[MrScratch]

Quote:

It doesn't make sense why I can't change the output signal from the dap. 

 
Basically you want a gain stage on a fixed line level. There's no DAC in the world that allows that, at least none that I'm aware of. You should stop complaining about the X3 line out for a moment and try to focus on your amp, your issue seems to lie there (I'm not trying to be rude, I swear).
 
I don't have your IEMs, however I'm able to use the EarPods and the Philips O'Neill The Specked with the X3+E12 combo (the E12 have much more power compared to the C&C BH).
Did you try to switch between the OUT1 and the OUT2 sockets on the C&C BH? Some users reported some differences.
Did you set the amp on LOW gain? Did you set the LF switch to OFF (it adds more bass when ON, if I'm not mistaken)?

 

[chengsta]

Quote:

Can anyone offer any experience or advice as to whether the Digizoid Z02 would make a good partner for the X3? I am a bass lover and I understand that the Digizoid is a basshead's best friend

JDS labs C5 has slightly less bass, but more bass quality than the ZO2.  I have both amps, and I prefer the C5 alot more.  Also I'm a bass head, but I'm sure like me you also don't want to sacrifice quality.

 

[boombobby289]

Is it possible to bypass the internal DAC of X3 by an external DAC from iBasso, JDS..etc?

 

[MrScratch]

Quote:

Is it possible to bypass the internal DAC of X3 by an external DAC from iBasso, JDS..etc?

 

 
 
You'll need something with coaxial S/PDIF input like the iBasso D12 Anaconda.

 

[jj69]

2) A question on the gapless side of things.... most of my music is ripped to flac and some is 320kbps mp3. A lot of my albums are gapless as purchased that way (for example dj mix albums) which are say 16 tracks but mixed together. Will the x3 still play them as one seamless mix, or will it "insert" gaps between the tracks?

Yes and no.

It can play gapless if the files have ID3 tags, and then only if played in Category/Album play mode.

IMO it was a major blunder to design a UI that relies on ID3 tags for gapless playback, especially considering all the issues people are reporting with the UI. Those issues would be non-issues if gapless worked in file browser mode.

 

[boombobby289]

You'll need something with coaxial S/PDIF input like the iBasso D12 Anaconda.

Has anyone tried this setup like you mentioned above:
Fiio X3 + iBasso D12?

Does it improve the sound quality significantly?

 

[castleofargh]

Quote:

Quote:

 
 
what portable amp are you using?  I am using the JDS labs C5 with my x3 and I am loving it.  It's got no problems with volume.  It gives more bass than the x3 amp section can give,  Less warmpth and midbass too (compared to bass +10 on the x3).  Clarity is the same though. 

C&C BH. I'm also using sensitive iems Heir Audio 4.A. 
 
I basically have no ability to change volume cause its already insanely loud at the minimum level lol. -__- 
 
It doesn't make sense why I can't change the output signal from the dap. 

 
a line out is supposed to be a stable fixed 2V output so if everybody was doing that one job right, all lines out would have the exact same loudness. blame apple for lowering all standards in audio and everybody for following.
here you can only accuse fiio of doing it right.
 I get almost the same loudness from my computer(foobar and win volume maxed out) with odac/o2 or with the x3/o2.
x3 has 1.7v on the line out (thx clieos). what is the minimum gain on the c&c? isn't the x3 alone better?
 
but you make a good point, people with big gain amps and channel imbalance at low volume might want to reconsider if you use intra, but big gain+intra doesn't make much sense from the start. with the pico slim I had no problem on jh13 and 334 and 334 is like uber sensitive.

 

[phlashbios]

OK, following a suggestion earlier in this thread, I have now split my music archive into two folders on the 64Gb card. One called Music1 that contains artists A-M and the other called Music2 that contains artists N-Z. so the file structure now looks like this:
 
root of card....Music1/ArtistA/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3
                                          /AlbumB/song1, song2, song3 
                               /ArtistB/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3 etc.
 
 
root of card...Music2/ArtistN/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3
                                         /AlbumB/song1, song2, song3 
                              /ArtistO/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3 etc.
 
This works, in as much as I can now browse all artists and albums and play what I want to play.
 
However, absolutely nothing at all is indexed, if I go to the 'Category' section on the X3, there are no Album's, Genre's or Artist's listed.
 
