[Mr Trev]

   
I've got both plus E12DIY and E12A.  E12A's getting all the love, all the love...
 

Really...what op-amps do you have for the diy?

 

[Lifted Andreas]

On an iem note, I bought some Yamaha EPH-100s again. Just missed how they sounded with the X3 and Trance music in general way too much. I should be reunited with my loves again this coming Tuesday. I haven't been so excited since I got my first game console when I was 8.

 

[JohnMarch]

  I don't know if they deliver to NZ but MSY have128G Sandisk ULTRA MicroSD SDSDQUA-12...
for AU$137.00.

64G Sandisk ULTRA MicroSD Class 10 SD...

for AU$48.00
 
Happy your X3 is OK now.

Thanks for those prices. One of the local suppliers I wanted to check out was Dick Smith and that was the one selling the 128GB SDXC class 10 cards for NZ$299. I went into its local store and it now seems that Sandisk is no longer manufacturing that capacity card - at least that's what I was told and DSE are listing it as a 'discontinued item'  - but I personally find that hard to believe.
 
I'll check with MSY but I have to say that I'm reluctant to open an account with yet another electronics supplier. I do have an account with eBay Australia so I'll check it out.

 

[FrankC]

 
...seems that Sandisk is no longer manufacturing that capacity card - at least that's what I was told and DSE are listing it as a 'discontinued item'  - but I personally find that hard to believe.

The G46 (30Mb/s)has been discontinued for a few months, but it was replaced by the G4 (48Mb/s).  Amazon still sells both.  Surprisingly, the new one is cheaper.

 

[JohnMarch]

  The G46 (30Mb/s)has been discontinued for a few months, but it was replaced by the G4 (48Mb/s).  Amazon still sells both.  Surprisingly, the new one is cheaper.

I obviously wasn't aware of that. Thanks. It's getting to the stage where if you blink you are likely to have missed an upgrade.
 
For our use I would image that either speed would be more than adequate.
 
I found eBay Australia has the 30Mb/s one for an excellent price and I was on the verge of ordering one but I'm now having a password issue with the website at present. This seems to happen to me now and then.

 

[nmatheis]

Really...what op-amps do you have for the diy?

Several. I used to use it all the time but haven't used it as much since my E12A arrived :wink_face:

 

[RedTwilight]

I think the Sony A17 should be compared more ton the X5 for its price, if it were this way the X5 would walk all over that Sony. If this kid like his Sony so much he should stay over on the Sony thread and stop spamming the X3 thread!

 
Haha I am also a Sony fanboy. But for the phones and playstation lol. Looove the X3! Maybe S/He just wants some attention cos nobody bothers over there

.
 
 
Trolls aside, I wonder if the X3 II will differ much from the current X3 in sound sig.. Not sure if it will be a good or bad thing to want to hold on to both of them. 

 

[x RELIC x]

From what I read on the Sony thread the Sony appears to have a problem with low impedance in ears (audible noise), even though iems is what it can drive best with its low power.
The user interface is better than that of the X3, which is no surprise.

From what I've been able to gather the proprietary S-Master DAC/amp in the Sony line is simply noisy with an unrefined/new-ish class-D implementation. With such a low power output it would only really show up on sensitive, low impedance IEMs. That's why I prefer DAPs with more hardware backbone and put up with the interface.

 

[JohnMarch]

  I obviously wasn't aware of that. Thanks. It's getting to the stage where if you blink you are likely to have missed an upgrade.
 
For our use I would image that either speed would be more than adequate.
 
I found eBay Australia has the 30Mb/s one for an excellent price and I was on the verge of ordering one but I'm now having a password issue with the website at present. This seems to happen to me now and then.

I went back to eBay and was able to successfully log in so I'm not sure what happened before. I've purchased one of the higher speed 128GB class 10 Sandisk cards and hope to have it in a few days.

 

[betula]

 
the real test will come when my Cayin C5 arrives tomorrow! will i hear the dramatic improvement going X3 line level into the C5 (compared to X3 HP jack)? i really expect so, but we'll see tomorrow. (driving Senn HD600's, btw.)
 
and i must mention that i also have a used E12 v1 amp (pre production) that should arrive next week. so i'll get to a/b them directly. a fight to the death -- only one can stay. the aspect i will be perhaps be paying the most attention to is each amps' bass boost, as the HD600's definitely need a little help down there imo. the more natural & subtle boost that doesn't radically change the overall character will probably be the winner.

