[Themilkman46290]

After some time getting tangled up with it, today I have published my humble opinion about my dear ACMEE MF-01. We all know it has its limitations, but this little guy is adorable. The brand, for its part, promises future firmware upgrades to improve it.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/acmee-mf-01.23996/reviews#review-22790



P.S. My beautiful city is on fire...

Thanks for the review, you don't have any high impedance gear to try on it do you?
I read your review and was convinced on buying it soon, but some say it doesn't do well with high impedance gear, I have mainly 300-400 ohm buds and planairs so was curious how well it does with them.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

QNGEE X2, one of the best sounds with a forgotten firmware. I don't understand why it wasn't tried to improve this product, it would have been the best DAP at its price. ZIKU HD-X10: a brick without bass and with many clicks and pops.

I will post a comparison of the ZIKU X10 compared to the Walnut F2 and V2S and Zishan Z1 soon. It's really disappointing to me that the X10 doesn't have bass.

I guess the QNGEE X2 may still be better?

 

[oneula]

I busted out my QNGEE X2 and ran some HD Tracks compilations with the Shuoer Tape, BLON 03 and Guideray GR-i18 and that little bugger has some chops. Such a weird device, not easy to hold with it's sharp edges and a slightly cumber UI. But the sound it produces make you forget all that stuff. Be interesting for someone to sacrifice theirs to see what's inside as its not made to be taken apart. Interesting that it says Input: 5.0V=500 mmA not sure why.
But the thing is a horrible fingerprint magnet though. Probably drive a couple well know youtube reviewers crazy like that little shiney black xDSD amp

I may be of but to me it sounds better than the ZIKU HD X-09, Tempotec V1A and most of my other chifi DAPs maybe even my new Cayin N3

currently listening to the QNGEE X2 with my Willsound MK2 buds (What's a little more rain/Chesky Greatest Audiophile Vocal Tracks). Good way to start off a Friday work day.

 

[Merlin-PT]

Be interesting for someone to sacrifice theirs to see what's inside as its not made to be taken apart.

I had opened mine when it arrived last year, but I didn't had time and only took a photo.
It's easy to open, the black back is only glued (you can see the type of glue in the photo). I lifted a bit and all around with a very thin and flexible pry tool. I must have used the thin transparent plastic card seen next to the batt., but I don't remember.
Note: The 4rd button on the left is the reset hole.

 

[cqtek]

That sounds like bad news for people that like hip hop. Which opamp?

I wonder If the X9 is better? We will probably never know.

Burson Audio V5i.

OpAmps should not modify the frequency response, amplifiers should only amplify without altering the signal, those are good OpAmps. If they modify the signal, bad. Another thing are the technical characteristics of each OpAmp and the sound they produce. A frequency response is not a faithful reflection of the sound itself, just a profile orientation.

I don't have the X9.

Thanks for the review, you don't have any high impedance gear to try on it do you?
I read your review and was convinced on buying it soon, but some say it doesn't do well with high impedance gear, I have mainly 300-400 ohm buds and planairs so was curious how well it does with them.

I don't have a lot of high-impedance headphones. 150 Ohms or 200 Ohms earbuds, no problem. For the Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO 250 ohm, it's fair enough, it doesn't give enough volume, even to the maximum.

I will post a comparison of the ZIKU X10 compared to the Walnut F2 and V2S and Zishan Z1 soon. It's really disappointing to me that the X10 doesn't have bass.

I guess the QNGEE X2 may still be better?

I agree with @oneula :

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/obscure-chinese-daps.720512/page-443#post-15253815

 

[oneula]

I had opened mine when it arrived last year, but I didn't had time and only took a photo.
It's easy to open, the black back is only glued (you can see the type of glue in the photo). I lifted a bit and all around with a very thin and flexible pry tool. I must have used the thin transparent plastic card seen next to the batt., but I don't remember.
Note: The 4rd button on the left is the reset hole.

so is that a TP4066/1821 op amp?
Rockchip RKnanoD (Rockbox) CPU?

like the xduoo nano D3, Dodocool DA106, and Sony E390 it looks like the QNGEE X2 uses a Rockchip RKNanoD-L chip (it's also worth noting that the device is named after it's processor for some reason).
The RKNanoD series is a chip designed for high-fidelty audio devices. It has two cores, one for general processing and the other for audio processing.

RKNanoD is a low-cost, low-power, high-efficiency digital multimedia chip which is based on ARM cortex-M3 processor architecture with Audio decoder hardware accelerator. It is designed for multimedia product and IOT applications.

AUDIO-DAC
 High Digital to Analog Convert SNR.
 High Analog to Digital Convert SNR.
 Differential analog input microphone input with boost pre-amplify and low-noise microphone bias.
 Stereo line input.
 Stereo line output.
 PLL internal
Stereo virtual-ground headphone amplify with ultra-low power.
 One 24bit/8k~192K I2S/PCM interface for stereo DAC and ADC.
 ALC (Automatic Level Control) in ADC path and DRC (Dynamic Range control) in DAC path.
 The high-pass filter in ADC path.
 Soft pop noise suppression.


someone opened a dodocool D106 shown below

 

[Merlin-PT]

TP4056 is the battery charging chip, the same used in zishans.
I can't see an opamp, maybe it uses this inside the RKnanoD (I copied from your post): "Stereo virtual-ground headphone amplify with ultra-low power."

