[suman134]

 My TITAN-1 review unit is here, with AN-16 and VSD-2S.
 
Not exactly impressed with the Titan-1, Are a bit too much V shaped for now. I am supposed to review these but i have fallen in love with the AN-16 already!!
Titan-1 is going to have some hard time.
 

 


 Titan has nice sound stage, i must admit.

 

[suman134]

And, and, titan-1 fits nicely over ear.

 

[ayaflo]

   My TITAN-1 review unit is here, with AN-16 and VSD-2S.
 
Not exactly impressed with the Titan-1, Are a bit too much V shaped for now. 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Titan-1 has a dip in the male vocals but female voice sounds good to me. You can test them with Bach's Cello suites or Benjamin Clementine;s songs who has a rugged grasp of lower registers. Titan fails to put this thru. 
 
Shure SE-535 and one of the Ortofons EQ series I tried have the most lush mids of any IEM I have heard. The treble on the Shures are rolled off but with a good Silver cable & acoustic filter removed extends a bit more from a good source but still hold nothing against the TWFKs. 

I do not know how Etys do and I will audition it soon but the Knowles ED BA with the right tuning is quite something. One spite I have against most closed in BA designs is how much less timbre of an instrument its able to reproduce because of the size of the diaphragm. I think the BAM technology might help this limitation.
 
Let me know how the AN-16s do Suman, I will try to trade my Dunus for them.

 

[suman134]

   
Titan-1 has a dip in the male vocals but female voice sounds good to me. You can test them with Bach's Cello suites or Benjamin Clementine;s songs who has a rugged grasp of lower registers. Titan fails to put this thru. 
 
Shure SE-535 and one of the Ortofons EQ series I tried have the most lush mids of any IEM I have heard. The treble on the Shures are rolled off but with a good Silver cable & acoustic filter removed extends a bit more from a good source but still hold nothing against the TWFKs. 

I do not know how Etys do and I will audition it soon but the Knowles ED BA with the right tuning is quite something. One spite I have against most closed in BA designs is how much less timbre of an instrument its able to reproduce because of the size of the diaphragm. I think the BAM technology might help this limitation.
 
Let me know how the AN-16s do Suman, I will try to trade my Dunus for them.

 
  AN-16 lacks some stage but still good, what impresses me the most is its reveling mids, its not a GR07 from some angle. GR-07 can be sibiant, has leaner and slightly less emphasized mids, and dunu is deep in that V. layering and imaging is good with DUNU, i havent given much time to AN-16 but its more resolving and cohesive i admit.
 
  I have to give more ear time to DUNU as i have a 15 day deadline.
  How much burning i should be looking at.

 

[EISENbricher]

I might be getting Xduoo X2 soon. Is it better than Fiio X1 (and Sansa Clip)? 
@getclikinagas You have already posted so much comprehensive stuff on this player before, any help would be good for me. 

 

[ayaflo]

   
  AN-16 lacks some stage but still good, what impresses me the most is its reveling mids, its not a GR07 from some angle. GR-07 can be sibiant, has leaner and slightly less emphasized mids, and dunu is deep in that V. layering and imaging is good with DUNU, i havent given much time to AN-16 but its more resolving and cohesive i admit.
 
  I have to give more ear time to DUNU as i have a 15 day deadline.
  How much burning i should be looking at.

 
I think the Dunu's resolve stunningly due to the Titanium injected diaphragms. Micro-detailing is very much like BA's though not as apparent.
 
Dunu recommends 200 hours .. but I give 50-60 hours. I leave it playing music all night with a slightly higher volume than my normal listening levels.
 
I do not necessarily understand if the change is in the earphone or in our mind but burning in never did anyone no harm... hmmm
 
Cheers..

 

[getclikinagas]

  I might be getting Xduoo X2 soon. Is it better than Fiio X1 (and Sansa Clip)? 
@getclikinagas You have already posted so much comprehensive stuff on this player before, any help would be good for me. 

I haven't had the chance to audition the Fiio X1, so I can't comment there.
 
A major portion of my review is a head-to-head with the Clip Zip.
 

