[x RELIC x]

It's not just for the sake of having a touchscreen. It's because using a touchscreen instead of physical buttons gives the device infinite possibilities:

1. x2 or even more bigger screen
2. It's way faster and more intuitive to use it and set options and stuff
3. They can develop a much richer and prettier interface in a 5" screen, with more options per screen, bigger cover arts, etc.

So in a $350 professional music player, it's kind of a must to use a touchscreen that occupy 90% of the front face.

Then the X5ii is not for you. It is an ideal player for many people including myself. I prefer that the X5ii is not touchscreen. There's also the Cayin, Questyle QP1/R, Shanling, HiFiMan, Lotoo, Calyx, and others that don't have touch screens and many head fi'ers realy enjoy them. I really don't think there is a touchscreen DAP at the $350 price range that has similar sound quality.

 

[rambomhtri]

Well, I have to agree with you about that. If they add a touchscreen, then a WiFi, then Bluetooth, etc... It's dangerous because it can become a smartphone, so it wouldn't focus on the sound aspect fully, as it is right now.

But you got to understand that that is not a touchscreen's fault. It's a FiiO's fault. It's the company the one that decides what to do with the hardware.

So, if they have their ideas and objectives clear, the touchscreen should only bring a much better experience. Those X5's buttons can't stand a single round vs a 5" touchscreen in that very same device. The UI is a million times better in touchable devices, in every single way: speed, clarity, graphics, usability. I'll only give you that it's solid quicker to pause the device with a central button or click a button to skip 1 song. But yo don't need at all speed when pausing your DAP. It doesn't matter if you pause it in 1 second or 2.5 seconds.

I'm pretty sure you all prefer a 5" touchscreen with its UI instead of a 2.5" screen with a sloppy UI controlled by 5 buttons.

 

[x RELIC x]

Ha, it's all about priorities and perspective. I listen by albums with folder view and barely have the screen turned on so I could care less about a touch screen. Others find it essential, the X5ii isn't that device. If you want a large touchscreen audiophile device perhaps check out the upcoming FiiO X7, Onkyo & Pioneer players, or the current Sony ZX2, or the Astell & Kern players. None of them will be near $350. No point in complaining about a touch screen in the X5ii thread.

 

[rambomhtri]

Ha, it's all about priorities and perspective. I listen by albums with folder view and barely have the screen turned on so I could care less about a touch screen. Others find it essential, the X5ii isn't that device. If you want a large touchscreen audiophile device perhaps check out the upcoming FiiO X7, Onkyo & Pioneer players, or the current Sony ZX2, or the Astell & Kern players. None of them will be near $350. No point in complaining about a touch screen in the X5ii thread.

No point?
I'm pretty sure many, if not all users would prefer that their device had a 5" screen in their very same device, and of course it has to be touchable. I listen to albums entirely, I never skip tracks, in an album view (artist/year). I'm telling you and you can't disagree with that that increasing the screen from 2.5" to 5" will be only positive.

You say you listen to albums and your screen is always off. Just like me. The point is...
How do you get to that album?
How do you customize the UI?
How do you navigate between options?
Etc.

So I'm talking about improving a lot the experience and usability of the X5.

 

[x RELIC x]

No point?
I'm pretty sure many, if not all users would prefer that their device had a 5" screen in their very same device, and of course it has to be touchable. I listen to albums entirely, I never skip tracks, in an album view (artist/year). I'm telling you and you can't disagree with that that increasing the screen from 2.5" to 5" will be only positive.

You say you listen to albums and your screen is always off. Just like me. The point is...
How do you get to that album?
How do you customize the UI?
How do you navigate between options?
Etc.

So I'm talking about improving a lot the experience and usability of the X5.

