1. Is it possible to trade in an old X3 for the X3 2nd gen?
Sorry, no. Holding a trade-in program would jack up the overall price of the X3.
2. When will the new X3 be released to market?
It is estimated to be released by late March or early April. It will be supplied to China and worldwide markets at the same time, so a short period of supply shortage will happen.
3. What’s the retail price?
Local sales agents have the right to decide the retail price. But in order to avoid vicious price competition which might result in lowered service quality, we set the minimum selling price at 199.99USD (differs from market to market according to local market situation, currency exchange rate, VAT, etc.).
4. What is “X3K”?
“X3K” is the name we used to refer to what is now the X3 2nd gen during development. The packaging boxes of the first trial production samples (for audition / display), while later mass production batches will be marked “X3”. Moreover, “2nd gen” will not be marked on the box or other advertisement material in the future.
5. What are the advantages of X3 over X1?
Increased output power, added support for hardware DSD decoding, coaxial digital output, USB DAC function, deep-sleep mode for instant-on usage, support for in-line remotes on headphones, and better DAC and amp chips / architecture.
6. What’s the difference between the 1st gen and 2nd gen of X3?
The X3 2nd gen supports hardware DSD decoding; has all-new exterior design/UI and more balanced timbre; SNR of 113dB (vs 105dB in 1st gen) coupled with a slight decrease in output power (from 270mW to 200mW at 32Ω) ensures a much lowered noise floor for sensitive IEMs while reserving driving power for large headphones; removed 8GB of internal memory.
7. Why does the X3 2nd gen follow the exterior design of the X1? How to distinguish the two by appearance?
The exterior design of X1 has been quite popular among users. And indeed, we can hardly make a new and better exterior design in such a short time. The X3 2nd gen is in special titanium color (vs silver or gold for X1); it also comes with a thicker aluminum alloy back cover (vs plastic for the X1) and so is slightly thicker overall.
8. The product update cycle is too fast/slow?
FiiO will update products at a regular speed. Two to three years per update for amplifiers, and a year and a half to two years for music players. It would be irresponsible to owners to cycle new product versions too hastily, while it would reduce product competitiveness if we update products too slowly.
9. Will FiiO release new firmware updates for the old X3?
Firmware updates will continue to be released for it until further notice.
10. Which model would be more suitable for me, X1, X3 (2nd gen) or X5?
It is suggested to choose the most suitable model based on your budget. In terms of sound only, quality follows price, ie X1<X3<X5, since the higher models would have more balanced and neutral sound, as well as higher driving power. Detailed comparison of the three models will be shared on our website and forum.
11. What are the official accessories for the X3 (2nd gen)?
There will be leather case, stacking kit (same as the one for X1) and clear case.
12. Does the new X3 have an IPS display?
Owing to unforeseen circumstances, our supplier is not able to obtain IPS display for the size used in the new X3. So the display to be used for mass production of the new X3 will be a standard TFT LCD of the same size and resolution (2.0inch; resolution: 320x240 px). The first trial production samples (for audition/display) have IPS displays installed since they were made in December 2014.
