Joined in 2023 
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the FiiO X3 III can go – if set – into standby mode after a chosen period of time ranging from 1 minute to 8 minutes;
For pop, jazz, and other closed miked modern recording, Yamaha EPH-100 gives the best sound, nice bass, full bodied and rounded vocal, soft and smooth treble that never have any problem with sibilant. Superlux HD 381F also pairs nicely with X3, but EPH-100 sounds nicer with better detail. The numbers do also suggest a significant step in dynamic range over the older X3ii’s numbers with an increase by up to 6db (107db versus 101db) on the line-out performance. Perhaps a validation for the dual DAC implementation. My assumption here is the power has been dropped a little to bring in a wider range of efficient IEMs that simply do not need a high level of power and prefer to focus instead on detail and dynamics.The X3 Mark III uses a 2.3″ 320x240px TFT screen on the front panel. It is a non-touch screen with navigation and control through the physical buttons and touch-scroll wheel below it. The type and resolution of the screen are the same as the last gen X3, however, it is slightly bigger than the 2.0″ version used on the 2nd gen unit. I always found the X3ii to be the drier and the more neutral of the two with a balanced, lean and clean presentation though with a bit more single-ended power. The X3iii is a fuller, rich sounding presentation with a more planted low end and a stronger even harmonic bias in its timbre. Simply put it is much smoother but more dynamic sounding than the older X3ii.
You can still control the mode of output via the settings menu and a small icon will tell you which mode is currently selected in the top bar on the screen. Micro USB
Design & Build
There is no option to completely shut down the device after a given period of inactivity; this means the FiiO X3 III stays in standby indefinitely sipping the battery power. It is difficult to estimate how much battery is lost each hour, but battery life is significantly affected after 24 hours of standby. Neco V2: The Neco V2 is a bit less dynamic and isn’t quite as smooth as the X3 headphone output. 5/10
The X3 SG now does Native DSD and supports up to 192kHz/24bit. It also has dual oscillators to run 44.1kHz and 48kHz. Power wise the new SG X3 puts out ＞224 mW (16 Ω/THD+N＜1%). The first X3 >540mW. At 32Ω the old one did >270mW, the new one 200mW. At 300Ω the old one did >30mW and the new one >24mW. Purely looking at the numbers the original X3 has more power but numbers aren’t everything of course. The original X3 also was developed for a headphone impedance range of 16-300Ω while the SG is now best between 16 and 150Ω. All this naturally means the the X3 SG sounds quite different from the original one…Of course, it is a complete redesign compared to the original X3 but not so much of an evolution when compared to the X1 and X5 which now pretty much sets the bar or road map for the type of design FiiO is after. The second key external difference to the X1 is the metric depth of the unit. The X1 measures in at 96.7 mm×57.7 mm×14.1 mm whereas the X3 Gen 2 (2nd gen) is 96.7 mm×57.7 mm×16.1 mm. That is an extra 2mm which may not sound much but it feels a lot more in the hand and on side by side comparison screenshots. This drives the AKG Q701’s with no problems(high gain), and can drive even my more sensitive IEM’s without problems as well due to the 60 steps of volume control and using low gain. A final note on the rating. I gave the FiiO X3 III a 7/10. That’s because of its current flaws that spoil the listening experience, in my opinion. Given there is no assurance that they will be fixed in the future, the rating is lower than it would be without them – in fact, I would give the X3 III a 7.6/10 score. Please keep that in mind when reading the rating. is a new, low price point for a portable potentially able to deliver sound quality better than any CD player, as well as far better sound than portables like the iPod.
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