Fiio vs. iPod

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Runicen, Dec 13, 2016.

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  1. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    e
    I think I'm going to stick with iPod Classic with a modified 256gb microSD SSD, and a 3000 MAH hour battery that is going to give me 100 hours of music playback. It comes down to the point that I've been wasting a lot of time trying to figure out a solution and in the long run I think the FiiO will end up costing me time trying to learn how to better utilize the greater sound quality potential which could lead to more hours of re-ripping all my CDs, etc. It really comes down to whether it's worth changing formats more or less. Most of my music is high bitrate mp3s in the 256-320 range. It's always sounded good to me and the iPod should be adequate. I'm just used to the click wheel and it's been years since I had an iPod. The time saved simply syncing everything from iTunes will be enormous too as I have spend a lot of time curating those playlists: I have mexican narcos corridos, native american, rock, country, psychedelic, techno/trance/electronic, and all sorts of other genres and so my playlists are quite complicated. Trying to reroute everything through the FiiO might prove to be daunting.
     
  2. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    Yes, IMO you have to be thinking in a file and folder world with the FiiO X5ii anyway. Apparently you can create some m3u playlists but it is pretty daunting looking. I really only play by albums so it isn't an issue, but it seems for you there would be some pain for sure.
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2017
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  3. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    I've considered getting a Fiio X1 when my current player reaches the end of its life. I don't use many playlists but it is an important feature for me. I was wondering what the issues were with playlists on the Fiio X1?
     
  4. greenoort

    greenoort Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    They're just really awkward to set up and get to really. You have to manually set your 'play mode' to shuffle and then set it manually back to regular play when the play list is over (if you want shuffle of course.) Honestly, its all a pretty slow process because these models dont have a touch screen and arent super fast i guess.
     
  5. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    I think some music player/file management software will create m3u playlists for use on the Fiio player, but then you are having to change the relative file paths to match the player. That is further complicated whenever you have multiple cards like the X5ii, I have not seen anyone come up with much of an answer for that yet other than remember what is where and manually addressing it… then what happens when things on your cards move or are deleted. The X5ii you can create a playlist on the player itself but that is probably impractical for many.
     
  6. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    Does the player allow you to list songs by rating? That is one my main uses for playlists (to play my favorites).
     
  7. greenoort

    greenoort Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I dont think so.
     
  8. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    As much as I like the sound of the FiiO, I've been seeing a lot of battery issues that customers are having with these players and they really should address those if they want to gain the confidence of new customers. It was enough info on the internet about it to keep me loyal to iPod!
     
  9. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    Battery life is an important issue with me due to my experience with my first iPod. The battery lasted only 7.5 hours (informally tested via hitting play and not touching the player again until the battery died) and that was just not long enough for my use (my iPod Classic has a longer battery life). I could almost see the battery life drop as I used the player when I touched the controls.

    I need a player that gets at least 12 hours on a charge, enough time to use it all day on a charge. The only exception would be a player that uses a replaceable battery since I can carry a spare battery or two.
     
  10. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Your need for something as streamlined as the iPod/iTunes relationship may well disqualify Fiio devices out of the gate.

    If there was something I could do without, it's the need to remove each card from my X5 ii, plug it into my external card reader (the X3 had terrible transfer speed and I suspect the X5 isn't much different - though more intrepid souls than I may have tried and can say for sure if there's a difference), and then sync via MusicBee. I've actually started a trial of JRiver to see if it interfaces with the Fiio any better. I'd be quite happy to lay out some cash for an effective bit of software. MusicBee is excellent for being free, but it's still a "you get what you pay for" scenario.

    When it comes to the hardware side of things, the battery life may be shorter in the Fiio in relation to an iPod with an upgraded battery, but the sound is worlds apart and I'm willing to make that trade. The Fiio mops the floor with the iPods I've thrown against it and they were both 5th and 7th gen iPods. This is in terms of tonality, sound stage, you name it. Music simply sounds better on Fiio hardware - MP3s included. What Fiio lacks is the kind of "ecosystem" that Apple created around iTunes and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it. I just got tired of spending money to breathe new life into old hardware and anticipated a time wherein the spare parts to keep these things running would become scarce and expensive. By contrast, being able to move to a FLAC library which isn't software dependent offered a much more flexible setup overall. Basically, if Fiio goes under tomorrow and I need a new player next week, I'm free to cast around for alternatives or even just pick up a DAC for my Android phone and my existing library is still viable.

    It's all cost-benefit analysis, but that's how I weigh it out.
     
