[JLuecking]

Splitting is an option, done it before. To use the wave editor is not very elegant, in that case I used a cue file and converted in foobar2k. I ignored the silence, had a click sometimes which I needed to tolerate.

 

[TheGiantHogweed]

Does anybody know if the X3 supports m3u play lists? I am wanting some way of listening to all of my tracks in the order of the artists and albums A to Z. What I would like most is to me able to listen to all of one artists albums without having to find them again every time album ends. To me, I think it is strange that I can't find a way of doing this. Some of my albums are really short and it is annoying having to take it out my pocket every time it gets to the end of one. I just wish there was some way of making it move onto the next album automatically. I have created an m3u of all of my tracks and it isn't seeing it.
 
If anybody else knows if it supports m3u play lists, I would like to know where you need to put them. I just put it with all the folders on my Toshiba 32GB card.

 

[nmatheis]

TheGiantHogweed: Nope, the X3 doesn't support playlist files.

 

[Andymaxwell]

Hi Joachim,
 
That's an interesting setup. I have just bought an X3 and even with the FW3 there is still something missing from the sound. Like there is alot around the sides but not asmuch in the middle. I know the value of using a headphone amp as I have used a Rega Ear for a while now and really value it.  So my point in all this is, what kind of power bank do you use at work, and what difference do you feel it makes?
 
I don't want to go back to my IpodTouch 2g + Pure i20 doc....even though it is very good!
 
Thanks

 

[dustmos]

  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

No offense JLuecking, but can we please not waste time having a non-existent bug fixed? Upsampling does nothing except make the file bigger (and perhaps add a placebo effect). Why not leave them as they are and use flac? If you use headphones, is there any need to maintain 6-channel surround sound when your output is to 2 channels?

 

[pennylane]

I apologize in advance for asking a (probable) repeat question, but has FiiO said anything about going back to the old album art display format (scaling to 240x240 and displaying that to fit the screen) instead of the "zoomed in" format that is in FW 3.0?

 

[JLuecking]

Hi Andymaxwell,
 
when commuting I use a 10000mAh powerbank with a 2.1 mAh output (link). At work I use a power supply for my smartphone, an LG P880, which has 1.2 mAh output. The idea is to have a strong power supply. Also try different USB cables and take the one which sounds best or gives the strongest bass.The difference in sound with the power supply is mainly a stronger and tigher bass and that soundstagewise is sounds more correct and more precise. Probably any power supply will do as long as it is strong enough.
 
@dustmost
I think, the missing Wave64 support is not a bug but a missing feature. I am conscious about upsampling discussion, but I do not want to go into it. By the way 6ch material is mixed down to 2ch beforehand. I do not see a need to have this supported in the X3.
 
Joachim

 

[TrollDragon]

The USB cable which sounds the best or has the strongest bass... Seriously... :rolleyes:

 

[aangen]

I can't take this person seriously, it's amusing though.

 

[x RELIC x]

Yeah, not to take things seriously, but really? Come on guys, someone should help here so I'll jump in. I'm not trying to be a prat but some of these ideas are pretty........... well...... out there. Just look at the facts and realize what each of these things actually do.

- The X3's internal battery is the only thing that runs the player. Adding other power sources only charges the internal battery (none of the external power goes toward the sound quality) and when that's done the power is no longer drawn from the external source. So no, a power supply does not alter the sound. Plus leaving a battery constantly plugged in significantly reduces the life of the battery. Battery chemistry is meant to be cycled.

- The USB on the X3 is there to provide data (0's and 1's) while transferring files or while playing files as a DAC from another source, and it charges the battery. That's it. No change in sound from USB cables (unless you get interference through the cable from an external source).

- Upsampling will have no positive contribution to the sound (in many cases it will be detrimental). You can't add something that isn't there already even if it could be heard. So no, upsampling does not benefit the sound.

- Although many people enjoy WAV as a lossless format it really doesn't bring anything more than a FLAC or ALAC file will on the X3 (and I'm pretty sure WAV64 is not supported, plus FAT32 doesn't support files larger than 4GB so no benefit there). If you already have files in WAV format there is nothing wrong with that but they are all lossless and reproduce the same sound if the player can decode them properly, which the X3 can. So WAV doesn't affect the sound in this case and just gobbles up more space on the storage media. Larger file sizes also may run the risk of causing stuttering and skipping during playback.

Some people enjoy their placebo effect, but man, this is just..........



Should be an episode of Mythbusters.

 

[Francisk]

Some guys are so lucky/unlucky to be blessed with golden ears to pinpoint the differences between USB cables 

 

 

[headdict]

Some people enjoy their placebo effect, but man, this is just..........