So, experimentation, in total, has shown me the following on this 64Gb card:
 
1. If all my music archive is in one big Music/Artist/Album/song structure, I cannot browse all the files and it cannot browse any further than artist 'R'. There is clearly some limitation on the total number of folders that can be browsed. Also no database index is built (either using auto or manual) as nothing shows in 'Category' section of the X3
 
2. Splitting my 53Gb archive into two folders but retaining the Foldername/Artist/Album/song structure, allows all files to be browsed, but again, no database index is built (either using auto or manual), as nothing is shown in the 'Category' section of the X3
 
3. Putting all 8000 songs into one folder called Music, results in the X3 being able to see all the files, and it also indexes them to the database (it does take about 20 mins to do so) and the songs are viewable in the 'Category' section of the X3 and can be sorted by Album, Genre or Artist.
 
What this all means is that there are clearly some firmware issues to fix. I should be able to browse my music archive without splitting it up. It is also clear that indexing of files to the X3 database is not occurring for folder structures on a 64Gb card, but is working if all the songs are in one big folder.

 

[MrScratch]

Also I'd like to add that on the same SD (Sandisk microSDXC 64GB) the one-folder trick gave me the same results phlashbios obtained:
 
Quote:

3. Putting all 8000 songs into one folder called Music, results in the X3 being able to see all the files, and it also indexes them to the database (it does take about 20 mins to do so) and the songs are viewable in the 'Category' section of the X3 and can be sorted by Album, Genre or Artist.

 
However, after renaming all the files in foobar2000 with the '%artist% - %album% - %tracknumer%. %title%' sintax my X3 was unable to show any file in the Category functions exept for Dr. Chesky's album, it took several library updates to get it working again.
 
Now I'm loading my second 64GB microSD with the original iTunes folder structure, then I'll split it in 2 big folders to see if the workaround works with one more user. Browsing the files with a big single folder is a pain in the arse anyway. =)
 

---

I'll ask this again since it seems my question got lost in this thread due to furious posting:
 
Quote:

I have a suggestion for James. Since the vol+ and vol- buttons are unused while browsing files, could you consider to add a fast scrolling function? If we could scroll 10 files at once with these buttons it would make easier to browse through the songs for those of us who chose to stick with a single HUGE directory. I think Chinese users would be grateful, too.

 

[phlashbios]

Quote:

Now I'm loading my second 64GB microSD with the original iTunes folder structure untouched, then I'll split it in 2 big folders to see if the workaround works with one more user. Browsing the files with a big single folder is a pain in the arse anyway. =)
 
 

 
Good stuff, that can only help if Fiio have examples to work with. And you are right about the one big folder thing, total pain in the arse 

 
Or as some might say "Aint nobody got time for that...!!" 

 

[Balkan]

Thank you Fiio and James for an awesome product. Loving SQ of each and every track so far.

+1

A question for James: any update about the leather case project? I hope you're still working on it.
From the prototype's photos you've posted it doesn't seem to have any belt-clip.
It would be nice if if it had....IMHO.

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

great informative thread I have a couple of questions before I pull the trigger on one of these.... 1) I rather like the album art / cover flow feature on my rockboxed ipod (or classic) - on the fiio x3 can you scroll the albums via album art or is it essentially a file browser option? No biggie and not a deal breaker - just wondering if you can 2) A question on the gapless side of things.... most of my music is ripped to flac and some is 320kbps mp3. A lot of my albums are gapless as purchased that way (for example dj mix albums) which are say 16 tracks but mixed together. Will the x3 still play them as one seamless mix, or will it "insert" gaps between the tracks? Gapless albums ripped to flac and played aruond the house still play in a gapless manner, I wondered if this would be the case with the fiio cheers G

no scrolling by album art like Apple did with coverflow. You pick a song, and if you have album art in the id3 tag AND have the X3 to show album art and not lyrics, you will see album art.
 
Most users including me have had problems getting gapless to work.
Quote:

Is it possible to bypass the internal DAC of X3 by an external DAC from iBasso, JDS..etc?

Only through the X3's digital output if the other unit has digital input of the same kind.
Quote:

Does it improve the sound quality significantly?

Extremely subjective from user to user. Some will say difference from iPod+Apple earphones to reference DAC's, amps, and STAX is very minimal. 
 
