Packaging and bundled miscellaneous
* The X5
* X5's silicone case
* The box the X5 came in and the card stand inside
* X5 quick start guide
* bundled USB cable
* bundled USB card reader
* 3.5mm to RCA coaxial digital adapter cable
* warranty card
* 3 3.5mm port cover plugs
* 2 extra LCD screen protector films
* X5 button layout cue sheet
* HDTracks coupon
Fiio is outdoing the rest of the competition in this aspect. I have never seen any other companies provide that much that there really isn’t any accessories you need to get for it. Earphone jack cover for all holes. 1 pre applied screen protector and 2 spares and rubber case for it. It has got you covered for years to come.
Build quality and design aspect
The casing is well made, nothing to complain about here. Hard buttons for all the important functions(Vol up/Vol down/Forward/Backward and Pause). Operating with 1 hand, I realise my thumb couldn't reach the bottom left button comfortably. Screen is not completely filled on the glass which doesn’t look nice. But they have done the right thing and not make the screen touch sensitive. Would have prefered if the screen is flush with the player. A little play on the wheel and middle button but not to point of being flimsy. Battery seems to be sealed though I remember James mentioning that users can replace the battery but not in the hot swappable way. MicroSD card flap could be designed in a better way. I feel that the flaps doesn’t sits well but it’s a minor nuance that is covered by the silicon case.
UI
UI on the X5 is better than what’s in the audiophile niche market at the moment but still a long way from the big players such as Apple and Sony. Booting time is fast. Interface is clean. Complaints I have is that the wheel accelerates in a linear way such that a long playlist takes a long time to wheel through(My own experience being 600 songs and wheeling it for 70+ full circles). Play by category needs work. All songs is sorted by file names which I think isn’t very user friendly. Would actually prefer if they replace the genre into playlist. There is no ways to create playlist. The closest it have is a favourite function which once you heart it, it appears under the favourites menu. I hope that they can implement the middle button hold as a favourite/add to playlist command at songs selection pages. So far from my usage, I have not encounter any bugs or hangs from the machine. Accuracy of the wheel is average. It seems to fail to register a few steps here and there but you use the forward and backward buttons to fine tune your selections. General UI design is very coherent and options/settings are very well thought out at this stage though it can still be improved further.
Sound
The X5 doesn’t disappoint in this area though it scales with what you’re using it with. I had some sibilance issue with my Elpis2 whereas on the AKG K272HD, Klipsch X10 and Koss PortaPro, it was a bliss listening it through the X5. Its able to handle what I’m listening to from Norah Jones to Avicii to Queen. There isn't any issue with playing any of my FLAC or MP3 files. Spacious and detailed/good separation would be what I would say about the sound from the X5. Bass isn’t overpowering in my opinion. Mid is neutral. Tested everything on low gain except for the AKG K272HD. Some tracks that I tested with.
Norah Jones - Don’t know why, Come away with me
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Swedish Mafia House - Calling
Audiomachine - Guardian at the gates, Akkadian empire
Fatboy Slim - Right here right now, Rockafeller Skank, Praise you,
ACDC - T.N.T, Shoot to thrill, Thunderstruck
Loch Lomond - Elephants and little girls, Wax and wire
Yoko Kanno - Gotta knock a little harder, No reply
Portability
Size is about the same as a Ipod Classic although a little thicker. There’s no problem putting it in my jeans pocket. Battery life is good. I managed to get 11 hours out of 1 single charge with constant use changing and searching of tracks.
Conclusion
At this price point, it’s really hard to complain about it. The X5 really hits all the right spot in terms of price/sound quality aspect. In the quality aspect especially, it's really a few notch above what the others are offering at the moment. Yes, there are things that can be improved upon and I’m very happy that Fiio is taking the right approach in developing their products. They do listen to what the niche market wants from their MP3 which is rare in this day and age. Fiio proves that you don’t have to pay an absurd price to get decent sounding gears and from this demo, I will pick one up once it’s available in my country. I would lastly like to thank Joe and James for the opportunity to test out the X5 before its international release.
Disclaimer: Unit tested was a loaner and I’m not affiliated with Fiio in any ways.
