[fish1050]

 

Should work well with the Fiio E11K and make a nice compact stack.  Most people who pair the X1 with the E11K find a real improvement in sound so the M3 should sound quite good paired with the E11K
[/quote
Thanks I'll keep that in mind...is the e11 a bit bulkier to pair with a micro Dap?
I am keen on the XDuoo I think now as that will run my portable headphones alone by the sounds of it.

The A3/E11K is only 91.2 mm×56 mm×13 mm  vs the M3 74 mm× 39.7 mm× 9.1 mm so we are talking a few mm here.  I have my Sony A17 stacked with the E12A which is alot bigger than the A3 and still find it quite portable.  I have my DAP and amp stacked using 3M dual lock velcro instead of elastics and it works great. 
 
Also with the amp being larger than the DAP it gives the DAP more protection if I accidentally drop them which I am sad to say I have done a number of times.  I think my A17 would be broken by now if the amp wasn't absorbing most of the impact when I drop them.  For me I have big hands and I find with a small DAP like the M3 and even my fairly small A17 that they seem slip out of my hands.  My A17/ E12A stack is much more substantial in my hands and the amp acts like a hand grip when I am holding them. 
 
I too have been looking at the new XDuoo DAP but the issue with the pitch being off on the player at 1000 Hz has me concerned.  XDuoo is working on the problem but until they can fix it I won't consider it.  They are also apparently trying to get it rockboxed which would be way cool and add some of the features the unit is missing.  I will continue to follow that forum with interest.

 

[240z]

If you use an external amp it won't affect the DAC at all.  As for affecting the sound of the amp it will essentially mix with the sound from the internal amp but provide you with more power.  It should also give you a fuller sound and a bigger sound stage than the M3 amp by itself especially with hi gain on.  Although I haven't listened to the M3 yet as I have not pulled the trigger from what I understand the M3 has a warmer sound as does the E11K so I don't think the core sound of the M3 will be affected that much but the sound should be fuller.

Great explanation for noobs, thanks mate.

The A3/E11K is only 91.2 mm×56 mm×13 mm  vs the M3 74 mm× 39.7 mm× 9.1 mm so we are talking a few mm here.  I have my Sony A17 stacked with the E12A which is alot bigger than the A3 and still find it quite portable.  I have my DAP and amp stacked using 3M dual lock velcro instead of elastics and it works great. 

Also with the amp being larger than the DAP it gives the DAP more protection if I accidentally drop them which I am sad to say I have done a number of times.  I think my A17 would be broken by now if the amp wasn't absorbing most of the impact when I drop them.  For me I have big hands and I find with a small DAP like the M3 and even my fairly small A17 that they seem slip out of my hands.  My A17/ E12A stack is much more substantial in my hands and the amp acts like a hand grip when I am holding them. 

I too have been looking at the new XDuoo DAP but the issue with the pitch being off on the player at 1000 Hz has me concerned.  XDuoo is working on the problem but until they can fix it I won't consider it.  They are also apparently trying to get it rockboxed which would be way cool and add some of the features the unit is missing.  I will continue to follow that forum with interest.

So what xduoo you talking about? The x2 or x3?

 

[rbalcom]

For some reason I just cannot get the M3 to work. I have been looking for information in this thread, but other than returning it and getting an X3, I didn't see any posts with my problem. If I missed them, let apologize in advance of asking.
 
I have upgraded to FW 1.7 and have a 64gb San Disk SD Card with some FLAC files on it. I cannot get the M3 to scan the card and put the information in its library. Using the folder view, I can select the card and see the folders. When I go through the folder structure (Artist-Album-Song) the song will play, but does not show the album cover or any information but the file name.
 
When I tell it to do a manual scan, it quickly goes to 90% and then takes a little time to complete. If I select the Artist or Album view it says no songs found. I use Mac computers and have all my tracks tagged using Music Tag Editor. The tags display on all my other DAPs.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure I am doing something wrong, but have no idea what I missed.

 

[fish1050]

Great explanation for noobs, thanks mate.
So what xduoo you talking about? The x2 or x3?

Sorry yeah I am talking about the newer X3

 

[russell finch]

  For some reason I just cannot get the M3 to work. I have been looking for information in this thread, but other than returning it and getting an X3, I didn't see any posts with my problem. If I missed them, let apologize in advance of asking.
 
I have upgraded to FW 1.7 and have a 64gb San Disk SD Card with some FLAC files on it. I cannot get the M3 to scan the card and put the information in its library. Using the folder view, I can select the card and see the folders. When I go through the folder structure (Artist-Album-Song) the song will play, but does not show the album cover or any information but the file name.
 
When I tell it to do a manual scan, it quickly goes to 90% and then takes a little time to complete. If I select the Artist or Album view it says no songs found. I use Mac computers and have all my tracks tagged using Music Tag Editor. The tags display on all my other DAPs.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure I am doing something wrong, but have no idea what I missed.

I had exactly the same problem. A reset appeared to do the trick I think - just held power button down for 20 seconds and rebooted it and that seemed to work. Something definitely wasn't right though as my daughter's M3 did exactly what you described until then.  

 

[rbalcom]

 
I had exactly the same problem. A reset appeared to do the trick I think - just held power button down for 20 seconds and rebooted it and that seemed to work. Something definitely wasn't right though as my daughter's M3 did exactly what you described until then.  