You really should look at the X7 as I don't see the X5 series gaining a touch screen, especially at the same price point. And yes, for me increasing the screen size from 2.5" to 5" would be a negative. I like the device the way it is.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hey folks, just wanted to let you guys know that the FiiO X7 preview world tour is now open for applications!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/782490/fiio-x7-preview-world-tour-yes-its-here-apply-now

Joe

 

[Dobrescu George]

It's not just for the sake of having a touchscreen. It's because using a touchscreen instead of physical buttons gives the device infinite possibilities:

1. x2 or even more bigger screen
2. It's way faster and more intuitive to use it and set options and stuff
3. They can develop a much richer and prettier interface in a 5" screen, with more options per screen, bigger cover arts, etc.

So in a $350 professional music player, it's kind of a must to use a touchscreen that occupy 90% of the front face.

And it would add to the cost. 
 
The CPU and RAM are not made to support a touchscreen interface, I think that it is clear that the way it is made, it is so to give the best sound performance, without adding un-necessary parts.
 
Consider this, you an get a touchscreen, but would have to:
 
1. Pay more
 
2. Lose audio quality
 
As it si an audiophile device, I think that audio quality is the most important aspect, so for touchscreen, you have to pay more. 
 
There are the AK DAPs, Fiio x7, Sony ZX1 / ZX2 , Cowon P1, using a galaxy note 4 + dedicated DAC/AMP, and a pleathora of options if touch is wanted. You can get an option like using an Alcatel idol 3 with a dedicated DAP/AMP, and have everything you wanted, and space to do more. 
 
 
 
Also, half of the time I am using my Fiio X5II as a DAC, and I really do not see the screen, and the other half I am using it as a DAP while walking, and I have an interaction of 10-15 seconds with the screen, for choosing a song. I see virtually no reason for having a touch screen, or a big screen, adding to the cost, while not adding to the use of a thing.
 
Probably at 350$ you will never get the same audio quality of X5II, and I think that most people who buy it want the best audio quality, as there are lots of decent smartphones and iphones 
for the price. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hey folks, just wanted to let you guys know that the FiiO X7 preview world tour is now open for applications!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/782490/fiio-x7-preview-world-tour-yes-its-here-apply-now

Joe

I am really interested in hearing the migthy X7. I really hope it will also arrive in Romania and AVstore soon, for me to take a listen in there. 

 

[BRCMRGN]

  Wow, something like that! Although I don't know why the screen only occupies 60% of the device...
 

Obviously, to leave room for a second MicroSDXC card slot.  What! Oops! Never mind. Scratch that.

 

[Tober138]

It's not just for the sake of having a touchscreen. It's because using a touchscreen instead of physical buttons gives the device infinite possibilities:

1. x2 or even more bigger screen
2. It's way faster and more intuitive to use it and set options and stuff
3. They can develop a much richer and prettier interface in a 5" screen, with more options per screen, bigger cover arts, etc.

So in a $350 professional music player, it's kind of a must to use a touchscreen that occupy 90% of the front face.

 
I don't need "infinite possibilities"; I just need my DAP to play music well.  A touch screen has no impact on that whatsoever.
 
I don't need a bigger screen - I can read the current one just fine.  And a larger screen would eat up more battery life and make the device more fragile.  My DAP gets tossed in my computer bag and dragged all over the country - durability is more important for me.
 
The only speed issue I have right now is scrolling through a large list of artists; but that could easily be remedied with the firmware.  My old Zen Vison:M from 2006 was super quick at scrolling through a large library, and did not have a touchscreen.  I don't usually fiddle with my settings, I just pick an album or artist, hit play and go.
 
Personally, I think the interface on the Sony NWZ-A10 series is close to perfect (Fiio could take a pointer or two from that device), and it just uses buttons, no touchscreen.
 
I get that having a touchscreen that takes up the entire face of the unit is a "must" for you - and that's fine.  But there are, in fact, some of us, who do not see this as a "must have" and are actually quite happy with physical buttons instead; I actually prefer not having a touchscreen.  The great thing is that there are options out there for everyone, depending on what their preferences are.

 

[1781cc]

 
The only speed issue I have right now is scrolling through a large list of artists; but that could easily be remedied with the firmware.  My old Zen Vison:M from 2006 was super quick at scrolling through a large library, and did not have a touchscreen.  I don't usually fiddle with my settings, I just pick an album or artist, hit play and go.
 

