[BartSimpson1976]

  Where i differ is that I think all DAPs suck lmao. I'm not targeting any manufacturer specifically, more that I am amazed that in 2015 we are akin to having 'tv's with no remotes'.

And i think we're our own worst enemy. "Oh the sound... the sound is so gOOooood. It's so detailed.... it's sublime..." etc etc. WAY too much fan focus on sound that makes the manufacturers obsess over this that it leaves little for anything else. What I have learned is that the term 'sound quality' is well and truly overrated. Sound is in the ear of the beholder. I can open my DAP drawer and be satisfied with 3 or more different devices that all sound good, what separates them is the feature set.

Find any headfi thread. 100 pages of sound quality and pairing chit chat, 10% talking about features, bring up features and u get shot down lol.

That's why ABI can be a breath of fresh air, they (that community) seem to be more feature focused and willing to discuss in greater lengths and depths (without offense).

 
So absolutely true. Just going through tis in another thread. And always these "How is the SQ?" questions. As if this does not depned on your own preferred sound signature and/or the headphones you use. And the shortcomings in UI even in 1000 Dollar devices and how people are ok with that only because the thing sounds gud.
If I pay 50 kUSD for a car would it be ok to have no brakes or lights only because the engine is great? Certainly not.
 
Or battery life... my car is great and gives me great ride. Still I would not be happy if I have to refuel every 20miles.... 

 

[AliveNoMore]

  As far as this forum is concerned - we're equals.  The difference is that I've been here a bit longer, and contributed a bit more, but if you stick around, I'd love to see you one day get to Contributor status.  Ultimately its the variety of different contributions that make this a great place.  I didn't report you - but wouldn't hesitate if you did carry on the current very aggressive postings.  Take a breath.  It's a DAP, it's not a life changing device.
 
My honest opinion - if replay-gain is an absolute deal breaker - do what I suggested in the previous post.  Either:
[a] Look for another DAP
Change the volume in your worst files
 
I mean who's real fault is it - Fiio's or the dumb person during final mastering who decided that the volume had to be ramped up so much (usually at the cost of dynamic range) in order to make it sound better [shakes head].
 
And I really mean make the choice - like you said, Fiio haven't been able to implement yet on their X series despite it being a reasonably popular request.  Now do you really think that they haven't implemented because they are deliberately trying to deceive us, or arrogantly pushing it to the back of the queue - or do you think that just possibly they have limitations with the SOC and their own engineers where it's not the easiest of tasks to implement?  Which makes more logical sense?  And if you have read a lot of the threads and seen the efforts Fiio have made - there is only one answer to that question 

 
I'm hoping to have my M3 review completed by the weekend, and then I'm not sure how long Lieven will take to post it on Headfonia.  I have to post it over there as Fiio supplied the M3 through them.  I'll try and post some pics of the UI in here anyway - so hopefully it'll help your buying decision.  The UI is definitely quirky - but if you have the patience to get used to it, the M3 is a fine DAP. If you have any specific questions that need some one-on-one help, drop me a PM and I'll see what I can do.

I cannot get to contributor status. I lack the money to buy things to review or express my opinion on.
And yes, more aggressive opinions and criticism are definitely offensive. No doubt about that. Some people feelings might be a little hurt and we cannot have that. Should I assume sarcasm is also disallowed?
 
Of course the root cause is the fault of various mastering "engineers" and greedy companies. I'm familiar with the so called loudness war. And while I would love for the music industry to stop overcompressing and ruining music albums, I have a better chance of getting ReplayGain on a device.
 
Frankly, I do not believe it's that difficult a task. Rockbox has it and it runs on various types of hardware. What's so different or special about FiiO's hardware?
 
Your review could help my decision, yes, but with a risk of sounding like a broken record, I would buy the one that has ReplayGain, whether it's M3 or X1, or maybe the future M5(?). X3 and X5 are way to expensive for me so even if they are the ones that get the RG Treatment, I would have to pass.
 

 
Okey everyone take it down a notch,
 
You have a right to express your opinion,  but instead of voicing your displeasure in a forum for a $55 DAP perhaps you could direct it into a more appropriate forum for say a much more expensive DAP that lacks these features.  Fiio has never attempted a DAP at this price point before,  I am sure they had hopes of being able to provide some of these features but budget constraints including R&D may have prevented it.  Don't assume Fiio is deliberately lying to you.
 
A DAP with a suggested retail price of $55.00 probably has a manufactured cost of like $20 or less.  This would severely limit what they can and can't do with this DAP.  Also they have R&D invested in other higher end products and can only spend so much time and money developing such an inexpensive DAP.  Cheaper components have greater limits on what features they can and can't support.  Cut them some slack and let them get their feet wet in the low cost DAP market.  If the M3 sells really well then maybe they can look to add some of these features later and put more resources behind it.
 
