[ClieOS]

  ClieOS, just read your first post. Thanks for that.
E17 owner here. I'm struggling between keeping my e17 and use it with android smartphone (usb otg, ending with a bulky brick) or simply sell it and buy x3.
 
My collection is all flac, but 24bit/96k are starting to grow.
 
I find myself using the e17 on my laptop a lot. So I really like they added the usb/pc functionality to the X3.
 

• Can you confirm that X3 is better (SQ) than e17?
• Could you explain sound differences, if there are, between their DACs, e.g. soundstage,  etc on same headphone?

 
I've read: (here http://www.headfonia.com/first-impression-fiio-x3-dap/)

 
1 and 2 - already said that on the first post. X3 has a warmer tone to the overall presentation, so some might describe that as being less resolving / detail than E17. But I have compared them side-by-side, volume matched, and find X3 being just as resolving and detail with slightly more dynamic. The warmness can shift the listener's attention away from the upper detail but that doesn't mean the detail isn't there.

 

[rc87]

great, thank you for the details.
I forgot about the 400 pages long X3 thread! gonna read a bit there

 

 

[Emospence]

  Can't really help you since I never own a Mac in my life.

 
Good man.

 

[Painful Chafe]

Would this be an upgrade in SQ to a Sony NWZ-Z1060?

 

[miceblue]

Do class 10 microSD cards work in the X3, and I suppose the X1 and X5? i.e. Sandisk Ultra microSD HCXC

 

[ClieOS]

Do class 10 microSD cards work in the X3, and I suppose the X1 and X5? i.e. Sandisk Ultra microSD HCXC

 
That's the microSD I am using with X3 now, formatted to FAT32 of course.
 
Actually SD Classes really doesn't mean much to X3 or X5 directly. Classes = writing speed, but =/= reading speed. What you want to make sure is a minimum of 4MB/s (= Class 4) reading speed, preferably 6MB/s if you have 24/192 music. Reading speed and writing speed are not the same on most SD card, and usually reading speed is higher. Manufacturer only require to list the slowest of the two speed ratings, so a SD card with 2MB/s writing and 4MB/s reading will be listed as Class 2. But when it comes to DAP, reading speed is more important as the DAP needs to read it fast enough for real time playback. Writing speed on the other hand only matters when you are transferring files from PC to the DAP. I recently tested my Class 4 SD card and it has a reading speed close to a Class 8 (7.8MB/s). So it should still do fine with 24/192 music. But buying a higher class SD card does take the guesswork out.

 

[alexandr]

actually it is blunt and rtfm cannot be applied here. at least directly. i found that this feature works on internal memory and at the same time - it does NOT work on external memory card even if i have proper settings. actually it is very annoying. maybe firmware will fix it

 

[stormmilk]

Great review. I'm going to get one now.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

I'll be getting one of these for myself before the end of the month.

 

[CH23]

wrong X3 thread.

 

[ClieOS]

FiiO is indeed in the process of updating the X3 decoder, but it might or might not fix your problem. If you have faced the same problem on 3 different X3, then it is more likely just a compatible issue between the encoder you used and the decoder on X3. If you can identify which songs are affected, the easy way will be to re-encode them.

 

[CH23]

FiiO is indeed in the process of updating the X3 decoder, but it might or might not fix your problem. If you have faced the same problem on 3 different X3, then it is more likely just a compatible issue between the encoder you used and the decoder on X3. If you can identify which songs are affected, the easy way will be to re-encode them.

They're really hard at work! That's very cool!

 

[gullwire]

is there any possibility of having a feature added to turn off USB charging? at the moment i'm put off using the X3 as a USB DAC because i'm worried the constant charging when connected via USB will cause the battery to deteriorate faster. it would be good to just be able to turn off charging, as you can with the E7/E17 etc.

 

[tjw321]

  is there any possibility of having a feature added to turn off USB charging? at the moment i'm put off using the X3 as a USB DAC because i'm worried the constant charging when connected via USB will cause the battery to deteriorate faster. it would be good to just be able to turn off charging, as you can with the E7/E17 etc.

I'm pretty sure that you don't need to turn off charging as there will be a charge protection circuit in place to manage the charging. For the E7/E17 the ability to turn off charging is more to protect the device you plug it into from running out of charge, rather than for the protection of the E7/E17. Hopefully someone from Fiio will confirm, but I'm fairly certain this is the only way it can work.

 

[gullwire]

  I'm pretty sure that you don't need to turn off charging as there will be a charge protection circuit in place to manage the charging. For the E7/E17 the ability to turn off charging is more to protect the device you plug it into from running out of charge, rather than for the protection of the E7/E17. Hopefully someone from Fiio will confirm, but I'm fairly certain this is the only way it can work.

Hmm, yes, I'm sure you're right. The only thing is that being charged above 80%, or below 20%, tends to harm batteries, so I like to keep my devices charged within the 20%-80% range.