Did you noticed any difference in sound quality between X5 and X5 II when using line out paired with Hugo? Was it the same as from headphone out; had the X5 II a wider and cleaner soundstage also now from line out?
You cannot use a Line out to Hugo, it is a DAC/Headphone Amp and needs a digital input. The Co-ax out to my ears appeared exactly the same as the X5, both superb.
With Hugo, sound is elevated to a different level. I never believed how much until I heard recently at a Head-Fi show. I use X5/Hugo 75% of the time at home, but still find X5/X5ii an enjoyable listen the other 25%.
You cannot use a Line out to Hugo, it is a DAC/Headphone Amp and needs a digital input. The Co-ax out to my ears appeared exactly the same as the X5, both superb.
With Hugo, sound is elevated to a different level. I never believed how much until I heard recently at a Head-Fi show. I use X5/Hugo 75% of the time at home, but still find X5/X5ii an enjoyable listen the other 25%.
Anyone experiencing any delays when updating your media library? When my unit says handling data it takes quite a bit longer tha either one of my x3's. Are is that normal for x5ii? Thanks
Never saw the need for an amp using IEMs and easy-to-drive Phones, as the X5s have a very good amp included and I certainly didn't want to colour the sound with bass boost etc.
Until I tried and wanted Sennheiser monsters (HD800), then the Hugo seemed a perfect match as it provided a big lift in DAC performance at the same time as the necessary amp.
I bought this wanting a good DAT that I could afford. What drew my attention to this product was the burr brown 1792 DAC chip. Back when CD players were all the rage the 1792 chip was the decoder that you would find in a lot of high end cd players. There is a lot more electronics that surround that chip to finally produce a sound that is full and nice to listen to. The output chips are also top of the line but I did know much about them or what other products they are used in.
I have never owned an iPod or any other DAT the only other portable that I owned prior were Sony Walkmans. Yes I am dating myself with that admission.
But this player seemed to be a reasonable price, not too big and with 2 sd slots would make it capable of storing vast amounts music. My digital music collection is over 200 gb s. I really was not keen on sorting through my music files and picking a limited selection then deleting and transferring more music every week or so as I got bored. So the huge storage possibilities were something I wanted.
I also did not want to add some kind of music managing software to my pc. Really I’m quite fine with copying and pasting the files. I have an external hard drive that I run through my home theater that I use to play all my tunes. The hard drive contains my music library. So no music software required was another selling point for me.
So with that I was sold on this player. After I bought it I then found out it has a line out so I could use it on another sound system to play through home speakers. It has a digital output again just another feature that would allow me to output my music through a full sized sound system. I’m not likely to do that very often but its nice to know that I can if I ever need to.
Being able to use the Fiio as an external sound card on my laptop was a great feature to have. Installing the driver was a small inconvenience though. It is not bundled in the box with the player and not posted on FIIO’s website. I had to email fiio tech support to get the driver. Then I had to disable the signature verification on windows before I installed the DAT driver software.
I will congratulate FIIO for at least providing a very easy step by step install instructions. (when you disable signature verification. Windows will revert back to its original settings once you reboot your computer) With the software is installed you can set your sound device to the fiio and any time you want to use it as your computers sound card just set your fiio as a dat instead of storage plug it in the usb port and your golden. A big step up in sound quality when streaming videos and portable too.
Before buying this if I wanted to listen to music through headphones I would plug a pair of sennheiser 650’s into my oppo bdp 105. That set up works fine at home as a portable rig not so much. That is where the fiio x5 2nd gen comes in and my home set up is what I compare the sound quality to in the fiio.
So how does this sound? Pretty crappy with the gain setting on low. Once I changed it to high gain I had no complaints. All the detail in my music was still there when playing back through the fiio. I’m happy with the sound quality and am still getting used to the Fiios controls but they are well thought out and not too hard to figure out.
This is a solid piece of electronics. My next purchase will be a decent pair of portable headphones that will travel well on a subway or on trip. Something well-built but not so expensive that it’s a tragedy if it’s lost on that way or scuffed up while putting it in a back pack.
I would buy this again and do recommend them. There are more expensive and possibly better players out there but this covers all my basic needs and the sound is great. I’m not going to talk about dark or bright or all that other stuff because I have not sampled enough other stereo equipment to form those kinds of opinions. The fiio is very nice to listen to, easy to use, not overly expensive, and not too bulky that’s it a problem to carry around.
I wish that getting the computer drivers didn’t require an email to fiio technical support and that the full user manual were bundled in the box even as soft copy. But after playing this for an hour or so I pretty much had everything figured out.
As for the usb dat driver maybe it is better that fiio doesn’t bundle that because very novice computer users could potentially have difficulties with that. But for someone who is experienced with windows waiting 2 days for email link was a hassle but a one-time hassle since the driver are now installed. I put copy on the fiio’s mirco sd card it’s there if I ever need to reinstall it and available if I need it on the go. No more portable radio for me or music streaming either.
Finally a DAT that is cost effective with a huge storage potential and great sound.