 
Have you tried a-z folders to split artists up? I found this really helped with the speed of scrolling through folders 

 

[rambomhtri]

OK, sorry, but clearly you are almost all close-minded. I can't argue with that kind of people.
 
How can this DAP be already perfect for you?
That means you have no criteria at all, whatever it is, it's perfect. It's completely impossible that you all like the size of the screen, the buttons, the way the UI works...
 
Obviously it should cost more if it comes with a 5" touchscreen, WiFi, kind-of Android... You add that, and it should go from $350 to $450 and not much more, $700 like the X7 is just nuts (keeping the rest of the hardware the same).
 
My smartphone costs $150 and its touchscreen is so responsive, it can handle everything and it's powerful enough to play any kind of game or app that is not ultra-resource eater. And that's $150. It can support 64GB microSD, it can call, speakers, 8MPx camera, Flash, it has 3G, full Android, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC... So I'm so generous considering its enhanced version a $450 DAP.
 
WiFi is not unnecessary, neither Android. For example, I would prefer to watch all my YouTube feeds (mainly musicians playing live, but also high quality audio videos) through this device instead of my smartphone. Android gives you a lot of customization, that's never ever unnecessary, if you're open-minded.
 
If it gets a touchscreen, it has these 2 options:
1. Cost $350 and make the audiophile features worse
2. Cost more and keep the audiophile features as they are.
 
Also, you're not getting it. I always listen to full albums, and I don't skip tracks. So I also have plenty of the time the screen off. BUT the thing is HOW you get to the album you want, what happens when you want to listen to a concrete song, and that's what you're all missing. With a touchscreen, you can do any kind of task way faster than with 5 buttons. Sort the playlist, edit lyrics, edit tags, you name it.
 
You don't want infinite possibilities...
So you don't need an IPS screen, right?
You neither want 400x360 pixels, that is too much pixels and have no impact in the sound, you neither want it to weight just 165g, this is not an iPod Shuffle, etc...
 
Anyway, if it's perfect as it is, you should not care about what other people request for future versions of the FiiO X5, cause you've found your perfect device right there. Meanwhile, I will keep saying that it really needs a touchscreen that is as big as the device, a completely refreshed UI, and if possible and keeping the price below $500, it should have Android and WiFi.

 

[CH23]

  OK, sorry, but clearly you are almost all close-minded. I can't argue with that kind of people.
 
How can this DAP be already perfect for you?
That means you have no criteria at all, whatever it is, it's perfect. It's completely impossible that you all like the size of the screen, the buttons, the way the UI works...
 
Obviously it should cost more if it comes with a 5" touchscreen, WiFi, kind-of Android... You add that, and it should go from $350 to $450 and not much more, $700 like the X7 is just nuts (keeping the rest of the hardware the same).
 
My smartphone costs $150 and its touchscreen is so responsive, it can handle everything and it's powerful enough to play any kind of game or app that is not ultra-resource eater. And that's $150. It can support 64GB microSD, it can call, speakers, 8MPx camera, Flash, it has 3G, full Android, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC... So I'm so generous considering its enhanced version a $450 DAP.
 
WiFi is not unnecessary, neither Android. For example, I would prefer to watch all my YouTube feeds (mainly musicians playing live, but also high quality audio videos) trough this device instead of my smartphone. Android gives you a lot of customization, that's never ever unnecessary if you're open-minded.
 
If it gets a touchscreen, you said it wrong. It has 2 options:
1. Cost $350 and make the audiophile features worse
2. Cost more and keep the audiophile features as they are.
 
Also, you're not getting it. I always listen to full albums, and I don't skipping tracks. So I also have plenty of the time the screen off. BUT the thing is HOW you get to the album, and that's what you're all missing. With a touchscreen, you can do any kind of task way faster than with 5 buttons. Sort the playlist, edit lyrics, edit tags, you name it.
 
