[Joe Bloggs]

2014-02-11
Beta firmware version 3.34 for the X3 is now available!
Mediafire download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/r4g5b5mz2oq455n/X3_FW3.34Beta.zip
Temporary dropbox mirror: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z23o9evnsnenniz/X3%20FW3.34Beta.zip?dl=0

After downloading the update, please unpack (unRAR / unZIP) the package and read the update instructions contained within.

The following changes and improvements were made to firmware 3.34beta compared to FW3.30:
1. Path memory feature: Pressing the Back button from the Now Playing screen will now always take you to the folder / album / etc. from which the current song is selected. This is true even after navigating to the main menu or powering the X3 off and back on.
2. Removed 5800 song limit on number of songs that may be indexed by the X3 media library.
3. Added option to play through folders: ie skipping to the first song in the next folder after the last song in the current folder.
4. Added option to delete a whole folder.
5. Fixed issue where artist info cannot be shown on the Now Playing screen.

Known issue: Option to display ID3-based song title in Now Playing screen still does not work yet

Looking forward to everyone's feedback

3.34 discussion starting here
------
Info about playlists:
1. M3U playlists stored on the SD cards are accessed via Browse Files, not Category->Playlists. (Category-->Playlists contains playlists created by the X3)
2. M3U playlists has the following limitation:
a) each entry should not reference a drive letter (because this firmware is capable of reading relative paths, but refers to the two drives as something TF1: and TF2:, which no playlist creation program would create)

Here are the recommended methods for creating playlists on the computer:
Method for adapting existing playlists for the X3
The X3 can read playlists with relative pathing and thus is compatible with most existing playlists that do not reference the drive letter at the beginning of each track reference. For best compatibility, the playlists should be above the referenced tracks in directory level.

Method for creating playlists for the X3 in foobar2000
New playlists compatible with the X3 may be created using foobar:
1. Connect the SD card for the X3 to the computer (e.g. by connecting the X5 itself with the SD card inside in Storage USB mode)
2. Load the songs desired from the SD card into a new playlist and save the playlist as a M3U8 file in the root directory of the SD card.



Method for creating playlists for the X3 in iTunes
If using a windows PC for playlist creation, foobar2000 is recommended over iTunes. If using iTunes on the Mac, the custom playlist export program created by fellow X5 user, JeremyLaurenson, is recommended:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/728503/submit-your-dap-specs-please-i-am-creating-dapper-a-mac-itunes-to-dap-converter

Old info about firmware 3.3, 3.22beta and 3.24beta retained below:
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Update 2014-12-24 Official firmware version 3.30 for the X3 is now available! (3.22-3.24 beta discussion thread converted to 3.30 official firmware discussion thread)
http://121.199.40.94/UploadFiles/main/Firmware-and-driver/X3/X3-FW3.3.rar (RAR file)
Mediafire mirror:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ex2g8k71auwlcvq/X3FW3.3.zip (ZIP file)
Temporary dropbox mirror:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rmxoypm708foi9g/X3FW3.3.zip?dl=0

After downloading the update, please unpack (unRAR / unZIP) the package and read the update instructions contained within.

10 new features:
1. Added support for M3U playlists.
2. Added support for exFAT formatted micro SD cards.
3. Added 5-band equalizer and support for equalizer presets (via changing provided presets).
4. Added support for folder-based album art (e.g. "cover.jpg" for all songs in a folder).
5. Added playback support for multichannel recordings.
6. Added feature to display ID3-based song title rather than filename in Now Playing screen.
7. Added Sleep timer, with on/off toggle switch and timer setting.
8. Added support for UTF-8 (no BOM) and Unicode LRC lyrics files.
9. Media library will now auto-update upon insertion and removal of TF (micro SD) cards when media library update is set to Auto.
10. Added option to display "all songs" by an artist as well as selecting individual albums by an artist.

Several optimizations:
1. Optimized playback of raw AAC files (.aac files)
2. Fixed issue where hidden files would be generated in the X3 after connection to Mac and other Unix-based computers and affect file browsing afterwards.
3. Optimized song ordering in albums.
4. Optimized randomization of songs in shuffle mode.
5. Fixed issue where m4a and FLAC tracks may skip unexpectedly when played from an NTFS formatted card;
6. Various other bug fixes.

