[TrevorR]

Just received my X3 from Amazon today and apart from the fact I can't get it to read 64Gb cards the optical output does not seem to work. I am using the same cable connected to my Peachtree audio music box that works fine with other sources. The X3 does not appear to deliver any volume at all. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Might also try posting your Fiio X3 questions here.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/651769/fiio-x3-thread-full-review-http-www-head-fi-org-t-663600-impression-fiio-x3-high-fi-low-price/4065

 

[JamesFiiO]

already replied in another thread. X3 nightmare.
 
anyway, please get through the user guide which we storage inside X3 . and the TF card should format to FAT32 . 
 
about the digital output, we need your help to figure out what happen cause none reported this in China.

 

[ClieOS]

Could it be that the OP actually is trying to use an optical cable on X3's coax output? If so it definitely shouldn't work. Will be fascinating if it did.

 

[JamesFiiO]

oh, yes, it is true because this thread is called " X3 optical output won't work "

 

[TrevorR]

The card is formatted as FAT32 using GUIFormat and is recognised by my PC as working OK. If I insert the card into the X3 it shows 0 however I can re-insert it into my Windows 7 PC and copy files from my hard drive to the card. The 8Gb card I am currently using was also formetted with GUIFormat and that is read correctly by the X3
 
With regards to the optical output. I have restarted my amp and even tried running my XBox with an optical to coax adapter and it works fine. The cable I am using is a Fisual Digital Coaxial Cable from their Pro Install Series. I have now also tried it with my Sony surround sound headphones using a different adapter and that too is dead. Am I doing something fundamentally wrong? When I plug the adapter into the X3 the audio from the earphones is cut so I guess the X3 must be detecting something.

[size=1.7em]  [/size]

 

[ClieOS]

Insert the TF card on X3, then connect X3 to the PC and see if it recognizes it or not. Format the TF using X3 from the PC if you can.
 
Take a picture on the cable connected to X3 if you can.

 

[TrevorR]

OK so I have taken some photos but the Insert Image icon doesn't seem to do anything, perhaps I need to be a Triple Gold Ninja member to upload pics. Hopefully it will take this link to photobucket - http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/TrevorRowell/library/X3  (seems like you manually need to type http:// in front of this link in the browser or there is an error)
 
Regarding the 64Gb Card.
 
Put card into X3 and connect via USB, display on X3 shows connection but nothing on PC. Replace with 8Gb card and X3 is detected fine by PC both internal storage and card.
 
Put 64Gb card into SD adapter and push into PC and immediately detected showing 62.4Gb of free space and the Properties show it formatted as FAT32
 
<<<<UPDATE>>>>  I have now got the X3 recognising the 64gb card. I took the card from the PC and formatted it in my Sony camera, I then returned it to the PC via the adapter and reformatted it to FAT32. However while the X3 now recognises the card, my PC will not recognise the X3 while the 64Gb card is in the X3.
 
By putting the card back into the SD adapter and copying some files it seems to work OK. I have just copied a selection of tracks to test and am playing them now. However even though the update is set to Auto I still had to do a manual refresh before it found the files I had copied. 
 
My only thought is that as I run Lightroom 5 and it auto detects anything I put in with external storage that it is having some affect on the 64gb card. Who knows. However I still need to work out why the digital output doesn't seem to be working.

 

[ClieOS]

The connection seems fine. I guess the only thing to do is to find another DAC with coax-in to try.

 

[TrevorR]

As mentioned I have tried it in my Sony surround sound headphone set which has an optical input with which I use a coax to optical adapter to feed from my Blu-ray. Same problem, no sound. I have one last thing to try and that is feeding it into the optical input of the amplifier via the coax to optical converter. If that doesn't work I guess it must be faulty
 
I just wonder if there is any mileage in hitting the reset button on the unit?
 
UPDATE - The X3 will not work via the optical input using a coax to optical adapter.

 

[ClieOS]

One last thing to try: create a one minute long 1kHz test tone on Audacity, then load it onto the X3. Plug a cheap headphone onto the coax-out and play the test tone. You should hear a very fainted noise / hiss / static on the left channel, and it will stop once you stop the playback. If you can't hear anything at all, the coax-out might be broken. But if you do hear the static, then mybe it is the adapter cable that has a problem.

 

[TrevorR]

Many thanks for the tip. I will give it a try this evening.
 
Update. I have made the file and listening to it through my mobile phone earphones I could clearly hear the hiss in the left ear which cut after the tone finished playing. Does this indicate that the small adapter is faulty? In any case I think I will have to return the complete unit to Amazon as I can't see them carrying spares.
 
