I hooked up again my Fiio X 3 on my Mark Levinsons and B&W 800 D. What is weird, using this tool as a Dac, it has some qualities, my BD player , Oppo 93, not has. What is very obvious, is that "live feeling", being there in the studio, what I noto find anywhere. The phase is perfect. Like on all Leonard Cohen's recordings, He is just in front of you and his backing vocalists, are distinctly far behind home and isolated, living a life of their own. For me mids and highs are perfecting. For me detail is not hearing much highs, no it is hearing everything, but with depth, a 3 dimension feeling over the instruments.
What is weird, and I not know if I am the only having this, it is "emotional". Some records want to make me cry of beauty, as the essence of the music if finally revealed. Bass is sometimes a bit too "thick", but because highs and mids are so transparent, I can take that for granted. I am not that a fan of "lonesome tonight" of Elvis Presley, but the emotion , presence of his voice is outstanding. And I hear very clear that at the end, that voice that was standing right in front all the time is mixed more to the back in the end. Also although sound is warm and transparent at the same times, highs will be present when you need them.
I prefer to have that little bump in the bass, keep then also the transparency and the detail, then go back to colder, and less transparent devices. But this is my little problem. I find it very uncomfortable to get my Fiio x3 attached to my computer, as the battery gets load all the time, that MUST decrease the battery life. I know that Fioo make usb dacs but that are also headphones amps, but that I not need. I would like to find an outstanding (which not always mean expensive, looks how much pleasure the X 3 gives me) USB dac, as similar sound as the X 3, same musical feeling, but being just an USB dac. I never heard the X 5, which is of course also a portable player, and not sure if I would like it over an X5 as I heard it is a bit colder, so not know if I should search a sound in that direction. The Fioo E 17 got a very average review on "What hifi", and it looks very weird that that would compete with the much more expensive Dacs. But then the X3, even not perfect, gives me such a musicality and pleasure......
Somebody has a suggestion?
