[JoeDoe]

then what is the problem? beacuse im not insane and this is not the sound i was expecting i mean its just doesent add up 

Well it's possible that you have a defective unit although improbable.

Have you tried other headphones?

It's going to be difficult for us to help as we can't hear the unit in person. So if it's not a hardware problem it may be an expectations problem.

 

[ClieOS]

  then what is the problem? beacuse im not insane and this is not the sound i was expecting i mean its just doesent add up 

 
Output power is the voltage and current into a fixed load when it reaches 1% distortion. It means X5 can pump out more voltage and current without stressing the hardware (which turns into distortion). It shouldn't be frequency dependent - as 20Hz note should receive more or less the same amount of power as 20kHz note.
 
Bass quantity is just having more voltage in the bass region in relationship to other frequency response - basically a 'bump' in the bass region if you look into the FR curve, meaning the bass region is getting more voltage then the rest of the frequency.
 
X5 has a flat frequency response, a.k.a neutral sounding - meaning 20Hz note should has the same voltage as a 20kHz note (assuming you are listening to such a flat sound). Having more output power doesn't in anyway change that. What you are looking for is simply coloration, which unfortunately isn't X5's strong suit. If X5 starts to have a lot more bass than what a flat frequency response should sound like, I would think it has failed its first purpose as a portable HiFi player.
 
You are however right that the EQ system in X5 is pretty subtle when it comes to bass adjustment, as it only varies in a few dB.

 

[Strif3]

   
Output power is the voltage and current into a fixed load when it reaches 1% distortion. It means X5 can pump out more voltage and current without stressing the hardware (which turns into distortion). It shouldn't be frequency dependent - as 20Hz note should receive more or less the same amount of power as 20kHz note.
 
Bass quantity is just having more voltage in the bass region in relationship to other frequency response - basically a 'bump' in the bass region if you look into the FR curve, meaning the bass region is getting more voltage then the rest of the frequency.
 
X5 has a flat frequency response, a.k.a neutral sounding - meaning 20Hz note should has the same voltage as a 20kHz note (assuming you are listening to such a flat sound). Having more output power doesn't in anyway change that. What you are looking for is simply coloration, which unfortunately isn't X5's strong suit. If X5 starts to have a lot more bass than what a flat frequency response should sound like, I would think it has failed its first purpose as a portable HiFi player.
 
You are however right that the EQ system in X5 is pretty subtle when it comes to bass adjustment, as it only varies in a few dB.

ok i understand it has a flat frequency response BUT why doesent it give me the satisfaction and COLORATION in the bass frequencyes that i want? the mids and hights are perfect.
 
so let me describe the Bass after eq it,its just very poor, the midbass has no impact and no bass specific tonality and resonance and all the bass section sounds muffled and very wierd, the midbass is not on par with sub bass i dont know how to describe it beter,if its like you said that the eq is the problem then its a software problem and i think i cant hope to get a better sound than this now,its not like we are talking about sony(just an example).

 

[x RELIC x]

ok i understand it has a flat frequency response BUT why doesent it give me the satisfaction and COLORATION in the bass frequencyes that i want? the mids and hights are perfect.

so let me describe the Bass after eq it,its just very poor, the midbass has no impact and no bass specific tonality and resonance and all the bass section sounds muffled and very wierd, the midbass is not on par with sub bass i dont know how to describe it beter,if its like you said that the eq is the problem then its a software problem and i think i cant hope to get a better sound than this now,its not like we are talking about sony(just an example).

Did you account for the -6db drop in volume when using the EQ? This is to prevent clipping.

If you raise the volume after engaging the EQ to match EQ OFF (approximately 12 volume units) you may hear the bass as you expect.

 

[Strif3]

My defenitive conclusion is that this player was never meant to do more than play the music as it is at a flat frequency,never meant to give you the posibility to tune the sound to youre nedes,its just limited electronicaly,i had to big expectations from something branded as high fidelity that it will realy give me high SQ and posibiliti to tune everithing how i like it but this is not the case, to bad beacuse i realy like the player.......

 

[ClieOS]

  ok i understand it has a flat frequency response BUT why doesent it give me the satisfaction and COLORATION in the bass frequencyes that i want? the mids and hights are perfect.
 
so let me describe the Bass after eq it,its just very poor, the midbass has no impact and no bass specific tonality and resonance and all the bass section sounds muffled and very wierd, the midbass is not on par with sub bass i dont know how to describe it beter,if its like you said that the eq is the problem then its a software problem and i think i cant hope to get a better sound than this now,its not like we are talking about sony(just an example).

 
I think you would have preferred X3 instead for its more weighty / thicker bass note. You will probably find the X3's hardware EQ to be more responsive as well. X5 is designed to be more transparent / lighter on note - it is built as such and software EQ just won't change it. For software EQ to change the hardware's tonal quality of the player, it would have distorted it too much.

