[TheGiantHogweed]

   
Which ?
 
I use my X3 mainly as a USB DAC at work where I prefer to use Foobar on my PC with >200GB of music, sometimes I use it as a DAP out and about or if I don't want to stream on my main stereo.
It suits my needs...

 
I sometimes struggle to understand why people would want to buy the X3 mainly for DAC use when the E17 is very similar and cheaper. If people are wanting to play muic through the X3, can't they just put the music file on the X3 itself?
 

If people are wantig a DAC that is at leaset capable of playing music on its own then the X3 is a good player to go for.

Yes, I obviously didn't notice this. I must have changed my mind part way through. Sorry.
I understand why people would want the X3 if they intend to use it as both a DAC and a music player. It is just from some posts I have seen on this thread, it does look like some people want the X3 just for DAC use. It is much more likely that they just haven't said that they also intend to use it for music occasionally. In that case, then the X3 will be fine and worth the extra cost. If anyone does just want to use it as a desktop DAC then the E17 will be cheaper and sound pretty much exactly the same. But then the X3 may be useful at times if you decide you want to start using it as a music player too. I sometimes wish that I could have saved a bit on the X3 and had it without the USB DAC feature. I have the E10 that I use at my desk with my PC well before I bought my X3. That suits me for listening to all my music at my computer.
 
I would have preferred it if I could have saved a bit by not getting the DAC feature on the X3 but then lots of people make good use of it. I use the E10 at home with my PC.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Hogweed. It is a matter of carrying one unit not two. Surely you understand size restrictions given your name. Explicitly referring to get em out by Friday

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Hogweed. It is a matter of carrying one unit not two. Surely you understand size restrictions given your name. Explicitly referring to get em out by Friday

I thought some people earlier were asking if you could use the USB of the X3 as a DAC from a phone. That would still be a lot to carry around.
Now I just use the X3 on its own and it is very lightweight and handy to use compared to what I was using previously. The iaudio X5L had the headphone output on the side of the unit. It does annoy me when music players are like that. They must assume that either you never put it in your pocket or you must always use a right angled jack. I used the line out of that to the E11 amp. That was very big and heavy and over twice the weight of the X3.
 
BTW I happen to really like get em out by Friday!

One of the best tracks. From what I could remember, I think my name happened to be the longest the forum would allow and it fits perfectly into the gap. I just like the name of this track.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Hogweed. Thought I would mention that the x3 goes to 192 kHz. The e07 that I have stops at 96 kHz

 

[originalsnuffy]

CarstenF. What is different that allows your solution to work compared to the apple camera connecting kit? Is it that you have an OTG. device or is it the use of a hub or both? I just want to understand the theory so I order an appropriate product to test. Thanks

I just pulled out my cck gear doe the ipad third gen and if definitely notes that the x3 requires too much power. So I am wondering what is the source of the magic you have discovered. Very interested. Thank you

 

[LordX]

Hey guys, I JUST got an email for the thread about firmware 3.34b - but it looks like its been out since november!
 
Is this the most current firmware/beta still?
 
If the sound is as good as 3.21b and 2.14b - and gapless works fine - then the other features look GREAT!

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Hogweed. Thought I would mention that the x3 goes to 192 kHz. The e07 that I have stops at 96 kHz

The E07 is quite different to the E17 though and that was the one I was talking about. The E17 is capable of going to 192kHZ so long as you use the digital coaxial input. (I think so anyway)

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

  Hey guys, I JUST got an email for the thread about firmware 3.34b - but it looks like its been out since november!
 
Is this the most current firmware/beta still?
 
If the sound is as good as 3.21b and 2.14b - and gapless works fine - then the other features look GREAT!

FW 3.3 and 3.34 have only been available in the last week or so. The might possibly have been available for beta testers to try out but I am not sure about that. 3.34 is easily the best sounding firmware I have heard on this device. It also has loads of improvements. It nor remembers the path you took to get to what you are listening to on the playing screen. It even remembers when you turn it off. Another feature added is play through files. That was one of the most annoying things that I really missed on the X3 until now. Once it gets to the end of one album in browse files, It now finds and plays the next automatically without you needing to find where you were yet again in browse files every time an album ended. The short cut to the main menu is different though. You have to do 1 long press to get to the quick menu and then one more long press when the quick menu is showing. If you don't use the shortcut, then it can sometimes take 10 or so clicks of the return button to get to the main menu depending on how many folders you have to go through. If you do a long press on the return button when a folder is selected, there is a delete option. This is useful but I couldn't work out if yes or no was selected. I selected the most obvious one and it ended up getting rid of 1/3 of my music. It didn't matter too much as I back everything up on my PC. Just to make people aware that the buttons can do very different things in this firmware!
 
It is worth trying if you go to this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/742014/official-x3-firmware-thread-3-34beta-removed-5800-song-limit-play-through-folders-happy-chinese-new-year
 
Since is the main X3 thread, I think it is best not to talk about beta firmwares too much here.

 

[maniac2003]

  Hey guys, I JUST got an email for the thread about firmware 3.34b - but it looks like its been out since november!
 
Is this the most current firmware/beta still?
 
If the sound is as good as 3.21b and 2.14b - and gapless works fine - then the other features look GREAT!

3.34 beta is the latest it's just released. Look at the edited time of the post (2014-02-11).

 

[jimmers]

  3.34 beta is the latest it's just released. Look at the edited time of the post (2014-02-11).

I have 2015-02-11, or 2nd of February this year (but x3.fw from the 9th of Feb)
(Joe must have forgotten it's 2015 now

)

 

[maniac2003]

 you are right must be 2015. hahaha
Well Joe still has his Christmas hat on (see avatar).

 

[gerelmx1986]

My fiio x3 is no more slow... I HATE The computer my employer gave me............... is so fuking SLOW, slower than a snail

, coincidence here in mexico or??? but all IT and software factories consultants seem to give their developer compuetrs with processors worse than pentium I, and as little ram as possible

 

[originalsnuffy]

Comments about beta firmware belongs on that thread. But discussing the availability is another matter. As I have stated before often beta FIIO firmware is superior to official firmware. I think many of us think the current beta is the best firmware ever for this unit.

 

[CarstenF]

CarstenF. What is different that allows your solution to work compared to the apple camera connecting kit? Is it that you have an OTG. device or is it the use of a hub or both? I just want to understand the theory so I order an appropriate product to test. Thanks

I just pulled out my cck gear doe the ipad third gen and if definitely notes that the x3 requires too much power. So I am wondering what is the source of the magic you have discovered. Very interested. Thank you

As far as I know (not from experience but from what I read in forums like this) using the official Apple camera connection kit will not work and your post supports that because the X3 draws too much power(in Apple's opinion).
The Chinese-made camera connection kit/usb hub that I purchased seems to underreport usb power consumption to the ipad. The ipad therefore accepts the X3.
Here you can find a 30pin (old Apple connector) camera connection kit:
http://hifimediy.com/Accessories/usb-hub-for-ipad

Similar products can be found on Ebay. This particular hub can be used both powered and unpowered. For me it worked better in unpowered mode, I got some cracking noises when I connected a usb power supply to it.

i'm sure there are solutions for the new lighning connector as well.

 

[Mr Trev]

Folks looking for the x3 stacking kit? Amazon.ca has them now. $10.99 CAD.