[TheGiantHogweed]

i just had a listen to an x3 in a shop using my own headphones and music, and at best it was an incremental increase in sq on my android phone. are my ears defective?
assuming that responsibility lies with moderate background noise in a busy mall, which is less than i normally experience on buses/subway, i've come up with this plan: buy my planned new headphones first, then try it again.if it still sounds ordinary, get a clip+ and e6 instead. have other people been underwhelmed by it? i genuinely went in there with cash in my hand, expecting to take it home five minutes later.

What store did you go to? I didn't manage to find any store in the UK that had the FiiO X3. I would have preferred to hear it before I got it but I like it anyway.

 

[good sound]

i just had a listen to an x3 in a shop using my own headphones and music, and at best it was an incremental increase in sq on my android phone. are my ears defective?
assuming that responsibility lies with moderate background noise in a busy mall, which is less than i normally experience on buses/subway, i've come up with this plan: buy my planned new headphones first, then try it again.if it still sounds ordinary, get a clip+ and e6 instead. have other people been underwhelmed by it? i genuinely went in there with cash in my hand, expecting to take it home five minutes later.

As I mentioned to someone in the X5 thread don't be put off by, or underestimate, the significance of small or incremental improvements. Indeed, it is most often these small improvements that eventually prove to be the most important. Some will disagree, but it has been my experience that relatively short auditions of audio devices in a retail environment are not the best way to accurately gauge the true signature of an item.
 
When I first purchased the X3 i was coming from a truly ancient Creative Zen MP3 player, which was/is capable of playing back hi-rez WAV files, and to say I was initially underwhelmed by the X3's sound would be an understatement. I even came on here and posted those very thoughts. A funny thing though, after a few weeks of continuous use, when I then went back to the Zen and compared using identical files suddenly the difference between it and the X3 was very large, in favour of the FiiO.

 

[meat01]

A lot of people just exagerate the differences. A lof ot people say it blows their iPod out of the water or XXX dap sounds muddy in comparison. The reality is that engineers have pretty much perfected the DAC chips and they all sound good. There is a much larger difference between different headphones.

The X3 is a great DAP and more powerful than other DAPs and phones, because it has a built in amp.

 

[Pituky]

At first I was not very happy with the sound. Yea it tooks  me some time, to realize the good sound quality coming from the X3.
A lot of testings and comparisons using differetn headphones, equipments, tracks etc.
Now I really appreciate the details and clarity delivered by the x3 with good music.

 

[Saoshyant]

For me, the difference was noticeable and big, because the first thing I tried was going from a clip&e6 to the x3 and comparing them both with the hifiman he400. I've since added an e12, which further increased the quality of the sound due to having enough amping to fill out the sound, and just got the x5 yesterday. With that one, the enjoyment factor vs the x3 isn't really increased, but the detail retrieval is better, and I'm pretty sure the sub bass is reaching lower.

 

[phillipwareham]

As I mentioned to someone in the X5 thread don't be put off by, or underestimate, the significance of small or incremental improvements. Indeed, it is most often these small improvements that eventually prove to be the most important. Some will disagree, but it has been my experience that relatively short auditions of audio devices in a retail environment are not the best way to accurately gauge the true signature of an item.

When I first purchased the X3 i was coming from a truly ancient Creative Zen MP3 player, which was/is capable of playing back hi-rez WAV files, and to say I was initially underwhelmed by the X3's sound would be an understatement. I even came on here and posted those very thoughts. A funny thing though, after a few weeks of continuous use, when I then went back to the Zen and compared using identical files suddenly the difference between it and the X3 was very large, in favour of the FiiO.

you've struck the nail on the head, i think. the location really isn't suitable. i put on the x3 and thought 'this is good' but after a few minutes listening (possibly too loud) it all sounded the same. i won't really know if there is a real difference except after extended use or coming back to it. the conditions were better than were i'll normally be using it, though, which is significant.

A lot of people just exagerate the differences. A lof ot people say it blows their iPod out of the water or XXX dap sounds muddy in comparison. The reality is that engineers have pretty much perfected the DAC chips and they all sound good. There is a much larger difference between different headphones.

