Warning, Grumpy guy in ponyland!
 
 Please don't misread my reviews simply because I'm not your usual shoe shiner singing along the “everything is awesome” Lego song. the review is done so that people can know what to expect, and see if the pros&cons make it worth it for them as it does for me. I'm actually making very few reviews compared to the stuff I own/demo, so me writing anything at all is already my seal of approval.
 
 
 
 


Why get this BT headphone?
I'm a wire guy, I would never get a wireless mouse or keyboard(old school gamer habits), I always favor Ethernet over wifi even at the cost of 30meters of cable going through the house. I didn't even think I could enjoy using a bluetooth headphone, TBH I never understood the point.
Yet here I am now taking the “divine” out for a walk like a puppy instead of my usual IEMs.
 I certainly don't need it when I have like a dozen IEMs already, I tend to dislike anything “on ear” for headphones, or simply portable headphones, so this adventure wasn't starting with high expectations. but it's been a year now since I received the Divine for demo, and I've been using it to go for a walk ever since, I ended up asking to buy it so that I could keep using it. Me buying a BT headphone... “he's been replaced by an alien, shoot him!”.
So why? Well instead of looking at it in term of “what's the best device ever?” #upgradatis #neverhappy, I'm thinking in term of “when would I use that?”
I like speakers, at home I use them when I can, when night comes I have neighbors so I move on to using my hd650. The hd650's role is to let me enjoy music even when I need to be quiet about it.
When I go outside, both the speakers and the hd650 lose their purposes, and I don't have that (yet!)

so I get a vented IEM I enjoy when I need to stay aware of my surroundings, and a strongly isolating IEMs when I get on the train or other noisy places. It's not just about sound, it's about serving a purpose.
I honestly thought I didn't need a BT headphone or any portable headphone because I was doing fine without. Then I tried, and it grew on me. like a cellphone, or internet, we lived just fine without, but it's really cool to have them.
Cables have their own problems, mechanical noises, some static noises when rubbing against some particular clothing materials, pulling on your ear when inside the jacket, makes you paranoid when outside and you're getting anywhere near door knobs or agitated people.
BT isn't perfect, far from it in fact, but there is something special about the no cable maaaagic. I use the divine when it's getting a little cold and IEMs in frozen ears isn't fun anymore. when I may need to take it off and on often, and when I want to go for a walk but couldn't be bothered to get both my phone and a DAP even though my cellphone's HO really sucks. That's when having a powered source can go from a downgrade to something practical.
And overall I can't deny the appeal to stop the all hifi nonsense for a sec and just chill. So this little bad boy ends up being one of my many options to listen to music and has it's very own moments when it wins me over.

 

 
XTZ divine headphone:
Specification: lame copy/past from the web page http://www.xtz.se/headphone-divine

 

1. Cable-free with Bluetooth 4.0
2. Bluetooth interface: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP
3. aptX® audio coding delivers CD-quality wirelessly over Bluetooth. 
4. Up to 10 meters connection range
5. NFC pairing - just touch the devices
6. If the battery is low, you can still use the headphones by connecting the by-pass cable (3.5mm jack) 
7. Works as a headset with built-in microphone
8. Optimized sound quality with DSP technology from Dirac
9. 40 mm Neodymium drivers
10. Output level 97dB / 1kHz
11. Frequency Response 15 – 32.000 Hz
12. Impedance @ 1kHz: 59 ohms
13. Multifunction key (volume, play, pause, answer)
14. Large battery that can handle 14 hours of continuous playback at full volume.
15. Strong construction to handle indoor and outdoor use
16. Ear-cushion and headband cushion in Korean leatherette
17. Weight is 170 g, lightweight and rigid construction.

Function details and buttons:

1. International standard Micro USB cable
2. Shows On/Off Status
3. 3.5mm Passive Connection 
4. Volume Control Up/Down 
5. On/Off Switch 
6. Microphone for phone-call and sound recording

Click to expand...

 
For some reason they don't mention “next” and “previous” buttons on the headphone, but you have them.
 
User manual for users and curious people http://www.xtz.se/product-assets/headphones/headphone-divine/manuals/headphone-divine_manual.pdf
We get a paper version of this with the headphone.

 
Bluetooth:
So yes it's a BT headphone. You turn it ON holding the power button for about 3sec, or 5sec if you want to make it detect a new device(as in, never paired to it ever before). On one of my old sony DAP I have it to pair automatically as I don't use that DAP for anything else, and the pairing is done in a few seconds once both devices are turned ON.
On my sony A15, I chose to use the NFC connection instead, so that I can just use the DAP with my IEMs without changing anything the rest of the time. I just pass my A15 gently over the left ear, get a multi tone sound from the headphone signaling me “I taw a puddy tat” in his own language, and a few seconds after, the DAP is connected.
On my cheap tablet, or cellphone, it also only takes a few seconds,

 
With some devices I've tried(my sony A15), I could block the signal with my butt. they say the range is about 10meters, and it's about right in empty space. With a chunk of castleofargh standing in the way, it can be a lot less.^_^  But that really depends on the device used with it more than on the Divine. With my cellphone and tablet I've had zero issue. In fact a few times I went out without them and wondered why the music had stopped.

 
The headphone can be wired, basic male mini jack to male mini jack, one is provided but looks a little cheap. The only thing looking cheap IMO, and as it's not dedicated to the basic use of the headphone, I find it ok to go cheap on something we may just never use.
I tried it with my computer, setting the Dirac program to output to my odac/o2 and plugged the headphone to that. the sound is actually better than used wireless, if only thanks to a way lower noise floor. Which was kind of a good surprise even though it's logical. I'm so used to headphones with internal amps like those with noise canceling, to sound like crap once you turn off the amp, that I was expecting bad stuff. No such thing here.
The ability to get nice sound wired is great, and to be able to still use it without crying when it goes out of juice is clearly reassuring. I just keep a cable at the bottom of my bag and it gives me peace of mind. In practice the headphone lasts consistently more than 15hours in my case(sold as doing 14hours at max volume playing continuously). How many of you have a device that will have more than that using BT? ^_^
So I only ever used it wired to test the headphone. I got myself a BT headphone and I use it as such.

 
The headphone turns OFF after about 10 or 15mn(didn't time but it's in that ballpark) when you disconnect/turn OFF the device that was paired to it.
When the music is stopped, the amp section is turned OFF, but the headphone is still very much alive and paired to the DAP. You have the led to tell you if it's ON anyway, so there is no reason to stress over “did I turn it OFF?” if you're really paranoid about that, you can just turn it ON and off again, the tones are different for ON and OFF so there is your last way to know.

 

 

 
Software apps and other options:
Let's make this clear, the headphone has no on-board DSP!!!! To benefit from the optimized sound, you will need an iphone with the free app, an android phone/dap with the free app, and for windows, you need the dirac software the isn't free(price changes depending on if you buy it with the headphone 20euro, or separately 39euro).

 
For windows, the Dirac software shows up as a virtual device in the sound settings, so you can set it as output for whatever software you want like foobar, or simply as default output for windows and have everything go through it. That way you get your movie on the Divine headphone using the DSP. Pretty sweet and rather easy to set up IMO.

 
The android app is a music player, the obvious problem with this, when you're not playing music with it you can't engage the DSP. So no fine sound for movies, utube, spotofy etc. because of android, the only way to do it would be to make people root their phones and make a specific app to overtake the audio of the entire phone. The guys at XTZ didn't want to take that road, and do not plan to take it in any foreseeable future. From a consumer perspective, of course I always want more and I want it yesterday. But I put myself in their shoes, let's say they did develop an app that needs root access to work, they would have all the people who fail to root harassing them for help when it's not their problem. And then those who would root their device just for that app without knowing too much about android, and get in trouble at the next android update, those guys may blame XTZ for their troubles.
So while it's obvious that a reasonably low latency, system wide DSP would add value to the Divine, I believe they decided not to do it for peace of mind and avoiding getting sued or at least spammed for help by people who never RTFM(my opinion, they didn't tell me this! Only that they didn't plan to provide such app).
Meanwhile I use the player with the “reference” sound setting(supposedly the neutral setting), and viper4android(because I'm already rooted) to add some little crossfeed. Yeah I know, first use something to make a headphone as transparent as possible, and then use something else to ruin it all might seem a little contradictory, but I like crossfeed ^_^,

 

 
Comfort:
As I said I'm not a fan of on ear, when I remember the hd25, the image that comes to mind are forceps. To my surprise I find the Divine to be fairly comfy(for an on ear headphone!!!!!!!!!). The clamp isn't like you'll forget it, but it's also not a problem and I use it for about an hour every other day without pain.
Still it's not the kind of solution to go spend a full day with. I start hurting a little after about 2 hours. I admit to be a sissy about that kind of things, and having a pretty large bald head probably doesn't help for the clamping force or the headband comfort(a little thin IMO). So most likely plenty of people would be fine longer, I'm just saying it like I experience it.
The weight is 170g, very fine for that kind of device. B&W P5 BT is 213g, bose soundlink 153g, for reference a wired hd25 is 140gr. So even for a non BT on ear it's a very reasonable weight and you really aren't bothered by it.
It doesn't fold but you can turn the drivers 90degrees to wear it around your neck, and IMO it looks fine enough not to become a fashion hazard. So in practice I take it to go out, meet someone, put it around my neck, spend from 30sec to half an hour with the person, move on with the headphone back on my head, arrive at destination and put it in my bag or in a desktop drawer. Works well for intended purpose.
Overall, I would not suggest it for 4hours a day, and instead go for anything over the ear(circumaural) and clearly known for comfort. But for short commutes it's a very fine headphone. I bought one after demoing it for a few weeks, and I'm not into S&M.

 
I have very very slightly bent the top of the headband inward to get a little more surface in contact with my skull as I could feel a pressure point it after some times with the default shape. that pretty much did the trick for me, but again, I'm bald so I lack the usual hair cushion.

 
Isolation is fine too, not etymotic IEM level, but good enough for most uses. No complain on that topic.

 

 
Sound:
-Without using the DSP app, it's average but not horrible, in fact just reducing the 4khz area with an EQ is all I really do when I use it with a source that can't use the DSP. You can also chose to lower the bass level that is exaggerated from an “audiophile” perspective, but that's a matter of taste. So nothing complicated, almost all DAPs with BT will have a good enough EQ to deal with the 4khz and enjoy the sound.

 
-With the DSP turned ON to the reference sound, the bass has gone down and sounds better. In both cases it extends pretty low(in fact as low as I can hear!). In comparison my hd650 does sound rolled off in the subs when I don't EQ it. Using the “bright” setting which is really just a gentle slope in the low end, the bass gets that familiar sub roll off that some enjoy so much on most Grado headphones for example.
Obviously all my comparisons with other headphones here are only to try and describe the frequency response. Not that a closed bluetooth headphone actually sounds like open headphones.

 
The app then offers a few bass boost options. Well I didn't like any of them, but the bass heads can certainly get their skull shaken when the bass drops and the max bass boost is ON. ^_^
Here is where my very inexperienced attempt at measuring a headphone got me(warning I'm not showing the signature of the headphones!!!!!!!):

 
I measured the headphone with all the effects and because I have no clue what I measured(I'm set to measure IEMs not headphones), or what compensation to apply to give actual meaning to the curves, here are instead showing the differences between the reference DSP(shown as flat) and the other settings. As what I'm showing are variations, they should be relevant to what really is happening(at least I hope so ^_^).
to make the reading easy, I've also aligned the graphs at 1khz, in reality the maximum bass boost does not increase the signal by almost 15db, it boosts about half that while the rest of the signal is attenuated.
Last precision, the value in db you can read at the bottom with the name of each graph, those are given for 50hz(where you can see the vertical line).

