[size=large]Design [/size]
The Meizu M6 SL is small. It measures a measly 78x46.5x7.3mm. The 2.41" screen takes up almost all the real estate on the front of the player with only a touch strip located on the right side. The mini-USB and headphone jack are located along the right edge with the hold button located on the top. Aesthetically the M6 SL is beautiful. It has a beautiful piano black (or white) finish with a scratch resistant screen and it is built very solidly. The M6's touch strip control on the right side is used to scroll through the menus and also works as a button. This sometimes proves to be extremely annoying. The touch strip tends to be sensitive and when trying to scroll it sometimes interprets your touch as a click instead of a scroll. The newer firmware makes the strip less sensitive easier to use. The 4 sides of the strip can also be clicked to navigate. The controls take a little time to get used, but are very simple and intuitive. The interface does have some quirks getting to certain screens though. Trying to locate the EQ while listening requires several clicks. Despite using a touch strip, the player’s most basic functions can still be used inside a coat pocket without needing to see the screen; play/pause, skip, volume.
[size=large]Features [/size]
The Meizu M6 SL has almost all of the features any user would want in a DAP. It plays a plethora of music, video, and picture formats (MP3, WMA, WMALossless, APE, FLAC, AVI, Xvid, Jpeg, BMP, GIF ). It also includes a photo viewer, FM tuner, voice recorder, games, calendar, calculator, and stopwatch. Some of these features will be extremely useless for most people, but it is nice that they were included for the few who might actually use them. The M6 can be connected to your PC in either MSC or MTP mode , meaning that it can be used as a USB flash drive or synced through WMP, Winamp, Media Monkey, etc. MSC allows you to use the M6 on Windows, Mac or a Linux OS. The player may only be used in one mode during each connection. Both modes seem to work well, but it crashed and needed to be reset when prematurely disconnected. This is obviously not recommended for any USB device though. Resetting was simply though. Simply hold down the play/pause button for a minute and the DAP resets itself (all files are is still intact). Transfer speeds were average for both modes. One feature that many users dislike is that the unit refreshes it's music library every time it is disconnected. For an 8gb library it took almost a minute. One of the best features is that the firmware can be easily upgraded (or downgraded). You simply copy the resource.bin file into the root directory. You can also download or create custom skins for the player making your M6 distinctively yours.
[size=large]Performance [/size]
The M6 SL has a fantastic sound signature. It uses a Wolfson WM8987 DAC. It is very natural with an open sound stage especially when playing lossless audio codecs. There is subtle hiss at very low volumes (<5), but does not seem to get louder when the volume is increased. Some hiss is typical of almost all DAPs and its presence on the M6 is lower then on many DAPs I have tested. Many users complain that there is a stutter at the end of songs which have no silence. I have listened to the M6 for several weeks and have not experienced this once. It may be that I encode my own music or purchase it rest from a reputable online store. There are also many sound enhancement features included; bass boost, treble boost, spatializer, EQ, and volume restricter. I was very surprised by the bass boost feature. It adds a significant amount of bass without it becoming muddy or overpowering. The 10 band EQ is fully customizable with +/- 15 db at each tone. The spatializer, however, is one the worst sound enhancements I have ever heard on a DAP.
One of the downfalls of the M6 is that it takes almost 15 seconds to turn on. For those who constantly pause your music, this can be a real pain. The M6 turns off after 120 seconds and will take another 15 seconds to turn back on. Meizu has rated the battery life at 26 hours for audio and 4 hours for video. I have not directly tested this, but through experience feel that it is slightly over rated.
The screen of the M6 is extremely bright and detailed. The frame rate is only 20 frames per second, however, which is 10 frames short of what the human eye can detect. I have not played many movies on it, but it seems to be more then sufficient for occasionally watching short shows. I would not expect many users to be watching full length movies on a 2.41" screen, but it will play them nonetheless. Some users have complained that the audio will not match up after a video is fast forwarded. The FM tuner included is pretty strong and comes in fairly clear. The quality mainly depends on the signal that the station is broadcasting (many pop stations enhance the bass before transmitting).
[size=large]Summary [/size]
The good: Supported audio formats, build quality, and of course sound quality.
The bad: Sensitive controls, start up time, max 8gb, usually shipped from over seas
The bottom line: The M6 is one of the best flash DAPs on the market, especially in this price range.
