iaudio x5- feedback for purchase

[HeatFan12]

Hello to all....Need a little help for the purchase of an x5...Have an opportunity to get one at a great price (friend does not like it...60gb)...Been doing a little research on it, and I have to say it seems to be mixed reviews. My purpose for it would be FLAC and OGG. The negative I hear about it is the line out (not a true line out). I will pair the x5 with a Go-Vibe 5 through an LOD (audiolineout.com) and will primarily use it with AKG81djs or Senn HD280..
I have an ipod 5G 60gb (mp3 playback) and would like to get a player exclusively for lossless (FLAC) (there aren't too many options out there)..

Why don't you rockbox the pod? Thought about it, but am going to wait until some of the battery issues are dealt with....I have an Archos 15gb rockboxed and it's great, so for ipod going to wait a little longer...

My other options- Karma and iriver (rockboxed)...heard some real horror stories about ebay with these players and the conditions they were in when they were shipped....I'm sorry, if I'm going to pay $150-200 for something, it must work and have some kind of warranty...

All feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jesse

 

[darkness1974]

I had the X5 for about a year, and I loved the sound, however the battery life went down dramatically after a few months. This has also happened to two other people who'd bought the player on my recommendation. Other than that, it was a good solid player. Never had to reset it or anything.

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkness1974 I had the X5 for about a year, and I loved the sound, however the battery life went down dramatically after a few months. This has also happened to two other people who'd bought the player on my recommendation. Other than that, it was a good solid player. Never had to reset it or anything.

Same here but I never had any battery problems. Overall I was very happy with it. The lineout subpack is a joke, but if you try the headphone out to your GoVibe, I think you'll be very pleased (I did that for 8 months and it sounded great).

 

[HeatFan12]

Thanks darkness.. and wolfen.., I just noticed something when you said the line-out subpack (looking @ some pics)...I won't need the subpack, I believe I could hook up the LOD directly, like the ipod with an amp...Anyone else had any problems with this set-up...?
Thanks
Jes

 

[TzeYang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfen68 Same here but I never had any battery problems. Overall I was very happy with it. The lineout subpack is a joke, but if you try the headphone out to your GoVibe, I think you'll be very pleased (I did that for 8 months and it sounded great).

i'm planning to get an X5L in one month's time. So how bad is the subpack?

 

[3X0]

The Line-Out on the X5 has a bass rolloff early on.

I recommend just going straight through the headphone-out. It's a very good headphone-out; just set the volume to 40 and set the equalizer and effects off. Sounds great.

 

[TzeYang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 The Line-Out on the X5 has a bass rolloff early on. I recommend just going straight through the headphone-out. It's a very good headphone-out; just set the volume to 40 and set the equalizer and effects off. Sounds great.

urm, how can it roll off the bass if it bypassed the internal amp using line out?

I actually needed to replace my A1000 with a better DAP so i can hook it up to my PPA v2 and HD650.

If i don't use the subpack, do i have any other options to fix the bass rolloff so i can use line out?

 

[HeatFan12]

That's what I'm inquiring about now..T.Y...I emailed Ken from audiolineout.com (great service and products)...The bass roll-off that they are implying, I'm not sure if it's through the docking station that comes with the x-5...Ken makes cables that you bypass the docking station altogether and connect amp to source directly...I have a bling bling from audiolineout and that's what I wanted to know---if the x5 can be connected like the bling bling connects to ipod...
Keep you posted

 

[wolfen68]

The bass roll-off isn't in the subpack as people with manufactured cables as you describe still experience the same problem. This issue is oft discussed at iaudiophile.com. The headphone out is a viable alternative, and I say again that I doubt you will have any complaints on how it sounds. It was actually in the ballpark with my H140's optical out to a microdac.

The subpack itself is a terrible design in that it's an accident waiting to happen. There's no locking mechanism and it can easily be twisted or bumped which could result in a damaged port on your X5. This would be very bad as this port handles almost every function needed on the unit.

I say baby your X5 and only use the subpack at home for charging and USB transfers.

 

[KrazyIvan]

I purchased the X5L and have been very happy with it with the exception of the subpack. I use Super.Fi 3's with just the headphone output and the sound is very pleasing. I am also using 320kbps mp3's ripped from the original CD's.

 

[HeatFan12]

I want to thank everyone for the replies...What I have taken from all this, is that the X5 is a wonderful player, with support for OGG and FLAC and SQ is good......Well I went ahead and gave my friend the okay, so I'll be a proud owner of the X5 here pretty soon.....The only problem is that when I decided that I was going to go ahead and buy it, I also ordered the X5 line out silk dock

...I wanted the same connection as my ipod that I have with the bling bling....
Is anybody in this wonderful community happy with pairing the X5 with an LOD without the docking pack and not through the headphone out...I just want to feel a little better for spending some good $$$ on something that I thought was going to be a good pair with great SQ...
Help...
Again Thanks
Jes

 

[TzeYang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfen68 The bass roll-off isn't in the subpack as people with manufactured cables as you describe still experience the same problem. This issue is oft discussed at iaudiophile.com. The headphone out is a viable alternative, and I say again that I doubt you will have any complaints on how it sounds. It was actually in the ballpark with my H140's optical out to a microdac. The subpack itself is a terrible design in that it's an accident waiting to happen. There's no locking mechanism and it can easily be twisted or bumped which could result in a damaged port on your X5. This would be very bad as this port handles almost every function needed on the unit. I say baby your X5 and only use the subpack at home for charging and USB transfers.

wolfen68, if i do not use the subpack for a line out can i still bypass interal amp using the Headphone out? It's like the Sony NW-A1000 where you can set the headphone out to be either headphone out or line out. Is this possible?

I'm also planning to rockbox the X5L later in the future, i don't know if this will help?

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TzeYang wolfen68, if i do not use the subpack for a line out can i still bypass interal amp using the Headphone out?

No, the internal amp cannot be bypassed through headphone out. But as described in previous posts, put the volume on 40 and listen to judge for yourself whether it's good enough for your use.

 

[Head Creep]

Personally, I'd go with an iPod and Rockbox. It's a nice player, sturdy, sounds good, good feature list, etc. Only problem is, the battery and joystick are pretty shoddy. I treated my X5 like a woman, ran the battery down as often as possible before recharging and being as gentle as possible. Nevertheless, the battery dropped off after a few months, and roughly 6 months into ownership the joystick died. I sent in the somewhat deceased player and got a new one back, thanks to the warranty, and in the last week the battery life has taken a dive once more. Not a good experience, that's for sure.

 

[TzeYang]

urgh this means i don't have much choice left

Any other Iaudio DAPs that doesnt have bass roll off and sounds as good or even better than the X5L's line out?


If none then i think i'm stuck with Ipod 5G Video. At least the line out is working fine and it's rockboxable.