[phower]

Hi,

This is a quick review of the Teclast X30SE that I got a few weeks ago. It was around $20 that was bought by a friend in China.

Build Quality: Feels solid with no gaps or creaks but the edges are so sharp that I had take a nail file and make it smooth. The mould designer needs to be smacked for his oversight.

Sound Quality: I don't have any high end audio players. When compared with an old Samsung Yepp player and my Nokia phones, the SQ feels clean and better. The mids are more clear so I can understand the vocals in songs which appeared muddy in other players. The power output is also very loud than other MP3 players. Looks like it is greater than 5mW/channel. No official details are available. The supplied earphones are decent enough that I didn't throw them away.

FM: I think the sensitivity is very high that it picks up non-existent stations and adds them to the list. Though FM SNR is also better than my MP3/Android phones. The FM SNR in my Nokia 5800 is probably higher by a few dB.

Firmware: This is a complete let down. Plays only some MP3/WMA files. Ogg support is missing even though the website lists it. Plays FLAC without any problems and I haven't tried APE files.

UI: Another let down. It is slow, unpolished and counter-intuitive. Play button doesn't play? You have to press the right button to play a file. No quick way to go to the currently playing track. Scrolling speed is so slow. I can go on and on.

In a nutshell, I can't recommend this product to anyone with the current firmware. Unfortunately, I don't expect a firmware update any time soon since even the old X30 didn't get many updates.

I should have paid $10 more and got the Sansa Clip Zip.

 

[Ucong]

Hi, CMIIW this player doesnt remember the EQ (custom/user) setting too... If i restart the player, The EQ back to normal setting. Decent player for a price .

 

[AuxIn]

hm, thanks for your impressions (was closed to buy)
would be helpful to know the version of FW you´re talking about.
 
other open questions; 
some sites say sd-card is supported up to 16Gb, other 32 (maybe depend on firmware?)
does the player scan the whole content after every boot ("updating library" - very annoying on Cube C30 i.e.)
and -last not least- does it have resume playback (last track or position in last track -> i.e. for audiobooks)
 
thx

 

[Ucong]

  hm, thanks for your impressions (was closed to buy)
would be helpful to know the version of FW you´re talking about.
 
other open questions; 
some sites say sd-card is supported up to 16Gb, other 32 (maybe depend on firmware?)
does the player scan the whole content after every boot ("updating library" - very annoying on Cube C30 i.e.)
and -last not least- does it have resume playback (last track or position in last track -> i.e. for audiobooks)
 
thx

The latest FW its on their site now, my player ID is X3C5 and the latest FW is V1.02-821D (updated 2014-06-30). Yes, there's major improvement on SQ and more batterry life, but still... if the EQ set to custom/user... it back to normal EQ when the player restart.
Yes, it is support well 16Gb card (i dont know about 32Gb card coz i dont have one 

) but since i know there's annoying/different sound if i use SD card, now i only use the internal memory.
The player only scan the whole content when i added new file. There's no resume playback capabilities here, when the player restart, it back to file database. 

 

[peter123]

Is it made of plastic or aluminium?

 

[phower]

Is it made of plastic or aluminium?

Sorry, didn't login for years

. It is made of plastic not aluminium. Not recommended in 2015.
 
BTW, I am looking to buy either the Ruizu X02 or Newsmy A33(If AAC/Ogg support exists as claimed).

 

[jatergb]

  Sorry, didn't login for years

. It is made of plastic not aluminium. Not recommended in 2015.
 
BTW, I am looking to buy either the Ruizu X02 or Newsmy A33(If AAC/Ogg support exists as claimed).

How does the Newsmy's SQ compare with Xduoo X2 or Fiio M3? 

 

[AuxIn]

Newsmy A33 is also on my watchlist, but ONN X5 seems very interesting, too (~$55 @Banggood i.e.)

 

[jatergb]

  Newsmy A33 is also on my watchlist, but ONN X5 seems very interesting, too (~$55 @Banggood i.e.)

But UI seems to be very bad as per few reviews I read.

 

[phower]

I don't login into head-fi much these days. And I have stopped using DAPs since most smartphones have very high quality headphone drivers.
 
Also, the reviews of smartphones do publish the FR, THD and IMD figures. Most are below 0.01%(-80dB) and that qualifies the amplifier as transparent. So, I would rather use a smartphone with objectively tested headphone amplifier rather than a unknown chinese DAP.
 
It might be possible that the Chinese DAPs are as good as modern smartphones, but the convenience of smartphones and DSP sound effects available makes smartphones the ideal choice for listening to music.