This is sort of a follow-up to my Digital Audio Players post.
I think I figured that I could utilise a playlist to be able to listen to my entire library shuffled in Fiio's music app and used Rhythmbox to generate the playlist (I think .m3u?) and then go and change the paths of the songs to match the structure on the micro SD card. I made two so that when I finished with one playlist, I could start the other and then update the finished one later on.
I forogt when it was (I feel like it was 2018), but I was having battery problems with the X5 III, which was partially my fault because I tried to keep it at or close to 100% charge (the other part is likely Fiio's fault for either having a faulty battery protection circuit or not having one). I ordered a portable charger to keep it powered on because it got to the point where it wouldn't hold a charge.
While I was looking around and reading reviews, my choices came down to iBasso's DX150 and Hiby's R6, and I chose the DX150 because of the button layout because the R6 has the volume up button directly opposite from the power buton (The X5 III has the play/pause button directly opposite of the power button and that got annoying).
Out of the box, the DX150 sounded a little clearer than the heavily-used X5 III, but while typing this, I feel like the comparison is a little unfair. Anyway, the DX150 has Android and music modes, though its default music player wasn't really that great (I think I felt Fiio's was better in comparison), and I think it took some digging around before I found Neutron Music Player. Not only was Neutron Music Player able to handle a massive library, it also gave me the ability to chuck my entire library into the play queue and randomise the song order, so no longer did I need to rely on a computer and a set of two playlists... Well, when I figured it out... There's a lot of options...
A caveat is that it doesn't seem to properly detect tag changes when rescanning the library, so I've had to clear the library after updating the micro SD card so that it'll read the tags. This might've been an issue with an earlier version, but I haven't tried rescanning the library without clearing it since I developed the routine, and it doesn't harm anything to clear the library anyway.
Anyway, I've been a lot more careful with the DX150's battery so I don't end up with or run into the issue with the X5 III. I'll have it charge to/near 100% after I get home from work, charge it to/near 100% on the way to work, and then charge it a little on the way home from work so that it has plenty of battery (20-30%) before I put it on the charger after I get home. Haven't had any serious battery issues so far, though lately it's been finicky with the charger I used to use for it (which my phone now solely uses), so I had to find/use another type C charger that the DX150 seems to be okay with.
Oh, right. I forgot where I read, but I used the lurker0 firmware for the DX150 since it had improvements over iBasso's default firmware, and also came with Google Play Store. iBasso has a firmware from last December, but I haven't cared to install it because I don't want to bother with having to set the DX150 up again (not to mention I'd probably have to sideload the Play Store).
I did kinda poke around looking for a battery for the X5 III, and while I did find some on AliExpress, it seems that I would need the controller board off of the old battery to transfer to the new battery... Which I no longer have... oops. I did find an adapter cable that allows me to send power to the battery terminal, which I used to be able to get the X5 III to boot (I thought I was going to be able to power from USB without the battery, but I was wrong), and I did find the connector to be able to make my own adapter, but haven't gotten anywhere with it because the pack of connectors are out of sight and it's an extremely low priority project.
There's a bit more I could say, but I feel like I've ranted enough.
11 June 2021
Balanced Headphone Hack/Sennheiser HD 598 CS
With the X5 III, I wanted to have a pair of balanced headphones, so I chopped the connector off of one of my Sony MDR-XB500s and found that it has 4 wires and not three, and after a bit of probing, I confirmed that the two pairs were for each speaker.
It was a little tough to find 2.5mm right angle TRRS cables, but I did find them, and after getting some 4-pole mini/tiny XLR connectors (both male and female), I worked out a pinout scheme and soldered accordingly. The reason for using the tiny XLR connectors was to make it modular, so I'd also be able to use the headphones with normal, single-ended 3.5mm devices (and it looks a lot cleaner than a bunch of heatshrink.
Eventually I decided to get new headphones because the MDR-XB500 didn't really match what I was hearing from the sound system in my car (which has the Harmon Kardon speaker system), and after some reasearch, my options were Sennheiser's HD 598 CS and some Audio-Technica headphones that I don't remember the model number. Luckily, I found both demo models in the nearby computer parts store, so I was able to swing by after work with my X5 III to check out the sound and fitment, and decided on the HD 598 CS. I bought one elsewhere because it was cheaper, and having found a good enough reference sound from this video (spefically the soda can opening) while waiting on the HD 598 CS, and when I had it, I tested it and the MDR-XB500s with it in single-ended mode. The HD 598 CS reproduced the sound correctly to my ears while the MDR-XB500 had a very dampened sound ("muddy" I guess?).
