After completing the upgrading of portable music player series such as X5 and X7, which are positioned in the middle and high-end market, Feiao finally focused its attention on the products in the 1000-yuan market. Although X3 Mark III was released at the same time as X7 Mark II, it was officially launched later than the latter. After experiencing the success of the first two generations of products, Feiao must spend more effort on the third product of the series to satisfy consumers with more and more picky tastes. Can X3 Mark III do this? Judging from the product situation I learned at the press conference, Feiao showed enough sincerity on X3 Mark III. Now, this new product has come to MC evaluation room. How is it? After the experience, there will be an answer.

Feiao X3 Mark Ⅲ Product Information

color: red and black

material: tempered glass aluminum alloy body

Wireless Technology: Bluetooth 4.1

screen: 2.31 inch TFT(320 × 240)

memory card: Micro SD (maximum extension 256GB)

CPU: Junzheng JZ4760B

DAC: Texas Instruments PCM5242 × 2

LPF: Texas Instruments OPA2140

Earrings: Texas Instruments OPA1622

battery: lithium polymer battery (2350mAh, 3.7V)

Theoretical endurance: about 10 hours

interface: 3.5mm interface (PO, coaxial output multiplexing), 2.5mm earphone interface, Micro USB (charging/data transmission/base function)

Coaxial output mode: DOP/D2P (up to DSD64)

Supports audio formats: DSD64(.iso/.dsf/.dff), APE, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, AIF, WMA, MP3, AAC, WMA, and OGG. Supports up to 192kHz/32bit

Size: 114mm × 59mm × 12.8mm

weight: 126g

reference price: 1298 yuan

continues the family design and significantly improves the texture.

As a replacement product, X3 Mark Ⅲ naturally adopts the design elements of Feiao's new generation family. However, the family elements referred to here are not what we see in X5 III and X7 Mark II. As the latest portable player series to be updated in Feiao, we have been able to make a summary of the family design of Feiao's generation of products after X3 Mark III came on stage -- X5 III and X7 Mark II, two products that are positioned in the middle and high-end market, adopt a design language, while X1 II and X3 Mark III, which are positioned lower, are another design style. The former features such as a large-size touch screen, a deep custom Android system, and a 45-degree spiral pattern, while the latter retains the classic design of the touch dial and five-button Feiao, while having a smaller volume and a smaller screen. In fact, it is not difficult to see their respective positioning from the different family design styles of the two products.

, let's look at X3 Mark Ⅲ specifically. Its positive impression is very similar to X1 Ⅱ, with half of the screen and half of the control area, but X3 Mark Ⅲ is one size larger, and tempered glass panel brings good integrity. Compared with the round corner transition of X1 Ⅱ, the transition of X3 Mark Ⅲ square is more hale and hearty. With the aluminum alloy body, the texture is improved by more than one gear. Although the edges and corners are more distinct, I hold the bare metal with one hand and feel good. I don't feel cut and the process is in place. However, I don't think there are many cases in which bare metal is used. After all, it comes with a silicone protective cover and a PU protective cover.

▲ Feiao's products have always been rich in accessories. X3 Mark Ⅲ comes with one TPU clean water sleeve and one PU protective sleeve, two frosted screen films (one HD film has been pasted at the factory), one coaxial patch cord and one USB data cable.

the prototype I received this time is a red version, the color is very beautiful, the texture of the metal body is very good, and it also has a black version. For most consumers who are interested in buying X3 Mark III, I strongly recommend the red version. In fact, X3 Mark Ⅲ still applies the family design element of "Feiao Hong" to the power button, but the red version in my hand is not obvious because the body is red, and you will notice it at a glance on the black version.

▲ The red metal body has a good texture, and the Feiao Logo on the back is treated by wire drawing process, with certain bulges.

▲ X3 Mark III does not have built-in storage space. You need to bring your own Micro SD card to store music files, which supports up to 256GB of cards. Compared with the design of X7 Mark II with Cato that I have just experienced before, the card slot of X3 Mark III is exposed, which is believed to be limited by cost considerations.

Easy-to-use Operation Design

X3 Mark III is very similar to that of X1 II, with high sensitivity. At the same time, the smooth touch area allows the user to operate smoothly and easily when holding the thumb with one hand. The same effect can be obtained by manipulating fingers in any area of the turntable, which enables the user to operate according to the most convenient way at present.

considering that the feedback from touch control operation to users is not as mechanical as that, Feiao has also added a dial prompt tone, which is a good design and is useful for improving the accuracy of control. The definite key in the middle of the turntable and the keys around the turntable adopt a wire drawing process, which is separated from the smooth touch area. Blind operation is no problem after being familiar with the key function, and it is easy to use. There is nothing to say about the operation experience, but tempered glass is easy to become a fingerprint collector, which cannot be overcome. Virgo users can only take a 3M cloth with them and apply it from time to time.

on the side of the fuselage, in addition to the power switch, Feiao also provides volume adjustment keys and multi-function keys, of which the latter can realize one-key playback control, equalizer switching, list jump, theme switching and other functions, which is quite practical. Users can select the type of function they use most often in the settings menu and customize it to the multi-function key. Like X1 Ⅱ, the X3 Mark Ⅲ screen can only be woken up through the power switch after it is turned off, while other function keys are not allowed. It should be considered that it is not easy to touch by mistake. However, this is related to the user's usage habits. I don't think it is convenient enough.

▲ The power switch, volume key and multi-function key are located on one side of the body, with different sizes and shapes, which are convenient for users to perform blind operation.

