New DAP - Choices between Sony NWZ A15, Fiio X3 ii, or Fio X5 ii - Opinions or Any other suggestions?

[paulrgod]

Hi Guys, 
 
I've been a very happy owner of an iBasso DX50 for the past year, however exactly 2 days out of my Warranty I've got a problem with a loose headphone port causing the sound to distort and cut out.  I've contacted iBasso to see what they can offer in terms of repair, but I'm thinking with shipping costs etc. to China and the fact it may cost me for the repair anyway it may be just worth looking at something else.  All of my music is stored on a 128GB Micro SD so it has to be able to accept this and I'll be using a pair of AKG K5550's.
 
So the budget is at an absolute maximum of £250 and it seems to come down to these 3 options, i'd like to hear your thoughts?
 
Sony NWZ A15 - From what I can tell it seems to be a decent enough player, but there seems to be concerns around the volume of it's output.  I like to listen to music pretty loud so this concerns me a little.  (the last Sony mp3 player I bought a long time ago was the Sony NW-A1200 was way too quiet - at the time I took it back and then bought an iPod 60gb classic).  This is widely available too so i could actually go into a store and buy one.
 
Fiio X3 ii - From what i can tell seems a really decent little player for the money, however is it at least as good or better than my DX 50?  
 
Fiio X5 ii - And im also considering this - i can get it for around £245 so is within budget, however is it worth spending the extra money on this over the X3 ii?  From what i've read it doesn't really seem worth the extra money for it?  
 
I'm also open to any other suggestions - I absolutely don't want to have an AMP connected and i feel a little put off iBasso with this issue.
 
Thanks
Paul

 

[jj69]

Never heard the Sony, but I have heard both theX3ii and the X5ii.  I can tell you there is no sense buying the X5ii, as the X3ii outperforms it in just about every area.  The X5ii is noticeably lacking in bass weight and impact. In fact, it's quite obvious. 
 
The DX90 running Rockbox performs better than both of them, however.  Depending on your point of view (and the selling prices of these DAPs in your country), the X3ii might be the better overall bargain.