The Fiio X5 Thread

[OneL0ve]

My brand new Fiio X5 screen did this today. 

 
It went back to normal after a restart.
 
Anyone seen this before? 

 

 

[olddude]

Yep- it's got the heebie-jeebies  Just turn it off and then turn it on again.

 

[OneL0ve]

Is that ok behavior or should I return it?

 

[OneL0ve]

Does the Low/High gain on the X5 have any effect when using the line out. I am guessing NO?

 

[nmatheis]

Haven't seen that particular pattern before, but I have seen other odd and glitchy patterns on the boot screen before. As olddude mentioned, they go away after a reboot.

 

[OneL0ve]

Haven't seen that particular pattern before, but I have seen other odd and glitchy patterns on the boot screen before. As @olddude mentioned, they go away after a reboot.

I almost had a heart attack when it happened.

 

[aangen]

Heart attacks are not covered by the warranty.

 

[olddude]

Be nice if they were.  

 

[aangen]

Off Topic Alert!
 
Oh Oh, I just opened and installed an LH Labs Geek Out 450 DAC/AMP to my computer.
It's making me forget my Dragonfly 1.2 pretty quickly.
(Which made me forget my X3 as a computer DAC)
 
Onward and upward!

 

[Shawn71]

If I have to choose/finalize on DX90 or the X5, which one you guys wld recommend and why? Im looking on the UI,ease of use,handling different IEMs &or headphones (full size),actual battery backup,fw fronts, besides their sound......any user who have both of them shed some light here......Im currently leaning towards discrete sabre chips,2TB,touch screen,replaceable s3 battery.....

 

[Kerouac]

If I have to choose/finalize on DX90 or the X5, which one you guys wld recommend and why? Im looking on the UI,ease of use,handling different IEMs &or headphones (full size),actual battery backup,fw fronts, besides their sound......any user who have both of them shed some light here......Im currently leaning towards discrete sabre chips,2TB,touch screen,replaceable s3 battery.....

I have them both for a while now...

 
Straight out of both players HO I absolutely prefer the DX90 for SQ. Lurker0 really nailed it with his 2.1.5 L2 FW.
Advantages of DX90 are the touchscreen and the replacable battery (both mentioned by yourself, so you did your homework

)
 
When I use the X5 it's always with an extra amp (Pico Power or E12).
Advantages of the X5 are 2x micro sd slot and better (I think amost double) batterylife.
 
DX90 has a bit easier UI imo because of the touchscreen, but on the other hand I prefer the design and build quality of the X5.
It's very hard to choose one of them and that's why I have and keep them both. But I've used the X5 stack more than the DX90 over the last few months...
 
For hard to drive headphones I would always recommend an extra (good) amp. When I use my LCD2, I always have the Pico Power on one of the players LO, but my Grado PS500 is easily driven (and sounds pretty good that way) by both players straight out of the HO.
For iems: when I use my RTi1, it's a bit bass shy. So, the E12's bass boost unleashes the beast that's inside (unfortunatelly also the hiss and that's why I'm now on the fence for a E12A or a Cayin C5). My V6S profits from the clean (very detailled) output and wide soundstage of the Pico Power. I guess it's all about synergy in the end...
 
Good luck with making your choice, imo you can't go wrong with either of them!
 
 

 

[JamesFiiO]

  My brand new Fiio X5 screen did this today. 

 
It went back to normal after a restart.
 
Anyone seen this before? 

 

 
sorry, the TFT screen has build in memory, sometimes the data has some error so the display is error, but once you turn off and turn on again, the Soc will restart the screen and it will back to normal. 

 

[Shawn71]

I have them both for a while now...






 


Straight out of both players HO I absolutely prefer the DX90 for SQ. Lurker0 really nailed it with his 2.1.5 L2 FW.


Advantages of DX90 are the touchscreen and the replacable battery (both mentioned by yourself, so you did your homework )


 


When I use the X5 it's always with an extra amp (Pico Power or E12).


Advantages of the X5 are 2x micro sd slot and better (I think amost double) batterylife.


 


DX90 has a bit easier UI imo because of the touchscreen, but on the other hand I prefer the design and build quality of the X5.


It's very hard to choose one of them and that's why I have and keep them both. But I've used the X5 stack more than the DX90 over the last few months...


 


For hard to drive headphones I would always recommend an extra (good) amp. When I use my LCD2, I always have the Pico Power on one of the players LO, but my Grado PS500 is easily driven (and sounds pretty good that way) by both players straight out of the HO.


For iems: when I use my RTi1, it's a bit bass shy. So, the E12's bass boost unleashes the beast that's inside (unfortunatelly also the hiss and that's why I'm now on the fence for a E12A or a Cayin C5). My V6S profits from the clean (very detailled) output and wide soundstage of the Pico Power. I guess it's all about synergy in the end...


 


Good luck with making your choice, imo you can't go wrong with either of them!


 


 

Thx for the response,appreciate it....yeah both are good on their own so is the tough decision.....

 

[nmatheis]

Well, I PMed you Shawn71. But since Kerouac posted his thoughts, I guess I will, too.

TL/DR: Both are great DAPs, and there are plenty of tradeoffs between the two to make the choice a very personal one. That said, my daily driver is the X5.


Rambling version (previously PMed to another headfi-er):

I typically use IEM with both, so I don't have issues associated with hard to drive full-size HP. So neither wins with respect to driving power for my use.

Both have great SQ but are slightly different. I was just listening to Rush's Moving Pictures album going back and forth between both DAPs with my TPEOS Altone200. I found the X5 to sound more organic/smooth. The DX90 sounded more energetic/crisper and because of that seems to have a bit larger, more 3D soundstage. In this case, I found I preferred the X5 as the DX90 pushed the Altones into fatiguing territory making the upper mids and high end sound a bit "etched".

Personally, I prefer the X5's tactile user interface. I don't feel I need a touchscreen DAP and find the DX90's touch points too small and finicky, which leads me to select something I didn't intend to fairly often. That said, the X5's scroll wheel is also a bit finicky and tends to over/undershoot, but you can always choose to use hardware buttons instead of the scroll wheel. With the DX90, you're stuck with a lot of touchscreen interactions. If you're up for it, flashing Rockbox can solve the touchscreen issues by allowing you to choose/craft a "better" UI that spreads the touch points out a bit. With X5, there are several UI customizations (including a couple of my own) that simplify and speed up the UI.

As far as hardware and build quality go, the X5 feels like a tank! I really like the fold-over pleather case Fiio made for it. The DX90 feels good, as well, but can't really compete with how solid the X5's is. That said, the X5 does really feel bigger and heavier than the DX90.

Than there's battery life and storage capacity. X5 handily wins both of those!

TL/DR: Both are great DAPs. X5 is my preferred DAP for more organic sound without losing out on details, increased battery life and storage capacity, and no reliance on finicky touchscreen interface.

Good luck! You read can't go wrong with either and might even be perfectly happy with an X3 if storage capacity isn't an issue. It's also got a more organic sound and the hardware bass/treble controls enhance sound very nicely.

 

[Kerouac]

I was just listening to Rush's Moving Pictures album

What, you drove with your friend Tom Sawyer in a Red Barchetta up to YIZ street, when suddenly you spotted the Limelight with your Camera Eye? But luckily you could escape the Witch Hunt that almost spotted your Vital Signs...wow, that's quite an audio adventure on itself with both players!
And maybe their song Cygnus X1 gave somebody at FiiO some inspiration