[ClieOS]

If it is Apple Lossless, then transcoding shouldn't be too much of a problem. FLAC and APE codec are free to use. MP3 and WMA all need licensing, though this is usually covered by the controller supplier which provides the codec solution (WMA license is dirt cheap too, IIRC, since M$ really want people to use it). What I understand is AAC licensing is slightly more expensive than MP3 (volume dependant too). The controller supplier probably didn't apply for the license, so no ACC supported.

 

[Riku540]

Welp, perfectly fine by me.
 
Just hope it isn't a deal-breaker for some people; FiiO deserves our support given not only their quality products and excellent prices, but their communication and dedication to our community.

 

[JamesFiiO]

I enjoy the equal, constructive, innovative, understanding in here! it is my pleasure to discuss with you !

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Apple lossless support would be great, but honestly it's not a huge deal-breaker. Frankly I'd be happy to be able to abandon something else made by Apple... It's annoying though, 'cause I've got a good few albums where I've converted the FLAC into ALAC then deleted the original FLAC files to save space. Technically there should be no loss converting it back again, but it's a hassle and I get finicky about this kind of thing.
CUE support is fantastic though. I have a few albums around that are just a monolithic file and a .cue, so not having to break them apart will be very helpful.
Any word on the expected price range yet?

 

[Francisco]

If it'll have a line level input (or mic input), I'll definitely buy one

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Quote:

If it'll have a line level input (or mic input), I'll definitely buy one

Why would you want that? It's neither a phone, an amp nor a memo device. It's a digital audio player. Some of the suggestions people make boggle the mind...

 

[JRG1990]

This looks interesting, i espeacially like the coax out it will be really useful for me since my 2.1 system has coax in, but what kind of coax socket is that it doesn't look like a standard coax rca?.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

This looks interesting, i espeacially like the coax out it will be really useful for me since my 2.1 system has coax in, but what kind of coax socket is that it doesn't look like a standard coax rca?.

I think you need an adapter?  I think it's miniplug.

 

[wichogt]

Quote:

This looks interesting, i espeacially like the coax out it will be really useful for me since my 2.1 system has coax in, but what kind of coax socket is that it doesn't look like a standard coax rca?.

you need a cable like this one:
 

 
 
or something like this
 

 
any DIY cable with an RCA plug on one side and 3.5mm (mono) plug on the other side will do the job, preferably a cable with 75 ohm impedance.

 

[JRG1990]

It's a standard 3.5mm socket for the coax then??, i can have a cable made up 3.5mm to phono rca coax it's not a problem but will be more wasted money as i already have a perfectly good coax rca to rca cable, i have never seen a 3.5mm coax connector before seems dumb but i can see why it was done cause you don't want a rca coax socket on a portable player it would stick out to much, but why not an toslink optical out instead, at least its a standardized socket and people wouldn't have to mess around trying to find silly adaptors and cables.

 

[Francisco]

 
Quote:

Quote:

If it'll have a line level input (or mic input), I'll definitely buy one

Why would you want that? It's neither a phone, an amp nor a memo device. It's a digital audio player. Some of the suggestions people make boggle the mind...

 
Hello my mind-boggled friend,
 
Line-in level, so I could plug it to my turntable and rip some vinyl, for example. A Mic Input would probably be asking too much, a line-level input would be enough. It would allow people to plug a nice diy pre-amp that would enable the use of a set of electrec mics for binaural field recordings (quite popular between headphone enthusiasts, if you didn't know).
 
The DAP that I'm currently using has a line level input and there are a few others out there that have like the Cowon X5, some Iriver and so on. However, they are all outdated, obsolete - mine only lets me record to 160kb/s MP3 files and it doesn't even have a memory card slot. If Fiio released a player with this simple feature it would be usefull for more than a few people.
 
Cheers and happy New Year.

 

[Anaxilus]

toslink was discussed a few pages back.

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

In fact, the SQ through coaxial will be better than optical !
 
Through coaxial, (SOURECE) SPDIF OUT----COAXIAL CABLE---SPDIF IN (DECODER)
 
Through optical, (SOURECE) SPDIF Signal ----Electro-light converter ---light-----OPTICAL CABLE---light-----Light-Electro converter-----SPDIF IN (DECODER)
 
So, in most time the optical will be more complex and may have bigger jitter distortion!
 
But in some situation, like there are very big electromagnetic interference from the source or from outside, the optical will help to protect the signal! it can isolate the source and the decoder in electro!
 

What about the problems brought on by using a connector, and likely a conductor, not conforming wihe the 75Ω standard?
What will happen if you plug your precious IEMs into the coax jack by a mistake?
 
And do not forget the practicability of toslink due to the possibility of using one combo jack for both digital and analogue signals, as many computers, portable recording devices and the aforementioned iRiver models do.

 

[JRG1990]

Thats a good point where do you find a 3.5mm jack thats 75Ω , it might be better to have a coax dock with a proper phono rca socket, rather than a built in 3.5mm coax connector.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Quote:

Hello my mind-boggled friend,
 
Line-in level, so I could plug it to my turntable and rip some vinyl, for example. A Mic Input would probably be asking too much, a line-level input would be enough. It would allow people to plug a nice diy pre-amp that would enable the use of a set of electrec mics for binaural field recordings (quite popular between headphone enthusiasts, if you didn't know).
 
The DAP that I'm currently using has a line level input and there are a few others out there that have like the Cowon X5, some Iriver and so on. However, they are all outdated, obsolete - mine only lets me record to 160kb/s MP3 files and it doesn't even have a memory card slot. If Fiio released a player with this simple feature it would be usefull for more than a few people.
 
Cheers and happy New Year.

 
What you're talking about would require a dedicated ADC (analogue-to-digital coverter), an ability to write large amounts of data to the card, a decent encoding facility and a load of other features that few other people would need. All this would take up battery life, space and money. For your purposes there are far better options in terms of equipment. FiiO seem to have a habit of executing things well, and if we keep on trying to pile on the features then we won't actually have the DAP we wanted any more.
The reason that those other players can record is because they're using cheap chips that combine DAC/ADC/opamp capability, doing none particularly well. The X3 will use a high-quality dedicated DAC (WM8740) and a dedicated opamp/driver chip - there simply isn't the space or money to put in a decent ADC. I'm sure you could possibly fit in a cheapo chip somehwere, but it would be a half-assed effort and that's not really FiiO's style. It would also be no better than what you currently have.
 
...perhaps you ought to petition FiiO about a future product instead?
 
Quote:

Thats a good point where do you find a 3.5mm jack thats 75Ω , it might be better to have a coax dock with a proper phono rca socket, rather than a built in 3.5mm coax connector.

I don't think the impedance of the jack actually matters at all. In fact, the 75ohm cable doesn't even matter an awful lot, but certainly it'll work better with one. There is absolutely nothing at all in any way wrong with using a TS jack instead of a phono socket. All you need is a connector with two contacts for coax, which TS does nicely and compactly. There is zero adavantage to having a fullsize RCA jack unless you want the player to be an inch thick. All that's needed is an adapter, which I'm sure FiiO could provide.
 
My only complaint is that a 2.5mm socket might be better, so as to stop people from accidentally plugging in headphones.