[EagleWings]

  Go for the A17, fiio not good

 
If my recollection is correct, I think you have only tried the X3 1st Gen, while @azimkajai is inquiring about the X3 2nd Gen. I am not sure if calling a device 'not good' counts when you have not tried it. 
 
 

I can't decide between the x3ii/a17. What do you guys think I should go for for overall performance? Also, I listen using the M100.

 
It depends, what you would like from this player. But to answer your question, speaking in terms of 'performance' X3ii beats A17. With the recent firmware updates, the scroll wheel issues and other UI issues have been fixed. It is very stable and reliable now. You can read the first post of this thread for my detailed comparison. During the comparison, my Fiio was running Firmware version 1.3. Version 1.4 brings improvements(scroll wheel and stability) to the device and only makes it better.
 
A17 has its own strengths too. Go for the Sony A17 if:
1. You just want a dedicated player that has amazing battery, internal memory, amazing UI, bluetooth connectivity, size and weight
2. The convenience and extra of the device as important as sound quality (bluetooth file transfer, bluetooth device connectivity and many more)
3. The bass from your M100 is not sufficient and you would like more bass
4. You don't want to go through the hassle of properly tagging your files and you just want to load music into the player and play it
 
Go for the Fiio X3ii if:
1. The sound quality and sound fidelity is your top priority
2. You want a good amp section to drive more demanding headphones (A17 does not have a powerful amp section) or
3. You will be using sensitive IEMs (A17 has a background hiss with sensitive IEMs)

 

[indieke]

  I have a Sony MDR-1A and that plays best on my old XPS L502 laptop. I thought the Sony NWZ 15 player should be as good as the laptop but it turns out it is way worse.  It is also worse than my 130 eur  huawei mediapad m1 device.  Well noticeably worse in the bass area. Thankfully we can use amazon to return whatever

 
I have the  1 A too.And I have both Fiio X3. With the original, the bass is too lazy. Nut with the more neutral ii, it  plays wonderfully well. Yes, sometimes the bass can be a bit slow. But I have the headphone for a month now, and I have the impression, the bass gets tighter and everything more open. The Fiio drives it well too. I used to put the bass a not down with the equaliser and the higher tones 1 or 2 dots up. Now I play it more and more flat. And also this, the sound-stage is wonderful with this headphone, and you can really hear, all that is in the mix. 

 

[azimkajai]

If my recollection is correct, I think you have only tried the X3 1st Gen, while @azimkajai
is inquiring about the X3 2nd Gen. I am not sure if calling a device 'not good' counts when you have not tried it. 



It depends, what you would like from this player. But to answer your question, speaking in terms of 'performance' X3ii beats A17. With the recent firmware updates, the scroll wheel issues and other UI issues have been fixed. It is very stable and reliable now. You can read the first post of this thread for my detailed comparison. During the comparison, my Fiio was running Firmware version 1.3. Version 1.4 brings improvements(scroll wheel and stability) to the device and only makes it better.

A17 has its own strengths too. Go for the Sony A17 if:
1. You just want a dedicated player that has amazing battery, internal memory, amazing UI, bluetooth connectivity, size and weight
2. The convenience and extra of the device as important as sound quality (bluetooth file transfer, bluetooth device connectivity and many more)
3. The bass from your M100 is not sufficient and you would like more bass
4. You don't want to go through the hassle of properly tagging your files and you just want to load music into the player and play it

Go for the Fiio X3ii if:
1. The sound quality and sound fidelity is your top priority
2. You want a good amp section to drive more demanding headphones (A17 does not have a powerful amp section) or
3. You will be using sensitive IEMs (A17 has a background hiss with sensitive IEMs)

Thank you for the more in depth description, I think I might go for the Fiio X3ii based on what you described. Cheers

 

[complete]

A series plays more realistic ..