 

[Strif3]

   
I think you would have preferred X3 instead for its more weighty / thicker bass note. You will probably find the X3's hardware EQ to be more responsive as well. X5 is designed to be more transparent / lighter on note - it is built as such and software EQ just won't change it. For software EQ to change the hardware's tonal quality of the player, it would have distorted it too much.

i agree with you its my fault that i did not do a research in to this matter because i did not thought that it cant do it but nevertheless i will keep this in mind every time i will buy something like a DAP.
 
i will return it back tomorow so then is there something in the x5 pricerange that does what i described earlier?Another DAP or AMP+DAC doesent mater(portable)?

 

[ClieOS]

  i agree with you its my fault that i did not do a research in to this matter because i did not thought that it cant do it but nevertheless i will keep this in mind every time i will buy something like a DAP.
 
i will return it back tomorow so then is there something in the x5 pricerange that does what i described earlier?Another DAP or AMP+DAC doesent mater(portable)?

 
The only other DAP in X5's price range that I have listened to is the iBasso DX90 - a great DAP on its own right and a direct competition to X5. Though like X5, it is more on the neutral side of things. I don't really know any DAP at this price range that offers a thick sound.

 

[JoeDoe]

i agree with you its my fault that i did not do a research in to this matter because i did not thought that it cant do it but nevertheless i will keep this in mind every time i will buy something like a DAP.

i will return it back tomorow so then is there something in the x5 pricerange that does what i described earlier?Another DAP or AMP+DAC doesent mater(portable)?

Like the previous post says, the higher you climb up the DAP chain, the less colored things become. My recommendation would be to buy an iPod for its transport capabilities, and then look for a good amp/DAC that will let you tailor the sound to your preferences.

 

[Skyfall]

Sorry to hear that.
 
I am not a bass head but I'd like my music to have full bodied bass and a little kick in the low end that you can feel in the chest. To me X5 gives me the bass foundation that I want and further on you can enhance it with the right amp and headphones.
X5 gives out a good amount of bass on all my headphones HD650,D2000, and LCD and bit more on M50 and HE400.
Pairing X5 and Amperior should yield more than descend amount of bass that you can feel even with it's own internal amp.
Raising db's in EQ only gives a subtle fx not like Ipod or other non-audiophile player.
 
* might want to give it sometime to burn both the headphone and the player
* go to the store or a friends and try their stuff see if it makes a different
* your expectation is not audiophile-like. Audiophile stuff is always about neutral and natural not exaggerated.
* your a bass head and need more bass heavy phones
* your X5 might be defected but I highly doubt it
* DX 90 will not help
* however, Hidiz AP100 will have more bass and the EQ really adds more quantity pretty much similar to X3 quality.
 
Good luck.

 

[Strif3]

  Sorry to hear that.
 
I am not a bass head but I'd like my music to have full bodied bass and a little kick in the low end that you can feel in the chest. To me X5 gives me the bass foundation that I want and further on you can enhance it with the right amp and headphones.
X5 gives out a good amount of bass on all my headphones HD650,D2000, and LCD and bit more on M50 and HE400.
Pairing X5 and Amperior should yield more than descend amount of bass that you can feel even with it's own internal amp.
Raising db's in EQ only gives a subtle fx not like Ipod or other non-audiophile player.
 
* might want to give it sometime to burn both the headphone and the player
* go to the store or a friends and try their stuff see if it makes a different
* your expectation is not audiophile-like. Audiophile stuff is always about neutral and natural not exaggerated.
* your a bass head and need more bass heavy phones
* your X5 might be defected but I highly doubt it
* DX 90 will not help
* however, Hidiz AP100 will have more bass and the EQ really adds more quantity pretty much similar to X3 quality.
 
Good luck.

Maybe i am a little bass heavy but i like to have bass because 50% of the time i listen to electronic and because of that i need bass.I listen music through my AMP all time and i am acomodated to that powerful analog sound its warm and has a tremedous extension,this is what i searched something portable to replace my amp on the go,yes i dont have the best dac,i have a creative sound card x-fi platinium,it has a cirus logic 8 chanel dac.
 
The amperior have enough bass even with the bass knob at 0 but i keep it at 2 and that  is 4 DB in the bass frequencies,maybe its a little to much but i love how the amperior produce that fantasic bass its just spot on in every way posible.
 
and as a side note i found the sound from the x5 a little shouty and thin especiaaly the hights and the bass impact is just wrong on some songs it sounds like a cracked drum.....
 
well these are my initial impresions i fooled myself in thinking i hit the jackpot with this player but its the oposite and i dont think the burning will make a diference,the player made my amperiors sound like some cheap 10 bucks headphones.
 
Any advice is welcome!
 
Thank you!

 

[Skyfall]

Just curious what kinda amp do you use at home ?
 
