[SMRDcompany]

Hello people,
 
I've recently bought a Fiio X1 and I have to say I love the sound. Some people say it doesn't really improve on the sansa clip+ a lot but I have to say even with hot switching I found a massive difference even with my low impedance RHA MA750 IEMs.
 
But I have noticed a reduction in soundstage a lot of people are reporting with this unit - and soundstage is one of my favourite things on good IEMs. Will adding a portable amp increase the soundstage coming from the X1? I'm thinking about the Fiio A3 (E11k), but I've read up on the Q1 which is a DAC/amp, which one is better out of the two? What is the difference between a DAC/amp and just portable amp in this case? Does the Q1 invalidate my Fiio X1 entirely? Excuse me if this is a really stupid question but I'm very much confused about this...
 
Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Hello people,
 
I've recently bought a Fiio X1 and I have to say I love the sound. Some people say it doesn't really improve on the Sansa clip+ a lot but I have to say even with hot switching I found a massive difference even with my low impedance RHA MA750 IEMs.
 
But I have noticed a reduction in sound stage a lot of people are reporting with this unit - and sound stage is one of my favorite things on good IEMs. Will adding a portable amp increase the sound stage coming from the X1? I'm thinking about the Fiio A3 (E11k), but I've read up on the Q1 which is a DAC/amp, which one is better out of the two? What is the difference between a DAC/amp and just portable amp in this case? Does the Q1 invalidate my Fiio X1 entirely? Excuse me if this is a really stupid question but I'm very much confused about this...
 
Thanks in advance for your answers!

 
The FiiO X1's 3.5mm output jack can be set for Headphone output or Line-output, make sure it's set for Headphone output.
Make sure you have the latest firmware.
Also do a reset and then go thru each of the X1's settings.
 
Those IEMs are only 16-Ohm, so the X1 should be already driving them to their best.

 

[SMRDcompany]

Thanks for the answer,
 
it's definitely set to headphone, otherwise it would blow both my equipment and ears away. It came with the last firmware flashed, I re-flashed it just to be sure as well. EQ is off, but I can definitely hear the lack of width in the soundstage. The MA750 don't have the most bombastic sounstage I've ever heard on an IEM but they do a pretty decent job spreading the sound around and while some details do sound way out there, most instrumentation kind of sticks right along the center, which really diminishes the impact of a well mixed chorus jumping in after a softer bridge. The instrument separation is stellar and they are spread out, only not as wide as I'm used to. In any case, would a Q1 or an A3 be a better fit for an X1 in general? I might not have the MA750s forever, I want to have the best gear available when I choose to upgrade perhaps to some more expensive drivers in the future.

 

[hobermonster]

Hello people,
 
I've recently bought a Fiio X1 and I have to say I love the sound. Some people say it doesn't really improve on the sansa clip+ a lot but I have to say even with hot switching I found a massive difference even with my low impedance RHA MA750 IEMs.
 
But I have noticed a reduction in soundstage a lot of people are reporting with this unit - and soundstage is one of my favourite things on good IEMs. Will adding a portable amp increase the soundstage coming from the X1? I'm thinking about the Fiio A3 (E11k), but I've read up on the Q1 which is a DAC/amp, which one is better out of the two? What is the difference between a DAC/amp and just portable amp in this case? Does the Q1 invalidate my Fiio X1 entirely? Excuse me if this is a really stupid question but I'm very much confused about this...
 
Thanks in advance for your answers!

I use a JDS Labs C5D with my X1. I have both the original and the 2nd gen x1 . It's a wicked pair for a few reasons. The low and high gain is great for iems and full size planar alike. Using the X1 on line out opens the soundstage wiiiiiide. The three way bass boost makes any headphone sound fun. It's also a dac, limiting what you need to carry. And lastly, it's the same size as the original x1 and works flawlessly with the stacking kit.

