[Amiinn]

Hey
I lost my ipod nano a while ago and since they are in the same price range, I was thinking about buying X3III. Is it feasible to use it at the gym? I have pair of bose wireless soundsport and Audio-Technica ATH-M50. Would these be a good match? How about bluetooth connection?

 

[TheoS53]

Here's a short little unboxing of the X3iii

 

[TheoS53]

Smooth as in, the top end is that kinda X5-3 smooth? Or iDSD BL kinda smooth, where it is smooth as in musical, but still has a lot of eneregy and sparkle?

Ok, it's gonna be a bit difficult for me to give you an absolute answer, as I have to rely on memory of what the X5iii's signature is.

Compared to the iDSD BL (bit-perfect filter), the X3iii is warmer, smoother, more rolled off. Because of that I'd say that (in terms of tonality at least) the X3iii's smoothness sounds more akin to that of the x5iii than that of the iDSD BL.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Ok, it's gonna be a bit difficult for me to give you an absolute answer, as I have to rely on memory of what the X5iii's signature is.

Compared to the iDSD BL (bit-perfect filter), the X3iii is warmer, smoother, more rolled off. Because of that I'd say that (in terms of tonality at least) the X3iii's smoothness sounds more akin to that of the x5iii than that of the iDSD BL.

Thank you for your help!

Sounds like X3-3 will have a different signature from X3-2 then

At least I remember X3-2 being really neutral, X5-3 was not neutral, so I was quite curious what signature X3-3 will go for. Will probably be in competition with M2s then

Really looking forward to your thoughts, it'll be a while until I can post mine

 

[bruce1967]

Early impressions:

• Build appears excellent
• Feels really nice in the hand - easy to get to controls
• Wheel is nice - really nice. Smooth and now has a sensitivity setting.
• UI seems quicker. Still a little bit of lag but not as bad as X1ii.
• Missing replay-gain (but apparently they are working on introducing it), and gapless doesn't work with aac256 (they know about this and fix should be coming)
• Might be slightly on the warm side - but I need to directly compare with other DAPs first, and its only been a couple fo hours experience
• Haven't tested a lot of the features, but am listening with F9 and the on-cable controls work perfectly (including volume)!

So far I like it. Still a lot of things to test - but so far a thumbs up from me.[/QUOTE]


Sounds good...your impressions maybe be enough to get me change my mind and order one.

 

[Brooko]

As a budget (sub $200) player, I'm really enjoying it so far. Still a lot to test - but I really like it. Saying that though, while its very good, there is a bigger gap (IMO) sonically from the X3iii to the X5iii than there was from the X3ii to the X5ii. Not saying the X3iii doesn't sound excellent either. Its just that the X5iii sounds truly excellent.

 

[bruce1967]

As a budget (sub $200) player, I'm really enjoying it so far. Still a lot to test - but I really like it. Saying that though, while its very good, there is a bigger gap (IMO) sonically from the X3iii to the X5iii than there was from the X3ii to the X5ii. Not saying the X3iii doesn't sound excellent either. Its just that the X5iii sounds truly excellent.

Well the X3III is in my price range...I don't want to spend much more than $200 but if it's a worthy upgrade over the X1II which I think you said in an earlier post then I will be getting one sooner than later. The X5III is just a bit more than I want to spend on a DAP.

 

[TheoS53]

Quick question for @FiiO , is the LO function broken? After switching to LO mode, there is still full volume control, as well as the ability to switch between L and H gain. Should LO not be a signal coming straight from the DACs?

EDIT

Never mind, this was a user error. There is a setting which allows you to enable or disable volume control on LO

 

[TheoS53]

Well the X3III is in my price range...I don't want to spend much more than $200 but if it's a worthy upgrade over the X1II which I think you said in an earlier post then I will be getting one sooner than later. The X5III is just a bit more than I want to spend on a DAP.

