[Arcright00]

 
dBpoweramp checks your rip against a known 'perfect rip' database!

That sounds like a very useful feature. 
 
Thanks 
Arcright 

 

[ptravel]

  I believe you meant x1 not x7.

Ooops, yes, you're right.

 

[AndrewH13]

  While I believe in and have experienced burn-in with headphones, I always thought the people who discussed burn-in of cables and solid state electronic players were crazy.
 
HOWEVER,  I swear that my X5 sounds markedly smoother, fuller, and with more forwards mids now than it did when I recieved it a week ago.  Maybe I just have gotten used to the sound, however, this is also doing back to back comparisons with my iPhone 4s.
 
Does anyone else think they have experienced a noticable change in sound with burn in with the X5 ?

 
iBasso DX90 to come with a burn-in cable. Think I saw 200 hours needed!

 

[sinky]

  Back to hires, this time worried about my Yes albums playing OK as someone reported a problem with 88 music and these are 24/176 , a multiple. Played fine, amazing separation and tone on Long Distance Runaround.

 
 
 
Thanks Andrew seems like  24/176 flac files should be ok then.
some feed back on 24/88 play back would be helpful as I have a mix bag of both 176 and 88 sacd flac .  I can try myself  in a week or so when  I get my x5  but was hoping to organize my tunes and have my 2x64gig sd cards  loaded with high def music by then .
 

 

[Barra]

  I picked my X5 up from my local distributor today and I want to say, I'm very satisfied. It looks great, feels great, and I have zero qualms about interface so far. The sound is good. It's not DX100-perfect (like the way, the DX100 never left me wish for anything more/different at all), but I'd say it's right between the X3 and the DX100 in overall sound quality, so considering its price (and also size and weight), that's a great achievement, I guess. It could be the case that it's voiced a bit contrary to my personal preferences. I experience the X5 to still have a slightly hard/forward/wanna-impress/in-your-face sound, rather than the laid back and effortlessly neutral signature, I always admired in the DX100, but it does seem to me like it has a very high resolution and could sound extremely close to the DX100 if it would have been intended to imitate the DX100's signature.
 
I have not heard a lot of DAPs, but there was an extreme "forced detailedness", which I experienced with a HM-801, which I listened to briefly, which made the HM-801 practically unlistenable to me. I then was able to borrow an X3 from a local head-fier for a few days and it also had quite a bit of that in-your-face forwardness, which the HM-801 seemed to possess way too much of, but was already much better. Contrary to the HM-801, I would have actually picked the X3 over the extremely boring, but at least balanced sounding sansa clip. And now the X5 is almost there. Not quite "DX100-perfectly-pleasant" to listen to, but already _very_ acceptable for its price, in my opinion.
 
So, thank you for making this great player, FiiO! =)
 
Just to mention it: My main reason for getting the X5, was that it offers 2 microsd slots for a potentially 256GB (and maybe 512GB should 256GB microsdxc happen to come around in a few years) no-hassles-one-box-solution.
 
Oh, and a short question, because I came across this in the DX90 thread: http://www.mix-computer.de/html/product/detail.html?artNo=IMILU6&
Should this work when plugged into the X5's usb port to expand the X5's storage? (Is this what OTG is about?)

The X5 has a micro USB port. The OTG cable that plugs into the X5 has a female full sized USB port on the other end to match up with the USB stick you are pointing to so that it can plug into the OTG cable. Then your answer is yes, you can use that USB stick with the X5. The OTG cable can be found with a simple search on Amazon. The X5 includes the OTG cable.

 

[Cannikin]

24 hours with the X5.

 
I bought an X3 back in December, and I had a terrible time with it -- it refused to play certain files, locked up/crashed frequently, library update took 20 minutes or more at times and sometimes failed completely, etc. (It was unclear after several weeks of support and diagnostics from FiiO whether I had a bad unit, or if I had encountered the inherent weaknesses in the device: IE perhaps it wasn't "fully baked" technology) Eventually, I made arrangements with Amazon to return it for a refund (Amazon was very gracious in doing so; the return period had expired by the time I decided I had a lemon, so kudos to Amazon). As a result of the poor experience I had with the X3 I was very hesitant to buy the X5, but decided for the relatively modest price I was willing to take a chance. I set my expectations quite low, but remained open-minded.
 
