Feiao X7 AM3 Balance Ear Card, which is more suitable for listening to string music

, before the main character of this article, FiiO X7 AM3, let's briefly review the FiiO X7 player. The most high-end HiFi player under Feiao was first exposed in 2013. After more than two years of improvement, it was officially put on sale in November 2015 at a price of 3998 yuan. X7 uses Ruixin micro RK3188 quad-core processor, 1GB memory, 32GB flash memory (expandable with TF card),3.97-inch WVGA resolution IPS display screen, full version of ESS9018S digital-to-analog conversion chip, deeply customized and optimized Android system, and replaceable ear card design.

For more information about FiiO X7 players, please refer to "Not Only Good Sound Quality Feiao X7 Flagship Player Evaluation":http://www.imp3.net/article-69390-1.html

the original Android system already has a certain degree of playability, such as the installation of FiiO certified software programs, but the greater playability of X7 is reflected in the replacement of the ear card. There are four types of X7 ear cards, namely AM1 (default for distribution), AM2 (medium power), AM3 (balance card) and AM5 (high power). These ear cards can be bought on the market at present. Except AM1, which costs 298 yuan, the rest is 698 yuan. The sound quality performance of the equipped earphone card AM1 can be found in the X7 evaluation, and the sound performance of the medium power earphone card AM2 can be found in 《More Driving Force Feiao X7 Replaces AM2 Ear Mask Module Evaluationfound in the article. Let's talk about today's main character-FiiO X7 AM3 balance card in detail.

AM3 uses Texas Instruments' newer OPA1622 amplifier (OPA1622 is an upgrade of classic model OPA1612, which can realize full channel balanced lines). The total harmonic distortion at 10mW power output under 32 ohm impedance is only-135dB, and the maximum undistorted output power can reach 150mW. AM3 is an ear card that focuses on balanced output. Its board shares six OPA1622 chips and can perform single-ended output while balancing output.

the internal space is relatively abundant, with the metal shell, there is no need to worry about heat dissipation, and from my actual use, the heat generation of AM3 is not obvious. Seeing this photo, I remembered the card-in game machine I played when I was a child. I broke off a similar circuit board inside the shell......

Each channel is amplified independently, buffered and output in a balanced form. The ordinary interface will integrate the balanced signal into a single-ended signal through a piece of OPA1622 and buffer it and output it.

AM3 and AM2 are independent, and the appearance design is basically the same. The brand-new AM3 packaging box also has a layer of plastic sealing film, which can be used as the standard for whether it is brand-new and unopened.

scraping off the coating and verifying whether it is genuine through www.fiio.com.cn, it is still done with great care. But I think, will there be fake products for this thing? Especially for this kind of special-plane special-purpose ear card, the amount of itself will not be particularly large, the cost of counterfeiting is not low, and there is the strength of counterfeiting, it is better to design genuine products, haha.

open the paper box, inside is an iron box, the ear is stuck in the iron box, the protection measures are still in place. In addition, the ear card itself is not heavy, and there are special sponge card slots, so the general throwing will not affect the ear card in the box.

box is here. In addition to the AM3 ear card itself, there are four T5 screws, a simple instruction, and five host side stickers. The four T5 screws sent feel very considerate. The T5 screwdriver in X7 accessories is not magnetic. Sometimes the screws will be lost if you don't pay attention to changing the ear card. At this time, the screws sent in the accessories will come in handy.

have only four sides and can be pasted for fun when bored. In fact, the official has the full version of these five sets of stickers, but they need to be purchased separately. For details, you can browse Feiao's official website.

AM3 shell is all made of metal, because it is aluminum, so the weight is very light. The metal surface is sprayed with a layer of paint with a slightly frosted texture, which looks solemn and elegant. The character on the back indicates that this is a balanced earphone power amplifier module AM3, which can be distinguished when there are multiple X7 earphone modules in the hand.

is an earpiece that focuses on balancing output, it also provides a single-ended interface. It should be noted that the balance port on AM3 is 2.5mm standard. If you are the same as me, the balance earphones in your hand are all 3.5mm connectors, then you need to purchase an additional 2.5mm to 3.5mm balance patch cord. Taobao does, but the quality is uneven, and Feiao official does not provide this patch cord. It is quite depressing to think about it. Fortunately, there is a single-ended interface, and it is 3.5mm, so listen to it with a single port.

