Could you please elaborate? Comparisons, etc?

No direct comparisons , but from memory:

Sansa clip zip - Unresolving, sandpaper treble, for the price not offensive but still unlistenable, previous gen sansas were better

iDevices - Very clean, poor depth, treble glare, dry sounding, lack bass dynamics, average tone/timbre

Hidiz AP60 - Warm tone , good timbre, thin lower treble, good microdynamics/depth/layering, for the price a great DAP.

FIIO X1 1st gen- Gooey
Fiio X3 1st gen - less gooey than x1 but still sucks
Fiio X5 1st gen - less gooey than x3 and listenable

A&k jr - neutral, listenable, uninspiring/boring

A&K 300 - Artificial tone/timbre, too synthetic sounding, one of the worst DAPs

Aune M1s - One note bass centered around 100hz, pathetic treble timbre, resolving, poor dynamics, average depth/layering,/microdynamics, sounds etched and forced (lacks effortlessness). The timbre is so bad that even before the track plays I can visualize how bad it is going to sound

Hi, thanks for this review, seems you are not a fan at all!
I'm receiving a unit to review, should arrive today.
I don't know if you believe in burn-in (or brain/psychological burn in), but for the sake of completeness and as a point of reference, may I ask did you burn in the unit at all prior to reviewing, and if so for how long?
 
Some people have reported similar issues with (e.g.) the bass as you, but said it went away (indeed, was much transformed for the better) after 200 hours of burn in, so just wondering!

Hi there,
The unit belongs to my friend and is around a couple months old. I heard the unit while new and again few days back.
The tone/timbre is so screwed to begin with that its difficult getting used to it. A&K 300 has an even worse tone but is easy on ears. I can oversee the one note bass but the treble glare is just awful.
Although everyone else who heard the unit were mighty impressed and ordered for themselves. For me it was terrible.

Thanks for the answer! Do you have any DAP to recommend?