I came to this device having concluded that my bad experience with the X3 was in part due to loading a mix of file types including the potentially troublesome (not fully supported, it seems?) AIFF format, and so I prepped my library beforehand, converting most everything to FLAC, plus a small percentage of AAC files, omitting AIFF completely. Whether or not this decision has been pivotal to my experience so far I can only speculate, but the X5 has performed far better. I will reduce my "review" to a succinct bullet-point list.....
 
- This is one solid piece of hardware; well-constructed and appears to be built to last. The X5 is taking its role very seriously in comparison to its little brother, the X3.
- Compared to the X3, the UI of the X5 is a huge improvement. Still quirky* but I was able to intuit the actions and structure of the software system without much trouble at all, which cannot be said about the X3 (I never really got a handle on the button layout and constantly clicked the wrong button)
- Loading my catalog (a 64gb SanDisk class ten card) and having the X5 build the library for the first time took less than 2 minutes, which was a pleasant surprise! Additional files added later made for a very swift rebuilding of the catalog file, and it has not locked up during this procedure.
- Scrolling through my catalog is effortless and fast, approaching the usability of the iPod Classic in ease of use. Note that I will approach this source device by browsing albums almost exclusively (I don't care about playlists or any such features; I usually listen to most or all of an album at a sitting), and this is very easily done.
- Gapless playback works, but isn't flawless: there is an audible click between tracks, and sometimes a very brief gap. However, it works well enough for my liking.
- Album art is rarely displayed, which might bother some people, but I don't care; I'm not staring at the screen while listening to music -- the player is in my pocket, after all! It would be nice if this worked consistently, of course, but its not a feature I place much emphasis on. (The AK100 rarely displays album art either)
- I currently have three headphone/IEMs -- Shure SE530, Grado GR10, and Shure's flagship over-the-ear model, the SRH1540. The SRH1540s are a stellar match for the default sound signature of the X5. The SE530s are pretty good as well, but the GR10s are a bit hard sounding for my tastes when paired with the X5, but I regard the GR10s as best for Jazz and Classical and some vocal recordings only -- not so great with modern rock/pop stuff. 
- Sound quality is quite nice; on the warm side of neutral to my ears (Based solely on the default EQ, IE: flat. I rarely feel a need to play with EQ, preferring the default sound of a recording). There are details in the mids (notably vocals) that the X5 doesn't resolve as well as my AK100 does -- at least that is my impression so far. The sound signature of both devices is remarkably similar though (to my 54 year old ears, which are still in very good shape, I might add).
- Crashes? Well, yes -- a couple. Attempting to play some of my 192/24 purchases from HDtracks resulted in the X5 locking up as it cached the file for play. Holding the power button for 10 seconds restarted the device without having to push the reset button, so that isn't too bad. Once so far, the X5 has skipped halfway through a track and started the next song. This happened a LOT on my X3, and I hope I don't see this behavior frequently on the X5.
 
Am I impressed? Yes. (So far.) I can't say that the X5 offers me much that my AK100 doesn't bring to the table, but the flipside of that coin is: this seems to be just as good a player as the AK100, at nearly half the price, which will appeal to those who wants to dip into high-res on a limited budget. I would remind folks that this is just a "first impressions" review, and I may have more to say about the X5 in the days/weeks/months ahead - both positive and negative, potentially. 24 hours with a new toy is not enough time to generate an exhaustive review of any device, right?
 
A post script:
 
I'm not bothered by the 5800 file limit "problem" since I regard my two "high res" players as devices that are dedicated to only my most valued music, which is about 25% of my whole library. If I need a device to load my entire library on (MP3s and all the rest) then I will grab my iPod Classic. I regard my AK10 and X5 as standalone players specifically for my highest quality music, and so my expectations are very different compared to my iPod Classic, which requires a LOD + Amp to sound decent**. The X5 fits my usage case nicely; it addresses my needs.
 
