[Stevemitchell]

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

Scroll down to "192khz considered harmful"

X5 can't play them well.

OMG!    "Placebo!"  "Confirmation Bias" "Blind!"  "Double-blind!!" 
 
"Hydrogen Audio" !?!
 
Ma Peeps!!  Where ya been?
 
Steve

 

[heart banger-97]

I would keep the modi as a desktop dac for headphones and/or speakers, and use the x5 for on-the-go. (That's actually my ideal set up)

.
I already use my galaxy s4 on the go and I'm happy with it. I'm using modi/vali setup, In home. I'm just tempted to buy x5 if its dac is  a clear step up from  modi. 
Anybody can have a comment on this ? 

 

[blackwolf1006]

  .
I already use my galaxy s4 on the go and I'm happy with it. I'm using modi/vali setup, In home. I'm just tempted to buy x5 if its dac is  a clear step up from  modi. 
Anybody can have a comment on this ? 

 
I have a Note 3. The audio quality is Way better comming from the X5 without an amp. I have a mixed bag of music qualities on my note 3. I have a few 24/96 and 16/44 and some mp3 (if I cant find it loss-less). The 24/96 songs sound almost identical to the 16/44 ones even when i am using an AMP.
 
Amps used with the note 3
FiiO e17 Alpen
HeadAmp Pico USB DAC/Amp
 
Headphones used
HD800
HD650
 
Earphones
Weston 4R

 

[zwief]

Agreed!  Would like to see an "Album Artist"  sort option.

 

[blackwolf1006]

trying to get the FiiO HS9 and FiiO HS11 case in the US. Does any one have a site recommendation

 

[superbike999]

  After several weeks of research, analysis and planning, I bought a FiiO X5 via MP4Nation late last month and, since then, I have been suffering aggravated angst. ie Will it turn up. Will it suffer at the hands of confused consignment / customs / courier collectives. Will it be undamaged. And, rather more importantly, will it work. 
 
Having read absolutely everything I could find on the X5 and its competitors, I had developed SPPPDA (Severe Post Purchase Pre Delivery Anxiety) and was almost dreading the pesky machine actually turning up.
 
Concerns about basic operation, suspect sound quality, ease of use, UI, UI updates, UI failures, UI friends, UI foes etc all burned at my inner audiophile karma. Hundreds of headfi (and other) posts about competitive category carnage only fuelled my anxiety... The dac is great but the amp is anal. The amp is ample but the dac is delinquent. The amp and dac are great when they work. It's a great DAP but better with a different dac / amp / other stack. Earns a solid four stars when connected to $10 000 worth of other stuff. The gear is fine but the UI is traumatising. The battery only lasts between the bedroom and bathroom - en suite. Only works with the very headphones you chose not to buy last month. The supplied cables worked last year but only in a zero gravity environment. I should have ordered it with the pink silicone case because the vibes are better. I really should have briefed a dentist to give me better gapless playback I should have planned to roll the op amps in flavoured flour first.
 
And my personal favourite: if it worked, it would be great.
 
I'm sure many of you get this picture.
 
To my so far enduring surprise, my X5 arrived via Fedex today, four days ahead of updated schedule. And that's from HK to the lumpiest, grumpiest end of the Scottish Highlands, just beyond the middle of northern nowhere. Great job MP4Nation.  
 
Unbox reveals everything as it should be. And looking fabulous.
 
So. Delivery plus six hours. X5 fully charged, Latest UI - 2.0 - installed and operational. 64gb Sandisk micro sd card loaded with Linn 192 Studio Master tracks and inserted into card slot one. Some qualitative player selections > volume, eq, library etc. 
 
And...heartbeat substantially elevated...I press play. Then, something I never expected to type with any kind of pleasure > the sound of music. Gorgeous music. A squillion miles better than CD quality output via my previous Macbook Pro /  RAZRi / FiiO E7. And this is one minute into 'burn in".
 
At this stage, I am experiencing equal measures of joy and relief. Meanwhile, Mahler 6 is just audible from burn in land beneath my bed.
 
Recap: Unwrap. Charge. Load. Play.
 
That's it. 
 
Magic.

Brilliant post.  Made me laugh.  Have been enjoying mine for a couple of months now.  Just got 2 x Sandisk 128GB micro cards from "My Memory" UK.

 

[HarryHardcase]

Just one last comment before I delete this thread from my bookmarks:
 
The comments I've read as replies to my last post regarding my pending RMA have suggested that user error was a potential factor.  I can say that it was not.  There are no drivers required for the OS X platform, so there is no choice between ASIO or Windows own etc. As for all the other explanations that were posited (dirty USB power, electrical interference…): I should say I also own a a Fiio E7 and a Fiio E17, and neither have ever suffered from any of the symptoms I experienced with the X5.  None of my other players have ever displayed any playback issues despite using precisely the same files on precisely the same µSD cards.
 
The simple truth is that there's a certain amount of (and some find this word offensive, but as a Mac owner for many years I've no hesitation in using it - I've earned the damn right) fanboi-ism in play here.  There may also be a certain amount of fear in play - is this device really as flawed as that?  Have I made a mistake?  
 
All I know is I'm DAMN glad I got not only a full refund for the device but for the postage.  Now I don't have to sit and wait with concern and intermittent regret with a buggy device wondering when Fiio will fix it, if they ever will, and if they'll have the sense to ignore some of the oddly-prioritised bug requests when they do.  It's a weight off my shoulders.  I don't have to browse this thread and run into those little minefields of passive aggressive abuse from those who just can't stand my apparent oafishness or idiocy or poor character.  I don't have to read poorly written bug reports on Bugzilla.
 
