Fiio X3 portable high resolution player

I've been wait for this Wolfson based player to become readily available. It's now on Amazon, so I placed an order. The ability to play sampling rates up to 24/192, mini SD cards and being able to handle most file formats makes it an attractive portable device. With a bargin price of $200 it make it worth trying. I report back once it arrives

 

I have one on order too - going to be delivered tomorrow

 

I received it today and had a chance to play with it. It comes preloaded with "Dr Chesky's Sensational, Fantastic, and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show!"album, which was in fact amazing sounding through headphones. I copied all my Doors and King Crimson 24/96 albums in AIFF format from iTunes to a micro SD card and just popped it into the player. There was no problem playing them. With a pair of Grado RS1's plugged directly into the player, I found he sound to be nicely detailed and very open. IMO it sounded much better than any previous portable player I've tried.
The player is a metal and has a smooth feel in he hand, although the buttons with take a bit getting used to.

 

Would like to hear more as I'm considering getting the girlfriend an iPod Touch and a 32-pin connecter/RCA cable so she can play through the hifi system... and this would be cheaper than a new Touch.

 

how is the sound quality on the player?

 

FYI - the proprietary Apple dock connector has 30 pins.

 

Will be following this player for quality vs others.

 

Got mine yesterday and listened to it last night after loading up a 32gb card with 24bit 96khz files. The sound is great - very detailed, smooth (no treble harshness and no boominess in the bass). I listened to it with my UE earbuds and was very happy with the sound. I was expecting I would need an outboard amp for it, but I don't think so - it was plenty loud enough even with the volume at medium. The music came from a totally silent backdrop - no hiss, no hum - just music.

I am still playing around with it trying to figure out how to make playlists with it - the only way I could figure out was to manually number each file (00, 01, etc.). I tried using MediaMonkey to make a playlist on the player. I managed to synch the files, but the playlist would not appear.

Highly recommended!

 

I took the plunge and decided to buy one. Will get it next week and will share my feelings on it.

 

I have been eyeing this for a while and almost bit. The next version, the X-5 was just launched in China and is slated to be released here in the states in March. I want to learn more about the X-5 before making a decision. The reviews I have seen for the X-3 have been excellent. It is probably is all I need. Trying to be patient.

I am interested in hearing what those who have purchased one here have to say. Reviews please.

 

I just bought one. So far, I'm liking it. The UI is a little kludgy, but it does work. I had one problem with the device locking up while scanning my music, but I reformatted the card and it works like a champ now. I've only spent about two hours with it, but the sound quality is very nice and it's played every file I've thrown at it thus far. My only complaint is the odd button layout, but I'm getting used to that.

Also, I decided not to wait for the X5 because it's going to be $350 vs. $200 for the X3. There's a big thread about it on HeadFi and for me, the differences between the two devices aren't worth the extra $150 (though I would like to have that second card slot.)

 

Thanks Capt. for the info. I will look into the info on the X-5 closely before taking taking the plunge. As you become acclimated with your X-3, I hope you'll give us another review. I'm curious as to what you are using to listen to your X-3 with, headphones or ear buds?

 

Right now, I'm using a pair of B&W P5s. They're new too, so I think I need a little time with both pieces before I can say much about that set up.

 

I'd be interested in one of these too but for the following issues....

1 - clunky UI
2 - Shockingly low storage given its sold as a 'lossless/ high res' portable player...
3 - only 10 hour batt
4 - ugly as sin..

anyone able to persuade me these are non-issues...?

 

great sound, actually plays 24/192 at its native resolution instead of downsampling. plus you can use external microsd cards with it. unlike something such as an ipod, you can actually increase the storage without having to buy another device.

 

1 - How much UI do you need? I play albums, so I just have to find the album, select the first track, and hit Play. If you create genre-based playlists, you'll be disappointed.
2 - It's microSD. You can't buy a microSD card bigger than 64GB. I don't want or need my whole collection on a portable, so it works for me.
3 - Mine gets 12 (with a firmware upgrade), and how often are you going to be 12 hours of listening away from an AC outlet? It charges reasonably quickly, and unlike some Apple products there's no battery drain when it's "off". Off is really off.
4 - I put mine in my pocket so I don't have to look at it. You can skin the UI though, if it bothers you.

 

Thanks for clarifying in this post and sharing your use. Soon I may invest in one of these, I like the microSD swapping out of storage.

 

My FiiO X3 is on its way. Does anyone have any experience using it with a 128GB card? I could have sworn I read somewhere that some people have had some issues with managing larger libraries on the FiiO DAPs. Has anyone tried it out? I already have a 64GB card coming with the X3, but I'm considering going ahead and getting the 128GB if it works well with it.

 

For reasons I don't totally understand, Fiio DAPs are limited to being able to index no more than 5800 files. The big downside to Fiio DAPs is that they are pretty much limited to file system browsing. Fiio DAPs don't really utilize ID3 tags.

 

I would just get a couple 64gb cards since they can be had for as little as $27 each on sale where the 128gb cards are new tech and cost about the same as 3 64gb cards.
There's a huge thread on head-fi about the x3 and it is working with 128gb cards I read.

 

Yeah, now that I think about it, I might just buy one or two more 64GB cards and genre-cize them (one card for jazz, etc.). Definitely a better bang for the buck.

 

I've kept things simple(for me anyway) and stuck with 32gb cards which seem to have less issues going by threads on other forums. I've squeezed around 95 cds in flac format onto one card and just kept each in its own folder as I dont bother with play lists, prefer to play an album right through. I'll probably end up doing 3 or 4 cards,certainly one with all the Vol1/2 Paramount Records box ser mp3s, Harry Smith anthology's etc.
I know there have been various criticisms about button layout etc but I'm new to mobile audio and only took me a days use to become second nature.
Running the latest firm ware and interface and response seem pretty good.
Sound quality with the Oppo Ha-1 phones is pretty good but definitely a step down from one of my desk top amps.
Over all a happy owner.

 

Terrible isn't it? I just bought a mint condition used X3 with 3.3 software update and am looking forward to fantastic sound both from headphones but also from said files being played thru my Rotel based separates just like the rest of you.
I was gonna get an X1 at some point but this used wasn't much more.

 

Anyone have any experience using the coax output from the Fiio. I'd like to run it through my Oppo HA-1 from time to and coaxial would be the logical way to go.
My X3 came with a small cable and I'm not sure if this is intended to connect a coax cable to the player.

 

Yes that's it. I use it to connect my X3 to my Teac DAC. Works great.