 

 
Placement on the hear must not be disregarded. on my ears there clearly is a sweet spot, outside of it the sound can go from bad seal losing bass, to some sibilance. So if you notice excessive sibilance, maybe move it around a little or change the setting, the headband position and length etc. it took me about a week before figuring that I could get an even better sound(subjectively). It was already nice so I didn't look. I was wrong.

 

 
Hiss: if you know me you were expecting this one.
There is an audible hiss, it's not like I can be annoyed by it or even really notice it when I'm walking on the street or in the train and music is playing, so in no way this is a problem outdoor. But at home listening quietly, ultra radical hiss haters like myself will certainly not be ok. This is a problem I've had on all the BT headphones I've tried so far.
Again, I'm mentioning the facts, I'm just not using them at night in my bed to listen to quiet music. But was that the purpose of that headphone? Not really, at least not for me.

 
 
 
To summarize:
the sound of the headphone without DSP is ok for a random BT headphone, not audiophile level. Even thought it does extend well both in bass and trebles, so with an EQ you can already make for an interesting sound.
With the DSP, IMO you really get a tool that will let you enjoy music. I know I'm supposed to be the big bad objectivist, but at the end of the day I kept that headphone because I enjoy the sound I'm hearing.
I don't know about neutral, because I don't think there is such a thing on headphones that would fit all ears. But not having a chaotic frequency response is in my opinion, the starting point to getting the music to sound good. and that's exactly what they tried to do with that headphone, reduce all the ugly spikes and dips as much as it's reasonable to do. And the headphone having good extension from the start, is the ideal kind of headphone to work with when EQing.
So is the result neutral? Decide for yourself. IMO there is still too much low end for perfect neutral to my own ears, but that's exactly what I enjoy. I do love me some good rumble, not loud, but palpable.  I also have a pair of ER4SR that are amazing small IEMs IMO. they both target some idea of neutral, but when you try them side by side, you feel like the er4 is one of those cheap speakers that roll off at 400hz and have no sub frequency whatsoever. Of course it does have low frequencies and the roll off in the sub is in fact pretty subtle, but the comparison it just that strong. Both because of headphone vs IEM, and because the Divine does have really solid bass and subs(the bright setting gives a closer general feeling IMO and will have some supporters). For casual listening I have no doubt in my mind that most people will have a lot more fun using the Divine even if the trebles might not ultimately be as clean as on the er4.
 
All in all I believe the guys working on this headphone did know what they were doing, they didn't start with a porta pro and try to get the sub back to 0db or other nonsense. To me this headphone is a proof of concept! It's not the pinnacle of technology/possibilities, and it will not make you give up on your hifi gear. That wasn't ever the point, the primary objective was to keep the price reasonable and offer a well balanced BT headphone(for a change). But it doesn't mean the concept couldn't go hifi some day. And I sure hope it will.
Only retrograde audiophiles can still reject DSPs as a way to further improve a headphone or a pair of speakers in a room. While it can't compensate everything, it can do a lot and no transducer is perfect by default. The XTZ Divine headphone is a step in the right direction, and fun enough that it decided me to get one when my opinion on BT headphones was … “meh”.
I personally would love to see a few more settings, like recessed mids, and rolled off trebles, to get a more relaxed sound when I need to concentrate. And of course a crossfeed option, and some replay gain. I can just encode my music with some crossfeed and replaygain, or use viper4android(cure tech setting), but it would be nice to have something like that by default with the headphone app someday.
Maybe in the future, the same thing in a circumaural version for added comfort but that's another story and I'm getting off topic.

 
It has become my main choice to go out for a walk, cool sound and ease of use, that's just my kind of gear. I'm a horrible audiophile, but I like nice and easy a lot. ^_^

 
 

 

 
- cons:
“I'm glad my BT headphone has some bright leds flashing all the time” said nobody ever!!!!!
I had to put some black duct tape on the leds after 10mn of trying it in my bed. Being able to call batman at night isn't why I bought a BT headphone.

 
Another element of bluetooth, not all your sources will have the best streaming options or signal output. I'm not blaming the headphone here, it offers a bunch of compatibilities and does fairly well in most situations. But the limits of BT are still very real so it's best to keep that in mind when picking a source or a headphone, and maybe ask around for people who have the combo how they feel about it.

 
No vertical tilt for the drivers. Surprisingly I still find them comfy enough to wear for about an hour or 2 per day. But you clearly get a feeling that vertical tilt and a more cushioned headband could have improved the comfort aspect. I wouldn't recommend those to wear for long trips.

 
DSP requires to use the app/software, while a good ideas when it comes to cost and avoiding extra stuff/space/weight to the headphone, this does limit the possibilities in practice. For example I can't get the improved sound with my non android sony DAP, and I can't use spotify and the DSP at the same time on my tablet.

 
Too hissy for really quiet listening in a quiet house IMO. I'm a hiss maniac so I never ever let that go. But as always it's only really a concern for people like me who like to listen at really low volume levels when possible(think 50 ~ 60db). I can't tell anything about hiss as soon as I'm outside walking on the street, so the headphone stays totally valid for the use I have of it and I'm mentioning this only as a service for the 3 maniacs who like me would get mad because they'd notice a hiss while in a perfectly silent room at night with quiet volume setting.

 

 

 
+ pros:
Fair price IMO, at the kickstarter price it was really an incredible bargain.

 
Weight: 170gr

 
Sound with DSP or a little EQ: While not HIFI and not at the level of serious wired systems + TOTL headphones + EQ, the sound quality was a pleasant surprise for a BT headphone. A well balanced signature is really a plus subjectively and the Divine does that well.

 
you have the commands on the headphone to change track, volume level and pause. less reasons to take the DAP out of the pocket. It may look like nothing but those are the things that really improve a nomad experience. it's not a parrot zik with all the fancy tricks, but it has most of what I could ask of a BT headphone to do, including NFC pairing that I end up loving as I do own way too many devices for my own good.

 
Long battery life (at least 14hr).

 
No wire? ^_^

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
in conclusion: me likes!

    edit: January 2016, the X1 is at the time on firmware V1.6, I've been using it for some time now, and it is again a great improvement. no more of what I called FIIO's bug, now after coming back to the "now playing" song from any menu, the "back" button takes us to the list of songs for that album like any other DAP would do. it's a drastic and very significant improvement. added to this the firmware got rid of the 3 thousand something song limit it could scan(was still accessible when browsing by folder though). also the wheel works way better than before thank to firmware update.
so right now I take the FIIO out of my "Chinese DAPs with crap UI that sound good" list, and place it into my "DAP with ok UI that sounds good" list.  more than ever before I believe the X1 to be a real bargain for the price.
 
          At the moment of that review we're at firmware V1.3, I waited to post this since V1.1 to see if the firmwares would bring important stuff like they did on the X3. Now with some adjustments done on the µSD for practical use, and enough time to stop wondering if the wheel would break(I now believe it's a sturdy little wheel), I feel that this DAP is honestly worth reviewing and most of all worth buying for its audio qualities.
As always with FIIO there are a few things that I find great, and make me wonder why other brands don't do it? And other functions and UI choices that scream unfinished business and show that FIIO is still pretty new to DAPs interfaces.
My very short writing about sound was made using a switch(matched as closely as possible by reading the voltage output into my laptop with a 1khz tone), and compared to a few other DAPs and amps. All with mostly IEMs not sensitive to impedance as not to mistake the FR change from impedance with the actual sound of the DAP.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                    for size reference, with sony A15, and good old sansa clip+. as you can see it's still a very pocketable DAP, don't mistake it with the size of a big X5.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 
Speed:
The boot time is about 15seconds for me, nothing impressive, yet good compared to most products doing a full boot. So a very ok time.
if you change tracks or pause and then press play again, or simply select a new song while browsing, the music might start in advance of the screen's refresh. And that lag gives a feeling that the DAP is slower than it really is. In effect it is pretty fast and tends to start playing songs faster than on my sony A15. Where strangely enough, using the sony's smooth movements and screen switching, you get the false idea that it's the faster DAP to react to a command.

 
Wheel:
8buttons+a wheel is overkill, I would expect between 7 and 9 buttons, or a lot less and the wheel, not both. Here the UI wasn't optimized for the wheel like Apple did. If next/previous could do vertical scrolling in all menu pages(it does in most), then you could effectively not use the wheel at all. I personally would love a setting to disable the wheel(never liked them and never bought ipods, I'm a button guy).
That wheel brings more of an alternative choice for the user than a simplification of anything in the interface. Like the long press at the center for volume when you have already 2 side buttons for volume, or scrolling your library when you could do it with the 2 bottom buttons. It takes some learning and we can find a few of those redundancies in the actions. Anyway, after 2days I had adapted and didn't whine as much as I did the first day. So most of it really ends up to getting used to the DAP and personal choices.

Some people might complain about the wheel being very slightly wobbly, but it looks like a million bucks, and in the end the DAP feels sturdier to me than the X3 did.
My first day with the X1 reminded me of my deathadder's scroll-wheel(mouse), about 20steps, but you end up miss-clicking sometimes because it doesn't get locked into a position precise enough. Just like the rest, with some practice you do get better at it.

 
Looking for a song:
Here I'll have 2 opinions, the default one, and the one you get once you have “optimized” your library.
Looking for a song is a bad experience. I can't say it another way, you waste too much time scrolling the entire library. So be it by folder, or by artist, or by song, it's all the same, there are too many songs to start at A each and every time.

Now my take on it:
- If you have a huge library, first I would suggest to use the lower button to scroll instead of the wheel, you look a little less like a psychopath when you'll do that in the street(just saying from how people looked at me when I played “hamster simulator 2015” in front of them). The buttons are just easier for long massive movements.

- Getting alphabet folders to drastically improve browsing speed, a DIY UI.

 
                            In the pocket:
 

You can set it so that when the screen turns off, the volume buttons on the side are still active(and the front buttons are locked). Short successive press on the volume buttons let you set … the volume. Amazing, I know!!!
But a long press becomes next/previous track!!!!! Ain't it genius? 2Buttons on the side is almost all you need, I find it to be simply my best “in the pocket” experience ever.
And as you've already noticed, I'm not sucking up to FIIO, those instant 2 side buttons<=>4actions are all I need in my back pocket. And in practice, they never activate just from me moving around, so I never need them locked.
I loved a few sony DAPs because of the side buttons, I also love the Cowon system where you decide if you want the volume to be volume, or track change. And can easily use unlock to switch between functions.
Well the X1 has the same kind of idea, except it's de facto better to use IMO. And anything that has only front buttons or touchscreen is simply useless in a pocket. You have to take those DAPs out for every single action you want to perform, they all fail from my “portable on the move” perspective.
The ON/OFF button(that also turns ON the screen/unlocks) is right next to the 2 volume buttons but isn't standing out, you can barely feel it. So you really immediately feel the 2 volume buttons and don't risk hitting the wrong one by mistake.
Really it works just as it should and I find that perfect in my back pocket. Most will find that trivial, but to me that's what makes for a good experience with a DAP(but then nothing beats a remote and a few basic functions are available on the X1 by remote).
With the silicone case you downgrade the experience from brilliant to functional because the silicone power button is out too much, but still easy to identify.

I tried the other lock options, but to me they're not for on the go use, more like for the desktop kind of setting, or when you really need a fast way to press pause(but for that you could try to get a remote).

 
                          In my hand:
 
Browsing the library isn't good by default, I've said it enough. It lacks alphabetical search so you need to do as I did and make one with your folders.

