Since you tagged me..
You gave X5iii 5/5 and praised it as did I.
The X5iii and DX could not be more different.
I am also not a big fan of the #3 so we have different tastes. Are there any well known daps you don't like?
Me first:
OPUS #3, Original X7 with stock amp, DX200, <<<< Cold to neutral with one having odd treble (#3)
The X7 MK II is the sonic "Daddy" to all the above mentioned IMO
So tell me what DAP's you don't like george. For the readers of this site that info is just as valuable as what you do like.
Of course, my friend
I tend to enjoy more things than I tend to dislike
Let's see...
I liked / like / enjoy:
X5 warm but not smooth, was nice and was my first good quality DAP
X5ii sounded less warm to those ears than X5, but still not neutral, interesting transition
X3ii was fairly neutral, quick and nice sound, was airy and wide enough to be fun
iDSD BL is a thing of its own, quick but well expressed bass, sparkly top end, but doesn't go into being harsh, and the midrange is textured yet somehow it is smooth and musical, Very deep and wide sound.
Opus #3 has an interesting signature, quite textured, energetic, the treble is slightly enhanced, pretty wide sounding
DX200 has a really fast and vividly textured sound, both wide and deep sound, really digging it these days. Didn't run any app tests or any battery tests yet
AP200 is a fun DAP at its price, I like the spark in the treble quite a bit, it is deep and wide enough for its price I'd say, also the Android on it works fairly well, minus the glitches you probably noticed as well
Waiting for M2s and X7mkii to arrive before talking about them.
Neutral about:
HiFiMAN Megamini, it is quite minimalist in its design, so I'm not sure if it fits with everyone's qualms and desires. The sound is great, makes up for it.
I praised X5-3 for its software a lot, because it was a huge step-up for FiiO at the time, the sound, while great for many, it was not exactly my cup of tea - written that a few times over, too smooth up top, I want me some treble to enjoy metal music, sparkly signatures are energetic and vivid for me, the treble on X5-3 was clearly intended for something like another audience.
Now about what I am not necessarily a fan of (dislike?):
1Z (and its cheaper brother) - Way too quiet for comfortable listening levels (EU capped version), also the sound not sparkly or airy. I should add that I wanted to like them Sony DAPs before testing it...
Revisiting it sometimes, I find Cowon J3 quite far from my ideal sonic signature, not deep enough, not strong enough, with all its enhancements it is considerably under the first X5.
SanDisk Clip+ - I paid over 100$ for one, expecting it to be the holy grail of music... Resolution is under FiiO X1, which costs about the same in Romania, so I'm a bit bitter about it as a whole.
It seems that I can hear the treble of #3 being slightly different, but I enjoy it anyways. You also use EX-1000 already, which is not treble shy, nor warm by its nature. I think that this is a big part of why our inputs on sources differ a bit.
All in all our opinions don't necessarily differ as much as our preferrences do, DX200 is energetic, vivid, zvelt, and neutral. #3 has a sparkly top end with a slightly different tone than I'm used to. I can hear and describe those, but I like them.
About the software side of things, we will probably agree about it all the time