I have shure and Hifiman iems and Hifiman he-300 / he-350 / he-400i and highly recommend JDS Labs.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Thanks for the answer,
 
it's definitely set to headphone, otherwise it would blow both my equipment and ears away. It came with the last firmware flashed, I re-flashed it just to be sure as well. EQ is off, but I can definitely hear the lack of width in the sound stage. The MA750 don't have the most bombastic sound stage I've ever heard on an IEM but they do a pretty decent job spreading the sound around and while some details do sound way out there, most instrumentation kind of sticks right along the center, which really diminishes the impact of a well mixed chorus jumping in after a softer bridge. The instrument separation is stellar and they are spread out, only not as wide as I'm used to. In any case, would a Q1 or an A3 be a better fit for an X1 in general? I might not have the MA750s forever, I want to have the best gear available when I choose to upgrade perhaps to some more expensive drivers in the future.

 
If the FiiO X1 was set to line-output, chances any headphone hooked up to it might sound bloated and chances are it would not blow out your equipment or ears.
Without any headphones plugged in, try switching the output to line-output, then switch it back to headphone output, just to make sure the output is not flicked in any way 
but if your going to add an amplifier, might as to get the FiiO A3 (E11K),
your not going to be using the Q1 DAC function, with the X1.

 

[SMRDcompany]

   
If the FiiO X1 was set to line-output, chances any headphone hooked up to it might sound bloated and chances are it would not blow out your equipment or ears.
Without any headphones plugged in, try switching the output to line-output, then switch it back to headphone output, just to make sure the output is not flicked in any way 
but if your going to add an amplifier, might as to get the FiiO A3 (E11K),
your not going to be using the Q1 DAC function, with the X1.

Thanks for the answer,
 
I did switch to line in and tried, it definitely sounded worse with headphones directly plugged in (it wasn't really loud as I expected), volume control didn't work, so I'm pretty sure that it was set to headphone previously. Reverting back to headphone brought the sound and the volume control back..
 
Thanks for the advice, I'll probably go with the A3 since people report the line out of the X1 to clean the sound up (they also say newer firmware brings the sounds closer together, might all be placebo for all I know though), and the A3/E11k sounds like a sweet amp in general.

 

[SMRDcompany]

I use a JDS Labs C5D with my X1. I have both the original and the 2nd gen x1 . It's a wicked pair for a few reasons. The low and high gain is great for iems and full size planar alike. Using the X1 on line out opens the soundstage wiiiiiide. The three way bass boost makes any headphone sound fun. It's also a dac, limiting what you need to carry. And lastly, it's the same size as the original x1 and works flawlessly with the stacking kit.

I have shure and Hifiman iems and Hifiman he-300 / he-350 / he-400i and highly recommend JDS Labs.

Thanks for the recommendation,
 
that DAC/amp is quite above the price range I'm going for (E11k/A3 or Q1 level), but thanks for the impression nonetheless. Would you say there's a big enough difference between the old X1 and the second generation? I decided to get the old one since it was discounted upon the arrival of the 2nd gen, seemed like a pretty good deal. I think I'll go with an A3 and see if I get a similar boost in soundstage as you!

 

[hobermonster]

Thanks for the recommendation,

that DAC/amp is quite above the price range I'm going for (E11k/A3 or Q1 level), but thanks for the impression nonetheless. Would you say there's a big enough difference between the old X1 and the second generation? I decided to get the old one since it was discounted upon the arrival of the 2nd gen, seemed like a pretty good deal. I think I'll go with an A3 and see if I get a similar boost in soundstage as you!

I stopped using my second gen x1 for now. Too many issues. And i love the stacking kit for the original x1.

Honestly anything you get amp wise will give you a good return. I've heard the x1 and a3 together and it's pretty alright. Jds labs has a budget cmoy too. It's very good.

Good luck!

 

[The Apostle]

I'm using a Q1 with my X1 and it sounds great overall. Can't compare it to any other DAC, though.