[raydwatts]

Hello.

I am thinking of getting rid of my old (Gen5)iPod classic 80gb and replacing it with a Fiio X1 and a 64 gb microSD card to escape the resource heavy iTunes.

I have read reviews of the device on amazon.co.uk and they seem OK but I was wondering if anyone here has some hands on experience of the device and can offer feedback.

I'm not really one for playlists as I often just open an album and play that, but is it easy to find tracks, artists and albums with the device. Most of my music has been ripped from the CDs I own and not purchased from the iTunes store so DRM is not an issue.

The only thing that has been holding me back has been navigation of my music without iTunes.

It would be easy enough on my Surface Pro 3 using WMP but on a standalone MP3 player I would not have the benefit of software.

thankyou

[realwarder]

If in the USA I'd suggest getting a Lumia 635 for $39 and adding a 128GB SD. That would make a nice player.

[raydwatts]

Thanks realwarder but unfortunately I'm in the UK where the 635 is about £50 more than the X1 @ £140.

And I'd prefer a dedicated MP3 player as the battery life is often better as it does not need to run as a phone as well..

[realwarder]

Thanks realwarder but unfortunately I'm in the UK where the 635 is about £50 more than the X1 @ £140.

And I'd prefer a dedicated MP3 player as the battery life is often better as it does not need to run as a phone as well..

I guessed the UK from your amazon site quoted.

I have a 635 without SIM and it runs 10 days on standby/low use on Wi-Fi with no cellular active. And it could be shut off to last longer.

Sounds like a dedicated player may be best for you. Often those have better quality sound anyway.

[gomezz]

I recently replaced my old MP3 player with an 8GB Sansa Clip+ with a 32GB SD card. Installed the Rockbox modded firmware and it offers all the bells and whistles you can wish for. One physical mod I made to it was to glue an extra blob of plastic to the Play/Pause button so I can find and use it by touch alone (useful in my job as a multi-drop delivery driver with it hooked up to the van radio).

[divyan]

Hi,

I have bought a FIIO X1 Player and enjoying this so far. I have added a Samsung MicroSDXC 64 GB Class 10 Evo as storage. Listening to FIIO X1 is fun. My previous player was (still with me) Cowon IAudio 10 16 GB .

Comparing these two, I felt X1 is more natural sound reproduction than Cowon. As for navigation, it is just drag and drop. Yes, you can play albums. However I prefer navigating folders and click the files - because that is the way I used to play songs.

If you ask me, the interface of X1 is more simple and the quality you get out of it is pretty good value for money.

My two cents.

[jmshub]

Divyan, do you hear a big sound quality difference when playing music off the Fiio vs a phone or other device?

[raydwatts]

Thank you for the information divyan.

That is exactly the info I needed to make my decision.

By an odd coincidence I purchased the same micro SD card two days ago as it was half price on amazon and I anticipated needing one.

thanks once again

Raymonda

[divyan]

Divyan, do you hear a big sound quality difference when playing music off the Fiio vs a phone or other device?

I will try to , if you consider two things

1.English is not my first language :).

2. I am not an audiophile or bass head. I just listen to music for all it worths.

Having said that , let me see how I can put it into words,

The phones I use are

Nokia Pureview 808 ( with custom firmware),
Nokia Lumia 1020
BlackBerry Z30.


Headphones.

SoundMagic E30 ( Tight bass, balanced mids and highs)
Sony IEM MDR-XB90EX (Bass with capital B, tend to drown almost everything else)

When I am in a real party mood and need some thumping bass ( Like Santigold - 'The Keepers' for example), I use Pureview 808 and Sony MDR-XB90EX ( Volume at around 75). 1020 comes next, but doesn't get there.

If I use Sony MDR-XB90EX with FIIO, there won't be *that* kind of bass effect. No matter what kind of equalizer I set. Increase the volume does not help either.It just destorts everything.

When I need to search some internal peace, I select something like 'Hanging Tree' in 'Mocking Jay'

I go with SoundMagic E30 and FIIO X1. My favourite combination is FIIO X1+SM E80+ 'All the King's men' by 'Wolfgang'. The experience is amazing .

Hope I answered your question :)

[The Lunar Camel]

I purchased a Fiio X1 player a couple of weeks ago. I definitely have to give it a 5/5 stars for just the sound quality alone. It is very noticable if you play a song from an Ipod and then play the same song with the Fiio. Can't beat the price at $99 and the option to choose which storage capacity that serves your needs is also nice. The battery life on this gadget is amazing. So far I'm super impressed. Wish they would make a cradle for it. In reality though, the awful Archos did make a larger player that had an internal storage of 500gb but I don't think it was for lossless music. I'm not sure why there aren't more high end players out there with larger internal storage. It is 2015. Apple had the right idea but ended up using cheap materials that gave the later day ipod a horrible muddled sound.Glad to see a company like Fiio taking a chance in the markt.