[Dobrescu George]

Something I am really happy about with X5II is that the spring mechanism on headphone jack does not use metal parts anymore. now all my new headphone cables are not scratched, like they were with metal based headphone jack mechanisms. 

 

[oaklandrichie]

I've owned first gen for less than a month and I'm getting fed up with discovering new UI bugs every time I pick it up, plus the amp is weaker than I expected (my audioengine D3 outperforms it in DAC mode). How much of an upgrade is the gen 2? Are there still a number of UI bugs to deal with? I kind of like the heft of the first gen, but dealing with the bugs is like a second job. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

  I've owned first gen for less than a month and I'm getting fed up with discovering new UI bugs every time I pick it up, plus the amp is weaker than I expected (my audioengine D3 outperforms it in DAC mode). How much of an upgrade is the gen 2? Are there still a number of UI bugs to deal with? I kind of like the heft of the first gen, but dealing with the bugs is like a second job. 

What kind of bugs are you experiencing with the first gen?
 
All in all it was a very worthy upgrade for me, the amp is not stronger, but much clearer, less noisy, and more linear, and most important bass and transients are better. UI is better, wheel is better and button layout is better for me. 

 

[oaklandrichie]

Here's a few:
-Some album names appearing in Chinese.
-Some albums not transferring from card to media library. 
-Clicking volume button rewinds song (intermittent). 
-Album artwork not showing
-Duplicate songs appearing, though not appearing that way on memory card
-Screen hard to read in sunlight

 

[Brooko]

  Here's a few:
-Some album names appearing in Chinese.
-Some albums not transferring from card to media library. 
-Clicking volume button rewinds song (intermittent). 
-Album artwork not showing
-Duplicate songs appearing, though not appearing that way on memory card
-Screen hard to read in sunlight

 
 

• -Some album names appearing in Chinese.
  That's not the X5 but your tagging - fix your tags.
• -Some albums not transferring from card to media library
  What type of albums (what format).  Guessing you're either trying to transfer something which isn't supported, or the issue is with your tags.
• -Clicking volume button rewinds song (intermittent). 
  Not intermittent - designed that way.  Short push adjusts one level.  Long hold either goes next or previous
• -Album artwork not showing
  Check your tags - The X5 will display the if correctly tagged
• -Duplicate songs appearing, though not appearing that way on memory card
  If you're a MAC user, it might be the duplicate hidden files that Macs typically leave.  Try using an app that will clean them before ejecting (I think there is one called eject for Windows or something)
• -Screen hard to read in sunlight
  This isn't a bug - it's just the hardware.

 
Not one of the issues you sited above is a bug, and most would appear to do with your ID tags in the music files.  A lot of it should be fixable at your end.

 

[oaklandrichie]

Thanks for your response. 
Maybe it's not fair to call these issues "bugs". I've got a nano that handles most of these issues for me, so, I guess it would be more accurate to say it's lacking in features when compared to a 2005 iPod Nano. 
 
1. My ipod nano reads the existing tags properly and displays no Chinese characters. 
2. These are FLAC files. The DAP can play the album, but it won't show up in the media library.
3. Thanks! I didn't know about that.
4. Also, not a problem with the nano.
5. The duplicates don't show on the nano. 
 
That said, the sound quality of this DAP is excellent: way better than the nano, and I realize there's a reason why it's only $250, which is, you have to do lot of legwork that the os doesn't handle. I was just curious to find out how much the os was improved in the 2nd gen. 

 

[freddy315]

All I can say is I have never had any of those problems.  Either with my 1st gen X5 or with my 2nd gen X5.  But then I don't use iTunes or a Mac.  Got rid of my Nano so long ago and haven't looked back.

 

[x RELIC x]

I agree that coming from the Apple ecosystem there is more user input required for these Chinese manufactured DAPs. The iPods have iTunes, which holds your hand and limits file formats to make the user experience a priority. FiiO has focused on the sound quality but the user needs to put in more effort for the smoothest operation possible.

The second gen GUI is very much like the first, no real improvement, but it still works well IMO. Perhaps you might want to try some custom theme packs as well. I have one that includes a GUI that's similar to the iPod Classic. You can find the custom themes here:


http://www.head-fi.org/t/771221/fiio-x5-ii-custom-themes-thread#post_11680988

 

[sbradley02]

  All I can say is I have never had any of those problems.  Either with my 1st gen X5 or with my 2nd gen X5.  But then I don't use iTunes or a Mac.  Got rid of my Nano so long ago and haven't looked back.

