Great review. 
 
Same thoughts. This is the best value flagship player. No contest.

Had to adjust some ratings - they weren't accurate.

Gonna get one for the misses while I go for the X5 Tada
 
Good Work Fiio, Keep offering good value for money and we will keep investing our cash in you!
 
Cudos

Awesome work @doublea71! Reviews of Fiio X1 are so good right now I can't help but want one so badly!  

Good stuff! Bravo Zulu, doublea71! Just bought one...

I have been using Rockboxed Sandisk players and am happy with them except for the battery life. Sandisk's latest, the Clip Sport claims 25 hours of battery life, however Rockbox isn't available for it. Some of the Cowon players get up to 110 hours of battery life, however these are well over $100. $100 is my price limit for an mp3 player, however I do want 40+ hours of battery life, and would appreciate much more battery life. I hope Fiio could provide very long battery life for their next player when used with efficient earphones. Perhaps a lower output model priced well under $100 with long battery life. Some of us plan to only use efficient earphones with the player, and could always use an external amp if we did decide to use something less efficient. A player well under $100 with great sound and over 50 hours of battery life would really thrill me.

They're going to release the X7, which will be their flagship DAP, so don't expect anything beyond 10-12 hours. You should try to pick up a used Cowon - you may be able to score one for around $100 if you're patient. I still have my J3 and I'll never get rid of it - it's great for travel and sounds halfway decent, too.

@doublea71 ; Well written review. 
How do you find your J3 in comparison to the X1? I had a friend's X3 for a week and it was a clear step up in sound from my Cowon C2, and also from my iPod Classic-FiiO E07k combo. Unfortunately X3 units are out of stock almost everywhere now and I have to wait a while before the new X3 comes to town, so would the X1 be a good purchase and clear step up in terms of sound quality?
 
Thanks in advance, and good to see the J3 last long, I remember seeing your pics of them with UM Miracles on the portable rigs thread, quite a while back.

Yes, I think so - the J3 is just veiled compared to the X1 imo. My UM Miracles sounded better to me with the X1 than with the J3. I actually prefer it to the X5 if you can believe it. I think it is a bit warmer-sounding than the X5, but still has a generous amount of detail.

So do you prefer it to X3 First gen?

If this had a full size SDXC slot it would be the perfect mass market player and would sell millions to middle-aged people like me with large music collections.
As it stands it is just another in a long line of nice players but without enough storage.
Please, Fiio, when you produce the 2nd Generation of X1, give it a full size SD slot. The first manufacturer to do this at this end of the market will literally clean up. It baffles me why they all think that a single microSD is good enough. It isn't.
I soldier on with my Clip+ and live in hope of something better.

I did buy the X1 when it went on sale for $80 with a free 32GB card. Am I happy I bought it? Yes, even though the 3.7 ounce weight, large size, and less than 11 hours battery  life make this not so practical for portable use. My X1 stays at home. I bought it mostly out of curiousity since it is getting so much interest on Head-fi. The sound quality and power output are good, however they don't seem to compensate for the large size and weight of the player. The Fiio M3 seems much more practical due to its much smaller size, much lighter weight, and much longer battery life. The M3 firmware though still has issues, so for now I have stopped using my M3 until there is much improved firmware for it. Hopefully that will happen within the next few weeks.