[rawrster]

If it helps I recently bought a dap and I found the dap to be inferior to my lg g3 phone. Phones can be very good as music sources and imo are a big reason the mp3 players are no longer as popular as they were in the past.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  I am using IM02 and ATH M50. I am a musician and I can hear the detail of the instruments when using the phone. I cannot hear the same level of detail with the X5ii. I am not an audiophile but obviously love music. I want lots of detail in music when listening and it is not there with the X5ii. In other aspects it may be superior but in detail it is lacking for me. The phone has Flac files the X5ii has WAV files. 

Both headphones/IEMs are bad at reproducing details. 
 
Your phone might use a synthethic detail enhancer, like HTC's boom audio, and this is why you might get better details. 
 
I am 100% sure that there is a DSP going on in this situation, because I am familiar with ath m50 and they are lacking detail and soundstage, and their sound with every source is extremely cramped and soundstage-less. A phone would not make these sound better, even in 100 years, but a DSP effect would. 

 

[B-Rayn]

  Both headphones/IEMs are bad at reproducing details. 
 
Your phone might use a synthethic detail enhancer, like HTC's boom audio, and this is why you might get better details. 
 
I am 100% sure that there is a DSP going on in this situation, because I am familiar with ath m50 and they are lacking detail and soundstage, and their sound with every source is extremely cramped and soundstage-less. A phone would not make these sound better, even in 100 years, but a DSP effect would. 

I honestly don't know. I have been mainly using the IM02 with the x5ii and the phone. When I a/b/c my phone, computer(musicbee) and x5ii with the M50's, the computer wins for SQ and then x5ii then the phone. But more detail with the phone. With the IM02's the phone wins over the x5ii in detail but is a more raw sound. Not as processed. With the x5ii I strain and have to concentrate to hear the instruments in the background.
I will let it rest though. Maybe I need better headphones? I am new to hi res but not to music. Regardless of headphones I do not think a phone should sound better than a dap under any circumstances.
thanks for all the insight.

 

[B-Rayn]

  Maybe you do not like the soundstage of X5II. 
 
From what you describe, you seem to be getting a rather large soundstage, and this seems to be against what you wished for. 
 
What headphone exactly are you powering?
 
I think I heared once a samsung smartphone, and it sounded rather dull, dynamically compressed, everything had the same volume, without differences between instruments, and the soundstage was almost in-existent. But this, with either cheaper headphones or particular types of music could bring the background instruments forwards, and sounds that are in the background would be in the foreground, everything in one place. 
 
Of course you would hear every instrument better this way, and if this is how you like it better, all the better, you can only carry a single device

I am not an expert on dap soundstage but I do know live music very well. If a large soundstage means a decrease in detail and clarity of instrument's and a main focus on vocals then it is not what I would want in a dap soundstage. From what I've read on soundstage : "The term soundstage refers to the depth and richness of an audio recording and usually relates to the playback process. According to audiophiles, the quality of the playback is very much dependent upon how one is able to pick out different instruments, voices, vocal parts, and such exactly where they are located on an imaginary 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional field. The quality of this soundstage can enhance not only the listener's involvement in the recording, but also their overall perception of the stage".
This explanation of soundstage is not what I am experiencing with the x5ii.

 

[KLJTech]

  I am not an expert on dap soundstage but I do know live music very well. If a large soundstage means a decrease in detail and clarity of instrument's and a main focus on vocals then it is not what I would want in a dap soundstage. From what I've read on soundstage : "The term soundstage refers to the depth and richness of an audio recording and usually relates to the playback process. According to audiophiles, the quality of the playback is very much dependent upon how one is able to pick out different instruments, voices, vocal parts, and such exactly where they are located on an imaginary 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional field. The quality of this soundstage can enhance not only the listener's involvement in the recording, but also their overall perception of the stage".
This explanation of soundstage is not what I am experiencing with the x5ii.

 
It doesn't sound like the FiiO X5 II is for you, I'd simply send it back and continue to enjoy your phone as your music source. No harm, no foul, opinions will vary, but it's your music and your opinion that matters most when it involves your musical enjoyment. 

