Comparison Apple iPod touch 7gen 32Gb vs FiiO X7

- Audio. MP3 players in the original, most traditional sense are devices designed to play music and other audio. There are models without a display, but many of the audio players are equipped with screens and can work with auxiliary file formats - like TXT for displaying song lyrics or JPG for viewing album covers or even photos. But the player in them is designed to work only with sound and does not allow video playback.

- Media player. This type includes all players that can play video. The specific characteristics of such models may vary significantly - from portable gadgets with 1.5" - 2" displays and support for specific formats to large 4 - 5" devices capable of working with unconverted files. But in any case, if you need a pocket player with the ability not only listen to music, but also watch videos - it’s worth choosing from similar models.

— Hi-Fi player. A specific type of audio player (see above), created with the expectation of maximum quality of reproduced sound. Uses high-quality components and advanced signal processing circuits; Because of this, such devices are an order of magnitude more expensive than conventional audio players, but in terms of sound quality they are comparable to stationary Hi-Fi class systems. It is almost mandatory for such models to support at least one lossless format like FLAC or A...PE; also only in such devices is it possible to work in DAC mode (see “Functions/capabilities”). In addition, the design may provide specialized interfaces - for example, balanced or optical (see “Outputs”). Thanks to all this, devices of this type can be useful both to demanding audiophiles and to those who work professionally with sound.

The operating system under which the player is running.

An operating system is not just any shell programme; this name is applied to the most advanced platforms. The OS has extensive capabilities that go far beyond the traditional functionality of the players, in addition, these capabilities can be further expanded by installing additional applications for various purposes — from online music services and media libraries to games, social network clients, etc. Thus Thus, the presence of an OS usually means that the device is a media player (see "Type"); however, not every media player has a full OS. Hi-Fi players can also have such firmware, however, the OS in them is often heavily modified, and not all such devices allow the installation of third-party applications.

Specific options for the OS can be as follows:

— Android. Operating system developed by Google, widely used by manufacturers of portable electronics; practically ousted other systems from the market, the only alternative is iOS(see below). The original Android is tightly integrated with Google services and uses the Google Play app store; however, there are many branded shells and modifications on the market, including those with rather radical changes. And you can install programs not only from the application store, but also from any other sources — by downloading the installation file to the device. The system h...as an open source code, anyone can write software for this OS, thanks to which the set of applications for Android is extremely extensive, but many of them do not differ in quality.

— iOS. Apple's proprietary operating system is not used by other manufacturers. It is closed: you can install additional applications only from the App Store proprietary storage, and for music and video you need to use the iTunes service. In addition, to create software for iOS, you need to obtain a paid license, which limits the circle of developers. On the other hand, iOS is quite convenient in that the user doesn't have to dig through an extensive set of settings; and apps in the App Store go through fairly strict quality and security controls.

Type of memory cards supported by the player.

Memory cards perform two main functions. First of all, they increase the total amount of the player's memory; at the same time, such memory in terms of gigabytes is much cheaper than built-in drives. Secondly, a memory card allows you to exchange data with another device that has a card reader; for example, it can be used to copy music to the player from a laptop.

Modern players usually use SD or microSD cards of one version or another. SD cards have dimensions of 32x24 mm and are used in relatively large devices, miniature microSD (15x11 mm), respectively, in compact models. Versions can be:

— SD. This marking means that the device is capable of working with at least original SD cards (not related to later versions of SDHC or SDXC). Such cards can have up to 4 GB capacity, their capabilities are quite enough for most tasks related to content playback.

— SD/SDHC. Models compatible with both the original SD (see above) and the newer SDHC format. This format allows you to create removable media up to 32 GB.

— SD/SDHC/SDXC. Support for all major SD formats used today. About SD and SDHC, see above, and SDXC provides card capacity up to 2 TB and increased speed.