Quote:

OK, following a suggestion earlier in this thread, I have now split my music archive into two folders on the 64Gb card. One called Music1 that contains artists A-M and the other called Music2 that contains artists N-Z. so the file structure now looks like this:
 
root of card....Music1/ArtistA/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3
                                          /AlbumB/song1, song2, song3 
                               /ArtistB/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3 etc.
 
 
root of card...Music2/ArtistN/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3
                                         /AlbumB/song1, song2, song3 
                              /ArtistO/AlbumA/song1, song2, song3 etc.
 
This works, in as much as I can now browse all artists and albums and play what I want to play.
 
However, absolutely nothing at all is indexed, if I go to the 'Category' section on the X3, there are no Album's, Genre's or Artist's listed.
 
So, experimentation, in total, has shown me the following on this 64Gb card:
 
1. If all my music archive is in one big Music/Artist/Album/song structure, I cannot browse all the files and it cannot browse any further than artist 'R'. There is clearly some limitation on the total number of folders that can be browsed. Also no database index is built (either using auto or manual) as nothing shows in 'Category' section of the X3
 
2. Splitting my 53Gb archive into two folders but retaining the Foldername/Artist/Album/song structure, allows all files to be browsed, but again, no database index is built (either using auto or manual), as nothing is shown in the 'Category' section of the X3
 
3. Putting all 8000 songs into one folder called Music, results in the X3 being able to see all the files, and it also indexes them to the database (it does take about 20 mins to do so) and the songs are viewable in the 'Category' section of the X3 and can be sorted by Album, Genre or Artist.
 
What this all means is that there are clearly some firmware issues to fix. I should be able to browse my music archive without splitting it up. It is also clear that indexing of files to the X3 database is not occurring for folder structures on a 64Gb card, but is working if all the songs are in one big folder.

Nice and good to know! Thanks. I had a feeling the X3 had some indexing quirks.

 

[phlashbios]

On a positive note, I think the X3 is excellent for the money. Yes, it is the most expensive of the DAP's I own, but it is also the best sounding by some margin.
 
It is a bit more bassy and warm than I am used too, but that is easily rectified through adjusting the bass settings, or as James from Fiio has said, can also be made to sound more neutral if connected to their E12. The bass is not overbearing, and is well controlled. Sound quality is excellent, with good clarity and not a trace of hiss or other noise with any of my IEM's. It has an overall sound profile that will make it easy to listen to for long periods of time.
 
I haven't had the chance to hook it up to my E07K yet to see what that sounds like, but frankly, I think I am unlikely to carry the X3 and the E07K around together as a portable rig, as the X3 is easily has a good enough Amp stage and DAC, to meet my portable sound quality needs on a daily basis.
 
I am currently using the X3 with Cosmic Ears HY3 CIEM which is a hybrid that has a dynamic bass driver and dual BA for the mids and the trebles. The X3 is a beautiful companion to the HY3, allowing the HY3 to provide great bass extension and lovely, clear mids and highs. All of it, well controlled and a joy to listen to.
 
Need to try the X3 with my other IEM's and headphones, and also with the E07K, but so far I would say the X3 is an excellent purchase, that should suit most people and behave well with any type of music.

 

[dbdynsty25]

Quote:

Need to try the X3 with my other IEM's and headphones, and also with the E07K, but so far I would say the X3 is an excellent purchase, that should suit most people and behave well with any type of music.

 
Don't bother...I've found that the X3 is pretty similar to my 07K, and even sounds almost identical when the 07K is hooked up to the X3...so much so that it's pointless to carry both!

 

[phlashbios]

Quote:

 
Don't bother...I've found that the X3 is pretty similar to my 07K, and even sounds almost identical when the 07K is hooked up to the X3...so much so that it's pointless to carry both!
 

 
Yep, I am anticipating that 

 
That for me, is a winner if that is the case, cos I can just use my E07K with my laptop, and only have to carry the X3 around in my pocket instead of having a DAP and Amp in my pocket that make my trousers fall down 

 
I've tried all my IEM's and headphones with it to see if there is any hiss/noise or difficulties driving any of them, and all seem 100% on that score. What I haven't had the chance to do yet, is any extended listening with them all to gauge sound quality, but I am not expecting any issues there if these HY3's are anything to go by