 

[bruce1967]

   
It doesn't sound like the FiiO X5 II is for you, I'd simply send it back and continue to enjoy your phone as your music source. No harm, no foul, opinions will vary, but it's your music and your opinion that matters most when it involves your musical enjoyment. 

I haven't heard from very many people claiming their phones sound better than the X5ii or the X3ii...I know mine sure doesn't sound as good..

 

[KLJTech]

  I haven't heard from very many people claiming their phones sound better than the X5ii or the X3ii...I know mine sure doesn't sound as good..

 
MY oldest son and wife are always buying the newest bleeding edge phone, phones that require that you now the secret password <grin> and even then you have to receive an invitation to buy one phone (always expensive) and they still sound nowhere as clean, clear and detailed as the X5 II. None of this matters, as it's this gentlemen's opinion that his phone sounds better, if that's the case then he should return the X5 II and stick with his phone as his portable player. 

 

[bruce1967]

   
MY oldest son and wife are always buying the newest bleeding edge phone, phones that require that you now the secret password <grin> and even then you have to receive an invitation to buy one phone (always expensive) and they still sound nowhere as clean, clear and detailed as the X5 II. None of this matters, as it's this gentlemen's opinion that his phone sounds better, if that's the case then he should return the X5 II and stick with his phone as his portable player. 

I agree with you 100%. I just find it interesting that so few people make this claim and practically everyone has a phone. I'll be sticking with my X5ii. 

 

[KLJTech]

  I agree with you 100%. I just find it interesting that so few people make this claim and practically everyone has a phone. I'll be sticking with my X5ii. 

 
I think sometimes the people who prefer their phone over a DAP are probably using either IEM's or headphones that aren't at the level that allow the difference to shine. For instance, my son said he'd never carry two devices since his phone has a built in DAC and it gives him access to the entire Google Music library. At the time, he was using some $50 IEM (can't recall the manufacturer) and then he borrowed my Westone 4R's and then compared his phone to a low to mid level DAP and was stunned at the improvement in sound quality that the DAP offered. He still buys the latest, greatest phone that hits the market, but also carries the FiiO X3 II. He decided to keep the Westone 4R's <grin> and also picked up a pair of UE 900's...it appears I've now passed along the audio gear bug to my son. The kid went to college on a music scholarship so I think it was inevitable that he'd go to the dark side with regards to better audio gear at some point. 
 
I've heard a lot of phones as a lot pass through our house and have yet to hear one that sounds as good as the X3 II, OG X5 or the X 5 II, but then I haven't heard them all. 

 

[bruce1967]

   
I think sometimes the people who prefer their phone over a DAP are probably using either IEM's or headphones that aren't at the level that allow the difference to shine. For instance, my son said he'd never carry two devices since his phone has a built in DAC and it gives him access to the entire Google Music library. At the time, he was using some $50 IEM (can't recall the manufacturer) and then he borrowed my Westone 4R's and then compared his phone to a low to mid level DAP and was stunned at the improvement in sound quality that the DAP offered. He still buys the latest, greatest phone that hits the market, but also carries the FiiO X3 II. He decided to keep the Westone 4R's <grin> and also picked up a pair of UE 900's...it appears I've now passed along the audio gear bug to my son. The kid went to college on a music scholarship so I think it was inevitable that he'd go to the dark side with regards to better audio gear at some point. 
 
I've heard a lot of phones as a lot pass through our house and have yet to hear one that sounds as good as the X3 II, OG X5 or the X 5 II, but then I haven't heard them all. 

Well yes you do need a good pair of headphones or IEMs to get the full benefit of the X5ii sound. I mostly listen to mine at work as I am right now. I don't mind carrying two devices since my phone is small and I don't really care about it...it fits easily in my pocket and I just use it for calls..I don't even text much so it's mostly for emergencies. Having a good sounding DAP is far more important to me.
 
It's nice you could pass on your hobby to your son! 

