I bought this because after getting the AM2 last time I realized I’d been screwed over. Because right after I bought it, FiiO said: “Every X7 owner gets one chance to buy a module at half price.” So I said: “Well what about me, I already paid full price?” FiiO was very polite about it: “No problem, we’ll have other modules down the road, you can save it for next time.” ……………… So I finally used that chance.

The FiiO X7 is a player I’ve grown to like more the longer I use it, but I still have to say it has one fatal flaw: the stock AM1 amp module is just crippled. On some tracks the X7 has a spiky, gritty treble, but when I run the X7’s LO output into my car stereo those treble spikes disappear. Think about it long enough and the only explanation is that crippled amp. Maybe FiiO did it on purpose, but at least they did release the official mid-tier AM2 amp, and swapping modules is easy — all you need is one hex screw.

Recently I picked up two things: a USB fast-charging adapter for the Nexus 6P that I plan to use at work, and a Bluetooth module for my desktop. The Bluetooth module is straightforward. Usually you plug in a USB one and the system just recognizes it, especially since my desktop runs Linux — even more likely to work out of the box. But that was too easy. I could’ve just bought any random one, but I always want something fancier, so I got a Dell Bluetooth dongle that supposedly supports entering the BIOS. Of course, that BIOS trick only works with a Dell Bluetooth keyboard. The Dell Bluetooth keyboard works fine with this dongle, but plug the thing into a desktop and it isn’t recognized… and that’s not all — it doesn’t work under Windows 10 either.