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

[reddington]

Been a bit underwhelmed by the X3k and UE TF10 combo. Its good but the Dragonfly 1.2 does a much better job. Is it the pairing or does DAPs need some sort of burn in period?

 

[fourrobert13]

Prime sales are going on today, Amazon will have sales on micro SD cards today as well, hopefully with more of a discount.

Right, I'm aware of the Prime day sale.  I just ordered a bunch of CDs.  Yesterday that card was $54 and now it's $95.  Hopefully you find a deal.

 

[ngs428]

Right, I'm aware of the Prime day sale.  I just ordered a bunch of CDs.  Yesterday that card was $54 and now it's $95.  Hopefully you find a deal.

I haven't seen any deals on 128 go micro sd cards as part of prime day. The Lightning deal yesterday was at $60. Adorama and B&H have similar prices now.

Let me know if there is a 128 gb micro sd as part of prime day. My fiiO needs one.

 

[ngs428]

Well, the FiiO rep (Joe Bloggs) will more than likely to tell you to try to figure out if it's all your files or just certain albums at that bit/sample rate that stutter. If it's all songs that stutter then the next step would be to format the card with the X3ii through the settings menu (after backing up your music) or try a different card. Also, look at your album art size and make sure it's not over 1024x1024 (a better size is 500x500 or the resolution of the screen).

I've read that while many people have success with Adata cards others have had troubles (could happen with any card brand though). The stuttering is usually caused by not being able to read the data off the card fast enough, which is why formatting with the device is the best option as it uses the right allocation unit size while formatting to accommodate faster reads vs slightly more storage.

If you've already used the X3ii to format the card or have tried a different card and your album art is a reasonable size then it's really a question you should ask FiiO directly through their support. They're pretty good at trying to help.

Just thought I would say nice work here Relic. Nice support! Spot on.

 

[fourrobert13]

I haven't seen any deals on 128 go micro sd cards as part of prime day. The Lightning deal yesterday was at $60. Adorama and B&H have similar prices now.

Let me know if there is a 128 gb micro sd as part of prime day. My fiiO needs one.

Cheapest one I can find as of today: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-128GB-Adapter-MB-MP128DA-AM/dp/B00P3NMVVU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436982433&sr=8-2&keywords=128+gig+micro+sd+card
 
At 2pm yesterday, that Sandisk card was $54 and I should have bought it, but I wanted to see what deals they would have today too.  Either way, the price of this card isn't bad, but I opted for the 128gig PNY flash drive for OTG use with my X3II when I bought some CDs this morning for Prime Day.

 

[ngs428]

Cheapest one I can find as of today: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-128GB-Adapter-MB-MP128DA-AM/dp/B00P3NMVVU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436982433&sr=8-2&keywords=128+gig+micro+sd+card

At 2pm yesterday, that Sandisk card was $54 and I should have bought it, but I wanted to see what deals they would have today too.  Either way, the price of this card isn't bad, but I opted for the 128gig PNY flash drive for OTG use with my X3II when I bought some CDs this morning for Prime Day.

Check out: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1034096-REG/sandisk_sdsdqui_128g_a46_128gb_ultra_micro_sdxc.html

$60 for a Sandisk.

 

[daps83]

anyone think that there is a chance the new updated ipod touch that was announced today could compete on an sq level with the Fiio X3 2nd gen?
 
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/apple-refreshes-ipod-lineup-with-new-colors-and-124159153909.html

 

[Bloodember]

I haven't seen any deals on 128 go micro sd cards as part of prime day. The Lightning deal yesterday was at $60. Adorama and B&H have similar prices now.

Let me know if there is a 128 gb micro sd as part of prime day. My fiiO needs one.

They had a 128gb this morning at 9:40am est for $64, not bad but not as good as yesterday.

 

[x RELIC x]

anyone think that there is a chance the new updated ipod touch that was announced today could compete on an sq level with the Fiio X3 2nd gen?

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/apple-refreshes-ipod-lineup-with-new-colors-and-124159153909.html

Nope.

 

[hally45]

Well, the FiiO rep (@Joe Bloggs) will more than likely to tell you to try to figure out if it's all your files or just certain albums at that bit/sample rate that stutter. If it's all songs that stutter then the next step would be to format the card with the X3ii through the settings menu (after backing up your music) or try a different card. Also, look at your album art size and make sure it's not over 1024x1024 (a better size is 500x500 or the resolution of the screen).

