FiiO X3 II First review From Samma3a Audition Tour BY Koolpep
Equipment used:
Headphones: HD650, AH-D600, LCD2, T90, HA-FX850, UE900s, Momentum, ATH-M50x, Ostry KC06A, RE-400
Firmware: 1.0
Music used:
From Royskopp to Amber Rubarth, Diana Krall to Apoptygma Berzerk, Tom Jones to Sphongle, Yello to Camouflage, mostly FLACs 24/96 or 16/44.1 – some mp3 320kbps, some AAC 256kbps
Depending on headphone high or low gain – no EQ
Disclaimer: I received the Fiio X3II review unit from www.samma3a.com the local distributor of Fiio products. I have to return the unit, so there is no financial interest. I am not affiliated with Fiio or Samma3a.com Though I really highly appreciate what these guys are doing for the audiophiles in the region!! Thank you so much for letting me test and review this player. I had so much fun doing it!!
When I review DAPs I tend to use an input switcher and play the same song on both players, volume matched by ear and switch back and forth. Then I do some extensive listening with the unit and different headphones.
TL;DR
| Pro | Cons |
| Clean, airy sound, way improved soundstage from X3 | No optical out |
| More details in every frequency band | Silicon sleeve is a dust/lint magnet |
| Scroll wheel way better than X5 | No more internal memory |
| Great build quality | |
| Drives high impedance headphones quite well | |
| VERY close in performance to the X5 | |
| Works as external DAC on Mac & PC |
Buy it – you won’t get anything better for this price.
Now, the longer version:
Packaging & Accessories:
In short it consists of USB charging/data cable, 3.5mm to RCA COAX digital out cable, one spare screen protector in the box, one already fitted on device, pattern stickers (??) in three different designs, warranty card and quick start guide. It also comes already packed into a silicon sleeve/case that is much better than the one from the X3 1st gen.
Technical Highlights:
DAC Chip: CS4398, Amp: OPA1642+LMH6643
Ouput: 224mW into 16 Ohm, 200mW into 32 Ohm, 24mW into 300 Ohm
Output impedance: 0.2
Headphone out, Digital (COAX) out (switchable to line out), 2inch 320×240 pixel colour display, 1 mSD card slot for up to 128GB cards.
Size comparisons & Input switcher:
AK100Mk2, X3II, Gloveaudio A1, X5 (with Cayin C5 and stacking kit HS6)
User Interface and Build Quality:
As it has been mentioned before, I keep this part short as well. The build quality is very good, solid, nothing squeaks, buttons and ports have no play and feel solid. The scroll wheel is much improved over the scroll wheel of the X5, it seems to have less feel and locks in you movements more reliably, however sometimes a “click” or turn is ignored.
The case really appeals to me and it’s a device that you will enjoy to hold and handle. It loses quite some appeal when put in the silicon protection case. It’s a shame that you wont’ see much of this nice device when using that case.
The User Interface is already known from the X5 and X1 and has slight variations to it. Overall it’s pretty straight forward and easy to master once you get the hang of it.
What I particularly like about Fiio players is that you have still dedicated buttons for many functions. You have volume buttons, play/pause/select and a FFWD, RWD (long press) buttons that skip forward and backward with a short press. Makes blind use at night or in the pocket easier.
I tested the device with Firmware 1.0 which will be the release Firmware – it was released on the 2nd day of my review and I didn’t revisit the sound tests I made with FW 0.22.
Overall the UI has only a few little quirks and is pretty well thought through.
The Deep Sleep mode is a very helpful feature and the battery seems to go on forever!
Sound Quality Comparisons:
General
I was genuinely impressed how well the X3II drives my HD650, T90 high impedance headphones. Not bad at all for such a small DAP. Native DSD support in this price range is pretty crazy as well. For the comparisons below I used the Fiio HS2 Headphone Output switcher. I pitched the X3II against a single competitor every time.