 

[EagleWings]

Thank you for the more in depth description, I think I might go for the Fiio X3ii based on what you described. Cheers

 
Cool

. But I should also let you know that, if you have a massive music library, the device can be a little slow when you browse through your music collection. I am talking about 128GB SD Card filled to the last bit. I have a 64GB card with 40GB data in it and I don't experience any speed issues. One easy fix is, to browse your music through folders and organize the folders in such a way that you don't have a long list of items within one folder. But rather break it down and have sub folders. Something like this:
 
|--Artist Names starting with A-H
|                                         |
|                                         |--Artist 1
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with A-L
|                                         |          |                                            |--Album 1
|                                         |          |                                            |--Album 2
|                                         |          |                                            |--Album 3
|                                         |          |                                            |--Album 4
|                                         |          |
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with M-R
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with S-Z
|                                         |
|                                         |--Artist 2
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with A-F
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with G-K
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with L-Q
|                                         |          |--Album Names starting with R-Z
|                                         |
|                                         |--Artist 3
|                                                    |--Album Names starting with A-N
|                                                    |--Album Names starting with O-Z
|
|--Artist Names starting with I-O
|
|--Artist Names starting with P-Z
 
 
Also when you are playing music from a folder that has a high resolution image as album art, and when you skip tracks (hit forward or back) the next track will start playing immediately but the screen will take a sec or 2 to display the new track. You can either resize the album art to a low res image or if you are like me and don't care for the album art, you can just delete it.

 

[lsamod]

hey guys,
I'm choosing between x3ii and A25. I use Ostry KC06A iem. I'm concerned about the hiss on A25. Anyone paired Ostry with A10/20 series?

 

[EagleWings]

  hey guys,
I'm choosing between x3ii and A25. I use Ostry KC06A iem. I'm concerned about the hiss on A25. Anyone paired Ostry with A10/20 series?

 
KC06's impedance rating is 16Ohm which is the same as Sennheiser IE80. So chances are there is going to be a hiss. But the sensitivity of the KC06 is far less than that of IE80's, so it may not be as prominent as on the IE80. But what I can say for sure is, you wont hear any hiss on the X3ii. 
 
Try asking in the Sony NWZ-A10 series thread, Sony NW-A20 series thread and KC06's thread. More people follow those threads and someone should be able to help you. This thread here does not have too many followers/subscribers.

 

[quenta]

Hi, 
 
I just wanted to get my personal feedback between these 2 players, Fiio X3 gen2 and Sony A20 (I tested A10, seems same to me). I don't give accurate numbers, it more my experience of user.
 
First, my profile : you will be able to see if what I seeked/noticed can be helpful for you or not.
I was searching a nomade player with big capacity (more than 100Go), convenient to use, and with good sound.
When I say good sound: I'm not at all a specialist, nor an amator of good sound. So to me, good sound means not crappy sound
(I used before a Creative Zen X-Fi with sony internal headphones, so no "sharp" devices).
You understand here that i'm not a musician nor a music pure lover Just want to have good music in my ears
I mostly have MP3 320 Khz, otherwise some FLAC files. High res isn't a need to me, but I can like it
 
So here is MY conclusions, only relevant to me, of course.
(I'll use my best english, maybe not perfect on some terms
 
1/ THE DEVICE
 
X3ii
To me it's a very good device. Feels very well built, and without the case it's really pretty.
I like the size, even if a little too much thick...
I don't know if it's relevant, but beeing lefthanded, i like the buttons on,vol+/next,vol-/previous on the right size, when having in hand it's really convenient.
Contrary to what I read, i really like the wheel... It's accurate to me, got no problem with precision.
 
A20
Seems a little cheap... The front face is pretty coz in metal, but the back in plastic, makes it cheap.
And same for the 2 face button home/back, and the volume button : in plastic, sadly. The screen ? plastic ... easily scratched, put a screen protector quickly
But on other hand, it enables to get a very very light device  And that's very very convenient, my pockets are very happy
The pad on the complete bottom of the device makes it (to me) weird to handle the device while changing tracks... I feel like i'm handling the devide by the bottom edge, i feel i could let it fall. I totally get used to it thought, but I would not have designed it like that. 
The headphone input at the bottom ? I don't like it at all ... it bothers me when I handle the device. Same 
as above, i get used to it... but why ?
 
