FiiO X5 2nd gen Impressions and Discussion thread | Page 47 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

pcalv · May 24, 2015 at 5:18 PM

Apologies if discussed already. I am still waiting for a firmware upgrade on the X1 to sort the 5800 file limit due to the database limitations which was promised months ago.

Is this also going to be a limitation of the X5 2nd gen on its launch? Pretty much a dealbreaker for me if so.

Vartan · May 24, 2015 at 5:53 PM

-Dual silicon crystal oscillators for jitter <1ps at all output frequencies
VERY GOOD

-Hardware DSD128 decoding with premium analog volume control to realize direct uninterpolated DSD output
MAY BE DIGITAL?

And one question guys. Am I right or am I wrong?

thanks

Dobrescu George · May 24, 2015 at 5:58 PM

vartan said:
-Dual silicon crystal oscillators for jitter <1ps at all output frequencies
VERY GOOD

-Hardware DSD128 decoding with premium analog volume control to realize direct uninterpolated DSD output
MAY BE DIGITAL?

And one question guys. Am I right or am I wrong?

thanks

If the volume is not analog, the DSD format needs to be changed, so it is better to use analog volume control. This does not need to mean wheels all the time, just the integration in the circuit needs to be done analog, and not in the digital stage of the data. You should hear it cleaner this way when using dsd files.

warrior1975 · May 24, 2015 at 6:03 PM

I thought with dsd volume control has to be digital?

514077 · May 24, 2015 at 6:05 PM

joe bloggs said:
It's clear(-ish), but they seem to intend to put ALL THAT onto the intro pages on the FiiO website. I don't know, this seems less like the technobabble you'd use in the Star Trek show proper to grab the audience's attention and more like the 200 page Star Trek Technical Manual sold to hardcore geeks that'd make most people's eyes glaze over--what do you think?

I agree. i.e. I'm not familiar with all the alphanumeric nominclature of the parts being disgust here. It might be clearer to us novices if one could list those parts visa vi the 1st generation.
And, guys, what are you using to open the 1st link?

DDDamian · May 24, 2015 at 6:11 PM

warrior1975 said:
I thought with dsd volume control has to be digital?

Not at all - the DAC will output the analog signal at full scale, which is them attenuated in the amplifier section (yeah, sounds weird) or presented full scale to the line out.

Dobrescu George · May 24, 2015 at 6:15 PM

warrior1975 said:
I thought with dsd volume control has to be digital?

Digital volume control means bit shifting. DSD files contain samples that are just one bit. You cannot securely shift bits if the bit depth is so shallow. Forcing digital volume control on DSD degrades the SQ sometimes, because it introduces modulation artifacts.

warrior1975 · May 24, 2015 at 6:16 PM

dddamian said:
Not at all - the DAC will output the analog signal at full scale, which is them attenuated in the amplifier section (yeah, sounds weird) or presented full scale to the line out.

Does that mean analog volume control only? I thought I read somewhere that dsd volume could only be controlled by either digital or analog (I forgot which).

DDDamian · May 24, 2015 at 6:28 PM

warrior1975 said:
Does that mean analog volume control only? I thought I read somewhere that dsd volume could only be controlled by either digital or analog (I forgot which).

The nature of DSD means it must be summed over time to get the frequency. As Dobrescu George alludes to: you cannot simply increase or decrease the instantaneous signal with DSD or shift the bits to the right to attenuate it (although that way would be pretty darn stupid as each "bit-shift" halves the amplitude! Better math is required than "bit-shifting"). To achieve volume control digitally would almost force conversion to PCM. I have no idea if Fiio approaches the two differently but why would they? It makes more sense, and is actually a plus, to do any attenuation in the analog stage. If they've already put in the chip to do so (as there is no physical dial/pot) it would make sense they are using it for both formats,

JaZZ · May 24, 2015 at 6:32 PM

I just wonder if there's a downside from the analog volume control for PCM recordings in terms of signal degradation compared to a digital volume control.

bavinck · May 24, 2015 at 6:33 PM

Are there no impressions about the new x5 yet from the people that have heard it????

JaZZ · May 24, 2015 at 6:38 PM

Joe...

...«The new X5 also gains 3 EQ bands for a total of 10...» – compared to 10 in the original X5?

«...and can switch between graphic and parametric equalizer.» Really?!

DDDamian · May 24, 2015 at 6:47 PM

jazz said:
I just wonder if there's a downside from the analog volume control for PCM recordings in terms of signal degradation compared to a digital volume control.

Not really - it's what most receivers do. Like most things it's in the implementation. but generally analog control is preferred.

jazz said:
Joe...

...«The new X5 also gains 3 EQ bands for a total of 10...» – compared to 10 in the original X5?

«...and can switch between graphic and parametric equalizer.» Really?!

Nice catch! Needs some clarification for sure, Can't wait to see how that's implemented in the GUI?!

TwinACStacks · May 24, 2015 at 6:55 PM

pcalv said:
Apologies if discussed already. I am still waiting for a firmware upgrade on the X1 to sort the 5800 file limit due to the database limitations which was promised months ago.

Is this also going to be a limitation of the X5 2nd gen on its launch? Pretty much a dealbreaker for me if so.

You have the latest FW on there, 1.3?

TWIN

x RELIC x · May 24, 2015 at 6:57 PM

bavinck said:
Are there no impressions about the new x5 yet from the people that have heard it????

Brooko has been saying it's rather nice. Just early impressions but seems to definately be an improvement over gen1.

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