[Skolar311]

Hello FiiO, James, fellow head-fiers!
 
First off, let me just say that I love the new firmware update on the X3! I think it's got a much better GUI design/layout, playback is faster and there is less pause between screens (which I sometimes saw in 2.1). Overall I am much happier with the design and performance. So Kudos to you on a nicely polished update!
 
I do have one -small- concern that I've noticed and I was wondering if anyone had that same issue. It's with the shuffle function.
 
I generally store my favorite 250+ songs on the internal 8GB memory and shuffle those throughout the day, essentially just using the internal memory as a "Favorites" folder. I store all my other music on a 32GB SD Card, but that's mostly irrelevant.
 
What I've noticed (and I don't think it's in my head) is that it seems the shuffle follows a certain pattern. I'm listening to the same 50 songs every day and it doesn't appear to be completely random like the previous firmware. I ran a test and selected my top 10 songs that I thought I'd been hearing most frequently and I landed on all 10 songs after shuffling through about 25. There are literally 200 songs that I haven't heard this week since the update...
 
All other play modes work perfectly and I can play each song without any issue (just confirming I don't have corrupt files).
So, am I alone in this? Anyone care to run some of their own tests to perhaps confirm?
 
Thanks guys! And thank you FiiO for your excellent customer support!

 

[Skolar311]

In reply to myself.... I just turned off Gapless Playback and it seems like the issue might not be happening now.
 
Still, if anyone wouldn't mind running some tests with Gapless Playback on and off and see if there's a difference.
 
Thanks again!

 

[peter123]

@Skolar311

I'm expereing the same as you. Have had this issue since day one though.

 

[Skolar311]

@Skolar311

I'm expereing the same as you. Have had this issue since day one though.

 
Interesting! I'm glad I'm at least not completely nuts nor alone!
 
Does gapless playback being turned on/off seem to alter the results? I've been listening for about 20 minutes now and have come across a few songs I haven't heard in a while since turning it OFF.

 

[peter123]

I haven't exactly taken statistics on it but I've noticed that some tracks (pretty many actually) are always left out.......

 

[Skolar311]

Thanks for the feedback peter! I can say, within the last 40 minutes it feels like my playlist has really opened up after turning OFF gapless playback!
 
If you're on the newest firmware, I would adjust the setting to off (assuming it's on) and see if you see the same results. Hopefully not...
 
Good luck!

 

[Sound Eq]

i can't install the driver for usb dac on my windows 8.1 tablet, I tried using the one that is one fiio website, but it states its for fiio x5 .
 
can someone link me to the usb dac driver for fiio x3 firmware 3

 

[Skolar311]

The existing USB DAC driver did not work?
It worked previously, correct?
 
I have the X3 USB DAC driver that came with my X3 when it had firmware v 2.05. I can sent it to you, but I'm not sure if that will solve your problem. If it's not on the site, then I'm not sure it's available.

 

[tdweis]

KLJTech & TrollDragon.  I am interested in finding a case that could store both gears, but I went back on the thread & didn't see the link & there are many LowePro cases on Amazon.  Could one of you post the link to the specific case that comfortably stores both the E11 and X3?  Many thanks.

 

[peter123]

@Skolar311

Thanks for the tip, I'll try turning off the gapless and see what happens.

 

[Skolar311]

@Skolar311

Thanks for the tip, I'll try turning off the gapless and see what happens.

 
Last post from me on this for now, but this definitely fixed my problem. 2 hours going now and I've landed on lots of songs I haven't heard in a while and I'm not seeing any repeating pattern. 
 
I hope this is the same issue with yours! I can live without gapless playback all day, hearing the same shuffle each morning on my way to work was kinda driving me nuts...

 

[uzi2]

I've never understood why there is an option for non-gapless. Why would anyone want to introduce gaps where there shouldn't be gaps? If an album is supposed to flow one track into another, then that is the only way to play it. If there are silences between tracks then these are present at beginning or end of track. So what purpose does non-gapless playback serve?

 

[Mr Trev]

I suppose one could also ask, if you're shufflin' (admit it, we all do it 

) then why do we even need gapless to begin with?

 

[Skolar311]

  I suppose one could also ask, if you're shufflin' (admit it, we all do it 

) then why do we even need gapless to begin with?

 
I agree with this. Gapless Shuffle is annoying and the difference in volume between some files is too great and can sometimes be startling. Going from a calm classical song to a loud, hard-hitting dubstep song, would probably make me **** my pants without the gap. When not knowing what song is coming up next, the gap is an ear-saver.
 
Very rarely do I listen to an album from beginning to end in sequence, and if I am, then I'm probably not doing that on my portable rig.

 

[LordX]

Remaining Issues with Firmware 3.0
 
There are still some issues with the playback of the X3 that have not changed with the firmware update. I will list them below in order of importance, 1 being the most important.
 
1. I have the player set to remember the last song, and last position that it was at when it was shut down. It seems a LITTLE bit better since the firmware update, but still at least once a day I turn on the unit and get the main menu - with no ability to go back where I was. This is a major issue for me since I use the X3 in my car, and have it semi-permanently connected. Perhaps for firmware 3.01 there could be the ability to utilize some of the built in memory to hard write the last position. Or even have a 'history' section, where I could start up from the last song even. Anything but being forced back to the main screen, having to remember which album, song, and time I was at after doing an appointment.
 
2. This second issue could be something I am doing wrong - so any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I have my music separated by CD. So in one folder, I will have subfolders CD1, CD2 etc. When I select CD1 to play, when it finishes those songs, I would love for it to automatically progress to CD2. Is there any way to set this?
 
3. When I select a CD in ALBUM mode then turn the player off, and back on again - even when it resumes to the correct place, when I hit the 'back' button, it does not take me back to the ALBUM selections, but rather to the 'play all' list. This would be nice to fix - so after a weekend not using the car, I can hop in and immediately find which album I am on, and change it quickly if I want.
 
Aside from these remaining issues, I really do like the layout of the new firmware and the sound is excellent!
 
How I have mine setup: My X3 is plugged into a 12v micro-usb charger, and line out to my car audio system. So every time I start my car, the X3 semi-powers up, but if the battery is charged, immediately shuts down again, and I have to press the power button for 3 secs to bring it up. I wish there were a way to make it like my GPS, so when it gets power, it turns on, and when the power goes away it shuts down - a 'car mode' if you will.
 
Does this constant On/Off effect my issue #1?