FOREWARD: as a relatively new user to head-fi, i dont expect many of you to take my review seriously. however, although i'm new to POSTING on this site, i've been an audiophile and a lurker of this site for quite some time. i've got several years of hifi under my belt, a low post count, and an electronics degree to work with, so thats my resume to you guys. without any further ado: the FiiO X3ii!!!!
UNBOXING: the item arrived beautifully packaged. the presentation was beautiful, and upon first opening, you could tell that effort was put into fitting everything in this box, while still making it look beautiful. multi-lingual directions, the DAP, a micro-usb cord (of good quality), extra screen protector, stickers (kind of cheesy USA flag, carbon fiber, and fake wood grain). as soon as i registered the product and made a user name on FiiO's site, everything was promptly thrown away (i'm not gonna use any of that crap). also, it comes with a sleek, sexy silicone case which i prefer to leave on. its very thin, but seems very secure and allows for headphones to feel securely inserted into the jack.
FEATURES: this DAP is quite feature packed for its price, hardware-wise. the build quality is phenomenal. as mentioned in other reviews, its a one-piece metal body, rather than last-gen. it feels like it could take a drop on the floor and be ok functionally, although the screen is suspect to durability. features include a headphone out, line-out/coax out, recessed power button (useful for when it's in your pocket), a decent scroll wheel, basic control layout, integrated DAC features (plug and play for linux/posix systems i.e. ubuntu, fedora, debian, mac), and a USB charging/data transfer port. software EQ is decent, software hi/low gain allows you to drive different impedence headphones accordingly without introducing noise. battery life is quite long on this device, as of this submission, ive been listening for a solid 4 hours straight and i've still got a full 4 bars, VERY IMPRESSIVE FiiO!
USER INTERFACE: this is easily the worst part of this DAP. i really really dont want to give this DAP a bad mark on anything, but as a newbie to portable hi-fi, this is unacceptable. i'll let many, many things slide. but the screen/UI is abysmal. i realize that there is only so many pixels you can fit on a small TFT screen like that, but its just not well made. i dont wish to start any flame wars, and no, i couldnt make one better, but thats not whats on trial here. i realize that FiiO devs post here, and aware of the current situation, but for people like myself who are just jumping into this market, its hard to "accept" this in 2015. understandably, to keep the price point low, sacrifices had to be made, and FiiO did do the right thing by cutting corners on the screen rather than the circuitry. the UI is simply not very intuitive. the main screen is split into 5 categories: Now Playing, Category, Browse Files, Play Settings, and System Settings. within 2 minutes of using this device, i could see glaring issues. on such a small screen, why wouldnt you minimize the amount of onscreen objects to simplify the UI? "now playing" shouldn't even exist, it should be accessible by long holding the "back button". "play settings" should be IN "system settings", why have multiple settings categories? just put all configuration settings in ONE place, dont over-complicate things for the end-user. "browse files" and "category" should be unified into one as they both are ways to play your audio. these steps would simplify the UI, while at the same time, getting the user to their music quicker.
SOUND QUALITY: the best part of this product (besides how small and light it is). i'm usually a fan of mids/highs, but i'll make acceptions for this DAP. its not that mids/highs aren't clear, they just seem less prominent in the mix. however, its not a bad thing, the soundstage allows the instruments to sound evenly spread across the mix (having nicely mastered FLACs doesnt hurt either). i'm running this DAP straight into a pair of SHURE SE215's and for low impedance IEMs, this is a dream to listen to. in the end, thats exactly what this hobby is about, and in that regard, FiiO really knocked it out of the park with this one. i'll admit that i never turned on EQ because i like a flat response. i prefer to listen to the recordings as they were mastered and not try to compensate, its a personal thing. whatever rocks your world, keep doing it
OVERALL: put it this way, if you were on the fence about buying this, do it. if you're just getting your feet wet in portable hifi audio but dont want to spend too much money, buy this. if you dont need a fancy pants flagship device, buy it. if you want to be pleasantly surprised with what a portable can provide/do, buy it. the only reasons i can think of NOT buying it, would be if you are a) broke b) already have something you are happy with c) don't like excellent sound quality. for what you pay, i feel like the X3ii will be the model that other DAPs aspire to become. its got the right features-to-pricepoint ratio. sure, there are some areas that need improvement, but its not the audio department, FiiO has clearly listened to its' customers, and its paying dividends. FiiO: if you are listening, your UI needs some drastic improvements, its the only reason i cant give you 5 stars. its THAT bad. simplify it, it HAS to feel natural, and at this point there's too much clutter. its literally the only glaring issue i have.
tl;dr sound quality rules, n00bs should buy this and be done with it, everything is 0mG except UI, but that can/will be improved.
