[dbruno]

Exactly. Plus there's many cheaper options for playing your own music that sound great. I've said it before when someone comes out with a device that can stream flawlessly. I'll be the first onboard. Until then I'll stick with what I have.

Same for me.
I had E17, X5 and X7, I think it was the list time I bought a FIIO product, my X7 is no more on warranty period and it' s dying, look to the border's screen, Impossible to play while charging cause it's noisy, impossible to use wi-fi cause it's noisy, BT disfunctions, It really does not age gracefully.

we are talking about a player not so cheap, so I'm really sad and I'll look to others players now.

Sorry for the bad looking photo

 

[recondude]

To be honest... We never got what we paid for with the X7. It still does not function as advertised after 2 years. Until they (FIFO) proves they can produce a product that performs as advertised I would not ever purchase another product from them. Too bad as personally I think it has the best sound of all the DAP's I've owned, borrowed and listened elsewhere. It has the potential to be a great DAP.

Sad but true. If you advertise it you have to deliver.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

This seems to be a lot like the X5iii thread. Lots of "untapped" potential... Maybe Fiio is swimming in waters that are too deep for it, and it can't deliver the software that the hardware promises? Unfortunately... I may now have to look past the upcoming X7ii if it is anything like the X7 and X5iii.

 

[harpo1]

This seems to be a lot like the X5iii thread. Lots of "untapped" potential... Maybe Fiio is swimming in waters that are too deep for it, and it can't deliver the software that the hardware promises? Unfortunately... I may now have to look past the upcoming X7ii if it is anything like the X7 and X5iii.

I posted pretty much the same thing on their website. They just need to slow down on the release schedule and hire some real android developers. The funny thing is several months ago a few developers on head-fi offered to help them out and they refused. So like you I'll be forgoing any future fiio DAP's until they prove they can get the software side of things to match the hardware.

 

[Brooko]

I guess I look at it in a completely different way. I still remember the early days when DAP UI's were plain, featureless and slow. So the plethora of options available now are pretty stunning for someone of my era. Most of the features on FiiO's DAPs work, and work extremely well. And for both the hardware they use, and the implementation of that hardware - their value proposition is excellent. The most important thing - especially with their new generations ..... they work, and if I don't like their UI - I can use Neutron.

I just find it a bit funny that people can be so critical of companies like FiiO sometimes, yet go easy on others who don't have half the features, and actually have many of the same issues etc - and usually cost far more. Sure - you can get an all round experience from A&K or Sony - but you pay double or triple the price.

I guess what makes it easy for me is that I'm not hung up on high-res (I've tested myself properly and I can't hear a difference), and I don't stream (I have a home library of around 500 albums which I've digitised). So different strokes for different folks. I love my X5ii and iii. I also like the X7. All of them do what I want them to do - ultimately provide a window to the music.

I genuinely hope you guys find what you are looking for. I know I already have.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

@Brooko I completely get your point. I don't have much to complain about the X5iii. I don't have personal experience with the X7 and was hoping that the items missing (for me anyway) in the X7 and X5iii will be implemented in the X7ii. I think there is a lot of "unrealized" potential in the hardware they have provided though. You may be right, what I'm looking for; I probably won't be able to get in a sub $1000 DAP. That saddens me though, as that isn't the ballpark I wanted to play in. I still have hopes for the X7ii with a solid Firmware experience.

 

[1wyseman]

I guess I look at it in a completely different way. I still remember the early days when DAP UI's were plain, featureless and slow. So the plethora of options available now are pretty stunning for someone of my era. Most of the features on FiiO's DAPs work, and work extremely well. And for both the hardware they use, and the implementation of that hardware - their value proposition is excellent. The most important thing - especially with their new generations ..... they work, and if I don't like their UI - I can use Neutron.

I just find it a bit funny that people can be so critical of companies like FiiO sometimes, yet go easy on others who don't have half the features, and actually have many of the same issues etc - and usually cost far more. Sure - you can get an all round experience from A&K or Sony - but you pay double or triple the price.

I guess what makes it easy for me is that I'm not hung up on high-res (I've tested myself properly and I can't hear a difference), and I don't stream (I have a home library of around 500 albums which I've digitised). So different strokes for different folks. I love my X5ii and iii. I also like the X7. All of them do what I want them to do - ultimately provide a window to the music.

I genuinely hope you guys find what you are looking for. I know I already have.

+1!

 

[Dobrescu George]

I guess I look at it in a completely different way. I still remember the early days when DAP UI's were plain, featureless and slow. So the plethora of options available now are pretty stunning for someone of my era. Most of the features on FiiO's DAPs work, and work extremely well. And for both the hardware they use, and the implementation of that hardware - their value proposition is excellent. The most important thing - especially with their new generations ..... they work, and if I don't like their UI - I can use Neutron.

