[starfly]

   
IMO, that's asking a lot if you'll want 15 hours playback from an Android DAP.  But who knows, someone in the market might build one later on, hopefully.

Well, IMO most DAPs don't need to have those ridiculously powerful amps that drain batteries like crazy, it's overkill for most portable headphones. Those who really need the power should get a separate amp for that. I mainly use my JH13FP or MDR-7520 and both are pretty easy to drive (granted I usually listen at pretty low volume as I don't want to further damage my hearing, have mild tinnitus).

 

[Mython]

  I just want a good sounding DAP with Android and great battery life (so I can use Spotify and other streaming services) that's not my smartphone (don't want to drain my phone battery).

 
 
Let me make sure I'm understanding you correctly:

You want an Android DAP that behaves just like a phone (if you want streaming, then it has to transmit and receive RF), but you want it to sound better than your phone, yet magically last 15 hours?
 
Is that correct?
 
 
 
If your smartphone can't stream for 15 hours, then why do you expect a DAP to do it, and whilst sounding better (which requires more power-consuming discreet circuitry)?
 
You can't expect Fiio to magically achieve more battery life whilst streaming than a massive multinational company can achieve with a smartphone that's streaming.

 

[starfly]

  You want an Android DAP that behaves just like a phone (if you want streaming, then it has to transmit and receive RF), but you want it to sound better than your phone, yet magically last 15 hours?
 
Is that correct?
 
 
 
If your smartphone can't stream for 15 hours, then why do you expect a DAP to do it, and whilst sounding better (which requires more power-consuming discreet circuitry)?
 
You can't expect Fiio to magically achieve more battery life whilst streaming than a massive multinational company can achieve with a smartphone that's streaming.

No silly, all those streaming apps allow you to download music.  So I would download all my playlists, and then turn all radios off.  So 15hrs should be achievable.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  No silly, all those streaming apps allow you to download music.  So I would download all my playlists, and then turn all radios off.  So 15hrs should be achievable.

 
Power amp stage. 
 
Let alone all those fancy bells and whistles, those don't consume nothing compared to the amps. 
 
It is a strong DAP with a good sound, a good sound requires much more battery to keep going. 10 hours means that it's better than X7+AM3 at this point from battery life's perspective, so it's  good.
 
I would also love more battery life, but if they somehow would be able to fit a larger battery inside, I really want to ask for a stronger AMP stage instead since I love me the best sound achievable

 
 

There is a 10 band EQ setting in FiiO music app (31, 62, 125, 250. 500, 1K, 2K, 4K, 8K, 16KHz). If you use other music playing apps, then of course you also get to use whatever EQ features it has.

Thanks but i need to know if is good implemented.
Pioneer dap and ak daps has bad eq...[/quote]

 
FiiO in general have had some of the best EQ implementations I have ever seen. 
 
And since it's Android you can use any music app with their own EQ implementations. 
 
If you're asking how well it responds to EQ, it should respond very well, time to bump those treble and bass with me headphones 

 

[Mython]

 

  You want an Android DAP that behaves just like a phone (if you want streaming, then it has to transmit and receive RF), but you want it to sound better than your phone, yet magically last 15 hours?
 
Is that correct?
 
 
 
If your smartphone can't stream for 15 hours, then why do you expect a DAP to do it, and whilst sounding better (which requires more power-consuming discreet circuitry)?
 
You can't expect Fiio to magically achieve more battery life whilst streaming than a massive multinational company can achieve with a smartphone that's streaming.

No silly, all those streaming apps allow you to download music.  So I would download all my playlists, and then turn all radios off.  So 15hrs should be achievable.

 
Well, if you choose to listen to streaming files offline, then you should've stated that from the outset

 
 
I would like to see battery life much longer, on many new DAPs. I still use an old Cowon J3 frequently, and the battery life is superb, but the price you pay is that the audio quality isn't truly audiophile standard. It's not bad, but it's not great. Plenue D would be the current equivalent, but with similar caveats.
 
