[Smurfs2010]

I have the FiiO E12 attached to mine for the DT880 Pro's.

So is it worth it?

 

[TrollDragon]

So is it worth it?

Yup, to me it is.
YMMV depending on what your connecting to the X3...

 

[x RELIC x]

So is it worth it?

Yeah, it depends on the headphones you need to drive. For easy to medium to drive headphones/earphones the X3 is quite enough. If you need more power then add a more powerful amp like the e12.

Basically the X3 is the same hardware as the e17 so it'll drive a lot of headphones well with a power output of 270mW @32 oHms. The e12 however has a power output of 880mW @32 oHms, so yeah, much more powerful and a better voltage output.

 

[reihead]

Just a quick question, my iPod classic will probarbly die within a few weeks (charging connector).
As i'm leaving within 2 weeks for a 4 week holiday i need a new player, the X3 is on my short list as is the DX50 and a new Classic.
Is the X3 the right player for me, hopefully you guys and some girls can help me out by answerring the next questions:

1.) My iPod classic has 130Gb of music, will the X3 be able to support Micro SD 128Gb or higher, now or in the future?
2.) 85% of the time i use my device in my car, is the GUI easy to use? Here an example of my music listening habbit:
I'm a bit of an ADHDer, while listen to a certain song, another song/artist pops up in my mind and i want to listen right after the first song is finished etc....
For me an easy to use UI is the difference of ending up in a canal or stay on the road , so yes a simple and good UI is important to me.
3.) Will my current FiiO Killimanjaro that i use with my Classic, have added value to the X3?

Hopefully you can help me out, the budget is around €200,--.

Regarding your second point, the X3 Doesn't support queuing or any sort of dinamic playlist at the moment, meaning you won't be able to queue a new song while the current is playing.

The GUI is easy enough for quick search and selection, however I haven't tried while driving.

 

[MunkyOne]

   
No you are not mistaken, you are absolutely right (face palm on my side).
 
The X3 (or the player software on the PC/Mac) does indeed decode the mp3 into a digital stream that is then passed onto the DAC. 
 
Not so sure about lossless though as the resulting digital stream should be exactly the same on both...
 
Cheers,
K

Lossless files are handled in the same way as lossy.  It is just a different decompression algorithm (codec) that is used by the playing software.

 

[Koolpep]

 
Lossless files are handled in the same way as lossy.  It is just a different decompression algorithm (codec) that is used by the playing software.

 
Hmm, I am at a loss here (pun!)

 . So, while I understand that a encoded lossless file needs to be decoded the result should always be the same digital info, no? As it reconstructs 100% perfectly the previously encoded info? How much difference can these decoding routines have? Wouldn't it be counter intuitive to alter the digital information so the decoded info is different from the original one? Lossless is supposed to be just that, the exact same as the original digital information with no loss or change.
 
Man, this thing is too complicated...

 

[jimmers]

 
Man, this thing is too complicated...

Chasing shadows, just enjoy your music.

 

[Koolpep]

  Chasing shadows, just enjoy your music.

 
I agree!! Also, since I got a Fiio HS2 and could test different volume matched sources with the flip of a switch I realized how tiny the changes actually were. Since then, I don't care much about the tiniest of details - and just enjoy my music, as you rightly say.... 

 

[MunkyOne]

   
Hmm, I am at a loss here (pun!)

 . So, while I understand that a encoded lossless file needs to be decoded the result should always be the same digital info, no? As it reconstructs 100% perfectly the previously encoded info? How much difference can these decoding routines have? Wouldn't it be counter intuitive to alter the digital information so the decoded info is different from the original one? Lossless is supposed to be just that, the exact same as the original digital information with no loss or change.
 
Man, this thing is too complicated...

It is the encoding that is either lossy or lossless.  During playback, all file types are decoded using the relevent routine, to reveal the maximum possible detail.  In the case of lossless files, this is the same level as the original file before encoding.
 
The decoding routines should have no impact on the quality of the decoded sound, so long as it is doing it's job correctly.  The previous fw versions for the X3 contained flawed decoding routines, particularly the one for .mp3 encoded files, which was the subject of many complaints from owners who listen to .mp3 files.  If the decoding routine is flawed, it may not reveal all of the information in the file being played, which would result in significantly degraded sound quality.  It is not that they "alter the digital information so the decoded info is different from the original one"; it is that they fail to decode the file correctly during playback.  This is now fixed in fw3.0, with the result that .mp3 files play as they should.  Lossless (.flac etc.) routines merely decode the files in the same way as for .mp3.
 
My explainations may not be the clearest, but I hope this helps your understanding.  I am sure that somewhere like wikipedia will describe the processes in minute detail, to those who are sufficiently interested.  My understanding of it is more practical than detailed.

 

[Speedmusic]

Regarding your second point, the X3 Doesn't support queuing or any sort of dinamic playlist at the moment, meaning you won't be able to queue a new song while the current is playing.

