[FiiO]

Updated to FW1.1.1, first try, 15min, no issues.

Nice update FiiO!

@FiiO the X5-2 didn't have any issue with .pdf linear notes, and neither does the AK240. Is there any way you can have X5-3 ignore them?

 
Could you be more specific on what kind of issue this would cause?

 

[x RELIC x]

   
Could you be more specific on what kind of issue this would cause?

 
The X5-3 did not select the proper track when I had the liner notes .pdf file in the some folder as the ALAC music tracks. I would select track 4 and it would play track 3 or 5 but not the correct track. The X5-3 seemed 'confused' about what track to play. Also, with .pdf files in the same album folder, the X5-3 FiiO music app would crash often when trying to play music from that folder. Basically the X5-3 seems to 'read' the liner notes .pdf files which causes problems. I did mutiple factory resets and deleted and rebuilt the music database but they were not effective until I actually deleted the files.
 
The music app works perfectly now that I removed the .pdf files. It's my own laziness for leaving them in the same folder with my downloaded music from HDTracks, but the X5-2 and the AK240 ignore these files so I never paid attention to them before. Also, it seems worse using the X5-3 in Pure Music mode compared playing the FiiO music app in Android mode.

 

[JamesFiiO]

   
The X5-3 did not select the proper track when I had the liner notes .pdf file in the some folder as the ALAC music tracks. I would select track 4 and it would play track 3 or 5 but not the correct track. The X5-3 seemed 'confused' about what track to play. Also, with .pdf files in the same album folder, the X5-3 FiiO music app would crash often when trying to play music from that folder. Basically the X5-3 seems to 'read' the liner notes .pdf files which causes problems. I did mutiple factory resets and deleted and rebuilt the music database but they were not effective until I actually deleted the files.
 
The music app works perfectly now that I removed the .pdf files. It's my own laziness for leaving them in the same folder with my downloaded music from HDTracks, but the X5-2 and the AK240 ignore these files so I never paid attention to them before. Also, it seems worse using the X5-3 in Pure Music mode compared playing the FiiO music app in Android mode.

 
 
I have reported this to our engineer and they told me that they have not find any problem in such situation, maybe you can PM me your email so I can ask our engineer contact you directly. 

 

[jmills8]

andrew06, we will report it to the viper, any other friends has such requirement ,please PM us or send email to support@fiio.net.

Im unable to pay for full Viper use.

 

[x RELIC x]

   
 
I have reported this to our engineer and they told me that they have not find any problem in such situation, maybe you can PM me your email so I can ask our engineer contact you directly. 

 
PM sent. 

 

[Riley Beale]

   
I feel sorry to say this, but you probably won't get better treble extension with SE846 regardless of source. Ie800 was the one with the better treble out of the two. 
 
For alleviating the mismatches in the signature, you should EQ things out. 
 
For example, this sounds heavenly on x5ii + 99C
 

 
 
I will do one for x5-3 and 99C when I have the chance. 

Hi George!  Thank you for your reply.  I will be upgrading my headphone and iem inventory to more neutral headphones and iems as money becomes available.  Which dap would be better for me if I want more of a reference sound the Opus 1 or X5 3?
 
Thanks
 
Riley

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hi George!  Thank you for your reply.  I will be upgrading my headphone and iem inventory to more neutral headphones and iems as money becomes available.  Which dap would be better for me if I want more of a reference sound the Opus 1 or X5 3?

Thanks

Riley

Sorry,

I have never heard opus so I have no idea how it sounds

X5-3 is neutral but smooth.

Both signatures can be reasonably equalized and x5-3 is a really interesting dap in operation, but I also love x5-2 .

The only dap from another company I had a chance to test in true depth was 1Z which had way way too little volume (shockingly so ) and it's sound was far too warm and rolled off.

From Fiio, I generally think that all daps are good at their price points, x5ii being the more neutral variant, x5-3 being the smooth variant.

X7+am2 is smooth while x7+am3 is energetic and neutral.

You can also wait for x3-3 and x7proii, they might be neutral, I don't have any idea , but I'm curious to hear it when it comes around as well!

 

[Riley Beale]

Sorry,

I have never heard opus so I have no idea how it sounds

X5-3 is neutral but smooth. The top end can be listened well at loud volumes. X5-2 has a more neutral sound, and it's specific signature works well for low volumes.

Both signatures can be reasonably equalized and x5-3 is a really interesting dap in operation, but I also love x5-2 .

The only dap from another company I had a chance to test in true depth was 1Z which had way way too little volume (shockingly so ) and it's sound was far too warm and rolled off.

From Fiio, I generally think that all daps are extraordinary at their price points, x5ii being the more neutral variant, x5-3 being the smooth variant.

X7+am2 is smooth while x7+am3 is energetic and neutral.

At any rate I like all of them and I think that all of them are great devices , especially at their price points, you should test and pick which sounds best to you and your tastes. Fiio had an offering for anyone as far as I've tested.

