[Grado Diesel]

I’ve been an owner of FiiO X3ii’s for over two years now (I’m on my 3rd one due to issues with durability) Before that I had run nothing but iPods for 10 years. I had been out of a FiiO for 7 weeks while waiting on a replacement from the company and just got my new X3ii this weekend. In that extended period, I dug up my old 2005 iPod classic to keep the ear candy flowing, and Ive gotta say since getting back into an X3 yesterday I’m experiencing a substantial level of listening discomfort. How an iPod “eq’s” a signal even when set to no eq, is just more comfortable and more “fun” to listen to. The highs are rolled a little and all-day listening is no problem.

My FiiO on the other hand feels extremely harsh to my ears. The s’s in the vocals are like daggers. Is this normal? Is that what a hifi DAP is supposed to sound and feel like to the listener? I get it, the iPod world is considered low-fi but at least it was enjoyable. Devices like the FiiO X3ii have become my only way to listen to music because Apple’s stopped making true music players and I’ve got ZERO interest in going to streaming services. Any advice? Are there DAPs that sound more like an iPod? Are there folks who turn old iPods into solid state players with chipsets or sandisk capabilities and renew their life?

 

[megabigeye]

I went from a gen. 5.5 iPod to a first gen. Fiio X5 and had a similar experience. I found the treble to be weird and tizzy and the bass to be completely lackluster. I didn't like it but I listened to it for a few years because others claimed it sounded great. I guess I was trying to fool myself?
Anyway, I had much better luck using the X5 with an E12A. Much, much better sound. You might try your X3 with the A5 or similar amp?
Also, is this something you noticed before they sent back your X3? Is it possible you got a defective one (or that your old one was damaged)? This was something I wondered about with my X5.
Oh yeah, and I was just recently chatting with somebody on here that seemed like s/he had similar experience with a Fiio DAC. That person happened to enjoy the sound, but I wonder if it's not Fiio's house tuning (which seems odd to me, seeing how much it improved with the addition of an amp).

Alternately, if you like the iPod, why not just use that?

Also, I was considering RockBoxing my old iPod and swapping in an SSD, but a) I'm a horrible procrastinator and needed a DAP for a trip before I ever got around to it, and b) I think I actually damaged my iPod by using it to burn in a new pair of earphones. Anyway, there are plenty of online guides to modding your iPod.
I currently use a Dragonfly Red and I prefer it in almost all ways to my old Fiio stack.