The GUI is easy enough for quick search and selection, however I haven't tried while driving.

mmet and reihead thanks for your  input, the answers to my questions 1 and 3 are clear to me.
But the remaining questions is the driving in my car while using the X3, perhaps someone else is using the X3 while driving.
So is the X3 easy to use while driving, escpecially if a compare the X3 with my, dying iPod Classic?

 

[Onchiman]

Well if no one else will say it, I will. You should not be messing around with any gadgets while you're driving. Distracted driving is not only dangerous for you and your passengers but everyone else on the road. Plus it's illegal in lots of states. Thousands of people needlessly die each year because of it. So the answer is..... Don't do it.

 

[TrollDragon]

mmet and reihead thanks for your  input, the answers to my questions 1 and 3 are clear to me.
But the remaining questions is the driving in my car while using the X3, perhaps someone else is using the X3 while driving.
So is the X3 easy to use while driving, escpecially if a compare the X3 with my, dying iPod Classic?

I use the X3 while driving but I am an album listener so its very easy to queue up an album for play through the LO to my head unit.

Well if no one else will say it, I will. You should not be messing around with any gadgets while you're driving. Distracted driving is not only dangerous for you and your passengers but everyone else on the road. Plus it's illegal in lots of states. Thousands of people needlessly die each year because of it. So the answer is..... Don't do it.

Thanks MOM we'll keep that in mind...

 

[Coop]

  But the remaining questions is the driving in my car while using the X3, perhaps someone else is using the X3 while driving.
So is the X3 easy to use while driving, escpecially if a compare the X3 with my, dying iPod Classic?

 
It will be easier as there are buttons with tactile feedback, rather than a slippery touch thingie. On the other hand, the buttons are a little smaller. Personally, I prefer the X3 over my classic.
 

Well if no one else will say it, I will. You should not be messing around with any gadgets while you're driving. Distracted driving is not only dangerous for you and your passengers but everyone else on the road. Plus it's illegal in lots of states. Thousands of people needlessly die each year because of it. So the answer is..... Don't do it.

 
+1 on that. So start and set up your player before you start driving and don't touch it again before you're parked at your destination. This is what I do when I use my X3 in my car. If I feel the need to change my music while driving, I switch over to the on-board system which has steeringwheel controls so I can keep my eyes on the road. Stay safe, don't make your audiogear an orphan...

 

[JLuecking]

I own the X3 for a while and I am very happy with it. I use ist while commuting, connected to an external power bank, that makes ist sound better. I also use it as a digital source in the office to feed a HPA with digital input. Here I also use the X3 with a power supply. Gain is set to high.
I try to get the best sound possible out of this amazing device. I use either high res recordings or upsample all music to 24 bit / 96 kHz. Recently I compared the sound using the FLAC format to the WAV format and found that like in other applications - such as foobar2k - WAV sounds better.
My problem is that I often listen to classical music recorded from DVB which is rather long - often two hours and more. The music ist broadcast in 24 bit / 48 kHz as ac3, sometimes even in Surround. I convert it using the ac3filter / valdec and upsample it to 2496 using the secret rabbit resampler plugin for foobar (Link). I this case the file size surpasses the 4Gb limit. FLAC had this limit too, but this was fixed with the latest versions. The workaround for WAV is WAVE64 (*.w64), Foobar2K can do this, but the X3 seems to have problems with it.
Do you see a way or a chance to get this fixed? Is it an idea to get in contact with fiio for a fix or is it already on a feature request list?
 
Thank you
Joachim

 

[Coop]

  I own the X3 for a while and I am very happy with it. I use ist while commuting, connected to an external power bank, that makes ist sound better. I also use it as a digital source in the office to feed a HPA with digital input. Here I also use the X3 with a power supply. Gain is set to high.
I try to get the best sound possible out of this amazing device. I use either high res recordings or upsample all music to 24 bit / 96 kHz. Recently I compared the sound using the FLAC format to the WAV format and found that like in other applications - such as foobar2k - WAV sounds better.
My problem is that I often listen to classical music recorded from DVB which is rather long - often two hours and more. The music ist broadcast in 24 bit / 48 kHz as ac3, sometimes even in Surround. I convert it using the ac3filter / valdec and upsample it to 2496 using the secret rabbit resampler plugin for foobar (Link). I this case the file size surpasses the 4Gb limit. FLAC had this limit too, but this was fixed with the latest versions. The workaround for WAV is WAVE64 (*.w64), Foobar2K can do this, but the X3 seems to have problems with it.
Do you see a way or a chance to get this fixed? Is it an idea to get in contact with fiio for a fix or is it already on a feature request list?
 
Thank you
Joachim

 
There is a rather simple solution: Don't use files that big.
 
Just use <insert preferred audio editing tool here> to split the files in however many parts are required to keep the size of each part under the 4GB limit. Split them in the silence between different parts of the music and you'll hardly notice it, especially when using gapless.