The FiiO X3 Thread UPDATE: Project Back On! Read the First Post for Information.

[musicday]

Hi, yeah i knew about ALAC but i meant that with Rockbox can play FLAC, and other codecs..Hope X3 will suport SDXC and can play 24/96 KHZ.
Quote:

lolwut... Ever heard of ALAC?
 

 

 

[JoetheArachnid]

It's not like FLAC is in some way superior to ALAC, or any other lossless medium. They're all essentially the same waveform, just packed into different coloured boxes.
James has said that the X3 will support up to 24/192 and possibly SDXC sizes but not speeds. There was a list of natively supported formats somewhere, and FLAC was definitely on it.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

It's not like FLAC is in some way superior to ALAC, or any other lossless medium. They're all essentially the same waveform, just packed into different coloured boxes.
James has said that the X3 will support up to 24/192 and possibly SDXC sizes but not speeds. There was a list of natively supported formats somewhere, and FLAC was definitely on it.

I think FLAC is superior in matter of compatibility, specially if you own several DAPs.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Sorry, I should have specified that I meant in terms of sound specifically. I agree on compatability grounds though - I have a bunch of FLACs that I've converted to ALACs for iPod use, yet I keep the original FLAC files because they're more versatile. Doubling the size of a good part of my music collection isn't much fun.

 

[scannon18]

FLAC and ALAC both fine by me, as I can easily convert them all with db power amp.  Now, whether the new iPhone (to bring this back to my earlier post) will be able to deliver a clean enough signal through the HO or LO is another question entirely. . .  but having sampled some ALAC through the touch 3g I can say that it was a very pleasant experience and the iPhone 5 will probably boast a further improvement to SQ.
 
But back to the X3, so far I am loving what I'm seeing, and this is looking like a very appealing DAP.  I hope that a lot of companies look to make DAPs with similar capabilities

 

[Carlosfandango]

Scannon, this is by no means a criticism towards you but more generally speaking.

I don't understand using iPhones as a DAP. This thread is full of people bemoaning touch screens, or asking for dedicated tactile buttons, we even discussed the layout of the play/pause/skip buttons earlier.... People don't like taking their DAP out of their pocket etc etc
....all possible because we are helping to develop a DEDICATED music player.

I use me iPhone for calendar reminders, text, Facebook, to make and receive calls, shareprice checking .... All of which would get in the way of listening to music.

Hence my interest and use of dedicated music players over smart phone doubling as a dap.

 

[styx100]

 
Well I have read every page so far……………………………………………………!
I have been looking for a dap for the last year or so hoping for something to come along, looks like I’m not the only one
I hope it’s going to be the Fiio x3 that does it for me.
I started out with a IPod Nano 3G, using it to take my mind of the gym workouts, I also started using it when laying out in the garden and listening properly to high bit rate MP3’3, then came the traveling bit, so bought some Bose’s QC 15’s these suppressed lots of airplane and coach noise, never the best environment to listen to music anyway.
I bought the Fiio E6 using line out, and this really made a difference to my listening pleasure as the bass came to life on the Bose and the music sounded much more real, I then bought a Fiio E7 didn’t sound any better than the E6 in my opinion but using the Fiio E7 with my note book and using the USB audio the sound was excellent as it bypassed the horrid sound card in my notebook.
Now my Klipsch S4 £50 in ear phones are fine but a different type of sound, it’s going on in your head and the bass relies on a good seal when fitting, much of the improvements are lost, but it’s still a better quality of sound and more restful and less harsh than without the Fiio setups.
Of course the biggest differences in sound quality are using very high bit rates MP3 or FLAC.
My hope is Fiio will get it right with the X3, I just hope it’s not going to have issues, what with having with no on-board memory, also the size and weight could be an issue, the price has got to be right as the Cowon J3 will be a very tempting alternative for me.
 
 
Styx100

 

[musicday]

If Fiio X3 can handle 24 bit 96/196 khz easy and have SDXC support and at least 15 h battery life i am ready to pay up to £200 for it.
I hope that Fiio will get it right and make this a great DAP competitor to Hifiman 801.Let's hope that SQ will be amazing.

 

[Achmedisdead]

I could care less about 24/96 playback. And given the lack of internal memory, then you have to factor in the cost of the cards when you consider this player. If you do a Google Shopping search for the cards.....this will not be a "budget" player the way the E3 and E5 amps are "budget". I am curious to see the final result, to be sure....but I can't help but wonder what the real-world cost will really turn out to be.