ALBUMS LISTENED TO: (all flacs)
thin lizzy - jailbreak
genesis - the lamb lies down on broadway 24-bit SACD rip
queen - innuendo
porcupine tree - the incident
camel - rajaz
camera obscura - desire lines
10cc - how dare you!
king crimson - the power to believe
marillion - misplaced childhood
tears for fears - the seeds of love
the smashing pumpkins - adore
UNBOXING: the item arrived beautifully packaged. the presentation was beautiful, and upon first opening, you could tell that effort was put into fitting everything in this box, while still making it look beautiful. multi-lingual directions, the DAP, a micro-usb cord (of good quality), extra screen protector, stickers (kind of cheesy USA flag, carbon fiber, and fake wood grain). as soon as i registered the product and made a user name on FiiO's site, everything was promptly thrown away (i'm not gonna use any of that crap). also, it comes with a sleek, sexy silicone case which i prefer to leave on. its very thin, but seems very secure and allows for headphones to feel securely inserted into the jack.
FEATURES: this DAP is quite feature packed for its price, hardware-wise. the build quality is phenomenal. as mentioned in other reviews, its a one-piece metal body, rather than last-gen. it feels like it could take a drop on the floor and be ok functionally, although the screen is suspect to durability. features include a headphone out, line-out/coax out, recessed power button (useful for when it's in your pocket), a decent scroll wheel, basic control layout, integrated DAC features (plug and play for linux/posix systems i.e. ubuntu, fedora, debian, mac), and a USB charging/data transfer port. software EQ is decent, software hi/low gain allows you to drive different impedence headphones accordingly without introducing noise. battery life is quite long on this device, as of this submission, ive been listening for a solid 4 hours straight and i've still got a full 4 bars, VERY IMPRESSIVE FiiO!
USER INTERFACE: this is easily the worst part of this DAP. i really really dont want to give this DAP a bad mark on anything, but as a newbie to portable hi-fi, this is unacceptable. i'll let many, many things slide. but the screen/UI is abysmal. i realize that there is only so many pixels you can fit on a small TFT screen like that, but its just not well made. i dont wish to start any flame wars, and no, i couldnt make one better, but thats not whats on trial here. i realize that FiiO devs post here, and aware of the current situation, but for people like myself who are just jumping into this market, its hard to "accept" this in 2015. understandably, to keep the price point low, sacrifices had to be made, and FiiO did do the right thing by cutting corners on the screen rather than the circuitry. the UI is simply not very intuitive. the main screen is split into 5 categories: Now Playing, Category, Browse Files, Play Settings, and System Settings. within 2 minutes of using this device, i could see glaring issues. on such a small screen, why wouldnt you minimize the amount of onscreen objects to simplify the UI? "now playing" shouldn't even exist, it should be accessible by long holding the "back button". "play settings" should be IN "system settings", why have multiple settings categories? just put all configuration settings in ONE place, dont over-complicate things for the end-user. "browse files" and "category" should be unified into one as they both are ways to play your audio. these steps would simplify the UI, while at the same time, getting the user to their music quicker.
SOUND QUALITY: the best part of this product (besides how small and light it is). i'm usually a fan of mids/highs, but i'll make acceptions for this DAP. its not that mids/highs aren't clear, they just seem less prominent in the mix. however, its not a bad thing, the soundstage allows the instruments to sound evenly spread across the mix (having nicely mastered FLACs doesnt hurt either). i'm running this DAP straight into a pair of SHURE SE215's and for low impedance IEMs, this is a dream to listen to. in the end, thats exactly what this hobby is about, and in that regard, FiiO really knocked it out of the park with this one. i'll admit that i never turned on EQ because i like a flat response. i prefer to listen to the recordings as they were mastered and not try to compensate, its a personal thing. whatever rocks your world, keep doing it
OVERALL: put it this way, if you were on the fence about buying this, do it. if you're just getting your feet wet in portable hifi audio but dont want to spend too much money, buy this. if you dont need a fancy pants flagship device, buy it. if you want to be pleasantly surprised with what a portable can provide/do, buy it. the only reasons i can think of NOT buying it, would be if you are a) broke b) already have something you are happy with c) don't like excellent sound quality. for what you pay, i feel like the X3ii will be the model that other DAPs aspire to become. its got the right features-to-pricepoint ratio. sure, there are some areas that need improvement, but its not the audio department, FiiO has clearly listened to its' customers, and its paying dividends. FiiO: if you are listening, your UI needs some drastic improvements, its the only reason i cant give you 5 stars. its THAT bad. simplify it, it HAS to feel natural, and at this point there's too much clutter. its literally the only glaring issue i have.
tl;dr sound quality rules, n00bs should buy this and be done with it, everything is 0mG except UI, but that can/will be improved.
ALBUMS LISTENED TO: (all flacs)
thin lizzy - jailbreak
genesis - the lamb lies down on broadway 24-bit SACD rip
queen - innuendo
porcupine tree - the incident
camel - rajaz
camera obscura - desire lines
10cc - how dare you!
king crimson - the power to believe
marillion - misplaced childhood
tears for fears - the seeds of love
the smashing pumpkins - adore
McDown has created an incredible theme for the 1st generation X3 that makes it more beautiful to look at and more enjoyable to use. Hopes that he will do the same for the X3ii.