[pauliunas]

Hi,
My Colorfly C3 stopped working, so I'm looking for a replacement.
I don't care about playlists, big screen, long battery life etc. - but I'm serious about audio quality.
I would be driving VE Monk+ on the go and Audio Technica AD900X at home. I don't mind connecting an external DAC to my phone, but a dedicated DAP with real physical buttons would be better, especially in winter.
The problem with my phone is that the volume is too low, and when I turn it to max, the quality is messed up.
I listen to classical music, so it's important to have wide soundstage and details. I don't need it to be very warm or "organic" - I mean it's probably a good thing, but I'm used to flat SQ.
So far I've considered these options:
- FiiO Q1 connected to my phone as a DAC
- FiiO X1, although I would like to avoid that as it's slightly above my budget
- Xduoo X2
- FiiO M3

Which one of these has the best sound quality? It needs to be both louder and clearer than a regular smartphone. Of course, I favor dedicated players because they have real buttons, but FiiO M3 with its capacitive buttons falls out here.

Oh and for the prices.. I live in Europe, Lithuania. I can get FiiOs locally, for example X1 costs 120€. But others I would need to import (and probably miss out on warranty). On the other hand, importing (from within European Union) could even turn out cheaper.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Can you meet the price of XDuoo X3?

 

[pauliunas]

  Can you meet the price of XDuoo X3?

Only if you can find it under 100 shipped to Lithuania... It costs 80GBP on Amazon UK, but with shipping it will be well above my budget.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Only if you can find it under 100 shipped to Lithuania... It costs 80GBP on Amazon UK, but with shipping it will be well above my budget.

 
I found it for $110.
 
http://penonaudio.com/xDuoo-X3

 

[pauliunas]

   
I found it for $110.
 
http://penonaudio.com/xDuoo-X3

That's even more expensive... Add shipping to that. My budget is $100, not $150... :/

 

[H20Fidelity]

  That's even more expensive... Add shipping to that. My budget is $100, not $150... :/

 
If I remember rightly standard shipping was free from Penon?
 
Please put one in your cart and get an estimate.

 

[pauliunas]

Ah well you're right. I very rarely encounter free shipping to Lithuania except some cheap Chinese stuff (like a $0.10 OTG adapter)

 

[pauliunas]

   
If I remember rightly standard shipping was free from Penon?
 
Please put one in your cart and get an estimate.

But what about warranty? Do they offer a solid warranty? I don't want to end up like now with my Colorfly C3... only half a year and already have to throw it out because there is no warranty in Europe...

 

[H20Fidelity]

  But what about warranty? Do they offer a solid warranty? I don't want to end up like now with my Colorfly C3... only half a year and already have to throw it out because there is no warranty in Europe...

 
Yes, it will have warranty, Penon is used by Head-fi members all the time, not some shady corner store.
 
You would need to ship it back to them obviously.
 
There is another very cheap player getting attention atm called Benjie S5, its about $25 but the buttons are like C3..
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/805115/benjie-s5-offical-thread
 
Otherwise I'd recommend the FiiO X1, (although slightly above the cash flow limit)

 

[pauliunas]

   
Yes, it will have warranty, Penon is used by Head-fi members all the time, not some shady corner store.
 
You would need to ship it back to them obviously.
 
There is another very cheap player getting attention atm called Benjie S5, its about $25 but the buttons are like C3..
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/805115/benjie-s5-offical-thread
 
Otherwise I'd recommend the FiiO X1, (although slightly above the cash flow limit)

Hmm, well I can get a X1 shipped from Germany for around 90EUR, and Xduoo X3 from the link you provided costs 105EUR (converted from USD). I would also need to pay extra VAT when buying from outside the EU, so I guess the X1 is still a better choice. They have a warranty too, if I send it back. Or is the Xduoo a much better player?
 
Oh, and I'm tempted to buy the Q1, too... Is it as good as X1? Or is it worse?

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Hmm, well I can get a X1 shipped from Germany for around 90EUR, and Xduoo X3 from the link you provided costs 105EUR (converted from USD). I would also need to pay extra VAT when buying from outside the EU, so I guess the X1 is still a better choice. They have a warranty too, if I send it back. Or is the Xduoo a much better player?

 
FiiO or X1 is what I call the Apple brand of portable audio, they've matured to this stage and always a great failsafe option. They offer great players at a low price, the build is above average, the firmware stable and offer a lot of in-player settings. Overall though I find their house sound a little too warm for my personal preferences, I did enjoy X1 a lot though with my Sennheiser HD25ii. XDuoo I consider setting foot deeper in the roots of Chinese audiophile players, the firmwares are in basic form the settings just ok along with old school LCD screens etc. I did however find XDuoo X3 quite a lot more detailed than X1 and more airy, open sounding, wider staging. XDuoo X3 could hold its ground next to the X1's bigger brother, X3II. So you need to decide what's for you.

 

[JK1]

"Of course, I favor dedicated players because they have real buttons, but FiiO M3 with its capacitive buttons falls out here."
 
The Fiio M3 has real buttons, not capacitive ones, although the buttons on the M3 are not very good.
 
See my Fiio M3 review.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-m3-digital-portable-music-player/reviews/14785
 
The Fiio X1 is much better than the M3, except when it comes to battery life. The X1 gets around 10 hours, vs 24 hours for the M3. The X1 puts out much more power, but is much larger and much heavier than the M3. Instead of the M3, you might want to consider the Sandisk Clip Sport.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sandisk-clip-sport-8gb-mp3-player-black-with-lcd-screen-and-microsdhc-card-slot-sdmx24-008g-g46k/reviews/17338
 
I have all three of these.  My X1 stays at home, as it is much larger and much heavier than the other two players.