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  11. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    I like your two cents on FiiO; it's what drew me to consider it. But then again, the battery life on these systems cause a stupor of thought. Not the short life but the customer service complaints I'm seeing about faulty batteries and battery issues and having to send these items clear back to China to get warranty service. The iPod aftermarket parts are dirt cheap. With the iPod, you can get an amplifier and other external offerings to improve the sound quality and there are plenty of DIY fixes for these old iPods. I'd rather give it a few more years to see how FiiO gets their act together regarding their improvements and then add one of their devices to my arsenal. I like the input that you gave to this thread regarding iPod vs FiiO and I have also seen some people on here who have tested FiiO and still like their iPods. My only gripe is what I've already mentioned, battery issues still lingering in the pipeline Once these things are addressed and FiiO becomes further refined, I will gladly add one of their future players to my kit. :) I'm going to keep following this thread... and wouldn't have started another one, because it stood out amongst dozens of threads in search both on and off this site! Thank you! - It should become a sticky - because it helps draw the line!
     
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  12. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    I don't know what constitutes "a lot" of battery issues, but I haven't experienced any with the two players I own (X3, X5II generation). It is possible I have just been lucky. The big deal for me was the sound quality, and I felt it wasn't even a close call between the FIIO's and my relatively new Ipod Touch or my older Ipod classic.
     
  13. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    Well my longest lasting music player was an iPod years ago, and a unit with a 3000 mah battery added is the only real strong selling point for me in favor of the iPod. I go backpacking out in the hills and a longer battery is essential to me if the sound quality is good enough. ;)
     
  14. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    Also should mention: I have some large social media accounts so I've reached out to the PR department at FiiO to see if they will "gift" me one of their units to test, review and compare and contrast against the old iPod... I would blog about it and post on social media and would be honest about my feedback. If I like what I see, it may totally convince me to ditch the iPod. I'm just not convinced to put money into FiiO just yet, due to the reservations I've already mentioned on this thread! :)
     
  15. uofmtiger

    uofmtiger Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Just an update, I bought a Jeep a few months back and the head unit they use also works with my iPod 160gb Classic. I was surprised because the salesman thought it only worked with the iPhone. I think the head unit is pretty long in the tooth, but it lets me use Bluetooth Audio for my phone and my Classic via USB.
     
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  16. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I was saved from worry over battery issues by the fact that I was going to be subjecting the player to 8 or so hours of use every weekday at the office. Anything that would have come up in regard to a faulty battery would have been well within any return period allowed by an online seller, so it didn't seem so harsh a risk (certainly would have avoided shipping the unit back to China for repairs down the road). I can definitely understand how it can be a massive red flag though to hear about those issues though.

    Glad the thread has been helpful in any event!
     
  17. TimB

    TimB Pop, Rock and Blues for me!

    Location:
    Colorado
    Well, I am comeing into this late. I still love my iPod classic 160gb, but I have purchased a Fiio, the X3 II. It does not sound like the the iPod at all. The Fiio is a much warmer sound and fuller bass. When playing hi-rez files you can hear more more detail in it. The bass has more texture to it than with the iPod. If you want something that sounds closer to the iPod, check out the Xduoo X10, which I also have, and can hold 2 micro ad cards.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2017
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  18. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    So I was successful in provoking a response from FiiO... they are interested in working with me even though my main focus is photography. I'm starting out with a pair of the F3 headphones to test with my iPod. Music influences my vision as a photographer. Look forward to teaming up with them. I'll post my updates here on this thread if it's okay with Runicen? :)
     
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  19. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Sounds good, but see if you can get them to send me some freebies while you're at it! :winkgrin:
     
  20. NathanArizona

    NathanArizona New Member

    Location:
    Southern Utah
    I'm just learning about this whole sound thing. It seems my Macbook Pro sounds better than the iPod Classic using just the headphone jacks. The Macbook sounds clearer and cleaner. Maybe I'm just not used to the iPod...
     
  21. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    It is possible that the iPod Classic and the Macbook use different DACs, resulting in a different sound. In a related note, different generations of the iPod use different DACs that give them a different sound. See the following video:

     
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  22. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    I'm back.

    Fry's tempted me again, got an X3 Mark III for $148 which seemed reasonable. Finally got around to cracking it open this afternoon. Was daunted thinking I needed some sort of music library software. Not even. I picked a single artist (Max Richter) and dragged his folder from my iTunes over to a 32GB micro SD chip (bought a cheapie to start with, it came with two adapters) and this baby is up and running!

    Listening with my Beats headphones and this sounds beyond sweet (sorry, I know that is blasphemy around here, I don't use phones often and these serve me well).

    My intent going forward is to maintain a master iTunes library and manage my 160GB iPod for playlists. I will grow my portable library through the FIIO and likely use multiple SD cards by genre since that is how I like to organize my physical music collection.

    I am beyond sold.
     
  23. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    How is the Bluetooth ?
     
  24. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    Haven't tried it yet. I will do so in the next few days with a JBL Flip speaker that I have yet to use.
     
  25. kitt1987

    kitt1987 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    Hey folks, just out of curiousity those of you that mod your ipod classics for SD cards, where do you purchase higher quality batteries? I'm looking at modding my two Classics but not sure of a good reputable place to get better batteries.
     
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