[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Oh... my mistake. So where does he mention that the X3 is up to par with everything but the DX100 and HM901?

The way I read it, he rates it very close to AK100, with DX100 and HM901 being on the next tier above.

 

[TekeRugburn]

whichever ends up being less than 300 ill get.  But if both are under 300 i'd go with the ibasso.  As Fiio products have never  agreed with me.  

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

Since we've been debating Fiio vs iBasso could someone please link me to ClieOS's review. I've looked around for it but haven't found it amongst the billion posts in the Fiio thread. I'd like nothing better then to see a DAP war explode amongst the manufacturers. The big winners would be us, the consumers. The last time I looked into anything having to do with the X5 I read the X5 would have the same amp implementation as their alpen. The last time I looked into the alpen there were some mixed reviews from users saying the amp section sounded overly harsh. Needless to say I'm a little cynical of the alpen but if I could be proven wrong nobody would be happier then me.

Here's ClieOs' own thread on the X3 where my earlier quote came from.....http://www.head-fi.org/t/663600/impression-fiio-x3-high-fi-low-price

 

[Greed]

Quote:

The way I read it, he rates it very close to AK100, with DX100 and HM901 being on the next tier above.

 
I see, but what about other DAPs in the AK100 range (i.e Studio V, 3rd Annie, HM-801, C4 etc). Lot more to choose from in that price range than just the AK100. 

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

 
I see, but what about other DAPs in the AK100 range (i.e Studio V, 3rd Annie, HM-801, C4 etc). Lot more to choose from in that price range than just the AK100. 

The X3's price is supposed to be "around $200 USD".....so what are these others selling for? 

 

[Greed]

Quote:

The X3's price is supposed to be "around $200 USD".....so what are these others selling for? 

 

Originally Posted by LarsHP /img/forum/go_quote.gif

After reading ClieOS's review of it, I think you might be right. FiiO X3 is certainly a much cheaper (around $200) and (going by that review) it seems as it's sound quality is only short of DX100 and HM-901.

 
This is what I'm referring to. No where in ClieOS's review do I see comparisons to the DAPs I mentioned (which is in the price bracket of the AK100). Because of that, the above bolded statement, is simply wrong. I'm not expecting these comparisons, because that would assume ClieOS has heard all these DAPs, but simply saying that the X3 sounds better than all those DAPs and is only short of the TOTL DAPs such as the HM901 and DX100 is not justified, and IMO hard to believe.

 

[LarsHP]

Quote:

Here's ClieOs' own thread on the X3 where my earlier quote came from.....http://www.head-fi.org/t/663600/impression-fiio-x3-high-fi-low-price

I was thinking of that plus ClieOS in the FiiO X3 thread saying:
 
Quote:

If I were to classify DAP into 5 ranks (the bad, the okay, the good, the distinguished, and the great), I'll put Teclast X30 into the okay, Clip+ / Fuze and Nano 7G into the good, HM602 and Teclast T51 into the distinguished, while HM801 and HM901 into the great. At this point, I'll put X3 into 'the distinguished' as well. It isn't among the best, but it is noticeably better than what I consider to be good, solid sounding DAP.

To me he says that the X3 is only bettered by the very top DAPs (HM-801 and HM-901) costing four to five times it's price.

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

 
I see, but what about other DAPs in the AK100 range (i.e Studio V, 3rd Annie, HM-801, C4 etc). Lot more to choose from in that price range than just the AK100. 

 
Hopefully the UI and Firmware will be better than those on the Studio V/3rd Ann and HifiMan players (at least the 6xx) on the Ibasso and FiiO players. I started reading on the X3, seems to be another good option. One thing I also look for on a player is battery life, and both of these suck, at least per the specs (10 - 14 hours). Wait and see attitude here...

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

I hope this player doesnt need an amp for 'better results'. I need my ears and am better off without an amp.
 
==crosses finger==

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

 
A modded AK100 and even a regular AK100 are deafening with iems at 2/3 of volumes. So I am not sure about this...

 
I was testing it with a TDK IE800 that day, not a particularly insensitive IEM (116dB/V, 10ohm). I am not saying it isn't loud, just not deafening IMO.

 

[Mimouille]

I just own the mod and tried stock briefly...maybe the mod is louder.

I was testing it with a TDK IE800 that day, not a particularly insensitive IEM (116dB/V, 10ohm). I am not saying it isn't loud, just not deafening IMO.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

I just own the mod and tried stock briefly...maybe the mod is louder.

Well, mod'ed AK100 removed the resistors on the output stage, so naturally it should be louder. The one I tried is an original AK100.

 

[lin0003]

Quote:

Well, mod'ed AK100 removed the resistors on the output stage, so naturally it should be louder. The one I tried is an original AK100.

For some reason, the AK DAPs all need to be modded. Why is that?

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

For some reason, the AK DAPs all need to be modded. Why is that?

 
Because it has a output resistors of 22ohm. A good player (and amp or any source as well, on that matter) should be 1 ohm or less ideally, 2~3ohm is still acceptable (which is typical for iDevices). Lower output impedance gives you better electronics dampening (reduce noise) and it won't color the sound of headphone with non-linear impedance phase (*typical for custom and multi-driver IEM with passive crossover). You don't need to mod it per se - all you need is to use it with a amp with low output impedance and the result will be pretty good.

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

For some reason, the AK DAPs all need to be modded. Why is that?

With an output impedance of 22ohm, it will distort with any headphones with an impedance less than 176ohm. A major design flaw on the AK100 as it doesn't really have the output power to drive heavier cans.