[ZackT]

After reading posts here over the last few months I'm feeling like I'm missing out. I'm feeling way jealous of those X5 owners out there.

What tempts me about the X5 is its supposed better headphone output.

I have an iPod coupled with SuperFi Pro's and sometimes the E4. When I use the pod with the E4 I usually have to couple it with my SM amp to get good bass.

I hear that the X5 has better bass straight from the headphone socket so if I do get an X5 then I'll save having to lug an amp around too.

I've kind of gotten used to slipping my mini and E4's in my pocket for my walk down the shops.

Would anyone out there who has experience with both the iPod and X5 be able to tell me if, in their opinion, they think I would be happier with the X5.

(I'm kind of fascinated by the X5's features too).

ZT

 

[bangraman]

I suppose it is down to how sensitive you'll be to the degredation that the Mach3bass and other effects bring in. The X5 has a similar falloff to the iPod in terms of the effect that low impedance phones have on the amp, so you will notice only a tiny improvement 'as is' since the X5 seems to be slightly less affected by the issue. However, bringing in the EQ and other FX can boost the bass considerably. But also noticeable is the fact that it does noticeably muck around with sound quality. Mach3bass is mainly about mid-bass enhancement and it certainly ramps up the boom of the lows. Deep lows aren't that affected by that effect.


The X5's features are interesting, and certainly useful for me when travelling farther afield. The voice recording is OK and certainly clearer than the iTalk, although it is affected by the backlight and also there's an offputting whine as the X5 writes the buffer out to the HDD. The video is pretty useless but if you have absolutely nothing else to do, it is possible to squint your way through a DVD. The photo viewing is slow but a little more useful. The USBOTG is useful for me when for example filling a flash player independently of a computer, or using my battery-powered HDD to refresh some music on the X5 once again independently of a PC. I think however that a lot of what I find useful about the X5 may just be geek posing points for the majority.


When I have access to a PC, then the iPod comes back into play as a superior music-access machine. I think I'll hang onto both for now.

 

[ZackT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman I think however that a lot of what I find useful about the X5 may just be geek posing points for the majority.

Thanks, I can't really afford one anyway. I have a Shuffle which handles bass well, I don't really need another player. I guess I was just worried that there was something better out there. The curse of "upgrade-itis" I guess.

 

[bangraman]

There is one other thing, the radio of course... I never use it, since when I'm travelling it'll all be in Arabic or French anyway