Compared to X3 1st gen (from memory)
Since I sold the X3 a few month back this comparison is of course to be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Main differences:
• larger soundstage
• mids and highs crisper
• more detailed across the frequency range.
Compared to iBasso DX50
This was a difficult one. I have sold my X3 and kept the DX50 since for me the sound quality and usability was better with the DX50. Until now. Fiio has not reached and in some areas surpassed the DX50. There is a tad more bass impact with the X3II, in the mids and treble both are quite similar and the soundstage is now (FW 1.8 on DX50) pretty similar too.
Both players offer some great value for money, overall the X3II now feels like the more modern and advanced player – even though the DX50 has a touch screen.And it also sounds a tad better in everything compared to the DX50 to my ears, the same way the original X3 sounded a tad inferior in everything before…tables have turned.
Compared to AK100Mk2
The AK100Mk2 is my goto player when I don’t want any bulk. It runs Firmware 2.41 and is the blue special edition that was released exclusively in Japan December 2014. I love this liuttle beauty. However, at a price around $420 depending on the exchange rate, it has only slight advantages in sound quality over the X3II – the X3II shows what’s possible for $199.
The AK100mk2 had the same amount of details but slammed the bass a bit harder and more precise, it also had a slight advantage in the soundstage.
Compared to AK100 & Gloveaudio A1
The Gloveaudio basically degrades the AK100 to a pure transport, it uses it’s own DAC and balanced amp. Unsurprisingly this combo is a level above the X3II – bass impact, layering and detail is way better, it’s more musical, has better grip on the headphones and controls them somewhat with ease, where the X3II was doing a good job but reaching it’s potential. Plus the background is dark dark dark, black hole dark. Lots of clean power. A brilliant device. CEntrance – this is amazing!!
Compared to Fiio X5
This was surprising. It seems that the design brief for the technical team was: Make the new X3II sound like the X5 for half the money. And they succeeded mostly.
I felt the X3II to have a slightly larger soundstage (!!) and shockingly similar in overall sound quality and signature. The X5 still has the upper hand in power handling and drives the headphones with ease where the X3II reaches its limits. So there is still a slight advantage for the X5 in regards to detail retrieval, clarity, musicality and fun.
Once I added the Cayin C5 amp to the X5, the soundstage opened up, more depth and width appeared and the music was more impactful. So in order to beat the X3II not only marginal but clearly, it needs help.
Line Out & Digital Out:
For me this is an important function. I use the AUX line in in my car – and I use the digital out at home if I want to listen to music on my LCD2s via my DACMini CX or my Crack in the office. It’s also great if you want to try other gear with your own music without the hassle. Usually it’s easier for me to connect the Player to the DAC (Modi2Uber or DACMini) then use line out into the amps, so no unplugging of the whole setup, changing RCA to RCA – 3.5mm cable etc.
So, the digital out is “only” COAX but works extremely well. It’s digital, bits reach the DAC – nothing else to report….
Line out is important. I liked the DX50 for the ability to change the volume output on the line out as well. That helped match it better to some car stereos.
DAC use on a Computer
didn’t try with a Windows machine as I currently prefer my Macs, especially when it comes to audio, the X3II is plug and play and I can just select bitperfect transport 24/192 in the menu – no driver to install, it just works out of the box. Like the X3 and X5 before the X3II – great job Fiio for making this so easy. Sound quality is as expected the same as if playing tracks from the memory card
Conclusion:
The X3II is amazing. It drove high impedance headphones like the T90 and HD650 well, has a very low noise floor with IEMs, sounds superb, works as a DAC/Amp on your PC/Mac, With the advancements in sound quality, I don’t see a competitor in its price range.
Everything has been improved from the X3 – and the performance is now VERY close to the X5. The only omission is that the player has no more internal memory.
For the recommended sales price, this device is a huge hit and I am sure Fiio will sell them by the boatload – hands down – a full recommendation from my side. 5 stars
THANKS to www.samma3a.com and @Mazen4samma3a for the review loaner!