At up to the $200 point you've got a few options. for $90 there's the Hidizs AP60 which is a fine sounding mini DAP, and quite possibly the most versatile player under $100. Then there's the X1ii which (sonically) is better than the AP60, but has a couple of stability and other UI issues. Moving to the $150 mark you have the Shanling M1 and Cayin N3. I have not personally used either, although the consensus seems to be that the N3 sounds a bit better than the Shanling M2s, so should be more of a noticable improvement when comparing to the M1. Now at $200 we've got the X3iii and aforementioned Shanling M2s.
I've only used the X3iii for a few hours, but sonically I'd say it has the edge over the M2s. It's not a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE difference, but the X3iii does offer a bit more clarity. However, what I think will make or break the deal for most people is the gorgeous screen on the M2s and just how versatile it is. But of course the X3iii does also have balanced out, which might be more appealing to some people. Maybe Fiio will be able to introduce more features to the X3iii in the future, but for now you can forget about using these features:

USB-out
Hibylink
Bluetooth DAC
Higher than DSD64 files
Replay Gain
Digital filters

 

[bruce1967]

At up to the $200 point you've got a few options. for $90 there's the Hidizs AP60 which is a fine sounding mini DAP, and quite possibly the most versatile player under $100. Then there's the X1ii which (sonically) is better than the AP60, but has a couple of stability and other UI issues. Moving to the $150 mark you have the Shanling M1 and Cayin N3. I have not personally used either, although the consensus seems to be that the N3 sounds a bit better than the Shanling M2s, so should be more of a noticable improvement when comparing to the M1. Now at $200 we've got the X3iii and aforementioned Shanling M2s.
I've only used the X3iii for a few hours, but sonically I'd say it has the edge over the M2s. It's not a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE difference, but the X3iii does offer a bit more clarity. However, what I think will make or break the deal for most people is the gorgeous screen on the M2s and just how versatile it is. But of course the X3iii does also have balanced out, which might be more appealing to some people. Maybe Fiio will be able to introduce more features to the X3iii in the future, but for now you can forget about using these features:

USB-out
Hibylink
Bluetooth DAC
Higher than DSD64 files
Replay Gain
Digital filters

Yeah that's fine for me. I have the X1II and it sounds good so I think an upgrade to the X3III will be better as long as the UI isn't as slow as the X1II.

 

[TheoS53]

Yeah that's fine for me. I have the X1II and it sounds good so I think an upgrade to the X3III will be better as long as the UI isn't as slow as the X1II.

Compared to the X1ii the X3iii definitely has a more mature sound. Again, its not a leaps and bounds difference, but it is noticeable. The X3iii sounds more transparent and true. It also has a wider sound stage than the X1ii

 

[bruce1967]

Compared to the X1ii the X3iii definitely has a more mature sound. Again, its not a leaps and bounds difference, but it is noticeable. The X3iii sounds more transparent and true. It also has a wider sound stage than the X1ii

How to you find the UI? Is it much faster than the X1ii or just a bit faster? I really hate the lag on the X1ii.

 

[TheoS53]

How to you find the UI? Is it much faster than the X1ii or just a bit faster? I really hate the lag on the X1ii.

It's just a bit faster, not a lot. Actually, So far I've found one instance where the X1ii is actually a bit faster. If I go into the Play or System Settings menu, then back out to the main home screen, and then into the Browse Files screen, the X1ii loads the screen faster.

Unfortunately, there is one speed issue that still plagues Fiio (seriously, when is this gonna get sorted out?)..and that's the library update speed. Using a 200Gb Sandisk card, My Shanling M2s took 3 mins 20 secs to scan the card, whereas the X3iii took 11 mins 10 secs to complete the same task.

 

[bruce1967]

It's just a bit faster, not a lot. Actually, So far I've found one instance where the X1ii is actually a bit faster. If I go into the Play or System Settings menu, then back out to the main home screen, and then into the Browse Files screen, the X1ii loads the screen faster.

Unfortunately, there is one speed issue that still plagues Fiio (seriously, when is this gonna get sorted out?)..and that's the library update speed. Using a 200Gb Sandisk card, My Shanling M2s took 3 mins 20 secs to scan the card, whereas the X3iii took 11 mins 10 secs to complete the same task.

Gee...maybe there isn't a good reason to upgrade..I'm pretty happy with the X1II except for the lag.

 

[fourrobert13]

So far I'm not hearing anything to convince me to buy one. I'm not satisfied with the X1II due to it's issues and lack of support, so why would anyone spend twice as much for another FiiO DAP with some of the same problems, plus a couple more? It's just not worth it to me. I'll stick with what I got. Other manufacturers are making DAPS at or below this price point that can do more for less and with less problems. As always, I hope it gets fixed, but I'll pass.