Fiio X5 3rd generation.

How long does it take to do a library scan when microsd cards are inserted?

I have 6 microsd cards at the moment including a 200gb and 2 128gb cards and the time it takes the Pono to scan them is sometimes extremely frustrating.

 

I'll be installing two full 200-GB microSD cards when I receive the player in a few days. Will advise my observations

 

I ordered the red version on Monday night from Amazon UK and received it yesterday. So far, very happy with it. Road testing it, it seems great on my 16 bit FLACs but that 'wow' factor is somewhat missing on the hi-res stuff. Thinking it may be time to upgrade my headphones, I'm currently using Sennheiser Momentums, any recommendations for a good pairing with the Fiio?

 

You may well know this so apologies in advance if you do, but in case it helps Pono remembers the cache of 3 cards, so anytime you go out of that 3 card rotation it is going to do a new complete scan of the heretofore unkown 4th card.

Edit: also if the X3 is like the X2 it does not have to scan if you use folder view, or you set update music library to manual only.

 

I got an X5iii over the weekend - very psyched to be able to listen to music on the train again. However... neither the Fiio program nor Poweramp can read my files on my SD card, or they'll do weird things like only import 3 or 4 songs off an album. I've had poweramp scan these individual files, as well.

Any recommendations for an app that will actually work?

 

I'd try reformatting the cards if they're not being recognized. That doesn't seem like a problem I'd try to work around with another app.

 

Hmmm... even though I can see the files themselves? They're actually on the DAC.

 

This won't stream Apple Music, right?

 

Can't promise yes but I'm pretty sure there is an Apple Music app for Android so it should be possible.

 

Damn it

 

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Last updated 02/28/17

Apple Music - Android Apps on Google Play

 

Did they solve the artwork issue?

 

I just bought the X3 2nd gen about 6 months ago. Now I have to buy the new one

 

Oh. You have my sympathies. I shopped a long time for an Android device which would provide hi-res listening for (obviously) my non-streaming, non-app stuff (as no streamers were doing hi-res, to say nothing of Android), as well as my Tidal picks.

There never seemed to be more than a handful of appropriate hardware on the market at any one time, and they were all out of my reach, price-wise, and frequently had deal-killers baked in of one sort or another. Fiio's "hybrid hardware" (first the X7 and now the X5III) would, I thought, solve my problem, but I've got a psychological barrier to toting a $700 toy around town, and after getting the X7 in hand I decided that it was better suited to playing DSD at home, kept safe and warm in its decorative pouch, rather than getting knocked about in my tote bag.

The Dream is Deferred.

 

No one is forcing you. I skipped the 2nd gen because I usually do skip generations. I upgraded from the 1st gen. I imagine I'll skip the 4th gen too.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by on the DAC. I'm just saying if it doesn't work as intended I'd return it vs. find workarounds, as it could be you got a lemon. Reformatting the cards is about the only troubleshooting step I can think of to be honest.

 

I had it since Monday and so far so good. You can do a lot more with the device than just using it as a DAP. I'm running single-ended with Grados.

 

How easy is it you create playlists? Can you transfer playlists from itunes. I recently found an app that does that for my Galaxy phone. I've wondered if you could just create a playlist folder and export the m3U files over.

Honestly though, the only reason I'd want one is to have the ability to store "all" my music on one device. That adds up to about 380+ gb. Most of my files are mp3s. Not that many are flac. I regret not transferring to flac before getting rid of most of my cds and after the time consuming burning process.

With the said ... is it worth it to pay for this device to have the option to store my entire music collection on one device or is the main ideal here to have a device that plays WAV or FLAC only files?

 

On the website it states that the X5iii can be used as a USB DAC and can also output to a USB DAC. However it also states that some functions will be supported by future firmware update.
Can anyone confirm if these two particular features are already supported?

 

That I don't know because I don't use playlist at all. I never use itunes in a day of my life so I can't answer that part. Since the device is Android, if that app you were using for your Galaxy phone is working for you, it should work on the X5 as well.

It is worth getting if you want it to do plenty of things for $400. Besides playing files on the device, you can stream via Tidal, and use the device as a computer DAC/Amp. You get more usefulness if you are using FLAC or DSD.

 

I have been following the headfi thread for kicks so if this helps, @D-rock I have seen people using m3U playlists, many created by software like MediaMonkey (I didn’t notice anyone using itunes, but would you have absolute reference control when you create a playlist to change the path to match what the DAP requires?) Also it seems the issue is on that DAP you have three “drives” to deal with, internal storage and 2 cards, so it seems, as far as I can tell, there is not any software that creates a single playlist that addresses things across all drives. Of course you can manually change drive references to do this, but it seems you better know where everything is kept on your DAP. It appears most people create playlists for each of the drives. You certainly have more experience than I do with m3U playlists but perhaps you have to keep these three drives managed accordingly on your desktop so that when you create a playlist the path references remain aligned with your DAP.

@Tad My understanding is it is working for folks as a DAC via USB but I don’t think USB output is up and running yet and no word either on the timing for that feature.

 

The Frys by my office has the X1 2nd generation on sale for $79.99. Although I know that it is not the player I want, at a sub $100 price point I am almost tempted to scoop one up just to use as a backup.
Originally I started looking at them because the online store indicated they had an X1 1st gen in stock for $54, which I pulled the buy trigger on, but apparently the store could not locate the unit that is in inventory because my order was quickly cancelled. So now I have the X1-2 in my cart and am debating if $80 is such a low price that I should take a shot on it vs ponying up the $400 on the X5 3rd gen.

 

For those of us interested in moving iTunes playlists onto a DAP I may finally be getting the information I need. I was reading a review of the Onkyo DP-X1 and found this:

"I have put my own ripped CD’s/iTunes music on the 2nd micro-SD – it took about 4-5 hours to transfer my files (170GB) from iTunes on my Mac to the Onkyo using the iSyncr app, – but then about another 4-5 hours to transfer and process my 179 iTunes playlists (have no idea why it took so long)…still, once done, it worked!"

It seems that, with an Android device at least, iSyncr can do the job of transferring iTunes playlists.

Here's their page:

http://www.jrtstudio.com/iSyncr-iTunes-for-Android

I'd appreciate feedback from anyone who either uses iSyncr or just has any thoughts after reading about it.

 

That's the program I use on my phone
But isn't part of it's actions to put an actual file (mp3, flac) on the device? Wouldn't it take up more space?

 

I just went ahead and ordered one, I'm really hopeful it won't give me as many issues as reported on head-fi