No issues with either my X3i or X5ii.
I have never been part of the Apple ecosystem and have no desire to start.
I find Fiio very responsive, especially for a budget priced audiophile product line.

 

[sledgeharvy]

Yeah, I still use my iPhone 6 to hold music, so while I'm on a job site, I can still listen to music as elevator music.. Not critical listening.. I do like the quality of it.. The UI is very simple to use.. However, While I was on the Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows phone, it was super simple as well, as is the Android PowerAmp I use on my HTC One X+ and Nexus 7.. Now that I'm using the Fiio X3ii, I have come to realize how simple the UI is for it as well.. It's all about cuddle time with your device.. Get to know it.. You'll come to realize it's a real treat..

 

[HiFiDJ]

To give you my experience, I just switched from the ipod nano 7g to the X5ii and had no problems whatsoever.
 
Your album art is probably not embedded in your songs - that's why it's not showing up.
 
I agree that it is more laborious (especially coming from the nano), but only in the beginning. After that, it becomes fairly simple.

 

[bretemm]

How's the sound quality diffrence between them when you switched? What are some pros and cons? I switched from a ipod to the X1

To give you my experience, I just switched from the ipod nano 7g to the X5ii and had no problems whatsoever.

Your album art is probably not embedded in your songs - that's why it's not showing up.

I agree that it is more laborious (especially coming from the nano), but only in the beginning. After that, it becomes fairly simple.

 

[HiFiDJ]

In my experience, sound quality was a pretty big leap. I'm not saying the ipod is awful because for the size it sounds pretty good. But in summary, the X5ii has better bass, treble, mids and soundstage (not overly familiar yet with all the other terms used to describe sound). Overall, difference in SQ with the nano was very noticeable (headphones I used were the Vsonic gr07 classic, sennheiser momentum and philips fidelio x2).
 
Pros and cons really depend on your perspective. I can't speak for the X1 because I never owned one. But for me.......
 
Pros: expandable storage, sound quality, display (way better than the nano), power, aesthetics (especially with the carbon fiber skin)
 
Cons: not as intuitive as the ipod in terms of the UI, embedded album art takes about 3 seconds for it to load (has no effect on playback with songs, just album art), buttons (I prefer it to be more "clicky")
 
I was really hesitant at first because this is my first DAP. I researched day and night, trying to decide wether I should get this or not. I came to the conclusion that I really have to try it for myself and gain that experience nobody else can give me. At the end of the day, I was pretty happy and satisfied. Hope that helped!
 
Note: This is based on recent impressions I have...... I just got the X5ii recently.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Here's a few:
-Some album names appearing in Chinese.
-Some albums not transferring from card to media library. 
-Clicking volume button rewinds song (intermittent). 
-Album artwork not showing
-Duplicate songs appearing, though not appearing that way on memory card
-Screen hard to read in sunlight

 I'm going to add a few things, I hope that @Brooko does not mind 

 
 
-Some album names appearing in Chinese. 
 
For this, AFAIK there is a setting in X5II to show file name instead of file tag, so it could be solved without having to translate every single song. This works well, as a fast fix, but the best fix is to fix the tags themselves. 
 
-Some albums not transferring from card to media library. 
 
This is as stated, a problem of tags, mp3tag is the fastest and easiest way to do it. If you have problematic album tag or artist tag or something simple, the process does not take long. 
 
-Album artwork not showing
 
I advise you to get cover.jpg files and place them in folders where the songs are, as having embedded art is wasteful. You can batch remove all embedded tags from mp3tag, and if you already have cover art files in folders with the music, irfanview can batch convert all cover art images (for example convert every single cover file to 500X500 jpg. 
 
-Screen hard to read in sunlight
 
This was solved in the second iteration, screen is sweet in sunlight too now

 

[MrBackup]

Hello, I am enjoying a Fiio X5 II and the sound quality is brutal in comparison to the iPod Classic that had.
 
I have a question about recharging the battery. I use a USB charger with DC 5.3V, 2A. This USB charger came with the Samsung Galaxy Note III. I read that Fiio recommended DC 5V, 2A. Is it recommended to continue using USB charger with DC 5.3V, 2A?
 
I also have a question about whether it is better to wait for fully discharging the battery to recharge it fully.