There is still what I call the FIIO bug(should be solved on the android one at least). When you leave the “now playing” window to do something(EQ, change a setting, activate the line out...) you can go back to the now playing song real fast, but from that moment the “back” button will only take you back to the main menu instead of going “one up” into the browsing three. Meaning that you will now need to browse from the start if you want to select a new album. It is very annoying TBH, you get used to it, but it's lame. Obviously my DIY alphabet browsing helps a lot to get past that “bug” faster.
this is no longer true, check the 1.6V firmware improvement at he start of the review.
 

So once the all “looking for a song” problem is solved, the rest of the UI is actually simple and pretty intuitive. For example you can get back to the “now playing” screen with one long and one short press of the “back” button from anywhere. Even on my Sony I can need up to 3 and 4 actions to do the same, and I think very highly of Sony’s UI. Like I said in introduction, a few things are annoying, and others are nothing short of impressive. There is no avoiding them, so it will really come down to personal appreciation of the pros&cons of this DAP.

 
 
 
 
 
 
EQ:
7bands equalizer going from +6 to -6db. It does the job in most situations, and doesn't clip the sound or lower the volume from ON to OFF. So a relatively easy to use EQ.
The sound doesn't clip at any volume setting, because activating the EQ set the maximum volume possible at 88 out of 100(6db lower). So you don't have to be careful with the EQ, FIIO is careful for you. How cool is that?

 
Balance:
This setting will be useless to many people, but to anybody with one ear more damaged than the other(from a position at the job, from shooting firearms...) it can be nice to have it. What it does is change the volume level to make left or right channel louder. So basically you change the settings until you have the lead singer right in front of you again.

 
Hiss/noises/and anything that isn't music:
With the hf5 or IE80(both low impedance high sensitivity IEMs) I can notice a very little hiss only when getting the volume almost at zero while not moving at all in the most quiet place possible, and it's super low. If you know me a little I pretty much always complain about hiss on DAPs, and I'm very happy with the noise floor of the X1. It's about the same level as a clip+(and in fact better as it doesn't have the annoying buffering noises of the clip+). My A15 hisses about twice as loud(subjectively). And I remember the DX50 to also hiss a lot(again with sensitive IEMs only).
So for a DAP's headphone out, it's really a good job again. I really value FIIO for that, the X3 had maybe the cleanest background I ever experienced on a DAP. With most DAPs nowadays sounding clean and pretty much transparent, hiss on IEMs is one of the last criteria that really matters to me for audio quality.

There is a small noise when going from 16/44 to 24/96 or back(I experienced that on a few DACs sometimes), Only on changing resolution. Some might get annoyed by it in “shuffle ALL” setting. Else when listening to an album it won't happen and all is silence and music. Using almost exclusively 16/44 flac and mp3 it's a non issue for me, I only noticed with my test tracks for the review TBH.
 
 
I have another thing for noise, and that is shielding against cellphones. In that respect the X1 fails bad. My phone calling at 40cm(15inches) makes some still loud noises with the X1.
And this ends up being the only thing stopping me from telling everybody to go buy one as a cheap way to get excellent sound. It's a great little DAP, I really believe that. And would still believe it if it was costing 2 or 3 times as much. But for me, bad shielding is a problem depending where I go.
Other brands suck at this too, as if we were living in 1980 and cellphones were a non issue...
DX50 wasn't great at shielding, the studioV, the CK4, were nightmares... And even many amplifiers are actually very sensitive to cellphones. So I'm complaining because I find this to be a problem, but I'm well aware that it's not an isolated problem at all, still FIIO might want to start looking that up to at least reduce it a little.
What's the point of running after hifi sound if we end up with a “tatatak tatatak tatatak” noise each time a phone looks for a tower? At a time when so many people pretend they can hear the benefits of high-res, I don't get how this is still accepted in audio?
My sony daps are fully shielded, but they also don't have an amp section so to speak. So I'm guessing maybe op amps don't like cellphones, and anything with a good amp section will be sensitive? IDK.
 
As a global noise conclusion, that still makes the X1 a really good product compared to the competition, but it could be better with shielding.

 
Line out:
As usual with FIIO, the line out is great and rather loud(about 1.5v just like HO maxed out). For portable devices it's really good(ideally a line out would have 2v but only rarely gets there on portable devices). I definitely think that people in need of high gain for some low sensitivity headphones, can benefit from the extra push of a source delivering higher voltage to the amp.
By comparison, my sony A15 has a very quiet line out that is 16db quieter than the X1's(10db is considered twice as loud), so possibly worst SNR on the sony, and my amp has to do some extra effort to get the same gain level(loudness).
In some special situations, it can also be a double edged sword. If you're using very sensitive IEMs with your amp, then that extra voltage might force you to reach the imbalance region of your amp's knob.
Something like a Pico slim will not be concerned(“digital” control of the volume shows close to no imbalance at any level), while a Pico(not slim) had in my experience some imbalance problems at lower volume. So as always, make a clear list of your needs before you pick a DAP or an amp. You will often end up regretting going for the FOTM on headfi without really looking into the power output and impedance of the DAPs. For example this cheap X1 can drive headphones that the very expensive sony ZX2 cannot(fact, not opinion). So don't get blinded by overly simplistic statements of superiority you are bound to read on headfi. Truth is never so simple and can only be reached with the complete sound system in mind, starting with your own headphone and what it needs to work at its best.
 
All in all it's an excellent line output and I do recommend the X1 to people willing to use an amp. A nice FIIO amp, maybe a C&C BH(people seem to love it), or something like that. I'm not a pro when it comes to cheap amps sorry. Obviously the better the amp for your headphone, the better the sound, the amp section on portable devices being the main bottleneck after the headphone itself.
I repeat it often, but the right external amp is often the only real answer to some specific IEMs or headphones problems. To deal with hiss, impedance, crosstalk, power limit... You will rarely check all marks with just a DAP for all your headphones/IEMs. So going cheap with the X1 as a DAP when you know you will use an amp is a very interesting option for actual sound quality.

 
Impedance:
2ohm.
I'm a believer of lower is better, but realistically, most DAPs are around 3 to 5ohm(because it's an easy cheap trick to improve the source's behavior, but of course that's the usual “I need to look good and don't care if what you plug into me will suffer from it”.
2ohm with the 1/8minimum ratio recommended for impedance bridging, means that you might want to avoid any IEM that goes below 2*8=16ohm(many multi BA IEMs go below that even if they are specced higher).
So for most IEMs above 16ohm things will be great and the signature variation should mostly stay below 1db. (you know, all the feedbacks saying that a DAP is cold or warm when in fact people are talking about their IEMs reacting to the DAP's impedance).
For multidriver IEMs below 16ohm, expect more than 1db variation in the signature(the amplitude depending on the impedance's curve of the IEM itself).
If impedance is important to you, then the X3 has 0.3ohm or below over the audible frequency range, it's really impressive even for non portable amps.

 
µSD:

You can chose the library update to be automated or not.
You do need the card to be formatted in FAT32 like on almost all DAPs for ideal behavior(the DAP can format the card for you, just do it befor loadin it with msc ^_^).
The scan is pretty fast, I must say that was a very nice surprise.

 
Accessories:
Well for 100$ you get a usb cable, a silicon casing some screen protections and a few stickers. Anybody who's into buying second hand or reselling his gears will know how much that actually means. I personally don't use cases because I don't sell my DAPs(I mostly give them away), and I'm looking for small portable DAPs. So I'm not so keen on making them bigger with a case. But usually people are very happy to have a way to keep their precious DAPs in good shape for years.
So it's easy to understand how attractive this X1 can be. When I see what I get for the price, I can't help but also think about the AK240 and whine at the margin they make on customers. Thank you FIIO for letting us know the value of things.

 
Gapless:
Didn't work perfectly for me on mp3 but worked on flac. I didn't try more than 2 albums made on purpose, because I'm used to have my live albums and classical music in one single track(so that it will be gapless on any DAP).
So maybe don't take my word for it.
 
 
Replaygain:
No.
I suggest hard coding it on the files you put on the µSD if you get bored of changing the volume level all the time. If you shuffle a lot, you do need that in my opinion.
 
 
USB:
It charges the DAP and let you transfert files on the µSD if you don't have a faster card reader. No DAC input capabilities like a X3 or X5.
 

 
 
Playlist:
The X1 offers 2kinds of playlists by itself, and you can use a third one with .m3u(or m3u8).
-The first one is to create playlists using the X1 itself, when playing a song, you can add it with the playlist option (top left button and go to the +sign). You can't name your playlists but you can create several.
You then access them here:
 
 
 
-The second option is again on the top left button, to click on the little heart icon to make your favorite list of songs. This is limited to one list, but this time you go in the favorite menu and add several songs at once. When the playlist system only let you add the actual playing song to a list.
You can access that list here:

 

 
-Third option is to use .m3u to make playlists in the same usual way(keep the direct path between the .m3u and the songs identical)
But still the X1 requires a little organization as the .m3u playlists will not show up in the playlist menu(only the lists made with the X1 will show up there), you will basically see the playlist where you placed it when browing by folder.
I placed my .m3u playlists at the root of the µSD so that they would all be together when browsing and immediately accessible by reverse scrolling(as they appear at the end of the list after the folders). That way there is no problem with the relative path to the songs(as they're all starting at the root of the storage), and they are fast to access when browsing by folder.
Again with a little trick you turn the X1 into a pretty convenient DAP.

(3subfolders, 3playlists, and one test tone ^_^) Just click on the playlist you want to get the list of songs as if it was a folder.
 
 
 
Compatibility:
With my overly universal µSD card I had zero trouble. It's a card with only 1 embedded pics per track, no bigger than 300*300, nothing else but music files, limited number of sub-directories, with track number as the beginning of the song's names(01 02 …), only 4 or 5 tags(album, artist, track name, track number, number of discs), ID3 2.3, and no tricky symbols or languages.
And that's pretty much what I suggest doing if you get a X1(or any non android FIIO DAP). None of those stuff are required to listen to your music, but it could make sure you'll have the best experience possible.
Now with another old µSD with random mess for test purpose, I had tracks in the wrong order(alphanumerical order instead of track order). It didn't see some of my Japanese albums, even when the track name was in roman letters(romaji), but the name of the artist was in Japanese. The songs simply didn't show up when browsing(I use english language setting).
Some .jpg didn't work, I didn't look too much into it as I now tend to embed pics. That works on pretty much all DAPs and avoid to have to rename the covers depending on the DAP. Using bigger images seems to slow down the screen refresh slightly when you change tracks so I don't recommend it. The other reason why I don't recommend it, the size and quality of the screen.

 
Screen:
As it happens, it's pretty much the same screen size as my sony A15. But having it horizontally reduces the effectiveness of the browsing in my opinion.
Others have mentioned it, but the colors and contrast are washed out(well it's a 100$ DAP). And while I have no problem with that, as I didn't plan on watching my summer holiday pics on 300pixel screens anytime soon, it does make browsing a little more difficult in a sunny day.
The good part is that there is no strong angle limit to look at the screen(it doesn't turn all white when you're not straight in front of the screen). So a better experience than with my Sony E585 or Cowon I10 in that respect.

 
Save your ears:
I love the volume that can reset when you turn the DAP OFF(another of those great FIIO functions you wish were on all the DAPs in the world). Using all kinds of IEMs with all kinds of sensitivities, I set the volume for my most sensitive IEM to be right, and go up from there on other IEMs. That way I never hurt my ears because I forgot to turn the volume down after fooling around with another headphone.
 
Same with switching from line out to headphone out(it is physically using the same input and you set it in the menu).
 

