[Randius]

The X3's design looks great together with the E11 or E7. Was thinking of picking up a iPod 5.5G but will choose this one instead.

 

[meyameya]

Sorry if I doubt what's written on the main page but.. is it true that it's coming out march-ish? the same time as E11? o.O

 

[ClieOS]

I think there are some miscommunication during all the posts - X3 is supposed to release around March, E11 is supposed to be released before that.

 

[meyameya]

SWEET!!!! Can't wait for someone to get this and make a review! From what I've been reading, the OS features are pretty sufficient. I guess the only complaint would be the battery.. I mean 10 hours is fine.. but only if those are 10 hours playing FLAC files.. I mean, if i'm not mistaken, the higher the bit rate of the file being played, the faster the battery runs out.. so 10 hours of FLAC playtime would be a bit longer for 320 kbps files? oh well.. I'm glad I found this thread right when I was about to buy a cowon.. patience........

 

[hotsport]

I am wondering why X3 draining battery so much that it can only run for 10hr.
I mean it doesn't have a powerful amp like those in Hifiman
or big screen and duo dac chip like s;flo2

 

[xzobinx]

Quote:

I am wondering why X3 draining battery so much that it can only run for 10hr.
I mean it doesn't have a powerful amp like those in Hifiman
or big screen and duo dac chip like s;flo2

may be it's like those clip+ which neither have powerful amp nor duo dac but can only run for 10hr :-?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Maybe the circuit doesn't defeat the headphone out, lineout or digital out when you plug something into one of them? If this is the case, personally I won't really need the FW or the circuit to do that automatically; I'd rather manually set which remains on, and have all three running if I want to. I hope there's still time to work that in there, assuming this is the problem. They did say that was the pre-prod prototype or something, so it's possible this might improve by 20% or so if this is the issue. In any case I didn't catch what headphone or earphone was used to get that, they could've used a 32ohm Grado, set a little louder to compensate for the lack of isolation, for example.
 
On a related note, my Zen MX gets about 6hours on the SR225 and just over an hour on the HD600 reading 320kbps from the external card. And since my main portable, an iPod Video, gets about 8hours on the lineout playing 320kbps, and the 9v amp gets about 12hours but needs 6 hours to charge its NiMH battery, I'm sure the X3 will charge faster and hence still be more convenient. I'll just bring both this and the iPod along if I need to fly or sail for over 10hours. And since I have a Fiio distributor and dealer in my city, getting a replacement batt for this is most likely easier than getting one for the S:Flo if I get too many cycles on it within 2 years.

 

[hotsport]

Quote:

may be it's like those clip+ which neither have powerful amp nor duo dac but can only run for 10hr :-?

I think that because the clip+ is small and has small battery
The X3 is kindda big and thick so It should last like 20-30hr imho

 

[singh]

fiio said they could make X3 to have large battery life but then thye would be sacrificing on sound quality.
i choose soundquality over battery life.
 
 

 

[Coupe]

Especially when it will have a swappable cell phone battery.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

oh man, I can't wait for the FiiO X3. I want digital out, replaceable cell phone battery and excellent sound quality.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Quote:

Especially when it will have a swappable cell phone battery.

That's the E11. The X3 will have a semi-permanent battery like the E7.
 
I have no problems with 10 hours of usage. It's about what I get out of my iPod Classic and is easily good enough for a week's worth of daily commutes with no recharging.

 

[BlutoSlice]

Put me down for both a E11 and X3. Keep up the good work Fiio !

 

[BlackbeardBen]

Quote:

Quote:

Right... but the complaint is that the X3 will only support up to 32 GB.
 
Personally I feel that's plenty.

in my experience when a company says supports up to just means thats they have tested it up to.  ive had several phones that siad they supported up to 2gb but happily worked with 8

 
 
The problem with devices rated at 2 GB max is that many of them only work with FAT16 file systems - meaning that they will not under any circumstances work with bigger cards.  Obviously that's rarely the case anymore.  But, for example, the Nikon D1/D1H/D1X cameras can't take any larger cards.
 
 
 
 
 
Anyway, I myself would love to see a better DAC; something that would really allow the E9/E11 to shine.  The E7 DAC certainly seems to be the limiting factor in the E7/E9 combo...  I'd be willing to spend significantly more for a better DAC section if it meant that the X3 would serve as a much better source/DAC for the E9.
 
Then again, am I correct in assuming that the E17 is probably going to dock with the E9 as well?  Then it may indeed make sense to save on the X3 DAC, for the three to be used together in different situations.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

The E7 DAC certainly seems to be the limiting factor in the E7/E9 combo...  I'd be willing to spend significantly more for a better DAC section if it meant that the X3 would serve as a much better source/DAC for the E9.

 
Actually the WM8740 is quite capable. It is still one of Wolfson best DAC chip. It is just the way it has to be implemented on E7 that limited the function (i.e. PCM270x to handle the USB stream since WM8740 can't do USB directly). X3 won't have that problem since it doesn't need to function as an USB DAC, Of course there is still the limitation of parts quality - FiiO simply can't afford to put in the best possible audiophile parts into the DAC (or any section of X3) since they don't intend to charge you a big price tag over it.