Once they have invested a lot of time, effort, money, they'd better enjoy their placebo effect, or else cognitive dissonance kicks in, which is much harder to enjoy. OTOH, once there is nothing else to enjoy, one can finally start enjoying music...

 

[TrollDragon]

Tinfoil hat stuff at it's best is rudi's "Which batteries have the best sound..."

http://www.head-fi.org/t/681714/how-important-the-battery-for-your-audio-gear-discussion-and-impression-thread

But we have a whole Sound Science "Fiction" forum for all this foolishness if you want to discuss it in detail.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Yeah, not to take things seriously, but really? Come on guys, someone should help here so I'll jump in. I'm not trying to be a prat but some of these ideas are pretty........... well...... out there. Just look at the facts and realize what each of these things actually do.

- The X3's internal battery is the only thing that runs the player. Adding other power sources only charges the internal battery (none of the external power goes toward the sound quality) and when that's done the power is no longer drawn from the external source. So no, a power supply does not alter the sound. Plus leaving a battery constantly plugged in significantly reduces the life of the battery. Battery chemistry is meant to be cycled.

- The USB on the X3 is there to provide data (0's and 1's) while transferring files or while playing files as a DAC from another source, and it charges the battery. That's it. No change in sound from USB cables (unless you get interference through the cable from an external source).

- Upsampling will have no positive contribution to the sound (in many cases it will be detrimental). You can't add something that isn't there already even if it could be heard. So no, upsampling does not benefit the sound.

- Although many people enjoy WAV as a lossless format it really doesn't bring anything more than a FLAC or ALAC file will on the X3 (and I'm pretty sure WAV64 is not supported, plus FAT32 doesn't support files larger than 4GB so no benefit there). If you already have files in WAV format there is nothing wrong with that but they are all lossless and reproduce the same sound if the player can decode them properly, which the X3 can. So WAV doesn't affect the sound in this case and just gobbles up more space on the storage media. Larger file sizes also may run the risk of causing stuttering and skipping during playback.

Some people enjoy their placebo effect, but man, this is just..........



Should be an episode of Mythbusters.

Have a read here where ClieOS talks about adding an external power supply to C&C BH and the results he gets.

 

There are a few things on the BH that are outstanding. Fisrt, it measured really well. Flat FR curve, low output impedance, low noise and good output power to dummy load. Second, it has a great soundstage. Truly one of the best among sub$100 amp even though layer can be a little blurry at time. Thrid, good clarity and lastly, long run time. So is there anything to dislike about the BH? Unfortunately, there is one. The amp, while looking good on spec and measurement, doesn't sound like it is quite as powerful and tight as it claims to be. In fact, it is slightly underpowered in sound. The first subtle thing I noticed is the softer bass hit and attack that is a little distanced and blurry at time. This causes slight lost in texture and detail from bass up to lower vocal. This is rather subtle and probably not something very obvious at first, but you can connect the amp to a decent external USB 5V supply (USB battery pack or 1A USB adapter) and slowly the missing bass attack and texture will appear in the presentaion. Once disconnected, they will slowly faint into the background again. It is a sign that the amp is underpowered, and could be better if there is a better power section.

Source: http://www.head-fi.org/t/596482/the-sub-100-portable-amps-shootout-11-1-amps-compared#post_8154885

Funny, how ClieOs mentions the bass attack, what was it JLuecking mentioned?

I've personally heard a difference myself switching between battery and USB power with a JDS C421 unit. 

 

[JLuecking]

@H2Fidelity
That is well discribed and exactly the way I observed it. I had the same effect on the Sansa Fuze. I use the Creative Aurvana Live (modded) and maybe it is more demanding in power. Strange enough an external power supply also helps on the X3 serving as a digital source. I also have an excellent power supply for the HPA which improves the sound. even though connecting to the PC or laptop would be enough to work properly (Fostex HP-A3, op replaced by OPA627).
 
@the rest
I know the discussion already, so I do not go into it. I tried with things lying around. Just tested. If you try and hear a difference - great. If you don't - great ok, no problem, fine.
 
About upsampling, I believe it helps the filter. Just to give you an idea. The Onkyo 7555 has the same DAC as the X3. You can change the filter characteristics from sharp (exact frequency response) to slow (exact impulse response). Slow may not be as exact in frecency response but sounds a lot better, airier. Same effect is upsampling. Again, you can try or not. If you try decide for yourself to use it or not - if you hear a difference or not.
 
I formatted the external memory card with NTFS, so no file size boundery so far.
 
Again - I do not want to go too deep into the discussion - this is not the voodoo thread.
 
Joachim