381]

Oh, and I don’t mind moving from Apple Music to Tidal or Amazon HD.

[@fabers92]

The options and pathways you can go down are seemingly endless, so don’t feel overwhelmed. Personally, I would have a look around the Steve Hoffman forums for speaker setups and headfi forums for headphone centric setups. See what people are putting together and research from there. I always like separate components- ie. Passive speakers, and a stereo amplifier, and then I can add a streamer, or dac, (or cd player and turntable) from there. You have many options available depending on what kind of sound you like, and what kind of space you will be filling. If you want to use your phone as the main controller and music streamer, I might suggest getting an apple airplay puck (a Wiim) which you can plug into a good dac and then into the amp.

[@eddiecotter7201]

I hear you,I'm just getting into hi fi too,so many choices and options I keep changing my mind but all I can say is do loads of research on KZbin it's full of videos,on this channel there is a cool video showing a few different set ups for around €1,000,all I would say is go for well established brands with good customer service, personally I have been looking at the Cambridge audio cxn v2 streamer paired with Cambridge audio CXA81 amplifier which is within your price range but then allow for speakers too,then I saw the marantz 40n which does both as in it streams and amplifies and is around €2,200,is this a better option?god I don't know but I'm looking at so much stuff it's fun but also difficult trying to find the right set up

[@RichJT87]

Bit of Fever Ray there. Their set at Glastonbury was amazing.

[@guillaumecambe5873]

hahahaha I love your RHCP panic mode at the end of the video

[@punking262]

I wonder if they could ever get Plexamp to bypass the Android re-sampling restriction, or is that work the Plex team would have to do?

[@kimberlyH1984]

this looks super cool

[@michbest]

I laughed when I saw you putting door stopper on Fiio R7 but hell... I have mine door stopper on my Wim Pro Plus! I dare to say it sounds better (with anti vibration pads under) Cheers!

[@Big-J-8579]

Thanks again. Great review.

[@eatbachelorchow]

Feels like it will be outdated quite soon if running android 10? Perhaps not an issue for sd card use other than being slow over time, but the streaming apps will end support in a couple of years right? So do you have any idea what the expected lifetime is?

[@sjors01]

can I connect my Android or Apple phone to the R7 as a remote control? does this work like google connect, spotify connect etc?

[@Haddirein]

Great review John. One thing I didn't catch, is it possible to use the R7 as a preamp with a separate DAC? So I can control the volume with the remote.

[@hitters07]

Yes it has optical and coax out

[@matthewhoult1350]

Great video John and what a fantastic looking audio device I love the idea of the operating system built around Android very swish. HDMI eARC would have been a nice addition to allow connection to any modern TV also unsure if the on board display can be mirrored onto a TV and the mouse feature on the remote control could then be used pointing at the TV rather than the small display screen on the device.

[@HandsofMagic89]

I can’t make this thing make sense. In a living room, the user experience is antiquated- having to get up and walk over to the unit to use it (change sd cards, open apps, be close enough to be able to read anything on it, etc.) drastically diminishes it’s ease-of-use proposition. On a desk- i have a computer that does all of this already. Would be great to see the remote evolve into a screen, enable an hdmi out (if even just to mirror), and a sub out would bring this thing across the finish line for many more people.

[@maxarioso]

PlexAmp is a great option today, it have a intuitive and smooth interface you can connect this with Tidal, but you have a limitation about quality source in 44khz (the files are oversampling). So I prefer for quality sound Moode audio installed on my raspberry pi stremer controlled with MConnect or similar from your phone (support Tidal too but not master source like a Roon) but you can stream full quality local music library (the best of the 2 worlds from my point of view without spend a lot of money). Sorry by my grammar, the msg is more important xD. Best regards audio enthusiast!

[@shaunfraser2538]

Please review the Eversolo DMP-A6

[@saaron6]

Can we talk about KEF R3 meta behind you??

[@glennaa11]

Nice overview. I think this is a really cool device. Do the knob LED colors relate to the app being used somehow? Or do you just choose a color on your own? Seems like it would be useful for a desk setup with powered speakers.