I just find it a bit funny that people can be so critical of companies like FiiO sometimes, yet go easy on others who don't have half the features, and actually have many of the same issues etc - and usually cost far more. Sure - you can get an all round experience from A&K or Sony - but you pay double or triple the price.

I guess what makes it easy for me is that I'm not hung up on high-res (I've tested myself properly and I can't hear a difference), and I don't stream (I have a home library of around 500 albums which I've digitised). So different strokes for different folks. I love my X5ii and iii. I also like the X7. All of them do what I want them to do - ultimately provide a window to the music.

I genuinely hope you guys find what you are looking for. I know I already have.

Totally agreed with you

I tend to remember the days when my only DAP was a black and white display, pen looking USB thngy that used to run ob an AAA battery. During those days, my ears used to be compatible with earbuds and I was just discovering this hobby and silicone tips IEMS, but I would still spend countless hours just listening to music back then, and never once did I complain about the quality of the things I was using.

X7 and X5-3 already do much more than I could had wished for and I honestly don't require much more. The sole fact that they can do wifi and souncloud along with mSD cards and more than one music app is heaven for me.

The only thing I would had wished more would probably be to always have 2xmSD slots and to have larger battery and better sound, you can never have enough of those, but happily FiiO always does an excellent job in those things.

 

[tomwoo]

I guess I look at it in a completely different way. I still remember the early days when DAP UI's were plain, featureless and slow. So the plethora of options available now are pretty stunning for someone of my era. Most of the features on FiiO's DAPs work, and work extremely well. And for both the hardware they use, and the implementation of that hardware - their value proposition is excellent. The most important thing - especially with their new generations ..... they work, and if I don't like their UI - I can use Neutron.

I just find it a bit funny that people can be so critical of companies like FiiO sometimes, yet go easy on others who don't have half the features, and actually have many of the same issues etc - and usually cost far more. Sure - you can get an all round experience from A&K or Sony - but you pay double or triple the price.

I guess what makes it easy for me is that I'm not hung up on high-res (I've tested myself properly and I can't hear a difference), and I don't stream (I have a home library of around 500 albums which I've digitised). So different strokes for different folks. I love my X5ii and iii. I also like the X7. All of them do what I want them to do - ultimately provide a window to the music.

I genuinely hope you guys find what you are looking for. I know I already have.

I agree 100%.
This is why I will use X7 exclusively in offline mode from now on.

 

[KC33]

I can certainly understand the gripes people have. If you advertise features then they should work out of the box. I, for one, will not buy another DAP that "depends on future updates" in order to work, as advertised.

I feel like we've been way too forgiving about not getting a perfect product out of the box and it's deceiving to those that that depend on the player to just work. I don't give a rats ass what other companies that " cost two or three times more" do, that doesn't and shouldn't mean squat. My next player will work as advertised or it will be returned immediately. I'm sick of seeing people getting conned.

2 years later and they can't figure it out? Not acceptable and IMO nothing more than bad business practices. The thing that really gets me is that they're releasing new players when this one doesn't do what Fiio claimed it would from jump. I'm fed up with all the promises and becoming quite tainted by all this nonsense. In the future I'll use my phone. if need be, until a Co. figures it out but I will not spend another dollar on these empty promises.

It's a complete and utter con job.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

@KC33 You are quite right. It is the mentality that the player works in the "fashion that I need", so everyone else is just a cry baby is the reason that we get stuck with half-baked, incomplete products. It's been happening in the software/gaming business for years. I guess it is becoming a normality and people just accept it. In all honesty, if my LG V20 had sounded a bit better and cleaner, and provided balanced out. I would never have looked at a DAP in the first place. I'm not asking for a ton of things, but I don't just use a DAP to simply play music that I've downloaded to it. If it were that easy, I'd go ahead and buy an old iPod Classic. Now those, are nearly bug-free. I wanted a DAP, that would be my "hub" of music. I don't play music on the PC. I take my DAP and pop it into the Dock, and boom. I have music on my 2.1 sound system at my desk. I move a cable (should get a switch box), and I have music to my battery powered transportable headphone amp. I pull my DAP off the dock and sit near my tv. Drop it into the dock there... and I have music for my stereo. If I decide I want to stream from my Server, I should be able to do that. If I decide I want to stream from Tidal, I should be able to do that too. If I decide that I want to take my tiny 2.5" portable HDD and stack it with my DAP and take 500GB of music files with me. I should be able to do that too. My want list may be more than others, but there are probably 3 things that I want, that I haven't seen addressed... and it can easily be implemented. Video out for a Dock so I can see my tracks on the TV while I select my song, or heck.. let me mirror my DAP to my cellphone so I can use as a remote. Shanling M1 can do this now. Let me have proper navigation of my 5000+ songs instead of Play/Pause, Next/Previous Track and Volume up/down. If they include a 2.5mm Balanced out on the DAP, make it a true balanced out. I want to be able to output a Balanced Line-out to a Balanced amp. Maybe Fiio isn't going to be my DAP company going forward, but the hardware to do it, is already in their players, they just need good programmers to coax it out. Rant off. Sorry if I ruffled some feathers.

