[e30pilot]

It seems to have some problems that force people to use folders to navigate. Clicking on an artist doesn't bring up albums by that artist or am I misinformed? Can you play more than one album at a time? Slightly different topic but does it support replaygain? Also is gapless working for mp3 and flac? I'm still considering one but there are some things that I really don't want to give up. Right now I'm enjoying a rockboxed ipod 1st gen nano line level out to the E11 amp to my Westone UM2 in the ear phones. Crazy setup but works very nice. Also just got a sansa clip zip to play with. Pretty amazing for the money and it does everything I want. Not for critical listening but good for most uses. Ok sound quality, adding rockbox to see if it improves. It would be nice if they came out with a rockbox version for the X3.Sorry about the off topic but I think I wrapped it back in at the end.

 


To answer a couple of your questions:

I can play by artist or album, no problems there. Eg choosing 'artist' daft punk brings up all songs by them regardless of which album they are in and can play them all.

You can also select an album to play from start to finish.

One thing I did do before the x3 arrived was to use mp3tag to tidy up the tags within my music files using a standard convention. I think this has helped in avoiding issues.

Scrolling through long lists to get to the song/album you want takes a long time, there should be a feature where the scrolling accelerates more the longer you hold down an arrow button.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

I usually RIP to WAV with either iTunes or WMP, then convert to AAC or MP3 with LameXP front end.
 
On another note, had some time with my X3 yesterday and this morning. While it does have a lot of power (I usually listen at 30% volume which is half way if you leave it at stock settings), I'm not totally bowled over by the sound quality. The highs + mids sound distant, and the whole sound sig feels like being sucked into a black hole. Saying that though I've only listened to a 320 MP3, will try FLAC and AAC later on.

 

[CH23]

  I usually RIP to WAV with either iTunes or WMP, then convert to AAC or MP3 with LameXP front end.
 
On another note, had some time with my X3 yesterday and this morning. While it does have a lot of power (I usually listen at 30% volume which is half way if you leave it at stock settings), I'm not totally bowled over by the sound quality. The highs + mids sound distant, and the whole sound sig feels like being sucked into a black hole. Saying that though I've only listened to a 320 MP3, will try FLAC and AAC later on.

why not use iTunes to rip to MP3 or AAC directly?
 
dBpowerAMP also works for converting to anything you'd like(i use this) and Exact Audio Copy works fantastic for ripping to Wave.
 
what headphones do you use?

 

[H20Fidelity]

I usually RIP to WAV with either iTunes or WMP, then convert to AAC or MP3 with LameXP front end.

On another note, had some time with my X3 yesterday and this morning. While it does have a lot of power (I usually listen at 30% volume which is half way if you leave it at stock settings), I'm not totally bowled over by the sound quality. The highs + mids sound distant, and the whole sound sig feels like being sucked into a black hole. Saying that though I've only listened to a 320 MP3, will try FLAC and AAC later on.

How would you say X3 compares in sound quality to your old Colorfly C3?

I'm still yet to hear X3, I'm waiting patiently on a demo unit.

 

[Saidear]

 
Try Foobar2000 file integrity verifier plugin - that could show you, what is wrong.
Another nice tool is MP3 Diags http://mp3diags.sourceforge.net/
The fix depends of what type of error are detected in the files.
 
 

 
Last I checked MP3Diags is not supported on OSX, which is why I used MP3 Scan + Repair to rebuild the files.  I'll check if there is a Foobar version for OSX.
 
 
 
Quote:

Do they have oversized album art embedded into them by any chance?

Hmm... don't know if oversized, but based on how they show up in Finder, they do have coverart so that could be the issue.

​What is the correct dimensions or is there a way to remove it entirely in OSX?

 

[Saidear]

Scrolling through long lists to get to the song/album you want takes a long time, there should be a feature where the scrolling accelerates more the longer you hold down an arrow button.

Seconded!  

This + accelerating scrolling for longer files for us audiobook/podcast lovers would be a boon too.

 

[TrollDragon]

Faster scrolling of the names would be a great fix, I can move through the list quickly but it is painfully slow to wait for song names to scroll the width of the screen. (Edited tagging would fix the scroll speed also.)

Sadly there is no Foobar for OSX, and I try and keep all my album art to 600x600 maximum.

 

[somnathheadfi]

Thanks everybody for answering my question. Yes I will be following your guidelines and return to ask more if some glitch happens
Thanks a lot
Regards
Somnath

 

[vincik]

hi, whats our opinion on impact of "hd" 192/24 vs classic 44/16? Can you hear difference on x3 with 100-200 dollar headphones? Also does it take more battery power when playing higher quality music?

 

[ClieOS]

Clicking on an artist doesn't bring up albums by that artist or am I misinformed? Can you play more than one album at a time?

 
Click on an artist will bring up all the songs done by the artist. If you want to play one album at a time, you should select album instead of artist. Remember, not all album is done by one single artist. There is however talk on supporting artist > album sorting in the future.
 
 

Slightly different topic but does it support replaygain? Also is gapless working for mp3 and flac?