Sansa's been making DAP's at this price point for a long time and trust me their first players weren't all that great. 
 
Also, I seem to recall Fiio talking about an M5 DAP also for less than $100 retail.  If they packed everything into the M3 what would be left for the M5?  If the M3 isn't going to cut it for you then maybe wait until next year and see what the M5 has to offer!
 
I have interest in the M3 as an on the go unit but if Fiio is truly planning to release a slightly higher end model like the M5 I will consider waiting.  Fiio will be able to apply what they learned from making the M3 and put that into a higher end model.  Sounds like a win win to me

Please stop saying it's a $55 DAP. I have checked various stores that I know and it's not sold at that price anywhere.
Suggested price doesn't mean much. It's the real price that matters.
If you know I store where it is actually sold at $55, please let me know.
 
I would consider waiting for the M5 as well, especially if i had more information as to what to expect from it.
 

  Where i differ is that I think all DAPs suck lmao. I'm not targeting any manufacturer specifically, more that I am amazed that in 2015 we are akin to having 'tv's with no remotes'.

And i think we're our own worst enemy. "Oh the sound... the sound is so gOOooood. It's so detailed.... it's sublime..." etc etc. WAY too much fan focus on sound that makes the manufacturers obsess over this that it leaves little for anything else. What I have learned is that the term 'sound quality' is well and truly overrated. Sound is in the ear of the beholder. I can open my DAP drawer and be satisfied with 3 or more different devices that all sound good, what separates them is the feature set.

Find any headfi thread. 100 pages of sound quality and pairing chit chat, 10% talking about features, bring up features and u get shot down lol.

That's why ABI can be a breath of fresh air, they (that community) seem to be more feature focused and willing to discuss in greater lengths and depths (without offense).

Very true.
 
Sound quality is still very important and it should never be overlooked but it really does seem that as long as a player has the sound quality everything else is forgiven. 

 

[Brooko]

  Should I assume sarcasm is also disallowed?

 
No sarcasm is definitely allowed - they even have a smiley for it 

.
 

Frankly, I do not believe it's that difficult a task. Rockbox has it and it runs on various types of hardware. What's so different or special about FiiO's hardware?

 
As I said - we already asked about allowing someone like Rockbox to have a look at the hardware.  The issue (AFAIK) is with the SOC supplier - it can't be open sourced. So you either taken them at their word, or you go on believing they (Fiio) are deliberately trying to deceive you (and this where I'd insert the sarcasm smiley - but I won't because I'm genuinely trying to be friendly 

 )
 

Your review could help my decision, yes, but with a risk of sounding like a broken record, I would buy the one that has ReplayGain, whether it's M3 or X1, or maybe the future M5(?). X3 and X5 are way to expensive for me so even if they are the ones that get the RG Treatment, I would have to pass.

 
I'd genuinely stop looking at Fiio for the time being then. If R-G is a deal-breaker, then it's a deal breaker.  Why not just buy a new Sansa, Rockbox it and be done?  Ultimately you'll save yourself some angst. 
 

Please stop saying it's a $55 DAP. I have checked various stores that I know and it's not sold at that price anywhere.

 
He's just relaying what the CEO of Fiio has informed us - and I got it direct from Fiio as well.  the M3 will have a suggested retail price of USD 55.00 - and my understanding is that this is the price it will be started at on Amazon (US).  Now I can't say what will happen in Europe as they have their own import duties etc.  If it is any consolation NZ price is probably likely to be around NZD $100 (when on pure exchange is should only be around $80).  And that's not Fiios fault either 

 

[AliveNoMore]

  I'd genuinely stop looking at Fiio for the time being then. If R-G is a deal-breaker, then it's a deal breaker.  Why not just buy a new Sansa, Rockbox it and be done?  Ultimately you'll save yourself some angst.

Why would I want another Sansa, especially since the new models appear to be worse than the previous ones? I want something that's better, not worse (or the same). It's called an upgrade if I'm not mistaken.

 

[jmills8]

Why would I want another Sansa, especially since the new models appear to be worse than the previous ones? I want something that's better, not worse (or the same). It's called an upgrade if I'm not mistaken.

Look you wont be happy with this dap due to all the negativity. Best to move on to something else.

 

[Brooko]

You forget your sarcasm smiley - however I see I'm wasting my time here.
 
Let me see if I can summarise what you want.
 
A DAP with:
 
Replay gain (non negotiable)
Gapless 
Upgrade over a Clip (Rockboxed), with better UI etc
Be produced by a company who doesn't (in your opinion) blatantly lie to its customers
Be priced very cheap (from your posts, somewhere in the sub $100 range)
 
Like I said right at the start - good luck in your search.  i think you're going to need it 

 

[AliveNoMore]

  You forget your sarcasm smiley - however I see I'm wasting my time here.
 