I have two AV receivers: Marantz SR7007 and old Technics DX 950. also Pro Tools Mbox for my desktop. All this things drives my headphones really good with a lot of authority and all the bass amount you want. Honestly, if you want to sound like desktop you got to have external amp, in your case the one with the bass boost ie. FiiO E12, Headstage Arrow etc.
I have E12 and the bass boost will blow your ear out. I personally had invested a lot on portable amps and they really do make your phone sings so much better!
Oh not to brag about it, my current portable set ups is actually sounds much better than those desktops believe it or not.
 
But seriously, first you have to determine if your unit if really a lemon or not. If there's no changes after e few days than simply return it and get another one. Or try my suggestion on AP100 ( on HF for sale ).
 
My X5 couple with portable amps really spits a good amount of bass to a lot of it with the right EQ settings. I wish you could listen to it for your self to believe.

 

[Strif3]

  Just curious what kinda amp do you use at home ?
 
I have two AV receivers: Marantz SR7007 and old Technics DX 950. also Pro Tools Mbox for my desktop. All this things drives my headphones really good with a lot of authority and all the bass amount you want. Honestly, if you want to sound like desktop you got to have external amp, in your case the one with the bass boost ie. FiiO E12, Headstage Arrow etc.
I have E12 and the bass boost will blow your ear out. I personally had invested a lot on portable amps and they really do make your phone sings so much better!
Oh not to brag about it, my current portable set ups is actually sounds much better than those desktops believe it or not.
 
But seriously, first you have to determine if your unit if really a lemon or not. If there's no changes after e few days than simply return it and get another one. Or try my suggestion on AP100 ( on HF for sale ).
 
My X5 couple with portable amps really spits a good amount of bass to a lot of it with the right EQ settings. I wish you could listen to it for your self to I belive.
,

My amplifier is an old Technics SU-V3 class AB it has like 40 years,still works like a charm,maybe its an old sound but its a good sound in my opinion.
 
Well the thing is i did not want to buy an external amplifier for the x5 because its over my budget and to think that i need another amp to satisfy my sound needs because the x5 that is a audio power house canot use its internal amplifier wich they advertise is good and bla bla to power some lame 18 ohm drivers.......realy its just plain stupid this is not my vision off a HIGH FIDELITY DEVICE.
 
i dont deny that the dac is good in the fiio,tested it with the amplifier and it sounds terific but thats not why i bought it...........
 
in my opinion the flater the sound the more you destroy the soul of the music,think it like if you listen to a piano live that is supresed so that the musicality,resonance and timber of it is taken away,will you like it?or listenig to full spearkers that sound flat and lifles will you like it? these are just some examples that i tried to describe in a maner to let you understand how i feel twards this false misconception off audiophile=flat sound.
 
i dont want to offend anyone.
 
i will take in consideration a portable ammplifier but i need to think with wich i will combine it with.......

 

[JoeDoe]

Posted this in the X5 thread to get the hype train moving again:

Been showing my second X5 a lot of love this week and just wanted to restart the engine on the hype train. Going back-and-forth between iPods with separate DAC/amps, the X3, DX50, DX90, and of course the X5. All in all, I still think the X5 is the best portable player i've heard. Everything sounds very natural, from the rich dynamic bass up to the smooth and detailed top-end. With its power and dual card slots, I'm back to only carrying a single unit for mobile use instead of a stack.

Such a great feeling for both my ears and wallet!

 

[x RELIC x]

Maybe i am a little bass heavy but i like to have bass because 50% of the time i listen to electronic and because of that i need bass.I listen music through my AMP all time and i am acomodated to that powerful analog sound its warm and has a tremedous extension,this is what i searched something portable to replace my amp on the go,yes i dont have the best dac,i have a creative sound card x-fi platinium,it has a cirus logic 8 chanel dac.

The amperior have enough bass even with the bass knob at 0 but i keep it at 2 and that  is 4 DB in the bass frequencies,maybe its a little to much but i love how the amperior produce that fantasic bass its just spot on in every way posible.

and as a side note i found the sound from the x5 a little shouty and thin especiaaly the hights and the bass impact is just wrong on some songs it sounds like a cracked drum.....

well these are my initial impresions i fooled myself in thinking i hit the jackpot with this player but its the oposite and i dont think the burning will make a diference,the player made my amperiors sound like some cheap 10 bucks headphones.

Any advice is welcome!

Thank you!

I can't remember if you mentioned it, but what files are you listening to? When I first got in to head Fi a lot of my substandard masters and poorly compressed files were revealed as such. I just didn't notice how bad they really sounded because the rest of my audio chain was masking this. After a while I figured out that I needed to feed my revealing gear quality sources. Not saying your much files are crap, and if not please disregard this post. Just a consideration.

This would apply to any higher end player.