A group photo of AM1, AM2, and AM3 is not clear. The AM1 on hand is X7, and the X7 on hand is the first batch of pilot models of Feiao. The spray color on the surface of the fuselage is different from that currently sold on the market, and the natural AM1 is also different from the AM2 and AM3 produced now. The drawing has a wire drawing effect of AM1, the middle is AM2, and the bottom of AM3 has an additional balance port.

It is very simple to change the ear card for X7. After unscrewing the T5 screws on both sides, it can be removed by pulling them out. Otherwise, a new ear card can be installed. The earpiece card and the host are perfectly fitted. The color difference between AM3 and the host in the figure has just been explained. Ignore it.

different ear cards are inserted into X7, the screen status bar will display the corresponding model. These ear cards can be hot swapped, but Feiao's official instructions do not recommend this, and it is better to turn off and replace them. Because I have to compare the sound quality, I have hot plugged it many times, but I have not encountered any problems. The system has always been stable.

When it comes to the system, you must say a few words. The system running on X7 is modified based on Android 4.4.4. Originally, the public version of RK3188 chip was very good at optimizing Android 4.4.4, but it is more perfect on X7. It not only runs stably but also operates smoothly. The menu structure is also very reasonable. It is very convenient to find songs and cut songs. And the headphones can't hear any pop when cutting the song. Maybe you have already laughed, and you think how can this low-level problem of cutting songs and popping sound exist on the player? That's because you have used too few players. The big domestic brands grab them and listen to them and you will understand what I'm saying.

, there is no big difference in the timbre of the matching card AM1, the medium power card AM2, or the balance card AM3,X7, but it is neutral and slightly warmer. The matching card AM1 adopts OPA1612 AD8397 combination, with balanced sound, natural stretching and excellent analysis. AM2 uses MUSE02 BUF634, the output power is larger than AM1, the output power can reach 300mW under 32 ohm load, pushing ordinary earplugs does not feel stronger than AM1, but when pushing IE80, UM Martian and HD800, the difference is still obvious. AM2 has clearer sound, stronger sense of strength and fuller details. At the same time, the texture of low frequency and the overall atmosphere of sound perform better. At first hearing, AM3 felt that the high frequency was not as bright as AM2, the medium frequency was slightly thicker and heavier, and the low frequency was more elastic but there was no stimulation from AM2.

may be because there is no balance earphone, but on second thought, AM3 can't use balance earphone but AM2, so the comparison can only be the sound quality performance under the ordinary interface.

AM3 is close to that of AM1, but there is a slight difference in hearing. For example, when listening to human voice, the dental sound of AM3 is lighter, especially compared with AM2. When listening to string music, the violin sound of AM3 is more resonant and more charming. In contrast, AM2 is more powerful and AM1 is slightly brighter.

in terms of sound quality, AM2 is slightly better than AM3, and AM3 is close to AM1. However, we know that AM3 is an ear card with balanced output, and the comparison in single-ended mode is only of reference significance.

Update on June 21, 2016: Today, I found a pair of balanced headphones, which is only a 3.5mm standard plug, so I found another balanced connector. As far as sound quality is concerned, there are still some differences in the performance of AM3 balanced and unbalanced output. When balancing output, the sound details should be clearer and the three-dimensional atmosphere feeling should be slightly better. Of course, the most obvious thing is that the background sound when balancing output is cleaner, which can be distinguished by one ear. As far as listening is concerned, the balanced output under fine products seems to hold the ears better.

, if it is my personal choice, I will choose AM3 when listening to string music and when the sensitivity of headphones is high. I will choose AM2 when listening to all kinds of styles of music in wild headphones. As for AM1, its own quality is also good. If you change it occasionally, you should change your feeling.

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