[Brooko]

@aaDee
 
What Jazz is suggesting is that the E6 hardware boost is obviously changing a few frequencies - so you'd need to play around to try and simulate it.  If it sounds thin in the mid-range (after your bass boost is applied) - try slightly boosting EQ with 1 kHz and 2 kHz sliders.
 
What may help is sending Joe Bloggs a PM.  He's been hugely helpful, and also knows a lot about EQ - so he might have some ideas on simulating the E6 EQ.  Unfortunately I don't have an E6 so I don't really know how much the boost setting is altering the overall sound.  If I did, it would be a 10 minute job with some test tones and an SPL meter (I could mimic it pretty well).

 

[NCSUZoSo]

   
Nah not true.  Even with good headphones it's pretty hard to tell the difference.
 
Also, most people don't get these players for DSD.  Not a lot of people actually use that format.

 
 
I use that format and it is clear as day when comparing the same songs at 320 Kbps with Shure SE425s + X3II

 

[fourrobert13]

  I don't need you to explain file size differences and I never told anyone to use the X3K or not to use it...
 
I simply asked if there aren't more cost effective DAPs out there for listening to MP3s.  Most people getting this DAP are interested in 192/24 and DSD, that is ALL I was saying, plus I was asking a question.  FiiO invested a lot of their R&D into high res audio formats along with the actual hardware installed. 
 
If the X3K has superior audio quality and shaping with MP3s than other DAPs, then that would be all I needed to hear.  I was curious why users would buy a DAP aimed at the high res market just to play MP3s.  Remind me not to ask anything other questions about high res vs. MP3, I didn't realize how touchy you all were about the subject.

I was trying to answer your question and/or discuss upon your comment with my experience and why I use such a device for MP3's.  Apparently you interpreted  my comments the wrong way.   FiiO makes excellent DAPs for many uses.  You use yours for higher quality stuff like others here do and I use mine with MP3's like others do.  Like I said before, there may be other options out there for just MP3's, but they don't offer what I want in a DAP.  I won't debate what sounds better because I've taken the test and could not tell the difference.  I like the storage ability of FiiO and that's why I bought my X1.  Now I want even more storage capacity and OTG functionality, so I'm looking to upgrade.  Coming from Sansa products, I was limited to 40gigs of space (8gig internal and 32gig micro sd) and for $50 more I was able to triple my capacity.  I'm glad the players will play the higher quality formats, but like Brooko, this is a portable device for me and I like having as much of my music as possible on the device.  I listen to my flack when at home.  Hopefully you don't take this response the wrong way.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

I wish it was easier to swap out SD cards.  It is a pain with the stock rubber cover and my Dignis cover.  I came from a 16GB Cowon iAudio 9+ and I was listening to FLAC 16/44.1 on there, so having 128GB with the X3II is AMAZING!!!  

 
I guess my way of thinking is a lot of the hardware in the X3II is aimed at high resolution audio so I figured that there was probably another offering for MP3 users that would be a better fit for less money.  However I am a hardware junkie, hardware modder and an Electrical Engineering student (Jr. year), so I probably look at things a little too literally.
 
I apologize about the tone in my post.  I just quit smoking cigarettes 2 weeks ago, so please forgive the attitude.  I usually keep it under control, but sometimes it sneaks up on me without me realizing it.
 
It does make sense that having a CS4398 DAC would benefit ANY format, not just DSD.  After I get my 2nd SD card I think I will load up my spare 64GB with MP3 and CD quality stuff, then I'll have my 128GB for DSD and 24/192.
 
Hell I may even use a 3rd SD card for "new" music that I am "rolling" at the time.  This is one of the best features of having SD storage, if only we had easy access to the SD slot....  Perhaps I can cut a slot into the Dignis leather cover?

 

[Brooko]

  I wish it was easier to swap out SD cards.  It is a pain with the stock rubber cover and my Dignis cover.  I came from a 16GB Cowon iAudio 9+ and I was listening to FLAC 16/44.1 on there, so having 128GB with the X3II is AMAZING!!!  

 
I guess my way of thinking is a lot of the hardware in the X3II is aimed at high resolution audio so I figured that there was probably another offering for MP3 users that would be a better fit for less money.  However I am a hardware junkie, hardware modder and an Electrical Engineering student (Jr. year), so I probably look at things a little too literally.
 
I apologize about the tone in my post.  I just quit smoking cigarettes 2 weeks ago, so please forgive the attitude.  I usually keep it under control, but sometimes it sneaks up on me without me realizing it.
 
It does make sense that having a CS4398 DAC would benefit ANY format, not just DSD.  After I get my 2nd SD card I think I will load up my spare 64GB with MP3 and CD quality stuff, then I'll have my 128GB for DSD and 24/192.
 
Hell I may even use a 3rd SD card for "new" music that I am "rolling" at the time.  This is one of the best features of having SD storage, if only we had easy access to the SD slot....  Perhaps I can cut a slot into the Dignis leather cover?

 
No worries - I know what quitting smoking is like.  Been off them for more than 10 years now.  Hardest thing I've ever done I think.  Just keep your chin up and make sure you have a good support network.  Over time years it gets easier and easier - but for me the 1st 12 months were really hard.  Well worth it though.
 
Can't help you on the dignis case, or if you want a fully enclosed case, but this is what I use (open face) - and I find it perfect ...
 