 
No replaygain support, at least not for the current firmware. Gapless works fine on mp3 and FLAC, provided they are properly tagged.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

 
why not use iTunes to rip to MP3 or AAC directly?
 
dBpowerAMP also works for converting to anything you'd like(i use this) and Exact Audio Copy works fantastic for ripping to Wave.
 
what headphones do you use?

 
I do that sometimes but its been mentioned many times in few places around the net that its better to use it to convert to WAV or iTunes lossless format (ALAC). Then use a bespoke MP3 encoder like LameXP front end to do the conversion to compressed formats such as AAC or MP3.
 
I tried dBpowerAMP and liked the functionality, however I find it pointless that you have to pay for something which can be achieved for free using other methods.
 
So far I only tried my newly acquired JVC HA-S680. Will give it a go with my FXT-90s today and see what the X3 sounds like with them, then maybe my Zero Audio Carbo Tenores as well (really looking forward to this!).
 

How would you say X3 compares in sound quality to your old Colorfly C3?

I'm still yet to hear X3, I'm waiting patiently on a demo unit.

 
Hmm, hard to say since its been a long time since I heard the Colorlfy C3 (sold it ages ago).
 
From what I remember the C3 is definitely more neutral (less exciting if you like) than the X3, with a much colder presentation and flatter spectrum overall. Not to say that the X3 is bloated or bassy by any means, but its definitely more rounded with a much more livelier sound.
 
PS. Can't believe you still haven't got one!

 

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Hmm, hard to say since its been a long time since I heard the Colorlfy C3 (sold it ages ago).
 
From what I remember the C3 is definitely more neutral (less exciting if you like) than the X3, with a much colder presentation and flatter spectrum overall. Not to say that the X3 is bloated or bassy by any means, but its definitely more rounded with a much more livelier sound.
 
PS. Can't believe you still haven't got one!

 

I refuse to buy one for the time being until I can form an opinion by audition. What you've said sounds about on par with some other comments. I just worry about the detail levels and areas like separation, tonality. I believe it will be a fun DAP and sometimes I just want to listen to tunes rather than strip them apart like dissecting the bass, mids, treble all the time. Sadly my brain has wired itself to do just that most of the time which makes me analyze songs instead of just listen, therefore faults pop up easily in gear.

I'm demoing X5 in coming months though still X3 intrigues me for the experience, I've done this with other DAP's in the past, simply bought them to test then move them on so I can have my say on the boards and  form point of reference. For now I will wait for the audition X3 which is somewhere in limbo atm.

Thanks for quick impression btw. 
 

 

[Lifted Andreas]

 
I refuse to buy one for the time being until I can form an opinion by audition. What you've said sounds about on par with some other comments. I just worry about the detail levels and areas like separation, tonality. I believe it will be a fun DAP and sometimes I just want to listen to tunes rather than strip them apart like dissecting the bass, mids, treble all the time. Sadly my brain has wired itself to do just that most of the time which makes me analyze songs instead of just listen, therefore faults pop up easily in gear.

I'm demoing X5 in coming months though still X3 intrigues me for the experience, I've done this with other DAP's in the past, simply bought them to test then move them on so I can have my say on the boards and  form point of reference. For now I will wait for the audition X3 which is somewhere in limbo atm.

Thanks for quick impression btw. 
 

 
No worries.
 
Ah thats understandable mate, then again what you said will always work. If you're interested in something, just buy it... try it out and sell it if you dont like the sound signature or something. That's what I've always done with my IEMs, AMPs and DAPs, I think its pretty much the only decent way of finding what you want and like. Waiting to get stuff free is just lazy and unjustified imo.
 
So... I have plugged my Carbo Tenores in and been listening... all I have to say is OMG! This sound is so think, rounded and sweet. Yet not bloated in any way, and in the quieter parts of Trance tracks the separation between little micro details is stunning and still manages to sound very clean/airy. Gonna keep listening some more!
 
Btw, this is what I'm playing through it right now:
Technikal - Soldier of Sound (Free Album) - look it up guys, I cant post a link because I'm at work and SoundCloud is blocked. It's really techy and melodic, really pushes the detail and separation abilities of DAPs and HPs/IEMs. His FB artist page is here - https://www.facebook.com/technikalmusic (yes I can get on FB at work lol). Also check out my SC page as I think I've reposted it a few times - http://soundcloud.com/liftedandreas

 

[H20Fidelity]

@Lifted.

No no no no, you've mis read my post. The planned audition is just a demo unit (not for keeping) nore is it a review sample. The reason I won't buy X3 like the other DAPs I have In the past is because I am not a terrible fan of FiiO house sound and expect disappment. So there's no rush on hearing one.

Sorry if my post came across as lazily waiting for a free sample. Not the case at all.

Cheers.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

@Lifted.

No no no no, you've mis read my post. The planned audition is just a demo unit (not for keeping) nore is it a review sample. The reason I won't buy X3 like the other DAPs I have In the past is because I am not a terrible fan of FiiO house sound and expect disappment. So there's no rush on hearing one.

Sorry if my post came across as lazily waiting for a free sample. Not the case at all.

Cheers.

 
Ah thats fair enough, sorry mate something else got my focus at work.
 
My apologies for misunderstanding.
 
Btw, more impressions above! From what you said though it sounds like you prefer the flattest sound sigs around, which is why you own pretty much all of HiFi man stuff.