FiiO X1 - 2 Gen. Review
Disclaimer: The product I am reviewing was provided to me from FiiO in exchange for an honest review on it. Please note that being a review unit certain aspects of the final retail product might vary. Unfortunately I can't add pictures to the post but I will link them down below.
Item Information and Specs:
Firmware version: 1.3.3
Supported files formats: WAV, MP3, APE, WMA, MP2, SLAC, FLAC, OGG, ACC,
Bluetooth: 4.0 with no no apt-X
Battery: 1800mAh (up to 10 hours of playtime)
Dimensions and Weight: Weight: 102g / Dimensions: 97mmx55.5mmx12mm
For more detailed information about features and specks you can check out the product on their page at - http://www.fiio.net/en/products/57
Introduction:
FiiO X1 2nd generation is the next incarnation of the FiiO X1, now right off the bat if you have ever seen the old X1 the difference will be obvious in the looks department. It keeps the metal chassis but opts for a build with rounded edges instead of a more boxy design and features a full glass front panel that features a touch wheel instead of a rotating one. The new rounded design is very comfortable to hold seeing at it is not a small device, and even if the front glass will always get dirty from fingers, it dose clean very easily.
The internals have undergone some changes as well the DAC in the old X1 - PCM 5142 has been changed to a newer PCM 5242, that has a better signal to noise ratio making it a better chip. While the AMP seems to have remained the same FiiO claim that it is better optimized this time around. Of course the real change is is the inclusion of Bluetooth 4.0, now unfortunately it dose not seem to have apt-X, which would have enabled better quality, but thanks to the moderate price it is not a deal breaker in my opinion.
It is important to remember that like the previous X1 and other models like the X3, X5, etc. this dose not feature any internal storage, all your music will be stored on a micro-SD (that is not included). The maximum card that it can take, as stated by FiiO, is 256 GB. Depending on your card and the format that it is in you may need to format it on first use, now you can do this from the options and it will delete all your information on the card, personally i did not have to do that, after inserting my card I update the library and it worked fine, but your millage may vary.
The Build Quality and Box Content:
It comes in a nice box well packaged and wrapped up to keep it secure during shipping and make sure it arrives intact to you.
Now in the box under the device you will find the charging cable, which has a decent length to it, some paperwork, the two skins that you can put on it and a plastic case for it.
The skins have a pattern to them different from each other and come in black and white, kinda looks like a carbon fiber pattern. There is supposed to be a screen protector or two in the box but this being a review unit it is not included it would seem
.
I will say that the plastic case for it is a letdown it seems to be made of very cheap plastic, very soft and glossy, leading to a lot of scratches on it, also the corners are kinda jagged with small pieces of plastic, but this could be to the fact that it is a review unit, still I would like to see a better case for it, I will say that it doses fit well and it is very easy to put on and take off.
Now as I have stated the build quality feels excellent, it gives off a solid, premium feel in hand. Now the side buttons, volume and power, seem to have a very different texture to the rest of the device, not only that but the jiggled about quite a bit and worse they seemed to be made of plastic, now I am not sure if that is due to being a review unit but it seems silly to put plastic buttons on a all metal, good quality build.
The front glass seems to be of good quality and cleans up very nice from the obvious marks that it will accumulate.
The “wheel” that you use to navigate around works very well, I did find it a bit strange at first but it worked flawlessly, one small problem I did find is that if you don’t lock the screen before putting it in my pocket I would activate the wheel and change the songs around. Just remember to close your screen and you will not have any problems. Also occasionally it would skip over the thing i wanted to select. So it can be tricky.
Lets talk about the screen now, it is OK, not fantastic but it does its job. It looks decent, nothing mind blowing, and the brightness is sufficient to use it during a sunny day but the viewing angles are bad, not so bad when looking side to side or from down up but when looking at the screen from above the color shift is appalling. I don't mind so much, being a MP3 player, i will not be watching movies on it, i don't need a super high quality screen that will drain the battery further, but some improvements it think are needed
The UI and Performance:
In general I was pleased for the recommended price of approx. 100$ it dose provide a excellent music listening experience. Now unfortunately there are still a good number of bugs that, depending on your personal preference, could be a deal breaker at the moment. So I would recommend this product but whit a warning that certain things might take a while to be patched up from FiiO.
For starters I can say that the sound is very good, very nice, detailed and an amazing appearance when comparing it to the sound quality of something like your standard phone or some other MP3 like the Sansa Clip + that I usually carry with me. I can say that I enjoined my music more the non any other device.
Now the UI, it works fine did not have many problems with it, I was able without reading anything to find and do all I wanted to do in it. But there are things that could be improved. Long words go by very slowly, the themes are just a different color pretty much, they could have added more. No options for fonts or display time, not essential but it would have been nice to see. Also perhaps for some people who are not used to equalizer that has just numbers instead of options like bass, treble, etc. it can seem very confusing.
