Fiio X7ii

FOR Good sense of rhythm; clear midrange; punchy bass

AGAINST Sound could use more space; build isn’t perfect

Fiio’s X7ii is a jack-of-all-trades. Want something that can handle your hi-res audio and also streaming services? Check. What about streaming applications and digital inputs? Double check. It seems it can do it all.

But a product that spreads itself too thinly risks making compromises and while the X7ii has an impressive array of features and a sturdy build quality, it’s perhaps not quite as bombastic as a portable player should be.

The main quality that makes the X7ii stand out from the pack is that it looks and feels like a smartphone on steroids. It’s got a nice weight to it, a line-out connection so you can feed your hi-fi, jacks for 3.5mm and 2.5mm headphones, and a particularly satisfying clickwheel volume control.

The software powering it is very close to the Android operating system you’ll find on a mobile or tablet. This allows access to every app on Google’s Play Store through the X7ii’s dual band wi-fi, which means you get automatic lyric and album artwork detection, downloaded when the player is connected to the internet – a nice touch.