[Mr Trev]

Or Kingston. Haven't had a problem with mine since I bought it close to 2 years ago

 

[Animal]

Hi guys,

So I bought a FiiO X1 but wasn't too convinced about the build quality. The center button was very loose and the scroll wheel felt a bit wobbly.

Returned it and upgraded to the FiiO X3 2nd Gen. Overall the build quality feels a bit better. I am however not convinced that the wheel will last for a reasonable period of time - say 2 years.

Has anybody experienced issues with their scroll wheels after using it for a while?

I wonder why FiiO didn't go the touch scroll wheel route similar to the iPod Classic? Have to say I would have preferred that, even willing to pay more for something like that.

 

[EagleWings]

Hi guys,

So I bought a FiiO X1 but wasn't too convinced about the build quality. The center button was very loose and the scroll wheel felt a bit wobbly.

Returned it and upgraded to the FiiO X3 2nd Gen. Overall the build quality feels a bit better. I am however not convinced that the wheel will last for a reasonable period of time - say 2 years.

Has anybody experienced issues with their scroll wheels after using it for a while?

I wonder why FiiO didn't go the touch scroll wheel route similar to the iPod Classic? Have to say I would have preferred that, even willing to pay more for something like that.

 
Check out this post and read through a few more posts following this.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/743704/the-fiio-x3-2nd-gen-ex-x3k-x3ii-thread-192k-24b-cs4398-native-dsd-usb-dac-with-lo-and-inline-remote/5910#post_11942525

 

[otherlives]

Went with Patriot as I've always had success... no complaints here.

 

[EagleWings]

For those of you, who wanted a direct comparison between the Fiio X3ii and Sony NWZ-A15/A17:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/784278/fiio-x3ii-vs-sony-nwz-a15-a17-comparison

 

[Lilas]

Hey everybody.
Would you be so kind and help me choose some headphones pairing good with x3II. I.m looking for a warm, smooth sound and something that are not missing the bass. I prefer closed headphones and the budget arround 350.
I would like something that don.t need extra amp, something that working great direct from HO of the x3.
Any sugestions/ advises would be very welcome.
What do u think would be the best match in this range (arround 350) for this player ?
Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[427159]

 
I had this same issue originally when I first got the X3 2nd Gen (just as it came out, with original firmware) while using a Kingston 128GB micro SDXC card (class 10).  I thought I had the problem solved after reformatting the card several times (via the player), but I stopped using the player for a while, until about a month ago.  I've noticed the stuttering problem occurring again and I tried updating the firmware (first to the latest beta a couple of weeks ago, and now to the 1.3 that just came out), but neither seemed to make a difference (including reformatting the card again).  My player's NB is M122a.
 
After a bit of trial and error by testing different 24bit FLAC and wav files with varying sampling rates (44.1 to 192), for me the stuttering problem only seems to occur specifically with wav files, and only those that are above 96KHz (which most of my purchased music is).  However after converting some wav files to FLAC and testing them, I haven't experienced any further stuttering problems, so I will probably just do that for all of my music and check it more thoroughly over time.  (Note I haven't tested with any DSD files so I wouldn't know if the stuttering problem occurs for me there too.)

Hi guys,
 
I've been having the same issue and I've narrowed it down to the SD card. I'm updating my original post periodically (post #4075 on page 272) so that it's easier to find if someone just types it into google. At the moment I'm troubleshooting with Samsung and waiting for a replacement. I'll keep updating the post with any new developments.

 

[goodyfresh]

Hey everybody.
Would you be so kind and help me choose some headphones pairing good with x3II. I.m looking for a warm, smooth sound and something that are not missing the bass. I prefer closed headphones and the budget arround 350.
I would like something that don.t need extra amp, something that working great direct from HO of the x3.
Any sugestions/ advises would be very welcome.
What do u think would be the best match in this range (arround 350) for this player ?
Thanks a lot in advance.

Well, my Sony MDR-1A pretty much PERFECTLY fit the criteria you just described, and they pair quite well with the X3ii without any additional amping.

They are certainly warm, and they are bass-boosted but not HUGELY so, with the upper-mids and low-treble a tad bit, but not tremendously, recessed.  But the best thing about them, to me, is the INCREDIBLY SMOOTH, creamy timbre that they have.

As long as you don't mind the bass sometimes getting boomy on tracks which themselves are already bass-heavy, you should love the MDR-1A paired with your X3ii   They're also avaialble well under 350 dollars.  300 to buy them new here in the U.S., and in some European countries are available for significantly less than that.

 

[EagleWings]

Hey everybody.
Would you be so kind and help me choose some headphones pairing good with x3II. I.m looking for a warm, smooth sound and something that are not missing the bass. I prefer closed headphones and the budget arround 350.
I would like something that don.t need extra amp, something that working great direct from HO of the x3.
Any sugestions/ advises would be very welcome.
What do u think would be the best match in this range (arround 350) for this player ?
Thanks a lot in advance.

 
+1 on the MDR-1A. I am not sure what your bass quantity preference is, but here are some closed back headphones in the price range that are smooth with different levels of bass:
 
V-Moda M100 - Heavy Bass. Medium comfort but the most portable of the lot. Bass: 4/5
Sony MDR-1A - Good bass. Most comfortable of the lot and pretty portable. Bass 3/5
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 - Good bass and mids. Medium comfort but very portable. Bass: 3/5
Nad Viso HP50 - Subtle bass and good mids. Good comfort and pretty portable: Bass: ~2/5

 

[goodyfresh]

   
+1 on the MDR-1A. I am not sure what your bass quantity preference is, but here are some closed back headphones in the price range that are smooth with different levels of bass:
 
V-Moda M100 - Heavy Bass. Medium comfort but the most portable of the lot. Bass: 4/5
Sony MDR-1A - Good bass. Most comfortable of the lot and pretty portable. Bass 3/5
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 - Good bass and mids. Medium comfort but very portable. Bass: 3/5
Nad Viso HP50 - Subtle bass and good mids. Good comfort and pretty portable: Bass: ~2/5

Isn't the Momentum 2.0 a bit beyond the 350 dollar price-range right now?  Or am I mistaken?  Last time I checked it was pretty darn overpriced.
 
