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

[Skullbox]

Like Poo said I like the warmer sound of the X1 right now but I won't be giving my X3ii away.

My IEM is on the warm side, so I think with the X3ii, all will be fine then! Otherwise, I will just add an amp!

 

[Zojokkeli]

 
Just showing some love for FiiO. My old X1 I gifted for my fiancee, and my X3II.

 

[Skullbox]

Just showing some love for FiiO. My old X1 I gifted for my fiancee, and my X3II.

Nice move to share your love for FiiO to your fiancee! She will love for years! Nice case, brown color, from FiiO ? Is it fit snugy ?

 

[svardie]

Hi everyone! Is it right choise to use Fiio X3II for all kinds of rock music with my Shure SE535? Will it give me nice, strong and clear bass? Do i need AMP for this "Bass Boost" function on it? Maybe i should look at X1+AMP combo instead? Or maybe even X5 from ebay, price almost similiar. My previous device was Cowon J3 and it was pretty damn nice for my music. I also had Hifiman HM603, but it broke up too fast, and has too bright sound for my IEM. Sorry for that many questions, but i m absolutely stuck and need advice.

 

[thepooh]

Hi everyone! Is it right choise to use Fiio X3II for all kinds of rock music with my Shure SE535? Will it give me nice, strong and clear bass? Do i need AMP for this "Bass Boost" function on it? Maybe i should look at X1+AMP combo instead? Or maybe even X5 from ebay, price almost similiar. My previous device was Cowon J3 and it was pretty damn nice for my music. I also had Hifiman HM603, but it broke up too fast, and has too bright sound for my IEM. Sorry for that many questions, but i m absolutely stuck and need advice.

It's better that you read reviews from accurate and experienced headfiers (brooko, twister6...)

To my ears, the X3II is neutral with a wide soundstage and has a lot of power, but sounds best when paired with the E11k IMHO.

The SE846 sounds very very good with this dap, I don't have the 535 anymore but the signature is quite similar, I'm a rock lover and I find that this dap is one of the best for this genre

 

[Zojokkeli]

Nice move to share your love for FiiO to your fiancee! She will love for years! Nice case, brown color, from FiiO ? Is it fit snugy ?

 
Yeah, it's the FiiO case. It fits the X3II very nicely.

 

[Zojokkeli]

Hi everyone! Is it right choise to use Fiio X3II for all kinds of rock music with my Shure SE535? Will it give me nice, strong and clear bass? Do i need AMP for this "Bass Boost" function on it? Maybe i should look at X1+AMP combo instead? Or maybe even X5 from ebay, price almost similiar. My previous device was Cowon J3 and it was pretty damn nice for my music. I also had Hifiman HM603, but it broke up too fast, and has too bright sound for my IEM. Sorry for that many questions, but i m absolutely stuck and need advice.

 
Depends how heavy bass you're after, but SE535 and X3II are a good combination. I upgraded from SE535's to EarSonics Velvets because I wanted more bass, and I couldn't be happier with the result. 

 

[Skullbox]

Depends how heavy bass you're after, but SE535 and X3II are a good combination. I upgraded from SE535's to EarSonics Velvets because I wanted more bass, and I couldn't be happier with the result. 

I still have SE535 as well. I've changed/upgraded by the time for the Westone W4r. Shure was too bassy, to warm for my taste, paired with my X1.

I will see if my W4r will pair or not with my newcomming X3ii.

 

[fourrobert13]

Just want to report that my Sandisk 200 gig card arrived a week early.  I'm happy to say it formatted in the player without any problems.  I then used my Transcend USB 3.0 card reader to fill it up (took two days).  Once done, I loaded it in the player and updated the media library to get a file count.  18,504 tracks on my X3 now and it took around 6 minutes to update the library (all mp3's).  So far so good and all of my files appear in folder view which is all I use anyway.  

 

[thepooh]

Just want to report that my Sandisk 200 gig card arrived a week early.  I'm happy to say it formatted in the player without any problems.  I then used my Transcend USB 3.0 card reader to fill it up (took two days).  Once done, I loaded it in the player and updated the media library to get a file count.  18,504 tracks on my X3 now and it took around 6 minutes to update the library (all mp3's).  So far so good and all of my files appear in folder view which is all I use anyway.  