I've read that while many people have success with Adata cards others have had troubles (could happen with any card brand though). The stuttering is usually caused by not being able to read the data off the card fast enough, which is why formatting with the device is the best option as it uses the right allocation unit size while formatting to accommodate faster reads vs slightly more storage.

If you've already used the X3ii to format the card or have tried a different card and your album art is a reasonable size then it's really a question you should ask FiiO directly through their support. They're pretty good at trying to help.

Hey relic - thanks for that. I chose one album that was stuttering and downloaded some 500x500 artwork, replaced on x3 and it appears to have worked - playing now and no stuttering. I don't know what size the artwork was before as it was embedded and I couldn't find  a way to find out however, I just stumbled upon a tagger for mac called "yate" which looks pretty good (free trial then 20 bucks).
 
Why would a slightly larger art image cause it to stutter when the flac files are sometimes up to 120meg each anyway, surely the size of 500x500 to a 1024x1024 is negligible when looking at the flac sizes?
 
Anyway thanks again!

 

[x RELIC x]

Hey relic - thanks for that. I chose one album that was stuttering and downloaded some 500x500 artwork, replaced on x3 and it appears to have worked - playing now and no stuttering. I don't know what size the artwork was before as it was embedded and I couldn't find  a way to find out however, I just stumbled upon a tagger for mac called "yate" which looks pretty good (free trial then 20 bucks).

Why would a slightly larger art image cause it to stutter when the flac files are sometimes up to 120meg each anyway, surely the size of 500x500 to a 1024x1024 is negligible when looking at the flac sizes?

Anyway thanks again!

Because the music is read only at a certain rate (Kbps, Kilo Bits Per Second), not the whole file at once. The artwork is loaded all at once and takes up a larger portion of the internal RAM, leaving less buffer to read music. No need to use anything larger than 320x240 really as that's the resolution of the screen.

 

[despuit]

I really don't like this player audio wise, the interface and interactivity is fantastic. However my digital cable finally came and I've been exhausting its use since it came to gain a feel for it. Using the DAP for playback, the soundstage is great, tracks are bright. Though the bass is non-existant seeming, and everything seems distant.
 
After screwing around I have it working my PC ALPEN2--->COAX--->X3II-->PC Asio Bridge low latency (576 buffer) 3072 SMP (which I should lower) 8192 Samples 192K, 24 bits, no audio filters/enhancements.

And the sound is right there (in front seeming), I played the same audio track on both the DAP and the PC. The bass is not as strong as it was before which is fine but it still shakes the hell out of my cans and it is not distorting like it was coming from the DAP.  I have the HD25 and they're terrible to get a seal from them all most need to wear a head band to create the seal unless you want to hold them all the time.
 
It really messes me up cable wise as I been debating between the black and silver dragon for HD25', bass v.s. detail. If it is just the DAP doing this then I'd rather buy a different one, and grab the silver. The settings are the exact same for each device, I am not sure if it renders the signal differently when it generates the signal v/s the computer generating it. I am using the crappy cable the FiiO supplied even so confused.

[Not sure what DAP I would want as replacement been looking at the PONO and AK100II but the AK is off the table as it uses the same chip. The Calyx M is really enticing, though doesn't appear to have a digtal out]

 

[Mr Trev]

  anyone think that there is a chance the new updated ipod touch that was announced today could compete on an sq level with the Fiio X3 2nd gen?
 
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/apple-refreshes-ipod-lineup-with-new-colors-and-124159153909.html

I imagine the blue model will have a cold(er) signature.

 

[hally45]

Because the music is read only at a certain rate (Kbps, Kilo Bits Per Second), not the whole file at once. The artwork is loaded all at once and takes up a larger portion of the internal RAM, leaving less buffer to read music. No need to use anything larger than 320x240 really as that's the resolution of the screen.

Ahhhh, I see, very good explanation. Thanks again.

 

[Headphone4Life]

Does the sound signature change at all when going from DAP to USB dac? I know you can bypass the amp so I'd think there might be a difference in the signature when in USB dac mode.