MY CONCLUSION:
X3ii more convenient, more beautiful, more solid. A20 more portable

2/ THE SOUND
I won't talk a lot about it, as I said previously i'm far to be an expert. 

It seems to me than X3ii has a more clear or neutral sound, whereas A20 has a more signed sound... But it's just a feeling, whenever I use on of the 2 I enjoy the sound  And anyway, in both you can play with EQ if you want, so...
 
Big difference : the power ... While I feel with X3ii I can make my ears bleed (litterally maybe, never tried more than half the wheel), the A20 is very limited (european model). But in classic usage (bus, train) I never go over 17 (on 30), so if I was first afraid of this limitation, on usage it doesn't impact me. Except if you use it with external speakers I guess ?

3/ THE FIRMWARE
Just to precise, I used an Sandisk 10 C 128 Go, the same for both.
I have 11504 songs.
 
X3ii
I like the appearence, it's sober. Easy to navigate into with the wheel, it's clear and efficient.
In the library (by tags or by albums) you have a lot of lines on the screen, I like it to choose.
Sadly you can't navigate letter by letter to make the browsing faster, but could be bring by an update.
 
BUT... I experienced some little lags when navigating into library; no matters of second, but there's lag, 
and it bothers me. I don't know if it vanishes with less music, or no cover, but that's annoying to me. I like the fact the player uses the files as they are, it doesn't add any files or folder structure on the sd card... And you can delete the files  
Maybe that's a downside of that, the library is kinda long to be actualized (more than the A20).
Shortcut are good : let pressed the volume to go to next/previous track, let pressed back button to return to the current played song, or the home screen, ... 
 
A20
Seems a little old fashion, but well i don't mind. Navigation with the 4 direction pad is easy, so OK.
The screen is big, but the font too, so you don't have a lots of line on the screen, you have to click a lot
to browse. Fortunately, you can navigate letters by letters, so the navigation stays convenient. I don't experience any lag while navigating, it's fluid, I like it.
 
BUT I don't like the device integration, it needs it's own directory structure, you loose some metadata (like sensme if the documentation is right) when you remove the sd card...
Maybe it's a upside of that, but the library is faster than on the X3ii to be actualized
 
A remark : damn you can't delete file !! What ?? 
 
Oh, another remark  :  when connecting on computer, you have to choose between internal storage and sd card storage... Sad, i would have preferred to see both at same time.
 
Oh, another remark : no shortcut to get back to the current play song. Let pressed the back button bring you to the home screen, not the playing screen... No very important, but it's sad for a player device. 
(instead you can click option button, then click playing list or playing screen, and you get there)
 
MY CONCLUSION
I prefer the X3ii firmware in conception and appearance. But in practice, because of the lag mainly, I prefer the A20.  (Even if you can't delete files, and it needs it's own structure directories >:[)
 
 
4/ AUTONOMY
 
X3ii
Well, no surprise, the A20 has a really better autonomy. But less power, less audiophile functions, I bet it has a better electronic engine, so it can be understood. The X3ii autonomy (around 10h for me) is good actually.
 
BUT the charging time of the X3ii is for me is too long : between 7h or 9h on USB, and 4h on sector ... To me its too long for a 11h theorical battery. 
 
A20
To compare, the A20 charges on 4 hours on usb (didn't try it on sector yet).
 
MY CONCLUSION
The ration charging time/autonomy is not good to me on the X3iio... I want a travelling convenient device , and for my usage the charging time is too long for the given autonomy.
 
