FiiO X3 Complete User Manual

Foreword

Thank you for purchasing FiiO's X3, a 192 kHz/32 bit high-resolution lossless music player. To help you better utilize the X3 and enjoy high-quality music, this complete user manual has been prepared, collecting and answering frequently asked questions from users. We hope this manual will help you get to know the X3 and unleash its full potential.

Introduction

The X3 is a high-resolution digital audio player that supports lossy and lossless music formats including MP3, WAV, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis. It supports a maximum sample rate of 192kHz/32 bit and includes features like Bluetooth and CUE sheet support. The X3 also offers headphone output, Lineout, digital coaxial output, and a 2.5mm balanced output. It is a portable, high-performance music player. The following sections provide an illustrated guide to using the X3.

Buttons and Ports

Buttons/Ports Diagram

The FiiO X3 features a screen, a circular navigation dial with a central OK button, volume buttons, and various ports.

• Front Panel: Features a screen at the top. Below the screen is a circular navigation dial with directional indicators (up, down, left, right) and a central OK button. Volume buttons (+/-) are located on the right side of the screen.
• Left Side: Contains buttons labeled ①, ②, ④, ⑤, ⑦, ⑨, ⑩, ⑫.
• Right Side: Contains buttons labeled ③, ⑥, ⑧, ⑪.
• Bottom Panel: Features ports labeled ⑬, ⑭, ⑮.

Buttons and Ports Introduced

1. Power/Lock Button: Press and hold for 2 seconds to power on when off. Briefly press to lock/unlock when on. Hold for about 3 seconds to power off (10 seconds for forced shutdown).
2. Volume +/- Buttons: Briefly press to change volume by one increment. Hold down to continuously adjust volume or mute.
3. 262K Color TFT Display (320×240 resolution): Displays the user interface and other information, used in conjunction with buttons.
4. Multifunction Button: Offers options for Playback control, EQ, Jump list, and Theme. Use the scroll wheel or previous/next track buttons to select options and press OK to confirm.
5. Shortcuts Key: Displays different menus based on the current context and press duration. Briefly press in Now Playing to show/hide the shortcuts bar. Briefly press in Main menu to enter Play settings. Long press in track/file list menu for first-letter search. Long press in most menus (while playing music) to enter Now Playing.
6. Back / Main Menu Button: Briefly press to go up one menu level. While in the main menu and playing music, pressing Back takes you to the "Now Playing" screen. Hold to return directly to the main menu.
7. Scroll Wheel: Freely rotatable (360° rotation). Clockwise scrolls down/right, selects next item, or adjusts values. Counter-clockwise scrolls up/left, selects previous item, or adjusts values.
8. OK/Play/Pause/Volume Adjustment Button: In "Now Playing" screen: briefly press to play/pause. In menus: briefly press to enter submenus, adjust levels/values/choices (using scroll wheel or OK button). In dialogs: briefly press to confirm actions. Volume control: Hold down at any time to bring up the volume dialog and use the scroll wheel to adjust.
9. Micro SD Card Slot: Standard micro SD card slot, supporting cards up to 256GB.
10. Up / Previous Track / Rewind Button: In "Now Playing": briefly press for previous song, hold to rewind. In menus: briefly press to select previous item (up).
11. Down / Next Track / Fast Forward Button: In "Now Playing": briefly press for next song, hold to fast forward. In menus: briefly press to select next item (down).
12. Indicator Light: Blue when working, red when charging, green when fully charged.
13. 3.5mm Headphone/Line/Coaxial Output: This port serves headphone out, line out, and coaxial output. Mode can be toggled in System Settings. Supports CTIA standard in-line headsets. In-line controls allow Volume Up/Down, Play/Pause, Skip to next/previous track, Fast Forward, and Rewind.
14. Micro USB Port (11 pin): For data exchange, battery charging, and connection to FiiO docking devices.
15. 2.5mm Balanced Headphone Output: Supports 2.5mm TRRS balanced headphones.

