I still prefer my idevices over this. Only thing it does better is more power in the amp section.

@ LOS Lobos, I have iphone 4s, ipod touch, ipod classic 160 gb, ipad 3 and recently fiio x5, using westone w60 and sennheiser IE80 and Shure SE 425 to them. in terms of sound quality, the X5 beats them all. Using the same song file format FLAC files.

Thank you all for the comments and views.  

Hey how does it compare to fiio x3?  I'm thinking of buying this but I'm a bit doubtful because of the sound of fiio x3 which is very warm. 

Great review. Very timely for me since my old ipod classic gen4 just died. I was just thinking of getting an X1 since a replacement ipod classic is far more expensive (although more  convenient for syncing etc)   I wouldn't expect the X1 to be as good as the X5 (which gets great reviews), but wondering why you got the X1  since you have a AK100 

Amazing review. Thanks.

So, the sound is is neutral and fun and engaging. It's just incredible what they can do these days, isn't it?

@jeffisflyboy : I do not have or have ever tried the X3 so I will not be able to answer your question. Sorry. Do not forget, the X3 is also a DAC, the X1 is ONLY a DAP.
 
@qveda : As it is written at the top of the review, the unit was provided by FIIO for the world tour, reviewing the unit. It is not mine. As for replacing an iPod, i think it can more then stack-up to an iPod. It has the flexibility of µSD, so you can have multiple µSD with your tunes. And it will play many more formats then an iPod.    ... My AK 100 II is GREAT!! But it is about 1000€, so 10x more expensive then the X1.

@Aero Dynamik : Pardon my expression. It is not base heavy or too low on base. It is not too sibilant nor is it drak. It is a great sounding DAP that produces an engaging and yes, fun, sound. I hope you get the chance to try an X1 and test/review for yourself. Keep in mind that it is a 99$ product, that is cheaper then many peoples headphone cable ...  


Thank you for all the comments, questions and feedback.
Have a great day.

Great review. Thanks for the input from other IT guys.

@cristobalroy I know x5 does better than the idevices. However, this review is about the x1, not the x5. I dislike the x1 because it does not do well at delivering detail and has small soundstage, also no storage (at least include a few gigs in there!). Another thing I take issue with is the implementation of the spin wheel, it is not familiar like the ipod ones that didn't actually move physically. It just doesn't feel 'smooth' to use.

Just got mine.. and beware the firmware upgrade. All I have now is the black screen of death with the words "system support" in red. Aarrgghh! Totally frozen, can't turn it off. I reset with the pin set and downloaded a new clean firmware copy to repeat the process... and it repeated exactly the same. Checked the scratchoff authenticity code on the FIIO website and it is authentic... ah well... this was to replace the X5 I got last week that corrupted files constantly (i think the issue was that the card slots did not seat well... it went back). Not amused at all... The only reason I even tried to update firmware was because mysteriously it did not recognize many of my flac files (all with sample rates above 32 incidentally). I thought it might help. Well it sounded nice for the hour it worked. It does feel sturdy. The screen is hard to read and the center select button felt a little unreliable... the click was not solid. The card does seat properly in the X1 and I really like the black wetsuit looking cover it shipped in. For the moment it is a paper weight. 

^Brickified! Maybe you can use it as a brick!?

Used the wrong photo on the banner page - that is the prototype pic...

@goedric I dont know the computer situation you have. I might suggest (in my IT guise) to 1.Try writing files on another computer and 2.Using another µUSB cable. You tell you had trouble with corrupt files on the X5 and now issues with the X1. This would lead me to certainly check the computer and cable you are using. It does not eliminate possible issues with the X5 or X1, but certainly check with a different computer!!
I have upgraded the X1 2 times now; each time without issues ... that could be luck as well tough  

Still waiting to know how does is it

@CasperBXI  i got it to work ... an hour ago... seems there were 2 issues... 1 the update must have been partially corrupt (twice)... it loaded, said successful then crashed. But once it crashed i ad no way to format the cards.. no way i could find in windows (every allocation block size failed). Finally it was sugested i use a 3rd party program guiformat... i used that at 32k and it worked. Then i downloaded the update one more time (12 hrs later) and it worked... and the flac files that would not previosuly plapy played fine as well

@xedjflowx I do not understand what you mean. Maybe you could elaborate what you want to know? If you aks a more complete question I wmight be able to give you a more complete answer. Thank you for your comment.
 
@goedric Glad you found a working solution!! 

Is there any option to sort music by composer? That's how I organise almost all of my classical music..!

@pyramidsong I just checked. No there is option for that. Options are: "All Songs", "Album", "Artist", "Genre" and "Favorites", lastly "Playlists".
 
Might I suggest that you PM Joe from FIIO to request the feature. I'm sure more people would like that feature.
(also for their X5, X3 and coming X7 ... indeed missing for Classical Music listeners, like me as well)

@pyramidsong ... I also already sent a PM to Joe Bloggs ... you never know they might add it.  Good idea!!