Re: [woyp] Digest for woyp@googlegroups.com - 2 updates in 1 topic

[Bob Roberts]

Hi Buzz, Bert, and all.

Happy New Year to you!

Buzz, I think you will like the X1.  I''ve used Fiio audio products for several years now, and never been disappointed with any of the several items Ive owned.  Had the X1 been available when I bought my X3 last September, I may have chosen it.  I am very happy with the X3, and use it daily.  I have both high and lower bitrate files of various formats  in use, and it handles them all well.  The regular firmware updates keep improving it, although the UI is still not a thing of beauty or elegance.  The only thing I wish to do is to replace my 64gb sdxc card with a 128gb one.  When the price on those becomes more reasonable, I shall do so.

I understand the no streaming of Spotify or other cloud-based music services.  Being a rural customer of HughesNet satellite internet, I live within a monthly download cap, afterwhich my internet speeds slow to a crawl.  

I do still miss my Palm a lot.  I have tried to replicate it's functionality with various phones, Android tablets, etc.  But some things are just not as good, at least in my experience.  One app in particular, an outliner named Bonsai, has no equal replacement.  I LIVED in it and it;s desktop counterpart, which synced beautifully with the Palm version.  For over 10 years now, it has been in use daily.  I;ve tried many other apps, but yet to find one that can replace it.

In another attempt to replace Palm functionality somewhat, my Christmas gift this year was an HP Stream 7 tablet.  The 7" screan is far more comfortable for my older eyes than the various phones I have tried, and it runs the DESKTOP version of Windows 8.1.  This means that, so far, all of my favorite desktop software will run on the tablet, INCLUDING BONSAI.  It connects to my home wifi, and thus can even remote to my other computers.  For $100 U.S. I am pretty pleased with it in the short time I've been using it.  I know I "should" give up on older stuff and move on with Android or a more "modern" OS.  But like I say, I seem to be hooked on old familiar things that work well for me.  When my health allows a trip to my basement storage, I may even still resurrect the Palms!

Hope everyone is enjoying the new year thus far!

Bob

On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 2:15 PM, <wo...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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• FiiO DAPs - 2 Updates

FiiO DAPs

Buzz <bignose...@gmail.com>: Dec 31 05:55PM +1300 Bert, Bob and all   I went ahead and purchased the X1 from a great little niche outfit way down the other end on the North Island. Frustratingly, while the guy despatched it yesterday to fly up country overnight and it transited the local depot over 12 hours ago, the awaited truck hasn't appeared, so I guess it'll be Friday or Monday now (as courier packages ride the last leg with our trusty rural post vans). Mind you, that gives me time to get a decent 64GB microSD card to use in the X1.   I chose the X1 over the X3 for a couple of main reasons, other than cost (I'm on a budget). With one healed perforated eardrum and ~4,500Hz tinnitus in both ears, I'm guessing that I might not be able to tell the output of the two units apart.   Secondly, I have read over recent days that the X3 form factor is slightly larger than the X1, the UI less attractive/usable and the buttons - rockers? - have a 'looser' action.   "The scroll wheel does give it (the X1) a bit of a retro look. Fortunately, the buttons are placed in a somewhat meaningful orientation, unlike the slanted lopsided design in the X3."   "The player (the X3) received very positive reviews towards price/sound quality ratio, however it was criticized for inelegant interface and confusing placement of buttons."   "I really didn’t like the buttons (or layout) of the X3 but the X1 is great in terms of usability […] The X3 user interface isn’t the best, even after the updates. I don’t like the buttons and navigation structure and luckily for us Fiio didn’t use that in the X1."   The other plus (of both the X1 and X3 over other DAPs in this price range) is that they, as far as my research shows, play the widest range of lossy and lossless formats and these are APE / FLAC / ALAC / WMA / WAV / MP3 / AAC / OGG. For me this means that, should my ears be able to tell the difference between the MP3 and FLAC versions of the same file, I can slowly swap out the MP3s for the FLAC files over time.   On a final note, yesterday my youngest asked if I still had my Palm(s), so I sense there may be a bit of charging and playing over the next day or so :-)   With that token mention of a Palm to meet the requirements of the list admins, I shall sign off. It's 1800hrs on NYE here and with three out of four daughters away for the night, we're shaping up for a quiet evening with the fourth and a mate whose family are all away.   Happy New Year to all   Buzz www.hillsidebandb.co.nz A rural retreat just 40 minutes from the city

Bert Latamore <bert.l...@gmail.com>: Dec 31 09:47AM -0500 Happy New Year, Buzz!   I've been seriously considering the x3 but after reading your post am now thinking more about the x1.   Bert     -- Bert Latamore (703) 340-8396 Freelance Writer covering the intersection between IT and business   I dream of a better world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned.

