The impression I get is that people focus so much on "how it sounds" and forget about everything else. Like
@eke2k6 said, we're pretty much all in agreement. What I'm trying to consider (as I write reviews or make videos) is how other people in different situations would see these products, such as people who don't have an iDevice, or students, or people who want to use certain headphones with a DAP etc.
Yes, now we have the AK240, <$500 (entirely off the top of my head) I guess is the "lower end". Nicely though, that "lower end" in the case of the X5 here is very nicely made and sonically great all things considered, if very functionally challenged until they can get playlist support happening.