The FiiO X3 2nd gen (ex X3K, X3II) Thread : 192K/24B, CS4398,Native DSD, USB DAC with LO and inline remote

[earfonia]

 

   
Thanks for the honest comparison and personal impression!
Mine is Dragonfly 1.0c, and it does sounds more spacious and transparent than X3ii. But for transparent sounding IEM like my DN-1000 and DN-2000, they sound more balance with the X3ii, though I also like them with the Dragonly.
I guess you like transparent and open sounding sound character. Some people might prefer warmer and full bodied kind of sound signature, like the Astell&Kern house sound. Recently I compared X3ii with AK Junior. AK Junior still carries the warm and full bodied midrange and bass from AK house sound, and probably a better choice for bass lover. But X3ii sounds more transparent than AK Junior, with better spaciousness. I tested them with DUNU DN-2000. So, it is pretty much on personal preferences, not about which one sounds better. Also matching with IEMs. Bright IEMs would probably match the AK better, while those who prefer transparency and spacious sound would probably prefer X3ii (or Dragonfly)

 


I wonder if the Dragonfly 1.2 is more neutral than the original. Because to my ears it didn't sound less so than the X3ii.

 
Possible. I haven't tried the Dragonfly 1.2. But I really like the 1.0c. Simply one of the best bang for the buck USB DAC.

 

[aaDee]

Is rockbox possible on fiio devices????
Though i haven't used rockbox before but just curious if its possible

 

[ccfixx]

Is rockbox possible on fiio devices????
Though i haven't used rockbox before but just curious if its possible

Is it possible?  I don't know, but it hasn't been done, yet, as far as I know.

 

[originalsnuffy]

FIIO is willing to consider Rockbox features but has no interest in making their platforms Rockbox capable.  Various posters have noted that FIIO may have licensing issues that preclude Rockbox. 
 
In general, it is worth posting what Rockbox features you find most appealing.  Seems like there is a fair amount of interest in adding replaygain capabilities.

 

[dogmusic]

 
 
Regarding TASCAM codec, TASCAM recently released a free High Resolution Editor, that can converts DSD and PCM. I haven't tried it, as I still use KORG AudioGate 2.3.3 most of the time for DSD to PCM or PCM to DSD conversion.

 
Great news! Thanks for that information.
 
Unfortunately the Mac version is still to come, but Tascam will be issuing it soon.

 

[betula]

  The X3ii is getting some great reviews and is very tempting. But I'm looking for a new DAP to drive my HD650's. Out the X3ii, X5ii and DX90, which is going to exploit and drive the HD650's to the best of it's abilities?  Thanks

X3ii is indeed a great player. Maybe the best value for the money from all 3. But if you want to use it with the HD650, in my opinion you should choose X5ii or DX90 due to the more power.
I know, some people say X3ii can drive a 300ohms heapdhones like the HD600s, but I do not entirely agree with them. I tried X3ii with my HD600, which has the same impedance as the 650s. On high gain and volume around 100-110 (almost maxed out)  it drives them on a quite acceptable level. Not just loud enough, but almost acceptable bass level as well. However it is far behind from what the 600s (and650s) are capable of. I did not try the 600s with the X5ii or the DX90, but as they are more powerful, I expect them to do a better job with these high impedance headphones.
I tried them on different desktop amps though with the X3ii, and I have to say the difference is big. Not just 'slightly' better, but so much better, you won't regret to spend that extra money for an amp. (Or in your case a more powerful DAP/DAC I guess.)

 

[Brooko]

  X3ii is indeed a great player. Maybe the best value for the money from all 3. But if you want to use it with the HD650, in my opinion you should choose X5ii or DX90 due to the more power.
I know, some people say X3ii can drive a 300ohms heapdhones like the HD600s, but I do not entirely agree with them. I tried X3ii with my HD600, which has the same impedance as the 650s. On high gain and volume around 100-110 (almost maxed out)  it drives them on a quite acceptable level. Not just loud enough, but almost acceptable bass level as well. However it is far behind from what the 600s (and650s) are capable of. I did not try the 600s with the X5ii or the DX90, but as they are more powerful, I expect them to do a better job with these high impedance headphones.
I tried them on different desktop amps though with the X3ii, and I have to say the difference is big. Not just 'slightly' better, but so much better, you won't regret to spend that extra money for an amp. (Or in your case a more powerful DAP/DAC I guess.)

