I bought Onn X5 from Ebay for 43USD. Initially I have my eye on Xuelin Ihifi 770 which cost 78 USD on Aliexpress. But at same time I want to buy Audio-technica ckr9ltd for 46USD {Aliexpress}. So in the end I bought Onn X5 and Ckr9ltd. Best decision so far. Of course I expect the Xuelin will be a better player than X5. Wolfson chip, bigger battery, more buttons. But together the X5 and ckr9ltd made an excellent combination.
Design ;
So far so good. I paired it with Topping NX2 and new audio cable from AliExpress. Not sure how the cable is giving any extra value to sound quality but it looks cool and cost only 6USD. The reason why I paired it with Topping NX2 is that I can use volume button on NX2 easily. On X5 I have to press any button to activate the screen, press Vol on the left and then press the button on the lower part of X5 to change volume. I wish it has dedicated volume button because there are so much empty space on X5 body to place the dedicated volume button. On normal play the will forward / rewind the song play. The power button on right will serve as play/pause button while on playing mode. If I long pressed it it will power off the player. Again there is another dedicated on / off button on bottom of X5 {between 3.5mm earphone hole and micro usb charging port. Personally I prefer the power button to just be used as play/pause button. There is no need for overlap function between power button and on/off button. Just my own opinion, maybe other people may find it useful. Bottom line; dedicated volume button please, preferably on side of body or on front plate above button.
Otherwise the square metal body is impressively thin and light. The micro SD card slot is located on right side of the body. Just push the card all the way in until clicking sound heard. Another push to the micro SD card will spring eject it out from the slot. It supposed to support up to 32gb card, but some user put 64gb card and X5 can detect it as well. Not sure about that because I only have 16gb card on my X5.
On bottom of X5 there are 3.5mm earphone hole, microphone hole for voice recorder, on/off button and micro usb charging port. It is very convenient choice to use micro usb for charging because I can use any regular smartphone charger to charge the X5. It can be charged using power bank too. And I can still use it while charging. Battery life is excellent. Manufacturer claim of over 20 hours. But it can still be used while charging which usually took about 60 to 90 minutes depending on charger. So it almost has infinite battery life.
Sound;
It sound excellent on its own. More emphasis on treble and detail with fairly strong coloration on any of my earphones. Most of my earphone like Audio-technica IM50 usually does not have very sparkling treble and almost no colouration heard. Somehow with X5 the treble on IM50 sound sparkling bright with noticeable colouration. But most of the time I paired the X5 with Topping NX2. With this combination, the treble and colouration are tamed down slightly to a more pleasurable level. What I don't like with NX2 is that it somewhat blunted the bass impact but still to an acceptable level. But more importantly I can use volume controller on NX2 without the need to activate screen on X5.
Software;
As usual with 8gb built in memory the files can be accessed by artist, album, and song. Unfortunately files on micro SD can only be seen and managed by folder only. So for files inside micro SD, I can only play the files within the folder. And when I stop the folder play and off the X5, the next time when I power on the X5 it will still start with files from built in memory. It is different when I am playing files from build in memory. X5 can still remember the last song played and will start with the same song next time I power on the X5. Quite annoying but have to accept this flaw until the next firmware or next DAP purchase.
The highest quality files in my collection. FLAC 24 bit 96kHz is playing without problem. Manufacturer claim support up to 24bit 192kHz. Some other player like Xduoo X2 and Fiio M3 can support up to 16bit FLAC so I skip them.
5 band equaliser up to 6K frequency, definitely not enough for me. Maybe sufficient for others. Anyway there are always the preset equaliser like Bass, Jazz, Pop etc. But I always have my custom equalizer on any device that support it. At least up to 12k like Olympus WS832.
Additional features;
1. Voice recorder.
Not likely to use this. I have Olympus WS832 for that.
2. FM radio
Functional as expected. Not going to use this regularly either. Radio is for car use only.
Conclusion;
For around 43-50USD this is still the cheapest 24bit player around. There are many 16bit lossless player around but 24bit player is more future proof as I am collecting more albums from HD Tracks. Other player selling around this price are Xduoo X3 and Fiio M3. Both support up to 16bit lossless file. My suggestion to Onn manufacturer to include dedicated volume button and better custom equalizer frequency support.