The idea of plugging my IEMs while in “line out” setting scared me A LOT! But the guys at FIIO thought about security, when you turn ON the DAP in “line out” mode, the music doesn't start instead you get a warning. As the music can resume automatically when using the headphone out setting, it's a great way to remember, even if you don't look at the screen warning, you get a hint that something is not right. And you will avoid blowing your ears off by mistake.
The same way you can't change to line out while playing a song. It may seem annoying, but it saves you from a bad manipulation launching 1.5V into IEMs that reach 115db with 0.3V. So it's a very wise choice made by fiio.

 
Sound:
The sound is pretty nice and clean, not warm or anything. I have clear memories of the X3 being warm and needing some treble boost to make voices to sound neutralish(/!\ With the very first firmwares, I didn't hear the x3 recently). The X1 just sounds neutral.
So I'm going to make some people angry again, but to me as long as the IEM doesn't require much and isn't impedance sensitive, a clip+ sounds very very close. And so did the Sony A15(done with a switch and volume matched at 0.2 or 0.3db as I couldn't get better with volume controls). It felt like soundstage/headstage might have slight differences, but I can't swear I would succeed in a blind test only based on that aspect of the sound. I find that more and more DAPs do sound clean and transparent nowadays(great for us), and the main differences now are impedance output, hiss, and what they can drive.
Now to be honest, the X1 is superior to the A15 in pretty much all audio specs you could think of measuring. If you read my review on the sony A10 series, you see that I use almost only it and not so much the X1, but that's for convenience, certainly not for sound.
I also think it is better than a good old sansa clip in all audio specs except for impedance(the clip is 1ohm the X1 is 2ohm).

Trying my hd650, didn't change much between my A15 and the X1, meaning that I would add an amp anyway. Now on a more realistic scale, the X1 can get more gain(how loud it goes) and certainly more power than the Sony, and will be very fine with most portable headphones.
The X3 when I had it(again it was with the very first firmwares so it might not stand now) had some stereo stuff going on, the headstage felt like everything was pushed in front. I didn't get that feeling on the X1 and the stereo imaging seems perfectly normal.
So good sound, good volume control, nice power, no hiss, cheap and versatile. Anything else?

This DAP sounds nice, People who can stand the UI should get this DAP and put money in a good pair of headphone/IEM or even amp instead. Of course if you guys can afford the best of everything, then go ahead, but as a starting block for a portable sound system, the X1 has the specs and versatility needed to get good great fidelity.
Some reasons to get a more expensive DAP could be size, weight, connectivity/features, UI(obviously), battery life, the idea that cheap stuff can't sound good and you need a 4 digits price to get your placebo going full throttle, etc. But sound is fine as it is and a great value for the money IMO.

 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
+
+OK loudness(close to 1.5v into most loads)
+Sound(low distortions, low noise, all is pretty good).
+Line out, good quality and loud(1.5v)
+µSD slot.
+Physical buttons (and the great side buttons that can do both volume and change track!!!!)
+Better looking than a pono.
+Can turn ON to a preset volume however loud it was when turned OFF. You get a Warning when line out is ON.
+Balance (left/right loudness) for people with uneven hearing it can help put the lead singer back at the center of the headstage.
+Can read low sample rate tracks(some podcasts and free audiobooks are recorded below44.1khz)
+ 7band EQ
+Background hiss is super low compared to many other DAPs.
+Still a portable size (the X5 is too big for an all purpose DAP IMO).

 
-
-All the UI/browsing troubles!
-No internal memory.
-EMI shielding is not good.
-Screen isn't amazing(I don't care but some do).
-The wheel is a little wobbly and overall isn't that great of a choice when there are already so many buttons.
-Some work is required from you to rename and/or retag/sort music to improve compatibility/track order/browsing speed.
-No replay gain
 
 
 
 
FIIO X1, the IKEA of UI. You get it cheap because you have to build the browsing method yourself. ^_^
If your library/tagging skills are bad you end up with a mess and should avoid at least all non android FIIO DAPs(not yet out at the time of the review). Clearly not everybody is willing to spend time working on “making” a DAP better to use, just like IKEA isn't for everybody. So some will rather buy the ready made furniture at a higher price and be happy for all the time they saved.
Now if you're willing to spend a little time on it, you end up with something nice to use and you saved a good deal of money compared to a Sony or an Apple product.

 
Sound quality is rather good, to me it's neutral, pretty clean, really low hiss level. 2ohm impedance output is still low enough for almost all IEMs(16ohm and above ideally). it goes louder(1.5v) than my rockboxed clip+ at max level(my sony A15 max out is around 0.32v...). But voltage isn't all there is to driving a headphone(unless it's a 600ohm one), and the X1 will drive adequately a wider range of headphones than a clip or a sony(any sony), or most cowons. So even for sound only, it's a very nice entry point DAP that delivers on audio specs.
This little buddy being at about 100$ also justifies some leniency. So while I would never get a DAP with that UI at 500$, I find it fine at 100$. After all even a Sansa clip takes some time to get used to. And did you ever try some of the really cheap Chinese DAPs? For some you even wonder how to turn them ON.
People willing to get a DAP not too expensive, but with actual sound quality should buy this(as long as the headphone used is within driving specs). That's my sincere opinion, as long as you don't mind the UI too much.
FIIO doesn't use fake marketing claims(hello pono), doesn't talk about all the DAC greatness while forgetting to mention that the output will still be only as good as the crap amp section they use(hello sony). FIIO doesn't make big claims, and publishes many specs to prove they're not all marketing and no guts.
It's obviously a very personal judgment, but if honesty was an audio value, then the X1 would indeed be one of the very best at any price. I wish great success to FIIO if only for that transparency and open dialogue they have kept with us on headfi.
 

 

 
For any Sony DAPs, the letter goes for a kind/category of DAP. The first numbers for the model and the last number is always for the onboard memory. And then you might have some letter again for the color of your Walkman. So you don't want a sony A10, you want to get a Sony A15 with 16gig, A16 with 32giga, or A17 with 64giga.
I mention it because I've been asked twice in a week.

 
 
 
 
A10 series:
A few questions might find an answer in the online help, but don't expect any deep explanation for anything: http://helpguide.sony.net/dmp/nwza10/v1/en/index.html

 

 
Sony and the µSD(at long last):


 

 
Short version: As long as you put your music in a folder called “MUSIC” it's gonna be great! If you put it anywhere else, it's still gonna work except for browsing by folder(artist/album is ok).

 

 
Sense Me:
To those not familiar with Sony "Sense Me" is a way to shuffle your songs while keeping a rhythm and a certain ambiance (slow mellow to fast punk tripping on speed). I find that to be really excellent and one reason I keep getting Sony DAPs. BUT!!!!!!!
For the DAP to know what song is what, it needs to scan them all and it takes like 2.4 times forever to be done and of course(where is the fun otherwise?), your DAP can't do anything while it's scanning.
I'm not joking so much , for 64 to be scanned it would take several hours, you can stop when you want but that's still too long for a gadget. so the other solution is yet another evil. you install Media Go on your computer and pre-scan your library. it's just as bad and will take 3.14 eternities if you have a big library, but at least with the computer you can do something else while the scan goes on.
I suggest you put what you plan to upload on the DAP(and only that) in a folder and give only that as your library path to Media GO, that way it should take less that a day(I'm laughing simply reading this, but sadly it's all true). once Media GO has scanned your files, if you upload them using Media GO(be stong!) then the DAP will get the information and never bother you with scanning the files to use them in Sense ME.
Or you can do like some many people and just forget that gadget ever existed. I sure would understand.

 
Gapless:
Not on mp3! It's flawless to my ears with flac files, but sadly still not working with mp3. the gap isn't big, but it still a clear cut.
So I recommend going flac for your live and classical albums. Else you do like I do, you make any live album into 1 mp3 file. A little extreme but I've been doing this for years now. it's annoying only if you like to shuffle. But let's be honest, if you shuffle you don't need gapless ^_^. still it's not cool Sony, we started to believe.
 
Replay gain:
Still not available on this one. On a F886 or other android DAPs you can just use whatever app you like to play your tracks so replay gain can be used. On the A15 and non android walkmans, if you want your files to all play at about the same loudness, you'll have to activate dynamic normalizer(Sony’s own way to deal with tracks loudness), there isn't any real downside to that except some battery usage. Count a few hours less for total play time, not really a problem on the A10.

 
Playlists:
my .m3u files were detected as playlists, so I didn't really try other methods but you can also make some using media go(the crappy windows media player's unwanted brother from sony).

 
The sound:
The A10 sounds more like the E585 or F886 than like an old Z or A series. It has lost the warm house sound of the old boys, and is turned toward more neutrality and clarity. It's a matter of taste, I appreciate both the old Sony sound and the new one depending on what I'm listening to.
As I said details are good, the sound is for me a good balance between crispness and harshness, but clearly enough to make you get rid of a few bad recordings that would have melted in your ears on the older models. You can't expect sharp and soft at the same time and in quantity. People allergic to clean and relatively neutral sound, will probably be ok with a little EQ or one of the DSPs. But if you actually don't like neutral and detailed sound (maybe a tube amp lover?) , and at the same time refuse EQ and DSPs, then it's not a DAP for you.
I really enjoy using it a lot, be it from the headphone out or from the line out, and I plan to keep it, when I did let go of DAPs like the X3, the DX50 and the F886. But I also honestly can't pretend that the A15 is better than any of those 3DAPs. Because depending on your own personal needs, they all can be great or totally lame. Still the closest one to the A15 in sound would clearly be the F886. I sent it back too long ago to claim they sound the same in term of audio qualities and power, but the kind of sound (signature, wide positioning, maybe lacking a little in depth without DSP) obviously comes from the same mold.

 
Now here are the 2 possible skeletons in the A15's closet.
 
1/ Power:
Like any Sony DAP, it's a portable DAP for IEMs or really easy to drive headphones, it will be just fine for most people with most products. But who am I kidding, we're on head-fi, the place where people wanna know if they can go run outside with a DAP and a pair of LCD2 duck taped on their head.
Well no, they can't with the A10 series. Seriously it can drive my hd650 loud. But can it drive it well? In my opinion, nope. And I wouldn't expect any portable gear to do so, except that both the DX50 and the X3 where pretty close to giving me a tight controlled bass response on the hd650. So there you have one reason to reject the Sony, if you want power you'll need to add an amp. and same for some demanding multi driver IEMs(usually those with the widest range of impedance over frequencies).
Volume limitation for European model also falls under the same “problem”:
ClieOS measured around 0.4V max for the headphone out, and 0.245V for the line out on the international A10 series. I would need to ask him what load value he used(if any), but still that should give you a little idea of the EU volume limit I measured on mine. 
0.3V into 100ohm and 0.254V into 22ohm for the headphone out maxed out.
and 0.245V from the line output.
 
so the EU version would seem to have the same LO(good news), but when using the headphone out it will be about 2.5db quieter(from 0.4 to 0.3v).
 
2/ Hissing/background noise/humm/cellphone waves and other uninvited sounds:
Short version: there is some little hiss audible at low volume, it's slightly above the noise from the F886 and from memory I would say still below the noise from the F806.
Now when I'm not using a sensitive IEM or when I'm using my external amp, yes I find the sound to be really good, very clean and at this point in time, one of my favorites with the F886.

 

 
Line out:
It is the usual sony proprietary USB cable that serves as a line out.

