[odedia]

I'm new here, IEM = portable amp?

 

[howdy]

I'm new here, IEM = portable amp?

IEM=In Ear Monitors

 

[Shawn71]

I'm new here, IEM = portable amp?

In Ear Monitor-earphones......like klipsch s4,sennheiser cx300 etc

 

[Bob Clobber]

Speaking of IEM's, I recently got some Hifiman RE-600's. No more headphones for me when I listen to the X3. These sound wonderful.

 

[nmatheis]

odedia: I agree that the E12 has good synergy with Fiio X3 and X5. There are a few E12 variants now, and I'd recommend looking at E12A which has upgraded Opamp and buffer. It sounds very nice, and has a bit less volume on low gain to more easily control more sensitive in-ears but is still powerful enough on high gain to drive full-sized headphones. Or the E12 DIY, which lets you easily switch out the Opamps and buffers to get different sound signature.

 

[Shawn71]

Few questions:

- can I directly connect my iPhone 6 via lightning to usb cable adapter to the x3, or do I still need a hub/30 pin connector in between?
Any way to connect my old iPod classic to the x3?
Thanks.

No.......For both, you need to have a Line-in (in the amplier) to accept.....just like E11/E12 has, for example.......whereas your X3 has line out,besides HO......

 

[Shawn71]

odedia: I agree that the E12 has good synergy with Fiio X3 and X5. There are a few E12 variants now, and I'd recommend looking at E12A which has upgraded Opamp and buffer. It sounds very nice, and has a bit less volume on low gain to more easily control more sensitive in-ears but is still powerful enough on high gain to drive full-sized headphones. Or the E12 DIY, which lets you easily switch out the Opamps and buffers to get different sound signature.

+1 on E12DIY.........yes, I wld like to emphazise on E12DIY than E12A due to more op+buf combinations,for almost the cost of E12A......only if he can stretch his budget than E12.....

 

[Shawn71]

Speaking of IEM's, I recently got some Hifiman RE-600's. No more headphones for me when I listen to the X3. These sound wonderful.

Nice......so what was the HP you were pairing with your X3,prior to 600s.....shd be a closed one?

 

[odedia]

Thanks for all the info. Since I'm not using In-Ear Heaphones, I guess the regular E12 would be more suitable.
 
I wonder why the iPhone wouldn't work with the X3? Is it because it draws too much power from the iPhone?

 

[peter123]

Thanks for the advice, I'm in the same boat re. currency - lousy OPEC
Have been leaning towards the Pro 80 w/ HM5 pads. Would be cheapest, but those X2s seem to be beckoning me (too bad they aren't available on Amazon.ca, I'd have to order from the States.) The Beyers are easy to get locally, and as far as the AKGs go, I really wasn't sure if the X3 would have enough grunt to drive them properly (I also got a nx1 amp on the way, but it probably isn't much better on that front).
Actually I may cancel the B3 order for the time being, esp if I do decide to splurge (and well the b6 hopefully will be here sooner rather than later).
Cheers.

I feel you're pain regarding the exchange rate

So I've given a quick listen to the q701's, DT880's and HM5 straight from the x3 and they all sounds very good from it.

The Q701's have as !much bass and impact as from my Geek Out720, the DT880's sound great even though I need to push the volume almost to Max on high gain. The HM5 sounds much better than I remembered but I would still put the Pro80's over them.

To sum it up I'd say that the sound signature of the X3 is a very good match with all of the above options.

Tbh I'm pretty sure that although these are all great cans the x2 will best them all, time will tell

 

[Mr Trev]

I feel you're pain regarding the exchange rate

So I've given a quick listen to the q701's, DT880's and HM5 straight from the x3 and they all sounds very good from it.

The Q701's have as !much bass and impact as from my Geek Out720, the DT880's sound great even though I need to push the volume almost to Max on high gain. The HM5 sounds much better than I remembered but I would still put the Pro80's over them.

To sum it up I'd say that the sound signature of the X3 is a very good match with all of the above options.

Tbh I'm pretty sure that although these are all great cans the x2 will best them all, time will tell

Hey. Thanks again for the added impressions.
 
If I go the DT880 route, I would be getting the 250 ohm model so they shouldn't be quite so hard to drive. There's also the t51, but I don't really need portability, and most of the reviews describe them as "bassy". Don't get me wrong I'm a bit of a bass fiend, but I likes my bass fast, clean, and deep. Got plenty of electro-ambient disc with loooow freq (eq. Pacific Codex by Bass Communion. Couldn't release it on vinyl, cause there was so much deep bass it would've made the needle jump the grooves.) and also got a copy of "Wellington's Victory" which has a warning about speaker damage on the back cover (how cool is that).
 
Mp4nation has the HM5 on sale now for $100 and you can get a extra set of pads (or brainwavz amp) for free, which is what put them on my radar, but your opinion about the pro 80 being better mirrors most of the others I've read so far.
 
As far as the X2 goes.... had a couple of pm with a fellow Canadian user who ordered a pair, and the exchange and duties put them out of my price range - unless they go on sale, which is doubtful since they're a new model (actually I noticed that most of the good deals on Amazon over the past few weeks have only been on old models which probably are soon to be discontinued with CES only a few weeks away).
Cheers.

 

[Bob Clobber]

Nice......so what was the HP you were pairing with your X3,prior to 600s.....shd be a closed one?

I had some Incase Sonic headphones, Monoprice 8323's (great bang for the buck) Sennhieser PX 310 on ear hp's. My AKG Q701's sound great with the X3, but a bulky open back set of cans aren't exactly the best portable solution. The 600's isolate well, and sound better than all but the AKG's.

 

[Shawn71]

I had some Incase Sonic headphones, Monoprice 8323's (great bang for the buck) Sennhieser PX 310 on ear hp's. My AKG Q701's sound great with the X3, but a bulky open back set of cans aren't exactly the best portable solution. The 600's isolate well, and sound better than all but the AKG's.

Ok.....yeah IEMs serves best when it comes to outdoors/portability....and its also an added joy and satisfaction when it replaces our existing collection and with 50% price offer (savings)from its original street price......

 

[Mmet]

hey guys ... i want to ask a question i know it may be clear but just to make sure .. is x3 line out is superior to imod ?

 

[originalsnuffy]

MMET:

There is no "clear answer" to your question. Audio fidelity in many cases is highly subjective, and your question is definitely in that category. How much of a benefit does the capless approach to the imod provide relative to having a more modern Wolfson chipset and strong amplification built in?

I have an unmodified 5.5g, running both stock firmware and rockbox. With Rockbox, I think it sounds good but not with all headphones. Seems to depend on the impedance.

The X3 can handle anything I throw at it with aplomb.

But my ipod has 240gb on it right now. That is a benefit from my point of view. Oh yeah, it docks to one of my cars that still has the 30 pin adaptor and no auxiliary input.

Your mileage is sure to vary.