You do need a proper headphone amp to drive HD600 on a good level. X3 (and I assume other players as well) are just not enough. May sound loud enough, but to me the sound is a bit thin, and lacks a lot especially basswise. 

 

[bzippy]

  You do need a proper headphone amp to drive HD600 on a good level. X3 (and I assume other players as well) are just not enough. May sound loud enough, but to me the sound is a bit thin, and lacks a lot especially basswise. 

point taken. i got the Cayin C5 charged up and gave it a good first listen last night. indeed the sound is indeed better using an amp & X3's LO compared to the HP jack (wider, more separate & clear). in fact it's a very similar difference as when comparing the X3's LO & HP jacks into my room systems. but i have to disagree about the bass comment due to the fact that the X3's T/B controls are in play when using the HP jack, and they are quite well implemented. i understand that volume and eq have to be disabled for proper LO, but it's kind of a bummer because my ear sometimes wants just a bit more thump from the HD600's when going the LO/amp route (and the Balance adjustment would be nice to have too).
 
anyway, i promised a first impression write-up when i got the C5, so here it is:
[cut & pasted from the Portable HP Amps Forum -- i hope that's ok]
 
ok i got mine fully charged and gave it a few hours of listening last night (w/ X3 line out & HD600's). as everyone says, the field is wide and all parts are distinct and crystal clear. very nice indeed. and tons of power on tap. i ran it on high gain but if i wanted i could run my 600's on low and still have some decent headroom left. i did a very brief a/b of the two gain levels to see whether i preferred one signature over the other but no major differences jumped out at me.
 
the only downside is that the bass boost is indeed too much for me. i'm sure this completely depends on your phones and ears, but the 600's only need the smallest bump/extension in the low end and only on certain albums/genres (typically classical for me). it's too bad and by no means am i calling it a design flaw. it's just a very personal and rig pairing issue - it's impossible to please everyone with a feature like bass boost. i have a used FiiO E12 v1 on the way that is supposed to be a more subtle boost and apparently more confined to the sub bass. this might be a better partner with the 600's in that respect. we'll just see if this better bass pairing is enough to overcome the C5's ability to drop you right into the room.
 
oh and it's gorgeous in person. i love love love the 60/70's hi-fi vibe, even the smokey plastic part. love it! i actually really hope i end up preferring it to the FiiO just because it's so goddam pretty. hell, i might just keep both and sell some plasma or something. yes, the Cayin C5 is "plasma selling" pretty.

 

[peter123]

@bzippy the eq on the X3 works through the line out. Just not the bass/treble hardware settings.

 

[bzippy]

@bzippy the eq on the X3 works through the line out. Just not the bass/treble hardware settings.

whoa, you don't say. i haven't tried the eq presets. that's a potential game changer then. will investigate. thanks!

 

[peter123]

whoa, you don't say. i haven't tried the eq presets. that's a potential game changer then. will investigate. thanks!

I don't use eq myself but just checked and works so you should be able to make a custom one for your HD600's and continue to enjoy the C5

 

[bzippy]

I don't use eq myself but just checked and works so you should be able to make a custom one for your HD600's and continue to enjoy the C5

trying it now. i pushed the 62Hz lever (lowest band) up to +4dB and it's actually kinda working. i was leery because it's 62Hz and not something lower like 20 or 40Hz, but it's definitely a nice, subtle improvement that doesn't affect the vocal range. at first listen, at least. i have to find some bass guitar, drums and double bass tracks to really dial it in. very cool!
 
the volume drop when EQ is engaged kinda bummed me out at first because that makes it hard to quickly change for a good a/b test (though i do understand why it needs to be lower volume), but then i noticed that the Metal preset is actually flat and it's right next to teh Custom one, so bingo: instant A/B!
 
does anyone know if this is also "hardware" like the T&B, or digital? not that i know the difference. hey btw, what the hell's the difference?
 
 
anyway, i'm gonna keep playing with it. and then we'll see how this changes things when my E12 v1 arrives for the shoot out, i'm hoping sometime this week. methinks the plot hath thickened. thanks again, Peter!