[Jim Clark]

Canjam at RMAF sparked a desire to improve my portable setup which is an ipod & Klipsch R6's. I think my needs are as follows:
reliable
above average sound
large storage
wifi as I might want to use to stream to my two channel rig. I currently do no streaming but have 7,000+ cd's ready to be ripped to flac files. I'll ask questions about that later.

Don't have tons of headphone options at present but I did send one of my pairs of AKG 340's to Headphile for modding. I have a Creative labs E5 but I could buy a headphone amp if needed.

I'm looking at the following FiiO DAPs and have no idea which might be better for me.

X5 mark III
M7
M9

These are all in my preferred budget area. Any guidance or better ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,
jc

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Canjam at RMAF sparked a desire to improve my portable setup which is an ipod & Klipsch R6's. I think my needs are as follows:
reliable

X5 III has been out longer and has a larger chassis, so it might be more reliable or at least it isn't known to widely fail since it came out.

above average sound

Well what exactly is "average" for you? Because technically all three you listed would be well above the sound of most smartphones, and used to be the Exynos Galaxy Note and Galaxy S were at the top until the LG V20 came along with comparable distortion and noise levels but more power.

large storage

How large is large, exactly? M9 is rated to read 2TB cards. X5 III has two slots but last I checked it was only tested with dual 512gb.

wifi as I might want to use to stream to my two channel rig. I currently do no streaming but have 7,000+ cd's ready to be ripped to flac files. I'll ask questions about that later.

If you'll just use WiFi you'll bypass all the audio hardware on the DAP anyway you might as well just not use a DAP for that. Or put the X5III on a dock and run its line output to your amp. If that rig is a speaker system just set up a different music server and use a smartphone to control it that way you don't have cables running from near your seat to where the audio electronics are.

 

[Jim Clark]

X5 III has been out longer and has a larger chassis, so it might be more reliable or at least it isn't known to widely fail since it came out.




Well what exactly is "average" for you? Because technically all three you listed would be well above the sound of most smartphones, and used to be the Exynos Galaxy Note and Galaxy S were at the top until the LG V20 came along with comparable distortion and noise levels but more power.




How large is large, exactly? M9 is rated to read 2TB cards. X5 III has two slots but last I checked it was only tested with dual 512gb.




If you'll just use WiFi you'll bypass all the audio hardware on the DAP anyway you might as well just not use a DAP for that. Or put the X5III on a dock and run its line output to your amp. If that rig is a speaker system just set up a different music server and use a smartphone to control it that way you don't have cables running from near your seat to where the audio electronics are.

Thank you for your reply. I guess what I am saying is that based on what I've read, there doesn't seem to a whole lot differentiating the three units I listed, hence the confusion as to which one is the "best". My concern is that there's something I don't understand or I'm missing. Not sure why a company would put out three items that at least to me seem so similar. Again, I'm grateful for your reply.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thank you for your reply. I guess what I am saying is that based on what I've read, there doesn't seem to a whole lot differentiating the three units I listed, hence the confusion as to which one is the "best". My concern is that there's something I don't understand or I'm missing. Not sure why a company would put out three items that at least to me seem so similar. Again, I'm grateful for your reply.

X series DAPs are larger bricks, with the X5 MkIII, X7, and X7 Mk2 running full Android. With the exception of the X1 the X series has SPDIF. The X7 also has removable amplifier modules.

M series are smaller DAPs, have smoother and simplified interfaces running off a more efficient processor. M3 like the X3 has buttons instead of a touch screen, but M7 and M9 do not run full Android.

in comparison to other DAPs think of the X series as competing with the Pioneer and Onkyo audiophile players, and the flagship Sony player. The M series is more like a lifestyle system for an audiophile with some extra features but are not as suited for more serious listening as the X series that can be easily used as desktop sources; think of it like if the iPod is Bose, the M series and the lower tier Sonys are B&O.

Alternately, if these were computers, it's like Razer taking on two segments: the X series is like the Razer Blade 15in competing with something like an older MSI/Asus/Acer "gaming" laptop (think of these like Colorfly or some other less known players), basically offering a more reliable and accessible service from Fiio without the price tag of the Pioneer and Sony flagships, while the M series is like the Razer Blade 13in taking on the Macbook Pro 13in and Macbook Air 13in.

 

[Jim Clark]

Thanks for breaking it down for me in more meaningful terms. It's appreciated. Based on your replies I'm leaning a bit towards the X5 mark III. Maybe they will do a cyber Monday sale and I can get the show on the road, literally.

jc