Let me see if I can summarise what you want.
 
A DAP with:
 
Replay gain (non negotiable)
Gapless 
Upgrade over a Clip (Rockboxed), with better UI etc
Be produced by a company who doesn't (in your opinion) blatantly lie to its customers
Be priced very cheap (from your posts, somewhere in the sub $100 range)
 
Like I said right at the start - good luck in your search.  i think you're going to need it 

ReplayGain - yes. Gapless playback is strongly preferred but still not mandatory like RG is.
Upgrade over the Clip in terms of power and sound quality. Regardless if stock or Rockboxed.
Price can be above $100 but not much. Of course the cheaper, the better, but I could stretch the budget a little. Maybe up to $150.

 

[Coldheart29]

Anyway, rockbox won't be a thing simply because the SOC itself doesn't have enough memory (can't remember now if RAM or ROM) to install a full rockbox version (same issue as the new clips, the soc is the same if i'm not mistaken). We'd need a heavily stripped down version of rockbox, that would likely be on par or worse than the stock one. We already discussed that in the first pages of this thread.

 

[fourrobert13]

  @Brooko would you say that from sound alone the X1 is worth the additional cost over the M3? I got the X1 really cheap so the cost difference that normally would apply doesn't matter for me (actually the M3 will be more expensive but I digress). I would probably be using my SE846 or DN-2000J if that makes a difference. I was hoping that the M3 would be released before my vacation next week since it has a good battery but that doesn't look like it is happening. I bought an iphone recently and will have to use that along with a battery pack while on the plane.
 
I should really get around to using the X1. I've had it for 2 weeks or so and barely touched it. Once my new phones comes I can use the micro sd card in my current phone and switch it into the X1 to see what the dap is capable of..

the m3 is available on amazon.  i ordered one yesterday.

 

[Podster]

Quote:.

 
Please stop saying it's a $55 DAP. I have checked various stores that I know and it's not sold at that price anywhere.
Suggested price doesn't mean much. It's the real price that matters.
If you know I store where it is actually sold at $55, please let me know.
 
I would consider waiting for the M5 as well, especially if i had more information as to what to expect from it.
 
Very true.
 
Sound quality is still very important and it should never be overlooked but it really does seem that as long as a player has the sound quality everything else is forgiven. 

AMAZON
Arriving Monday
Shipped

Track package





FiiO M3 (Ivory) Portable Music Player, 8GB + microSD Expansion
Sold by: Tinbel Store Product question? Ask Seller
$55.00
Condition: New - Authorized FiiO USA dealer.
 
Now mind you I ended up paying $63 for 2 day delivery

 

[rmullins08]

   
He's just relaying what the CEO of Fiio has informed us - and I got it direct from Fiio as well.  the M3 will have a suggested retail price of USD 55.00 - and my understanding is that this is the price it will be started at on Amazon (US).  Now I can't say what will happen in Europe as they have their own import duties etc.  If it is any consolation NZ price is probably likely to be around NZD $100 (when on pure exchange is should only be around $80).  And that's not Fiios fault either 

 
http://www.amazon.com/M3-Portable-Player-microSD-Expansion/dp/B018K88OSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1449154963&sr=1-1&keywords=fiio+m3  $55 is what I paid for mine

 

[rawrster]

  the m3 is available on amazon.  i ordered one yesterday.

 
It's too close before my vacation to purchase anything. I was hoping B&H would have them so I could buy it from there but there's no product listing on their website. I'll have to wait until after my vacation. No big deal since I was planning on buying the M3 primarily for work and the battery life on the plane (my flight is 16 hours and the M3 should have lasted the entire time) but battery packs work just as well since the one I use has 2-3 charges before it dies.

 

[fourrobert13]

   
http://www.amazon.com/M3-Portable-Player-microSD-Expansion/dp/B018K88OSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1449154963&sr=1-1&keywords=fiio+m3  $55 is what I paid for mine

same here.  $55 for the m3 and then $4.99 for shipping.

 

[Podster]

12 Left

 

 

[AliveNoMore]

That's all well and good for you I guess but it doesn't work for me unfortunately. The shipping costs from the US to Europe would be much higher and I would have to pay VAT. So the grand total cost would probably be even higher than what I would need to pay here. Not that it matters in this particular case, as Amazon.com says delivery to my country is impossible for that specific item.
 
And before you jump me, I don't blame FiiO for inflated prices or shipping restrictions. I'm not really sure how much it is up to them but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.
 
Anyway, if ReplayGain is a but a dream when it comes to FiiO products, then I guess it's pointless for me to be on the lookout for good deals for the M3 or X1.