 

[Brooko]

Nah - it's good. Can totally understand how you guys feel. Different people have different expectations. If yours weren't met, then I'd be wary as well.

 

[Dobrescu George]

@KC33 You are quite right. It is the mentality that the player works in the "fashion that I need", so everyone else is just a cry baby is the reason that we get stuck with half-baked, incomplete products. It's been happening in the software/gaming business for years. I guess it is becoming a normality and people just accept it. In all honesty, if my LG V20 had sounded a bit better and cleaner, and provided balanced out. I would never have looked at a DAP in the first place. I'm not asking for a ton of things, but I don't just use a DAP to simply play music that I've downloaded to it. If it were that easy, I'd go ahead and buy an old iPod Classic. Now those, are nearly bug-free. I wanted a DAP, that would be my "hub" of music. I don't play music on the PC. I take my DAP and pop it into the Dock, and boom. I have music on my 2.1 sound system at my desk. I move a cable (should get a switch box), and I have music to my battery powered transportable headphone amp. I pull my DAP off the dock and sit near my tv. Drop it into the dock there... and I have music for my stereo. If I decide I want to stream from my Server, I should be able to do that. If I decide I want to stream from Tidal, I should be able to do that too. If I decide that I want to take my tiny 2.5" portable HDD and stack it with my DAP and take 500GB of music files with me. I should be able to do that too. My want list may be more than others, but there are probably 3 things that I want, that I haven't seen addressed... and it can easily be implemented. Video out for a Dock so I can see my tracks on the TV while I select my song, or heck.. let me mirror my DAP to my cellphone so I can use as a remote. Shanling M1 can do this now. Let me have proper navigation of my 5000+ songs instead of Play/Pause, Next/Previous Track and Volume up/down. If they include a 2.5mm Balanced out on the DAP, make it a true balanced out. I want to be able to output a Balanced Line-out to a Balanced amp. Maybe Fiio isn't going to be my DAP company going forward, but the hardware to do it, is already in their players, they just need good programmers to coax it out. Rant off. Sorry if I ruffled some feathers.

Everybody should be honest and forward about how they feel.

The two simplest solution would be for them to advertise only the features that work already and offer any bonus feature afterwards.

Well, I have high hopes that X7ii will be an awesome DAP, and I really count on FiiO to make that a reality, but if you're looking for the absolute bleeding edge, using a smartphone with an external DAC/AMP might also be a good path to take. FiiO has been working on a cool DAC/AMP that uses the same AMP modules as X7, if iDSD BL is too big for you to strap to your phone.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

Everybody should be honest and forward about how they feel.

The two simplest solution would be for them to advertise only the features that work already and offer any bonus feature afterwards.

Well, I have high hopes that X7ii will be an awesome DAP, and I really count on FiiO to make that a reality, but if you're looking for the absolute bleeding edge, using a smartphone with an external DAC/AMP might also be a good path to take. FiiO has been working on a cool DAC/AMP that uses the same AMP modules as X7, if iDSD BL is too big for you to strap to your phone.

For me personally, it would have to have "Balanced Line-Out". Anything other than that, and I'm not really interested. It is the reason why I purchased the X5iii (at least I thought it would've worked), and now looking forward to the X7ii (hopefully that will have it). Still have hopes.

 

[Dobrescu George]

For me personally, it would have to have "Balanced Line-Out". Anything other than that, and I'm not really interested. It is the reason why I purchased the X5iii (at least I thought it would've worked), and now looking forward to the X7ii (hopefully that will have it). Still have hopes.

Let's hope that they manage to implement it!

I have the vague conception that they might be able to add it to X7 as well through an AMP module if there is enough demand for it.

For X5-3, some people might recommend using the balanced headphone output at max volume, but in my experience using max volume doesn't equal to line out clean type of sound, so ymmv there...

Very very very few companies offer balanced headphone out, even less balanced line out or amps that offer balanced line in, this might be why they are reluctant to include this.