[spikeyw]

I can't get album covers to display.
 
When cover pictures are not embeded, I have external file cover.jpg created in the same folder but these are not display. I've also tried creating folder.jpg without success.
 
What am I doing wrong, please help.

 

[myprecious]

Sorry, maybe it's a placebo, but I keep coming back to b2.14 - it's the best sounding firmware for me. 

 

[Mmet]

- I am satisfied with the current sound quality as the volume levels now is more precise and fixed the " too low then too high " in the fw2.1 with my iem .....and louder than the beta fw .. the original loudness with more and better volume control but i would slightly prefer the more bright signal of the beta fw 
- skipping and moving between songs are perfect 

 
- updating the library with mostly full 64GB tf card filled with a big variety of formats is very quick and stable ... very nice 
 
 
* what i want ( if possible) in the next firmware updates :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1- support of playlists
2- if possible .. the ability to skip tracks and play / pause and volume controls without turning on the display with a single press ( very useful when running or walking ) and make the ( home ) button open the display .
3- access to the bass & treble controls from the quick menu ( that would be great )
 
thanks Fiio for your support and standing behind your great product

 

[Dkhand]

  I can't get album covers to display.
 
When cover pictures are not embeded, I have external file cover.jpg created in the same folder but these are not display. I've also tried creating folder.jpg without success.
 
What am I doing wrong, please help.

 
Don't think the X3 reads jpeg files in that way.  It has to be embedded to work.

 

[Marlene]

All you guys... please, please stop fretting about firmware 3.0.
 
It is - in my humble opinion - the most 'correct' sounding firmware for the X3 yet. And soundwise it is a huge step from 2.1 to 3.0 and a smaller step from 2.14b to 3.0.
 
For all the doubters, here is a little summary:
 
Sound of 1.x - 2.1:
 

1. flat and constricted stage, soloists seem to take a few steps back from the microphone
2. diminished upper bass, mids and lower treble -> leaving deep bass and high treble
3. dynamics suffer from muted mids
4. far from the original sound of the files it plays
5. perceived frequency response feels unbalanced
6. not very colourful sound, definitely not audiophile

 
Sound of 2.14b - 2.xxb:
 

1. holographic stage
2. stage is slightly instable, instruments move around a bit
3. less deep bass and high treble - because upper bass, mids and lower treble are back
4. much more balanced perceived frequency response
5. more details
6. perfect dynamics with some slight added aggressiveness
7. very colourful sound
8. some slight 'glare' at high mids / low treble

 
Sound of 3.0:
 

1. holographic stage with correct dimensions
2. stage is completely stable, instruments are 'glued' to their places
3. perfectly balanced perceived frequency response (maybe there´s a touch of warmth)
4. the same amount of details as before - they´re just not so much 'in-your-face'
5. perfect dynamics
6. neutral sound
7. glare completely gone

 
In short, after firmware 3.0 this simply is the best portable player I own. And I own many, which, in some cases, have been superior to the X3 before (using firmware <2.1). I have no idea, how FiiO could change the sound without me being able to measure it but it´s a fact that they did. And the improvement is so huge that I feel that every review written to this day should be rewritten... because they´re all wrong now.
 
The X3 now is not only the best DAP I have, it´s also one of the best sources I have. There´s only one device that´s better: the Xonar Essence STX. And the difference is not that big. This truly is remarkable, especially after I considered selling it until a month ago because of its mediocre sound quality. Firmware 2.14b already shattered the idea of selling, firmware 3.0 crushed it completely.
 
IMO, Astell&Kern, iBasso and Sony can pack their bags. And FiiO too... because, in all honesty... I feel that the X3 is superior to the X5 (judging from what I´ve heard when I had the preview model).
 
When not talking about sound the firmware has so far been a delight. Fast, responsive, free of bugs. If there´s one thing I don´t like too much it´s that the cover art is resized to (I assume) 300x300 px and cropped because it doesn´t fit. But that´s it.
 
Very well done, FiiO.

 

[Dkhand]

I'm kind of glad they left out the EQ part of of the 3.0 release.

 

[spikeyw]

   
Don't think the X3 reads jpeg files in that way.  It has to be embedded to work.

Thanks, I was trying lots of different ways without success and thought I was going mad.
 
I thought having a external jpg for the album cover was on the to do list, guess it was dropped which is a shame.

 

[Mmet]

  All you guys... please, please stop fretting about firmware 3.0.
 
It is - in my humble opinion - the most 'correct' sounding firmware for the X3 yet. And soundwise it is a huge step from 2.1 to 3.0 and a smaller step from 2.14b to 3.0.
 
For all the doubters, here is a little summary:
 
Sound of 1.x - 2.1:
 

1. flat and constricted stage, soloists seem to take a few steps back from the microphone
2. diminished upper bass, mids and lower treble -> leaving deep bass and high treble
3. dynamics suffer from muted mids
4. far from the original sound of the files it plays
5. perceived frequency response feels unbalanced
6. not very colourful sound, definitely not audiophile

 
Sound of 2.14b - 2.xxb:
 

1. holographic stage
2. stage is slightly instable, instruments move around a bit
3. less deep bass and high treble - because upper bass, mids and lower treble are back
4. much more balanced perceived frequency response
5. more details
6. perfect dynamics with some slight added aggressiveness
7. very colourful sound
8. some slight 'glare' at high mids / low treble

 
Sound of 3.0:
 

1. holographic stage with correct dimensions
2. stage is completely stable, instruments are 'glued' to their places
3. perfectly balanced perceived frequency response (maybe there´s a touch of warmth)
4. the same amount of details as before - they´re just not so much 'in-your-face'
5. perfect dynamics
6. neutral sound
7. glare completely gone

 
In short, after firmware 3.0 this simply is the best portable player I own. And I own many, which, in some cases, have been superior to the X3 before (using firmware <2.1). I have no idea, how FiiO could change the sound without me being able to measure it but it´s a fact that they did. And the improvement is so huge that I feel that every review written to this day should be rewritten... because they´re all wrong now.
 
