[gikigill]

People seem to roam around in public with HD800/LCD2 etc etc.
 
As senseless as that might be IMO, which DAP could probably power those.

 

[zilch0md]

DigitalFreak,
 
Somehow, I missed this when you first posted it. I went scrolling back, looking for something else and stumbled onto it.  Doh!
 
Thanks very much for your initial impressions!  
 
Going by what I've read on the X5 thread (just spot-checking it from time to time), I think the 2 or 3 second delay thing was introduced when they "fixed" gapless playback.  

 
Thanks again!
 
Mike
 
 

Spoiler: Digital Freak's response to my X5 query...

Quote:

 
Since you're so curious, thus far I think my final findings will be positive. I think the UI could use some refinement but overall it seems to do its job acceptably well. Main gripe OS wise, when navigating through album list I wish the fonts were a little bigger. The form factor, overall, isn't to bad albeit there's a couple of things I'm not fond of. First, the SDCard slots have a rubber cover you have to pull on to pop out in order to insert your cards. Besides being a pain to open, I don't have long nails, I foresee these rubber covers eventually falling off from wear if you're one of those users with a ton of music who likes to swap SDCards in and out a lot. The body and buttons on the unit itself is quite sturdy but I'm not to fond of the big navigation wheel you use to navigate the icons. First off, it feels kind of cheap to the touch compared to everything else on the unit and secondly its rather slippery and its not uncommon for my finger to sometimes slide along the surface of the wheel while trying to navigate the OS. I wish Fiio had made the surface of the navigation wheel less slip prone. The sonics, its a rather neutralish sound and the frequencies seems well controlled and behaved. The treble isn't harsh or overly forward, mids have good detail and are quite linear and the bass extends well, doesn't bleed and has enough body to keep the average person happy. On some of my more busier music, think soundtrack symphony pieces, I find myself wishing the X5 had a tad more depth in its sound stage. Instrument placement could be better but in a pinch I could live with it. I think my AK120 beats it handily in the sonics dept but the X5 definitely trumps the DX50 and, IMO, matches up  well against my Studio V 3rd Anniversary Edition. It's a bird of a different feather compared to the more treble happy Studio V but they're both definitely in the same league nonetheless. Bugs, thus far I haven't run across anything to make me scowl. There has been a couple of times my music mysteriously started 2 or 3 seconds into the song but, overall, that bug hasn't manifested itself a lot. As I said its only happened a couple of times thus far. Compared to the nightmare I went through with the DX50 before a FW update made it usable the X5 performs decently enough to not make me want to take a hammer to it and its audio signature is right up my alley, in the neutralish ballpark. If Fiio further refines the sound, OS, and build quality of the X5 with the future X7 I think they could possibly have a real good DAP worth talking about in the near foreseeable future.
 
To date I've only listened to the X5 using my UERM. This long weekend I'm gonna pair it up with my HE400, Alpha Dog, Paradox and a few other headphones I possess and report back on my conclusions.

 
 

 

[DigitalFreak]

No problemo my friend

 

[FatmanSize48]

People seem to roam around in public with HD800/LCD2 etc etc.

As senseless as that might be IMO, which DAP could probably power those.

While I no longer own the LCD-2, I must say that it was driven fairly well by a Fiio X5 that I was able to demo at the LA meet.

 

[davidcotton]

  My concerns at this day & age regarding an 'Audiophile' DAP.
 
ABOVE $500 range but less than $700
 
1. It MUST have removable battery.
2. DAC MUST be able to drive any IEM / Headphone that is regarded portable.
3. It should be as slim and pocketable as possible (including case when attached)
4. On board memory must be at least 500GB and have micro-sd support. (I dont see this happening in my life time unless ALIENS come here and provide this technology)

Not sure if you have seen but there are now rockboxed 480 gig msata ipod 5th gen's doable.  Testing on the 1tb has started and seems promising apparantly.

 

[AmberOzL]

 
Not sure if you have seen but there are now rockboxed 480 gig msata ipod 5th gen's doable.  Testing on the 1tb has started and seems promising apparantly.

Would you tell me if somebody sells them in Eu region? I have no skill to do it by myself but if someone reliable sells 480 gb gb ipod 5th gen with already Rb in it, I am willing to buy one.

 

[davidcotton]

 


Would you tell me if somebody sells them in Eu region? I have no skill to do it by myself but if someone reliable sells 480 gb gb ipod 5th gen with already Rb in it, I am willing to buy one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPod-Classic-5-5-Gen-256GB-SSD-Custom-Colored-Your-Choice-w-Extras-/301160128394?pt=Other_MP3_Players&hash=item461e8adf8a

With thanks to the ssd mod thread. Not in europe but will ship.

 

[AmberOzL]

 
 

 

Would you tell me if somebody sells them in Eu region? I have no skill to do it by myself but if someone reliable sells 480 gb gb ipod 5th gen with already Rb in it, I am willing to buy one.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPod-Classic-5-5-Gen-256GB-SSD-Custom-Colored-Your-Choice-w-Extras-/301160128394?pt=Other_MP3_Players&hash=item461e8adf8a

With thanks to the ssd mod thread. Not in europe but will ship.

Thank you but it is not the 480 gb one I think, it says 256 gb. Still, I am not sure I would go fit. Then again, if I see one with 480 gb, it might change my opinion.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Looks like Fiio got it right while iBasso dropped the ball. Here's hoping they build off the X5 with the X7. About time somebody got it right
 

 

[doki81]

  Looks like Fiio got it right while iBasso dropped the ball. Here's hoping they build off the X5 with the X7. About time somebody got it right
 

definitely agreed with you..Fiio really put a lot of effort on improving their UI and FW...compare to ibasso which lot of glitches and bugs ..the UI and FW is preventing me to get dx90..

 

[zilch0md]

Thanks DF!

 

[SilverEars]

  Looks like Fiio got it right while iBasso dropped the ball. Here's hoping they build off the X5 with the X7. About time somebody got it right
 

Nice video DF.  You said you own a HiFi device that performs better than the X5, which is that?

 

[DigitalFreak]

  Nice video DF.  You said you own a HiFi device that performs better than the X5, which is that?

I was talking about the AK120. I should stop being so lazy and do a review on that in the near future.

 

[zilch0md]

  I was talking about the AK120. I should stop being so lazy and do a review on that in the near future.

 
Hey DF!  For use with an external DAC, which transport would you recommend (independent of price):  FiiO X5 Coaxial Out  -or-  AK120 Optical Out?
 
And how about the same question, considering price?  
 
(I'm most interested in comparing gapless playback, navigation, the UI, the quality of the SPDIF out, and of course, all around lack of bugs - for 96/24 and 44.1/16 WAV or FLAC files.)  
 
Thanks!
 
Mike

 

[DigitalFreak]

For me the AK120 is the best sounding DAP I own, period, regardless of setup.