Quote: "Interesting that it says Input: 5.0V=500 mmA not sure why."
It's the 5V DC 500mA micro USB power supply port

 

[ironbrewer]

So whats Battery life like on the QNGEE X2? Sounds interesting to me. Does it have plenty of power for most IEMs? I'm ok with a clunky interface as long as it has shuffle, good sound quality, and is somewhat durable.

 

[oneula]

So whats Battery life like on the QNGEE X2? Sounds interesting to me. Does it have plenty of power for most IEMs? I'm ok with a clunky interface as long as it has shuffle, good sound quality, and is somewhat durable.

Cqtek's review in spanish
https://auricular.org/qngee-x2-reproductor-mp3/

Some youtube promo


It's pretty durable metal not plastic
shiny and massively prone to fingerprint smudges everywhere
5 non descrip buttons 3 on the right side 2 on the left side with labels on back (weird but almost entire front is a screen)
smaller than the Ziku and Acmee which are also built like tanks
battery maybe 10-12 hours if you re lucky
don't know if its the rockchip but it's sound is the main
very minimal feature set

 

[cqtek]

I'm surprised that now there's so much talk about QNGEE X2 again. I asked several stores if they had any firmware updates to fix clicks and the start of the songs, but the answer was negative. It's a shame.

Its maximum output is almost 1V, so it has an approximate power of 60mW, enough for any IEMS and earbuds.

My Obscure Chinese DAPs:

QNGEE X2, Tempotec v1-A, F.Audio S1, ACMEE MF-01
AGPtek IMP, AGPtek Rocker, AGPtek H1, Zishan Z3
xDuoo X3II, Zishan T1, Ziku HD-X10, F.Audio XS03

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

@cqtek Can you list your daps in terms of your favourites? 1, 2, 3, etc. Thanks.

 

[oneula]

tell me about it
aside from my laptop and work materials
this is what I have been hauling to and from work all this week to test listen to in order to decide which pairs are the best and what I want to keep at the end of this adventure
It's about half the daps i own and doesn't include the LG V30 phone I took these pictures with.
my soft briefcase weighs about 10lbs with everything

at home are the dodocool, bengie t6, Hiby R3, tempotec v1a, ipad shuffle(waterproofed), ipod nano, upgraded ipod classic V5, zune HD64, iphone XR, hidiz ap60, hidiz ap60pro, fiio F3 1st gen, plenue D, cowon d2, and blackberry playbook.

Meanwhile I'm awaiting a Zishan Z3 4490, Zishan Z3 4493, Walnut V2s, Walnut F2 and Acmee MF-01





and the earphones

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

Meanwhile I'm awaiting a Zishan Z3 4490, Zishan Z3 4493, Walnut V2s, Walnut F2 and Acmee MF-01

Do you collect daps or like wasting money? Other than the Acmee (never heard it) I think the V2S is the only good purchase. However, the F2 is great too but only for home use.

 

[cqtek]

@cqtek Can you list your daps in terms of your favourites? 1, 2, 3, etc. Thanks.

I don't like to provide absolute lists of tastes, I don't like to categorize things as "the best". I will never tell you who my best friend is... hahaha.

But if you want the list, it could be this one:

• xDuoo X3II: The most complete of all, in terms of quality, sound and handling.
• ACMEE MF-01: Possibly one of the best sounds.
• Tempotec v1-A - QNGEE X2: V1-A Could have the best handling, but has some gaps to improve. Technically very good. X2 Can you imagine the X2 with the handling of the V1-A?
• AGPtek H1 - Zishan T1: H1 Simple and practical DAP with exciting Wolfson warm sound, good power, bad weight, limited formats. T1 Typical Zishan problems, output impedance, output capacitors filtering bass, very limited handling, etc. But the sound is not bad. Does it cost so much to do it well?
• F.Audio S1: F.Audio agreed that bass exists, only a minimal drop. Very simple handling, infinite battery, beautiful design but fragile to scratches. Very good sound, neutral/bright.
• Zishan Z3: Much of what was said with the T1 is valid here, but I changed the battery and now it lasts quite a while. The size and power is the best. Very suitable for earbuds.
• AGPtek Rocker: It's gapless for 50€! You can do it! Rockbox! Flat output! Impedance <1 Ohm! Very good handling, too bad the sound is not the best.
• AGPtek IMP: Cost me 16€, long battery life, warm-dark sound, size and reduced weight. Ideal for the street.
• F.Audio XS03: Sounds really good, even pretty good, but I want my bass! Many covers don't show, or show badly, even at small resolutions.
• Ziku HD-X10: I can't even remember this one anymore, I think I used it to hang a picture on the wall.