The X3 now is not only the best DAP I have, it´s also one of the best sources I have. There´s only one device that´s better: the Xonar Essence STX. And the difference is not that big. This truly is remarkable, especially after I considered selling it until a month ago because of its mediocre sound quality. Firmware 2.14b already shattered the idea of selling, firmware 3.0 crushed it completely.
 
IMO, Astell&Kern, iBasso and Sony can pack their bags. And FiiO too... because, in all honesty... I feel that the X3 is superior to the X5 (judging from what I´ve heard when I had the preview model).
 
When not talking about sound the firmware has so far been a delight. Fast, responsive, free of bugs. If there´s one thing I don´t like too much it´s that the cover art is resized to (I assume) 300x300 px and cropped because it doesn´t fit. But that´s it.
 
Very well done, FiiO.

That comparison between firmwares is  perfect  and says what i heard with those 3 firmwares .... i considered  modding the player's amp section .... the beta firmware also shattered that idea for me too

 and the fw3 is even better  

 

[Mmet]

@Marlene what headphone /s you are used to detect those differences in your review ?
and about A&K player ...what are the differences in sound quality between it and fiio x3 with the new firmware ? 

 

[Dkhand]

  Thanks, I was trying lots of different ways without success and thought I was going mad.
 
I thought having a external jpg for the album cover was on the to do list, guess it was dropped which is a shame.

 
Why didn't you just go embed it into your audio file?

 

[Paulus XII]

  All you guys... please, please stop fretting about firmware 3.0.
 
It is - in my humble opinion - the most 'correct' sounding firmware for the X3 yet. And soundwise it is a huge step from 2.1 to 3.0 and a smaller step from 2.14b to 3.0.
 
For all the doubters, here is a little summary:
 
Sound of 1.x - 2.1:
 

1. flat and constricted stage, soloists seem to take a few steps back from the microphone
2. diminished upper bass, mids and lower treble -> leaving deep bass and high treble
3. dynamics suffer from muted mids
4. far from the original sound of the files it plays
5. perceived frequency response feels unbalanced
6. not very colourful sound, definitely not audiophile

 
Sound of 2.14b - 2.xxb:
 

1. holographic stage
2. stage is slightly instable, instruments move around a bit
3. less deep bass and high treble - because upper bass, mids and lower treble are back
4. much more balanced perceived frequency response
5. more details
6. perfect dynamics with some slight added aggressiveness
7. very colourful sound
8. some slight 'glare' at high mids / low treble

 
Sound of 3.0:
 

1. holographic stage with correct dimensions
2. stage is completely stable, instruments are 'glued' to their places
3. perfectly balanced perceived frequency response (maybe there´s a touch of warmth)
4. the same amount of details as before - they´re just not so much 'in-your-face'
5. perfect dynamics
6. neutral sound
7. glare completely gone

 
In short, after firmware 3.0 this simply is the best portable player I own. And I own many, which, in some cases, have been superior to the X3 before (using firmware <2.1). I have no idea, how FiiO could change the sound without me being able to measure it but it´s a fact that they did. And the improvement is so huge that I feel that every review written to this day should be rewritten... because they´re all wrong now.
 
The X3 now is not only the best DAP I have, it´s also one of the best sources I have. There´s only one device that´s better: the Xonar Essence STX. And the difference is not that big. This truly is remarkable, especially after I considered selling it until a month ago because of its mediocre sound quality. Firmware 2.14b already shattered the idea of selling, firmware 3.0 crushed it completely.
 
IMO, Astell&Kern, iBasso and Sony can pack their bags. And FiiO too... because, in all honesty... I feel that the X3 is superior to the X5 (judging from what I´ve heard when I had the preview model).
 
When not talking about sound the firmware has so far been a delight. Fast, responsive, free of bugs. If there´s one thing I don´t like too much it´s that the cover art is resized to (I assume) 300x300 px and cropped because it doesn´t fit. But that´s it.
 
Very well done, FiiO.

 
Where's that tight bass? 2.14b sounds better by far.

 

[Marlene]

  @marlene what headphone /s you are used to detect those differences in your review ?
and about A&K player ...what are the differences in sound quality between it and fiio x3 with the new firmware ? 

 
Sennheisers HD-600, 558, 448, 250 Linear
 
I can´t say anything about the differences between A&K and the X3 since I don´t own the A&K.
 
But it´s a simple fact that if you listen to a perfectly neutral device that in comparison sounds extremely close to the files it plays (I review things like this) that there cannot be anything superior. Not the A&K or something else. If the A&K would be a perfectly neutral DAP (which I´m fairly certain that it is not) it would be even better than the X3... but I´m fairly certain that neutrality wasn´t the goal when engineering it.
 
If you take the money that you need to spend on any of the A&Ks into account too, those devices get even more ridiculous.

 

[Marlene]

   
Where's that tight bass? 2.14b sounds better by far.

 
Well, the tight bass is not in the original files so the FiiO doesn´t play it. 

 

[Onchiman]

I have to agree that the X3 with 3.0 firmware is a pretty phenomenal player. I don't need anything more and won't be looking for anything else. I bought it for only one purpose, to enjoy listening to music on and boy am I enjoying it! I am truly amazed.

 

[ngs428]

  Seems I can't find those particular reports. Were they for the beta trials? I'll give Fiio some time to update the bugzilla progress and check back.

These bugs are for internal beta testers in the X3 section of bugzilla.  If you are an internal beta tester you should be able to see them.