You don't want infinite possibilities...
So you don't need an IPS screen, right?
You neither want 400x360 pixels, that is too much pixels and have no impact in the sound, you neither want it to weight just 165g, this is not an iPod Shuffle, etc...
 
Anyway, if it's perfect as it is, you should not care about what other people request for future versions of the FiiO X5, cause you've found your perfect device right there. Meanwhile, I will keep saying that it really needs a touchscreen that is as big as the device, a completely refreshed UI, and if possible and keeping the price below $500, it should have Android and WiFi.

dude, chill out.
 
it's not perfect. but it's $350~
touchscreen and interface costs a lot more to develop.
 
the size of the screen does in no way hinder my enjoyment of the music, and i can perfectly find my files, and/or tags.(as far as they are implemented)
 
there's certain functions that could do with a shortcut, but the number of buttons is fine for an audio player.
 
with wifi comes a license, more software development, more hardware development, more hardware parts, more certifications. more cost.
 
touchscreen, idem as above.
 
your smartphone is created by a company that creates the displays in-house, (samsung, LG, lenovo) and has another product to make more money on (samsung, LG, lenovo, apple, motorola, etcetera), and relies on android's drivers and software for touch/multitouch(apart from apple, who rely on their own iOS, which spans 32 different current devices)
 
if you want android, you need more ram, a bigger battery, and a more powerful CPU. plus extra shielding and extra hardware/software to get around the 320kbps maximum output android has on its own.
 
the idea about the X1, X3, and X5 is to deliver great sound for small costs. by adding all you want, you get...
 
...the X7 at $800
 
so FiiO listened to you, even before you asked! be happy! buy an X7!
 
-CH23

 

[El Zilcho]

  OK, sorry, but clearly you are almost all close-minded. I can't argue with that kind of people.
 
Why would you want to argue?  Let's just have a discussion.
 
How can this DAP be already perfect for you?
That means you have no criteria at all, whatever it is, it's perfect. It's completely impossible that you all like the size of the screen, the buttons, the way the UI works...
 
I don't think anyone said "all" are satisfied with the size of the screen, but many, including myself, are totally fine with the screen.  I have a phone, tablet and a desktop, each with increasingly larger screens that I can use when I need a large screen.  I don't need that on my portable audio player.  I also doubt you will find many on here that say the UI is perfect on the X5ii.  Gets the job done, sure.  But perfect, no.  And there has been criticism of the scroll wheel as well.  Where are you getting that everybody says it's perfect as is and nothing about it could be better?  It does work fine for me in my use, but even the touch interface on my iPod touch has quirks that bother me.
 
Obviously it should cost more if it comes with a 5" touchscreen, WiFi, kind-of Android... You add that, and it should go from $350 to $450 and not much more, $700 like the X7 is just nuts (keeping the rest of the hardware the same).  
 
You can't add a 5" touch screen, Wi-Fi and Android and otherwise keep the hardware the same.  It virtually all has to be different.
 
My smartphone costs $150 and its touchscreen is so responsive, it can handle everything and it's powerful enough to play any kind of game or app that is not ultra-resource eater. And that's $150. It can support 64GB microSD, it can call, speakers, 8MPx camera, Flash, it has 3G, full Android, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC... So I'm so generous considering its enhanced version a $450 DAP.
 
There are several reasons phones cost less (larger companies making them, larger market vs. a DAP, etc.).  Consider that companies really want you to have their phone so they can start selling you stuff through it.  App stores, subscription services, ads, data mining/targeted marketing, etc. etc. all make companies money, so they can sell the phones cheaper.  The last thing I need is yet another internet connected device pushing me ads and asking me constantly to try the latest "free" wonder app/program/service, that only requires a bunch of personal information from me to get started (and then begs me to pay for things constantly during use).
 
WiFi is not unnecessary, neither Android. For example, I would prefer to watch all my YouTube feeds (mainly musicians playing live, but also high quality audio videos) through this device instead of my smartphone. Android gives you a lot of customization, that's never ever unnecessary, if you're open-minded.
 