5/ CHARGING CONNEXION
 
X3ii 
micro usb, YEAH
 
A20
proprietary ... Sony wants you to pay more !! shame on you
 
MY CONCLUSION
A20 can't win this point, proprietary is soooo lame
 
6/ ADDITIONAL ACCESSORIES IN PACKAGE
 
X3ii
Screen protectors, Yeaah
Case, Yeaah
Stickers to change aspect... What ?
coaxial converter, Yeaaah
 
A20
Headphones, Yeaah
No screen protectors, no case, daaaaaaammit
 
MY CONCLUSSION
X3ii has a better package, except for the lacke of headphones, it's complete.
 
7/ OTHERS FEATURES
Just to know, some of users (maybe most of them) would say "whaaat ? this function just in the feature section ?!" ... Yes, sorry, just a review for my usages
 
X3ii
- Line output & coaxial : sounds very nicely, with good power when I used it on my old Marantz ampli ... Love it
- OTG : didn't use it, but seems to be VERY COOL for some audiophiles, so CHECK FOR IT
- DAC usage : same as above, CHECK FOR IT
 
A20
- Bluetooth : convenient to me, for some headphones, or on the car, or on portative speakers (didn't try it thought, wonder about the sound power)
- Radio FM : very convenient to me too, for the football match like world cup, when i'm stuck at work or transport
- Video : useless
- Picture : useless 
- SensMe : seems nice, but long to build, unless you use MediaGo software on PC ... Don't like to use third app, eew
- Karaoke mode, tempo change, etc etc ... So many useless functions
- Noise Cancelling : didn't try it, coz I have a Bose with it's own NC. But can be convenient, coz with 1 headphone you can have
NC or not, since it can be disabled in menu Of course if you buy a compatible sony headphone, business :/
 
8/ MY CHOICE
 
So a mix of those 2 devices would be AWESOME ! But it's doesn't exist (or I don't know it), so I had to choose depending my priorities...
 
I ended with the A20 : autonomy & charging time, fluidity while browsing, bluetooth, size & weight
 
But it means i have to stick with cheap appearance, old fashion interface, the proprietary plug, plenty useless fonctions, less good ergonomy
and weak power. 
And I have to buy another connexion cable, just in case I loose mine, because 'im not sure to find someone with same cable quickly ... 
 
The A20 fits more my needs than X3ii, but it's expensive for what it provides, especially if you count an additioanal cable, a case and a screen protector. I can afford it so I did it, but would not recommand it if you search a good quality/price ratio (A10 is better now since cheaper, if you're not interested
in SONY numeric NC and EQ on high res file).

Maybe it can help some of you to decide, otherwise i just lose some minutes, no harm done

 

[lsamod]

  Hi, 
 
I just wanted to get my personal feedback between these 2 players, Fiio X3 gen2 and Sony A20 (I tested A10, seems same to me). I don't give accurate numbers, it more my experience of user.
 
First, my profile : you will be able to see if what I seeked/noticed can be helpful for you or not.
I was searching a nomade player with big capacity (more than 100Go), convenient to use, and with good sound.
When I say good sound: I'm not at all a specialist, nor an amator of good sound. So to me, good sound means not crappy sound
(I used before a Creative Zen X-Fi with sony internal headphones, so no "sharp" devices).
You understand here that i'm not a musician nor a music pure lover Just want to have good music in my ears
I mostly have MP3 320 Khz, otherwise some FLAC files. High res isn't a need to me, but I can like it
 
So here is MY conclusions, only relevant to me, of course.
(I'll use my best english, maybe not perfect on some terms
 
1/ THE DEVICE
 
X3ii
To me it's a very good device. Feels very well built, and without the case it's really pretty.
I like the size, even if a little too much thick...
I don't know if it's relevant, but beeing lefthanded, i like the buttons on,vol+/next,vol-/previous on the right size, when having in hand it's really convenient.
Contrary to what I read, i really like the wheel... It's accurate to me, got no problem with precision.
 
