[MarcJC]

Hello head-fi~ I've been browsing about for quite some time now and usually have had my questions / buying concerns clearly resolved just by browsing / googling about, but now I'm at a dead end on two things. (Thanks for being so clear by the way; the enlightenment to my hearing has ensured that my car will have that deep gash on the rear left passenger door and that my front spoilers will be held together by duct tape for a little longer now~)
 
I've recently ordered a FIIO X3 and a set of V-Moda M80s (Which will have a second question dedicated just to them :<). I almost picked up the ibasso dx50, but realized the Fiio would save me some money by also working as an external dac for my comp. 

After browsing about for details on the X3, several sources (Which would take too long to track down with my browser history filled with the same sources in sequence for hours), I've come to believe that the X3 does upsample. So.. in hopes that I've made the correct buy:

1) Does the X3 actually upsample? Under what conditions/file formats?
 
--1.2) I read something along the lines that this player "even plays mp3s well" or something of the sort. Will this player fix my regret for having so many mp3s in my library when I was younger? I've changed addresses several times. Those CDs are gone. It would be nice to upsample these to get some life out of them. If they are enhanced, are they brought up to 96k or 192k?
 
2) Can you toggle this feature?
 
3) Is it only from the source or can you also upsample from your computer?
 
4) I enjoy separation/imaging clarity and soundstage a lot. The ibasso DX50 supposedly creates a larger soundstage with clearer imaging. I'm not going to lose too much, am I? And in regards to question 1.2, assuming mp3s are upsampled, is the stage affected at all? Or am I screwed by the constraints of the source file?
 
5) Why can't I make changes to my profile yet!?!?!?
 
--5.2) I already know this answer. :<
 
 
Thanks again in advance for your insight, everyone. Hopefully choosing this product over the DX50 for its added perks was not the wrong choice. 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
1. Upsampling is pointless and does zero for your audio quality. You can't make data appear where it doesn't already exist. If your music was recorded at 44khz and 16bit, that's what it is forever. Upsampling it to 96khz and 32bit doesn't make it sound different. This is a marketing thing that was introduced a while back and hasn't been drowned out yet, but it truly is pointless. I invite you to google for actual reviews of something upsampling and sounding "better". Even better, for real proof, just look for someone who has measured the output after upsampling to see if it's actually any different in a statistically meaningful way. You cannot add information that doesn't exist to a media track. Once it's ripped and encoded to whatever, that's the ceiling in terms of the limit for that track. The only way to get better quality is to get the source, and re-rip it and re-encode it. And even then, you're never going to make it a higher quality recording than it's original recorded data. So again, if it's recorded and released as 44.1khz and 16 bit, that's it, it's not going to be any different if you upsample. And as an MP3 with compression, NOTHING will give you the missing information lost due to compression--EVER.
 
2. Upsampling has zero to do with soundstage. Again, upsampling will not change how your music sounds.
 
If you want higher quality, get some new CD's or look for high quality recorded digital music, like from HDtracks.com.
And don't stress these "numbers" so much. Just listen to some music on your X3 and M80. You have no real reason to be fretting the numbers.
 
Very best,

 

[MarcJC]

Thanks for clarifying. I've seen enough instances of statements claiming that some of their dacs improved quality of their lossy files to make me question if some new magical technology was floating about. I had first assumed that this was because of an upgrade in dac, amp, or sound signature. But... Then the doubt!
Thanks again. Guess I'll have to go try and track down those lost discs.