As for people mentioning Sony DAPs having excellent battery life, well, that doesn't come without compromises, either. There are lots of people on Head-fi who claim Sony DAPs can match the sound quality of competitors' audiophile DAPs. I seem to be in a minority, but, having heard the ZX1, I strongly disagree. I will eventually get around to hearing the ZX2 and WM1Z, but I'm not optimistic, regardless of how much Sony's engineers like to pat themselves on the back and charge the earth, and regardless of how the fanboys try to slap-down anyone who suggest the Sony approach is flawed. IMO, Class D amplification can sound very good, but Sony have a very long way to go, with developing their S-Master implementation, before it becomes truly audiophile standard, if ever.
 
So, for sound-quality-focused audiophile DAPs, I think we will have to wait quite some time before battery energy density makes a significant leap forwards.
 
In the meantime, I would not wish to see audiophile DAP makers choose class D as a way to increase efficiency and thereby battery duration. Others may disagree, and that's OK.

 

[ClieOS]

Thanks for sharing your initial impressions.

You said x5ii < x5iii < x7 on am3 in terms of overall SQ.

How about x7 on am1?

Sent from Nokia 3210

 
 

I meant

X7 on am3 still better than x5iii while the later is better than x5ii.

Sent from Nokia 3210

 
AM1 is my least favorite amp module, but even so I still think it is better than X5III - however, I'll say the advantage shrinks within 10%
 
 
 
Quote:

Thanks but i need to know if is good implemented.
Pioneer dap and ak daps has bad eq...

 
I don't know what constitute a 'good' implementation of EQ, only that the EQ on X5III works just fine when I am testing them out - and I have to point out that I don't really use EQ that much.
 

  How can this device only have 10hrs of battery life with a 3400mAh battery?  That's ridiculous.

 
Because X5III runs on Android, and more importantly, because it can pump out 480mW of power into a 16ohm load. If you compare that kind of power to a Sony A15, which can only manage about 10mW, then you know why it is impossible for X5III to run for a very long time. That's the law of physics, and as I have mentioned before - if you want high performance, you can't get long battery life, as no one has yet to invent a battery that can give us both performance and battery life at the same time.

 

[FizzlePop]

I just want a good sounding DAP with Android and great battery life (so I can use Spotify and other streaming services) that's not my smartphone (don't want to drain my phone battery).  Oh, and it needs to be affordable.  I'm not spending thousands of dollars on a frigging DAP, people who do that are crazy.

Have you considered buying an additional phone for music listening? Should be reasonably priced and will run much faster than most DAPs. The problem is finding one that sounds decent, so you will have to do some research before buying. 

 

[starfly]

   
Because X5III runs on Android, and more importantly, because it can pump out 480mW of power into a 16ohm load. If you compare that kind of power to a Sony A15, which can only manage about 10mW, then you know why it is impossible for X5III to run for a very long time. That's the law of physics, and as I have mentioned before - if you want high performance, you can't get long battery life, as no one has yet to invent a battery that can give us both performance and battery life at the same time.

They should build in an option to lower power output for those who don't need it.  I don't need that much power when driving my CIEM.  On the A17 (same as A15 but with more storage), I have volume less than a third of max and it's plenty loud.  Also currently using my Google Pixel and again I have my volume not even at 20% of max and it's still plenty loud.

 

[Djsenjaya]

This DAP will be my next target. I'm waiting for 4" DAP with bluetooth apt and android based. When will it be available in China? I'm going to ask my friend to get one before he come back

 

[MattTCG]

This could be my next player. This display and layout is pretty impressive, along with other features. Just waiting for some reviews now. Release date and price?

 

[ClieOS]

  They should build in an option to lower power output for those who don't need it.  I don't need that much power when driving my CIEM.  On the A17 (same as A15 but with more storage), I have volume less than a third of max and it's plenty loud.  Also currently using my Google Pixel and again I have my volume not even at 20% of max and it's still plenty loud.

