It’s not the first time we’ve told you about the importance of DACs when it comes to improving the way we can enjoy our digital music. At MC, we have recently analyzed devices such as the FiiO K5 Pro ESS or the FiiO K9 Pro, which will allow us to enjoy a great experience in this area and which are designed for you to enjoy our music collection at home.

But what happens when we want to enjoy music while we’re away without giving up the quality we’ve become accustomed to? We basically have two options here: either we get a dedicated player or we give him as FiiO suggests BTR7compact Bluetooth DAC and amplifier.

What does it enable us to do? In a body made of laminated aluminum alloy and with a size that barely exceeds the dimensions of a cigarette lighter (39x83x146mm), the novelty from the Chinese manufacturer pairs with any Bluetooth sound source (from our smartphone, tablet or any other device), so that processing, amplification and delivery to of our headphones in the highest quality, with two outputs: 3.5 mm jack and 4.4 mm balanced jack. If we want to use it in our home, we can also connect it directly to some speakers to wirelessly send sound to them in case our partner lacks this functionality natively.

In addition to these two headphone outputs, there is a USB-C port at the bottom, which we will both use for charging 880mAh battery (it also supports wireless charging) and also connect it directly to a sound source such as a computer or smartphone (FiiO also offers us a Lightning version if we use an iPhone), which will allow us to enjoy even better sound..

Finally, on the right side we find both volume controls and two small buttons that allow us to move around its 1.3″ IPS screen and a switch with which we can interrupt the battery charging function.

Maximum power in the palm of your hand

All in all, what’s most remarkable about this device is the effort they put into FiiO to offer us so much power (especially amplification) in a really compact size.

Expect it with a dual processor Saber DAC 9219C to which the amplifier is connected THX_AAA-28×2offering as a result of amplification 300 milliwatts per channel (it offers four amplification channels), capable of moving 90% of the headphones on the market in this sense. Compared to previous models of the same brand, the BTR7 offers 88% more power at one end and 30% more combined power.

In terms of audio processing capability, the BTR7 has the advantage of supporting all high-definition codecs (AAC/SBC/aptX/aptX LL/aptX adaptive/aptX HD/LDAC) and supports up to PCM 384kHz and native DSD256… this means that it offers us almost everything we find in a desktop DAC in a much smaller size.

For those of you who are concerned about the possible loss of quality when playing our files via Bluetooth connection, the Asian brand explains that the chip they are betting on in this case, the Qualcomm QCC5124, with dual DSP and dual core CPU architecture, not only guarantees a stable connection , but it is able to transfer high-resolution formats without any problems.

As a whole, it offers us a very clean and warm sound, which improves in many whole numbers to the one we will be able to enjoy on a smartphone, to which we just need to connect headphones. Its dynamic level and bass amplitude is contained here more than we find in desktop DACS and it is true that it is not as clear and delicate as the equipment located in the higher ranges will offer us, but for 200 eurosit’s also true that FiiO is putting in our hands a truly balanced device in terms of its features.

Controls and applications

Now that we’ve seen what’s in the “guts” of this little DAC, let’s see what options it offers us on its touch screen. The first thing, as soon as we turn it on, it asks us to pair with a Bluetooth connection and then “prompts” us to go through its menu.

Here, for example, we can set two amplification levels (low for in-ear headphones or high for headphones), two different bass filters (Fast or Hybrid), an equalizer with defined presets for different musical styles, or the option to activate Car mode for use inside our vehicle.

If we want to further customize the listening experience, we can install it on our smartphone Controlling FiiO (Android/iOS), an application that will allow us to change the sound settings, equalizer and other functions of your device.

Navigation in all these menus and options is simple (although perhaps the buttons are not as convenient as we would like) and if it suffers from something, we could only point out a certain lack of clarity of some options that can confuse a person. they don’t yet have some experience with the basic (and not so basic) concepts of audio playback. In this sense, we are sure that many users would appreciate a more detailed user manual.

Conclusions

The FiiO BTR7 has a very clear target audience: those who already enjoy a good sound experience at home and want to replicate it (or get as close as possible) in mobility scenarios.

To achieve this, the brand is putting into the hands of audiophile enthusiasts a DAC that barely takes up space in their pocket and that promises to get the most out of the music stored on their smartphone or laptop.

Made with premium materials and an industrial design that conveys a sense of great quality and durability in all its finishes, the FiiO BTR7 does not disappoint inside either, as it counts on components that perform at a high level for its price range on the market. move (200 euros).