Visual Guide to Menu Operation

Main Menu

Buttons and Dials:

• Scroll Wheel: Scrolls through menu items, changes values of selected items.
• Shortcuts: Shows/hides shortcuts menu; brings up context menu.
• Back: Goes up one menu level.
• Up / Prev | Down / Next: Moves through menu items, changes values of selected items.

Status Bar Indicators:

• Current Volume
• Current Output Mode
• Gain (High/Low)
• Playing Indicator
• Bluetooth Indicator
• Sleep Timer Indicator
• Micro SD Card Inserted
• Battery Level Indicator

Menu Screens:

• Now Playing: The Shortcuts key shows/hides the shortcuts menu. Use the scroll wheel to navigate and the Enter key to select items.
• Category: After updating the media library, music files are sorted by tags. Scroll to choose between playing by song, album, artist, or genre. Favorites and playlists are added/deleted manually.
• Browse Files: Displays folders and sub-folders on the micro SD card. Navigate using the scroll wheel, Enter, and Back buttons.
• Play Settings: Adjust settings directly or enter submenus using Enter/Previous/Next buttons and the scroll wheel.
• System Settings: Adjust settings directly or enter submenus using Enter/Previous/Next buttons and the scroll wheel.

Key-Lock Settings

Access via "System settings > Key-lock settings". Allows setting Multifunctional button, OK button, and Prev/Next button to ON or OFF for use under lock-screen. Note: Volume buttons can still adjust volume and switch modes under lock-screen.

Menu Operation

1. Turning On/Off

To Turn On: When powered off, press and hold the power button for 2 seconds. (A language selection dialog appears on first boot.)

To Turn Off: When powered on, press and hold the power button for about 3 seconds.

After turning on, the main menu is displayed. Use the scroll wheel or Previous/Next buttons to select from Now Playing, Category, Browse Files, Play Settings, and System Settings. Press the shortcut key to quickly jump to Play Settings.

2. Now Playing

From the main menu, highlight "Now Playing" and press Enter. If no song is playing, a list of songs will be presented. Selecting a song enters the Now Playing screen.

Note: Media library updates can be set to automatic or manual in System Settings.

3. Category

From the main menu, select the Category icon and press Enter. Sort music by: All Songs, Album, Artist, Genre, Favorite, Playlists, and Recently Added. Press Enter to enter sub-menus. Pressing the Shortcuts key in a sub-menu allows quick switching between sorting types.

Adding/Removing Favorites:

• Individually: Use the shortcut context menu in the Now Playing screen.
• Batch: In the Favorites sub-menu, press the Shortcuts key, select "Add to Favorites", highlight songs, press Next to add or Previous to remove, then press Enter to confirm.

The X3 supports externally-created (M3U, M3U8) and natively-created playlists. For external playlist creation, visit the FiiO Support website at http://fiio.net/en/supports/46.

To create playlists directly on the X3, use the Shortcuts key in the Now Playing screen, select the '+' icon in the context menu. To delete a playlist, press Shortcuts then Enter in the playlist sub-menu. To delete individual songs from playlists, press Shortcuts while highlighting a song, then press Previous to select Yes, and then Enter.

4. Browse Files

From the main menu, highlight "Browse Files" and press Enter. If no micro SD card is inserted, "SD Card Not found..." will appear. If a card is inserted, you can browse folders and files. Use the scroll wheel, Enter, and Back buttons to navigate and select music files.

5. Play Settings

Use the scroll wheel to choose settings and Enter/Previous/Next buttons to select options.