The hardware is powerful and has rich functions.

From X1 Ⅱ to X5 Ⅲ and then to X7 Mark Ⅱ, Feiao has shown an obvious feature when updating the latest generation of products in each series one after another, that is, it applies the hardware configuration that is in the forefront of products at the same price, including internal components and output interfaces. At the same time, its functions are greatly rich compared with the previous works, and X3 Mark Ⅲ is no exception.

Feiao has lowered the balanced output interface to X3 Mark Ⅲ, a portable music player that is only over 1,000 yuan. The 3.5mm single-ended output interface and the 2.5mm balanced output interface enable X3 Mark Ⅲ users to use it to match more headphones and give full play to the potential of headphones. Internally, X3 Mark Ⅲ adopts a professional architecture design of independent dual DAC, low-pass filtering and earring circuit. The DAC chip is a PCM5242 of two Texas Instruments, which can achieve stronger anti-interference capability and improve signal-to-noise ratio. At the same time, Feiao also separates its analog and digital by two PCB areas, and the wireless Bluetooth part is also an independent PCB design, which can greatly improve the anti-interference ability of X3 Mark III and ensure good wireless effect.

▲ At a price of over 1,000 yuan, X3 Mark Ⅲ rarely provides a 2.5mm balanced output interface, which is full of sincerity, while the other 3.5mm output interface is PO, LO and coaxial multiplexing.

does not have an application Android system, X3 Mark Ⅲ still has the popular Bluetooth function. Its built-in CSR8811 chipset can support Bluetooth 4.1 technology and realize Bluetooth two-way transmission, I .e. it can connect Bluetooth controller and Bluetooth headset at the same time. The connection method with Bluetooth headset is similar to that of smart phones. It is also to turn on the Bluetooth function first and search for Bluetooth devices. After the pairing is successful, it can be automatically connected next time it is started. The speed of searching and pairing Bluetooth headsets in practical applications is very fast, but to turn on the Bluetooth function, users first enter the system settings.

▲ The main interface of the system is simple and clear.

▲ In the system settings, you can enable the Bluetooth function and set the SPDIF output and USB mode.

▲ The playback settings include a variety of practical functions such as gain, equalizer, and line output settings.

▲ Color album covers can be displayed on the playback page.

, my suggestion is to consider putting it on the main interface or adopting a one-key opening mode. After all, Bluetooth has become a very common function nowadays. With the popularity of Bluetooth wireless headphones, it can better facilitate users to use it.

X3 Mark III supports multiplexing of line output and coaxial output, and supports Dop and D2P at the same time. You can set it on the player. In this way, there will be no problem when matching ear amplifiers or power amplifiers that only support PCM signals but do not support DSD decoding. X3 Mark Ⅲ also supports USB DAC function, up to 192kHz/24bit. It is used with PC and notebook computer and used as an external DAC, which greatly enriches the playability of X3 Mark Ⅲ. Of course, X3 Mark III also provides extended support for its own base. It can be seamlessly matched with Feiao desktop earpiece K5 to form a desktop decoding earpiece system to meet consumers with higher requirements.

audition experience

in the audition, my focus is naturally on the investigation of the balanced output of X3 Mark Ⅲ. It is naturally a good choice to match the Feiao F9 earphone released with it. F9 adopts the design of interchangeable cable, and a 2.5mm balanced earphone cable is included in the accessory. The overall sound style of X3 Mark Ⅲ is close to X5 Ⅲ. Although there is a gap in hardware specifications, Feiao is moving closer to products with higher positioning in the tuning style of X3 Mark Ⅲ. It does not highlight the high resolution of the sound like X7 Mark II, but slightly thickens the bottom of the sound. This style can make up for the cold style of some headphones when matched with different headphones, and it is easier to catch the ears of ordinary users. This is most obvious in the performance of intermediate frequency. The intermediate frequency texture of X3 Mark Ⅲ is good, the vocal position is slightly forward, but it will not bring too much pressure, the knot is strong, the singer's voice is stereo and full, and the listening tolerance is good.

I like its performance in female voice very much. It has a touch of polish in the direction of gentleness and is very suitable for listening for a long time. In the high-frequency part, X3 Mark III shows a certain control force. The sound moves steadily in the process of extending to the extremely high-frequency direction. The lines of music in the ears are smooth and will not have rough or any uncomfortable hearing. Although it is not an analytical performance, it can still capture the details that the music wants to present to the listener. In the low frequency part, X3 Mark Ⅲ shows good energy. The sense of quantity is enough to release the ability of the earphone itself. The elasticity is as good as ever. It is very enjoyable to listen to fast-paced music, and the diving part is quite satisfactory. Low-frequency details can be presented to a certain extent without chaotic hearing.

, I also compared the sound quality difference between F9 when connecting X3 Mark Ⅲ single-ended interface and balanced interface: the sound under the balanced output combination can make me hear more details, the transient is more compact and neat, and the spatial sense of the sound is more open, which makes it perform better under the large-scale music.

Feiao's recent new product has brought me many surprises. On X3 Mark III, it has broken my inherent impression of a portable music player with a price of over 1,000 yuan. From the material technology, hardware configuration, operation experience and sound quality, it has surpassed the average level of portable music players in the current price range and reached a new level. In particular, the addition of balanced output interface makes X3 Mark III difficult to find a rival at this price, let alone its numerous practical functions. For consumers who have a limited budget but want to get a glimpse of portable Hi-Fi, X3 Mark III will be a product I highly recommend.

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