A20
Seems a little cheap... The front face is pretty coz in metal, but the back in plastic, makes it cheap.
And same for the 2 face button home/back, and the volume button : in plastic, sadly. The screen ? plastic ... easily scratched, put a screen protector quickly
But on other hand, it enables to get a very very light device  And that's very very convenient, my pockets are very happy
The pad on the complete bottom of the device makes it (to me) weird to handle the device while changing tracks... I feel like i'm handling the devide by the bottom edge, i feel i could let it fall. I totally get used to it thought, but I would not have designed it like that. 
The headphone input at the bottom ? I don't like it at all ... it bothers me when I handle the device. Same 
as above, i get used to it... but why ?
 
MY CONCLUSION:
X3ii more convenient, more beautiful, more solid. A20 more portable

2/ THE SOUND
I won't talk a lot about it, as I said previously i'm far to be an expert. 

It seems to me than X3ii has a more clear or neutral sound, whereas A20 has a more signed sound... But it's just a feeling, whenever I use on of the 2 I enjoy the sound  And anyway, in both you can play with EQ if you want, so...
 
Big difference : the power ... While I feel with X3ii I can make my ears bleed (litterally maybe, never tried more than half the wheel), the A20 is very limited (european model). But in classic usage (bus, train) I never go over 17 (on 30), so if I was first afraid of this limitation, on usage it doesn't impact me. Except if you use it with external speakers I guess ?

3/ THE FIRMWARE
Just to precise, I used an Sandisk 10 C 128 Go, the same for both.
I have 11504 songs.
 
X3ii
I like the appearence, it's sober. Easy to navigate into with the wheel, it's clear and efficient.
In the library (by tags or by albums) you have a lot of lines on the screen, I like it to choose.
Sadly you can't navigate letter by letter to make the browsing faster, but could be bring by an update.
 
BUT... I experienced some little lags when navigating into library; no matters of second, but there's lag, 
and it bothers me. I don't know if it vanishes with less music, or no cover, but that's annoying to me. I like the fact the player uses the files as they are, it doesn't add any files or folder structure on the sd card... And you can delete the files  
Maybe that's a downside of that, the library is kinda long to be actualized (more than the A20).
Shortcut are good : let pressed the volume to go to next/previous track, let pressed back button to return to the current played song, or the home screen, ... 
 
A20
Seems a little old fashion, but well i don't mind. Navigation with the 4 direction pad is easy, so OK.
The screen is big, but the font too, so you don't have a lots of line on the screen, you have to click a lot
to browse. Fortunately, you can navigate letters by letters, so the navigation stays convenient. I don't experience any lag while navigating, it's fluid, I like it.
 
BUT I don't like the device integration, it needs it's own directory structure, you loose some metadata (like sensme if the documentation is right) when you remove the sd card...
Maybe it's a upside of that, but the library is faster than on the X3ii to be actualized
 
A remark : damn you can't delete file !! What ?? 
 
Oh, another remark  :  when connecting on computer, you have to choose between internal storage and sd card storage... Sad, i would have preferred to see both at same time.
 
Oh, another remark : no shortcut to get back to the current play song. Let pressed the back button bring you to the home screen, not the playing screen... No very important, but it's sad for a player device. 
(instead you can click option button, then click playing list or playing screen, and you get there)
 
MY CONCLUSION
I prefer the X3ii firmware in conception and appearance. But in practice, because of the lag mainly, I prefer the A20.  (Even if you can't delete files, and it needs it's own structure directories >:[)
 
 
4/ AUTONOMY
 
X3ii
Well, no surprise, the A20 has a really better autonomy. But less power, less audiophile functions, I bet it has a better electronic engine, so it can be understood. The X3ii autonomy (around 10h for me) is good actually.
 
BUT the charging time of the X3ii is for me is too long : between 7h or 9h on USB, and 4h on sector ... To me its too long for a 11h theorical battery. 
 
