[Dobrescu George]

  I’ve never felt firmware updates were a liability and it’s somewhat thrilling to reboot your purchase into an improved or seemingly brand new player. While the general consumer may consider firmware upgrades an inconvenience, it’s best they get acclimated since their first query about standalone DAPs is invariably whether they’ll import from iTunes. Learning how to load and manage their music should make the concept of firmware updates relatively second nature and stress-free.

 
I absolutely love firmware updates! 
 
 

How good really the X1ii is compared to X1 1st gen? In respect to only sound quality & build quality?

In Indian rupee currently the New X1 (gen ii) costs approx Rs. 2000 ($30 usd) more than the old generation x1, and I'll be buying it for gifting it my girlfriend who is not as tech savvy to upgrade the firmware regularly. That is why a good player with easy to use mechanism & interface as its current state is more important than having the bluetooth.

 
If she's not tech savvy, get first gen X1, it'll be better. 
 
The sound of X1ii is better, but X1 is simpler to use, and is still a very very good DAP! 

 

[Dyaems]

havent backread yet, just a quick answer will do.
 
is the X1 gen2 really THAT slow?  i tried a demo unit and it is terribly slower than the X1 gen1:

1. the wheel is not that responsive
2. navigating music files through the buttons are also slower
3. cant even read some mp3 files without any special characters - filename is in plain english, 320kbps mp3 inside an 8gb uSD card

 
 
was thinking that the firmware is the stock firmware so i held my purchase and asked here if the gen2 is really slower than gen1. im also eyeing on the Sony A35 but thats for another thread maybe

 

[Deb1995]

  I've successfully updated to the new firmware. I never really experienced any bugs before but I just browse by directory and play files/folders from there. Unfortunately the big issue I personally have is still there and that is the awful input lag when starting playback/changing tracks/changing volume. It feels like an old computer with not enough RAM and a slow old hard disk/CPU..

 
Do you have the old X1? Is this new X1 is slower than the older one?
I'm using the old X1 for over 2-3years and I'm quite happy with it. I thought that new X1 is better in terms of hardware. 
At the beginning, old X1's firmware was buggy and slow, but they fixed that with later firmware upgrades. I didn't notice any lag with the older X1 after upgrading to fw1.4. So, it will be very helpful if you can compare them.

 

[crabdog]

Do you have the old X1? Is this new X1 is slower than the older one?
I'm using the old X1 for over 2-3years and I'm quite happy with it. I thought that new X1 is better in terms of hardware. 
At the beginning, old X1's firmware was buggy and slow, but they fixed that with later firmware upgrades. I didn't notice any lag with the older X1 after upgrading to fw1.4. So, it will be very helpful if you can compare them.

No, I've never used the original sorry

 

[Joel3694]

Do you have the old X1? Is this new X1 is slower than the older one?
I'm using the old X1 for over 2-3years and I'm quite happy with it. I thought that new X1 is better in terms of hardware. 
At the beginning, old X1's firmware was buggy and slow, but they fixed that with later firmware upgrades. I didn't notice any lag with the older X1 after upgrading to fw1.4. So, it will be very helpful if you can compare them.

Yea I used the gen 1 for nearly 2 years and was pretty happy with it. Just that I got plain bored of its looks and itchy for something new without breaking the bank. But the 2nd gen is definitely slower as of now

 

[crabdog]

I found another little annoyance with the X1 II:
 
If Output is set to Line Out, when you turn on the player it will play 1 second of the last played song before the WARNING about set to line out mode pops up. You then need to press OK and then you have to wait several seconds before you can Play. It's really boring..

 

[Will1000]

My sister in law wants a new DAP for Christmas, max. budget £100. I have the Fiio X5ii and am thoroughly pleased with it and would generally recommend getting a Fiio product. Would anyone recommend the X1ii or would she better off having the X1 for less?! Hard to decide!

I should add that she isn't an audiophile or that technically minded and would generally only use it whilst running. Also, she's coming from an iPod nano so is used to an idiot proof UI.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  I found another little annoyance with the X1 II:
 
If Output is set to Line Out, when you turn on the player it will play 1 second of the last played song before the WARNING about set to line out mode pops up. You then need to press OK and then you have to wait several seconds before you can Play. It's really boring..

 
 
You want that warning to pop up! 
 
Believe those who plugged a headphone in the line out in the past!!! 
 

