[FiiO]

 

  simon740,,the suggested price in the EU is ERU 489.99

Any idea how much will it be in Singapore? 

The suggested price in the US is 399.99USD, for the price in Singapore ,please kindly contact our local sales agent.

 

[FiiO]

 

 

  .... How will the firmware updates be done for this model?

 
OTA update,same as our X7.

 
 
Will you also allow the possibility to side-load firmware updates using a microUSD cable and PC? (or from a microSD card)

Yep ,it can use a micro SD card to upgrade it.

 

[Silent Xaxal]

Please have a good amp that can power the HD650.

 

[FiiO]

  How big is the battery of this? 

3400mAh Li-polymer battery

 

[funkforfood]

  simon740,,the suggested price in the EU is ERU 489.99

 
Ouch!
Retail Price in USA: $399.99, in EU 489....
489 Euro = 510.47 US $, is a lot more, why???

 

[superuser1]

The X5 III looks extremely promising and the suggested price in India is also very competitive.

I was wondering what are the different kinds of inputs into the DAP.(USB,line in, coax in? Or out?)

Another thing I don't understand is the presence of Bluetooth on a hi-res DAP. I believe the signal on the BT protocol is too low bandwidth to allow hi-res audio. And the signal that goes out is not processed by the DAC, even if it is it looses considerable quality when being streamed on BT?

Would appreciate some thoughts of members in the know.

 

[golov17]

https://www.aptx.com/how-it-works

 

[ClieOS]

Thanks for the early review and pix. How does it sound against the X5 version 1?

 
The original X5 is very close to be completely transparent and neutral. As far as my personal taste goes, that's probably closest to my own liking. But as far as overall SQ goes, it is pretty much on par with X5II (and thus not quite as good as X5III). When moving from X5 to X5II, FiiO made the choice to retune the sound to go from very clean and transparent to very slightly warm - I presume it is an response to their Chinese customer who keep complaining the X5 for sounding too 'tap water' ( = 'without any taste'). The majority of Chinese audiophiles community, unlike the international audiophiles community, tend to prefer everything with a warmish tone. That's the sound FiiO eventually settles on.
 

  my q. is how does it sound in comparison  to Ak70 or X1  - i want to change my x1 and i'm looking for a good one in prace range of 500USD.
best

 
Dunno about AK70, but there is just no comparison between X1 and X5III - they are not even on the same class.
 

   
Does it work as USB DAC without any problems? 

 
Also, thank you for your time and thoughts! 

 
The PC's USB driver for X5II has not been released yet, so there is no way to test it for now.
 

... Yep , it supports DLNA.

 
I can confirm this. I streamed some music from my PC last night to X5III and they work just fine.
 

  For those of us who don't want to spend $150+ on micro cards, will the X5III work with OTG storage?

 
OTG storage works fine, it is an Android device after all. Not encouraging you in anyway, but this works just as well:
 

 

The X5 III looks extremely promising and the suggested price in India is also very competitive.

I was wondering what are the different kinds of inputs into the DAP.(USB,line in, coax in? Or out?)

Another thing I don't understand is the presence of Bluetooth on a hi-res DAP. I believe the signal on the BT protocol is too low bandwidth to allow hi-res audio. And the signal that goes out is not processed by the DAC, even if it is it looses considerable quality when being streamed on BT?

Would appreciate some thoughts of members in the know.

 
Input? X5III can take USB-in and acts as a external soundcard for PC, but that's about it. It has however USB-OTG for DAC and coax-out, which you can connect to an external DAC/amp.
 
The Bluetooth on X5II supports aptX, which is almost lossless in quality. It isn't perfect yet, but if you are in situation when BT headphone is your only choice, having the option on X5III is better than none. You will have less loss in SQ over aptX than you are ripping music into 256kbps mp3. Besides, you can stream to wireless speaker or car stereo as well. Those are situation you don't need the best possible SQ but more for convenience. Also BT can have enough bandwidth for completely lossless music stream as well - Sony LDAC (which unfortunately Sony doesn't seem to want to license to anyone else) and the next generation of aptX will be able to do it, especially since BT5 is already on the horizon.

 

[JK1]

  vincik, we are so sorry that the X5 3rd gen will be available for the Chinese market at first,please kindly understand that Chinese market is the one that is closed to us, and it will be more convenient for us to response for any issues of X5 3rd gen may have, so that the X5 3rd gen maybe available all over the world at the beginning of 2017. So sorry for this inconvenience.

It seems like a good idea to keep the release quite limited until the firmware is very mature.

 

[simon740]

  simon740,,the suggested price in the EU is ERU 489.99

Thank you for that info..
For our expensive Europe, its a good price :-/
 
Will X5III + A5 drive HD800 ?
 
regards,
Simon

 

[etoilebiscuit]

is the 1gb ram sufficient for tidal/spotify streaming? planning to get this since it comes with streaming function.

 

[fish1050]

   
The original X5 is very close to be completely transparent and neutral. As far as my personal taste goes, that's probably closest to my own liking. But as far as overall SQ goes, it is pretty much on par with X5II (and thus not quite as good as X5III). When moving from X5 to X5II, FiiO made the choice to retune the sound to go from very clean and transparent to very slightly warm - I presume it is an response to their Chinese customer who keep complaining the X5 for sounding too 'tap water' ( = 'without any taste'). The majority of Chinese audiophiles community, unlike the international audiophiles community, tend to prefer everything with a warmish tone. That's the sound FiiO eventually settles on.
 
 
Dunno about AK70, but there is just no comparison between X1 and X5III - they are not even on the same class.
 
 
The PC's USB driver for X5II has not been released yet, so there is no way to test it for now.
 
 
I can confirm this. I streamed some music from my PC last night to X5III and they work just fine.
 
 
OTG storage works fine, it is an Android device after all. Not encouraging you in anyway, but this works just as well:
 

 
 
Input? X5III can take USB-in and acts as a external soundcard for PC, but that's about it. It has however USB-OTG for DAC and coax-out, which you can connect to an external DAC/amp.
 
The Bluetooth on X5II supports aptX, which is almost lossless in quality. It isn't perfect yet, but if you are in situation when BT headphone is your only choice, having the option on X5III is better than none. You will have less loss in SQ over aptX than you are ripping music into 256kbps mp3. Besides, you can stream to wireless speaker or car stereo as well. Those are situation you don't need the best possible SQ but more for convenience. Also BT can have enough bandwidth for completely lossless music stream as well - Sony LDAC (which unfortunately Sony doesn't seem to want to license to anyone else) and the next generation of aptX will be able to do it, especially since BT5 is already on the horizon.

Apt-X transmits at 320 kbps or same quality as 320 kbps mp3 

 

[esm87]

Fiio, are you sure the EUR price is not a typo?? $399 for american market... £320 approx.

€489!!! SERIOUSLY

Do you mean €389?

Why would people in the UK pay nearly £500 for a dap that the American market and other markets get at far, far cheaper price?

 

[jmills8]

Fiio, are you sure the EUR price is not a typo?? $399 for american market... £320 approx.

€489!!! SERIOUSLY

Do you mean €389?

Why would people in the UK pay nearly £500 for a dap that the American market and other markets get at far, far cheaper price?

Social services.

 

[420204]

Fiio, are you sure the EUR price is not a typo?? $399 for american market... £320 approx.

€489!!! SERIOUSLY

Do you mean €389?

Why would people in the UK pay nearly £500 for a dap that the American market and other markets get at far, far cheaper price?

EU prices are almost always 20% higher due to customs, import fees and other fees (electronic garbage disposal)...