                                                              with UHA760
 
The line out isn't as loud as on my other DAPs(I'm guessing it's a battery choice as this DAP is focused on long battery life), it won't change a thing for most people, but for those already close to max volume with their actual amp, having something like a X3 with 1.7v might be better for you. old ipods have about 0.5v, a fiio X1 is 1.5v, the A15 is around 0.25v. so to get the same loudness you would need +6db gain on the amp to reach the loudness of the ipod, and about +15db to reach the X1's loudness(for reference 10db feels twice as loud).
so obviously for low sensitivity headphones, think about it before buying that walkman.
now for IEM and portable headphone users, it's not a problem, but it might even be a solution. I use the -12db gain value on my amp with all my other sources for my IEMs to be able to set the volume nicely, so if you reach channel imbalance with your amp plugged into your actual source, maybe you'd get enough room with the sony to push the volume knob out of imbalance and get the same loudness.
so technically it's not great to have such a weak LO, but with many high end IEMs/CIEMs, and many amps that don't offer unity gain or a voltage divider(negative gain), this sony might just be the best choice for you.
 
Again if you expect a warm sound with the old Sony signature, this is not the right DAP. I have zero complains about the sound using the lineout. I was also very much in love with the F886's LO.
 
NB: the DAP is longer than say an old A or E series.

                A15                E585                 A865
 
 
Check the size to know how it's gonna go with your amp, and remember to add some more space for the dumb proprietary usb plug (come on Sony make an angled/shorter version of that thing already!)

 

 
Battery: \o/
I'm close to running 40hours in one charge using mp3 in my real actual life. So no “sony” 40h, real possible achievable 40h.
Now as an important note, whatever DSP/EQ you will use, will drain your battery from 30 to 45% faster. So keep in mind that I don't use any to get to my 40h. Then hi-res will also drain more battery.
I'm not trying to scare anyone, it has a great battery life for real, just don't expect 40hours with EQ, 24/192 files and using “sens me” to get a shuffle by genre. Because that is more likely to give you about maybe15hours (I didn't try, I only have a Chesky album in 192khz for test purposes).

 
Bluetooth:
several settings including APTX. it can be set to activate with NFC or to simply alway look for a device on startup. but in practice I use a cellphone instead because depending on the device, just having a big chunk of castleofargh in-between is enough to cut the signal.
 
 
DSPs (effects):
Short version:
Clear audio+ makes for an enjoyable and impressive sound and imaging
Surround studio setting is like a nice surround crossfeed
The rest doesn't make much sense.

 

 
EQ:
It's the very same EQ you have on all non android Sony DAPs. With the bass being a custom Sony boost and not just another slider on the EQ. It works ok, not great, you can't pick your frequency, you can't lower the bass (last slider to lower a value is at 400hz). So if you have very specific needs to EQ an IEM, the A15 might not be the right guy and you should seek anything with parametric EQ instead.

 

 
Overall DAP situation:
F886 and a A15, are like yin and yang of Sony when it comes to features. They aren't upgrade of one another, they are very different products(sounding mostly similar). If you don't know which one you prefer to have, I guess you don't really need anything and both will do just fine.
If you wonder if it's “better” than a X5, you also clearly don't know what you need. X5 is a powerhouse with an amp section that can very much challenge other portable amps. It's big and heavy and has little battery. The Sony is a little DAP with lot of battery and pretty much no amp section, so no it's not the best sounding DAP, because as soon as you'll plug in a slightly hard to drive headphone, the X5 will demolish the Sony. But that like blaming a motorcycle for not being good at carrying 5 people. Buy what you need! Don't ask for a small, long lasting, powerful DAP, because science will still have some troubles with that for a few more years.
I for one can't see myself carrying a X5 around every day, it's not about sound. When the A10 is more like a 2D pono ^_^.
On a side note, if you don't care for hires, µSD, and the maybe slightly better sound on the A15, you can get a E585/6 instead. It's cheap, has the same crazy long battery life(you will charge it like once a week and never think about it). It is even smaller with the same UI and a pretty nice line out. Again to each its qualities, money and size can be as good a reason as any.
Make your own choice for your own needs, and don't trust unknown internet dudes making reviews ^_^.
 
 
Good:
+ µSD
+ Size
+ Hires and overall improved compatibility
+ Mecanical buttons
+ NFC/bluetooth
+ Line out
+ EMI shielding
+ Huge battery life
 
 
Not so good:
- amp section. very slight hiss and inability to drive most fullsize headphones, both come from a poor amplification section.
- the ludicrously long scan you have to activate if you want to use "Sense Me".
- Media Go software for your computer, it's not as bad as sonic stage, but it certainly isn't amazing(you don't really have to use that software)
- I anticipate average measurements. but again an amp would make up for most problems and it's really still a size you can carry with an amp from time to time. I imagine a very nice look and transparent sound together with an apex glacier.
- MP3 isn't gapless.
- bluetooth signal is a little weak.

 

 

 
Random fact:
My A15 has the same 5pin female jack that is on my E585(with noise canceling). So is noise canceling inside the DAP and just hidden by the firmware? Or did they find another use for the extra pins? Or were they just too lazy to change the female plug? I really have no idea and feel kind of curious.
 
 
 
 
 
 
with the old crew:

    clip+           A15               cowon i10        samsung P3

 
 
 
I've been ranting too much so I've put every time I slipped too far out off topic into quotes. That way you can pass it all and just read a real review if you don't want to be bothered by some #my-life kind of content ^_^.
and there is a short +/- list at the end if you really just want answers.
 
 

Obviously we don't all seek an amp for the same reasons so your perfect amp will not be mine:
 
What I want from a portable amp, by order of priority:
1/ To get under 1ohm impedance output to avoid messing with the sound of my multidriver IEMs.
2/ To get rid of any hiss from my dap!!!
3/ To feel some control over my bass. Bloated bass are not what I usually enjoy(I do like those in games^_^).
4/ To be able to set my volume exactly as I like. On daps I'm often juggling between 2 values hoping for something in between.
5/ I don't mind coloration, but I still expect some level of transparency. If the coloration ends up making the sound harsh or really muddy, then it's a no go.
6/ pass the 10hours mark. Ideally 13h is my own perfect mark for comfort, but 10 to 13hours is ok for 99% of my life. Under 10h is but a nuisance and I won't buy it.
7/ to be reasonably shielded against smartphones.(if I hear my neighboor's phone in a train the amp is useless)
8/ be portable in my everyday uses (yeah I know I'm captain obvious but a lot of attractive amps are too big for me to carry around casually).
9/ If as a bonus I get a little more space for my “headstage”, the more the better. But that is not a real need I have. As long as it's not smaller than the dap alone I'm ok with it.
 
 
I never though about getting an amp to get the sound louder, simply because I use portable stuff for portable uses. People with 70db/mw sensitivity cans won't find much interest in my posts, sorry.
 
The Leckerton was kindly sent for me to demo for a french forum, and I then decided to buy it (should give you a hint about my conclusion ^_^). Right now I have an O2 and the weird cmoy with the third opamp on the ground. And also a Pico amp and a TTVJ slim that 2 members sent me as a loan(thx a bunch).
I've owned or tried quite a few portables amps now, and had a hard time finding some that could work with my 9 points from above(none actually). Just from the level of hiss, half the portables amps on the market are TKOed with a togo! 334 or even a SE535(mostly powerful amps or really cheap stuff).
The Leckerton doesn't solve everything, but ends up crossing most points from my list and that made my day.

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Here we go!

 
The UHA760 is a portable dac/amp, you can get a lot of technical information from the Leckerton website if you want them http://www.leckertonaudio.com/products/uha760/ . And Nick kindly answered to all my extra newbie questions with what I thought to be honesty and confidence, so if you have a specific question don't be shy, he knows what he's talking about.
Basically, the amp section is close to that of the UHA-6S MKII with different gain settings and 2 crossfeed positions. Again you can look for yourself but pretty much everything is done not to be cheap, but to minimize noise and distortion.
The dac part now gets asynchronous, so added with the upsampling to 192khz, jitter maniacs should breath better using usb(coax and optical versions will be available later). The input is still 16/48 for the usb one, I'm guessing other inputs version could get higher resolutions and USB stays as it was for maximum compatibility.
I think I remember project86 telling that Nick was working for Cirrus Logic, so no wonder we get a CS4398 DAC chip in his amps.
The output is under 1 ohm on all 3 gains.
It can charge through USB or you can turn the charging off to save battery life on your source while using it as a DAC.
The op amp I have is the AD8610, you can ask for another one but it's not on a socket so no op amp rolling here.
The volume knob is stiffer and shorter than on the UHA-6, a much appreciated evolution.
 
 
So definitely an upgrade to the UHA-6S MKII, but very little change has been done to the sound. if you're on budget, you can give up all the features and still get quality sound from the UHA-6S MKII. I wondered about that choice myself, and decided the upgrade was worth it for my IEMs as I feared some channel imbalance on the 6 when listening quietly, or some accidental increase of the volume while manipulating the amp. Two concerns absent from the 7(also I'm a crossfeed fan).
 

About crossfeed, for those not familiar with it, it's something that came up as an attempt to mimic the sound of speakers on headphones.
In real life, and with speakers, even if the sound comes only from your left, your right ear still gets some part of it. And the differences in db and timing from both ears will tell you where the sound came from. With headphones when the sound comes only from the left, your right ear gets nothing (or very little and without time delay if the crosstalk level of your gear is high). In any case your brains will not find it natural, basically because it's not.
You can get information about how it works and why it's not simply “putting all left sound delayed on the right” all over the internet so I'll pass on this and go straight to why you might want some crossfeed on headphones.
On recent mastering, they often think about it and avoid placing one instrument or one voice 100% on just one side. But still most masterings are done with speakers and therefore done to be listened with speakers. Also most old recordings don't give their best on headphones.
Crossfeed helps for that.
But as adding crossfeed tends to logically reduce the “headstage” in width(think about the sound when it's in mono, up front but no width, crossfeed will make a tiny percentage of this change in space), some people might prefer to listen without crossfeed. Anyway the choice is available here, with or without, I find the sound to be very good and clean.
As an example the last titles where I found the crossfeed to be an improvement: Prince – Thunder. With Prince and the huge drum impact on the extreme left the entire song, it got annoying very fast. With crossfeed I pushed everybody slightly more in front of me. Still on the left for prince, but more as a “I can see you” left, instead of “that weird looking guy is singing into my ear, I'm not comfortable with a man's mouth so close to my ear” kinda of presentation ^_^.
Later I got Stevie Wonder (my personal god) singing “look around”. This time Stevie was on my right the entire song... On speaker the song is simple, yet one I love, on cans it's the kind of songs I would remove from my dap. Some crossfeed made it enjoyable again for me. And I can think of a lot more, like most of Gainsbourg's songs, or a lot of the Beatles where the recordings were clearly intended for speakers at a time when Dr Dre's minions didn't yet roam the earth by the millions.
I find the first crossfeed level to be very discrete and to work most of the times for all kind of recordings without reducing the headstage too noticeably. You could use that one and just forget about it. The second level is what I'm used to for crossfeed, and what I think is closer to speaker imaging. Anyway the choice is mine and I very much welcome this on portable gear in a non dsp implementation.
With the HF5 I always find the soundstage to lack volume (instruments are on some kind of line on the ears axismost of the time). The crossfeed felt more pleasing to me, creating some sens of depth by just moving some bass a little more before me.
Another effect of crossfeed is that the listening is less tiring. Often less impressive too, but my brains clearly spend less time wondering what's happening, it's not night and day and will depend on what you're listening to. My long listening sessions are now with crossfeed.
All I'm describing is more or less subtle, don't expect a revolution in your head, the point of crossfeed is not to be too noticeable, it's not a surround DSP.

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The sound:
Laptop to odac+o2 (gain 1X) vs laptop to UHA760 (gain 0db and tried again at gain -12db with the same observations)
I've tried both extensively with everything I had: IE80, JH13, Parterre, 334, HF5, HD650, and a few crappy IEMs and earbuds (the best of those being the 30$ xba-c10).
 