 
Thanks for the response. At least I know that I am not the only one who has experienced this. I haven't had any luck trying to reboot the M3 by holding down the power button. To me, it seems as if it just turns off. I have made some progress. I formatted the internal memory and tried a different SD Card. With the SD Card removed and the internal memory empty, I performed a manual media scan. That resulted in a cleared out library as indicated by the "No songs found" message in all of the category views. Inserted a 128gb San disk SD Card with 3700 tracks on it. I did a manual scan that put songs, artists and albums in the respective categories. The scan did not get all the tracks added to the library, but at least it is reading some of the tag information.
 
Guess I will just wait for the firmware to get better.

 

[Cirkustanz]

I picked up the SK-M3 armband which is exactly the same as the X1 armband, except it is black instead of that gray color.
 
I really like it!  The M3 being smaller and lighter makes it more of a natural fit on my arm, and while the armband is a little on the small side, it does work for me.
 
The only thing I don't like about it is the strap length is on the small side. It was clearly made for the typical Japanese dude dimensions.  
 
If you have Thor sized arms that make the ladies swoon from two blocks away, you might have to wear it a little closer to your elbow than you would prefer.  It's just a velcro strap really, I imagine it would be easy to extend that a little bit by sewing a velcro piece to the end of what it comes with.
 
In relation to their marketing material, I wear it upside down, so the headphone port is facing up. I believe this is best for cord management, not to mention that if you wanted to use the screen with it on your arm that's the best way anyway.
 
I have taken it to the gym twice now, with the cord running up under my shirt and so far it has never gotten in my way, or popped out of my ears from pulling the cord.
 
Very glad I purchased it!

 

[Podster]

 

The technically best tiny amp would be the RSA Shadow, but it is much more expensive than the ones you mentioned and therefore probably not what you are looking for, is it?

HeHeHe, only the Shadow knows

 

[Saoshyant]

I REALLY want my Shadow to arrive, I'm so curious about it's sound!

 

[Podster]

  I REALLY want my Shadow to arrive, I'm so curious about it's sound!

I think you will like it, for it's diminutive size I think it will give your C5 a run for it's money

Ray builds some of the finest amps I've ever owned

This one here is my baby though

 

[Saoshyant]

I think you will like it, for it's diminutive size I think it will give your C5 a run for it's money:wink_face: Ray builds some of the finest amps I've ever owned This one here is my baby though:tongue_smile:

My only issue with the C5 is it can be a bit big at times, so something small and comparable sounds grand. Plus I have one of JDS Labs insanely short interconnects to use with it.

 

[rtar]

I did ask this question in an email to Fiio support, but this forum may give me a faster reply. I received my M3 today. The problem is that when I started it for the first time, I didn't notice any option to change language. I tried going into menu and then some of the sub-menus, but since they weren't in English, I couldn't understand what they said. Can anyone tell me how I can change to English at this point?   TIA 

 

[Podster]

  I did ask this question in an email to Fiio support, but this forum may give me a faster reply. I received my M3 today. The problem is that when I started it for the first time, I didn't notice any option to change language. I tried going into menu and then some of the sub-menus, but since they weren't in English, I couldn't understand what they said. Can anyone tell me how I can change to English at this point?   TIA 

James may chime in but I'm thinking you can reset by maybe holding the on/off button for so many seconds but I'm not positive. Seems there was a recent post with instructions how to get to that screen.

 

[BloodyPenguin]

  I did ask this question in an email to Fiio support, but this forum may give me a faster reply. I received my M3 today. The problem is that when I started it for the first time, I didn't notice any option to change language. I tried going into menu and then some of the sub-menus, but since they weren't in English, I couldn't understand what they said. Can anyone tell me how I can change to English at this point?   TIA 

 
How to change the language on FiiO M3?


For the firmware FW1.5 or newer versions:
a) Long press the Menu button(the upper-left one) to enter the Shortcuts menu
b) Select the settings icon at the bottom of the menu then press OK to enter the Settings menu
c) Press the Navigation Up/Down button until you see an option displayed as 'Language/(non-English characters)' then press OK to enter the Language menu.
d) Select the language you prefer then press OK to save the change
e) Press the Menu button for 3 times to get back to the Main menu

For the firmware versions before FW1.5:
a) Connect the M3 to the computer via USB.(if you have already transferred songs to the M3, please skip directly to step d)
b) Transfer several songs to the M3 by drag and drop
c) Disconnect the M3 from the computer
d) Press the Navigation Up/Down button to select the folder icon at the bottom of the menu, then press the OK/Enter button(the upper-right one)
e) Select a song and press the OK/Enter button to play it
f) Long press the Menu button(the upper-left one) to enter the Shortcuts menu
g) Select the settings icon at the bottom of the menu then press OK to enter the Settings menu
h) Press the Navigation Up/Down button until you see an option displayed as 'Language/(non-English characters)' then press OK to enter the Language menu.
i) Select the language you prefer then press OK to save the change
j) Press the Menu button for 3 times to get back to the Main menu

Note: If there's no laguage option when turning on the M3 for the first time or if long pressing the Menu button while in the main menu does not work, it means the firmware version is before FW1.5. In that case it's suggested to also update the firmware to the latest version after selecting the language.
Here are the instructions for updating the M3 firmware: http://fiio.me/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=40871&extra=

 

[Brooko]

  I did ask this question in an email to Fiio support, but this forum may give me a faster reply. I received my M3 today. The problem is that when I started it for the first time, I didn't notice any option to change language. I tried going into menu and then some of the sub-menus, but since they weren't in English, I couldn't understand what they said. Can anyone tell me how I can change to English at this point?   TIA 

 
Try this -
 
Press and hold upper left button.  You should get a vertical menu with 6 options
Select the last option
You'll then get another menu with 6 options - scroll down and at the end scroll one more click - this turns a page, and the option you land on is the language menu
Click the select/play button
First option at the top should be English