I’m not sure Jim?
I’m just using it as a Roon-Ready endpoint via WiFi on my home network.
Hi, @Jim_F. If I understand what you’re asking, you’re wondering if you can use R7 as a Roon core. If that’s right, you can’t - it runs Android.
Do I remember correctly that your away-from-home setup is currently an iPhone, Windows PC, and Chord Mojo in which the PC uses the iPhone’s hotspot?
If that’s correct and you’re trying to get away from using hotspot data, an option would be to get an Android phone with a data plan and run ZeroTier on both the Android phone and the machine on which your primary core runs on at home. That would allow you to treat the Android phone as a Roon endpoint with your primary core. You’d then connect it to the Mojo using USB. You wouldn’t need your Windows laptop at all. Unfortunately, you can’t do this with an iPhone because of networking issues. There is also a chance you can get this to work with Wireguard. I’m unclear on whether or not that works with Android and even less clear if it might with iPhone.
All of this is outside the intent of this thread, though, so if you like to explore it, maybe start a thread in the tinkering section. It’s worth doing that just in case there’s a way to get it going with your iPhone that I’m unaware of.
Looking forward to more impressions from @Martin_Kelly! 
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Thanks, but I’m never going back to Android. I think I have the issue resolved by using Speedify. I’ll know for sure next time we are back in NC. Also, Roon ARC is working great now if I don’t want to use my Dell Roon core. Not to mention, I have $1329 in discounts I would lose if I switch off of Apple.
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OK. Here we go…
I need to put this brief ‘mini review’ in context. Having young kids, I do quite a bit of headphone listening. The very best headphone sources I have used in the last few years are (in no particular order) the original Chord Hugo, the Chord Poly/Mojo 2 combo, the Sony NW-WM1Z DAP and the FiiO M17. If you asked me to choose ‘just one’ for SQ alone, it would be the Sony. It’s an absolute masterpiece, and sounds fluid and composed.
But there’s a problem with both the Sony and the original Chord Hugo. They’re not Roon-Ready. And that’s a deal-breaker for me. Hence why they’re no longer with me 
Enter the Chord Poly/Mojo 2. This combo sounded great! And it had plenty of power to drive my 600ohm Beyer T1.2’s. But the battery-life (even when it was switched off) was absolute awful. Unless it was charged well-before I wanted to use it, it was DOA. I had to almost pre-empt myself. Am I going to listen to music later? If so, I’d better put the bloody thing on charge because it will probably be dead after being switched ‘off’ for a few days. Annoying. Plus it lacked balanced outputs to use with my balanced headphones. It’s now gone too.
Maybe the FiiO M17 would be the perfect solution. A Roon-Ready end-point and and a portable DAP! What’s not to like? Listen to it in isolation, and there’s nothing to dislike. This monster sounds absolutely sublime. It’s literally a ‘hairs-breath’ in SQ from the Sony, AND it’s Roon-Ready. Plus it has endless power to drive full-sized headphones like my Senny’s/Beyer’s. So it’s perfect? Well, no. Unfortunately, nothing’s perfect, unless you’re sat in a ‘cafe’ in Amsterdam 
The M17 is (very) heavy for a supposedly-portable device, and puts out a lot of heat. Plus, the battery-life (although better than the Chord combo) is limited. At least it keeps its charge when you switch it off, unlike the (useless, IMO) Poly/Mojo 2. But, oh! The SQ, especially with Roon 
Could there be anything ‘better’? Well, maybe the newly-launched desktop R7 would fit-the-bill…?
Spoiler Alert! Sorry folks, but the M17 still takes the gong in the SQ department. The R7, however great, lacks the three-dimensionality of the M17, and also lacks its sublime bass extension. Although the disclaimer is that I’ve got a brand-new R7 out-of-the-box, and I’ve only been listening for a few hours. But it has a lot more power than than the M17. I’m using the R7 with FiiO’s PL50 LPS. And I’m more than happy right now:
But there are a lot of pluses with the R7. It’s absolutely dead-quiet, like the M17. It has a sound-signature identical to the M17, and has literally endless power to drive just what you want it to. Plus, there’s no excess heat, and no battery-life concerns. Couple this with a 4-pin XLR output (obviously lacking on the M17) and I think we have a winner on our hands.