It's not about being closed minded.  It's simply about having different priorities and opinions.  Saying that if we were simply open-minded we would realize that wi-fi and Android are necessary is silly.  I had an iPhone, and currently have a Windows phone and an Android phone.  I know full well what their capabilities are.  I don't need any of it on my portable audio player.
 
If it gets a touchscreen, it has these 2 options:
1. Cost $350 and make the audiophile features worse
2. Cost more and keep the audiophile features as they are.  Hence, why the upcoming X7 costs more.
 
Also, you're not getting it. I always listen to full albums, and I don't skip tracks. So I also have plenty of the time the screen off. BUT the thing is HOW you get to the album you want, what happens when you want to listen to a concrete song, and that's what you're all missing. With a touchscreen, you can do any kind of task way faster than with 5 buttons. Sort the playlist, edit lyrics, edit tags, you name it.
 
You don't want infinite possibilities...
So you don't need an IPS screen, right?  Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the X5ii had an IPS display?  Maybe not, but it's sharp enough and bright enough for me as is.
You neither want 400x360 pixels, that is too much pixels and have no impact in the sound, you neither want it to weight just 165g, this is not an iPod Shuffle, etc...
 
Anyway, if it's perfect as it is, you should not care about what other people request for future versions of the FiiO X5, cause you've found your perfect device right there. Meanwhile, I will keep saying that it really needs a touchscreen that is as big as the device, a completely refreshed UI, and if possible and keeping the price below $500, it should have Android and WiFi.
 
Again, I don't think anybody claimed the X5ii is perfect.  I'm sure people on here would be happy to discuss their preferences for what features the next gen X5 should or shouldn't have.  But when the features they want, or want it not to have, differ from your own, that doesn't mean they are closed mined.  They are just different.

 

[rambomhtri]

Sorry, as english is not my native language, argue and discussion mean the same. I see that they don't.
 
I know that people is close-minded when they try to defend that 5 buttons and a 2.4" screen provides a better experience or is better than a sharp 5" touchscreen with an UI that is intended for touchscreens. I think there's no discussion about that at all, and if anyone thinks there's some doubt about it, then I recommend him to try out a smartphone and a traditional 9-12 keys mobile phone. Of course I'm not saying remove all physical buttons, the side ones are fine.
 
About the last questions, I was just being ironic: the X5ii has an IPS screen, it's 400x360, it weights 165g, it has aluminum alloy, etc...
 
All those features are not sound-focused, but it impacts directly in your experience using the device. So I said that to stop reading "it's not an audio quality feature, so it's not important" comments.
 
By keeping the hardware the same, I meant the audio focused hardware, of course.
 
The X7 does not simply cost more, it's DOUBLE the price, for just a touchscreen, limited Android and WiFi. I don't know what you think, but that does not cost +$350 at all, that's totally nuts.
 
And by the way, devices evolve each year, and this evolution creates an enhanced version of the previous one and tend to cost the same every year. For example, the whole Samsung Galaxy S series is always about $800, and every year each new smartphone is way better than the previous one. Apple's iPod nano have the same history, better and better each year, better screens, more GB and more powerful, and every year costed the same, even some years costing less than the previous one.
 
So in the next year it would be nice to see a refreshed X5 (3rd gen.) that costs $350 and have at least a large touchscreen. That's all that meets the today's standards, a high enough dpi touchscreen. Tiny and small screens controlled by 5 buttons is for the 2000's, and we're in the middle of the 2010's.
 
I know Android and WiFi (although these two come together) are not so, so important, although they would totally improve the experience using the device without a doubt. Notice films and videos (YouTube, audio) would take advantage of the X5, so it's a shame to have it right in your hand and watch videos through your smartphone. It's really logic to use the X5 as your media portable player for everything, and use your smartphone for WhatsApp, SMS, call, games, apps and all that stuff. But you should take advantage of the great audio quality that FiiO provides with this device and use it when watching YouTube videos, films, etc...