*the main menu items revolve in the opposite direction to the scroll wheel action, which is a very puzzling implementation. And yes, I know it is likely going to be changed in FW updates, so lets not dwell on it; its not a deal breaker anyway.
 
** The X5 pairs nicely with the FiiO E11, and for certain genres (Rock/Pop) the external amp adds some heft to the music that benefits these genres. IMO. YMMV.

 

[thericochet]

I received my X5 today. It sounds damn good and gapless works perfectly on FLACs in both folder view and library view (firmware v1.22 beta).
 
I do however have two fairly showstoppy issues bugging me, wondering if anyone else has encountered them (bear in mind I am using v1.22 beta):
 
1. when the screen is locked the volume buttons actually skip tracks/seek in tracks. Not sure why. Even when the skip/seek buttons are enabled in Lockscreen 2 mode, the volume buttons are skip/seek buttons. So you've got 4 skip buttons and no volume controls when locked, and frequent accidental track skips when using on the move. This can't be right?
 
2. having embedded album art in FLAC for the sole reason that the X5 wouldn't otherwise display any art, tracks will now frequently fail to load the art, fail to play and skip to the next track after playing for only a couple of seconds. This wasn't a problem before embedding, which you shouldn't have to do (folder.jpg is right there!) and shouldn't really do with FLAC files anyway. So I'm back to no artwork at all until folder.jpg is supported, and according to my experiments that'll pretty much apply to everyone using FLAC.
 
tl;dr - embedded artwork, enforced by lack of other options, seems to make playback very unstable to the point of having to remove it again.
 
Anyone had similar issues/got suggestions?
I'm very, very pleased with the player in general btw and confident these issues won't last!

 

[pe3ucTop]

  I received my X5 today. It sounds damn good and gapless works perfectly on FLACs in both folder view and library view (firmware v1.22 beta).
 
I do however have two fairly showstoppy issues bugging me, wondering if anyone else has encountered them (bear in mind I am using v1.22 beta):
 
1. when the screen is locked the volume buttons actually skip tracks/seek in tracks. Not sure why. Even when the skip/seek buttons are enabled in Lockscreen 2 mode, the volume buttons are skip/seek buttons. So you've got 4 skip buttons and no volume controls when locked, and frequent accidental track skips when using on the move. This can't be right?
 
2. having embedded album art in FLAC for the sole reason that the X5 wouldn't otherwise display any art, tracks will now frequently fail to load the art, fail to play and skip to the next track after playing for only a couple of seconds. This wasn't a problem before embedding, which you shouldn't have to do (folder.jpg is right there!) and shouldn't really do with FLAC files anyway. So I'm back to no artwork at all until folder.jpg is supported, and according to my experiments that'll pretty much apply to everyone using FLAC.
 
tl;dr - embedded artwork, enforced by lack of other options, seems to make playback very unstable to the point of having to remove it again.
 
Anyone had similar issues/got suggestions?
I'm very, very pleased with the player in general btw and confident these issues won't last!

 
(Disclaimer: this is with firmware 1.22 beta)
 
About your first issue - in lockscreen the Volume buttons act as skip track when you HOLD the button. If you just quickly press it and release, it increases or decreases the volume. It is a bit weird having to pump on the button to affect the volume, for me it's just easier to unlock it with 1 push of the lock/power button and then adjust the volume by holding the button instead of pumping it 20 times. You are correct that it seems like in lockscreen 2 mode it seems like the volume button should be just that - volume button since we already have the other two buttons active to be able to skip back or forward...
 
Something else that is weird for me is - when you use the volume button to skip songs, the function seems to be done counter-intuitive(at least to me, maybe others find it OK) - the volume up button actually is skip back and the volume down is skip forward, instead of the other way around. Do you guys find this weird, or is it just me?
 
About the second issue - I believe James or Joe commented earlier that the folder.jpg does not automatically associate with the files and is still not implemented in the X5 software, but they are planning to do it in further firmware updates. If I am wrong, they are welcome to correct me. I personally haven't had any problems with songs skipping before they actually reach their end or without input by the user(i.e. me pressing the skip forward button).