Oh, but I’ve forgotten one important fact! The R7 is half the price of the M17!! Does this change any anything? IMO, it changes everything. Is the R7 better than its stablemate, the M17? No. The M17 is still ‘king of the hill’. But is it a better buy? A resolute ‘No’. The R7 is by far the better buy, and if you’d never heard the M17, you’d have no idea what the f*** I was talking about. If the M17 was a 10/10 in the SQ department, I’d give the R7 a solid 8.5/10. It’s that good. And that’s without considering all the other ‘pluses’ mentioned above.
Put it this way. I’m a few hours ‘in’, and I’m still listening. I have no desire to gravitate back towards my (albeit breathtaking) M17 for ‘desktop’ listening in my bedroom.
This newbie from FiiO is a KEEPER.
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I’ve just done an A-B comparison with this track:
The M17 has a certain deftness and subtlety in the midrange that the R7 lacks. But again, this is only noticeable on direct comparison. As I’ve said, if I didn’t already have the M17, I’d be ‘none the wiser’.
And I’m still listening to fhe R7 
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Fantastic write up @Martin_Kelly. Thanks so much for sharing it.
This is just a fascinating little device. I have a Naim Uniti HE on my home desk. If I didn’t have that already, I would seriously consider the R7 as an alternative.
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Thanks @Martin_Kelly for your review 
I am just wondering 
why do you need the R7 when you already have the M17?
Torben
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That’s a good question, Torben! 
There are a couple of main reasons why the R7 appealed to me. The first was the wider range of headphone outputs, the most important of which was the 4-pin XLR. Both my Senny HD800’s and Beyer T1.2’s have 4-pin XLR cables, which I couldn’t use with the M17.
The second reason was the form-factor. Having a transportable DAP in your hand sounds ideal (and it is, most of the time) but in my bedroom I wanted a more ‘permanent’ fixture/solution.
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Thanks @Martin_Kelly for the wonderful write up. The FiiO R7 sounded like a winner to me when I listened to at the Singapore CanJam and you seemed to have confirmed my initial impressions.
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Won’t getting replacement cables for the Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic headphones with 4.4mm balanced jacks, and thus usable with the FiiO M17, have been a bit less expensive (well under $200) than getting the FiiO R7? Or did you just really, really want a new toy? 
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I don’t need much of an excuse!
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Good answer! 
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Had a great weekend with the R7
It’s definitely a keeper. There is a certain amount of ‘magic’ lacking when compared to the M17, especially over a long listening session.
But that’s to be expected. I think the M17 was sprinkled with FiiO fairy-dust 
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As good as the R7 is (after a week of faultless-use from this puppy), I’m sure that the Naim Uniti HE is a clear-class above the R7 
Really impressed with the SE headphone output from the R7.
Having an almost-spiritual experience tonight:
My DT1770’s have never sounded so good
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Just wondering, using the R7 as a Roon endpoint: after a few minutes of listening, the screen will stop showing the album art, song progress and controls. It’s defined in settings, Display → Screen Timeout. That’s fine, but it doesn’t re-appear on the start of a new song. Any way I can do that?
Other than that, I really like the R7. I think the SQ of my “old” iFi Neo iDSD (with Rasp.Pi as Roon Bridge) is slightly more ‘clean’, but it’s hard to compare if you’re not going back-and-forth between the two. And with any kind of SQ comparison, I always feel my mind is playing tricks on me. By the way, I don’t have a 12V external power supply, just using the 220V… and it sounds perfectly fine to my 50yo ears.
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The FiiO R7 is an absolutely beautiful bit of kit. It has ultimate functionality being ‘Roon Ready’, and it sounds absolutely superb
But if you have an R7 don’t, for the love of god, listen to a FiiO M17. I have one (unfortunately!) and it makes the R7 sound like a circa-2000 MP3 player (ish!). F*** FiiO, the clever bastards! 
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Please don’t judge me for this, but I’m actually sort of relieved that it’s not perfect and doesn’t replace your M17. I’ve managed to resist buying one up until now and your comment here will help me continue to resist for a bit longer
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You’ll cave… Stop hurting yourself: give in, give in! Nothing wrong with 2000’s MP3 players anyway.
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