A20
To compare, the A20 charges on 4 hours on usb (didn't try it on sector yet).
 
MY CONCLUSION
The ration charging time/autonomy is not good to me on the X3iio... I want a travelling convenient device , and for my usage the charging time is too long for the given autonomy.
 
5/ CHARGING CONNEXION
 
X3ii 
micro usb, YEAH
 
A20
proprietary ... Sony wants you to pay more !! shame on you
 
MY CONCLUSION
A20 can't win this point, proprietary is soooo lame
 
6/ ADDITIONAL ACCESSORIES IN PACKAGE
 
X3ii
Screen protectors, Yeaah
Case, Yeaah
Stickers to change aspect... What ?
coaxial converter, Yeaaah
 
A20
Headphones, Yeaah
No screen protectors, no case, daaaaaaammit
 
MY CONCLUSSION
X3ii has a better package, except for the lacke of headphones, it's complete.
 
7/ OTHERS FEATURES
Just to know, some of users (maybe most of them) would say "whaaat ? this function just in the feature section ?!" ... Yes, sorry, just a review for my usages
 
X3ii
- Line output & coaxial : sounds very nicely, with good power when I used it on my old Marantz ampli ... Love it
- OTG : didn't use it, but seems to be VERY COOL for some audiophiles, so CHECK FOR IT
- DAC usage : same as above, CHECK FOR IT
 
A20
- Bluetooth : convenient to me, for some headphones, or on the car, or on portative speakers (didn't try it thought, wonder about the sound power)
- Radio FM : very convenient to me too, for the football match like world cup, when i'm stuck at work or transport
- Video : useless
- Picture : useless 
- SensMe : seems nice, but long to build, unless you use MediaGo software on PC ... Don't like to use third app, eew
- Karaoke mode, tempo change, etc etc ... So many useless functions
- Noise Cancelling : didn't try it, coz I have a Bose with it's own NC. But can be convenient, coz with 1 headphone you can have
NC or not, since it can be disabled in menu Of course if you buy a compatible sony headphone, business :/
 
8/ MY CHOICE
 
So a mix of those 2 devices would be AWESOME ! But it's doesn't exist (or I don't know it), so I had to choose depending my priorities...
 
I ended with the A20 : autonomy & charging time, fluidity while browsing, bluetooth, size & weight
 
But it means i have to stick with cheap appearance, old fashion interface, the proprietary plug, plenty useless fonctions, less good ergonomy
and weak power. 
And I have to buy another connexion cable, just in case I loose mine, because 'im not sure to find someone with same cable quickly ... 
 
The A20 fits more my needs than X3ii, but it's expensive for what it provides, especially if you count an additioanal cable, a case and a screen protector. I can afford it so I did it, but would not recommand it if you search a good quality/price ratio (A10 is better now since cheaper, if you're not interested
in SONY numeric NC and EQ on high res file).

Maybe it can help some of you to decide, otherwise i just lose some minutes, no harm done

Nice write up! What are the headphones/iems you used? Did you notice any hiss on A20?

 

[quenta]

Sorry, i'm afraid i can't help you, don't know what's a hiss :/  I googled it, seems to be like a residual low level noise ? And relative to cat hissing definition, I would say it's more into high pitch than low pitch ?
 
Anyway, I don't think my ears (and/or my attention) are made to notice such accurate details, but listenning music i've not been annoyed by any backgroud residual sound ... for what it worthes
 
I usually use either Bose QC3, or internal headphones (currently are Sony MDR-E828LP, you made me search for it ! )

 

[lsamod]

  Sorry, i'm afraid i can't help you, don't know what's a hiss :/  I googled it, seems to be like a residual low level noise ? And relative to cat hissing definition, I would say it's more into high pitch than low pitch ?
 