 
It's interesting actually - as I did this same test with my HD600s
 
Specs tell us that into 300 ohms, X5 (original) outputs 28 mW, X5ii 27 mW, and X3ii 24 mW.  In my actual test with the HD600, to drive to an acceptable level of loudness (for me) on high gain with relatively modern music - the HD600 needed 63/120 on the X3ii vs 60/120 on the X5ii.  If you had well recorded mnusic with high dynamic range, you might need to bump that up a bit - but 110/120 would be far too lod for me. I noticed no loss of dynamics on the HD600 with either unit. Neither could fully drive the T1 though 

 (some of the bass was missing/overly bright signature).
 
Comparisons and the table were all in my X5ii review : http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-x5-2nd-gen-premium-hi-res-dap/reviews/13400

 

[Smurfs2010]

  X3ii is indeed a great player. Maybe the best value for the money from all 3. But if you want to use it with the HD650, in my opinion you should choose X5ii or DX90 due to the more power.
I know, some people say X3ii can drive a 300ohms heapdhones like the HD600s, but I do not entirely agree with them. I tried X3ii with my HD600, which has the same impedance as the 650s. On high gain and volume around 100-110 (almost maxed out)  it drives them on a quite acceptable level. Not just loud enough, but almost acceptable bass level as well. However it is far behind from what the 600s (and650s) are capable of. I did not try the 600s with the X5ii or the DX90, but as they are more powerful, I expect them to do a better job with these high impedance headphones.
I tried them on different desktop amps though with the X3ii, and I have to say the difference is big. Not just 'slightly' better, but so much better, you won't regret to spend that extra money for an amp. (Or in your case a more powerful DAP/DAC I guess.)

I don't know if this is entirely true.  I just tested my HD650 with X3ii and yes, you have to crank up the volume high on high gain.  I cranked the volume to 80 - 90 to get to a comfortable listening level.  Which I think is high enough.  At the max of 120, it's super loud.  Now, are all the frequencies reproduced correctly at 90 on high gain?  I think so.  I would use HD650 w/X3ii but would X5 or DX90 serve the HD650 better?  Maybe.  I exclusively listen to IEMs via X3ii & amp so I hardly use the X3ii with my cans and without an amp.  I then hooked up the X3ii with an amp (ALO International) and tried the HD650, no difference to my ears.  They did get very loud but didn't notice a difference in bass.
 
Just my thoughts.

 

[originalsnuffy]

If it sounds good and does not seem to clip then I would not worry about whether you run it at 80. 90. Or 105. My two cents

 

[betula]

What is the point of using an amp then, if it does not change anything except loudness (in case the original setup is already loud enough)? According to my experience a good amp does much more to the sound than just making it louder. It becomes more dynamic, more balanced, livelier, fuller, and missing frequencies come back to the picture, especially on the low end. (And listening with my ears this is the case with the X3ii and HD600 with or without external amp.)

 

[Brooko]

If you haven't volume matched, then the dynamics, fullness, and liveliness you're talking about is simply one being louder than the other. Try turning the amped one down in volume and the unamped one up, and recompare. Watch the perception of dynamics change

 

[charleski]

You only need an amp if the source component cannot deliver enough power across the frequency range to drive your phones to acceptable levels. 'Making it louder' is the only thing an amplifier should be doing, if it does anything else it's colouring the sound. You might like the colouration, but you'd get the same effect by tweaking the EQ.

 

[Koolpep]

Well, if all amps would be perfect then this would be true and the only difference is volume.
But please guys, let's leave the "amps only affect volume" discussion to the sound science forum 

 
Cheers,
K

 

[charleski]

No amp is 'perfect', but I just don't understand why people would pay extra for an amp with a colouration they like (and have to cary around an extra box), when they can get the same effect by altering the EQ. If your DAP doesn't have the power, then you need an amp, no question about that, but the X3ii's specs show plenty of power available to be used.

 

[394216]

  FIIO is willing to consider Rockbox features but has no interest in making their platforms Rockbox capable.  Various posters have noted that FIIO may have licensing issues that preclude Rockbox. 
 
In general, it is worth posting what Rockbox features you find most appealing.  Seems like there is a fair amount of interest in adding replaygain capabilities.

Replaygain would be very useful since I came from a rockboxed ipod 5.5g and clip+