The Meizu M6 SL is small. It measures a measly 78x46.5x7.3mm. The 2.41" screen takes up almost all the real estate on the front of the player with only a touch strip located on the right side. The mini-USB and headphone jack are located along the right edge with the hold button located on the top. Aesthetically the M6 SL is beautiful. It has a beautiful piano black (or white) finish with a scratch resistant screen and it is built very solidly. The M6's touch strip control on the right side is used to scroll through the menus and also works as a button. This sometimes proves to be extremely annoying. The touch strip tends to be sensitive and when trying to scroll it sometimes interprets your touch as a click instead of a scroll. The newer firmware makes the strip less sensitive easier to use. The 4 sides of the strip can also be clicked to navigate. The controls take a little time to get used, but are very simple and intuitive. The interface does have some quirks getting to certain screens though. Trying to locate the EQ while listening requires several clicks. Despite using a touch strip, the player’s most basic functions can still be used inside a coat pocket without needing to see the screen; play/pause, skip, volume.
[size=large]Features [/size]
The Meizu M6 SL has almost all of the features any user would want in a DAP. It plays a plethora of music, video, and picture formats (MP3, WMA, WMALossless, APE, FLAC, AVI, Xvid, Jpeg, BMP, GIF ). It also includes a photo viewer, FM tuner, voice recorder, games, calendar, calculator, and stopwatch. Some of these features will be extremely useless for most people, but it is nice that they were included for the few who might actually use them. The M6 can be connected to your PC in either MSC or MTP mode , meaning that it can be used as a USB flash drive or synced through WMP, Winamp, Media Monkey, etc. MSC allows you to use the M6 on Windows, Mac or a Linux OS. The player may only be used in one mode during each connection. Both modes seem to work well, but it crashed and needed to be reset when prematurely disconnected. This is obviously not recommended for any USB device though. Resetting was simply though. Simply hold down the play/pause button for a minute and the DAP resets itself (all files are is still intact). Transfer speeds were average for both modes. One feature that many users dislike is that the unit refreshes it's music library every time it is disconnected. For an 8gb library it took almost a minute. One of the best features is that the firmware can be easily upgraded (or downgraded). You simply copy the resource.bin file into the root directory. You can also download or create custom skins for the player making your M6 distinctively yours.
[size=large]Performance [/size]
The M6 SL has a fantastic sound signature. It uses a Wolfson WM8987 DAC. It is very natural with an open sound stage especially when playing lossless audio codecs. There is subtle hiss at very low volumes (<5), but does not seem to get louder when the volume is increased. Some hiss is typical of almost all DAPs and its presence on the M6 is lower then on many DAPs I have tested. Many users complain that there is a stutter at the end of songs which have no silence. I have listened to the M6 for several weeks and have not experienced this once. It may be that I encode my own music or purchase it rest from a reputable online store. There are also many sound enhancement features included; bass boost, treble boost, spatializer, EQ, and volume restricter. I was very surprised by the bass boost feature. It adds a significant amount of bass without it becoming muddy or overpowering. The 10 band EQ is fully customizable with +/- 15 db at each tone. The spatializer, however, is one the worst sound enhancements I have ever heard on a DAP.
One of the downfalls of the M6 is that it takes almost 15 seconds to turn on. For those who constantly pause your music, this can be a real pain. The M6 turns off after 120 seconds and will take another 15 seconds to turn back on. Meizu has rated the battery life at 26 hours for audio and 4 hours for video. I have not directly tested this, but through experience feel that it is slightly over rated.
The screen of the M6 is extremely bright and detailed. The frame rate is only 20 frames per second, however, which is 10 frames short of what the human eye can detect. I have not played many movies on it, but it seems to be more then sufficient for occasionally watching short shows. I would not expect many users to be watching full length movies on a 2.41" screen, but it will play them nonetheless. Some users have complained that the audio will not match up after a video is fast forwarded. The FM tuner included is pretty strong and comes in fairly clear. The quality mainly depends on the signal that the station is broadcasting (many pop stations enhance the bass before transmitting).
[size=large]Summary [/size]
The good: Supported audio formats, build quality, and of course sound quality.
The bad: Sensitive controls, start up time, max 8gb, usually shipped from over seas
The bottom line: The M6 is one of the best flash DAPs on the market, especially in this price range.
