Thank you for your reply. I was thinking about using X3 as a stand-alone device.  Sound quality for a reasonable price is all that matters to me, so I guess I'll order E18.

Hi, first time poster, long time lurker. I'm new to the portable audiophile thing, I must admit a whole new world opened since I started reading your discussions here, thank you for hours of interesting reading. Up until recently, I simply didn't listen to music outside of my home stereo...