[seanwee]

The sound got more detailed, bass became better, compared to X1, where low bass was not good, highs became more detailed and complex. You can't use any of X7s without an AM module.
I bought the 1 generation of the X7, which was about $320 for a body only + $99 for the amp.
It also depends on the earphones you use. My transition was - Fischer DBA-02Mk2 -> Dunu2000j -> AKG N40 (a complete waste of money) -> Dunu Falcon C. Plus tip rolling. From Comply, Spinfits, down to JVC Spiral Dots and even lately Azla – Sedna – Ear Fit. But still using the JVC's. Love both DUNUs.

Haha I tried the N40s as well and I though they had good tuning, just lousy drivers.

 

[deafmutelame]

The sound got more detailed, bass became better, compared to X1, where low bass was not good, highs became more detailed and complex. You can't use any of X7s without an AM module.
I bought the 1 generation of the X7, which was about $320 for a body only + $99 for the amp.
It also depends on the earphones you use. My transition was - Fischer DBA-02Mk2 -> Dunu2000j -> AKG N40 (a complete waste of money) -> Dunu Falcon C. Plus tip rolling. From Comply, Spinfits, down to JVC Spiral Dots and even lately Azla – Sedna – Ear Fit. But still using the JVC's. Love both DUNUs.

Thanks Denis. If you mention that the bass became noticeably better compared to the X1 I might have to consider that, for the strongest point in the Campfire Audio Atlas that I want to purchase is its pronounced bass.

I could also try to find a 1 st generation of the X7.

 

[deafmutelame]

I went from the X1 to the Xduoo X3 (SQ improvement) , then got the Xduoo X10 (power improvement) and Cayin N3 (Swiss army knife-like functionality) and then the Opus 1 metal(SQ improvement) and then the Cayin N5ii (small SQ improvement+ reference-like tonality)

I terms of big SQ improvements I would say the jump to the Xduoo X3 and N5ii are the most significant.

I have tried volume matching and comparing the N5ii and X1 before and honestly the improvement will depend on your iems. Some less revealing ones will see less improvement while more revealing ones will reveal all that is missing on the X1 compared to the N5ii.

The N5ii is more neutral, has a much bigger and clearer soundstage with significantly better instrument separation. Detail retrieval is not say, supremely better but the way its presented is clearer, better defined with higher resolution and texture. Bass extension is significantly better, it hits lower, sounds tighter and is much better controlled. The sound is also more dynamic and you can actually feel the sound rather than everything just being soft and rounded.

Iems and headphones wise I have heard and tried so so many in the time I went from the X1 to the N5ii but so many don't fit my taste, I only went from my CKR9s to the echobox finders and got a hifiman sundara. Andromedas? Muddy mids. Shure SE846? Weird tonality and murky sound. UERR? Hollow and sucked out sound. Kaiser 10? Too expensive for a sound that's just a little better compare to the echobox finder. And many many more.

Thanks a lot @seanwee ! I have been investigating the N5ii and it really looks superb, while being within my budget-ish. The only thing that I don't like about it is its EQ, which has got only 5 bands, and I expected at least 10...

But if you tell me that it's had a significant impact sound quality wise, then I might have to put it on my wish-list.

 

[seanwee]

Thanks a lot @seanwee ! I have been investigating the N5ii and it really looks superb, while being within my budget-ish. The only thing that I don't like about it is its EQ, which has got only 5 bands, and I expected at least 10...

But if you tell me that it's had a significant impact sound quality wise, then I might have to put it on my wish-list.

What do you mean? It has 10 bands. You just need to drag right to see the back 5

 

[seanwee]

There is also a viable alternative to the N5ii now. The ibasso DX120. So far people are saying really good things about it.

I will be demoing the DX120 for sure, its just a matter of when.

 

[FiiO]

The Classic Returns! Grab a refurbished FiiO Portable Music Player>>>>More information

 

[oknidius]

Has anyone found a good alternative to the FiiO X1 (1st generation)? The closest I could find was the Hifi Walker H2; which has plenty of driving power, but is a little darker-sounding. Still good though.

I've tried some other lower end models (xDuoo, Fiio, Shanling, Hidizs) and they all had issues (mostly with sound being too flat or boring; or not enough driving power).
I've tried some higher end models (Onkyo, Cayin, Shanling, OPUS, Fiio, A&K, iBasso, Cowon, Lotoo, Luxury & Precision) and the "improvement" in sound wasn't generally worth the tenfold price compared to the X1. In some cases, the 1000 $ player sounded worse to me than the X1.
Plus, I can deal with bugs and basic usability issues on a 100-200 $ DAP ; but on a 500$-1500$ DAP... not so much. So I've given up on the upper end of portable audio & sold everything off a few years ago.

But my iPod Touch gave out and my FiiO X1 has been long gone.
I tried using my phone with a variety of dongles. They're annoying: more protrusions flapping about; not always good-sounding, unable to drive headphones properly, the phone itself is big and now we're adding more cables and accessories... ugh!

I have a FiiO Q3 amp which sounds really good to me; exactly the sound I like, but I hate stacking (more cables, more batteries to charge, more thickness & weight... it's supposed to be portable...!)

I can't find anything in the middle or low end that is as good as the old FiiOs.

Anyone have suggestions or recommendations of something that has a similar sound signature to the FiiO X1 (1st Gen) and similar or greater output power?

Many thanks!

 

[seanwee]

Has anyone found a good alternative to the FiiO X1 (1st generation)? The closest I could find was the Hifi Walker H2; which has plenty of driving power, but is a little darker-sounding. Still good though.

I've tried some other lower end models (xDuoo, Fiio, Shanling, Hidizs) and they all had issues (mostly with sound being too flat or boring; or not enough driving power).
I've tried some higher end models (Onkyo, Cayin, Shanling, OPUS, Fiio, A&K, iBasso, Cowon, Lotoo, Luxury & Precision) and the "improvement" in sound wasn't generally worth the tenfold price compared to the X1. In some cases, the 1000 $ player sounded worse to me than the X1.
Plus, I can deal with bugs and basic usability issues on a 100-200 $ DAP ; but on a 500$-1500$ DAP... not so much. So I've given up on the upper end of portable audio & sold everything off a few years ago.

But my iPod Touch gave out and my FiiO X1 has been long gone.
I tried using my phone with a variety of dongles. They're annoying: more protrusions flapping about; not always good-sounding, unable to drive headphones properly, the phone itself is big and now we're adding more cables and accessories... ugh!

I have a FiiO Q3 amp which sounds really good to me; exactly the sound I like, but I hate stacking (more cables, more batteries to charge, more thickness & weight... it's supposed to be portable...!)

I can't find anything in the middle or low end that is as good as the old FiiOs.

Anyone have suggestions or recommendations of something that has a similar sound signature to the FiiO X1 (1st Gen) and similar or greater output power?

Many thanks!

Man, the X1 was my first "proper" dap. Can't believe its been almost a decade.

In any case, I think you may like the fiio M6/M7.

Or you can go for the super small players like the Hidizs Ap80 Pro.