Disclaimer: Fiio sent us the X5iii – 3rd generation Digital Audio Player for free. It doesn’t have to be returned as Fiio is a Headfonia partner.

Fiio

It’s been hard to keep up with Fiio lately and it seems plenty of new products and updates will see the light in 2017. This time however they’re back with a major update of one of their most successful DAPs, the Fiio X5. The original X5 DAP was launched late 2013 or early 2014 and it wasn’t before May/June 2015 that it got an update with the X5ii. Now we’re almost two years further and Fiio is back with another edition of their X5. This time however it is a major overhaul with a completely new DAP as a result. Fiio however still is the Price/quality king although they have been launching more expensive items as well.

The X5 always was extremely popular and a lot of people have been waiting for this new unit. The expectations as usual were/are high but just looking at the specs and possibilities this 3rd gen absolutely is a mid-fi killer DAP.

Fiio DAPS & X5 series

Where are the days that Fiio released the X3, the first of their DAP series. In the meantime Fiio now has a whole series of DAPs with the M3, X1, X3, X5 and X7. It’s a fact that everyone wants a piece of the DAP pie, but it rarely happens that one company has five different DAPs in their product lineup. This review was based on weeks of intensive daily use of the X5iii (not a tour model or shop audition).

The X5iii

The beautiful new X5iii is available in two different colors: titanium and black. Like the X7 DAP, the new X5iii is an Android based player (5.1 to be exact) and Fiio gives you the choice to use it in either the Android or Pure Music mode.

The X5iii comes with the golden High Resolution sticker and unlike the Fiio X7, it doesn’t use swappable amplification modules. You however do get a 2.5mm balanced output next to the regular 3.5mm SE output, and I personally am glad to see that.

Size wise, but we’ll get back to that later, I think the X5iii’s size is just right. It measures 114.2mm x 14.8mm x 66.2mm and sports a 480 x 800 touch screen. Yes, it perhaps looks a little like the AK380 but I don’t have any objections to that as they’re both part of the prettiest players on the market club.

The X5iii of course also can be updated by OTA (Over The Air) and the FW-version this review is based on is the latest 1.1.1 FW. I haven’t tried updating by OTA to be honest as the download from Western Europe was rather slow but you can manually download the FW from the Fiio Dropbox account and install it. (Drop zip file in root and click support-update). The Fiio X5iii DAP is very affordable and it will (only) set you back $399 USD / €449 Euro. Remarkable.

Tech Stuff & Specs

The new Fiio X5iii uses double AK4490 DAC chips and those are the exact same ones Astell&Kern use in their TOTL AK380 series. That doesn’t mean a thing though as it is all about the implementation and use of those chips. In a Facebook post (source unknown) someone even promoted the X5iii using the AK380 comparison. This DAC chip can “do” 32/768. Next to that the X5iii uses a quad core RK3188 processor and two separate crystal oscillators. One for DSD/44.1/88.2/176.4/352.8kHz and one for 48/96/192/3814kHz. Then there are two dual OPA1642A chips for low-pass filtering and dual OPA426 chips for amplification.

The Fiio X5iii comes with BlueTooth 4.0 (aptX) and 2.3GHZ Wifi. Its screen measures 3.97” and it’s a full touch screen. It shares the 480 x 800 screen size with the AK380 as well.

Specs wise the X5iii has -112dB Total Harmonic Distortion and 120dB SNR. All tech spec can be read in detail on the following page: See: http://www.fiio.net/en/products/65/parameters. The X5iii is developed to be use with ear- and headphones from 15 to 150Ohm.

BQ, Design, Layout

The Fiio X5iii looks beautiful and I love the design. We’re not the only who do actually, Fiio already won an IFI design award for the X5iii. The features Fiio likes to point out are the concealed double MicroSD slots, the volume knob, the N° 180 zirconium sand body and the leather case.

Not only does the X5iii look nice (the illuminated power button is so sexy), it’s also easy to use with one hand (more on that later). On the right side of the player you have the power/screen button and the double hidden SD slots. On the left side of the player you’ll find the pause/play button up on top with the volume wheel right below that. The BCK/FWD keys are situated under the volume button. On the bottom of the player you – from left to right – have the 3.5mm single ended headphone output, the 2.5mm balanced headphone output, the USB port and the 3.5mm Line Out/Coax out.

Size wise (114.2mm x 14.8mm x 66.2mm) it to me is perfect although something smaller like the AK70 is even easier to use on the go. The build quality of the X5iii is exemplary. No sharp edges, only 186g, good grip, easy located buttons. (1 handed control) I love how the FWD/BACK buttons feel when you push them and using the X5III simply is a joy. The only thing I’m not the biggest fan of is the volume wheel. When turning it, it doesn’t always have the same amount of resistance and the clicks feel a bit weird. It works flawlessly though. I’ve been using the X5iii for a couple of weeks now and I’ve been carrying it around without the leather case it came with. The X5iii can take a beating but I wouldn’t drop it too often as both the back and front might not survive the drop.

All in all I’m very satisfied with the build quality, design and the button lay-out (although it occasionally happens that you accidentally click the FWD/BCK when you want to click the power button. It’s just a matter of grip though). The X5iii’s UI’s user-friendliness is covered in one of the next chapters.

The story continues on Page 2, after the jump below or the click HERE: https://headfonia.com/review-fiio-x5iii-3rd-generation-the-one-that-could/2/

4.1 / 5 ( 66 votes )