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[Bert Latamore]

Hi Bob,

I was reading your post and thinking that I have the same experience trying to replicate the Palm functionality. Android just doesn't have half of what I want. AND it is not a stable platform. Actually my primary tool today is a Microsoft Surface II with WIndows 8.1. I also carry a Galaxy 3 android phone with the Android version of Pimlical (the Windows version runs on my tablet). BUt I don't depend on the phone for core needs the way I did on my Palm. I miss the T3!

I did the same thing you did -- running the Windows versions of Palm software or their direct successors on my Windows tablet. 

 I'm planning to get an X1 for my music and build play lists on micro-SD cards, so I can carry the music I want to listen to say for a business trip with me and not depend on downloads.

Happy New Year, Bert

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[Buzz]

Bert

For playlists, I'm looking into Dapper (http://www.map-pin.com/dapper/). It's Mac only but Windows users in the forums speak well of Foobar 2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org).

Buzz
www.hillsidebandb.co.nz
A rural retreat just 40 minutes from the city

[Buzz]

Bob

Loving the X1 so far (two days' usage on and off). I'm on FW 1.1 which seems to be the latest for the X1. I'm on a 32GB card which is only just sufficient for now. That said, I need to dedicate some time to tidying up my music library. I did this in prep for the X1 but have already found more duplicates and I need to 'folderise' my talking books and archives podcasts (just favourites I wish to keep handy).

I used to use Bonsai and really liked it. There is *something* about a Palm (I had a fair number of the years) and, for me, the Psion clamshell devices that the current smartphones just don't have but I can't put my finger on it.

I have bought my youngest daughter (starts high school soon) a Surface II as her school laptop (first year of mandatory laptop per student) and she seems pretty happy with it. I use a Nexus 7 for casual surfing and reference and find it a decent device and, contrary to others, have had no issues with Android on this or my Galaxy S5 phone a friend gifted to me.

I, too, occasionally fire up the old Palms and Psions to remind myself of those great days of trying apps, 'systems' and productivity methods - and play the odd game of Lunar Lander!

'Night from NZ

Buzz
www.hillsidebandb.co.nz
A rural retreat just 40 minutes from the city

[Bert Latamore]

Buzz,

You bought your 13-year-old (I'm guessing) a Surface II? That is a serious, complex, and relatively heavy tablet for a child. Not to mention expensive. She must be quite a kid to handle and enjoy it. If she needs any advice I will be glad to give it to her. She will need something, maybe a messenger bag or backpack, to carry it in and should have a case for it. Physical security is always important.

I have all my music listed in a HandBase database, which is a huge help in managing this transition. I am mostly going to put the music onto cards in alphabetical arrangement by album name, so all the A albums on one card, etc. That is the order in which I generally listen to them. Then I will put all my holiday recordings onto a single card. I will do all this gradually.

Can you listen to music in Apple Lossless on the X1? Some of my CDs have gone missing and until I find them I can at this point onlý listen to that music on my old iPod, and I have no idea how much longer that will last.

Bert

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[Buzz]

Bert

Compared to some of the 'recommended' laptops at a supplier near the school, at 700g the Surface  2 (not the Pro 2) with keyboard isn't so heavy! She has both a sleeve, a back pack in which she will carry it and is the recipient of a long lecture on looking after expensive technology so hopefully all will be well!

Supported music formats for the X1 are as follows:

• APE format supports 192kHz/24-bit audio maximum and 96kHz/24-bit normal/high levels

• FLAC format supports 192kHz/24-bit audio for all compression levels 1 through 8

• ALAC (Apple Lossless) format supports 192kHz/24-bit audio

• WAV format supports 192kHz/24-bit audio

• WMA format supports 96kHz/24-bit audio, which is the highest lossless format

• AAC format supported for compressed Apple audio files

• Other audio formats supported include OGG, MP3 and MP2

Cheers

Buzz
www.hillsidebandb.co.nz
A rural retreat just 40 minutes from the city

[Bert Latamore]

My wife just gave me a X1 and a 64 GB Sandisk card (and a Cuisinart single blade hand mixer) as late Yule presents! So I need a little advice. The instructions that came with the X1 say that the recommended way to charge the X1 is with a DC 5V/2A adapter, which did not come with the unit. It says charging via the computer USB is not recommended. Would that actually cause a problem, or does it just take longer? I don't want to mess this beautiful little machine up before I get to use it.

Thanks, Bert

[Jesper Anderson]

Hi Bert,

There is no way the X1 will actually break, or have a problem, from
charging with a normal USB port. It will just be slower. If any of
your USB hubs or machines has a port with a little lightning emblem
over it that port will provide more current and will charge the X1
faster.

Jesper

I will ignore all ideas for new works and engines of war, the
invention of which has reached its limits and for whose improvement I
see no further hope.
- Julius Frontinus, chief military engineer to the Emperor Vespasian,
circa AD 70.

[Bert Latamore]

Thanks, Jasper. That's what I thought. Tomorrow I will plug it in while I work.

Bert