[Djinnenjous]

I've been looking at the possibility of replacing my iPod Classic, which has started wigging out on me lately.  It's a 2005 model so I think it's about time for an upgrade.  There are three DAPs I'm considering in the same general price range, all of which I'd be listening to through my HiFiMan RE-400 Waterlines.
 
While I listen to many musical genres, my primary love is metal: black, melodic or tech death, ambient, post/shoegaze, etc.  All of my music is in ALAC or AAC, and I'm working on slowly replacing the AACs with lossless versions.  I'm currently using my old iPod Classic with a FiiO e11 portable headphone amplifier.  I generally find the bass response is just a touch lackluster without the e11's EQ ramped up, but with much of my music I feel like there's a hint of mid-bass bloat with it set to "2."  Given my genre preferences I guess I like a "V-" or "U-shaped" sound profile, amplifying the punch of double-bass kicks and clarity of the cymbals—which, sadly, are frequently under-produced.  Whichever DAP I get needs to be reasonably forgiving of weak production.
 
I'm looking for advice as to whether I'll likely be happier with a FiiO X3, iBasso DX50, or a replacement iPod Classic to hook up to the e11.  If I get the X3 or DX50 I'll be selling the e11 to offset the cost.  I've read a lot of the comparison threads here and poked around on Google but haven't seen a clear-cut consensus on which option is superior, although many people appear to favor the DX50 now that the firmware is stable.  (I have not seen anyone compare either of these DAPs directly to an amplified iPod, and I am assuming this means either one is strictly superior.)
 
Your thoughts on the matter will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Djinnenjous]

It's really depressing that not one person has offered a single word here.  I guess I'm wasting everyone's time in the Recommendations forum by asking for recommendations.  Way to make a newb to the audiophile world feel unwelcome in a day, everyone.

 

[TrollDragon]

  I've been looking at the possibility of replacing my iPod Classic, which has started wigging out on me lately.  It's a 2005 model so I think it's about time for an upgrade.  There are three DAPs I'm considering in the same general price range, all of which I'd be listening to through my HiFiMan RE-400 Waterlines.
 
While I listen to many musical genres, my primary love is metal: black, melodic or tech death, ambient, post/shoegaze, etc.  All of my music is in ALAC or AAC, and I'm working on slowly replacing the AACs with lossless versions.  I'm currently using my old iPod Classic with a FiiO e11 portable headphone amplifier.  I generally find the bass response is just a touch lackluster without the e11's EQ ramped up, but with much of my music I feel like there's a hint of mid-bass bloat with it set to "2."  Given my genre preferences I guess I like a "V-" or "U-shaped" sound profile, amplifying the punch of double-bass kicks and clarity of the cymbals—which, sadly, are frequently under-produced.  Whichever DAP I get needs to be reasonably forgiving of weak production.
 
I'm looking for advice as to whether I'll likely be happier with a FiiO X3, iBasso DX50, or a replacement iPod Classic to hook up to the e11.  If I get the X3 or DX50 I'll be selling the e11 to offset the cost.  I've read a lot of the comparison threads here and poked around on Google but haven't seen a clear-cut consensus on which option is superior, although many people appear to favor the DX50 now that the firmware is stable.  (I have not seen anyone compare either of these DAPs directly to an amplified iPod, and I am assuming this means either one is strictly superior.)
 
Your thoughts on the matter will be greatly appreciated.

 
Wow only 9 hours have elapsed...
Do you apologize for wasting every ones time in all your posts?  You need to get off the dread metal, it's starting to get to you...
 
The reason people haven't been jumping all over this with answers is, no one but YOU will know if you'll be happy with any of those choices till you try them out for yourself, no one can recommend which is the best device for you.
 
There is no clear cut consensus on which one is superior... I have used 2nd and 3rd Gen nano's which had one of the "Better" sounds from an iDevice, then I picked up a $39 Sansa Clip+ and it blew the nano's out of the water in sound quality and features...
Some like the X3 or X5, some like the DX50 or DX90, each of them have quirky bugs, but ALL Chinese DAP's do. I can tell you that any one of them will have a better sound than that 2005 Classic.
 
Welcome to Head-Fi, too bad had a dreadful first day... 

 

[Djinnenjous]

   
Wow only 9 hours have elapsed...
Do you apologize for wasting every ones time in all your posts?
 
The reason people haven't been jumping all over this with answers is, no one but YOU will know if you'll be happy with any of those choices till you try them out for yourself, no one can recommend which is the best device for you.
 
There is no clear cut consensus on which one is superior... 

I wasn't trying to be a drama queen and I'm grateful for your response.  The problem wasn't so much that it had been nine hours as it was that there had already been like twelve views and nobody had said a word in response.  No one had even taken the time to say what you did: that there's no single, objective answer and that preference will take all.  That would have been sufficient for me and it didn't feel like too much to hope for.
 
I get that one person's treasure is the next one's trash.  There's always going to be someone who prefers Random Pair of Beats by Dre to Sennheiser HD800s; however, that doesn't mean their opinion is well informed or that it would be welcomed with open arms here.
 
If you see this reply and you don't mind responding once more, I have a follow-up question:
 
I've got $400 to spend on a new DAP plus a Micro SD card, total.  I also have the FiiO e11 that I can return to Amazon for another $60.  If I went with either the FiiO X5 or iBasso DX50 as my DAP would there be any legitimate use for this amplifier, or would the internal amplification on either/both device(s) render it superfluous?  (There's a lot I'm still learning about this stuff, forgive my ignorance.)

If I can return the e11 without sacrificing sound quality in the long run it'll allow me to basically double my storage capacity right off the bat.

Again, thanks for being the only one who gave this thread the time of day.  :/

 

[TrollDragon]

Welcome to Head-Fi,  as we say around here "Sorry about your wallet".
 
Lets have a fresh start, I can understand the frustration when questions do not get answered but following the general rule here on Head-Fi, the only advice I can offer is from what I have experience with. Mind you there are a lot who like to comment or recommend things that they have not heard or used which is frowned upon and like I stated earlier it's all a personal thing when it comes to the sound of gear.
 
I own a FiiO X3 with a 64GB card and it is my daily player, strapped to it is an E12 but that is only used with my DT880's for the extra headroom and bass boost it provides. The X3 by itself will drive all the headphones in my profile very well, the E11 would be a waste driven from the X3 as the amplifier in the X3 has more power...
 
We just a new firmware update for the X3 to correct a pile of bugs and it works and sounds very nice. Some say it is 80-90% of the sound of the X5. (which I have not heard).
 
So the choice will be yours either an X3 or X5, you will defiantly not need the E11 with either DAP. There are many who like the sound of the X3 over the DX50 but again I have not heard the DX50 personally so I can't make any recommendations on it.
 
If you have any place to hear these devices I would suggest that, otherwise order both from Amazon and send the one you don't like back.

 

[Djinnenjous]

Thank you very much for your response.  I've looked a lot harder at a DX50 than the X3/X5 but I'm not at all above changing directions with this.

 

[TrollDragon]

Before the new firmware came out I was going to sell my X3 and try to get a DX50 due to the unstable X3. But now it has been rock solid and I like the sound of the new firmware. So I'll keep the X3 for awhile.

Read the DX50 thread and see if that is what you want and go from there.

Good Luck with your quest.

 

[Djinnenjous]

I've been poring over it now for a couple of days, starting at like page 760-something, where the newest firmware discussion begins.  It's slow going, though, as a great deal of the discussion strays far afield from its sound signature, firmware stability, etc.  I'll have to do the same with the X3/X5.