Fiio BTR7's Review
General/Packaging/Build
There are several portable bluetooth dongle/dac amps in the market from several manufacturers. I have the Fiio’s BTR7 with me today and this is the 2nd product from Fiio that I will be testing and reviewing. BTR7 is packed with features, not to mention a solid build quality as well. The front and back sports a glass panel and the body of the unit itself is made out of aluminium alloy which makes the whole unit look and feel premium.
The packaging itself is quite good, within the box it contains a leather case, the BTR7 itself as well as a long and short type c data cable. Let’s take a look at the specifications below:
Specifications
Bluetooth Chip : Qualcomm QCC5124
Bluetooth Version : Bluetooth V5.1
Supported Codec’s : AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX Low Latency, aptX HD, LDAC and LHDC
DAC : 2x Sabre ESS9219C
Frequency Response : 20～20kHz（aptX connection), 20～50kHz（LDAC connection)
THD+N : PO＜0.00055% / Balanced ＜0.00048%
SNR : PO≥118dB (32Ω A-weighted), BAL≥115dB (32Ω A-weighted)
Sampling Rate : 384kHz/32bit (USB DAC)
USB in DSD Support : 384KHz 32bit/ DSD256
Output Interface : 3.5mm Single Ended & 4.4mm Balanced
Output Power PO : 165mW@16 Ohm / 160mW@32 Ohm / 18mW@300 Ohm
Output Power BAL : 235mW@16 Ohm / 320mW@32 Ohm / 40mW@300 Ohm
Output Impedance : PO≤1.8Ω（32Ω loaded） /BAL≤2.8Ω（32Ω loaded）
Amplitude : PO：2.3Vrms / BAL: 3.2Vrms
Crosstalk PO : ≥ 75dB
Crosstalk BAL : ≥ 107dB
Recommended Imp. : 16~100Ω（PO）/ 16~150Ω（BAL）
Battery : 880mAH
Battery Life : approx 9hours
Wired charging : ≤1.5 hours
Wireless charging : ≤3 hours
USB Port : USB Type C
USB Input : Xmos XU208
Dimensions : about 39.6x83.6x14.6mm
Weight : about 68 grams
Gears used for this review
Fiio BTR7 wired and wireless mode
iFi Go Blu
Spirit Torino Twin Pulse IEM
Aune AR5000
Dunu Falcon Ultra
Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far
Battery Life
I have tested the BTR7 in BT mode with AAC (iPhone 15) as well as LDAC (on my android DAP)
On bluetooth mode, AAC and on low gain, volume step at 28/60, i am getting approximately 8 hours + -
On LDAC however, it dropped to approximately 6 hours +- with the same volume step and gain
Recharging the unit is fairly fast, not to mention it supports both wired and wireless charging, the latter is a slower option but a good to have feature
Features
OTA firmware update via Fiio’s Control App for both iOS and Android, updated my firmware when i gotten the unit via the app and it’s hassle free
Support being used as a USB Dac/Amp
There are plenty of features available and customizable for BTR7 within the app itself
EQ feature, volume limiting, call volume, distortion compensation, second and third harmonic compensation
Attached the screenshot from the app for a clearer view
Sound Impression (LDAC and Wired)
The overall presentation/tuning of the BTR7 is quite natural and clean, with a slight hint of warmth rather than completely neutral. With the warmth, note weight is good overall and it doesn’t sound dry nor thin making it quite easy to pair with my IEMs and headphones. The bass does have a slight authority but not overpowering the rest of the frequency range, mids are presented with clarity and they’re quite balanced in the sense where it’s not too recessed nor forward. Treble also has good extension and never sounded harsh or sibilant. In wireless mode, LDAC sounds closest to wired setup, while not exactly 100%, probably around 80+ % which is fairly good in my opinion, AAC however does sound a little compressed especially on the highs, hence making it sound a little bit more bassy based on my listening impression
Listening Impression with the following gears (Wired and LDAC)
Dunu Falcon Ultra
Bass is punchy and tight, mid bass especially, sub bass does have a slight boost in terms of rumble
Mids have plenty of details from lower mids and upper mids doesn’t sound shouty at all
Both male and female vocal has good texture to it
Slightly bigger soundstage
Not so much changes in terms of detail retrieval
Overall, a very good synergy pairing the Falcon Ultra with BTR7
Falcon Ultra is very easy to drive, needing only 15/60 and low gain for my usual listening level, 20 is considered very loud and no, i am not associating loud = easy to drive, don’t get me wrong
Spirit Torino Twin Pulse IEM
Twin Pulse IEM is a very natural sounding IEM, so any sorts of coloration from the dac/amp is very easy to spot
Upon listening, the bass from Twin Pulse does seem to have a slightly better punch and extension from the sub bass
Soundstage is slightly wider with better depth
Treble on the other hand is slightly too smooth to my taste due to Twin Pulse’s tuning for treble is not overly boosted, but this pairing is very easy to listen to for a long time without any fatigue
More than enough power to drive the twin pulse to its best performance, high gain on the other hand gives it a bit more dynamics as well as opening up the treble slightly
Aune AR5000
AR500’s tuning is leaning toward musical with a tinge of warmth, my experience with this pairing is fairly positive
Note weight is slightly improved with a thicker note overall
Mid bass has a bit more punch and sub bass does have better extension
Treble has good control and never harsh at all times
Not much changes in terms of soundstage and imaging
AR5000 doesn’t need a lot of power as it’s quite efficient coming in at 26Ω, but the amp section for BTR7 does a good job in driving the AR5000 to its best performance
Comparison (iFi Go Blu)
Go Blue sounds warmer to my ears and it is way more coloured compared to BTR7
The low end is also more elevated compared to BTR7
Treble is rather smooth with enough energy but not as good in terms of extension
No high/low gain available, but the xBass (bass boost) and xSpace (enhance the soundstage) does add a bit of fun overall on analog level
Output power is lower compared to BTR7
No apps supports and lacking in terms of features
Priced higher than BTR7
USB Dac mode only supports up to 96/24
Final Thoughts
Having tested the BTR7 for several weeks, it’s safe to say the BTR7 is staying in my EDC bag, in fact, I prefer to carry the BTR7 over my DAP for the sake of convenience, not to mention that it does output some great high quality sound as well, coupled with a microphone, i’m also able to take some calls when it's necessary. Overall, the BTR7 is a great little device with good battery life and also a good sounding one. Recommended!
*A big thanks to Fiio for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for their support.
Head over to their official AliExpress Store and official website if you are interested in getting one:
Fiio BTR7 Aliexpress Store - Non affiliated
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