Good to know

I'm thinking about to upgrade from 128 to 200Gb too, So that I could put more DSD on it, imagine that some albums can take as big as 4.8Gb

 

[Blazer39]

It's better that you read reviews from accurate and experienced headfiers (brooko, twister6...)

To my ears, the X3II is neutral with a wide soundstage and has a lot of power, but sounds best when paired with the E11k IMHO.

The SE846 sounds very very good with this dap, I don't have the 535 anymore but the signature is quite similar, I'm a rock lover and I find that this dap is one of the best for this genre

how much does X3II benefits from E11K?
 
i did pair with fiio e6 and there was very slight improvement in sound..will the E11K have better results?

 

[Brooko]

  how much does X3II benefits from E11K?
 
i did pair with fiio e6 and there was very slight improvement in sound..will the E11K have better results?

 
In my experience it doesn't.
 
The X3ii will put 224 mW into 16 ohms, 200 mW into 32 ohms, and 24 mW into 300 ohms
 
The E11K (or A3) will put 450 mW into 16 ohms, 270 mW into 32 ohms, and maybe about 30 mW into 300 ohms
 
Now before you talk about the extra power - lets see what that power will actually do.  Unless you have extremely hard to drive (low sensitivity) headphones at 16 ohms, and even at 32 ohms, that extra power is wasted. In a real world example - go line-out from X3ii to E11K with a low impedance headphone or IEM and see how much of the pot is usable.  Get my point?
 
I have the E11K and the X3ii.  There is very little difference (if any) sonically between the X3ii line out and headphone out. I've checked volume matched - and I couldn't tell them apart in a blind test. I really doubt too many others would either.
 
The benefits of adding an amp to the X3ii are:

1. Extending battery life (through not using the X3iis internal amp)
2. Adding hardware EQ (bass boost), or in the case of the E17K I use - tone controls

 
If you're counting on sonic improvement past those two points, you're going to be disappointed.
 
However - if you're not volume matching, and not testing blind, and you want to believe that its adding some sonic magic - all that matters is what you think.  If it gives you pleasure, then it is right 

 

 

[Skullbox]

In my experience it doesn't.

The X3ii will put 224 mW into 16 ohms, 200 mW into 32 ohms, and 24 mW into 300 ohms

The E11K (or A3) will put 450 mW into 16 ohms, 270 mW into 32 ohms, and maybe about 30 mW into 300 ohms

Now before you talk about the extra power - lets see what that power will actually do.  Unless you have extremely hard to drive (low sensitivity) headphones at 16 ohms, and even at 32 ohms, that extra power is wasted. In a real world example - go line-out from X3ii to E11K with a low impedance headphone or IEM and see how much of the pot is usable.  Get my point?

I have the E11K and the X3ii.  There is very little difference (if any) sonically between the X3ii line out and headphone out. I've checked volume matched - and I couldn't tell them apart in a blind test. I really doubt too many others would either.

The benefits of adding an amp to the X3ii are:

• Extending battery life (through not using the X3iis internal amp)
• Adding hardware EQ (bass boost), or in the case of the E17K I use - tone controls

If you're counting on sonic improvement past those two points, you're going to be disappointed.

However - if you're not volume matching, and not testing blind, and you want to believe that its adding some sonic magic - all that matters is what you think.  If it gives you pleasure, then it is right   

Right on!

If I will like somemore sonic improvement from my X3ii and my IEM,(W4r) which of this two amp will be the way to go ? E12a ou E17k ?

 

[Androbot v4]

Hello Headfiers,
 
I lost my current set of In ears

, so I need to purchase a new one, confused between, Audio Technica CKR9 or CKR10, price difference is not an issue, but only if CKR10 is worth that extra dollars.
 
Thanks!

 

[fourrobert13]

Right on!

If I will like somemore sonic improvement from my X3ii and my IEM,(W4r) which of this two amp will be the way to go ? E12a ou E17k ?

e12a unless you need unless you need the DAC of the E17k (you already have a DAC in the X3).