[Dobrescu George]

  Had AK120 and loved it...and X3 is sure not as warm as AK...heard AKM with the new Fiio X5 3rd sounds warm/neutral again...

 
X3ii is quite warm for me though... 
 
Maybe there is something about the exact pairing between headphones / IEMs and the device. 
 
X5ii is neutral - but it's never clinical. X5ii sounds really awesome. 
 
I haven't heard X5-3 yet - but will surely let ebobody know when I do 

 

[PapaThrust]

I'm thinking about picking up an X5ii - I have a 2 questions that would really help my decision:
 
Does the EQ behave just like the X7 in that as soon as you activate it it cuts 6 db - or does the cut increase as you raise the sliders?
 Or in other words, if you activate it at zero it stays the same.
 
Also is there a practical way to make a playlist on the player- or is it painfully slow?

 

[FiiO]

  I'm thinking about picking up an X5ii - I have a 2 questions that would really help my decision:
 
Does the EQ behave just like the X7 in that as soon as you activate it it cuts 6 db - or does the cut increase as you raise the sliders?
 Or in other words, if you activate it at zero it stays the same.
 
Also is there a practical way to make a playlist on the player- or is it painfully slow?

Dear PapaThrust,
 
1. The EQ in X5II will be available after switching to the new one.
2. You may create external playlist in the computer following the help in this page: http://www.fiio.me/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=41783&extra=page%3D1
Or create internal playlist following the help in this page: http://fiio.me/search.php?mod=forum&searchid=15&orderby=lastpost&ascdesc=desc&searchsubmit=yes&kw=inner
 
Best regards

 

[PapaThrust]

  Dear PapaThrust,
 
1. The EQ in X5II will be available after switching to the new one.
2. You may create external playlist in the computer following the help in this page: http://www.fiio.me/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=41783&extra=page%3D1
Or create internal playlist following the help in this page: http://fiio.me/search.php?mod=forum&searchid=15&orderby=lastpost&ascdesc=desc&searchsubmit=yes&kw=inner
 
Best regards

1)  Am sorry - cannot ascertain your meaning. Does it behave just as the X7 EQ?
 
2) It seems as the internal playlist can only be made if I am already playing the song?

 

[x RELIC x]

I'm thinking about picking up an X5ii - I have a 2 questions that would really help my decision:

Does the EQ behave just like the X7 in that as soon as you activate it it cuts 6 db - or does the cut increase as you raise the sliders?
 Or in other words, if you activate it at zero it stays the same.

Also is there a practical way to make a playlist on the player- or is it painfully slow?

1. On the latest FW the EQ dynamically adjusts the pre-out so that a setting of zero on all sliders will be the same volume level as no EQ applied. As you adjust the sliders up from zero the volume adjusts dynamically to avoid clipping. Personally, I prefer the old method where it has an immediate -6dB reduction when engaging the EQ as I find it difficult to tune with a dynamically adjusting EQ. I now cut the frequencies I want to reduce (while leaving the ones I want elevated) from zero as that does not dynamically adjust the volume.

2. Yes. It's may be easier to create large playlists externally as mentioned by FiiO, rather than navigating to and playing one song at a time to add it to the internal playlist.

 

[FiiO]

 
1)  Am sorry - cannot ascertain your meaning. Does it behave just as the X7 EQ?
 
2) It seems as the internal playlist can only be made if I am already playing the song?

Dear PapaThrust,
 
1. Maybe I failed to get your point well. Here is the explaination for the EQ in the X5II, hope it helps:
There are several preset equalizer settings as well as a custom setting available. All presets as well as the custom setting are editable. Press the previous and next keys to switch between presets(Off, Rock, Classical, Jazz, Pop, Dance, Vocal, Blues, Metal and Custom). Press OK to enter editing mode (arrow will appear above one of the EQ bands), turn the scroll wheel to
choose between different frequency bands, press OK to select a frequency band for editing and turn the scroll wheel to adjust the frequency band up or down, and then press OK to store the change and use the scroll wheel to choose another frequency band for editing.Press the back button to store changes / exit to EQ band selection / preset selection.
 
