[CH23]

I appologize for my personal attack.  My comments were stupid to say the least.  It's just that I put in a suggestion for what I thought might be a useful mod for a good player such as we have here.  I would have liked to have heard if it was possible, economical for such a modification.
I let my frustration with the trend toward inaccessability (touchscreens and having to guess where I am on most visual devices got to me today.
Appologys to the thread.

It's okay, i can understand the emotion. Most of us are just throwing in ideas here to see what sticks.
i'm not sure if you knew this, but the 2 bottom buttons on the X5 also work for navigation on the "home" screen, and with normal accuracy, instead of the problematic scrollwheel.
This might help you a bit already. I hope you'll manage to remember most of the stuff and where it is.

No hard feelings

-CH23

 

[subver]

I saw some posts on the sound quality of 2.2.. has anyone noticed a bass decrease on this version? 

 

[good sound]

  I saw some posts on the sound quality of 2.2.. has anyone noticed a bass decrease on this version? 

No, if anything I find just the opposite, there is slightly more bass. Again, like I said in a previous post all of the differences I hear between any of the post 2.0 beta firmwares and 2.2 are subtle at best and for me not all of them are subtractive. These are just my findings and opinions. The differences are small enough for me to easily consider the distinct possibility that they are imaginary. Not that I think they are, just that the possibility exists.

 

[subver]

  No, if anything I find just the opposite, there is slightly more bass. Again, like I said in a previous post all of the differences I hear between any of the post 2.0 beta firmwares and 2.2 are subtle at best and for me not all of them are subtractive. These are just my findings and opinions. The differences are small enough for me to easily consider the distinct possibility that they are imaginary. Not that I think they are, just that the possibility exists.

Yeah, I am actually unsure of it myself, I was just wondering if anyone noticed that, but I swear my bass is not as heavy as it was before. I think I might have to do some listening tests later today. I wish I had 2 x5's so I could compare back to back
 
Been debating on going back to 2.02 beta if only for the better organization of "all songs" by artist, that's pretty much the last thing I would like to see updated, besides a handful of smaller things, but most other things don't really affect my music listening experience.
 
I've also yet to try making playlists, but it seems like that has been figured out for the most part, even if it's a bit tedious to create

 

[good sound]

 
Yeah, I am actually unsure of it myself, I was just wondering if anyone noticed that, but I swear my bass is not as heavy as it was before. I think I might have to do some listening tests later today. I wish I had 2 x5's so I could compare back to back
 
Been debating on going back to 2.02 beta if only for the better organization of "all songs" by artist, that's pretty much the last thing I would like to see updated, besides a handful of smaller things, but most other things don't really affect my music listening experience.
 
I've also yet to try making playlists, but it seems like that has been figured out for the most part, even if it's a bit tedious to create

Yes I agree, without two X5's each one with separate firmwares, comparison is very difficult due to the amount of time it takes to change between firmwares and to return to the file being used for the comparison.
 
I know FiiO has been very good responding and interacting with the forum members, but two questions they have consistently failed to address, in any capacity that I can remember, is the issue of why the stable firmware doesn't keep the correct organization that beta 2.02 had and the second is the question of whether or not there really is sound differences between different firmware versions.

 

[darkarn]

I don't know, but when I tried @ClieOS's test (a music file being output from the different FWs) a few pages back, there is no difference between all 6 files.

 

[KSB1978]

Originally Posted by subver /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I wish I had 2 x5's so I could compare back to back

 
Funny you should mention that. I briefly had access to a v2.02 X5 today, while mine is a v2.2.
I think there is a tiny sound difference, which the owner of the v2.02 X5 also seems to think. Because of my previous experience, we had an idea of listening to our own (me, the v2.2 and him the v2.02), then swapping, both wrote our thoughts on a piece of paper hidden from each other, then swapped back, re-adjusted our notes, then revealed to each other... This was to eliminate confirmation bias.
 
We both used our own IEM or headphones, me, SE315 and he, a momentum over-ear.... and for comparison's sake, we set the volume on the same number, which ended up agreeing on 62? but I can't recall exactly.
 
Most of our opinions were the same...
-v2.2 was slightly louder in general
-v2.02 was wider in image
-v2.2 has slightly better instrumental separation.
-v2.02 sounds "thicker", but there is a loss of some details accompanying this feel.
As far as preferences, it was much of much... it also depended on the type of music.
 
This is my opinion, and others may disagree.
 
EDIT: Heck I just realised some of the comments were reversed... shouldn't post stuff drunk.