I bought this wanting a good DAT that I could afford. What drew my attention to this product was the burr brown 1792 DAC chip. Back when CD players were all the rage the 1792 chip was the decoder that you would find in a lot of high end cd players. There is a lot more electronics that surround that chip to finally produce a sound that is full and nice to listen to. The output chips are also top of the line but I did know much about them or what other products they are used in.
I have never owned an iPod or any other DAT the only other portable that I owned prior were Sony Walkmans. Yes I am dating myself with that admission.
But this player seemed to be a reasonable price, not too big and with 2 sd slots would make it capable of storing vast amounts music. My digital music collection is over 200 gb s. I really was not keen on sorting through my music files and picking a limited selection then deleting and transferring more music every week or so as I got bored. So the huge storage possibilities were something I wanted.
I also did not want to add some kind of music managing software to my pc. Really I’m quite fine with copying and pasting the files. I have an external hard drive that I run through my home theater that I use to play all my tunes. The hard drive contains my music library. So no music software required was another selling point for me.
So with that I was sold on this player. After I bought it I then found out it has a line out so I could use it on another sound system to play through home speakers. It has a digital output again just another feature that would allow me to output my music through a full sized sound system. I’m not likely to do that very often but its nice to know that I can if I ever need to.
Being able to use the Fiio as an external sound card on my laptop was a great feature to have. Installing the driver was a small inconvenience though. It is not bundled in the box with the player and not posted on FIIO’s website. I had to email fiio tech support to get the driver. Then I had to disable the signature verification on windows before I installed the DAT driver software.
I will congratulate FIIO for at least providing a very easy step by step install instructions. (when you disable signature verification. Windows will revert back to its original settings once you reboot your computer) With the software is installed you can set your sound device to the fiio and any time you want to use it as your computers sound card just set your fiio as a dat instead of storage plug it in the usb port and your golden. A big step up in sound quality when streaming videos and portable too.
Before buying this if I wanted to listen to music through headphones I would plug a pair of sennheiser 650’s into my oppo bdp 105. That set up works fine at home as a portable rig not so much. That is where the fiio x5 2nd gen comes in and my home set up is what I compare the sound quality to in the fiio.
You not considering IEMs? Not to be confused with cheap earbuds included with phones. I use even at home as much as Headphones. Terrific sound available these days.
So how does this sound? Pretty crappy with the gain setting on low. Once I changed it to high gain I had no complaints. All the detail in my music was still there when playing back through the fiio. I’m happy with the sound quality and am still getting used to the Fiios controls but they are well thought out and not too hard to figure out.
This is a solid piece of electronics. My next purchase will be a decent pair of portable headphones that will travel well on a subway or on trip. Something well-built but not so expensive that it’s a tragedy if it’s lost on that way or scuffed up while putting it in a back pack.
I would buy this again and do recommend them. There are more expensive and possibly better players out there but this covers all my basic needs and the sound is great. I’m not going to talk about dark or bright or all that other stuff because I have not sampled enough other stereo equipment to form those kinds of opinions. The fiio is very nice to listen to, easy to use, not overly expensive, and not too bulky that’s it a problem to carry around.
I wish that getting the computer drivers didn’t require an email to fiio technical support and that the full user manual were bundled in the box even as soft copy. But after playing this for an hour or so I pretty much had everything figured out.
As for the usb dat driver maybe it is better that fiio doesn’t bundle that because very novice computer users could potentially have difficulties with that. But for someone who is experienced with windows waiting 2 days for email link was a hassle but a one-time hassle since the driver are now installed. I put copy on the fiio’s mirco sd card it’s there if I ever need to reinstall it and available if I need it on the go. No more portable radio for me or music streaming either.
Finally a DAT that is cost effective with a huge storage potential and great sound.
@JamesFiiO, All I have are AIFF files and I can play them on X5ii browsing by folders but according X5ii wen I go to Album, Artist, Genre or even All songs I don't have any music files, so how complete is the AIFF support on X5ii?
When I plug mine into a computer, it starts charging but there is no data connection. I can't use it in DAC or storage mode. Any suggestions?
I have tried multiple computers, multiple ports on each computer, multiple cables on each port, etc. These computers were running different versions of Windows. When I plug it in, nothing happens on the computer. The X5ii just starts charging.
When I plug mine into a computer, it starts charging but there is no data connection. I can't use it in DAC or storage mode. Any suggestions?
I have tried multiple computers, multiple ports on each computer, multiple cables on each port, etc. These computers were running different versions of Windows. When I plug it in, nothing happens on the computer. The X5ii just starts charging.
Are you using the USB cable supplied? Not all USB cables have a pin configuration for data transfer. Logitech wireless mice for example only supply charging USB cables.
Are you using the USB cable supplied? Not all USB cables have a pin configuration for data transfer. Logitech wireless mice for example only supply charging USB cables.
Yeah, I started with that cable. Tried a couple others when it wouldn't work.
I went ahead and sent micca support an email about an exchange. Will see what they say.
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