Anyway, I don't think my ears (and/or my attention) are made to notice such accurate details, but listenning music i've not been annoyed by any backgroud residual sound ... for what it worthes
 
I usually use either Bose QC3, or internal headphones (currently are Sony MDR-E828LP, you made me search for it ! )

hiss is the high frequency " shhhhhh" sound

. Appreciate your effort!

 

[duartes07]

Hello everyone!

My name's Duarte and I'm still getting started in the "HD Audio" world.

(I actually already posted this but then realised I was in a Fiio X1 thread... Let me try that again haha)

Some months ago I decided the 320kbps mp3 quality was no longer good enough for me (try listening to Muse at any decent volume and you'll understand) and so I spent some money (a lot really) on a set of Sony XBA-H3 headphones, after some personal "market research".

Unfortunately, their high price meant putting off buying a good DAP for some time and sticking with my iPod Nano but I believe now's the time to get one

The first one I noticed was the Sony NWZ-A10 because I had already bought a Sony product and was very pleased with it. The price is already a bit high for me but I can manage if that means good audio quality.

After some more research I found out about the Fiio x3ii and honestly by now I've made up my mind 80% towards this one from what I've read so far, and I've read A LOT. Same price but better sound quality, albeit with some usability set-backs I think I can live with.

But what may actually settle the score and I haven't actually read about much, is pairing between the DAP I'll buy and the headphones I already have.

If someone here can tell me or even link me I'll be very pleased

Thank you all,
Duarte.

 

[duartes07]

Hello everyone,
 
Duarte again, just wanted to do a quick review of my ne Fiio X3II paired with my Sony XBA-H3 so potential buyers can have more info.
 
Disclaimer: I haven't tried other DAPs so I'm not saying this is the best device, I'm doing the individual review of this product.
 
I've been using my Fiio for a few months now and I've got to tell you this device is amazing! First thing when you unpack it you have the feel this is a quality product (so far it has proved so), it has a very good size and weight and feels very good when holding it and the buttons are very well positioned.
 
Then comes the annoying part, setting it up. Unlike most modern devices this one doesn't have any form of wireless communication so you have to plug it to your computer through a USB port and then you have to make sure all the files you import are properly organized in their folders and have the right file settings with Album, Name, Artist, etc otherwise when you open them on your Fiio they won't have names. A particular thing I enjoy is the fact that it can play basically any file format so just dump it in the there (I recommend a big and fast MicroSD card, as it doesn't have internal storage) and enjoy the music.
 
Regarding usage, all I can say is the audio is very clean, you can play it incredibly loud, and if you have good quality HD files the detail you can hear with good headphones is just out of this world, from my personal experience (as I'm not a professional audio tester). A point I'd like to point out is the battery does not last incredibly long, which can be a real bummer.
 
Lastly I'd like to talk about how the Fiio works together with the Sony XBA-H3 headphones I have. Overall, I enjoy the audio that comes out of them and I can detect a palpable difference as to when I would listen to MP3s through an iPhone and even more when compared to the audio my laptop produces playing that same MP3. A negative side however would be the incompatibility of the button on the headphones which I could use to play, pause,or fastforward music on basically any other device but does not have any use when the headphones are paired with Fiio (not sure if it's an issue regarding these particular ones or all headphones).
 
All in all, the device is great and I would say I'd be 10% more tempted towards the Sony NWZ rather than the Fiio, but wait! There's also the fact the Fiio can be used as a DAC and to be quite honest it is incredibly good at it so overall I'm very happy with it.
 
I'm still curious to see how the Sony headphones would work with their DAP but I am indeed very happy with the Fiio.

 
Cheers,
Duarte

 

[EagleWings]

 
Duarte again, just wanted to do a quick review of my ne Fiio X3II paired with my Sony XBA-H3 so potential buyers can have more info.

 
Duarte, thanks for sharing your impressions. I'm sure many will find this helpful..

 

[cyberslacker]

thanks for all the info, it will really help me make the decision, i am leaning towards the A17 for FM, battery life, no tagging needed.