 

[kfarndog]

Hi,
My Colorfly C3 stopped working, so I'm looking for a replacement.
I don't care about playlists, big screen, long battery life etc. - but I'm serious about audio quality.
I would be driving VE Monk+ on the go and Audio Technica AD900X at home. I don't mind connecting an external DAC to my phone, but a dedicated DAP with real physical buttons would be better, especially in winter.
The problem with my phone is that the volume is too low, and when I turn it to max, the quality is messed up.
I listen to classical music, so it's important to have wide soundstage and details. I don't need it to be very warm or "organic" - I mean it's probably a good thing, but I'm used to flat SQ.
So far I've considered these options:
- FiiO Q1 connected to my phone as a DAC
- FiiO X1, although I would like to avoid that as it's slightly above my budget
- Xduoo X2
- FiiO M3

Which one of these has the best sound quality? It needs to be both louder and clearer than a regular smartphone. Of course, I favor dedicated players because they have real buttons, but FiiO M3 with its capacitive buttons falls out here.

Oh and for the prices.. I live in Europe, Lithuania. I can get FiiOs locally, for example X1 costs 120€. But others I would need to import (and probably miss out on warranty). On the other hand, importing (from within European Union) could even turn out cheaper.

Frankly, I would just get another Colorfly C3.  It sounds better than all of those you have listed.  Now if you just want something new and different, that is a different matter.  The Fiios are nice, but IMO you need to jump to the X5 to match the sound of the Colorfly you just had.  The Xudoo X2 just hisses too much for my taste.  Just my two cents worth.

 

[puppyfi]

Hi,
My Colorfly C3 stopped working, so I'm looking for a replacement.
I don't care about playlists, big screen, long battery life etc. - but I'm serious about audio quality.
I would be driving VE Monk+ on the go and Audio Technica AD900X at home. I don't mind connecting an external DAC to my phone, but a dedicated DAP with real physical buttons would be better, especially in winter.
The problem with my phone is that the volume is too low, and when I turn it to max, the quality is messed up.
I listen to classical music, so it's important to have wide soundstage and details. I don't need it to be very warm or "organic" - I mean it's probably a good thing, but I'm used to flat SQ.
So far I've considered these options:
- FiiO Q1 connected to my phone as a DAC
- FiiO X1, although I would like to avoid that as it's slightly above my budget
- Xduoo X2
- FiiO M3

Which one of these has the best sound quality? It needs to be both louder and clearer than a regular smartphone. Of course, I favor dedicated players because they have real buttons, but FiiO M3 with its capacitive buttons falls out here.

Oh and for the prices.. I live in Europe, Lithuania. I can get FiiOs locally, for example X1 costs 120€. But others I would need to import (and probably miss out on warranty). On the other hand, importing (from within European Union) could even turn out cheaper.

 
I read that some colorfly c3 users managed to revive their unit by poking the reset hole besides the headphone socket.

 

[pauliunas]

  "Of course, I favor dedicated players because they have real buttons, but FiiO M3 with its capacitive buttons falls out here."
 
The Fiio M3 has real buttons, not capacitive ones, although the buttons on the M3 are not very good.
 
See my Fiio M3 review.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-m3-digital-portable-music-player/reviews/14785
 
The Fiio X1 is much better than the M3, except when it comes to battery life. The X1 gets around 10 hours, vs 24 hours for the M3. The X1 puts out much more power, but is much larger and much heavier than the M3. Instead of the M3, you might want to consider the Sandisk Clip Sport.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/sandisk-clip-sport-8gb-mp3-player-black-with-lcd-screen-and-microsdhc-card-slot-sdmx24-008g-g46k/reviews/17338
 
I have all three of these.  My X1 stays at home, as it is much larger and much heavier than the other two players.

Oh, I didn't know that. The buttons really look like capacitive ones in pictures.
 
I don't mind that battery life - 2h continuous listening would probably be enough for me, as long as it supports playback while charging. It has to be enough for my commute, but other than that, I can just charge when I get home. Longer battery life would surely help in long trips, but 10h is already more than enough.
 
So, X1 seems like a no-brainer to me, because as I mentioned I have a problem with low volume coming out of my phone (can I expect more from M3?) and I don't care about it being big or having a smaller battery.
 
I really doubt Sandisk would be satisfactory, because they're not an audiophile brand. I want the sound quality to be significantly better than my smartphone.
 

  Frankly, I would just get another Colorfly C3.  It sounds better than all of those you have listed.  Now if you just want something new and different, that is a different matter.  The Fiios are nice, but IMO you need to jump to the X5 to match the sound of the Colorfly you just had.  The Xudoo X2 just hisses too much for my taste.  Just my two cents worth.

No way. I want my DAP to actually work. My Colorfly C3 has already been dead, and it erased my memory card for some reason. I revived it by poking the reset button a hundred times. Now, in half a year of time, it's dead a second time and I can't revive it. Furthermore, they refuse to honor the warranty. Colorfly as a brand just went to the very bottom of my options list. Yes, even below Nokia 3310's built-in speaker.
 

   
I read that some colorfly c3 users managed to revive their unit by poking the reset hole besides the headphone socket.

Yeah, I've tried that. Actually, it was still showing some signs of life by lighting up the buttons that I touch (not the normal blinking as it used to do, but they just remained lit while I was touching them). When I clicked the reset button, it stopped doing that. Now it doesn't react to anything at all.