— microSD. Players guaranteed to work with original microSD cards. Technically, such cards are similar to the SD cards described above and differ from them only in size. At the s...ame time, it is worth noting that a device with such a marking may actually be compatible with more advanced media (like microSDHC or even microSDXC), just the manufacturer, for one reason or another, did not go into such details. You can clarify this point by evaluating the maximum supported card volume (see below)

— microSD/SDHC Players that support both the original microSD and the later microSDHC standard (see "SD/SDHC").

— microSD/SDHC/SDXC. Players with this marking are compatible with all modern versions of microSD cards — both the newest microSDXC (see "SD / SDHC / SDXC"), and previous standards (see above for them).

Players are produced that have two slots for memory cards at once — usually microSD. Basically, these are Hi-Fi devices (see "Type"), and this feature is provided for an additional increase in available memory volumes: Hi-Fi content has a significant amount and requires appropriate storage.

The maximum size of the memory card that can be used in the player. This parameter is directly related to the card type (see above): each type has its own volume limits. At the same time, the ability to work with capacious media is limited not only by the type of card, but also by the player's hardware. Therefore, many models have a lower capacity limit than the memory card suggests — for example, 128 GB in a model that supports the SDXC format (the theoretical maximum for which is 2 TB).

Note that the reverse situation also occurs — for example, when a device with a maximum capacity of 16 GB only supports microSD cards (theoretical maximum is 4 GB). This usually means that the player can work with newer formats (in our example, at least microSDHC), but for some reason this point is not mentioned in the official specifications (for example, the manufacturer could make a mistake in the documentation).

Model of the digital-to-analogue converter installed in the device.

The DAC is one of the key components of any player: it converts the digital data recorded in the audio file into an analogue audio signal, which is fed through an amplifier to the headphones. The quality of the DAC directly affects how accurately the output sound will match the original signal, as well as whether the player can work with advanced digital signal formats: many of them require high computing power, which is not available in every DAC.

Note that the DAC model is indicated only if it is a high-end converter with above-average sound quality. On the modern market, in particular, DACs from such manufacturers are represented: AKM, Cirrus Logic, ESS Saber, Texas Instruments, Wolfson. And players with such equipment usually refer to Hi-Fi devices(see "Type").

It is also worth mentioning that the number of DACs can be different. The simplest option is one module for both sound channels, however, there are players equipped with two converters at once — one per channel. This "division of labor" affects the cost, but reduces the load on each individual DAC, which has a positive effect on the quality and reliability of the sound.

The ratio between the level of the useful signal (clear sound) and extraneous noise, given by the player at the output. This parameter directly characterizes the quality of the built-in amplifier: it mainly takes into account the intrinsic noise of electronic circuits, and the higher the signal-to-noise ratio, the less these noises and the clearer the sound.

Note that in the case of players, this characteristic is often not particularly critical: the noise of the amplifier can be lost against the background of ambient sounds, especially in an urban environment, and for such situations even the most modest indicators, at the level of 70 – 80 dB, are enough. At the same time, for Hi-Fi models (see "Type") this moment is one of the most important; in the most advanced devices, the signal-to-noise ratio can exceed 120 dB.

The higher the power, the louder the sound you can get on the headphones, all other things being equal. In addition, higher power allows you to connect "ears" with higher impedance to the device (although there is no hard correlation here, and models with the same output power may have different headphone impedance limits). However, in the case of ordinary (non-Hi-Fi) players, this parameter is more of a reference than practically significant: usually, the power of the amplifier in such models is quite enough to “rock” most consumer-grade headphones. But for Hi-Fi devices (see "Type") models, output power is of key importance: it determines compatibility with high-resistance studio-class "ears". Detailed help on this issue can be found in special sources.

The nominal impedance (impedance) of the headphones that the player can handle normally.

Most consumer-grade headphones are 16 or 32 ohm impedance, which is supported by almost all modern players. Therefore, you should pay attention to this parameter only if you plan to use a device with high-quality "ears" of a studio or audiophile class. A characteristic feature of these headphones is high resistance, already in the hundreds of ohms, and not every player is suitable for them.

