Playing interrupts

[IdPezzo]

(FiiO X7)

- Playing interrupts for a second or two, then continues (mostly not far from end of the track).
- In other cases interrupts and starts playing the same track from the beginning.

The phenomenon does not occur in every track. Sometimes plays several tracks without problem. (I regularly play longer tracks - classical music)

How can I solve this problem?

[blaubär]

(FiiO X7)

- Playing interrupts for a second or two, then continues (mostly not far from end of the track).
- In other cases interrupts and starts playing the same track from the beginning.

The phenomenon does not occur in every track. Sometimes plays several tracks without problem. (I regularly play longer tracks - classical music)

You wrote something similar about a year ago :

Track playing (source FiiO X7 internal storage) often stops a few seconds/minutes before the end of the track, and Neutron screen disappears - main screen of the DAP can be seen. Then, if I click on the Neutron icon, the Neutron screen resumes, and when I click on play, it resumes playing from the point it has been stopped. Sometimes, it plays a complete symphony without this phenomenon, sometimes it stops in three movements out of the four. (I usually play classical music with longer (10-30 minute long tracks.)

So this is basically the same problem ? The stopping of Neutron is always accompanied by a disappearance of the Neutron GUI ? That would point to the operating system ( that's Android 4 ? ) that might stop apps to save power. Are there any settings to optimize apps, exclude apps from optimization etc ?

I read that the FIIO X7 works in two modes, a "Pure Music Mode" and an "Android Mode" - which one do you use ? I guess it's the latter, as the former probably won't allow Neutron to run ? And this Android mode is prone to suffer performance problems if a lot of apps are installed and/or used, or so I read - did you try to remove and/or shutdown other apps ? Did that help ?

What output do you user ? Speaker, Line-out, Bluetooth, USB, ... ? Does the problem occur with all output devices ?

What have you set in Settings > Audio Hardware ( Generic Driver, Sampling Rate, Follow Source Frequency, Oversampling, ... ) - do changes there make a difference ? Do you have Settings > 64-Bit processing and/or Settings > Resampling > Audiophile enabled ?

[blaubär]

From what I've read in the reviews on Amazon I suspect that your problems are related to a combination of rather little RAM and not perfect operating system Android 4 - 5. I suggest you install the latest available os updates, uninstall all android apps besides neutron, set neutron NOT to use 64-bit processing, audiophile resampling, oversampling etc. Should that work then you can play around with neutron settings.

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Balacned-An ... merReviews

Since receiving it, it has never been able to reliably stay connected to WiFi whether at work or at home. The FiiO player app always stops playing for one reason or another (don't know why), or it reboots itself due to a crash. I typically get 0.5–2 hours of playback before one of those issues occurs and stops playback where I need to turn attention to the device to get it back up and running.

Workarounds:
-WiFi drops: exit app > go to Settings > tap on WiFi (it typically auto connects by then)
-App crashes forcing auto-reboot: wait for device to reboot > relaunch app > find my last track (because the FiiO player never remembers where it left off) > hit play
-App crashes forcing auto-reboot (alt workaround): Another owner on their forum suggested using the Neutron app to get around FiiO player crashing all the time. I will have to say, that's worked better. Since switching to the Neutron player, the device has crashed less. It's not a cure, because this last freeze followed by reboot is what caused me to finally write this review.

From a hardware stand-point it is a 10. From a software stand-point it is a 1. The sound is very good. The issue is related to UI, stability, and operational smoothness. At this price level it is a failure. It crashes often. Buggy interface. Fiio is slow to respond with updated firmware and the revisions typically take it backwards. They have started to remove features that they advertised as benefits.

[IdPezzo]

Beyond the default apps Spotify and Neutron is installed. OS is Android 5.1.1. I use earbuds only.
Now I switched off all 64-bit processing, audiophile resampling, oversampling etc. Only Ultrasonic filter and DSD over PCM is switched on, but the problem still exists.

[blaubär]

Does the problem still persist ?