[fourrobert13]

I'll add that I had a set of Grado SR60e.  I found the Grado too harsh.  I'd would also agree it's the headphones and not the X3II.

 

[danmlr]

The term "warm" is the most over used and abused term on head fi. 
 
The X3ii is not warm at all. It is a dark sounding DAP with rolled off treble. 

 

[JWolf]

  The term "warm" is the most over used and abused term on head fi. 
 
The X3ii is not warm at all. It is a dark sounding DAP with rolled off treble. 

 
Again nonsense.

 

[oldschool]

  The term "warm" is the most over used and abused term on head fi. 
 
The X3ii is not warm at all. It is a dark sounding DAP with rolled off treble. 

 
lulz, okay

 

[Brooko]

  The term "warm" is the most over used and abused term on head fi. 
 
The X3ii is not warm at all. It is a dark sounding DAP with rolled off treble. 

 
That's actually quite funny - because the very definition of warmth is usually bassy (and in particular mid-bass), and warmth can also be described as having rolled off high end and also dark.  So you saying its not warm, and then in the same sentence that its dark and has rolled off treble kinda doesn't make a lot of sense.
 
Anyway - here are the actual frequency plots - http://www.fiio.net/en/products/39/parameters
 
If you take a close look at them, it has a very slow roll-off between about 12-13K and 20K, but it's only about 1/3 of a dB so not really audible. Claims of a dark signature, or of roll-off are pretty misleading IMO.

 

[Grado Diesel]

The problem you are having with the X3II and Grado is the fault of the Grado. Grado is known to be overly bright and sometimes harsh. So yes, Grado does influence the sound and in most cases, not a good way.

What would be a good set of cans to pair with the X3 II?

 

[tracyrick]

My SE535's are my favorite with the X3II, pair up great. Overall balance is excellent. Driven really nice.
 
My Ety's don't seem to get enough power from it. Even the P version seems weak somehow, something isn't right there. Listening to Grado SR80 now and not too bad, not great either, seem a little weak also. The worst pairing so far is my ATH-M50X. The sound is distant and I have to turn them up quite a bit. I thought I liked these phones but my X3II is making them sound congested and distant. Maybe just revealing them as not such great phones? Wish I had a pair of really good phones to try out, best I can recommend is the SE535.

 

[JWolf]

I use PSB M4U 2. They go well. You want cans that are not on the bright side and that are fairly neutral.

 

[Zweistein]

Another update of my high-contrast, bold font variation on the firmware, now the same for 1.4 and 2.0. Theme 1 is my favorite and quite green, 2 is the same but covering album art, 3 has lots of colour and a bigger font and a sailboat, 4 is the same but with pacman, 5 and 6 are Fiio's original with a bold font.
 
Themes 1 to 4 have larger playtime and track numbers (below the progress bar). The X3II grabs these number for the current theme when booting. so it doesn't follow suit right away when you change themes.
 
To install: copy the file X3II.fw under folder 1.4 or 2.0 to the root folder of the X3II's memory card, and restart it while pressing the button northwest of the scrolling wheel.
 
Stein

 

[howdy]

Just bought the FiiO X3ii in black, can't wait to get it.

 

[ilker]

Just bought the FiiO X3ii in black, can't wait to get it.

good choice X3ii is the best bang for you buck,
Download some DSD and experience 5.6Mhz/1bit ! its priceless...

 

[petervv]

hi Stein,
 
I just installed your new FW2.0 and love the better readability, thank you very much for the effort!
I do have a problem, whenever I click the 'now playing' or 'category' icons the X3 freezes into a white screen and all buttons stop responding (this used to work with the standard FW2.0)
Only by holding the on/off button I can get the player to power down, restarting and using the 'browse files' icon to select music works fine.
 
kind regards, Peter

 

[Zweistein]

  I do have a problem, whenever I click the 'now playing' or 'category' icons the X3 freezes into a white screen and all buttons stop responding (this used to work with the standard FW2.0)
Only by holding the on/off button I can get the player to power down, restarting and using the 'browse files' icon to select music works fine.
 
kind regards, Peter

Thank you. You're right, I'm getting sloppy. I don't see exactly what you describe, but it freezes when I go down one level in the category choices. It does that when images are missing, and I took them out to save space. Fixed on dropbox.
 
I don't see any problem with "Now playing" though. In which theme? What kind of file were you playing (though I don't think that would matter)?

 

[petervv]

hi Stein,
 
Yep, that fixed the problem, thanks for you ultra fast response
I was playing a flac file with theme 3 (and later theme 1) activated.
 
These new themes really increase my pleasure using the X3II, I guess the software developers at Fiio don't fall in the 50+ category
 
have a nice weekend, Peter

 

[petervv]

General remark about the X3II:  I love it !!

 
It replaced my iPod 5G-80GB filled with 192kbps AAC files, now I can finally listed to my (24bit) flac files at work and I can simply drag files to the card without using the hideous iTunes software.
 
It's connected to a iQube V1 amp and a Sennheiser 595 or Hifiman RE-400 and I can literally listen to it all day without thinking about it, the iPod lasted about an hour (with the same other hardware).
 
regards, Peter