 

[mmx3]

Hi
May be, anyone  tested Х5 with fresh firmware, and with different volume levels  ?
I see strange results in article http://personalaudio.ru/detail/ibasso_dx_90/   (on russian, you can translate by Google)
http://personalaudio.ru/upload/medialibrary/d8a/d8af18ad6a6b5c95b8140371f2256ad8.png
http://personalaudio.ru/upload/medialibrary/d9e/d9eb903b0df51c465be95d4014275fda.png
may be, it's result of resampling ?  software problems ?

 

[subguy812]

Placebo

 

[zilch0md]

I am so content with the sound of my X5 Line Out that any hint of sound quality changing with FW upgrades leaves me wanting to stick with 2.0.
 
Why would FiiO make changes to the sound quality via FW, when nearly everyone is so happy with the sound?
 
(There's plenty of work to be done in the UI without making changes to the sound.)
 
Mike

 

[M-13]

  I saw some posts on the sound quality of 2.2.. has anyone noticed a bass decrease on this version? 

I have. For me decreasing the bass makes the X5 more neutral and less colored. It also sounds more detailed/clear. All good things as far as I'm concerned, but I can see how bass lovers can be dissapointed. Nothing wrong with being into warm colored sound with big ass bass.
 
All of this is very subtle of course. It sounds 95% the same as before, just a little smidgen here and there, but enough to make me happy. I have a frame of reference which is my DX90. I listen to both almost everyday with the same songs loaded on both so I want to say I'm somewhat sensitive to the changes but I'm only human.
 
The X5 is now close to being as neutral as the DX90 but still doesn't have the air/treble of the sabre (this is a good thing for some folks who hate sabre sound but not me). Overall I think it's a good improvement and the X5 has been getting more usuage since upgrading to 2.2 a sure sign that subjectively it sounds better to me.

 

[zilch0md]

I don't have a clue about other FW versions, but I do find the bass to be excessive in the 2.0 X5 Line Out (bypassing the amp), and THAT is exactly what I want for taming the brightness of my HD800.  

 
The X5's PCM1792A Line Out (FW 2.0) is wonderful with a neutral amp (OPPO HA-1) feeding the HD800.  
 
And the X5 Coaxial Out is wonderful with the OPPO HA-1's ESS9018 DAC + Amp feeding the LCD-2.
 
Mike

 

[Muenchener]

I thought that I could as well however I received my RMA number and I think it is heading back.

Sad to read that yet another customer is returning the X5 for a firmware/UI issue. Last time I said that FiiO was losing money because the firmware was not mature, I was basically called a troll.

Perhaps, someone at FiiO has already realized how increasingly important a good, mature, well thought out UI/firmware is. Sadly, the X5 still hasn't achieved the level of firmware that such a terrific piece of hardware deserve.

In any case, I prefer the X5 to the DX90. Can't you wait for a firmware revision instead of returning the X5?
 

 

[hifx]

  Sad to read that yet another customer is returning the X5 for a firmware/UI issue. Last time I said that FiiO was losing money because the firmware was not mature, I was basically called a troll.

Perhaps, someone at FiiO has already realized how increasingly important a good, mature, well thought out UI/firmware is. Sadly, the X5 still hasn't achieved the level of firmware that such a terrific piece of hardware deserve.

In any case, I prefer the X5 to the DX90. Can't you wait for a firmware revision instead of returning the X5?
 

I agree with you.  The X5 does need a better UI.  I'm happy with the player, but when I first got it, I was on the fence about returning it, simply for the reason that it wasn't very visually appealing when using the device.  I have a perfectly good and working iPod Classic, 160 GB, why would I make the switch?
 
In the end, it was through reading countless posts on head-fi that I decided to stay with it and tough it out.  Though it has it's quirks, I'm glad I kept the X5.  An interface I'm excited to play around with would be the ones on the Astell&Kern AK100/120/240 players, however, those are out of my price range.

 

[x RELIC x]

I don't have a clue about other FW versions, but I do find the bass to be excessive in the 2.0 X5 Line Out (bypassing the amp), and THAT is exactly what I want for taming the brightness of my HD800.  

The X5's PCM1792A Line Out (FW 2.0) is wonderful with a neutral amp (OPPO HA-1) feeding the HD800.  

And the X5 Coaxial Out is wonderful with the OPPO HA-1's ESS9018 DAC + Amp feeding the LCD-2.

Mike

Yup.

X5 and HA-1 play very nicely together and coax and line out give some (subtle) options.