The Fosi Audio K7 is Fosi Audio’s latest Gaming DAC/Headphone amplifier that aims to offer versatility and features that are sought after typically by gamers. The K7 packs a AKM AK4493SEQ chipset, along with a 1.5-inch OLED display, dual control knobs, as well as many connectivity options to boot. Fosi Audio K7 will launch on Kickstarter on 16 Jan.
Build quality and design
At first glance, the Fosi Audio K7 impresses me with its hefty aluminum alloy chassis, giving it a sleek and durable feel. The all black design with slight orange accents is modern and should blend it to most desk setups. The controls are all located on the top panel of the Fosi Audio K7, with two large stepped volume knob accompanying five tactile buttons.
The left knob controls the volume which also doubles as a gain switch. The right knob is the bass/treble/microphone control which you’d use in conjunction with the “Tone/Mic” button. You can also press the knob to mute the microphone. The knobs can feel a little hard to actuate, the rotation is fine.
There is also a sharp 1.5-inch OLED panel which displays the sample rate, format, and current input source. The front panel houses a three ports, including a 3.5mm microphone input and headphone outputs, as well as a 4.4mm balanced headphone output, which is nice to see Fosi Audio adding it in.
As for the buttons, you can find a summary of what they do below:
- Power/UAC: Press and hold for 1.5 seconds to turn off. If K7 is powered on, single press to switch between UAC 1.0 and UAC 2.0 modes. UAC 2.0 mode supports playback of high sample rate audio files up to PCM 384kHz-32bit/DSD256.
- Input: Single press to cycle through the four different input sources – (1) USB, (2) Bluetooth, (3) Optical, and (4) Coaxial.
- Output: Single press to switch between headphone output or RCA line output
- Bypass: Single press to switch between Bypass mode (ie. audio will output the original audio signal and bypass all EQ settings) and EQ mode
- Tone/Mic: Single press to toggle between bass, treble, and microphone volume control, which you can then adjust via the right knob.
Connectivity options
One of the main selling point of Fosi Audio K7 is its versatile connectivity. It offers multiple input options such as USB-C, optical, coaxial, Bluetooth, as well as providing microphone input, making it highly adaptable to the needs of gamers and power users.
Whether the use case is connecting to a gaming console, PC, or smartphone, there is a connectivity option that the Fosi Audio K7 has. It is also nice to see Fosi Audio throwing in a 2-in-1 splitter cable so you can connect headphones that support mic signal for simultaneous talk and listening.
Fosi Audio K7 is very much focused on their audio output compared to their microphone input as it can only support AUX based microphones. There are no inputs for XLR or USB mics. Do also note that the microphone only works under the UAC 1.0 mode, with an audio sample rate fixed at PCM 16-bit 48kHz and you can adjust the mic level. In the UAC 2.0 mode, microphone is disabled.
You’d have to screw in the included Bluetooth antenna at the back if you have a use case for Bluetooth, and you might – because the Fosi Audio K7 is equipped with a Qualcomm QCC3031 chip that supports high resolution audio codecs such as aptX HD, aptX LL, and aptX.
Audio quality
Fosi Audio K7 has enough power to drive high impedance headphones (>300 ohms). And when it comes to sound, Fosi Audio K7 delivers a warm natural sound, and is a largely accurate representation of the headphone’s sound signature with impressive clarity. There is a very subtle lift in the bass for a more prominent response, which extends to the midrange for added detail. Treble is kept flat, and similar to the original headphone’s tuning, compared to other DACs where the highs tends to get brighter.
If you prefer more forward sounding highs, then the treble boost option on the Fosi Audio K7 can provide an extra sparkle in the higher frequencies. Soundstaging is open and instruments do feel rather spaced out and layered.
Conclusion
The Fosi Audio K7 shines as a well-rounded DAC that caters to more than just gamers. It’s always useful to have versatility in any product, and I like the robust design and use of aluminium alloy, modern connectivity options, and ease of use. Price is not available yet, but if it is anything below US$150 it would be a good deal for what it offers. If you’re interested, you can back the Fosi Audio K7 DAC on Kickstarter.