• a) Play Mode: Shuffle, Sequential, Loop through all songs, Loop single song, Single play.
• b) Resume Mode: Off, Song (resumes at song start), Position (resumes at playback position).
• c) Playback Gap: None, Fade in/Fade out, Gapless (future update). Fade in/out provides a gradual volume change between tracks.
• d) Max Volume: Set maximum volume limit from 30 to 100. Cannot be set to 0.
• e) Default Volume and f) Fixed Volume Setting: Default Volume can be Memory (previous volume) or Custom. Fixed Volume Setting allows setting a specific volume level when the X3 turns on (not available if Default Volume is Memory).
• g) Equalizer: Preset options (Rock, Classical, Jazz, Pop, Dance, Vocal, Metal, ACG) or Custom. EQ settings can be modified using the scroll wheel and Enter button. Shortcut key prompts to reset current EQ.
• h) Line Out Mode: Fixed Level (maximum output) or Volume Adjustable. Caution: Using Fixed Level Line Out with headphones can damage hearing.
• i) Balance: Adjust channel balance in 10 steps (up to 5dB louder in one direction).
• j) Play Through Folders: If On, plays tracks sequentially through folders and sub-folders. If Off, only plays tracks in the current folder.
• k) Multifunctional Button: Options: Playback control, EQ, Jump list, Theme. Use scroll wheel/track buttons to see options, press OK to confirm.

6. System Settings

Use the scroll wheel to choose settings and Enter/Previous/Next buttons to select options.

• a) Update Media Library: Automatic or Manual. Manual requires pressing Enter on the option after transferring songs. Automatic updates after PC disconnect or SD card insertion. Do not press buttons during update.
• b) & c) Bluetooth & Bluetooth Settings: If OFF, Bluetooth is disabled. If ON, Bluetooth is enabled. Sub-menu includes: Search for Bluetooth Devices, Currently connected device, Manage added devices, Automatic connection on startup.
• d) Key-lock setting: Configure Multifunctional, OK, and Prev/Next buttons for lock-screen use (ON/OFF).
• e) Screen Timeout: Set screen and button timeout (30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120 seconds, or ON).
• f) Brightness: Choose from 10 levels.
• g) Idle Standby & h) Idle Standby Timer: If ON, player turns off after a set time of inactivity. Timer adjustable from 1 to 8 minutes.
• i) Sleep & j) Sleep Timer: If ON, player enters deep sleep after a set time of inactivity. Timer adjustable from 10 to 120 minutes. A clock icon appears in the status bar. Timer takes effect once per session.
• k) Select Output: Changes the 3.5mm output mode: Line Out [line out symbol], Headphone Out [headphone symbol], or Coaxial Out [RCA jack symbol]. Music must not be playing to change this setting.
• l) SPDIF out: Two modes: D2P (DSD to PCM) and DoP (DSD over PCM). D2P converts DSD to PCM. DoP outputs PCM and DSD directly (requires compatible coaxial device, supports up to DSD64). Only affects Coaxial output.
• m) USB mode: Storage (acts as USB drive) or DAC (acts as external USB sound card). Driver installation required for DAC mode on Windows.
• n) Theme: Choose from 6 different themes.
• o) Supports In-line Headphone Control: ON/OFF for using headset controls (play, pause, track change).
• p) File Name Display: Choose to display File Name or Song Title at the bottom of the Now Playing screen.
• q) Cover Display: OFF (no album art), Normal (with status/playback bars), or Full Screen (only cover art).
• r) Lyrics Display: ON/OFF. Shows lyrics if lyrics file is found.
• s) Scroll Wheel Prompt Tone: ON/OFF for scroll wheel sound feedback.
• t) Rotary Sensitivity: Low, Medium, or High.
• u) Reset Media Library: Resets the media library database. Does not delete files from the micro SD card.
• v) About X3: View model name, serial number, NB code, SD card capacity, song count, quick start guide, and copyright information.
• w) Language: Supports multiple languages (Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Thai, Russian). Select desired language.
• x) Font Size: Choose between Large (Big) or Small font.
• y) Storage Formatting: Formats the micro SD card to FAT32. Deletes all data. Back up data first.
• z) Factory Restore: Restores all settings to their defaults.

Firmware Update

Firmware updates add new features and optimize performance. Updates are done via files loaded onto micro SD cards. Improper operation can cause malfunction.