* The X5
* X5's silicone case
* The box the X5 came in and the card stand inside
* X5 quick start guide
* bundled USB cable
* bundled USB card reader
* 3.5mm to RCA coaxial digital adapter cable
* warranty card
* 3 3.5mm port cover plugs
* 2 extra LCD screen protector films
* X5 button layout cue sheet
* HDTracks coupon
Fiio is outdoing the rest of the competition in this aspect. I have never seen any other companies provide that much that there really isn’t any accessories you need to get for it. Earphone jack cover for all holes. 1 pre applied screen protector and 2 spares and rubber case for it. It has got you covered for years to come.
Build quality and design aspect
The casing is well made, nothing to complain about here. Hard buttons for all the important functions(Vol up/Vol down/Forward/Backward and Pause). Operating with 1 hand, I realise my thumb couldn't reach the bottom left button comfortably. Screen is not completely filled on the glass which doesn’t look nice. But they have done the right thing and not make the screen touch sensitive. Would have prefered if the screen is flush with the player. A little play on the wheel and middle button but not to point of being flimsy. Battery seems to be sealed though I remember James mentioning that users can replace the battery but not in the hot swappable way. MicroSD card flap could be designed in a better way. I feel that the flaps doesn’t sits well but it’s a minor nuance that is covered by the silicon case.
UI
UI on the X5 is better than what’s in the audiophile niche market at the moment but still a long way from the big players such as Apple and Sony. Booting time is fast. Interface is clean. Complaints I have is that the wheel accelerates in a linear way such that a long playlist takes a long time to wheel through(My own experience being 600 songs and wheeling it for 70+ full circles). Play by category needs work. All songs is sorted by file names which I think isn’t very user friendly. Would actually prefer if they replace the genre into playlist. There is no ways to create playlist. The closest it have is a favourite function which once you heart it, it appears under the favourites menu. I hope that they can implement the middle button hold as a favourite/add to playlist command at songs selection pages. So far from my usage, I have not encounter any bugs or hangs from the machine. Accuracy of the wheel is average. It seems to fail to register a few steps here and there but you use the forward and backward buttons to fine tune your selections. General UI design is very coherent and options/settings are very well thought out at this stage though it can still be improved further.
Sound
The X5 doesn’t disappoint in this area though it scales with what you’re using it with. I had some sibilance issue with my Elpis2 whereas on the AKG K272HD, Klipsch X10 and Koss PortaPro, it was a bliss listening it through the X5. Its able to handle what I’m listening to from Norah Jones to Avicii to Queen. There isn't any issue with playing any of my FLAC or MP3 files. Spacious and detailed/good separation would be what I would say about the sound from the X5. Bass isn’t overpowering in my opinion. Mid is neutral. Tested everything on low gain except for the AKG K272HD. Some tracks that I tested with.
Norah Jones - Don’t know why, Come away with me
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Swedish Mafia House - Calling
Audiomachine - Guardian at the gates, Akkadian empire
Fatboy Slim - Right here right now, Rockafeller Skank, Praise you,
ACDC - T.N.T, Shoot to thrill, Thunderstruck
Loch Lomond - Elephants and little girls, Wax and wire
Yoko Kanno - Gotta knock a little harder, No reply
Portability
Size is about the same as a Ipod Classic although a little thicker. There’s no problem putting it in my jeans pocket. Battery life is good. I managed to get 11 hours out of 1 single charge with constant use changing and searching of tracks.
Conclusion
At this price point, it’s really hard to complain about it. The X5 really hits all the right spot in terms of price/sound quality aspect. In the quality aspect especially, it's really a few notch above what the others are offering at the moment. Yes, there are things that can be improved upon and I’m very happy that Fiio is taking the right approach in developing their products. They do listen to what the niche market wants from their MP3 which is rare in this day and age. Fiio proves that you don’t have to pay an absurd price to get decent sounding gears and from this demo, I will pick one up once it’s available in my country. I would lastly like to thank Joe and James for the opportunity to test out the X5 before its international release.
Disclaimer: Unit tested was a loaner and I’m not affiliated with Fiio in any ways.