I have also seen the odd bug here and there, one was putting songs on shuffle, now it plays songs randomly, problem is it dose that both ways, so skipping forward to the next song will give you another song, but if you skip over a song by mistake and want to go back instead of playing the previous song it will play another random song, it dose not seem to remember what it played last, i guess it is a very random setting
. Now also in my case i can hear a small pop when skipping between songs, not horrible but noticeable. The pop is removed if you switch the skipping mode to fade out/fade in but then skipping from one song to the next takes a good number of second.
Now what about the Bluetooth, one of the key feature of this device. Well it is decent i found paring it to a lot of Bluetooth devices to be easy, but powering on the Bluetooth takes a good few sec, could be faster, also on occasion after powering it off and on the device that was stored would not play the music and i would have to delete and redo the paring. The range seems fine, i would say it is just about under my test iPhone 5 that I used, so very close but just under a regular phone.
I also was pleased that taking out my SD card, powering on the device and then inserting my card dose not erase the library, a problem I had on certain other MP3 devices that would have to re-sync on every card removal.
The battery life is decent, it lasted me from 2 to 3/4 days (mostly 2 - 3 days), compared to my Sansa Clip + that has a life of about 4 - 5/6 days. If you compare the size of the devices it seems a bit odd that the very small Sansa can hold up so long, but compared to the X1 Gen. 2 it can not hold up in output power, and sound quality. So i would trade some battery life for a much batter music experience.
Final thoughts and Conclusion:
In the end i enjoyed my time with the FiiO X2 - 2 Gen. the build quality, all the options i had to tune my music, and especially the sound quality sold me on it. Now my device being a review one, it could have certain problems that are unique to it so take that into account. Now there is certainly room for improvement, a lot actually in the UI, but the core feature the listening experience i would say they nailed it, if you can put up with waiting for Firmware updates for the other niggles that the product has I would say that you can buy it now with little hesitation, and if you think that these bugs would ruin your enjoyment hold a bit out till a few updates come out. I think the price is fair and for the sound quality a very good deal actually at 100 $, of course that will depend on your area as usual ( where i am it is 140 $ which i would say is a bit much )
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and i will do my best to answer them !
http://i66.tinypic.com/1h5g2h.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2edmkxy.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2zfr6km.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/fjdu9y.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2conbif.jpg
http://i68.tinypic.com/fctzqs.jpg
Disclaimer: The product I am reviewing was provided to me from FiiO in exchange for an honest review on it. Please note that being a review unit certain aspects of the final retail product might vary. Unfortunately I can't add pictures to the post but I will link them down below.
Item Information and Specs:
Firmware version: 1.3.3
Supported files formats: WAV, MP3, APE, WMA, MP2, SLAC, FLAC, OGG, ACC,
Bluetooth: 4.0 with no no apt-X
Battery: 1800mAh (up to 10 hours of playtime)
Dimensions and Weight: Weight: 102g / Dimensions: 97mmx55.5mmx12mm
For more detailed information about features and specks you can check out the product on their page at - http://www.fiio.net/en/products/57
Introduction:
FiiO X1 2nd generation is the next incarnation of the FiiO X1, now right off the bat if you have ever seen the old X1 the difference will be obvious in the looks department. It keeps the metal chassis but opts for a build with rounded edges instead of a more boxy design and features a full glass front panel that features a touch wheel instead of a rotating one. The new rounded design is very comfortable to hold seeing at it is not a small device, and even if the front glass will always get dirty from fingers, it dose clean very easily.
The internals have undergone some changes as well the DAC in the old X1 - PCM 5142 has been changed to a newer PCM 5242, that has a better signal to noise ratio making it a better chip. While the AMP seems to have remained the same FiiO claim that it is better optimized this time around. Of course the real change is is the inclusion of Bluetooth 4.0, now unfortunately it dose not seem to have apt-X, which would have enabled better quality, but thanks to the moderate price it is not a deal breaker in my opinion.
It is important to remember that like the previous X1 and other models like the X3, X5, etc. this dose not feature any internal storage, all your music will be stored on a micro-SD (that is not included). The maximum card that it can take, as stated by FiiO, is 256 GB. Depending on your card and the format that it is in you may need to format it on first use, now you can do this from the options and it will delete all your information on the card, personally i did not have to do that, after inserting my card I update the library and it worked fine, but your millage may vary.
The Build Quality and Box Content:
It comes in a nice box well packaged and wrapped up to keep it secure during shipping and make sure it arrives intact to you.
Now in the box under the device you will find the charging cable, which has a decent length to it, some paperwork, the two skins that you can put on it and a plastic case for it.
The skins have a pattern to them different from each other and come in black and white, kinda looks like a carbon fiber pattern. There is supposed to be a screen protector or two in the box but this being a review unit it is not included it would seem
.
