[reihead]

Dear James,

My dream player is a X5 with an empty mSATA slot (so that I can add my own 1TB mSATA SSD for $530, 500GB for $300 or 250GB for $170). Or X5 with 4 (four) microSD (TF) slots.

I am sure you have seen the poll result (wish list) for X7's features. Ability to support large storage was the second most wanted feature from over 100 Headfi votes. Maybe you can set up another vote and ask how much storage people would "dream" of. In my humble opinion, if you have lots of (high resolution) music, 256 GB is a must, 512GB is nice, 1024GB is a "dream". One of the selling point of X5/X3/X1 is high resolution playback, correct?

MicroSD / TF cards are still too expensive for too little storage. With that said, if you equip X7 with 
4 microSD slots, I will happily fill them all with 128GB cards now. ~500GB of microSD will cost me over $480 now, while ~500GB of mSATA SSD costs only $300 currently. 

mSATA SSDs are getting even bigger and cheaper because they are commonly used in tablets/laptops. Currently a 480GB (Crucial/Micron) mSATA SSD can run for 8-13 hours in a Rockboxed iPod Video 5.5th generation with 850 mAh battery, so it does NOT need a huge battery or a super thick enclosure:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/566780/official-ipod-video-classic-5g-5-5g-6g-6-5g-7g-ssd-mod-thread/2610#post_10410434

http://www.head-fi.org/t/566780/official-ipod-video-classic-5g-5-5g-6g-6-5g-7g-ssd-mod-thread/2670#post_10430207

I know this would be a challenge but the idea of a mSATA disk is great. Your normal user can use the TF slots, and your powerusers can add a mSATA DIY style.

 

[Hapster]

No, I'm saying that even Apple won't be able to sell nearly as many iPhone5-HiFi's as standard iPhone5s's, and producing a low-volume item costs more than producing a high-volume item. Basic economy of scale. I'm not afraid to say that the audiophile market is tiny compared to the smartphone market in general because it's blindingly obvious...
With non-expandable memory. Bear that in mind.
Where did you get quadruple the price from?

That was compared to the nano series and similar competitors.

Anyway, I do believe apple is unlikely to release a high quality dap as well, there's just no benefit on their part, because of what you said.

Honestly, I'll probably be getting the fiio x5 here eventually anyway and just keep my iphone, if for anything to help contribute to innovating something that the market is solely missing. Because no one else seems to be making any real effort...

 

[zachchen1996]

Just food for thought,
 
maybe there can be 2 versions of the X7? Both versions would have the same DAC section but the amp section would be different.
A smaller X7 with a less powerful amp for just powering iem's and portable headphones & a larger X7 with a very powerful amp that can power full size headphones?

 

[Hapster]

Just food for thought,

maybe there can be 2 versions of the X7? Both versions would have the same DAC section but the amp section would be different.
A smaller X7 with a less powerful amp for just powering iem's and portable headphones & a larger X7 with a very powerful amp that can power full size headphones?

Isn't there a way to toggle on some of these devices?
I don't think another model has to be made. Although I guess it would be cheaper for the individual model.

 

[Duncan]

Just food for thought,

maybe there can be 2 versions of the X7? Both versions would have the same DAC section but the amp section would be different.
A smaller X7 with a less powerful amp for just powering iem's and portable headphones & a larger X7 with a very powerful amp that can power full size headphones?

This is sort of what I was alluding to when I got told that most people would not want a high grade amp inside their player...

Surely not everyone wants a stack system, I would definitely be happier if I knew that the amp inside my player was the best it could be, and that I wouldn't need an external amp to push the sound quality up to the next level...

Seems that I was in the minority though

 

[mochill]

1+^ ...just need internal switch to toggle the amp from low, medium,and high gain

 

[mochill]

Wideband frequency response and neutral flat ...no dips at both end would be awesome and replaceable battery is a must because the x5 become to hot sometimes.

 

[zachchen1996]

Yes, but the internal switch cannot toggle the physical size of the player. I'm not saying that fiio should make the quality of the less powerful amp less than the more powerful amp. People who don't mind bulk and need the flexability of driving both iem's and full size headphones on the go could get the bigger x7 and those who do mind bulk and only plan on using the X7 with iem's would get the smaller x7.

 

[pekingduck]

I am hoping the X7 can do away with MTP for file transfer. Not sure if it's even possible for Android though.

 

[kdub]

One thing I would like to add is that if the X7 is the masterpiece of FiiO engineering, the ultimate statement product, that you shouldn't need to in effect have a daughterboard of an external amp...

Nothing wrong with the X5 / E12 stack, but - having the E12 (or - better!) internals (minus battery, as that could be shared) inside the X7 as a one-box solution would definitely win you some new fans...

Well said Duncan!! This is exactly the reason I haven't bought the X5 yet as waiting and hoping X7 will be an all in one solution without need to stack an E12 to it for simplicity, convenience and portability.

 

[jbr1971]

Well said Duncan!! This is exactly the reason I haven't bought the X5 yet as waiting and hoping X7 will be an all in one solution without need to stack an E12 to it for simplicity, convenience and portability.

 
If you are going to be using the NAD Viso HP50s listed in your signature I would think the X5 will be more than enough to drive them given that they are made to work fine with idevices.
 
I have a pair of over-ears that are my backups (nothing special or high-power) & they are plenty loud at 75/120 on low gain. No external amp required.
 
I would hate to see you miss out on a potentially good listening experience in the X5 while waiting 12-18 months (based on initial timelines I've seen in threads, nothing concrete) for the X7.
 
Just my 2 cents.

 

[kdub]

If you are going to be using the NAD Viso HP50s listed in your signature I would think the X5 will be more than enough to drive them given that they are made to work fine with idevices.

I have a pair of over-ears that are my backups (nothing special or high-power) & they are plenty loud at 75/120 on low gain. No external amp required.

I would hate to see you miss out on a potentially good listening experience in the X5 while waiting 12-18 months (based on initial timelines I've seen in threads, nothing concrete) for the X7.

Just my 2 cents.

Yes thanks for the help. I plan to get a Senn HD650 soon down the road so just want one device to be able to play both set of cans.

 

[sovereignty68]

Honestly I think MSRP USD699 is a little bit high to me. I'm expecting maybe about around $499, but who knows.

 

[ikkentobi]

Well my dream player wouldn't have a playing time of 10 hours or even less, but more in the direction of 30 hours, so I wouldn't need to load it every day.
Would compromise in size and weight, and even reasonably in sound quality for that.

 

[TRapz]

Haven't read all 7 pages so this may have been said before, but what about adding 2-4 SD slots and have the same number of microSD adapters as accessories? That would please both people wanting to use SD and microSD cards.