Shots fired. I think you'd find the Bender "I'll start my own...with" meme quite to your liking.
Jokes aside, there are merits to both players. MODERN iDevices, MBAs excluded, offer great UI and stability. Sound, save for slightly skewed treble, is cleaner and darn better than a good deal of the audiophile DAPs on tne market. They are easy to use and work each and every time. If one has a problem, then it is a matter of simply going to a local Apple store and asking for a new one.
Fiio has done a excellent job of matching and even surpassing, at least from my limited experience with them, Apple's much vaunted customer service. Though not as perfectly polished as Apple products, Fiio's released are always getting better, and buyers rarely feel like beta testers. I do acknowledge that the X3 had its share of problems at first, but is that not to be expected of a smaller company's freshman DAP effort?
Fiio has dramatically advanced over the past few years, expanding from the budget to mid-fi market. Although they may lack Apple's billions in cash reserves, the tried and true method of trying again and doing better has worked damn well for them. UI finish and stability seems to be down pat for the X5, and BQ looks to be miles ahead of the DX50--which brings me to my next point.
Aside from the DX100, iBasso has been on a steady decline. The DX50, as every and any clear thinking owner will admit, is junk. It feels, looks, and sounds like the cheap Chinese player it is. When I received my DX50, I even needed to check with iBasso to make sure that what I was holding in my hands was a legitimate player--the metal finish seemed fake, it rang hollow, and felt like a heat-molded hunk of plastic. UI was, and still is, absolute crap, and the stream of useless updates drove me mad. Worst of all, literally every single product I own had a better HP out.
I made friends listen. I made peers listen. I pretty much made strangers on the street listen. These masses of people, most of whom probably perceive skull pounding bass as a hallmark of sonic excellence, determined the DX50 to be a worthless piece of scrap. Common words to describe just the sound were "muted," "tinny," "boomy," "bad," "muddled," and "fake."
Friends and peers who know me as that kid with the $50000 car, $5000 watch, $1500 headphones, etc. all asked how much I wasted on this "iPod thing." Close friends were relieved when I told them $250, and audiophiles were downright disappointed.
The X3, though, elicited a different response. Sure, I only had it for around a week while away from my home setup, but it was enough to get some great reactions from others who are able to compare it with my DX50 and iDevices. With better UI, roughly equivalent BQ, and (relatively) killer sound, all I approached thought that I'd spent a good deal more on it. Most didn't think that it sounded so much better that it merited being carried around in conjunction with my phone/wallet, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. The $200 price tag surprised all, intrigued some, and captivated the imaginations of a select few. I ended up giving it to my father, who had lost yet another iPod at the airport, and have missed it ever since.
I have great faith in Fiio that it will continue its rising pedigree with excellence, and do believe that iBasso will fade into obscurity. While the X3 is a great stand alone player, it is the X1 that really has the ability to penetrate the mainstream market. I want Fiio to succeed. I want the X1 to be viewed, even by the tech illiterate consumer, as something worth having. I want Fiio to have the cash flow to build the absolute best portable consumer audio products on the market. But as long as we are here in an iDevice vs DAP circle jerk and not listing real, important feedback, we sure as heck aren't helping.
