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

[shineonyou]

Yep. In China nothing less than a mobile nuclear reactor would be considered enough to drive an AKG K701. HD800 requires a dedicated municipal power plant. NOTHING can drive a HE5 to even start squeaking. In China we'd be laughed at for suggesting any portable amp/player could drive the likes of 250ohm beyers or a Senn HD600. But just between you and me, they can

My x1 can drive my AKG K612 pro.

 

[shineonyou]

  Thx, good news bro. I quote 2 pictures (shots) to erji.com hope more guys see it's appearance.
This is the posting.

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[Skullbox]

Brooko what a comprehensive and well written review you've done there. I honestly don't think I've read so much detail and useful information in a review. Great pics as well.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to do this.

+1 Awesome review Brooko! U got a talented writer! Thinking eventualy releasing books on Audio Gear?!

 

[viperxp]

@Brooko , thanks for the great review. You told us to ask questions, right?
 
1. Have you experienced any instability during your time with the X3 ii?
2. Did you notice any hiss with sensitive IEM's? What about using it while charging? Still no hiss?
3. You wrote that you drove some hungry headphones with the LOW gain setting. Why not High? Have you tried using it at all?
4. What's the transfer rate when transferring songs to the memory card? Have you tried 128gb cards?
5. Thank you again, BTW - that's not too long and over-detailed review, that's my opinion.

 

[warrior1975]

Brooko-Great review as usual bro, thank you for taking the time to do this for the community.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

 
A few questions from me too:

- is the maximum volume of the units sold in Europe limited in any way? (e.g. a la iPhone, iPad..)
- does the software recognize pre-emphasis flags (PE flag) in the .cue sheets and apply the needed deemphasis?
- does the software support .cue sheets containing multiple source files?

Any help with these questions please?

Hello oldschool,
1. In all my time working with FiiO I've never heard of any such crippling for EU units.
2. Pretty sure that this hasn't been implemented, if by deemphasis you mean the equalization needed for CDs released in the 70s/80s...
I'll ask the development staff again about these points just to make sure, and I have no idea about your last point at the moment

Cheers,
Joe

 

[SolarNova]

Question.
 
How does the FiiO X3ii handle high EM environments?, for me specifically I'm talking about use in very close proximity to large Spot Welding guns used in vehicle production.
 
Cheers.

 

[oldschool]

Hello oldschool,
1. In all my time working with FiiO I've never heard of any such crippling for EU units.
2. Pretty sure that this hasn't been implemented, if by deemphasis you mean the equalization needed for CDs released in the 70s/80s...
I'll ask the development staff again about these points just to make sure, and I have no idea about your last point at the moment

Cheers,
Joe

 
Thanks!
 
On 2. - yes, this is what I mean. The deephasis is probably a feature of the DAC itself, if the particular DAC has it. Some early CDs have preephasis applied (e.g some Pink Floyd titles) and the respective digital files ripped from the CD won't play with the correct EQ if deephasis is not applied during playback.
 
Regarding 3 - basically, I am interested if the player support a cue sheet format where several source files are listed in a single cue file:
 
FILE "File 1.flac" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Name A"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Name B"
    INDEX 01 04:06:10
  TRACK 03 AUDIO
    TITLE "Name C"
    INDEX 01 08:47:50
FILE "File 2.flac" WAVE
  TRACK 04 AUDIO
    TITLE "Name D"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
TRACK 05 AUDIO
    TITLE "Name E"
    INDEX 01 04:08:50
 
and etc..

 

[Brooko]

[@=http://www.head-fi.org/u/170914/Brooko]@Brooko[/@] , thanks for the great review. You told us to ask questions, right?

1. Have you experienced any instability during your time with the X3 ii?
2. Did you notice any hiss with sensitive IEM's? What about using it while charging? Still no hiss?
3. You wrote that you drove some hungry headphones with the LOW gain setting. Why not High? Have you tried using it at all?
4. What's the transfer rate when transferring songs to the memory card? Have you tried 128gb cards?
5. Thank you again, BTW - that's not too long and over-detailed review, that's my opinion.

Hi Viper

1. I've had one freeze in the 4 weeks I had it - but a simple reset cured that. Can't even remember what I was doing when it happened. The rest of the time it had been rock solid.
2. I haven't heard any hiss - but at 0.26 ohm output impedance I really wouldn't expect to either. My most sensitive IEMS are the A83. Not sure how the X3ii would go with customs. One of the other reviewers may be able to comment on this.
3. I used both low and high gain. Unless I run out of volume on the pot, I always stick with low gain. Doing otherwise is simply risking raising the noise floor for no gain IMO.
4. On my system it's as slow as the other Fiio DAPs - but I only have USB2. I always use an external card reader for the main transfers (quicker), then use direct cable from there. Transferring 1Gb a couple of days ago (to check format ability) took probably around 5 minutes or so. Unfortunately I didn't time it.

 

[Ultrainferno]

 

• I haven't heard any hiss - but at 0.26 ohm output impedance I really wouldn't expect to either. My most sensitive IEMS are the A83. Not sure how the X3ii would go with customs. One of the other reviewers may be able to comment on this.

 
I only use customs and the X3ii unfortunately hisses like crazy, I have to use an external amp for my monitors. The X1 has the same issue

 

[Joe Bloggs]

 

1. I haven't heard any hiss - but at 0.26 ohm output impedance I really wouldn't expect to either. My most sensitive IEMS are the A83. Not sure how the X3ii would go with customs. One of the other reviewers may be able to comment on this.

I only use customs and the X3ii unfortunately hisses like crazy, I have to use an external amp for my monitors. The X1 has the same issue

I don't know... I just tested for hiss on the X1 with my BA CIEMs and it is pretty tame... there is a bit of hiss that goes away when you start playing music. The X5 hisses more for me

 

[Brooko]

  I only use customs and the X3ii unfortunately hisses like crazy, I have to use an external amp for my monitors. The X1 has the same issue

 
Thanks.  A bit surprising considering the very low impedance - but something I couldn't test.  Is it still audible when playing music?

 

[jamato8]

I am listening to the 3X gen 2 with my JH13 Pro and I can't hear hiss. Granted they aren't the most sensitive but even turning the volume to max I don't hear anything (no music of course or I would be deaf). This is on high gain. My hearing to has been tested to 17khz, so I do hear the highs and hiss isn't all that high. 
 
No problems with the UI and OS for the period I have had the G2 here, for 1.5 months or whatever the time has been. 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I am listening to the 3X gen 2 with my JH13 Pro and I can't hear hiss. Granted they aren't the most sensitive but even turning the volume to max I don't hear anything (no music of course or I would be deaf). This is on high gain. My hearing to has been tested to 17khz, so I do hear the highs and hiss isn't all that high. 

No problems with the UI and OS for the period I have had the G2 here, for 1.5 months or whatever the time has been. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vgcgmkf8mlqu3pt/1min%20silence.flac?dl=0

Hello jamato,

You may use this recording of silence to test the player for any hiss while actually playing a "song".

 

[TCD1975]

   
I only use customs and the X3ii unfortunately hisses like crazy, I have to use an external amp for my monitors. The X1 has the same issue

I'm intrigued. What customs are you using? Looking at your posting history, you've said you have almost a dozen different CIEMs ... are you saying that you get a "crazy" amount of hiss whichever CIEM you use?
 
This is strange, as I find an almost totally black background when I listen to the X1.