I just picked up my SR15 yesterday upon the announcement of the 'free case'.....I just deleted an email without opening it from a shop announcing discounts on the SR15......so I'm hoping that I didn't jump too soon.
Anyway.....I love the player! I was surprised by it's diminutive size, but I prefer it vs the X5iii and especially the KANN that I auditioned. I really like the UI - SO much better than the FiiO IMO.....it is quick, responsive, and the functions are exactly how I was hoping they would be. I really liked the way it scanned the entire card when I stuck the card in....didn't take a lot of time....and bam - there is 155GB's worth of music loaded in.....and I love that it is easy to see things in the 'Folder' view - because that is how I have my music stored / organized.
I was immediately impressed by the sound....going off about a week's absence of the FiiO X5iii......but to my ears, this player is a great improvement. I'm currently listening with 64Audio A6t's in the 3.5mm socket - to my ears, it provides all of the staging I would desire - I feel the width is outstanding. For tonality - it is fantastic in my view - some of the reviews mentioned the mids being slightly recessed - likely so, but it certainly doesn't take away at all in my view. Lastly, I personally felt they drove my Utopias just fine - other than the worry of the cable dragging the player off of my desk (reason to switch to the CIEMs), I could very happily play through the entire card.
Only negative so far.....I really wish they had installed the screen protectors at the factory. This was 45 minutes worth of frustration this morning - put them on, bubbles and such - when I pulled the tab off, it left a large amount of sticky residue on the outside of the shield.....alcohol and elbow grease would not remove it.....I ended up pulling the front one back off (after using both of the ones they provided), and then ordered a $20 glass protector from Amazon.......I'm not one to be overly critical and demand a lot for nothing.....but again, as others have said, for $700 - decent screen protector applied and a case would be nearly expected. I can understand - from a business decision...instead of putting in a cheapy case that many replace anyway with a better one.....or in a different color.....so I can see it as a tough decision.
Anyway.....other than the screen protector thing.....I'm completely satisfied with this player - especially after spending a couple years with the FiiO X5iii. Now - if I could just get confirmation on the 512GB card question - and I have to verify the USB output (my Auralic Aries/Vega are being jerks right now) - I'll eventually have the perfect player for me