2. Yes, you are requried to play the song when adding it to inner playlist. But you can aslo create a external playlist in the computer by yourself.
 
Best regards 

 

[PapaThrust]

1. On the latest FW the EQ dynamically adjusts the pre-out so that a setting of zero on all sliders will be the same volume level as no EQ applied. As you adjust the sliders up from zero the volume adjusts dynamically to avoid clipping. Personally, I prefer the old method where it has an immediate -6dB reduction when engaging the EQ as I find it difficult to tune with a dynamically adjusting EQ. I now cut the frequencies I want to reduce (while leaving the ones I want elevated) from zero as that does not dynamically adjust the volume.

2. Yes. It's may be easier to create large playlists externally as mentioned by FiiO, rather than navigating to and playing one song at a time to add it to the internal playlist.

Thanks for the detailed answer - While I'm not a fan of either of Fiio's EQ implementations, I would choose this one over the other.
 
Having to play a song to add it to a list is probably going to be a deal breaker though.

 

[x RELIC x]

FiiO, the question was whether the EQ dynamically adjusts the total volume output when raising the EQ sliders or if the total volume output is reduced by -6dB immediately when the EQ is engaged. The answer is yes for the dynamic EQ, and no for the -6dB output reduction when the EQ is engaged when the sliders are set to zero.

I'm testing this as we speak on FW 2.1.

 

[Dobrescu George]

@FiiO, the question was whether the EQ dynamically adjusts the total volume output when raising the EQ sliders or if the total volume output is reduced by -6dB immediately when the EQ is engaged. The answer is yes for the dynamic EQ, and no for the -6dB output reduction when the EQ is engaged when the sliders are set to zero.

I'm testing this as we speak on FW 2.1.

 
When was the latest FW released? 

I haven't noticed this before selling my x5ii... 

 

[x RELIC x]

When was the latest FW released? 


I haven't noticed this before selling my x5ii... 

2.1 was released last summer to fix a small issue found in the final 2.0 FW.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/765943/fiio-x5-2nd-gen-impressions-and-discussion-thread/5370#post_12659996

 

[FiiO]

@FiiO, the question was whether the EQ dynamically adjusts the total volume output when raising the EQ sliders or if the total volume output is reduced by -6dB immediately when the EQ is engaged. The answer is yes for the dynamic EQ, and no for the -6dB output reduction when the EQ is engaged when the sliders are set to zero.

I'm testing this as we speak on FW 2.1.

Dear x RELLC x,
 
Thank you! Got it finally. Always learning somethings from your users. Sorry for not understanding well before.

 
Best regards 

 

[Koukol]

Yes, the EQ is not ideal either way. (I'm stuck with the first since I'm using an early FW)
But, Thank God it has one at all!

 

[Soundguyrob]

Hello, I am new to the forum, but have had a X5ii since October and am really liking it. I bought it to replace an Apple Ipod classic 160g. Usually I use the Fiio as a transport for my home stereo system and I've been very impressed with the clarity and detail of the X5 in comparison to the Ipod. Even my wife noticed! To provide background info, my transfer is  Mac - itunes - Dapper - X5ii and I find it is easy to create and copy playlists this way. I do have one question, however. I would like to be able to use replaygain on the Fiio, but I understand that Apple's soundcheck is not compatible. Does anyone know of a way to apply replaygain data to itunes  files on a Mac? Thanks.

 

[fourrobert13]

I'm not familiar with MAC, but I'd imagine you would need a third party program to do it. I use foobar for PC, but I dont believe it's compatible with MAC. I'm sure someone here knows of a program you can use with MAC.

 

[Soundguyrob]

Thanks for the response. I figured as much, but haven't found an app yet. Fingers crossed someone will know.