Looking forward to everyone's feedback.
--------------
3.22-3.24
We promised this one a while ago and we did not forget--

Beta firmware version 3.22beta for the X3 is now available!
http://www.mediafire.com/download/vddk6bmhdm4i140/X3_FW3.22Beta.zip

The following changes and improvements were made to firmware 3.22beta compared to FW3.21:
1. Added 5-band equalizer and support for equalizer presets (via changing provided presets);
2. Added support for M3U playlists;
3. Fixed issue where itunes AAC-HE tracks were shown in Now Playing with incorrect sample rate info;
4. Fixed issue where hidden files would be generated in the X3 after connection to Mac and other Unix-based computers and affect file browsing afterwards.

Update 2014-11-19: bugfix update, 3.24beta, also released:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/khm38zfmi7ofima/X3_FW3.24Beta.zip

The following changes and improvements were made to firmware 3.24beta compared to FW3.22beta:
1. Improved battery indicator showing battery percentage.
2. Amended EQ setting interface to better correspond with the instructions given in the EQ tutorial.
3. Improved smoothness of song transitions between songs of different formats and sample rates.
4. Fixed issue where songs in an album were sometimes not sorted according to track number.
5. Fixed issue where changes to preset EQ settings are not saved through power-off.
6. Fixed issue where equalizer was not taking effect after resuming from the last song / last position after power-off and power-on.
7. Fixed issue where holding a volume button while the X3 is powered off and charging shows the volume control dialog and causes the X3 not to respond to other buttons.
8. Internal playlists are now hidden from the Browse Files view to reduce clutter.

Please note the following:

1. This is a development beta. Please consider carefully whether you want to upgrade to it. (You can always downgrade back to any previous version)
2. Problems encountered with this firmware may be posted to this thread--please keep the main X3 thread free from clutter regarding bugs on beta firmware.
3. To avoid public misunderstanding, please refrain from posting about bugs and problems with the beta firmware outside this beta firmware discussion thread.

Looking forward to everyone's feedback.

 

[oldmate]

Thanks Joe - Awesome support as always.
 
Cheers.

 

[Coop]

Thanks! Downloading right now. Installing in 5...4...3...

 

[wiser87]

Joe, what about song limit?

 

[peter123]

Great! I'll try it out tonight.

 

[PetZoundz]

Gapless playback fixed!!! Thanks! Album art still cropped, however.

 

[SallymaeHogsby]

How is the (unequalized) sound, compared to 3.21b?
 
(I wish I didn't have to wait until I get home from work, to find out for myself.)

 

[Chaz1952]

Joe, thanks so much for posting this latest firmware from FiiO!
Very happy with 3.22B!!  Awesome. 

 

[originalsnuffy]

Looking forward to trying this. Thought we were forgotten. Thanks

Edit 2: Seems like this release is somewhat less tolerant of "home brewed" rips from things like Blu Ray tracks. I will keep testing but that is an initial consideration. I am getting a slight stutter or hesitation from tracks from the new Pink Floyd release.

 

[Rozenberg]

Sweet! Thanks for the update Joe!
Just finished installing it right away after class done, can't say much for now

 

[defguy]

Awesome! Thanks getting this out quickly, Eq looks to be much better implemented that the previous beta with eq.

 

[Valis]

Well, on a quick listen gapless works for me. No clicks or gaps ...

 

[kamcok]

One thing i notice is when i switch from a flat "custom" EQ to OFF, the volume goes up which makes it a bit difficult to A/B the difference...
The difference between Custom EQ to OFF is like turning the gain from low to high
 
Other than that I haven't noticed anything wrong
 
I'm now listening to The Dark Side of The Moon with the bass turned all the way up + bass boost on max with the CT-200
so wrong but so right hahahh

 

[Cric]

  Awesome! Thanks getting this out quickly, Eq looks to be much better implemented that the previous beta with eq.

Funny you say this, I don't see a difference in sound compared to the 2.14 beta.
 
I tried to put all sliders at max (+6 db), then decrease each level one by one and still can't hear a real difference.
 
It seems for me that tone settings has much more impact on sound than the EQ.
 
I use +2 Bass and +6 Trebbles with my Grado SR80i, if someone can find a clearer (or brighter) sound (without loosing on bass depth) with EQ, thanks in advance for giving us your setings!

 

[tjw321]

I created a playlist on the device which worked perfectly. So I decided to try creating one on my computer. I wanted to copy the playlist over using a card reader (no cable to hand) so I removed the card from the X3. However, I suspect that the X3 didn't flush all the changes to the card because now my card is corrupted.
 
Is there a way to sync changes to the card before removing it? I had switched the X3 off before removing the card, which is all I have ever done before removing the card, but then I had never created a playlist before... 
 
The card is a 128GB one, formatted in exFAT.