Yeah, another good point to make about the MDR-1A is the comfort.  It is like, ABSURDLY comfortable.
 
One thing to note about using either the V-Moda headphones OR the Sony MDR-1A as portables for walking around town is this:  WIND NOISE!  The MDR-1A have bass-ports on the top and when it gets fairly windy it starts to make some pretty annoying noise when the air blows through those ports.  Meanwhile, V-Moda headphones use "V-ports" for bass on the side, and get CRAZY-bad wind-noise when any kind of breeze begins to pick up, really.  Used to drive me nuts with my old V-Moda M-80 on-ears, and I know for a fact that the M-100 uses the exact same V-Ports on the side as the M-80.

In your rating system here, is "good" comfort or "medium" comfort the better of those two adjectives?  Also, the NAD Viso P50 is comfortable?  Really?  Most folks seem to think it has MAJOR issues with comfort due to the really strangely shaped headband.
 
The V-Moda M-100 are, by all accounts, true basshead cans.  As opposed to the MDR-1A which have boosted bass BORDERING on basshead-levels, but still a few decibels less boosted than what it would take to really be basshead headphones.
 
Any of the headphones in that list should be driven very well (to their full potential, easily) by the X3ii DAP.

 

[EagleWings]

 
Isn't the Momentum 2.0 a bit beyond the 350 dollar price-range right now?  Or am I mistaken?  Last time I checked it was pretty darn overpriced.
 
Yeah, another good point to make about the MDR-1A is the comfort.  It is like, ABSURDLY comfortable.
 
One thing to note about using either the V-Moda headphones OR the Sony MDR-1A as portables for walking around town is this:  WIND NOISE!  The MDR-1A have bass-ports on the top and when it gets fairly windy it starts to make some pretty annoying noise when the air blows through those ports.  Meanwhile, V-Moda headphones use "V-ports" for bass on the side, and get CRAZY-bad wind-noise when any kind of breeze begins to pick up, really.  Used to drive me nuts with my old V-Moda M-80 on-ears, and I know for a fact that the M-100 uses the exact same V-Ports on the side as the M-80.

In your rating system here, is "good" comfort or "medium" comfort the better of those two adjectives?  Also, the NAD Viso P50 is comfortable?  Really?  Most folks seem to think it has MAJOR issues with comfort due to the really strangely shaped headband.
 
The V-Moda M-100 are, by all accounts, true basshead cans.  As opposed to the MDR-1A which have boosted bass BORDERING on basshead-levels, but still a few decibels less boosted than what it would take to really be basshead headphones.
 
Any of the headphones in that list should be driven very well (to their full potential, easily) by the X3ii DAP.

 
The Momentum 2.0's retail at $350. And there was this one week when both Sennheiser and Amazon had slashed the price off Mom 2.0 and were selling for $300. 
 
Thanks for the heads-up about the wind noise. I have only had the chance to try these cans indoors.
 
You are right about HP50's comfort level. I should have refrained from mentioning it. But I have come across some who have found it to be comfortable.

 

[goodyfresh]

   
The Momentum 2.0's retail at $350. And there was this one week when both Sennheiser and Amazon had slashed the price off Mom 2.0 and were selling for $300. 
 
Thanks for the heads-up about the wind noise. I have only had the chance to try these cans indoors.
 
You are right about HP50's comfort level. I should have refrained from mentioning it. But I have come across some who have found it to be comfortable.

Yeah.  The wind noise with the MDR-1A is a noticable nuisance, for sure, but with V-Moda headphones with their "V-ports" on the side the wind noise becomes downright maddening. 

 
That crap about the comfort of the HP50 and the fact they made such a weirdly shaped headband, just irks me, really.  Uncomfortable headphones piss me off, in-general.  Focal, NAD, etc. . .so many companies seem to go out of their way to engineer AWESOME headphones when it comes to their sound, while completely ignoring the fact that hey, people are going to actually be wearing these on their frigging heads for hours at a time!

 

[otherlives]

No issues with the comfort of the HP50's in my opinion. The x3ii easily powers them (should be obvious).

 

[Lilas]

Hey.
Thanks a lot for the fast and in detail reply.
I was considering also MDR 1A (first) and then momentums 2.0. In my country MDR 1A is 220 usd and momentums 360 usd.
(1) I'm not sure but I.m asking: Is it worth this price difference for momentums in sound quality on x3ii ?
(2) Did you try E12A amp paired with X3ii? Is it worth the money to add this amp to x3 or I can live happy with sound x3ii have from HO ?
Thanks again.

 

[EagleWings]

Hey.
Thanks a lot for the fast and in detail reply.
I was considering also MDR 1A (first) and then momentums 2.0. In my country MDR 1A is 220 usd and momentums 360 usd.
(1) I'm not sure but I.m asking: Is it worth this price difference for momentums in sound quality on x3ii ?
(2) Did you try E12A amp paired with X3ii? Is it worth the money to add this amp to x3 or I can live happy with sound x3ii have from HO ?
Thanks again.

 
1) Go with the MDR-1A. The price $140 difference does not justify the slight sound quality difference IMO.
2) I have not tried the E12A. But I can say for certain that X3ii has more than sufficient power for MDR-1A.