To check current firmware version: Navigate to System Settings > About X3.

Preparations / Precautions:

• A micro SD card formatted in FAT32 is required (use System settings > Storage formatting). Caution: Formatting erases all data.
• Back up important data on the micro SD card.
• Ensure the X3 is adequately charged (preferably fully charged) for the update.
• Do not operate other buttons during the update process.
• If the update fails, hold the power button for 10 seconds for a forced shutdown and restart in update mode.

Summary of Procedure:

1. Copy the X3_Mark_III.fw file to the root directory of a FAT32 formatted micro SD card.
2. Turn off the X3 and insert the card.
3. Hold the power button while holding the Shortcuts key to turn on the X3 in firmware update mode. The player will restart automatically upon completion.

After completion, delete the .fw file from the SD card and update the media library (System settings > Update Media Lib).

In case of firmware update failure:

• If "update file not found" appears, check SD card formatting (FAT32) and file placement (root directory).
• If other errors occur, perform a forced shutdown and restart in update mode.
• If failures repeat, try a different micro SD card (32GB or under) formatted using the X3's function.
• Update directly to the latest firmware; no need to update intermediate versions.

Tips on Usage

• Update Media Library: Recommended to set System Settings > Update Media Lib to Auto for automatic updates when connecting to PC or inserting/removing SD card.
• Play Favorite Songs Quickly: Use the Shortcuts key to search by the first letter of the song/file. Add songs to Favorites via the context menu in Now Playing or the Favorites menu.
• Navigate Songs and Adjust Volume: Turn the scroll wheel in Now Playing to see a list of songs before and after the current one. Press OK to select and play. Hold the Play button to bring up the volume adjustment dialogue and use the scroll wheel.
• Saving Power / Continuing Playback: Set a sleep timer to automatically enter deep sleep after inactivity. Idle Standby (default ON) stops playback after a set time of inactivity to save battery.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. About Charging

• Power Sources: Any USB charger (5V output) like computer, power bank, or adapter. 5V/2A charger recommended.
• Charging Current: Less than 500mA via computer USB port, approx. 1.3A via dedicated USB charger (DC 5V 2A).
• Charging Time: Approx. 3 hours for a full charge with a recommended DC 5V 2A charger.
• Power Bank Charging: Yes, if current is higher than 1A.
• Playing While Charging: Yes, it's normal for the X3 to get warm. Turning off for charging completes it faster.
• Getting Hot While Charging/Playing: Normal. If concerned, remove casing for cooling or lower volume/turn off player.
• Other Micro USB Cables: Yes, but the included cable has thicker conductors for minimal power loss. Other cables may lead to slower charging or failure to charge.
• Slow Charging via Front USB Port: Front USB ports have voltage drop. Connect to a rear USB port for better performance.
• Inaccurate Battery Capacity: The X3 estimates capacity by voltage, which can vary during playback. Indication is for reference only.
• Charging Status: LED on bottom front panel is red when charging, green when fully charged. On-screen battery gauge also indicates status.
• Fully Charged Indication: Green LED on power button and steady, full battery gauge.

2. Transferring Songs

• Supported OS: Windows XP, 7 and above (32/64-bit), Mac OS 9, X, Linux, Unix.
• USB Ports: Compatible with USB 2.0 and later standards (including 3.0, 3.1).
• Transfer Speed: Dependent on file size and SD card class; approx. 5MB/s.
• Slow Transfer via Front USB: Front USB ports can degrade signal quality. Connect to a rear USB port for better speed.
• File Management: Yes, supports drag-and-drop via computer's File Manager.
• Driver Required: No driver needed for file transfers.
• Linux Support: Theoretically supported as a generic mass storage device, but not guaranteed for all OS versions.

