[EarG]

I'm not going to go in to too many details but Fiio just released FW 2.02 BETA for the X5 which addresses this issue and it works very well in my opinion. Given that the X3 and X5 share much of the same FW I imagine it'll make it's way over to the X3 soon enough.

I have to point out that for a new entrant to the DAP market (yes, two years in is relatively new) that Fiio has done an admirable job of producing a low cost, powerful, great sounding player for the masses, and they are constantly addressing the concerns of the end user. If the audio quality is not as important to you as the UI then you should look at other players perhaps, or enjoy the SQ and live with the current limitations.

Also, your preference of jumping to all artist songs right away may not be someone else's who would prefer to play individual albums by that artist, can't please everybody.

UI is everything in almost all applications - I completely aware of this 'cause am was once a software developer/programmer myself. In DAP, UI is as important as the SQ. Actually it's not a limitation of X3, the FW 2.X, under Category, the play by Artist, Album and Genre works as it should. Come on guys, nobody among us here is new/stranger on how should be a music player basic UI works - look at Winamp and Foobar2k, etc, etc.
 
Kudos to Fiio for the new UI look though. But I'm reverting to the older FW for better functionality since, to my ears, the new firmware didn't do anything good to X3 SQ-wise.

 

[Mambosenior]

Why on the X3's FW 3.0,  playing music by category->artist/album doesn't work as it should be?!  Why is it that when I select my preferred artist, it jumps to that artist's folder instead of starts playing all the songs of the selected artist:confused_face(1): (it seems Fiio cannot write a simple/sensible UI that just works)

I'm confused but: can the X3 UI now support going to-->artist-->albums-->album tracks (gapless, when called for), as on IPod Classic? If so, I'll bite.

Thank you.

 

[MunkyOne]

  I just tried the Fiio on DAC mode for the first time since FW 3.0. I didn't think the sound was nearly as improved (if at all) as when using it as a DAP. Anyone else notice this?

This would make sense as, in DAC mode, the decoding of music files is handled by the source, rather than the X3.  Since much of the change to the sound in fw3.0 is due to improvements in the decoding of music files, I would not expect any improvement in the performance withf the X3 in DAC mode.
 
I have not noticed any difference in the DAC mode SQ through the fw versions I have tried so far.

 

[Koolpep]

This would make sense as, in DAC mode, the decoding of music files is handled by the source, rather than the X3.  Since much of the change to the sound in fw3.0 is due to improvements in the decoding of music files, I would not expect any improvement in the performance withf the X3 in DAC mode.

I have not noticed any difference in the DAC mode SQ through the fw versions I have tried so far.

As far as I understand it if in DAC mode the decoding is done by the x3.

The same file on the PC or on the x3 should sound identical as the x3 is decoding and amping.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Why on the X3's FW 3.0,  playing music by category->artist/album doesn't work as it should be?!  Why is it that when I select my preferred artist, it jumps to that artist's folder instead of starts playing all the songs of the selected artist:confused_face(1): (it seems Fiio cannot write a simple/sensible UI that just works)

I'm confused but: can the X3 UI now support going to-->artist-->albums-->album tracks (gapless, when called for), as on IPod Classic? If so, I'll bite.

Thank you.

Yes, the basis of the above complaint is the feature you're talking about, the ability to select an artist and have the albums by that artist show up, instead of all his/her songs in a jumble. We worked hard on launching this feature in 3.0 but afterwards some people complain that they'd rather want the old setup (e.g. for shuffling all songs by the artist). The ability to do both has been included in X5 2.02beta and I imagine the same ability will be available in the X3 later.

 

[Mmet]

Yes, the basis of the above complaint is the feature you're talking about, the ability to select an artist and have the albums by that artist show up, instead of all his/her songs in a jumble. We worked hard on launching this feature in 3.0 but afterwards some people complain that they'd rather want the old setup (e.g. for shuffling all songs by the artist). The ability to do both has been included in X5 2.02beta and I imagine the same ability will be available in the X3 later.

Great news ...any information about a playlist support in the next update ?

 

[MassDude]

What would be nice is to FINALLY get playlist support on the X3. It amazes me that what is really a standard feature of just about any portable player is not available on the X3. 