 

[deltecdpa]

Here is my experience with F.Audio Xs-03. I choose black, nice looking. Compared to the older Xs-01, that I have, it has bigger buttons with same layout, and bigger color display showing more info, while the device size is the same. It seem that the name Xunsound, as the Xs-01 was branded, has been dropped. I would prefer Xunsound, it...sounds more exotic than F.Audio but... ok. As I told before, I damaged the first by improper handling opening it so I ordered another, but then I resumed the damaged one casually putting a magnet on the output relays so now I have two Xs-03…! (just received the second)

Packaging: * THE FIRST * Player, inside a semi-rigid anonymous zipped case, and an Usb-C cable that is recommended to use as other cables may be troublesome (check them briefly, I tried to use a "foreign" one and cannot charge) * THE SECOND * Player, inside a quite big black cardboard box with nothing wrote on except brand name and a slogan (exporing moving sound), and the Usb-C cable. Call it essential package...

Files handling: a lot including Ogg Aiff Alac Aac. The DSD is played fine, anyway I don't use DSD, I have just few samples. Rew and FF are fast enough and depending on file lenght, the longest is the track the fastest go, it's faster and smoother in FLAC or WAV than in Mp3, if the track is a 2 hour megamix rew/ff may run 1-2 min. every second. If rew/ff is made until the begin/end of track, it will continue onto the previous/next track. No gapless, but no cuts at begin/end of tracks.

U.I. : Press power on button for about 3 sec., boot is quite fast 3 sec., first it ask "last played" (it is resume play, from the point it was stopped) by default is "no" but must answer ("yes!") within about 5 sec. otherwise it goes in main menu and lose the resume! UI is essential but ok, folder view is enough for me, then artist genre etc. are available. Equalizer, 6 digital filters (I can't hear meaningful differences, anyway I choose the harmonic filter). Settings include sleep timer, channel balance, auto off etc. Something is missing like backlight intensity and max volume setting, the latter would be welcome as output power is huge. Overall navigation is easy, no big issues

Sound PART ONE (with Logitech UE900s 4BA earphones connected to the normal PO output and stock cable)
First I wanted to search for clicking noise that made the Xs-01 "famous" for (so "famous" that even Penon Audio, that still sells Xs-01, warns "Note:This player will make a slight "crackling and clicking" sound , especially when playing a sine wave." !! Honest, but maybe not a great way to sell it!)
I guess they solved it in two evolutions and... yes they did! No noise at all, otherwise I would stop the review here...
The sound profile is similar to Xs-01: powerful, exciting, dynamic, with wider soundstage (dual Dac instead the single of Xs-01) I make also a comparison with Aigo Z6 Pro, that was my everyday DAP before.
Bass and sub bass are balanced, well present, fast and impactful, without bleeding onto mid-bass. Z6 has some more impact and slight lesser texture and definition, anyway nice too.
Mids are clear and amazingly detailed, neutral. Maybe a little cold and thin, but enjoyable fully.
(Z6 really shines here, it has a kind of "tube" feeling, maybe this now make me perceive Xs-03 mids as "thinner", but Z6 not so detailed)
Highs clear and very extended, extremely detailed... I listened Klaus Schulze's Body love I & II (flac) and I found micro details I never hear before, now I can hear also with Z6 because Xs-03 unveiled them! Those details are crystal clear and never get piercing or harsh. Very nice.
Soundstage is wide and not very deep, while Z6 is deeper than wider. Instrument separation is very good, better on Xs-03 but good also with Z6
I might say that Z6 is digitally analogue: warm, more relaxed, bass and mids enhanced without forgetting the highs.
Xs-03 instead is digitally...digital: clear, neutral, super detailed, dynamic, mid-highs enhanced without forgetting the mid-bass and sub-bass
Two nice DAP with different sound signatures, Z6 is more suitable for longer sessions and Xs-03 makes move more (detractors would say Z6 is boring and Xs-03 is fatiguing...)
Both have huge output power.

Other differences: Xs-03 is smaller than Z6, fits better in pocket, and I definitly prefer buttons instead Z6's soft-touch, can leave the player in pocket to pause/rew/ff it when in need.
And Z6 has this terrible issue to cut intro of songs about half second if they no have a blank space at intro and start abruptly I will wait to update firmware hoping it will solve this, but until now several updates did not work. (Aigo has website where download it, unlike F.Audio that no have its own website, pity, I would like to update also the smaller S1 I use for running)
Background noise in Xs-03 is low, in Z6 is low too with Flac and Wav, while in Mp3 (any bitrate) there is a "frying" pitched noise, not loud but can be heard if sound is recorded low level, or slow intro (such as "Pigs" or "Sheep" by Pink Floyd) this is not great...
Battery life better on Z6, 15 or more hours against 7-8 of Xs-03
Final note: I say Z6 is warm sounding but the device remain cold while working...
Xs-O3 is neutral sounding but the device gets warm while working...
Xs-03 Yin and Z6 Yang!