The X3 is a great DAP and more powerful than other DAPs and phones, because it has a built in amp.

which brings me back around to thinking that instead of buying a good player and then maybe some headphones, i should spend on the headphones first, and prioritise them more. i don't think the x3 sounded so much better than the clip zip i bought my friend recently.

At first I was not very happy with the sound. Yea it tooks  me some time, to realize the good sound quality coming from the X3.
A lot of testings and comparisons using differetn headphones, equipments, tracks etc.
Now I really appreciate the details and clarity delivered by the x3 with good music.

maybe i would hear more next time. if i get a pair of k550 or M50 before i go back it will be a fairer test.

 

[aangen]

I'm just done trying to prove to the Clip+ people that anything else can approach their favored device. Leave them to enjoy their decision. My Clip+ has not been used in years. Sure it is tiny, hooray. Sure it is Rockboxed, hooray. I'm over it. But to many, the secret truth is nothing will ever top the Clip+. We believe and accept, move on.

 

[KLJTech]

I love my Sansa Clip Zip + (w/ 32GB mem card) and used it all the time for a few years as my go to portable player but once I heard the X3 the Clip became my Audiobook player. There is a lot to like about the Clip+ but it can't stand toe to toe with the X3 with regards to sound quality. The X3 sounds great with my Westone W40's, P7's and HE-500's...use any of these with the Clip and you'll hear that there is a pretty big step down in sound quality and that is NOT a knock on the Clip as the X3 costs a lot more than the Clip and should sound better. 
 
I have 5 or 6 books loaded on my Clip right now but I can't go back to it as a music player now that I'm used to one that sounds so much better...now give me the sound of the X3 in the Clip's form factor (with the ability to add 128GB) and I'd jump on it in a second. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

i just had a listen to an x3 in a shop using my own headphones and music, and at best it was an incremental increase in sq on my android phone. are my ears defective?
assuming that responsibility lies with moderate background noise in a busy mall, which is less than i normally experience on buses/subway, i've come up with this plan: buy my planned new headphones first, then try it again.if it still sounds ordinary, get a clip+ and e6 instead. have other people been underwhelmed by it? i genuinely went in there with cash in my hand, expecting to take it home five minutes later.

 
What headphones were those? Some don't scale a lot better with better gear, or conversely, scale badly with lesser gear (so when you use a better player or better amp it sounds a lot better).

 

[nmatheis]

What headphones were those? Some don't scale a lot better with better gear, or conversely, scale badly with lesser gear (so when you use a better player or better amp it sounds a lot better).

Same thing I was wondering since the philipwareham mentioned M50 as a step up. Sounds like the X3 was auditioned with entry level phones to me...

 

[warrior1975]

I just received mine, I have to take my SD card out of my phone to play some of my music, but even with the included recordings it sounds damn nice. It's a definite upgrade over my Note 3. Not sure about it being an upgrade over my zx1, but I will know shortly. So far, I'm extremely impressed. I was running it through my intruder amp and balanced cables. I'm going to try it with SE just through the X3 shortly. I like the device though.

 

[nmatheis]

I'm just done trying to prove to the Clip+ people that anything else can approach their favored device. Leave them to enjoy their decision. My Clip+ has not been used in years. Sure it is tiny, hooray. Sure it is Rockboxed, hooray. I'm over it. But to many, the secret truth is nothing will ever top the Clip+. We believe and accept, move on.

Bows down before the Clip+ gods

Oh wait, I've never heard a Clip+...

 

[Pituky]

maybe i would hear more next time. if i get a pair of k550 or M50 before i go back it will be a fairer test.

 
 
Yes with a good heaphone you will see the differences, it does not matters if the x3 delivers good and detailed sound if the headphone is not capable to reproduce it. Use some 24/96 samples to see how good it sounds.

 

[TrollDragon]

Bows down before the Clip+ gods

Oh wait, I've never heard a Clip+...

Then you honestly don't know what you are missing, $35 worth of serious WOW! 

 

 

[warrior1975]

Definitely a nice little player for sure. Gets loud, nice bass. Definitely more of my sound signature preference. I actually like it a lot. It's different than my zx1. Not as nice looking, but I prefer this sound signature and love how loud it gets. zx1 I need an external amp, X3 is fine without. Better with of course, but fine without.