[@jmtennapel]

The knob colours correspond with the bitrate of the music playing

[@cosmo11cosmo21]

its not really about power weight with headphones, It depends on the input impedance of the headphone port determined by the THX amplifier, the lower this number is, in Ohms, the more mV(power) at a broader range of headphones Ohm... a low impedance (resistance to flow of electrons) headphone like 1-80 Ohms in earbuds and offered in some headphones.. others 100-600Ohms are MUCH harder to supply the needed mV when the resistance to flow is so high. AKA you need an amplifier in the streamer thats powerful enough to drive more resistive loads.

[@Hayatdas846]

When using Apple Music, does it support spatial audio / Dolby Atmos tracks?

[@tomdobrez6375]

So it can be used as a Roon endpoint? What’s best work around then for absence of HDMI Arc

[@VinceCorpus]

Looks like it's got everything but the kitchen sink. One potential worry would be when the various apps stop supporting Android 10.

[@roger.jacobsen]

This would be a great device to use with my Logitech Media Server setup. I am using a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 200M but would love to have a screen showing album art and song info. And it would also be possible to use my smart phone as a remote. (In addition, I wouldn't have to use the workaround to get the unaltered stream to the DAC.)

[@kavithapremi]

Excellent review. Thank you and truly appreciate it. One question - If I connect R7 to a home theatre receiver or a soundbar using optical out, would the output be bit perfect? My music source would be Apple Music on the R7.

[@akos87]

hey guys, my R7 stopped displaying spotify covers and canvases, it only shows the grey placeholders. not even artist profile pics are available. I have emptied the cache, resetted the app, even reinstalled it, nothing. all the latest version of everything. does anyone else have the same issue? any ideas of a solution?

[@akos87]

I have found a solution that worked for me: logging out of Spotify, and logging back in again, just so you can log out for a second time. restart device. and then log into Spotify, but using a different method: if you used Facebook/Google, use direct login and vica versa....this solved it and now the visual content is being displayed correctly again.

[@ralex3697]

Trash the piece of junk and buy a Bluesound

[@citytianyu]

@@ralex3697 ... that doesn't make sense since Bluesound doesn't even have a place to show covers.

[@earthoid]

I'm ready to buy when they add eARC input.

[@TheGirlSkateBoardCo]

Does it support Dolby Atmos music in Apple Music? I have a Nakamichi dragon arriving and would like to enjoy some music content in Dolby Atmos.

[@zhuhang.jasper]

The issue is can you bitstream it? Or else, android gonna decode it for you (which I feel destroy the purpose of Atmos because how you gonna hear it via stereo lmao)

[@peterzapp2091]

When I moved from iOS devices to a dedicated streaming transport with minimalist processor, operating system and peripherals (Innuos ZenMini Mk2, i.e. no wifi, no display, no video card, no DAC, no S/PDIF etc.) sound quality improved. Doesn't the R7's Android platform reintroduce the "digital noise" that I got rid off?

[@citytianyu]

Well, just because it uses android, doesn't mean it is really a phone, and Android is open source thus can be highly customized.

[@julianfp1952]

I've been very interested in the FiiO stuff but more on the portable side. I currently use a Chord Electronics Hugo 2 driving my Meze Empyrean. I only use it in my home but I like this setup because I can wander around the house if I want (the Hugo2+2Go just fits in my pocket when I'm walking around although it sits on the arm of my chair most of the time). I'd love to see you review whatever FiiO portable unit (or units) you consider to be reasonably comparable to the Hugo 2 because Android OS on the device giving the ability to have full Roon queue management and album selection capabilities via the Roon Remote app would be a very nice addition for me as long as sound quality is similar to than the Hugo 2 - or better but that's not a requirement, I just wouldn't want to feel that I'm going backwards.

[@mahendrapatel3274]

Please can you tell me which streamer is better Fiio R7 or Eversolo DMP A-6. I am planning to buy one. Thanks.

[@pieterpretorius6134]

Ditto.. I think everyone is looking for this comparison as they are the most similar usable products. Please compare the R7 v A6

[@hanneskluytenaar6908]

I'm very curious how it would compare to the eversolo dmp a6. Any chance you will review that in the near future?

[@supes323]

Can you use the R7 as an apple music end point? Select and change tracks on an iphone or apple tv while the R7 outputs bit perfect to an external dac? I love apple music but I have since switched to Tidal as I am unable to find a device or streamer that does such feature with apple music. In 2023 we now have Apple vision but we still dont have native bit perfect playback with Apple music. Will we ever?

[@MrGorpm]

Is there a Kef R3 Meta review incoming?