The X5ii is on sale at Sonic Electronix for $315 and its really tempting. Apart from the price what draws me towards this player is, the screen and improved sound over the X3ii (I currently own an X3ii). I have been reading about the X5 and there seems to be some mixed opinions about the devices's sluggish performance. Not sure what FW the members were using while posting their comments. Could someone using the X5ii with the latest FW (1.1) give your input on its UI performance? It will be great if you could compare it with the UI of the X3ii (which I find it to be snappy) in case you have tried both. And also, (not a deal breaker but), if you could comment on the 'device getting warm' aspect too, that will be great.
Thanks for your help!
Hi, I'm a relatively new user of the X5ii. I too was very worried about the device having a sluggish UI due to the aforementioned user reports on this forum, but luckily it has not proved to be an issue for me at all. After using the device for quite a few weeks now, I can definitely say that I am satisfied by the unit that I received.
On my device, the UI is fairly snappy with very usable speeds (I would compare it similarly to the iBasso DX50, but a bit more responsive with music controls), and it has not showed alarming issues with warming for me. On average, I would say that browsing through menus does have a very slight delay, but this delay has been essentially negligible. The only major UI lag issues I've had are the fact that when the EQ is turned on, the UI becomes very sluggish compared to normal. I never EQ my headphones, so this isn't an issue for me personally.
Of course, your own personal scenario may vary greatly from the next, because the number of files, file quality, user expectations, and settings enabled will vary greatly as well. I personally have about 1200 songs loaded on my player, with most of the files being 320Kpbs mp3 files or high resolution FLAC files. From what I can surmise, differing file types within your library aren't really going to change the responsiveness of the UI, although I cannot say for certain as I have only tested a few formats. I use a 64GB microSD card from Samsung, and it has not given me any issues so far.
As for the heating of the device: the device can become noticeably warm if you have been using it heavily and also keeping it near warm sources such as your own body temperature. I once fell asleep with the X5ii nestled on my stomach under a blanket while playing music for a few hours. The device did become quite warm, and it did worry me a bit, but it never showed any signs of sluggishness or changes in performance. I still would not recommend exposing it to heat for a long duration, though. I fear that long exposures to heat may affect the thermal paste on the CPU or something like that. Not really able to accurately comment though of course because I did not design the player.
I am currently using FW 1.1, the firmware that came pre-loaded on my player. If you buy from a seller with fresh stock you'll also receive a plastic case rather than a silicone one, which I found to be actually much preferable to the dust-magnet silicone. Anyways, good luck, I think that you'll likely enjoy the experience from the X5ii, especially at that deal bargain!
