[seanwee]

Looking to go a step up from my FiiO x1 mainly because of its output impedance of  2 ohms but would like an overall improvement .
 
Im currently looking at these 2 DAPs .How do they compare in terms of sound quality, UI, format support ,battery life, build and other extras?
 
My budget is around 250 bucks if you guys have any other recommendations.
 
THX !

 

[JK1]

It seems like you have a case of upgraditis.  Where will it end? If you get the X3 ii then will you want to upgrade to the X5ii? Then perhaps to a Cowon Plenue, or an AK player that is over $1,000? I have the Fiio X1. Its sound is excellent. What I don't like about it is the 10 or 11 hours of battery life, the almost 4 ounce weight, and the bulkiness of it. I use the X1  at home for those reasons. I use smaller and lighter players with longer battery life portably. 
 
Having said all that, if you really want to upgrade, at least do it in a manner that you won't want to upgrade again so soon. Go for the fiio X5ii or the ibasso DX90. Are you headphones satisfying enough, or perhaps you should stick with the X1 and upgrade your headphones or earphones.

 

[seanwee]

  It seems like you have a case of upgraditis.  Where will it end? If you get the X3 ii then will you want to upgrade to the X5ii? Then perhaps to a Cowon Plenue, or an AK player that is over $1,000? I have the Fiio X1. Its sound is excellent. What I don't like about it is the 10 or 11 hours of battery life, the almost 4 ounce weight, and the bulkiness of it. I use the X1  at home for those reasons. I use smaller and lighter players with longer battery life portably. 
 
Having said all that, if you really want to upgrade, at least do it in a manner that you won't want to upgrade again so soon. Go for the fiio X5ii or the ibasso DX90. Are you headphones satisfying enough, or perhaps you should stick with the X1 and upgrade your headphones or earphones.

Upgraditis confirmed im afraid 

.
 
Just got the Audio Technica CKR-9 last month but there seems to be a slight hiss with the FiiO X1 . Did some research here at head-fi and found that its caused by output impedance.Besides, ive been saving up for this.
 
I also want more functionality .
 
Or.................
Should i get an amp/dac combination and just use it with my phone and just ditch the X1 completely.
First amp/dac that springs to mind would be the Ibasso D-zero MK II........ Any other recommendations?
 
DSD playablity would be a nice extra 

 but not needed cuz i dont hear any difference between 96k/24 bit and dsd 256 even if i ABX the two. Might be because of the FiiO E10 which doesnt support DSD.

 

[JK1]

  Upgraditis confirmed im afraid 

.
 
Just got the Audio Technica CKR-9 last month but there seems to be a slight hiss with the FiiO X1 . Did some research here at head-fi and found that its caused by output impedance.Besides, ive been saving up for this.
 
I also want more functionality .
 
Or.................
Should i get an amp/dac combination and just use it with my phone and just ditch the X1 completely.
First amp/dac that springs to mind would be the Ibasso D-zero MK II........ Any other recommendations?
 
DSD playablity would be a nice extra 

 but not needed cuz i dont hear any difference between 96k/24 bit and dsd 256 even if i ABX the two. Might be because of the FiiO E10 which doesnt support DSD.

What we don't know is how wealthy(or not) you are. Of course the level of income has to be compared to the level of expenses. For example, someone in the US who makes $200K a year might feel poor if they have two or more children attending Harvard. 
 
Perhaps the money might be better of spent buying music if you don't have a large enough collection. 
 
The problem with spending plenty on audio equipment( especially portable items which tend to last a much shorter time) is that once you get above what is mass market, one might only get a 10% or so improvement for each doubling in price. In the 1990s I read great praise for the Sony MDRCD3000 headphone. When I saw it on sale I splurged and bought it. I was very disappointed. It did sound great, but not 4x as good as the best $80 headphones I had. It was perhaps 20% better. Since then, I have focused on trying to get headphones and players under $150(and especially under $100). Not because I couldn't afford more expensive ones, but because I felt companies shouldn't be rewarded for high prices, and quality improvements above that price range were quite small compared to the increase in price. The CD3000 headphones were sold years later, for more than I paid for it.
 
Consider this. If an item costs $500K to design, if 100K are sold, the design cost is only $5  a unit. If 5,000 are sold, the design cost is $100 a unit. The manufacturing cost is most likely a similar situation. When the number of units made is much smaller, the cost per unit is so much higher. 

 

[seanwee]

The problem with spending plenty on audio equipment( especially portable items which tend to last a much shorter time) is that once you get above what is mass market, one might only get a 10% or so improvement for each doubling in price. In the 1990s I read great praise for the Sony MDRCD3000 headphone. When I saw it on sale I splurged and bought it. I was very disappointed. It did sound great, but not 4x as good as the best $80 headphones I had. It was perhaps 20% better. Since then, I have focused on trying to get headphones and players under $150(and especially under $100). Not because I couldn't afford more expensive ones, but because I felt companies shouldn't be rewarded for high prices, and quality improvements above that price range were quite small compared to the increase in price. The CD3000 headphones were sold years later, for more than I paid for it.
 
Consider this. If an item costs $500K to design, if 100K are sold, the design cost is only $5  a unit. If 5,000 are sold, the design cost is $100 a unit. The manufacturing cost is most likely a similar situation. When the number of units made is much smaller, the cost per unit is so much higher. 

Thats what my father says to me XD.
 
He just skipped the $400-2000 range and went straight for Planar Headphones.The entire setup cost around $6k plus i think.(Guess he rubbed off on me)
I use those when i return home if he's not using them and gods almighty............... the difference in sound is HUGE!!!
 
Problem is, im not always at home and i cant lug those around.So I have to settle for more portable options.
 
Oh and my father and i have a vast collection of music. (My father has been collecting music since his 20s and he is already 50+)

 

[JK1]

  Thats what my father says to me XD.
 
He just skipped the $400-2000 range and went straight for Planar Headphones.The entire setup cost around $6k plus i think.(Guess he rubbed off on me)
I use those when i return home if he's not using them and gods almighty............... the difference in sound is HUGE!!!
 
Problem is, im not always at home and i cant lug those around.So I have to settle for more portable options.
 
Oh and my father and i have a vast collection of music. (My father has been collecting music since his 20s and he is already 50+)

There are two issues with buying $6,000 headphones. The first is whether it is reasonable to afford it. By that I don't mean do you have over $6,000 in the bank, but instead do $6,000 headphones fit reasonably into your general lifestyle. Consider this. The are something like 1,500 people in the world with over $1 billion. Not all of them own a Sennheiser Orpheus. There were only 300 Orpheuses made. The Orpheus hasn't been bid up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, but is perhaps around $35K or so? So even many of the wealthiest people in the world who could easily buy an Orpheus don't think it is worth the price. 

 

[seanwee]

http://www.goldenears.philips.com/en/share_l4.html
 
Finished it.XD
 
Anyways, who am i to comment about my father.Listening to music IS his hobby.He stopped at that that price point for 2-3 years already, didnt buy anymore equipment after that.
Think that he's content or whatever already.