[olddude]

I use a ziplock with my phone on rainy days and at Disneyland when riding "wet" rides.  No shame in a ziplock.  Was just joking about the double bag.
 
Oh, and my X5 is in a leather case that is hard to remove to get at the cards, so I mostly just live with the slower transfer times and connect to my Mac via USB cord.  I drag a firmware over to my card (I use Card 1 for this) and update, and then, when I get around to it, delete the firmware image off the card.  Works perfectly.

 

[nmatheis]

Dvirlu: Vacuum sealing would probably just mash all the buttons down and wreak havoc, total havoc! mean, it'd be chaos dude :evil:

Which leather case are you using, olddude? Besides not being able to get to your cards, are you happy with it? I've got mine in Fiio's fake leather case and have been pretty happy for the $10-15 it costs.

 

[olddude]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K2FZ26K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Like it a lot, a bit pricier than the Fiio, but really well-built and thick.  It just fits very tightly and it is a struggle to get off the device.  If anyone  here grew up in the 50's and 60's, like me, there was a device called a girdle and the effect is much the same.  Much pushing and pulling, lots of effort involved.  Though I must say (without trying to be indelicate) that the end result of the girdle removal was more satisfying in many ways.

 

[nmatheis]

Hold on olddude, your X5's leather girdle case makes the X5 skinnier & sexier :blink:

 

[olddude]

 
Made of rubber, you could lose a hand, oh god I'm having a flashback... and NOT the good kind.  

 

[nmatheis]

Besides looks, what do you like better with leather vs. silicon case olddude?

 

[zilch0md]

Made of rubber, you could lose a hand, oh god I'm having a flashback... and NOT the good kind.  :basshead:

 

[olddude]

Compared to the silicon?  It is thick leather, should hopefully protect more and is certainly more substantial.  Besides, silicon feels like rubber and if you look up a few posts you know how I feel about rubber coverings.  

 

[rontant]

 
I use an 8GB one. The only important thing is FAT32 formatting. Can't believe that the X5 can't deal with exFAT but it can't.

 
exFat is a Microsoft patented file system and it is proprietary.

 

[sbank]

Thanks to everyone doing the heavy lifting in this thread which recently led me to buying an X5. Your insights and enthusiasm made all the difference for me!  Pairing mine with PSB M4U1s (no amp so far) and loving it. 
 
Just upgraded to 2.36beta firmware. One bug resolved vs. the 2.0 is now I can play AIFF files that have .AIFF extension. Before .AIF files played fine, but .AIFF didn't, now both play perfectly. Since I have hundreds of concert recordings in .AIFF this improvement will save me tons of time avoiding file conversions.  
 
 
One question recently asked but not yet definitively answered is regarding native DSD playback. Are .dsf and .dff files being played back in native DSD or or they still getting converted to PCM? If the latter, is there a planned firmware upgrade to allow native DSD playback?  

 

[CriticalTodd]

So yesterday I plugged my X5 into my Ford Focus's USB media input. I was able to read both the installed SD cards through the console, cycle through artists, songs, etc. the only catch was it wouldn't play anything. It tried but errored out each time. All the music on the cards was formatted Apple lossless. I wonder if I dumped a bunch of MP3 files on instead, if it would play. I'll have to experiment more when I have time.

 

[olddude]

DSD DSF DFF files are played as PCM (the rate is a question, someone said it's 24/88, someone else said 24/192).  Whatever, they said great.  If size is an issue, that could impact your use of them, I have about twenty of them and love the sound (nor arguments about how mp3s are equal, please  

).  From what I've read, to actually play DSD as DSD you need an analog volume control, and Fiio has no plans to use those in any of its devices.    
 
Glad you are enjoying your X5.  I was a real believer in amps, but I have seen no need, given my Fidue A83s, to amp my X5.  

 

[nmatheis]

exFat is a Microsoft patented file system and it is proprietary.

Fiio's had exFAT support in X3 betas for quite awhile. It might've even migrated into X3 stable by now, but I haven't checked. exFAT will come to X5 in time.

This brings up a point about Fiio's feature upgrade status, which is it seems that they choose either the X3 or X5 at random and test out an idea, refine it, and eventually add it to the other DAP. This leaves a lot of people confused and frustrated who own one DAP and not the other. At one point, Fiio provided a rough sketch road map for improvements for their DAPs. Maybe it's time to do this again? What do people think? If enough of us agree and request this, I bet Fiio will respond.

 

[olddude]

I kinda like bomb drop approach they are taking.  It's fun to wonder what they are going to do and then receive surprise updates.
 
If Fiio actually lays out a "roadmap," people will be anxious for delivery.
 
Of course, people are lobbying all of the time for changes anyway.  
 
Plus, I wonder how much of the engineer's time is being spent readying the X7.   

 

[r2muchstuff]

olddude
 
Since I am hanging around, I will jump from the X1 thread to this one.
"I was a real believer in amps, but I have seen no need, given my Fidue A83s, to amp my X5."
 
The X5 is a complete package for IEMs.  The X1 however, I find needs an amp.
I have many idacs and amps for my iPods, iMods with amps, or just iPods & LODs with amps and have found some combinations to sound wonderful.
The X5 needs nothing with my IEMs, it just sounds great.  Not saying some of the others are not better but it hangs. Wow … what a small package for such sound vs Alo RX/Cypher Labs/iPod stack etc.
The X5 built in amp is roughly equal to the stand alone FiiO E11K in specs, the E12A IEM is somewhat less in output power but swings more P - P.  I find that the E12A does not add anything meaningful to the X5 other than a slightly different sound sig and the base boost but, it brings the X1 up to an equal or maybe better.  By itself the X1 has a lesser amp than the little FiiO E06.  My original FiiO E12 is a beast and only comes out for over the ear cans, but when the synergy with a can is right …  One odd combo I find nice is the E12 with a Koss TB SE.
 
All of this are my thoughts only, so take with a grain of salt.