They are so close in every possible ways, just go read something about the O2/Odac and you have it. At first I had noticed a lot of differences (and trying hard to get some as in my head there was no way the Leckerton could be equal to my beloved O2.
But when I went serious for the review and started to use a switch and do some better (still by ear) level matching, all the differences just faded away. I honestly don't think I could accurately tell one from another with my IEMs in a blind test. I feel like there is a difference when switch, but I just need to switch 4 or 5 times thinking about something else, and I would fail to tell which one I'm actually listening to.
 

And pretty much the same thing when using just the amp section I felt like the O2 had maybe a tad more extension in the sub bass(or at least was a little louder in that region) and a very tiny bit more trebles(yet lusher sounding), but I wouldn't bet my money on those observations as this time I had to unplug the LOD to switch, and that action and delay are often enough to mess things up in my head. I tried to be clever using some jack-to-double jack plug on one end and my switch on the other, but I ended up with some slight noise into the O2(the Leckerton didn't care at all) so I resolved to plugging/unplugging for amp only comparison.
No matter how much time I spent, my thoughts were that they were both very close and very neutral/transparent. I felt that my hd650 could do a little better on the O2 and this started my suspicions about the sub bass. So very slight roll off, or maybe a little problem with sub bass control? I don't really know and going back to dac+amp for instant switching I couldn't confirm anything.
I honestly enjoy the hd650 on the UHA760. There is that lingering feeling from past memories telling me that the hd650 can do better, as every time I plugged it into a powerhouse it seemed to upscale with the source. But that's already a special headphone and not a portable one. I believe anything made for portable gear will be more than well fed, powered by this amp.

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So what differences can I talk about?
Well the size would be a good start, to me the more obvious reason to buy one or the other (or both like I did) is that the knob and gain on the O2 aren't ideal for sensitive IEMs. It's too loud or you have to struggle to avoid channel imbalance. As much as I love the O2 with my JH13 when, by chance, I can get the desired volume without issue, it's still much nicer to use the O2 with headphones.
 
The Leckerton has digital volume control and 12/0/-12db gain switch that makes it ideal for IEMs. But very low sensitivity headphones might not go loud enough.
So no this is not the all in one wonder everybody keep asking for, it might not drive your orthodynamic loud enough. But it will drive anything that a normal human being would call portable. [troll ON]It's almost as if Nick had decided to make a portable amp for portable gears... Those amp guys have the strangest ideas. He should know by now that the first question on headfi for a portable amp is “how does it drive the LCD2?”[/troll OFF]
 
 

The maxed out volume at high gain got badly distorted when I tried(cable with volume control added between the amp and my hd650 so it obviously added a lot of impedance to the headphone from the amp perspective). Anyway it seems like you can't push the UHA760 to the limit at max gain. The max output on the website being at 1%THD, the given specs are obviously the usable ones and you can trust them, then the amp still have power under it's foot, but the distortion gets audible. I was on mid gain with the hd650 and it gets LOUD, so I wouldn't worry about power on anything portable.
 
 
So here you have it, this amp is pretty neutral and uncolored. Something a lot of people actually don't like as they expect an amp to add some kind of wow effect and a lot of bass. Again we all have our tastes and ways to achieve our desired sound. I find it easier to get a dap I enjoy using, a neutral amp and then find the headphone of my dreams within the amp's drivable range. But you can chose to find the amp for your phone instead, in which case a neutral amp might not be what you want. I just go for the pragmatic/lazy way.

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I know a lot of people find the O2 to be a boring amp. In a way I agree with them as it doesn't bring the excitement of a dynamic sounding signature, it's doesn't make the sound tighter, or warmer, doesn't add grain like a tube can … But it never was the purpose of a neutral amp, the idea of a wire with gain does fit the O2 very well. Anyway, clearly what you thought of the O2's sound (good or bad) will apply here with the Leckerton as strangely enough, a clean neutral amp does sound close to another clean neutral amp (mind blown!).
 
 
Hiss:
Absolute silence, you're lost in space listening to your music and Sandra Bullock actually stopped talking. Grumpy cat is impressed.
For reference, I find most sources to be hissing. The dx50, all Sony daps I've owned, all hisound daps, and surprisingly even most amps. Using super sensitive IEMs like the 334 and listening at ludicrously low volume levels at home, gives me an open window on noise and I hate it. Just that perfectly silent background made me fall for the UHA760
 
 
 
Smartphones arrrrghhhhhhhhhh...... :
You don't want to stick an active phone to it. It's noisy until 15 or 20cm away depending on the orientation of the amp and almost inaudible at 40cm from my phone in communication (and trying hard to get some noise). The most sensitive part being where the cables are as usual.
Compared to the amps I had around, it was actually the best result :'(. I remember the Pico slim to be almost completely quiet, while with my RSA Protector I could track the guy with a phone 3meters away just by ear. The Pico(not slim) was sensitive around the same distances as the UHA760, but was making picked up noise much louder and from all directions.
I tried with fiio LO cable that are kind of prone to help picking EMI, I used it to be fair with my memories of older amps that I did use with FIIO's lods. The ground seem to surrounds entirely the left and right wires, I believe braided cables would deal with EMI better than this.
 
 
 
 
 

Doing this kind of exercise I learned a lot about the few tracks I looped and discovered a lot of new little details just because I was paying mighty attention instead of singing with the guy. That might be a good way to get the best out of our sound, to actually pay attention instead of upgrading every 3weeks.
I’ve learned a little about the amps and tend mostly to favor external amps to any dap's HO alone. There is almost always something to gain from an external amp(sad pun is sad).
 
On the other hand, I fail to see much difference between a usb dac and another usb dac when looking at portable stuff(home dacs are another story). They all do nicely and sound very close without ever giving a real thrill. It's nice to have an integrated dac so I can actually use my laptop as a source, but that's about it. If I like the sound of my dap, I will use its integrated dac instead of the one in a portable amp.
Of course if you dislike the sound of the dac inside your dap it's a different story. But then simple me would get another dap.
Anyway as I said above nick has done a good job setting the dac and amp part of the UHA760 so that the sound would be neutral and clean (by ear, I have no fancy tool to check my observations).
 
to give an idea about the amp size:



 
 
Some other amps:
the TTVJ slim was OUT from the start because of some serious hiss in my IEMs. Also it's not a neutral amp. Despite real audio qualities, a very pleasant sound signature placing voices as the main event, this is clearly not an amp for sensitive IEMs. It's more some kind of warm tube amp sound made into a very slim box.
 
The fredfred cmoy is OUT mainly because the sound signature is going down too much, and I found the instruments to lack in texture. A channel imbalance coming pretty soon at low volume was the last needed push out of that review.
 
The O2 has probably the best overall result. Big soundstage, no hissing, a neutral sound and a lot of power. In sound/$ it's my all time champion against anything. Sadly its volume knob doesn't go that well with vey sensitive IEMs even with the gain at 1X. And of course the size is well above what I would consider portable.

The Pico(no slim) to me, is inside the neutral amp team, the one with the fun sound in it. The sound isn't really colored, it's a very good amp doing its job in a very small box. There is a little something on bass and trebles where I felt like they had slightly more crispness than with the O2 or UHA760.
Based only on sound I might have taken this Pico, but the form factor despite being small, isn't really practical once stuck on a DAP(maybe with a fuze or something small). Also I got some troubles with the analog volume knob. Normal volume listening is no problem, but a calm listening with my IEMs was impossible due to channel imbalance on the lower 1/3 of the knob.
 
The Pico slim is even more fun, but this time to the point that it's not really neutral anymore. Bass and trebles have a clear boost to my ears(the pico no slim is overall a superior amp). Great digital control of the volume, an incredible size, an amazing battery life, this boy deserves success as an IEM amp. Its limitations are mainly that it should be used only with IEMs and maybe a few very efficient portable headphones. I sold mine because I felt its soundstage/headstage was really lacking in depth. Give me a Pico slim with crossfeed and I might never look at another amp for IEMs.

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UHA760:
+natural sound very close to what I call neutral.
+Volume control is simply the best I've ever had for my sensitive IEMs. Hard to turn knob+digital volume control+ gain swith= perfect control.
+Gain -12/0/12.
+Crossfeed (2different settings).
+Usb charge.
+Light turns red when battery gets low instead of dying on you without notice, and will really go down in the next hour.
+Usb charging can be turned off if used as a DAC with tablet or laptop to save battery.
+Absolutely no hiss on any IEM. I mean it!
 
 
-You can find sharper and more resolving, or at least with more power if it's what you like/need(but I doubt you'll have it with the same neutral sound).
-Heavier than it looks.
-EMI shielding isn't great in a 20cm radius so you'll have to use airplane mod to pair it with your phone.
-Batterie life around 12h as an amp and around 5 or 6h as a dac/amp(with usb charging OFF). The UHA6S mkII does a lot better for less money.
 
 
 
Final judgment:
It solves almost every single problems I ever had with IEMs. If the EMI shielding was a little better I would call it the perfect IEM amp. Far above my second favorite, the pico slim, that still has its size and battery life to be proud of.
I can obviously think of “better” sounding or at least more powerful amps if I forget about hissing, channel imbalance and size. But the ease of use of the Leckerton really made me forget the extra 5% of sound happiness I could get elsewhere. As I said to Nick, this amp does make a lot of sense to me and answered my “nomad with IEM” difficult needs.
No need to deal with some “I can't pass the first ¼ of the knob because it's too loud” nonsense. No “I have to listen louder because lower has channel imbalance” facepalm. If you're like me a heavy IEM user, you know what I'm talking about and are probably a little fed up with it. You can always find a dap with volume control on the line out, but technically it means getting the noise floor of the dap up. Not always a problem but in this world of perfection seekers, why not avoid it?
All this to say that good volume control on the amp matters a lot more to me as an audionerd than any dsd, or frozen diamond cables. And Nick did exactly what I needed on the UHA760. Between the 3 gain settings, the precise digital control and the harder to turn knob, the Leckerton is really a pleasure and a secure tool to use with IEMs. If you want to know portable quality with a minimum of drawbacks, I believe this amp is a serious solution.
 
 
 
 

 

 
Package:
- 3 Pairs of silicone tips
- Cleaning Tool
- Cable Clip
- Pouch
- Box - Pelican1010
- Carabiner


manufacturing:
it's a handmade tank!
Everything in the 334 feels of strength, the acrylic shell is thick and makes my jh13 look fragile.
The IEM connectors are almost identical to what you have on a HD650. For me, this is a good choice because it avoids the usual fragile metal pins we get on most customs. I bend these rods on my jh13 regularly and I'm always afraid of the day when one will remain stuck in the IEM.
one pin is bigger than the other so you cannot invert polarity. Most manufacturers don't care if the polarity is inverted on IEMs even without removable cables. Not saying it's very important, but it shows how much Suyama san cared and wished for his product to be perfect.
 



The cable is too stiff for me, it makes me think of a guitar string surrounded by a heat-shrink tube . Fragile and cheap are two descriptions that will never come to mind when talking about this cable. I still do not know if I should love it or hate it. On one hand, it is a miracle when a cable can survive me a whole year, and it seems on its way to enter my personal Guinness book of cable survival. At the same time the rigidity transmits really too much vibrations for me and the cable clip becomes almost mandatory(not as much as an er4 but with the same idea).
The memory wire is more flexible than what I'm used to. And I welcome that as it guides the wire enough to stop it from jumping from over the ear, yet it's flexible enough to critically reduce strain over my ear. I usually get cables without memory wire or cut it out when I have no choice, but in this case I'm pleased with it and find it to serve its purpose very well.
colored dots to avoid the famous "always wrong on first attempt" also known as the "usb trap".
 
