[Subseastu]

Hi all
 
Well my Cowon J3 is getting a bit long in the tooth now and I'm looking to upgrade. I was looking at the Fiio X5 3rd gen but I think I can stretch my budget. I really like the massive storage with the x5 but think there is a step up in SQ available. So after a few days going backwards and forwards and making my head hurt I think I've narrowed it down to either the:
 
Cowon Plenue M2 590 pounds
128Gb +128sd card and about 9 hours playback
 
or
 
Fiio X7 with AM2 module 525 pounds
32Gb + 128Gb sd card and about 10 hours playback
 
or of course just sticking to the x5 3rd gen.
 
So my question is assuming that the x7 and M2 are of better quality than the x5:
 
Are they worth the extra over the x5?
SQ comparision between the x7 and M2 seems hard to come by. What are the sound signatures of both?
Are the stated battery life fairly close in real life?
 
I'll be using a pair of 1964 Ears V3 CIEMS with the player so I prefer and neutral sound with detail but not analytical. 
 
I'll look forward to any advise / experience from you good folk.
 
Thanks

 

[Subseastu]

Anyone with any thoughts please?