Good luck to those who choose to stick it out - I hope you get the firmware updates you dearly want, and promptly.  To those who are already happy with the X5 as it is: consider how lucky you are, and be gracious to those less fortunate: this is the world in microcosm.
 
Toodle-pip!

 

[subguy812]

 

But through it all you still felt an obligation to return to let us know.....

 

[lee730]

Cry me a river... The unit surely isnt perfect but IMO things are being blown way out of proportion. This coming from someone using the 1.0 firmware, which doesnt exhibit some of the issues mentioned on later firmwares.

 

[Jess70]

The people with trouble must have defective units or serious user error.

I have no trouble with my X5 and am blown away by the SQ in a daily basis with its synergistic pairing with my PSB headphones.

I came from the apple universe and while ripping all my CD's into itunes leads to some organizational issues, I have had no tagging errors with the X5.

My X5 has not crashed since I installed FW 2.0 the day it came out.

 

[Loquah]

The people with trouble must have defective units or serious user error.

I have no trouble with my X5 and am blown away by the SQ in a daily basis with its synergistic pairing with my PSB headphones.

I came from the apple universe and while ripping all my CD's into itunes leads to some organizational issues, I have had no tagging errors with the X5.

My X5 has not crashed since I installed FW 2.0 the day it came out.

 
+1
 
The only issues faced were tag related where my tagging was at fault and any player would have struggled. Comments like mine and Jess70's may sound like fanboi-ism, but the reality in my case is that I would not put up with a flawed device and sold my RWAK100 due to ongoing crashes. The X5 has so far been slightly buggy, but completely acceptable for me for a new device.

 

[x RELIC x]

Cry me a river... The unit surely isnt perfect but IMO things are being blown way out of proportion. This coming from someone using the 1.0 firmware, which doesnt exhibit some of the issues mentioned on later firmwares.

I agree. Especially when this thread is collectively trying to nail down the problem, from USB, to tags, to faulty music tracks, to artwork, to FW, etc., to faulty device....... Not everyone is perfect and I've had a couple of D'OH moments in here as well, but sometimes a user just doesn't realize where the problem is coming from. Sometimes it's a buggered unit but it's worth it IMO to find the cause and rule out known (and find unknown) problems. Thanks to everyone here who has been helpful and constructive.

 

[pe3ucTop]

Cry me a river... The unit surely isnt perfect but IMO things are being blown way out of proportion. This coming from someone using the 1.0 firmware, which doesnt exhibit some of the issues mentioned on later firmwares.

The thing is we don't really know what the experience of other users is so we can't really be sure that things are being blown out of proportions. I have no idea how one can have such problems with the device, having in mind that I have had close to zero problems with, but that doesn't mean that those people are not having those experiences. I can't explain it any other way than to guess that it's just faulty units those people have gotten and if I was having the same experience they were having I sure as hell wouldn't be happy with the device. So, I am glad he was able to get his money back, but wonder if he would have been even happier had he tried another unit of the X5 that worked as well as the units of the majority of people here.

 

[Muenchener]

 

I'm sorry you had to return your X5. And I'm also sorry that you were blamed for whatever malfunctions your X5 had, and other ad hominem responses. My X5 works well enough, although not without some bugs and small nuisances. This DAP is not a good choice for someone looking for a hassle-free, plug and play, fully satisfying audio nirvana. I remember when the old iPod was a PITA as well, but we seem to put up with Apple a bit more, I have to accept that.

I haven't had a single crash since I bought it, but my music catalog is very clean and relatively small.

Every day I enjoy the impressive sound quality, bugs and all. But I know there are many different experiences around.
 
Do not even try to buy an iBasso DX90, things are worse there.

 

[Canaudio]

  I've had my X5 for about a month and being a geek and audiophile I've done my best to keep up to date with the latest firmware releases. I'm currently on v2.0 and have been highly delighted with the sound of the X5... that is up until the last few days when I've been noticing some sound problems that seem to be getting worse.
 
DSD files now seem to have developed random pops and clicks. 24-88/96/176/192 FLAC files are now developing random (and non-repeatable, at least not deliberately) 'stuttering'. Standard 16-44 FLAC and MP3s seem unaffected.
 
Initially it only happened occasionally. Now it happens with every hi-res file played, and several times within each file.
 
I've gone back and tried v1.3, v1.7 and v2.0 firmwares to see if that made any difference, alas no.
 
So do any of the experts here know if I have a solvable problem or is this a contact Fiio moment?
 
Cheers.

I have exactly the same issues.  I have been a big fan of the sound quality of my X5 since I got mine on April 2nd.  I have firmware v. 2.0.  Playback of 192 khz 24 bit flac files is intolerable.  there is so much skipping and stuttering that listening is impossible. In my testing 96khz 24 bit plays ok as do 44.1 khz 16 bit flac but 192 khz will drive you crazy.   So now we have a high res player that won't play high res - hmmm .... There better be a firmware fix for this soon.
 
I will add that when the 192khz files aren't stuttering the sound quality is good.  I am inclined to think that the playback problem for these files is related to a lack of system memory to handle 192 khz conversion.  I'd like to see consideration of doing away with caching all the media library information in system memory; I bet that would improve this problem.
 
(Edit) also get some minimal stuttering on 96 khz flac files but much less than on 192 khz.  I tried reverting to v. 1.27 beta but problem persists.