 

 
X3ii on the left - you can see the case around it.  If you want I can get some better photos when I get home tonight

 

[NCSUZoSo]

   
No worries - I know what quitting smoking is like.  Been off them for more than 10 years now.  Hardest thing I've ever done I think.  Just keep your chin up and make sure you have a good support network.  Over time years it gets easier and easier - but for me the 1st 12 months were really hard.  Well worth it though.
 
Can't help you on the dignis case, or if you want a fully enclosed case, but this is what I use (open face) - and I find it perfect ...

 
 
Problem is I really like the Dignis case and it's not that difficult to pull the X3II out of it.  I just really wish they had put a small cut out for the SD slot, because it is somewhat of a pain.
 
I doubt I could switch to any other case after using the Dignis 

   Thanks though!
 

 

[ngs428]

Case change issued by FiiO. No more black silicon. Sorry if this was already posted.

http://m.fiio.net/en/stories/277

They had a smell??

 

[LikeABell]

Case change issued by FiiO. No more black silicon. Sorry if this was already posted.

http://m.fiio.net/en/stories/277

They had a smell??

Interesting.
Wonder what I will get..

 

[aaDee]

You may try to simulate the FiiO E12 bass boost like Theo in the X5 thread (translated for better readability):

+6   +5.4   +5.2   +3   +1.6   +1.2   +1   –1   –1   +1.2   +1.8

Yeah,,,,it has some smell but not unbearable. Like that every new product has some small and I personally like it. It gives the feeling of product being new.

 

[aaDee]

Case change issued by FiiO. No more black silicon. Sorry if this was already posted.

http://m.fiio.net/en/stories/277

They had a smell??

@aaDee


What Jazz is suggesting is that the E6 hardware boost is obviously changing a few frequencies - so you'd need to play around to try and simulate it.  If it sounds thin in the mid-range (after your bass boost is applied) - try slightly boosting EQ with 1 kHz and 2 kHz sliders.

What may help is sending Joe Bloggs a PM.  He's been hugely helpful, and also knows a lot about EQ - so he might have some ideas on simulating the E6 EQ.  Unfortunately I don't have an E6 so I don't really know how much the boost setting is altering the overall sound.  If I did, it would be a 10 minute job with some test tones and an SPL meter (I could mimic it pretty well).

I'm pretty sure that those frequencies are missing in X3ii's 10 band equalizer. I tried every possible options to mimic the same sound but I failed to get similar sound. Probably that's the reason why Cowon used BBE settings.

 

[Sladeophile]

Hey guys, I have something weird going on with my X3ii, and I'm not sure if it is somewhere in this thread, but I didn't see it. Sometimes when I pause my music and let my X3 go to sleep, I will come back to it, put in my iems, and notice a kind of white noise in the left channel. When I wake it and press play, the progress slider moves, but there is no music. I think this is killing the batter on my X3 as sometimes when I go to wake it it is dead and should easily have made it through the night on a full charge. 
 
Anyone else experiencing this? Any solutions? Thanks.

 

[chowmein83]

So. Question. I had an e17 and didn't like the sound signature at all. I have talked to a friend whose ear I trust and he loves his fiio x1. I compared the e17 to the jds labs C5 and preferred the C5. Even when the fiio was acting as a DAC from MacBook with lossless files I preferred the 7th ipod classic with the c5 over the fiio which does leave some to be desired. This has made me hesitate to even have a shred of interest in any fiio DAP or amp, however, now I'm curious. So, the question is regarding the fiio sound signature. Is the fiio e17 sound signature similar to their DAP's?

 
I can answer this question as I have auditioned the X3 2nd gen and the first gen X5, and I have access to a FiiO E17 (which used to be mine but now belongs to my brother). At least to me, the E17 sound signature is not similar to those of their DAPs - the E17 is somewhat warmer than both the X3 2nd gen and the first gen X5, with treble that at least to me is much more rolled off and smoothed out (lacking detail) compared to the DAPs.
 
In my review of the X3 2nd gen (link here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-x3-2nd-gen-ultraportable-hi-res-dap/reviews/13271) I have written up a more detailed comparison between the X3 2nd gen and the E17. Hope this helps!

 

[JamesFiiO]

  Interesting.
Wonder what I will get..

 
shoulde be a long time when we replace the silicon . now all the order has been done. 

 

[fooboo]

I use that format and it is clear as day when comparing the same songs at 320 Kbps with Shure SE425s + X3II

I'd like to ask you aquestion about shure.
Since I have se210, I found them muddy. They are not new, but never
used. Do they burn-in? If it remains the same, I would consider some-
thing else. Westone um 10 or hf5. What I want is neutral sound, nothing
more or less.
BTW, personally, I do hear difference between mp3 and flac, not to
mention 24/192. Not an offence. I do.

 

[earfonia]

   
I can answer this question as I have auditioned the X3 2nd gen and the first gen X5, and I have access to a FiiO E17 (which used to be mine but now belongs to my brother). At least to me, the E17 sound signature is not similar to those of their DAPs - the E17 is somewhat warmer than both the X3 2nd gen and the first gen X5, with treble that at least to me is much more rolled off and smoothed out (lacking detail) compared to the DAPs.
 
In my review of the X3 2nd gen (link here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-x3-2nd-gen-ultraportable-hi-res-dap/reviews/13271) I have written up a more detailed comparison between the X3 2nd gen and the E17. Hope this helps!

 
Excellent write up with very nice pictures!
Thanks!