I favor angled jacks for portable use but as a straight one it's very well made and the transparent heat-shrink stuff serves as a great strain relief.
 
 
 
 

 
Titanium tube to separate trebles from mids and bass. Unlike the F111 and Parterre where the tube ends up in a cone shaped extrusion to enhance the trebles as they only have 1 and 2 driver to deal with the entire range. On the 334 there are 4 drivers in a 3ways so the tube is just a tube and only used to minimize interferences from the other drivers on the trebles.
 
 
Here is the Parterre(2drivers, one way) for reference, to show the tube differences.
 


Comfort:
334 are a bit bulky, so really small ears should look elsewhere. But most of the hull is out of the ear, and I did not find it problematic to use. It took me some time to find the best way to place them:
-Find tips because what's provided wasn't great for me.
-How you'll bend the memory wire really plays an important role for long-term comfort.
But all this is no more than routine for me on universals, so really no significant problem with comfort. I use it every day without pain and can clearly wear them longer than my IE80 or hf5.

Isolation: although it depends on the tips you'll use, it is very good for a universal. Not etymotic level, but clearly on a high level. With some comply foams I felt the isolation was better than on my jh13. Acrylic thickness probably plays a big part here.

 

 
 

Sound:
Simply my favorite universal out of all those I've tried. Given the price we are entitled to have at least that, but I was really surprised by these IEMs. And I had certainly never imagined they could put my jh13 (no freq phase) in difficulty.
 
-The mediums are my favorite on any IEM I've heard. Custom or not, both in definition and how natural they sound. I understand very well that signature is a matter of taste, some like the lush laid back mids of a W4 or my fellow IE80, others salivate from listening to the boosted and bright er4 medium. Well the 334 is pretty much in-between with an electrically flat medium-to-trebles signature. When you hear details, it's because of how precise the 334 are, not because there is a +8db on the frequencies of that instrument/voice. And trust me on that one, you'll hear details, loads of them! That's how I love voices, detailed but not forced onto me by some frequency tricks(what annoys me the most with the jh13, voices aren't doing it for me even though it's a stellar CIEM). Even though the mids should be considered slightly recessed, it is the part that really shines. That's how good it is.
 
-Trebles don't extend very far, like any multi BA driver IEM, but for a multi BA they sound very nice. I'd say that most of it drops after around 10khz as usual, but here you still get a good quantity of lower volume details up to maybe 15khz(take into account that my own ears are not so young and I can't say night from day after 17khz anyway). I find the trebles more natural and clearly more defined than on my jh13(non freqphase). It just doesn't have the extra “air” you can get from a few good fullsize headphones. And as said for the mids, trebles are pretty steady until the point where they drop down(no feeling of steady roll off, it just stops at some point). So most cymbals and other treble oriented sounds end up with a very natural and rich sound. Much more at least than all those IEMs with 1 big spike in the 8 or 10khz and a dead-zone right before and after that frequency. Here the 10khz has enough back up to get a cymbal to sound real, something I'm sadly not used too.
my other favorite cymbals on IEM were from the EM6. too shy on the jh13, too spiky on the EM32, too forward on the Parterre yet a little less detailed. and just harsh or muffled on most IEMs I've heard. I have to say, I can deal with the most distorted bass, but have a hard time being satisfied with trebles on IEMs. 334 isn't perfect in the trebles, but for an IEM it almost is. Again with the em6 the closest to what I like and find "real" on a cymbal.
More than saying that the mids or the trebles are great, I should say that they're so balanced to my ears that no part is masking the others.
 
-bass go very low and are heavily emphasized in an attempt, I guess, to convey speaker bass feeling. In some ways it works wonders, but it's not perfect and will be too much for some people. The overall feeling is that there is a strong bass presence with round and very wide sub bass. The texture is incredible and the soundstage as big as it gets on a BA driver IEM. But the other effect of those strong sub bass is a feeling that the bass is slower than usual as the 80-100hz impacts merge mostly into the sub bass, taking away part of the "'slam" feeling.
Coming from the jh13 with some of the fastest bass response feeling you'll encounter, it's pretty puzzling.
Coming from some dynamic driver phones with big bass, it's already a lot more usual.
All this to say that depending on your tastes, the bass could be overwhelming and feel “too slow”. For people used to consumer grade headphones and bass lovers, bass quantity should be pretty fine and lovable(same kind of sound, better quality). In case it's too much for you, you can get satisfying results by EQing down the sub bass. You will immediately feel a relief and an increased speed with just 1 or 2db less in the 60hz and lower. Otherwise adding an impedance adapter from 8 to 30ohm can give nice results for the same purpose (8ohm being my personal choice. 30Ohm tended to alter the mediums I love so much so I dismissed using it).
and for the hardcore bass head, boost the 80hz even more to add impact to the already great rumble.
 
So it's a bassy IEM, no arguing about that. It's the bass phone that doesn't crush the rest. My IE80 has no medium, my hd650 has mids, but slightly recessed/muffled. On the 334 I could say that I wished for a “faster” bass, but never have I though that the bass was detrimental to mids and trebles. I certainly wouldn't recommend using a warm or bass boosted source as it would immediately be too much. But a nice flattish source(with no hiss) is a great experience with those TO GO! 334.
 
-imaging/soundstage: huge for an IEM, all “To Go!” Have an impressive soundstage/headstage(call it how you like), very wide and textured. The specificity of the 334 comes from the drivers vertically aligned and how the 3 ways are kept vertical until the end. It helps getting some height effect with a frequency dependent positioning.
When listening to a well mastered album it won't really alter the song as we're talking physical separation of a few millimeters compared to the a vertical imaging of 10 or 15centimeters for some songs. But when listening to a song with virtually no imaging cues, the 334 will make some up. Just enough to add some fun to the music. Old punk fans rejoice!
 
 
Requirements:
It's a very sensitive IEM, meaning it will make noises from your source to hiss louder than most IEMs. Not the 334's fault as the noises do come from the source. But to fully enjoy the qualities of the 334, I strongly advise you to avoid sources known for hissing.
Worst case scenario: You love your hissing source. Well just add a clean amp, it will solve the hiss-ue and improve the overall sound.
 
As mentioned before, the source impedance will affect the 334's sound signature a little. And it was, surprisingly or not, a very bad combo with the FIIO X3. Because the output impedance is so low you actually get more bass than on other sources and you end up with a more V shaped signature. Added to the already warm X3, bass becomes overwhelming.
The dx50 is better but hisses enough to annoy really quiet listeners. If you're rich, I recommend the zx1 or anything+ a nice amp. The 334 is a good IEM, don't go cheap on the source now.
That said, if you don't mind the buffering noises, I spent a lot of time pairing the 334 to a clip+ and it was very nice. The 334 makes up a little for the narrow soundstage of the clip+ so the result doesn't suffer any critical flaw and is very enjoyable.
I usually push people to go as close as possible to zero impedance on their source's output, but here a source with 3 to 5ohm might actually please more people. The change in signature is subtle but still audible. And at those levels of sound quality, ultimately the signature will be the judge.
 
Here's an unrealistic and simple graph showing how your source's impedance will affect the 334. keep in mind that I cut all possible corners in the calculations so the values aren't reality. The purpose is to give directions and proportion for the changes not values at a 0.1db accuracy.
(frequency graph and impedance values for calculations were all stolen shamelessly  from M.R.O. thx to him)

 
 
Conclusion:
Instruments separation from resolution to image positioning is excellent, you end up with incredible details (dat medium) without resolving to the usual tricks of boosting strategical mid and treble frequencies(like somewhere from 2to5khz and 8to10khz). I personally am not a fan of very spiky boosts so I'm happy with the way the 334 sounds.
The signature is clearly miles away from monitoring(yet pretty close to electrically flat), I see the 334 as a high quality, fun sounding IEM dedicated to enjoyment.
In the same brand the f111 was closer to the so called neutral signature(er4 style). But doesn't extend as much in the bass and clearly doesn't have the same level of details. The Parterre has more treble boost and a great imaging in my opinion(the best of those 3), but still I found the 334 to have, if not more details, more natural trebles. It's weird for the "bassier" IEM to impress me most in the trebles but that's how it was.
The price is no joke. My ears would tell people to go custom for this price. My wallet on the other hand would explain that a 334 can be sold with very little loss. When trying to sell customs is a different story (if the custom can actually be reshelled, else you've lost it all). So there is no wrong choice, but surely a hard one to make.
 

 
 
 
                                                                     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Disclaimer:
Mr Suyama (FitEar) agreed to lend me a pair of To Go! Parterre and 334. The purpose was to give a chance for a maximum of my French fellows from tellementnomade.com to have a try at this now pretty famous brand. We are indeed very glad to have a go at them.
I'm not getting paid nor selling anything. In fact Fitear asked nothing of me, how confident is that!
So before they leave me for one of the big cities in France (a country on earth), I decided to do a little feedback on “le” Parterre. Please take this as one guy giving his opinion and nothing more.
 
Test material:
amp: O2, pico slim.
Daps: Sansa clip+/zip, Samsung yp-p3, Sony a865, Cowon I10.
 
 
 
 
Intro:
Oh boy they're comfy! Really close in shape to the F111, I just fit and forget. And I'm not an easy guy when it comes to fit. IE80 and the eternal search for tips, PL30 hurting me with the outer body, I can't seem to be able to get a good fit with most Shure/Earsonics/Westone universals and had to give up on buying one of those. I need a deep enough insertion to fit my right ear (outer canal is pretty huge).
 
If you have a really small ear canal (most girls) you might want to try any cheap universal working with T500 Comply foam tips just to be sure your canal is large enough (same as Sennheiser IE8/IE80 and fits the same tips). https://www.complyfoam.com/content/Compatibility-Chart-Isolation.pdf
Else your fit will be good and really really comfortable. I feel like I'm using some tiny Q-jays again.
 
 
 
Provided tips are the usual 3size silicon flanges and a large bi-flange.

 
 
 
 
The Parterre feels sturdy, acrylic is pretty thick and made me question the durability of my jh13.
You won't find a grid to protect the damping filter so you should treat them with care (cleaning tool provided).
 

As you can see Parterre uses the same titanium horn technology featured on the F111 to sustain high frequencies without having to push the driver too hard.
 
 
 
 

 
Stock cable named 001 is made out of copper and reinforced with heat shrinking cable making it too stiff for my tastes but I must admit it's built like a tank. From what I get the optional cable 000 is silver plated and even stiffer.
That stiffness is such that I hear directly into the Parterre every button I click on my DAP, how badly amazing is that? Cable noises are bad even when using the great clip provided (I want this on all my cables!!!)
There is a really soft memory wire, I usually cut it out of my cables but this one never hurts me. On the other hand people used to a solid grip from the memory wire might find this one lax.
Connectors are proprietary and almost identical to Sennheiser's connectors on hd600/650. You can already find a few places for replacement cables.

 
 
 
 

nice marking for side and polarity.
 
You get the Parterre in a sturdy Pelican 1010 hard case, the inside is rubberised, this should be compulsory for IEM cases.
The soft carrying pouch has a nice foamy feeling to it.
 
In the end everything feels and is sturdy, you don't look like you paid only the sound.
More tips could be nice, but I usually end up with Comply foam so I didn't mind the scarce choice.
 