 

[Pratt]

Quote:

I could care less about 24/96 playback. And given the lack of internal memory, then you have to factor in the cost of the cards when you consider this player. If you do a Google Shopping search for the cards.....this will not be a "budget" player the way the E3 and E5 amps are "budget". I am curious to see the final result, to be sure....but I can't help but wonder what the real-world cost will really turn out to be.

Agreed. Especially about the 24/96...just snake oil. 16/44 is as good as it gets SQ wise. Won't argue this though (nothing to argue and off topic), people should research it on their own anyway.
 
It is true that most/many on here will already have cards though, but yea the SDXC is expensive and will be for awhile. I'm more than happy with my 16 gig SDHC though, plenty of room for my FLAC files when I use a DAP for exercise/chores/yard work/etc. I have a terabyte of FLAC files on the computer and hardly need my whole music library on a little portable player so I don't care about anything more than 20ish gigs. 
 
I am looking to replace my Cowon D2 and if this has good SQ and is around $150 I'll look at it. Otherwise, another Cowon will be more than fine. External DAC's and all that are nice, but I never critically listen to music on a DAP anyway though I do enjoy good sound.

 

[styx100]

[size=small]The more I read of others thoughts on the subject the more I realise what I want, simply 32Gig + of storage, Flac & MP3 playback, easy access to the music,  album art and integrated headphone amp with decent battery life.[/size]
[size=small]I do hope Fiio haven’t blown it with no internal memory and a chunky design.[/size]
[size=small]It will have to be a Cowon J3 killer?[/size]
[size=small]The Killer blows will be sound quality and price.[/size]
[size=small] [/size]
[size=small]Simple needs[/size]
[size=small]Styx100[/size]

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I could care less about 24/96 playback. And given the lack of internal memory, then you have to factor in the cost of the cards when you consider this player. If you do a Google Shopping search for the cards.....this will not be a "budget" player the way the E3 and E5 amps are "budget". I am curious to see the final result, to be sure....but I can't help but wonder what the real-world cost will really turn out to be.

The cost of the cards is the same whether I buy them for an X3 or a Clip+.  My $25 Clip+ has 2GB internal so basically nothing anyway.  I think its a mistake to compare the X3 to the E3/5.  Not even the same tier of product.  It's obviously above the E7 based on feature set alone.  I also do care for 24/192.  It's nice to be able to play the music you have don't you think?  Or should I have to convert my files to be used on some random DAP?
 

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

The cost of the cards is the same whether I buy them for an X3 or a Clip+.  My $25 Clip+ has 2GB internal so basically nothing anyway.  I think its a mistake to compare the X3 to the E3/5.  Not even the same tier of product.  It's obviously above the E7 based on feature set alone.  I also do care for 24/192.  It's nice to be able to play the music you have don't you think?  Or should I have to convert my files to be used on some random DAP?
 

My bad.....I was referring to  SDXC cards in particular, and I did not make that clear.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

My bad.....I was referring to  SDXC cards in particular, and I did not make that clear.

No worries.  I'm still not convinced the SDXC support will come through.  I'm always skeptical about promises of future spec compliance for infinite reasons.  IF it did happen, at least the option is there.  IF....
 

 

[scannon18]

Quote:

Scannon, this is by no means a criticism towards you but more generally speaking.

I don't understand using iPhones as a DAP. This thread is full of people bemoaning touch screens, or asking for dedicated tactile buttons, we even discussed the layout of the play/pause/skip buttons earlier.... People don't like taking their DAP out of their pocket etc etc
....all possible because we are helping to develop a DEDICATED music player.

I use me iPhone for calendar reminders, text, Facebook, to make and receive calls, shareprice checking .... All of which would get in the way of listening to music.

Hence my interest and use of dedicated music players over smart phone doubling as a dap.

I can understand if the bulk of you guys want a dedicated music player, but I think a music player integrated with my phone that has wireless internet capabilities would be really cool, especially since the iPhone is, quite honestly, a fantastic music player (at least the iphone 4 in my experience with it)
 
So if I can integrate all of that good stuff without any loss in sound quality, why not?  I own an iPod touch, and I just don't use many apps.  I only use it for music, and nothing really "gets in the way" of my listening experience.  I imagine I would have a similar experience with iPhone 5 (which should be available in 64gb)