 

[stefan8898]

I have x5 second, x1, nokia 930, some sony phone - e3 and sony mp3, and the x5 second is miles ahead of these all. Even when i play mp3, not flac, the difference is stunning, some phones may have more bass or enhancement, but the detail and the stage of the x5 is ahead. I am using it with fiio e 12 for more power and bass, that is what is missing in the x5 - power and bass for my beyerdynamic dt770, custom one pro and so on.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  I am not an expert on dap soundstage but I do know live music very well. If a large soundstage means a decrease in detail and clarity of instrument's and a main focus on vocals then it is not what I would want in a dap soundstage. From what I've read on soundstage : "The term soundstage refers to the depth and richness of an audio recording and usually relates to the playback process. According to audiophiles, the quality of the playback is very much dependent upon how one is able to pick out different instruments, voices, vocal parts, and such exactly where they are located on an imaginary 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional field. The quality of this soundstage can enhance not only the listener's involvement in the recording, but also their overall perception of the stage".
This explanation of soundstage is not what I am experiencing with the x5ii.

 
Actually, I really think, as @KLJTech said that you would enjoy something else better. 
 
X5II has a large soundstage, up to high end devices soundstage, and using something like m50 or im02, you are getting to get a dispersed sound, and lack of details because of the headphones not actually being able to keep up with what is there. Simply put, the headphone renders the outer sounds as much quieter, because those two models are not the best at rendering outer sounds, while the front sounds are rendered louder, and much clearer. So you will get something you might not like, some people actually like this sound. Most smartphones are very 2 point soundstage-like having something like a stereo, and you actually get to hear most details with m50 or im02, but those two headphones were projected to be used with this type of sources, so they actually do a great job, making these sources sound very clear and exctracting details out of them. 
 
I have an HTC 820, and tried it with lesser headphones/IEMs, and it really shines there. When I plug in IE800, which picks EVERYTHING the DAC and AMP put out, all my other devices sound very bad, simplly because IE800 reveals their flaws. 
 
If you really like your phone better, you should stick with it, as the most important part is how to have the most fun with this hobby. 
 
 
 
 
 
About the lasts posts, every smartphone I had tried as an audio source is a long distance behind in terms of everything audio compared to X5II, but it really is a matter of taste, I remember that when I first got X5 and used it with my IE800, (coming from a cowon j3 + ie8) the sound took a while before I could truly enjoy it, as the details and everything was quite different, and the things I used to love about certain songs disappeared (j3+ie8 used to blur everyting, but still have a large soundstage, like creating a sound of no distinct guitar, or no cymbals, but there still was a guitar sound coming from literally everywhere. It sounded very wrong considering the real deal, but it had it's fun) and there were new things emerging from every song. It is evident, when something like Breaking Benjamin used to have a smooth melody line with a cowon j3 and ie8, and now you can hear a distinct single guitar, with a background guitar, a voice and lots of cymbals. Nowdays I like it much better this way, it is much better, and I would never go back. 

 

[bruce1967]

  I have x5 second, x1, nokia 930, some sony phone - e3 and sony mp3, and the x5 second is miles ahead of these all. Even when i play mp3, not flac, the difference is stunning, some phones may have more bass or enhancement, but the detail and the stage of the x5 is ahead. I am using it with fiio e 12 for more power and bass, that is what is missing in the x5 - power and bass for my beyerdynamic dt770, custom one pro and so on.

That's how I felt when I switched from iPods to my first DAP the Fiio X3...the music just sounded so much better, more alive. Now after having the X3ii and more recently the X5ii I still feel the same. I go back and listen occasionally to my old iPod classic and it sounds so dull and lifeless compared to the X5ii.

 

[sstyle]

1.2 Firmware is out!
 
X5 2nd gen FW 1.2:
The following changes and improvements were made to firmware version 1.2 compared to 1.1:
1. Improved the sensitivity and consistency of the scroll wheel response. 
2. Fixed issue where the player may not be able to load the cover art for certain files.
3. Fixed issue where the player may not be able to play certain DFF files.
4. Fixed issue where music files in overly long file names / paths caused bluescreen crashes.

X5 2nd gen FW1.2: Download

 

[bruce1967]

  1.2 Firmware is out!
 
X5 2nd gen FW 1.2:
The following changes and improvements were made to firmware version 1.2 compared to 1.1:
1. Improved the sensitivity and consistency of the scroll wheel response. 
2. Fixed issue where the player may not be able to load the cover art for certain files.
3. Fixed issue where the player may not be able to play certain DFF files.
4. Fixed issue where music files in overly long file names / paths caused bluescreen crashes.

X5 2nd gen FW1.2: Download

Thanks!