 
Easy said than done, or else Sony would have made an option in your A17 that will let you increase power when you wanted to. FiiO doesn't just design the DAP for IEM user. It is an audiophiles DAP and it is meant to drive a wide range of headphones with good authority - and a sure way to do that is to have a good, solid headphone-out with plenty of power when called for. People who doesn't need that kind of power could have opted for a Sony or AK instead. After all, it is impossible to make an one-size-fits-all DAP and FiiO has always chosen not to cut corner on power delivery. They do not design their product like Sony or AK and you can bet they won't change that anytime soon.
 
Also, you have confused between volume and power - you can have plenty of volume without enough power, your A17 is an good example of that. Power is what really driving the headphone and allows it behaves in the optimal way, volume doesn't do that. In fact, I measured my A15 with an audio analyzer before and its distortion increases quite noticeable when the volume goes beyond 14 - one of the reason for that is because the DAP itself is stressing its output stage due to the lack of power to go alone with the increase of volume.
 
 

This DAP will be my next target. I'm waiting for 4" DAP with bluetooth apt and android based. When will it be available in China? I'm going to ask my friend to get one before he come back

 
It has already been released in China.

 

[fish1050]

 
 
Well, if you choose to listen to streaming files offline, then you should've stated that from the outset

 
 
I would like to see battery life much longer, on many new DAPs. I still use an old Cowon J3 frequently, and the battery life is superb, but the price you pay is that the audio quality isn't truly audiophile standard. It's not bad, but it's not great. Plenue D would be the current equivalent, but with similar caveats.
 
As for people mentioning Sony DAPs having excellent battery life, well, that doesn't come without compromises, either. There are lots of people on Head-fi who claim Sony DAPs can match the sound quality of competitors' audiophile DAPs. I seem to be in a minority, but, having heard the ZX1, I strongly disagree. I will eventually get around to hearing the ZX2 and WM1Z, but I'm not optimistic, regardless of how much Sony's engineers like to pat themselves on the back and charge the earth, and regardless of how the fanboys try to slap-down anyone who suggest the Sony approach is flawed. IMO, Class D amplification can sound very good, but Sony have a very long way to go, with developing their S-Master implementation, before it becomes truly audiophile standard, if ever.
 
So, for sound-quality-focused audiophile DAPs, I think we will have to wait quite some time before battery energy density makes a significant leap forwards.
 
In the meantime, I would not wish to see audiophile DAP makers choose class D as a way to increase efficiency and thereby battery duration. Others may disagree, and that's OK.

A quick question:  regarding the Cowon Plenue D have you actually heard it.  I personally have not but professional reviewers rate the sound quality better than the Sony A17 and on par with the Fiio X5 II while offering 50 to 100 hours battery life.  If you aren't happy with how the Plenue D sounds you have the most advanced set of eq options available.  If you are a purist who doesn't need bluetooth or wifi then I have to say the Plenue D should be a consideration.  It will also cost less than the X5-III so it could be an alternative for those on a tight budget.  Unfortunately there are no Cowon dealers in Canada anymore so auditioning one is not an option for me.  
 
But as I want to have Apt-X bluetooth and LO then the X5-III will get some consideration and possibly the X3 gen3 if Fiio provides the features I want.  As for your assertions on Sony's sound quality the ZX1 was the earliest HiRes model Sony introduced and just like with Fiio Sony's products have improved in sound quality since then.  Saying you don't like how Sony sounds based on an older model is like me saying I don't like how Fiio DAP's sound because I heard the original X1 or even X3.  I did in fact hear both and bought the A17 because at the time it sounded better to me, had better features and had fewer issues.
 
I am happy to see that Fiio has made great strides since the original models and that is why I am considering one for my next DAP to replace my aging A17.  Assuming the X5-III and eventually X3-III are more stable and complete than the X1-II.  

 

[lukeap69]

Retail price is 400USD as per FiiO's tweet.

 

[PinkyPowers]

10-11 hours is quite standard for a really good quality DAP. All the ones I've tested only last about that long.

 

[vincik]

why there are no impressions? Wasnt it released yesterday in China?