Now for the next big thing. I spent 2 hours copying files to the 64gb card and the size of the remaining space on the card indicated that all had gone well. I then attempted to play them and about 90% of the files come up with a 'File Not Found' triangle. I tried a manual refresh but still the same. The sub directories for each album show but when I went back to the PC to view them there were no files inside most of the directories yet the PC still reported 21gb of space used on the card.
 
When I copied the test tone I made a sub directory on the SD card and copied the file. It was visible and readable on the SD card from the PC. I then went to run the test tone and it had vanished too. I had to copy it to the internal memory to run the test.
 
I am starting to lose it with the X3. I didn't want another science project or to spend a geeky weekend trying to get it to work. It is a consumer item and I expect it to work out of the box and do what it says on the tin. In my case it does not seem to do that. There still appears to be more bugs in it than a 1976 Sinclair calculator. It should work like my iPod or any other piece of HiFi equipment I own. Saying the unit isn't compatible with a particular brand of SD card is like claiming a car isn't compatible with certain brands of petrol. The SD card I am using has been used successfully in my camera and 2 mobile phones without any issues at all. 
 
I own several FIIO devices and that is why I bought this, so far I have spent more time trying to get it to work than anything else I have bought in the past 5 years.

 

[TrevorR]

Final Comment
 
After re-inserting the 8Gb card that was working fine earlier today and finding most of the files now not showing on that card either, ones that were playing OK this afternoon, I decided enough was enough and I have arranged for this unit to be returned to amazon as faulty. (I see from an Amazon review I am not the only one to suffer from missing file syndrome)
 
Just to rub salt on the wounds I launched JRiver Media Center 18 to chill out after all the hassle just to find the sound coming out of my PC Monitor speakers rather than the HiFi. Somewhere along the process my USB drivers had stopped working with the WASAPI drivers. Re-enabling them didn't work and the only way I have been able to get things back to normal was actually to re-install my USB drivers that came with my motherboard. This cannot be right. I have USB devices being plugged in and out all day, 3 different cameras, 2 iPods etc etc and this is the first time I have ever had a problem.  

 

[TrevorR]

Replacement X3 Received
===================
 
Earlier today I received a replacement X3 from Amazon
 
1. The Coax Out works perfectly with my Amplifier resulting in a very impressive reproduction of my Studio Master collection, maybe just a tad bright but that maybe because I am hearing frequencies that I haven't heard through my speakers before. NOTE - 192kHz files will not play via the coax but are fine via headphones and line out. These files play fine when the PC is the source.  - Fault one mainly resolved.
 
2. The 64gb SD Card that wouldn't read in the first X3 I had read immediately and my PC detected both internal and internal drives. - Fault two resolved 
 
3. The new X3 docks with the PC and is recognized every time, I must have plugged it in and out a dozen times. - Fault three resolved.
 
4. The tracks copied are visible without having to manually refresh the X3. - Fault four resolved.
 
5. I have spent the last hour hopping between tracks and albums, switching the unit off and on, moving between headphones and coax, taking the card out and putting different ones in and all tracks are still there, none of the tracks have vanished. - Final fault resolved.
 
It would therefore seem that the unit I was originally supplied from Amazon had more than a few issues, or perhaps it had one central issue that was causing all of the resultant problems. I will now amend my review on Amazon to reflect this. BTW anyone who checks my review will see the 'Amazon Verified Purchase' tag on my review just in case someone thinks the original review was vindictive. You can also see I have reviewed over 500 products on Amazon. 

 

[JamesFiiO]

Quote:

Replacement X3 Received
===================
 
Earlier today I received a replacement X3 from Amazon
 
1. The Coax Out works perfectly with my Amplifier resulting in a very impressive reproduction of my Studio Master collection, maybe just a tad bright but that maybe because I am hearing frequencies that I haven't heard through my speakers before. NOTE - 196kHz files will not play via the coax but are fine via headphones and line out. These files play fine when the PC is the source.  - Fault one mainly resolved.
 
2. The 64gb SD Card that wouldn't read in the first X3 I had read immediately and my PC detected both internal and internal drives. - Fault two resolved 
 
3. The new X3 docks with the PC and is recognized every time, I must have plugged it in and out a dozen times. - Fault three resolved.
 
4. The tracks copied are visible without having to manually refresh the X3. - Fault four resolved.
 
5. I have spent the last hour hopping between tracks and albums, switching the unit off and on, moving between headphones and coax, taking the card out and putting different ones in and all tracks are still there, none of the tracks have vanished. - Final fault resolved.
 
It would therefore seem that the unit I was originally supplied from Amazon had more than a few issues, or perhaps it had one central issue that was causing all of the resultant problems. I will now amend my review on Amazon to reflect this. BTW anyone who checks my review will see the 'Amazon Verified Purchase' tag on my review just in case someone thinks the original review was vindictive. You can also see I have reviewed over 500 products on Amazon. 

 
glad to see that there are a wonderful end of the story.