 

[MunkyOne]

As far as I understand it if in DAC mode the decoding is done by the x3.

The same file on the PC or on the x3 should sound identical as the x3 is decoding and amping.

I may be mistaken, but I think the FLAC, MP3 etc. decoding is done by the playing software, with the resultant decoded digital output being passed to the DAC.  Therefore, in DAC mode, the X3 would be receiving a decoded digital stream of the track being played in whichever software is being used for playback.  This would explain why the fw3.0 update to the X3 has little or no impact on the sound when in DAC mode, even though it contains significant changes to the efficacy and quality of the file decoding process, particularly MP3 files.
 
Perhaps someone with a more detailed knowledge of this could either confirm or correct my understanding.

 

[Koolpep]

 
I may be mistaken, but I think the FLAC, MP3 etc. decoding is done by the playing software, with the resultant decoded digital output being passed to the DAC.  Therefore, in DAC mode, the X3 would be receiving a decoded digital stream of the track being played in whichever software is being used for playback.  This would explain why the fw3.0 update to the X3 has little or no impact on the sound when in DAC mode, even though it contains significant changes to the efficacy and quality of the file decoding process, particularly MP3 files.
 
Perhaps someone with a more detailed knowledge of this could either confirm or correct my understanding.

 
No you are not mistaken, you are absolutely right (face palm on my side).
 
The X3 (or the player software on the PC/Mac) does indeed decode the mp3 into a digital stream that is then passed onto the DAC. 
 
Not so sure about lossless though as the resulting digital stream should be exactly the same on both...
 
Cheers,
K

 

[reihead]

That's going to be my approach: lossy on X3, lossless on X5 and DX90.

 
Same here, but I don't have a DX90

 

[Speedmusic]

Just a quick question, my iPod classic will probarbly die within a few weeks (charging connector).
As i'm leaving within 2 weeks for a 4 week holiday i need a new player, the X3 is on my short list as is the DX50 and a new Classic.
Is the X3 the right player for me, hopefully you guys and some girls can help me out by answerring the next questions:
 
1.) My iPod classic has 130Gb of music, will the X3 be able to support Micro SD 128Gb or higher, now or in the future?
2.) 85% of the time i use my device in my car, is the GUI easy to use? Here an example of my music listening habbit:
I'm a bit of an ADHDer, while listen to a certain song, another song/artist pops up in my mind and i want to listen right after the first song is finished etc....
For me an easy to use UI is the difference of ending up in a canal or stay on the road , so yes a simple and good UI is important to me.
3.) Will my current FiiO Killimanjaro that i use with my Classic, have added value to the X3?
 
Hopefully you can help me out, the budget is around €200,--.

 

[Mmet]

  Just a quick question, my iPod classic will probarbly die within a few weeks (charging connector).
As i'm leaving within 2 weeks for a 4 week holiday i need a new player, the X3 is on my short list as is the DX50 and a new Classic.
Is the X3 the right player for me, hopefully you guys and some girls can help me out by answerring the next questions:
 
1.) My iPod classic has 130Gb of music, will the X3 be able to support Micro SD 128Gb or higher, now or in the future?
2.) 85% of the time i use my device in my car, is the GUI easy to use? Here an example of my music listening habbit:
I'm a bit of an ADHDer, while listen to a certain song, another song/artist pops up in my mind and i want to listen right after the first song is finished etc....
For me an easy to use UI is the difference of ending up in a canal or stay on the road , so yes a simple and good UI is important to me.
3.) Will my current FiiO Killimanjaro that i use with my Classic, have added value to the X3?
 
Hopefully you can help me out, the budget is around €200,--.

1- X3 supports 128gb card right now
2-i dont have any issues with the current firmware .. it is easy and fast but i think the classic is more intuitive and easier
3-no..... with the current firmware the sound quality is flawless ... no need for the E11 and it will degrade X3 sound quality.. i have one and it is eating dust right now   

 

[Saoshyant]

The file limit on the X3 is what, 5800?

 

[Smurfs2010]

Is it worth attaching a dac/amp to the X3?

 

[TrollDragon]

Is it worth attaching a dac/amp to the X3?

I have the FiiO E12 attached to mine for the DT880 Pro's.