 
 
Sound:
 
Bass:
Punchy and strong with less sub-bass than my jh13 don't expect the flat line frequency response here, bass are enhanced and stronger than on a F111.
The idea is power and thump, not much of bloated or immersing bass here, think more 100-200hz sound.
For even more bass and round sub-bass you'll have To go! for the 334 (more bass, less punch)
 
Mediums:
details level and imaging go on with sound signature to give a very lively sound, high mids are loud and give a strong kick to most percussions. On a few musics, this might push the voices back a little, but never as much as I felt on the Merlin.
I tend to find this fatiguing, but keep in mind that I'm a hd650 kind of guy. I usually sacrifice mids to get that almost dull and non fatiguing sound. The Parterre aren't meant for me to begin with.
Objectively mids are good. I admit it and enjoyed the energy of the Parterre mostly on classic. The same way I enjoyed using some ER4, yet couldn't really stand long listening cessions on other music styles without EQ to tame the upper part of the mediums. again my tastes (most of |joker|'s TOTL IEMS make me run away), nothing wrong with the sound quality.
I know this signature and feeling of strong dynamic and authority is attractive to a lot of people, and they shall be satisfied with the Parterre.
 
Trebles:
same as high mids, high frequencies get a boost, at least to the point of getting cymbals as one of the big guys on a rock song.
Cymbals and I have been having a love/hate relationship for many years now. I probably went “hifi” on portable because I couldn't stand the harshness and distortion of cymbals on low end universals (B2= arrrrghhh).
Good news everyone, Parterre knows how a cymbal should sound.
High frequencies don't go very far, but have a stronger presence than 334 which tends to be shy above 10/12khz.
 
In cymbal value, new reference measurement I just invented (take that Dr Olive and Welti) 334>Parterre>F111>most IEMs I've heard under 400$
ER4's cymbal may be top notch clean and for that deserves to be at the top for a pro. Yet FitEar removed some harshness, losing a little bit of the surgical details to gain some micro smoothness. My choice goes to Parterre for cymbal enjoyment (even better with 334 but not the same price range).
 
oh I forgot to talk about sibilance!! there's absolutely none that I could hear despite the bright signature. I'm starting to be a fan of this titanium tube.
 
 
Imaging:
It is really good, with several layers in width and height. Depth looks good, but I don't really have a source to test the extent of that dimension, O2 isn't the king of depth, and the pico slim doesn't know what I'm talking about, at all. So you'll have to ask someone else about the Parterre's depth, sorry about that.
Imaging is really high level and I could spend the entire song mentally jumping from one place to another. I was more impressed by the 334 (in every ways except energy) but to me the Parterre has a more coherent imaging. When the recording is bad and almost in mono, you don't get much. When the recording has an amazing imaging, you get amazed. Moving sounds can be followed from start to end perfectly, when I noticed some tiny ruptures on the 334.
334 is a hell of a fun toy, and will tend to put a multi layered imaging even on some trashy punk song recorded with a phone (each driver gives a different vertical position).
So 334=impressive and fun, Parterre=realistic and coherent. (from memory the F111 is also really good with sound-stage and imaging)
My JH13 (old version) is at a loss here. They're more in the head than anything, but I was still proud of JH's imaging, now I wonder and fear of a bad flu (upgraditus fastus).  The Parterre is in the league of my IE80 for the max distance, but when IE80 is limited to around the head as a minimum distance, Parterre gets inside when it wants to, giving a superior amplitude (IE80's bass still surround me like no BA driver I've tried could do).
 
 
 
conclusion:
First thing I would do if I had to buy this universal would be to get another cable. I want a right angled jack and as little cable noise as I can get. This cable fails to provide my needs. On a brighter note, it seems like you can make it into balanced just by changing the jack.
I strongly believe people would prefer some 50$ custom replacement cable with the right termination, and a large variety of tips instead of the actual bundle.
The Parterre in itself is really good, not too sensitive so HO noises shouldn't be too much of a concern unlike the uber sensitive To go! 334.
Parterre is in essence so punchy that your source doesn't matter that much (punchy to me, it sounds calm in front of an UM merlin). I enjoyed it right out of a Sansa clip+ (let's forget those electronic noises when you change songs), on my Sony A865 I genuinely enjoyed it as it was like an automatic EQ ^_^ (this dap is a high freq murderer on the HO). on my old boy Samsung yp-p3 it was too cold, but no noticeable damping problem. And my cowon I10 was also a good combo but might reveal too much of the slightly artificial sounding of the brand. Of course it will always benefit from a good source/amp but to my surprise I could live without one, and the smaller sound-stage of mediocre sources was still good enough to satisfy me.
 
We're on the bright and punchy side of sound, you don't get any sense that an instrument is muffled and the level of transparency is high. Added the nice imaging and you really need a lot of instruments and bad recording to be unable to pinpoint each instrument. Again It was soon fatiguing for my old ears and really not my cup of tea when it comes to sound signature as I like my frequency response graph to go down, not up. Maybe behind a warm RSA amp I could really enjoy it … “no wallet I'm not talking to you!”
As is I had fun with classical, everything close to groove, and bands like “hybrid” (sorry I don't know what genre this is ^_^). and I enjoyed all kind of music on a warm dap.
 
By the time of this review I couldn't find any measurements or intels so your guess is as good as mine on specs. Suyama san decided to challenge our ears with close to no information. It is said to be a multi driver, and I would bet on 2 as the titanium horn does pretty much the job of a third one. but you shouldn't take my word for it.
 
I hope I didn't do too bad of a job putting my tastes on one side and my “as objective as I could” views of the Parterre on the other. I personally felt more attracted to the 334 (a lot actually) with its round bass and less 3khz boost, but I know this Parterre will make a lot of people happy. Those exactly who would find the 334 to have too much/round bass and miss the strength of a louder 3khz. Adding the F111 to the party as a neutral IEM, I feel like FitEar covered all bases.
 
 
 
 
A few random pictures to get an idea of the real size and side by side with To Go! 334 http://www.head-fi.org/g/a/789702/fitear/
 

Summary at the end for lazy peeps.
 

1. User interface and the frightening secrets behind the i10:

 
The navigation tree has obviously been made by secret terrorist cells who could never contact each others.
The brain whose cover job is designer at cowon, came up with the idea of "one action on each corner of the screen" on a non touch sensitive screen (when you re that messed up you get to be the boss with terrorists)
He also came up with the multi award winning design (true story) that makes sure you will drop it more than a wiimote on a drunk evening. Stuck back to back with an amp it looks and feels stupid, like trying to attach humpty dumpty to the wall with rubber bands.
On the bright side, it looks and feel good in your hand. too bad there is absolutely no reason for you to keep it in your hand. let's see why.
 

To go back in the menu, our terrorist cells entered obviously in action to make the world tremble in fear. Depending where you are in the menu tree, to go "back" you have either:
"back" binded on the lower right of the touch pad.
Or "home" binded on the lower left.
Or you go back with "backward" binded on the upper left.
Or just validate an option with the "play/pause" binded in the middle of the touch pad.
Need it be said you don't get to decide the one you use. they re terrorists! they randomly give you only 1 working bind to test your level of awareness and remind you they can strike anytime!
 
Now good stuff:
You got 3 physical buttons, hold/power (depending on the time you spend pressing it) and 2 for volume. When in hold mode, the volume buttons can be in hold, or set volume, or become forward and backward for the tracks.
So in your pocket you change tracks with the volume buttons and when you want to lower the volume the trick is to press hold, change volume and then double tap hold(1 press will "hold" and a second fast one will turn off the screen)

In the end the i10 works in your pocket, not in your hand ^_^
For everyday use it s ok.
 
 

1. Sound quality:

I m talking flat EQ and no effect here.
-Those who know cowon sound and the trizillion effects, it s as good as usual.
-To those who never tried a cowon, i m no sound engineer and don't know the fancy lingo i read on head-fi. My feeling is that cowon does with sound what "auto levels" do on a picture in photoshop. It seems to take your sound and stretch it to all the available range. It s not much about cheating, and more about retrieving the full range of informations as your ear would get them, not as a microphone would get them. Giving you in the process the feeling of a better instrument separation through a bigger sound stage.

For example, to me a sansa clip+ is sounding flat and lacking a very little something in the bass. It gives a great analytic sound where you can make out all the instruments perfectly. at the cost in my opinion of sometimes losing the opportunity to enjoy the music as an 1 entity. Well it depends on what you are listening at.
So in that respect cowon gives a little feeling of magic as you keep the enjoyable integrity of the song with a friendly warm sound that will make you move at  the tempo like an idiot more often than with the clip+. and at the same time you can physically pick any instrument thanks to a bigger soundstage. But only if you put your mind to it.
I can't get the same sound on the clip+ whatever setting i will use.
I can on my samsungs yp-p2 and yp-p3 using EQ, clarity and 3d a little, but at the cost of recessed vocals. And all that to get a flat cowon sound ....
 
So as long as only sound matters cowon is probably more enjoyable for everyday use. +the range of effects and EQ usually let you get the sound you really love in the end.
I wouldn't take a chance in a cowon vs sony sound as they re both good and warm. It would come down to individual tastes.
And about the expensive bricks this forum loves so much, i never swam in those waters because i can't get myself to put 800$ on something with not even 10h of battery life. So you ll have to ask people who got one about how good they are.
 
 

1. Battery life:

They give 38h music and 6.5h video on Cowon website.
I would say around 15h on average, as you will probably EQ and effect abuse over flac.
Also it goes is sleep mod when OFF, so any idle period is slowly using the battery. (can turn it off with long push on both + and - volume buttons)

Thx to the terrorists you can get the best out of this battery, as you won't use the screen much:
No game, booby trapped UI, and the worst viewing angle i ve ever seen on a screen, too small to enjoy video anyway.
 
 

1. Drive power:

 might be a bit weak for voracious cans, but hey you got an amp for those cans anyway don't try to fool me here!

 

1. Colortherapywhatever:

So more than often you will wonder why you can't go back directly to the playing track, or to the home page.
But almost wherever you are in the UI you can miss-clic and get the color background settings.
The idea is that light will affect your mood depending on the color, and that is about the truth.
 Its impact on my brain is : "What that s the third time today that i go into the colorstuff menu, give me a break!" 
Yes this little thing can change your mood and get you mad.
I wake up with a clock that brings light up step by step, i bought 2 lights with a remote to get whatever color you like in your room. So i m pretty much sold on that light and color therapy. and that feature on the i10 is idiotic! It s not just useless, it s a bother.
 
 

1. Line out: troll

no line out :'(
you can get a line in cable to record from external devices, some will have use of this, for everybody else it s useless.
 
 
 
 


Latest driver is supposed to fix usb connection issues some experienced http://www.cowonglobal.com/zeroboard/zboard.php?id=C08&no=470
About this i suggest to use the wise and famous telling by Platon: "if it works don't screw*ng touch it!"
 
 
 

1. Summary:

 

1. +

+2physical buttons you set for volume or track switching in your pocket. (with a little use you do both)
 
+Sound is pleasant, with the usual cowon signature and army of effects.
 
+No hiss, i can't stand hissing. At any volume, or amped, i got something pretty clean with jh13 so you can relax. (edit: clean also with To Go! 334, cleanest low price dap I know)

+Pretty small and light in regard to post 2010 "bigger than tv" portable dap trend (terrorists are everywhere), yet not a clip+ or a nano.
 
+Battery is ok+, you can expect between 10 to 25hours depending on your use.

 

1. -

-Little audible "tic" on any physical action on the power/hold button, and also when volume passes from 0 to 1 or to 29 to 30 in both directions(max lvl is 40). most won't even notice, serial killer maniacs like me will go mad.

-100% terrorist made user interface.

-You get a music player, nothing else (it s pretty much a + if you want a dap for ... music)

-The J3 bests it in every aspect except for sound quality which based only on my memory was the same usual cowon sound. (you can kill me if i m wrong here)

-No memory card slot

-No line out