I will say that the plastic case for it is a letdown it seems to be made of very cheap plastic, very soft and glossy, leading to a lot of scratches on it, also the corners are kinda jagged with small pieces of plastic, but this could be to the fact that it is a review unit, still I would like to see a better case for it, I will say that it doses fit well and it is very easy to put on and take off.
Now as I have stated the build quality feels excellent, it gives off a solid, premium feel in hand. Now the side buttons, volume and power, seem to have a very different texture to the rest of the device, not only that but the jiggled about quite a bit and worse they seemed to be made of plastic, now I am not sure if that is due to being a review unit but it seems silly to put plastic buttons on a all metal, good quality build.
The front glass seems to be of good quality and cleans up very nice from the obvious marks that it will accumulate.
The “wheel” that you use to navigate around works very well, I did find it a bit strange at first but it worked flawlessly, one small problem I did find is that if you don’t lock the screen before putting it in my pocket I would activate the wheel and change the songs around. Just remember to close your screen and you will not have any problems. Also occasionally it would skip over the thing i wanted to select. So it can be tricky.
Lets talk about the screen now, it is OK, not fantastic but it does its job. It looks decent, nothing mind blowing, and the brightness is sufficient to use it during a sunny day but the viewing angles are bad, not so bad when looking side to side or from down up but when looking at the screen from above the color shift is appalling. I don't mind so much, being a MP3 player, i will not be watching movies on it, i don't need a super high quality screen that will drain the battery further, but some improvements it think are needed
The UI and Performance:
In general I was pleased for the recommended price of approx. 100$ it dose provide a excellent music listening experience. Now unfortunately there are still a good number of bugs that, depending on your personal preference, could be a deal breaker at the moment. So I would recommend this product but whit a warning that certain things might take a while to be patched up from FiiO.
For starters I can say that the sound is very good, very nice, detailed and an amazing appearance when comparing it to the sound quality of something like your standard phone or some other MP3 like the Sansa Clip + that I usually carry with me. I can say that I enjoined my music more the non any other device.
Now the UI, it works fine did not have many problems with it, I was able without reading anything to find and do all I wanted to do in it. But there are things that could be improved. Long words go by very slowly, the themes are just a different color pretty much, they could have added more. No options for fonts or display time, not essential but it would have been nice to see. Also perhaps for some people who are not used to equalizer that has just numbers instead of options like bass, treble, etc. it can seem very confusing.
I have also seen the odd bug here and there, one was putting songs on shuffle, now it plays songs randomly, problem is it dose that both ways, so skipping forward to the next song will give you another song, but if you skip over a song by mistake and want to go back instead of playing the previous song it will play another random song, it dose not seem to remember what it played last, i guess it is a very random setting
. Now also in my case i can hear a small pop when skipping between songs, not horrible but noticeable. The pop is removed if you switch the skipping mode to fade out/fade in but then skipping from one song to the next takes a good number of second.Now what about the Bluetooth, one of the key feature of this device. Well it is decent i found paring it to a lot of Bluetooth devices to be easy, but powering on the Bluetooth takes a good few sec, could be faster, also on occasion after powering it off and on the device that was stored would not play the music and i would have to delete and redo the paring. The range seems fine, i would say it is just about under my test iPhone 5 that I used, so very close but just under a regular phone.
I also was pleased that taking out my SD card, powering on the device and then inserting my card dose not erase the library, a problem I had on certain other MP3 devices that would have to re-sync on every card removal.
The battery life is decent, it lasted me from 2 to 3/4 days (mostly 2 - 3 days), compared to my Sansa Clip + that has a life of about 4 - 5/6 days. If you compare the size of the devices it seems a bit odd that the very small Sansa can hold up so long, but compared to the X1 Gen. 2 it can not hold up in output power, and sound quality. So i would trade some battery life for a much batter music experience.
Final thoughts and Conclusion:
In the end i enjoyed my time with the FiiO X2 - 2 Gen. the build quality, all the options i had to tune my music, and especially the sound quality sold me on it. Now my device being a review one, it could have certain problems that are unique to it so take that into account. Now there is certainly room for improvement, a lot actually in the UI, but the core feature the listening experience i would say they nailed it, if you can put up with waiting for Firmware updates for the other niggles that the product has I would say that you can buy it now with little hesitation, and if you think that these bugs would ruin your enjoyment hold a bit out till a few updates come out. I think the price is fair and for the sound quality a very good deal actually at 100 $, of course that will depend on your area as usual ( where i am it is 140 $ which i would say is a bit much )
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and i will do my best to answer them
!http://i66.tinypic.com/1h5g2h.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2edmkxy.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2zfr6km.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/fjdu9y.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2conbif.jpg
http://i68.tinypic.com/fctzqs.jpg