Also, it will not hurt to clarify the permissible headphone impedance if you are buying a Hi-Fi class device (see "Type"). Some of these models have a fairly high minimum resistance and are not compatible with standard 16 ohm (and sometimes 32 ohm) "ears".

Audio file formats that the player is able to work with.

— MP3. The most famous of modern digital audio formats; supported by almost all compact players, the name MP3 has even become a household name for them. Provides so-called. lossy compression, where some of the audio frequencies are lost. However, during compression, the sound is processed in such a way that it "disappears" mainly frequencies, the loss of which is imperceptible to the human ear. As a result, the sound quality can be quite high, and you can clearly distinguish high-quality MP3 from lossless format only on Hi-Fi equipment.

— WAV. Another popular audio standard, originally developed for storing sound on a PC. It can technically be used to store audio in a variety of formats, but is most commonly used for uncompressed audio. Due to this, the sound quality can be quite high, and its processing does not require special computing power. The downside of this is the large volume of audio files — many times more than MP3s.

— WMA. An audio format, at one time specially created for the Windows operating system. By default, it uses lossy compression (although there is also a lossless version of the WMA codec). WMA is particularly suitable for low bitrates, under such conditions it provides better quality than MP3 and takes up less space. On the other hand, this format is much less popular in high-quality digital audio.

...— AAC. A format developed as a potential successor to MP3. Also provides lossy compression (see above), but allows you to achieve better quality with the same file size; this difference is especially noticeable at low bitrates. Actively promoted by Apple in iPod players; nevertheless, it is noticeably inferior to MP3 in terms of prevalence, although it is supported by a considerable number of players.

— OGG. A lossy compressed digital audio format is one potential alternative to MP3. One of the key features of OGG is that as audio is encoded, the bitrate is constantly changing; at the same time, on fragments where there is no sound, the bitrate drops to almost zero (unlike MP3, where the data stream is constant, including in sections of complete silence). This makes it possible to achieve small file sizes while maintaining sound quality. Also note that the OGG format is open and not limited by patents.

— FLAC. One of the formats that uses lossless audio compression. With this compression, all the details of the original sound are preserved, so lossless formats are especially appreciated by sophisticated music lovers and audiophiles. The reverse side of this quality is large volumes of files. Specifically, FLAC is perhaps the most common of today's lossless formats. This is largely due to the fact that this standard is not particularly demanding on the processing power of the player. Thanks to this, its support can be implemented even in relatively simple and inexpensive players (unlike another popular format — APE, see below). On the other hand, FLAC files are larger than APE files.

— A.P.E. One of the popular lossless audio compression formats. Compared to another common standard — FLAC (see above) — APE allows you to achieve smaller file sizes with the same quality. On the other hand, to play such files, electronics with a fairly high processing power are required, so APE compatibility is relatively rare in compact players.

— DSD. A specific digital audio format using the so-called. sigma-delta modulation (as opposed to pulse code used in most other formats). Such modulation provides a very high sampling rate — 2822.4 kHz; however, it cannot be compared with the usual sampling rate (see above): in this case we are talking about a specific signal format. Its properties are such that DSD support can be provided even if the player's DAC formally has a much lower sampling rate. In general, this format is considered professional, its support is found mainly in Hi-Fi models (see "Type").

— DXD. Professional audio format originally created for editing DSD files (see above) — For technical reasons, original DSD is not well suited for editing. DXD uses a bit depth of 24 bits (8 bits higher than Audio CD format) and a sampling rate of 352.8 kHz (8 times higher than Audio CD). Like the original DSD, it is found mainly in Hi-Fi players.

— AIFF. Audio format developed by Apple for Macs and Macbooks; a kind of "apple" analogue of the WAV described above, also in most cases used for uncompressed audio.

— Audible. Proprietary file format used by the online audiobook store of the same name. One of the features of this format is that file playback is available only if you enter a login and password for the Audible online store; thus, supporting this standard usually means having a client programme to access the store.

This list is not exhaustive, modern players (especially the top category) may support other types of audio files.