[fourrobert13]

  Yep - really helps with battery life.  I haven't put a timer on it - but I'd estimate an increase from 11 to around 14-15 hours.

I have mine paired with the FiiO Q1.  I get 15 hours of playback this way and almost 11 hours when using OTG (Sandisk 128gig flash drive).  I recently picked up a 256 gig PNY flash drive, but haven't tested it yet to see how it does yet.

 

[goodyfresh]

  I have mine paired with the FiiO Q1.  I get 15 hours of playback this way and almost 11 hours when using OTG (Sandisk 128gig flash drive).  I recently picked up a 256 gig PNY flash drive, but haven't tested it yet to see how it does yet.

The other day was the first time I ever ran the X3ii long enough to get the battery down to zero.  I got about nine-and-a-half hours out of it.

 

[bruce1967]

  The other day was the first time I ever ran the X3ii long enough to get the battery down to zero.  I got about nine-and-a-half hours out of it.

I never timed mine exacly but I estimate I get about 10-11 hours of listening time using 16 bit flac on high gain with the volume around 20.

 

[goodyfresh]

  I never timed mine exacly but I estimate I get about 10-11 hours of listening time using 16 bit flac on high gain with the volume around 20.

I had it on low-gain but with the volume up to around 75 or 80.

 

[EagleWings]

  I never timed mine exacly but I estimate I get about 10-11 hours of listening time using 16 bit flac on high gain with the volume around 20.

 
Volume 20? Won't that be a bit quiet? I have a low impedance, very sensitive IEM and even on that I need at least a Volume of 25 on 'HG' and 'EQ Off' to be able to listen to music without straining my ears.

 

[bruce1967]

  I had it on low-gain but with the volume up to around 75 or 80.

It evens out I guess....are u using IEMs or headphones?

 

[fourrobert13]

  I had it on low-gain but with the volume up to around 75 or 80.

It's worth the investment to get an amp if you want to get more out of the X3II.  My purpose was just to extend the battery life, but the additional flavor the amp added was a nice bonus.  None of my headphones/earbuds are hard to drive.  I use my X3II daily at work for 8 hours then go home and may run it another 2 or 3 hours.  This just wasn't possible without the amp (especially if i was running my OTG setup).  I did the same thing with my X1 (paired it with a Topping NX1) and got the same results, but i prefer the X3II so the X1 gets used in my car these days.

 

[bruce1967]

   
Volume 20? Won't that be a bit quiet? I have a low impedance, very sensitive IEM and even on that I need at least a Volume of 25 on 'HG' and 'EQ Off' to be able to listen to music without straining my ears.

Oh yeah EQ off too...sometimes 20 is too low...I guess it depends on the volume of the recording. my wife has made me paranoid about hearing loss. 

 

[Coldheart29]

  I had it on low-gain but with the volume up to around 75 or 80.

Uhm, that seems a bit low. I usually run mine between 75 and 90, and get about 11 hours of play time. All 16/44 FLACs and 320kbps MP3s.

 

[fourrobert13]

  The other day was the first time I ever ran the X3ii long enough to get the battery down to zero.  I got about nine-and-a-half hours out of it.

I would agree ^^.  I would get 11 hours out of mine without an amp playing mp3s and flac.

 

[ngs428]

It's worth the investment to get an amp if you want to get more out of the X3II.  My purpose was just to extend the battery life, but the additional flavor the amp added was a nice bonus.  None of my headphones/earbuds are hard to drive.  I use my X3II daily at work for 8 hours then go home and may run it another 2 or 3 hours.  This just wasn't possible without the amp (especially if i was running my OTG setup).  I did the same thing with my X1 (paired it with a Topping NX1) and got the same results, but i prefer the X3II so the X1 gets used in my car these days.

I use my Philips X2 headphones with my X3II. No external amp currently but have been thinking about getting a Fiio amp. Maybe an E12A? Not sure if much would be improved other than battery life. Others have a similar setup? I also use my Grado 325e from time to time.

Thoughts?

 

[hitead]

Just received the X3ii, out of the box it sounds great with my CIEM's. 
 
Does anyone have any recommendations for a good amp to pair for higher impedance headphones?

 

[betula]

I use my Philips X2 headphones with my X3II. No external amp currently but have been thinking about getting a Fiio amp. Maybe an E12A? Not sure if much would be improved other than battery life. Others have a similar setup? I also use my Grado 325e from time to time.

Thoughts?

I haven't tried E12A, but I own Fidelio X2 and Fiio X3ii. X2 sounds just fine straight out from X3ii, but with a nice amp (especially desktop amps) the music experience is just a few levels higher. Cleaner sound, bigger space, bigger soundstage better extension, etc. Much more joy and fun. Like sitting into a Mercedes "S" class from a "C" class. A Mercedes C class is also a nice car. But the S class is just a jump in quality. X2-X3ii combo with a nice amp is a more quality listening experience. (Imho of course.)

 

[fourrobert13]

I use my Philips X2 headphones with my X3II. No external amp currently but have been thinking about getting a Fiio amp. Maybe an E12A? Not sure if much would be improved other than battery life. Others have a similar setup? I also use my Grado 325e from time to time.

Thoughts?

E12a is designed for iem's if i recall correctly.  Amps can add flavor depending on what you get.  Some have bass boost and some allow you to drive high impedance headphones. I think all headphones can benefit from an amp, but this is just my opinion.

 

[ngs428]

  E12a is designed for iem's if i recall correctly.  Amps can add flavor depending on what you get.  Some have bass boost and some allow you to drive high impedance headphones. I think all headphones can benefit from an amp, but this is just my opinion.

 
Yes, the E12a is for IEMs.  I have also been looking at the E12.  It is at about $100 on some sites.  I wanted to take a look on the Fiio website but it has been down for while now....