What I was looking for in a headphone was a single cable to one of the earcups (the Y cable on the MDR-XB500 was annoying over time, especially after the mod) and that it had a more neutral sound (the MDR-XB500 is tuned for more bass). I can't remember if I was specifically looking for detachable cables, but the HD 598 CS has it and because the connector to the earphones is a 2.5mm (I think) TRRS, it got me curious. After the audio test (and probably some more audio testing) when I had decided to keep them, I chopped off the 6.35mm plug on the long cable and found four wires, and after some probing, each of the wires correspond to each of the TRRS points on the headphone connector side. The cables provided with the HD 598 CS is a 1m cable that has an inline microphone and a 1.8m cable that has a 6.35mm plug, so I only had one cable to modify. I cut the cable down to a reasonable length before putting the tiny XLR connector on it and then turned the long remainder into an extension cable.
I think I continued to use the 2.5mm right angle TRRS adapter I made for the MDR-XB500s until I found a 2.5mm right angle TRRS cable on Mouser, which I bought with some more connectors. The problem with the original ones were that they were cheap and the rings and sleeve (probably the tip too) of the plug were having a ring worn into them from the plug incidentally turning around within the jack; the ones from Mouser are holding up just fine to this day.
I also made an adapter using the 6.35mm plug, but that was from the second HD 598 CS that I bought. (Yes, I have two pairs of them and two pairs of the MDR-XB500s.)
Anyway, I don't think I can really tell the difference between single-ended and balanced, but well, if I can easily DIY some single-ended headphones to balanced, why not do it?
It was a little tough to find 2.5mm right angle TRRS cables, but I did find them, and after getting some 4-pole mini/tiny XLR connectors (both male and female), I worked out a pinout scheme and soldered accordingly. The reason for using the tiny XLR connectors was to make it modular, so I'd also be able to use the headphones with normal, single-ended 3.5mm devices (and it looks a lot cleaner than a bunch of heatshrink.
Eventually I decided to get new headphones because the MDR-XB500 didn't really match what I was hearing from the sound system in my car (which has the Harmon Kardon speaker system), and after some reasearch, my options were Sennheiser's HD 598 CS and some Audio-Technica headphones that I don't remember the model number. Luckily, I found both demo models in the nearby computer parts store, so I was able to swing by after work with my X5 III to check out the sound and fitment, and decided on the HD 598 CS. I bought one elsewhere because it was cheaper, and having found a good enough reference sound from this video (spefically the soda can opening) while waiting on the HD 598 CS, and when I had it, I tested it and the MDR-XB500s with it in single-ended mode. The HD 598 CS reproduced the sound correctly to my ears while the MDR-XB500 had a very dampened sound ("muddy" I guess?).
What I was looking for in a headphone was a single cable to one of the earcups (the Y cable on the MDR-XB500 was annoying over time, especially after the mod) and that it had a more neutral sound (the MDR-XB500 is tuned for more bass). I can't remember if I was specifically looking for detachable cables, but the HD 598 CS has it and because the connector to the earphones is a 2.5mm (I think) TRRS, it got me curious. After the audio test (and probably some more audio testing) when I had decided to keep them, I chopped off the 6.35mm plug on the long cable and found four wires, and after some probing, each of the wires correspond to each of the TRRS points on the headphone connector side. The cables provided with the HD 598 CS is a 1m cable that has an inline microphone and a 1.8m cable that has a 6.35mm plug, so I only had one cable to modify. I cut the cable down to a reasonable length before putting the tiny XLR connector on it and then turned the long remainder into an extension cable.
I think I continued to use the 2.5mm right angle TRRS adapter I made for the MDR-XB500s until I found a 2.5mm right angle TRRS cable on Mouser, which I bought with some more connectors. The problem with the original ones were that they were cheap and the rings and sleeve (probably the tip too) of the plug were having a ring worn into them from the plug incidentally turning around within the jack; the ones from Mouser are holding up just fine to this day.
I also made an adapter using the 6.35mm plug, but that was from the second HD 598 CS that I bought. (Yes, I have two pairs of them and two pairs of the MDR-XB500s.)
Anyway, I don't think I can really tell the difference between single-ended and balanced, but well, if I can easily DIY some single-ended headphones to balanced, why not do it?
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