3. Firmware Upgrades

• Checking Version: System Settings > About X3. Latest versions available at http://www.fiio.net/en/supports/46.
• Update Methods: Facebook (www.facebook.com/FiiOAUDIO), Official website (www.fiio.net), Forum (www.head-fi.org/forum/list/180/, fiio.me/forum.php), Email (support@fiio.net).
• How to Update: Refer to Section E. Firmware Update.
• Bricking Risk: Not possible under normal upgrade procedures.

4. Storage

• Supported Cards: TF cards (micro SD cards), including SDHC and SDXC.
• Card Compatibility: Tested with major brands like Sandisk and Kingston. Reputable brands should work. Use Class 6 or above for high-bitrate lossless tracks.
• Supported Size: Tested up to 128GB. Recommended to format in FAT32.
• Formatting to FAT32: On X3: System Settings > Storage formatting. On PC: Right-click card, choose "Format...". Do not choose 64K Allocation unit size. For 64G/128G cards, use third-party tools (e.g., Guiformat). Warning: Back up data first.
• SD Card Not Showing Songs:
1. Perform a media library update (System Settings > Update Media Lib > Manual). Or use Browse Files to confirm recognition.
2. Check Available Capacity in System Settings > About X3. If incorrect, format card on X3 (back up data first) and re-copy files.
3. Try formatting the card to NTFS format using Windows.
4. Try a different micro SD card.
• Some Songs Not Showing:
1. Ensure media library update was performed after loading songs.
2. If songs missing in "Play by category" but visible in "Browse Files", reset media library, update to latest firmware, then update media library again.
• .wav Files Not Playing: Check if the file is DTS/Dolby encoded multichannel audio or has a bit depth over 32 bits.
• .ape Files Not Playing: Extra High and Insane compression levels are not supported. Normal/High compression only supported at 96k/24bit or below.
• Cue Sheets: Supports external .cue files for identifying separate tracks. Embedded cue sheets are not supported. Ensure .cue file name matches music file name and they are in the same directory.
• Cue File Not Showing in Browse Files: The X3 splits cue'd files into multiple tracks, which are shown.
• Shuffle Play Across Folders: Set "Play mode" to shuffle and "Play through folders" to ON. Update media library, then select from "All Songs".
• Lyrics Not Showing: Only supports external .lrc files named after the music file. Ensure "Lyrics Display" is set to ON.

5. Other Operations

• Rubbish Characters: Only ANSI, Unicode, and UTF-8 (with/without BOM) encodings are supported for ID3 tags and .lrc files.
• New Songs Not Appearing in Category: Songs must be added to the media library database. Set Update Media Library to automatic or update manually.
• File Count Discrepancy: The X3 displays the total number of playable files.
• Longer Battery Life: Turn on "Idle standby", lower backlight brightness, set "Screen timeout" timer.
• Sluggish Response:
1. High bitrate lossless tracks (192k/24bit APEs, DSD) require more processing. Convert APEs to FLACs or WAVs.
2. Too many songs on the SD card can cause slowdowns. Limit the number of songs.
3. Non-music files (videos, pictures) on the SD card can slow down file searching. Dedicate the SD card to music.
4. Playing high bitrate files from slow SD cards can cause stuttering. Use Class 6 or above cards.
5. Unpredictable file ordering or mixing codecs/sample rates can slow the player. Recommended directory structure: separate folders for albums by artist, subfolders for individual albums. Place files of different codecs/rates in separate folders.
• Getting Hot: The X3 uses a high-performance SoC, DAC, and amplifier, dissipating more power and heat than typical DAPs. This is normal and does not endanger the user.

6. Connecting to Other Audio Devices

• Line Output (LO): Connects to external amplifiers, car audio, home theater, powered speakers. Provides high volume output. Caution: Set output mode to Headphone output before listening with headphones to avoid hearing damage.
• Coaxial Digital Output: Set X3's Select output to "Coax out". Use the provided 3.5mm coaxial adapter cable to connect to a standard RCA coaxial input on a S/PDIF compatible device.
• Docking Station: X3 is compatible with FiiO docking station DK1 and desktop amplifier K5 via Micro USB connection.