$200 DAC/Headphone Amp Shootout - FiiO K7 Vs Topping DX3 Pro+ - Which one comes out on top? 

Give the guy a break. Many don't even know what all goes into a system on chip. Xmos and Ingenx I suspect like novatek are made in Taiwan. And I know for a fact nearly all dash cameras uses novatek soc. And I suspect foul play like wireless remote control built in to the soc. And there is no body looking out for the safety of American consumers. Peace.

I've had not heard the Arya so I can't really say. If they are a little brighter than go with the K7. If they are a little warmer than go wit the DX3 Pro+. Both should work pretty well tho.

You may see some improvements. How much tho I could not say. The best way to go about it would be to find a replacement cable for the M50X that connects directly to the jack in its ear cup.

@@TheFrugalAudiophile Thank you for answering me. I found cables with 4.4 jack and 2.5 jack to connect them to the headphones, the problem is that they are really expensive: $ 33.83 imported from China. it seems to me an excessive price for a cable, while the adapter costs much less. I'll try to look again and then I'll decide calmly, thanks again man.

@@cody10941 That really isn't a bad price if its a decent cable and does what you are looking for. I would order it and see if you think it improves the sound quality.

Please dont do this. As for sound you will have no discernable differences because you are actually running an unbalanced between this adapter you are talking about and your headphones. You may get the benefit of a higher output (more volume) but balanced circuits require balanced connection all through out.. this balanced "adapter" may work. But you risk triggering the internal safeguard protection by doing this. You may end up with a dead dac like this. Take my advice. If the single ended (unbalanced) output is loud enough, don't go chasing balanced connections.

K7 BT or older K7?

What about the k5 ESS

@@kakashi99908 ....would''nt know bud, i don't think i've heard it ,when i said ESS i was talking about the Sabre range...

Yes, I'm pretty sure it would power the HD660 just fine. It might not reach 100dB, but should be plenty loud for most .

Quite comfortably unless you plan on damaging your ears. Those headphones scale well too and I recommend getting some 4.4 balanced cables as well

i like it, def living up to their big name, um went for more realistic and dynamic tune, both suit their respective system

senn sounds like typical sound you heard on highend hifi stores, which is very pleasing

Yes, I tried gain on both the K7 and DX3. I did not hear any major differences in the sound on the headphones I tried -- other than a volume increase. I tried the SHP9500's, Monoprice Retros,, Koss KPH30's and the Moondrop Starfields. As I sided, im more a speaker guy and that's where I did a majority of my testing. comparison with these two DAC/amps.

​@@TheFrugalAudiophile Ok thanks friend, I'm posting the FiiO RU-vid channel link, if you want you can write your experience with the K7 bye and thanks again. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lGsNbc_07Po.html

Gain shouldn't change anything except volume basically... if you truly feel there is a difference it is possible that you are just partial to the ESS DAC's sound.

@@TheFrugalAudiophilewhat about the K7BT vs the SMSL C200? I am getting both for the same price. Which one would you recommend?

@@navinadv I have not heard the C200, but I imagine they would sound pretty similar. If you need the features of the C200 such as a remote and a display then get it. If you like the looks of the K7 then get it.

Yes, that is a handy feature in your situation!

Yah, that is so odd! Are they on a shared outline or circuit?

Not exactly sure what 'natural' mean, but it sounds good !

If by "natural" you mean "Flat" and accurate I'd say yes

Yes. Not coloured and very, very clean. Brighter than my topping stacks but not as wide

k5 pro ESS $76

I have not heard the Zen V2, but I did test out the Zen Air. I thought it was a nice sounding DAC. I have heard that it sounds pretty close the Zen V2, but is not balanced and has lower build quality. I did not test the Zen V2 because all of its outputs play at the same time, and as I said in this video, I need something that is switchable. Still, I think it would compare very favorably to the DACs I tested. .

Hey, I just replaced my zen dac v2 with the k7 so here are my thoughts (all paired with Edition XS, also auditioned the Topping). In terms of sound, ifi has a very specific musical 'house sound' that's a bit airy, natural, very good mids, though slightly warm (you may like this, you may not). The FiiO is less warm, also airy and good soundstage, also musical enough to be enjoyable as opposed to the Topping which is just very clinical and cold compared to the others. Mainly, ifi zen dac v2's selling points are their specific house sound, MQA license and the Bass button - that extra bass is done very tastefully, and makes brighter headphones like the XS wonderful (especially so if you are a basshead). Though bear in mind the ifi zen DAC isn't very powerful, even for an all-in-one, so if you upgrade to very demanding headphones, you will need the ifi zen can, which adds to your cost of ownership. The FiiO K7 is much more powerful - I don't foresee you having to upgrade DAC/amp out of necessity for a while if you purchase this, and this thing just sounds good. Great detail retrieval, great bass texture (in terms of amount of bass, it's somewhere between the default Zen DAC v2 and where it'd be with bass boost button), yet not clinical. I don't personally care for the Topping, it sounds too clinical for me and I hate how it looks but I guess if you like bluetooth...

​@@gabrieljy Does the K7 have enough power for the Edition XS via the unbalanced output

​@@pvhari2000I own both - yes, it's plenty loud with some headroom with a knob at 3PM and Windows volume not exceeding 70.

@@00Silu Great, thanks

I would say the DX3 pro since it is a little brighter. It also has EQ adjustment so you could turn up the highs to increase footstep presence.

a lil too late lol. i bought k7 and its here. can we eq with k7 ?@@TheFrugalAudiophile

@@TheFrugalAudiophilehow about zen dac v2 and topping dx3 pro+

@@Azzam1991 Never heard the Zen DAC V2 so I couldn't really say.

Fiio K11. The K7 is more for music.

That's interesting. They also have the SMSL C200. I bought it from them through Amazon on sale for $175, down from $220.

Cool! I'm not really a big fan of red, but glad they're offering some color choices. I would like to see a silver unit myself..

Would you care to elaborate?

@@TheVeganVicar sure. I bought. I plugged it in. I listened to it. I hated it. I returned it.

@@mathtrixmusiclix4248 lol. im using a k11 @1$120 and its suffice . its an amp, the sound isn't distorted , it revives these low volume sounding Moondrop Paras. I go recommended the topping pro so Im laughing at your comment

@@TheEletronicFunky so you are the sole arbiter of what constitutes good sound? 🙄

@@TheEletronicFunky so you are the sole arbiter of what constitutes good sound? 🙄