After reading many good reviews about Xduoo X2, I took the plunge. Sold my Sansa clip+ to raise money and bought the X2. Anyway I have another Sansa Zip to compare so no problem there. It's been two months now so I can write my impression after fair usage.
Built:
The built is sturdy secured in a aluminium housing. Making it little heavier though. Design is not very tasteful but that's subjective. The screen is reminiscence of Sansa zip. X2 has the same OLED screen. Easily readable in daylight.
Sound:
The very first day I listened to X2, I didn't quite like it. Although, the first thing that hits your mind is much larger soundstage in comparison to Sansa. It gives you a nice 3D presentation. The Bass is clean, tight and punchy and the separation is good too. But, something is not quite right about the highs. If you were to sit in a auditorium the voices seem as if sitting somewhere in the last rows-- Distant.
I paired X2 with Fiio E11. That pairing didn't go well. Fiio is dark and narrow sounding. Result was bloated bass and sub-dued soundstage. Second pairing was my new acquired 'Meier Audio StepDance'. Results were very good. It fixed the distant sound adding more sparkle to the treble. Adding M50 to this equation, sound gets really bright, with deep bass and fairly good imaging. This turned out to be a very good sounding setup. It excels on all fronts. I never understood the hype around M50 but this setup makes M50 sound fuller, richer and more vibrant. Even though M50 has just 32 ohm impedance but boy how well it improved with this amp. Even though fatigue sets in after a couple of hours because of more sparkly treble.
Coming back to the X2 another grudge I hold is the UI. It's so bad it get on my nerves finding songs on a 32GB card. I had planned to buy a couple of 64GB cards and transfer my collection that certainly would not happen. I juggle between three 32GB cards if that wasn't frustrating enough now I have to press up/down button on the DAP like crazy. The battery meter is inaccurate. It shows full bar and then nose-dives. Battery life is good though. Haven't measured but runs around 10 hours. Charging time is very less. You cannot listen to X2 while charging. There is a equalizer but no customs settings. You are stuck with the presets.
Finally, I found something very strange and bothersome. There was huge stuttering on Flac files encoded above 1000kpbs. It lasts around 2-3 seconds. But quite frequently. I was using Strontium 32GB Class 10 cards. I updated my firmware to version 7 but that didn't solve the problem. So I copied some Flac files to a Strontium 32GB Class 10 'Nitro' card and there seems to be no issue for now. But it's strange as it should not have happened with normal class 10 cards.
Conclusion:
Given that Xduoo X2 is a an entry level portable DAP from a not so well known Chinese company but it fared well. Everyone wants to know if it is better than Sansa. The answer might be yes--in the sound department. As a rockbox possibility has been ruled out, Xduoo seriously needs to come up with a new UI and better buffer management for Flac files.
P.S. The 'soft' preset on equalizer somewhat sound better in case you don't like the distant voice too.
Edit: The stuttering problem seems to be on Mp3 files too. But for a fraction of a second. Also when you search files while music playing in the background. Major disappointment.
Built:
The built is sturdy secured in a aluminium housing. Making it little heavier though. Design is not very tasteful but that's subjective. The screen is reminiscence of Sansa zip. X2 has the same OLED screen. Easily readable in daylight.
Sound:
The very first day I listened to X2, I didn't quite like it. Although, the first thing that hits your mind is much larger soundstage in comparison to Sansa. It gives you a nice 3D presentation. The Bass is clean, tight and punchy and the separation is good too. But, something is not quite right about the highs. If you were to sit in a auditorium the voices seem as if sitting somewhere in the last rows-- Distant.
I paired X2 with Fiio E11. That pairing didn't go well. Fiio is dark and narrow sounding. Result was bloated bass and sub-dued soundstage. Second pairing was my new acquired 'Meier Audio StepDance'. Results were very good. It fixed the distant sound adding more sparkle to the treble. Adding M50 to this equation, sound gets really bright, with deep bass and fairly good imaging. This turned out to be a very good sounding setup. It excels on all fronts. I never understood the hype around M50 but this setup makes M50 sound fuller, richer and more vibrant. Even though M50 has just 32 ohm impedance but boy how well it improved with this amp. Even though fatigue sets in after a couple of hours because of more sparkly treble.
Coming back to the X2 another grudge I hold is the UI. It's so bad it get on my nerves finding songs on a 32GB card. I had planned to buy a couple of 64GB cards and transfer my collection that certainly would not happen. I juggle between three 32GB cards if that wasn't frustrating enough now I have to press up/down button on the DAP like crazy. The battery meter is inaccurate. It shows full bar and then nose-dives. Battery life is good though. Haven't measured but runs around 10 hours. Charging time is very less. You cannot listen to X2 while charging. There is a equalizer but no customs settings. You are stuck with the presets.
Finally, I found something very strange and bothersome. There was huge stuttering on Flac files encoded above 1000kpbs. It lasts around 2-3 seconds. But quite frequently. I was using Strontium 32GB Class 10 cards. I updated my firmware to version 7 but that didn't solve the problem. So I copied some Flac files to a Strontium 32GB Class 10 'Nitro' card and there seems to be no issue for now. But it's strange as it should not have happened with normal class 10 cards.
Conclusion:
Given that Xduoo X2 is a an entry level portable DAP from a not so well known Chinese company but it fared well. Everyone wants to know if it is better than Sansa. The answer might be yes--in the sound department. As a rockbox possibility has been ruled out, Xduoo seriously needs to come up with a new UI and better buffer management for Flac files.
P.S. The 'soft' preset on equalizer somewhat sound better in case you don't like the distant voice too.
Edit: The stuttering problem seems to be on Mp3 files too. But for a fraction of a second. Also when you search files while music playing in the background. Major disappointment.
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