My sister in law wants a new DAP for Christmas, max. budget £100. I have the Fiio X5ii and am thoroughly pleased with it and would generally recommend getting a Fiio product. Would anyone recommend the X1ii or would she better off having the X1 for less?! Hard to decide!

I should add that she isn't an audiophile or that technically minded and would generally only use it whilst running. Also, she's coming from an iPod nano so is used to an idiot proof UI.

 

Either would be good, X1 1st gen might be better if you're worried about UI lag, but it should get solved with an update, and updates are fairly simple to make.. 

 

[crabdog]

   
 
You want that warning to pop up! 
 
Believe those who plugged a headphone in the line out in the past!!! 
 
Either would be good, X1 1st gen might be better if you're worried about UI lag, but it should get solved with an update, and updates are fairly simple to make.. 

I'm fine with having the warning. It's just that on startup it will autoplay the last track for 1 second then stop, then the warning. Then press Ok, then wait a few seconds, then press Ok/Play again to resume playback urghhhhh. If stacked with a portable amp which for me is always (so Im never switching back to headphone out) then this is the process you  must go through every time you turn the thing on.

 

[gemmoglock]

My sister in law wants a new DAP for Christmas, max. budget £100. I have the Fiio X5ii and am thoroughly pleased with it and would generally recommend getting a Fiio product. Would anyone recommend the X1ii or would she better off having the X1 for less?! Hard to decide!

I should add that she isn't an audiophile or that technically minded and would generally only use it whilst running. Also, she's coming from an iPod nano so is used to an idiot proof UI.

Hi,
 
I hope the Fiio users won't be too unhappy if I mention another Chinese brand!
 
For running, you would be better with a Shanling M1 with similar features to the X1 II. If you really want to stick with Fiio, get her the M3 as that is still the smallest thing that can play HiRes audio
 
I moved from an Fiio M3 to Shanling M1. Only just got the M1 after a 3 week break of selling away the M3 so I can't really compare. Sound wise not worlds apart, maybe just a tad more extension and perception of space from my less than 1 hour with the M1. Still not as detailed as higher end DAPs, though I haven't compared with the X1 II. A possible killer feature is that M1 supports Bluetooth and APTx so not only is it small, works cool with bluetooth earphones too.
 
Hope this helps!

 

[Will1000]

Hi,

I hope the Fiio users won't be too unhappy if I mention another Chinese brand!

For running, you would be better with a Shanling M1 with similar features to the X1 II. If you really want to stick with Fiio, get her the M3 as that is still the smallest thing that can play HiRes audio

I moved from an Fiio M3 to Shanling M1. Only just got the M1 after a 3 week break of selling away the M3 so I can't really compare. Sound wise not worlds apart, maybe just a tad more extension and perception of space from my less than 1 hour with the M1. Still not as detailed as higher end DAPs, though I haven't compared with the X1 II. A possible killer feature is that M1 supports Bluetooth and APTx so not only is it small, works cool with bluetooth earphones too.

Hope this helps!

I did look at the M3 but the reviews are more mixed than I'd like. The Shanking looks good but sits outside the budget. Honestly, how good is the M3?

 

[gemmoglock]

I did look at the M3 but the reviews are more mixed than I'd like. The Shanking looks good but sits outside the budget. Honestly, how good is the M3?

It does its function of music playback without complaints. Plain UI, but once you're used to it is fast and clear. Only problem I really had was the screen brightness. Other than that it was easy to use and really fuss free when I had it.
 
Again, main issue is whether you need Bluetooth AptX. For Shanling you may have to check around as in Asia it is actually same price bracket as the X1 II.

 

[Will1000]

It does its function of music playback without complaints. Plain UI, but once you're used to it is fast and clear. Only problem I really had was the screen brightness. Other than that it was easy to use and really fuss free when I had it.

Again, main issue is whether you need Bluetooth AptX. For Shanling you may have to check around as in Asia it is actually same price bracket as the X1 II.

Bluetooth isn't a requirement. I tried her on that a while ago and it didn't stick!

 

[s1m0n]

 It does its function of music playback without complaints. Plain UI, but once you're used to it is fast and clear. Only problem I really had was the screen brightness. Other than that it was easy to use and really fuss free when I had it.

 
Can you compare the sound in M3 and X1 II? I was thinking of getting the M3 but they say that the sound is more warm then X1 II. Not sure i want that.

 

[big45-70]

Does the new x1 have more amping power then the first gen?