And I'm not affiliated, but avstore has mostly fiio daps in their showroom so I got a chance to play with them in depth. Sadly, no Sony daps didn't really impress me as much and I prefer to always comment on what I like and what sounds good , I'm not a complainer by my own personality. That is because I'm grateful for living in Bucharest, grateful for being able to hear all of those and grateful for discovering this hobby at a young age. I'm sure there is a public for any dap, but I recommend fiio out of experience, buying their products and receiving nice , fast, and precise support. Got an issue solved in 15 minutes. I had to file a report with Romanian customer protection for getting both more expensive and cheaper products , fiio is exemplary and I respect this .

As an answer to your original question, x5ii is not smooth , so it might be more neutral.

You can also wait for x3-3 and x7proii, they might be neutral, I don't have any idea , but I'm curious to hear them as well!

Okay Thank you George.  I have an original X5.  How would the sound compare to the X5 3?  Thank you
 
Riley

 

[Dobrescu George]

Okay Thank you George.  I have an original X5.  How would the sound compare to the X5 3?  Thank you

Riley

I had to sell my first x5 to b able to buy my x5ii, but going to comparations, x5-3 has a bit smoother treble, x5-3 has more soundstage depth and width, better mid details and considerably better bass layer and detail. The treble of x5 was not as smooth, but it was smoother than x5ii if my memory serves well.

If you don't have already, you should install a custom UI on x5 to speed it up! The community in here made a ton of custom UIs and some of them have added a ton of speed to x5.

X5-3 is considerably faster even so.

With se846, just increase the last slider in the EQ to max and lower every other slider to min, it might help with the treble roll-off .

Someone who has all of them should chime in as talking from memory might not fully help... Especially when it comes to audio...

 

[x RELIC x]

Okay Thank you George.  I have an original X5.  How would the sound compare to the X5 3?  Thank you

Riley

Lol, I'm doing that test right now.


I bumped the track skip for the pic, I realize they aren't on the same track here

The X5-3 is much better in overall smoothness. I'm not talking about primary frequency response where the X5-3 would sound much darker, but the overall way it presents details. The X5-1 sounds less defined. However, the bass and mids sound slightly more full overall with more impact and more presence. The overall presentation of the X5-3 is cleaner than the X5-1. I'll go in to some more detail in my review as it's difficult to articulate.

 

[FiiO]

 

The stacking kit for the X5 3rd gen is coming, do you like it in such a concise way?

 
The stacking kit is used for bundling with Headphone amps or DACs.
 
By using the stacking frame, we can avoid blocking the screen with bands and interfering with the side buttons operation.
 
Considering the above situations, we've come up with the following designs. How do you think of it? Please do not hesitate to tell us if you have any better idea.
 
Thanks in advance. 
 




 
 



 

 
 
Some friends suggested us to make the bands a little closer together to stack with a variety of amps and DACs.   
 
We use our current stacking kit  to stack with Mojo well , as the following pics , how do you think about it ?
 

 

[x RELIC x]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Some friends suggested us to make the bands a little closer together to stack with a variety of amps and DACs.   

We use our current stacking kit  to stack with Mojo well , as the following pics , how do you think about it ?

Ah! That would work well!

Awesome!

 

[superuser1]

 
 
Some friends suggested us to make the bands a little closer together to stack with a variety of amps and DACs.   
 
We use our current stacking kit  to stack with Mojo well , as the following pics , how do you think about it ?
 

 
i think you can do much better. Having said that i think this is the right path. Do you mind stacking A5 with this kit at some point and posting a pic please.
 
EDIT: I wish my drawing skills were as good as my imagination

 

[WhiteKnite]

Looks perfect to me.  Any other solution would have too many compromises.  This seems to be the best of all worlds.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Lol, I'm doing that test right now.


I bumped the track skip for the pic, I realize they aren't on the same track here

The X5-3 is much better in overall smoothness. I'm not talking about primary frequency response where the X5-3 would sound much darker, but the overall way it presents details. The X5-1 sounds less defined. However, the bass and mids sound slightly more full overall with more impact and more presence. The overall presentation of the X5-3 is cleaner than the X5-1. I'll go in to some more detail in my review as it's difficult to articulate.

 
I agree with that. The mids and bass alone, X5-3 recovers more details than X5ii and is more detailed overall. The presentation makes all guitar notes and even death metal growls to make sense.
 
The top will be smooth though, and this will be a thing of preference.
 
I want the top end to bite and pinch, I want it to be like a whole new level of reality to me, and this is where X5ii comes in handy. X5-3 is undeniably smooth and it will recover all the details up top.
 
Both x5-3 and x5ii great but they are more complementary than they are in competition. I would personally like a DAP that has all the qualitites of X5-3 and the treble of X5ii. 
 
I'm still amazed by how different the sound is after being volume matched, X5-3's midrange and bass being really something to witness while X5ii's treble being the energetic.