FiiO X3 Generation 2  Review sample. 
 
From the start FiiO has given value for the money you spend. The new X3 Generation 2 continues the history of the value given for what you spend. Starting with the X3 and now the X3 G2, improvements have been made that add to the positive side of the equation on what you get. 
 
One the the first things the X3 G2 impressed me with, before we get to the sound, is the update user interface, UI. For me the X3 never jelled. I had to do too much thinking about what button did what, it wasn’t intuitive, to me. The new X3 washes that away and brings this DAP in with a new UI that is intuitive and functional. There is almost no learning curve, which bespeaks a well thought out concept on what the user goes through to get to what they want, music. The wheel and button placement is easy to follow and now is intuitive. 
 
The all aluminum body also has a great feel to it and should hold up to the unfortunate abuses that our DAPs occasionally go through, like the fall from a place on the desk or pocket and will be more unscathed and yes I do drop things or pull them off the desk from time to time. Forgetting that your headphones won’t reach 20 feet isn’t always helpful. 
 
The new X3 charges via the USB, which makes it easy to keep it ready to go as there are so many sources of usb charging now. There is a headphone output jack on top and on the opposite side to the right, is the combination line out and coax output. As a complete package the X3 G 2 pretty much as everything you need to use as a portable player, a source using the coax or a source feeding an external amp. 
 
For me a simple straightforward easy to use UI and enjoyable sound are pretty much on the same level. If I have to fumble around figuring out how to get to the music or switch to new music, even if the sound is excellent, the whole interaction is decreased. So with that in mind I am glad that the new X3 is easy to use and has a sound to match. How is the sound? 
 
I use the ESW10 Japan headphones quite a bit. They are a portable, though I don’t wear them when out and about but do take them with me on trips in a nice semisolid carrying case. They are on the ear phones that I am so familiar with, I can tell how music sounds or will sound on my much more expensive phones. To this end I used them most of the time with the X3 G2. For music type, I listen to most everything, favoring well recorded no matter the genre. I don’t enjoy mono much, never have and if it is hard panned right and left stereo with no depth, again, I don’t use the album much. 
 
Sound:
 
Even I often skip ahead after a short bit of reading of a review, wanting to know how something sounds, later, possibly, going back to the other details if I am further interested in the item, whatever it happens to be. 
 
The X3 G2 is a step up from the sound of the sound of the X3. It is more open, dynamic, more detailed, transparent and less warm. So how is that? I don’t enjoy a too warm sound as it covers the music in a thick blanket and I miss the contrasts and musical inspiration that I seek. The X3G2 isn’t cold sounding and slants to the warm but not enough to suck the life out of the music. 
 
On some favorite tracks that I listen to, Neil Young’s live acoustical album from 92, Dreamin’ Man Live 92, there is plenty of space around the sound, that live sound that is important to capture. There is good hall reverb retrieval to connect you with the event. The voice of Mr. Young, is caught with his slight strain unconventional sound is Neil Young’s voice. I enjoy his voice and if you can appreciate it, it has to be done right. I once had Fang of HiFiman listen to a cut I enjoy and he didn’t care for it. He thought Neil sound nasally and he does, a little but it is part of his charm. But if this is glossed over and the bite of his harmonica playing isn’t there, then neither is the essence of his music. 
 
Highs on the X3 G2 are thankfully free of grain, they are smooth and extended. The bass could have more definition but we are not talking about a 1200 or 2400 dollar DAP and for the approximately 200 dollars, the new X3 does a great job of conveying the music to your ears and the bass while not the most defined is not overblown, which can detract from the music. I had no problem driving most all my headphones from the Foster TH900, HiFiman HE-560 and various IEM’s. 
 
Summary:
 
So what do you get with the X3 Generation 2? You get a well laid out machine. It is versatile, easy to use with a great UI, a solid body and some accessories to take care of your needs for charging from a 5 volt source, external amp or digital transfer to another dac and you get a silicon slip on case to protect your conveyor of musical enjoyment! 
 
Looks like to me, for a small package, if you want to have fun and enjoy your music the X3 Generation 2 is waiting for you. 
 
 
Support for: 
Native DSD 64 and 128
AIFF
APE
FLAC 
ALAC
WMA
WAV
MP3 and 2
 
Full specifications can be found here: http://www.fiio.net/en/products/39/parameters

FiiO Mont Blanc for IEM  E12a  $159.99 
 
When you pick up the Mont Blanc you feel like you have something substantial in your hand. Not that is is overly heavy, no, it is conveys the impression that this thing is meant to last, is not some cheap plastic wrapped trifle and it is a compact well made amp that looks like you could take it with you to a zombi outbreak. And this is important, how it looks and feels but we also want something that performs, that sounds good, the boosts our enjoyment of music that isn’t just another addition to be set on the shelf or sold off when the mood strikes. So I put the Mont Blanc, referred to MB from here on, to the test, the musical test. 
 
There is little music I don’t enjoy, if it is well recorded from classical, jazz, western, rock, a lot of rock and even new age on occasion. The MB fed by the X5 or the X1 (the X1 is a fun little dap that for 119 dollars is a great buy), revealed plenty of layers to the sound. 
 
For monitors I used the RE 600, PortaPros, ESW10 Jpn and the JH13 Pros. I find these give me the range I need but will add that the MB had no trouble powering the Fostex TH900. 
 
With jazz I often enjoy Scott Hamilton’s, No Bass Hit for the drum solo. The MB kept pace with this. The drum strike and decay was conveyed and even on the louder passages, there was no collapse of the sound field. There is a whir of the tape machine while recording this CD and I suppose it was analogue or some fan somewhere but it requires resolution to ferret it out. There is a short quiet period in the drum solo and during this time I could hear the faint whir, which gets to the bottom of detail resolution. 
 
Hall acoustics on live recorded music like Neil Young’s 92 recording of all acoustical instruments is pulled in but not in like close but in like you feel you are really hearing the event. People sounds, claps, the “we love you” all comes through without having to listen hard, it is resolved, present and felt on a emotional level. 
 
I noticed that the high frequencies do not have a stridency that can be noticed on some amps, they are clean and the mid frequencies are full but not overly so. Bass, clean and the notes do not bleed into the other frequencies, which is so important to get right. I won’t say this sounds like my desktop amps but so what, it conveys the music, the song the fun and takes a good dap to another level and it can give you a little different flavor for an already fine integrated amp section. 
 
It is important to note that this is not a cold sounding amp. It has an organic slightly warm tone that enhances many musical pieces and with so much digitally recorded music, this is a plus. The strum of the guitar comes across like you often hear if you listen live. It isn’t just metal wires on a guitar, it is the waves of notes influenced by the acoustical space with the sound reverberating within that space and this is important as it adds to the life and enjoyment of what you are listening and after all, that is what this is all about. 
 
I want to add this amp is easy to charge from the USB provided connection, solid as a small monolith of aluminum and I would think, lasting as long as you want to enjoy music and along with my impressions of a fine sound is a recommendation!