 

[Arturan]

Hi guys. I received my x5 on the 09 april from B&H (pre-ordered online on the 7th of march). Using it with the crossfade m100.
First of all I want to thank Fiio for changing the silicone case that comes with the player from the grey one to black. I looks much better.
Second, the standard 2.1a wall charger from the samsung note II doesn't charge my unit. So if you are planing to buy one for the x5, better check before buying.
Fortunately my wall adapter from the apple ipad did the job wonderfully. The player charged in 3hr 50min from dead to full without heating up the player, which is good for the battery.
 
Quote:

  Something else that is weird for me is - when you use the volume button to skip songs, the function seems to be done counter-intuitive(at least to me, maybe others find it OK) - the volume up button actually is skip back and the volume down is skip forward, instead of the other way around. Do you guys find this weird, or is it just me?

I also thought is counter-intuitive as it is with the direction of scrolling in the main menu, but I've already got used to it.

 

[sandalaudio]

   
(Disclaimer: this is with firmware 1.22 beta)
 
About your first issue - in lockscreen the Volume buttons act as skip track when you HOLD the button. If you just quickly press it and release, it increases or decreases the volume. It is a bit weird having to pump on the button to affect the volume, for me it's just easier to unlock it with 1 push of the lock/power button and then adjust the volume by holding the button instead of pumping it 20 times. You are correct that it seems like in lockscreen 2 mode it seems like the volume button should be just that - volume button since we already have the other two buttons active to be able to skip back or forward...
 
Something else that is weird for me is - when you use the volume button to skip songs, the function seems to be done counter-intuitive(at least to me, maybe others find it OK) - the volume up button actually is skip back and the volume down is skip forward, instead of the other way around. Do you guys find this weird, or is it just me?
 

 
I think the volume button to change track is not a bug but a handy feature that Fiio decided to put in, so that you don't have to take your X5 out of your pocket to change the track. It's quite nice because it gives one button two different functions depending on how you press it.
 
I have also noticed that it is weird to press Vol Down to move to next track, and Vol Up to go back to previous track, but I got used to it. However, it is known that simple GUI inconsistency is what makes people frustrated in the long run.
 
 
For me the most annoying bug is that the scroll wheel moves the list up and down in opposite directions depending on which menu you are on. e.g. clockwise moves down on browser and settings page, but anticlockwise moves down on main menu and playback track list page. Imagine if the mouse scroll wheel on your computer moves some texts and tables up, but down on others, because the designers thought that it was the right thing to do.
 
Also, some pages allow the bottom physical buttons to be used as up and down, whereas in other pages (e.g. settings page) these buttons don't do anything so the only choice is the scroll wheel. 

 

[fleasbaby]

Swung by the house to pick up the X5, which arrived this afternoon. Am spending the last hour of my work day trying really hard to actually work

Brief first impression, firmware 1.20, very happy...was well worth the wait.

Well-built, brilliant sound (detailed, near as dammit to neutral but not exactly, as that would be annoying), and not terribly confusing to use.

 

[Canaudio]

I just installed the 1.22 beta firmware and noticed that .AIFF playback is vastly better than it was with 1.20.  Good work!
 
My big desire for an update is to be able to have the player default to folder view when turned on.  Now when it turns on the upper right button always gives me an alphabetical list of all songs in all folders - not at all useful. I would like to have a way of changing the boot up parameters.

 

[jaredudu]

Gapless playback is very good with 1.22beta 

 
 
Album art seems to load a bit slower possibly, but not a big deal. Could just be imagining it

 

[JamesFiiO]

the volume bottom works as previous/next is the advice from end user. we had asked the early customer in China about this and most customers choose this one.
 
sometimes I feel we are too listening to customer and may lost oursefl.  sorry for this cause some of you may not feel happy but I see lots of complain about the UI ( to be honest, I think the firmware/UE/UI is the best in Chinese
 
brand DAP), but most people are focus on it. so I am a little confused about the siutaion cause it seems the SQ is not the most important thing in X5. 

,
 
or it is safe to said, there are nothing to complain except the UI ?

 

[Seskoi]

I also thought is counter-intuitive as it is with the direction of scrolling in the main menu, but I've already got used to it.

Hey! So how is the sound quality paired with the m-100?! Thanks!