Spoiler: Wrap up

Wrap Up:
Keep in mind that I haven’t tested the X2 with more power-hungry sources so my conclusion is based on the average IEM available today. On sheer sound quality alone, the X2 slightly edges (not necessarily in all cases) the Sansa Clip ZIP. On build quality alone, the X2 is definitely ahead of the Clip range. The Clip wins when it comes to UI, ease of operation. However the X2 UI is not a deal breaker an offers the basics.
For the average IEM I would pick the Clip over the X2. On the go, I use inexpensive travel IEMs and I’d pick a friendly UI over a slight improvement in presentation.
So, it hasn’t dethroned the clip, but given the reports on the driving power, it is more versatile. If your regular-use portables are power hungry, the X2 seems to be(from reports) a no-brainer for the price.
 
I’ve somehow not mentioned the price! At 55$ it bats right next to the Clip and well in the “Extreme Value” bracket.

The xDuoo X2 is a great little device. For easy to drive IEMs, the subjective improvement in presentation is marginal over the clip zip. Moderate to hungry portables may be a different story.
 
Take a decision based on your usage scenario.
Do you only intend to use it on the go?
Will it be your main/daily driver?
Do you intend to upgrade soon?
Are you expecting a multi-featured UI?
Do you need custom EQ?
 
Will you be using moderate-hungry IEMs/HPs?
etc
etc
 
For "my usage needs",the clip zip is a better choice. But, that's just me.
 
PS: It's a difficult question to answer because they're both great performers (not to mention great value). Therefore, the final decision will lie in the little details. Unlike something like the Shozy Alien, which sounds so stellar that you're willing to compromise heavily on everything else.
PS2: The Fiio X1 is more than twice the cost of the xDuoo and clip, so it probably isn't fair to compare.

 

[EISENbricher]

  I haven't had the chance to audition the Fiio X1, so I can't comment there.
 
A major portion of my review is a head-to-head with the Clip Zip.
 

Spoiler: Wrap up

 

The xDuoo X2 is a great little device. For easy to drive IEMs, the subjective improvement in presentation is marginal over the clip zip. Moderate to hungry portables may be a different story.
 
Take a decision based on your usage scenario.
Do you only intend to use it on the go?
Will it be your main/daily driver?
Do you intend to upgrade soon?
Are you expecting a multi-featured UI?
Do you need custom EQ?
 
Will you be using moderate-hungry IEMs/HPs?
etc
etc
 
For "my usage needs",the clip zip is a better choice. But, that's just me.
 
PS: It's a difficult question to answer because they're both great performers (not to mention great value). Therefore, the final decision will lie in the little details. Unlike something like the Shozy Alien, which sounds so stellar that you're willing to compromise heavily on everything else.
PS2: The Fiio X1 is more than twice the cost of the xDuoo and clip, so it probably isn't fair to compare.

Thanks, this was helpful. In any case I'm not really concerned for the price as I'll be getting one as gift : )  It'll be my first DAP and I haven't heard to any DAP before except iPod Nano 6th Gen. 
The questionnaire that you've posted in the later part was really helpful and now I'm confident that X2 will fill in as a great device in my inventory.

 

[ayaflo]

On the one hand I think that the Dunu's resolution is stunning due to their Titanium diaphragms but on the other I can in some ways relate to your opinion on how the An16 performs. It is probably the Bio-cellulose which performs exceptionally good for speed and detail, while not losing so much on texture like metallic injections can bring about.
The Sony SA-5k which also has bio-cellulose diaphragms put even the TWFKs to shame in my view by having excellent texture and stunning bass quality but also speed, accuracy and detail. I will trade the Dunu's for a GR07 or something else.
 
Anyway no more investments for me on audio-gear! I bought this instead

 

 

[getclikinagas]

  Thanks, this was helpful. In any case I'm not really concerned for the price as I'll be getting one as gift : )  It'll be my first DAP and I haven't heard to any DAP before except iPod Nano 6th Gen. 
The questionnaire that you've posted in the later part was really helpful and now I'm confident that X2 will fill in as a great device in my inventory.

Glad I could help/
 
Here's what H20fidelity had to say on Fiio X1 vs xDuoo X2

Quote:

I was comparing X2 to X1 last night, the instrument separation and mid-range coherency was apparent over X1, the FiiO sounds rather confused whereas instruments roll off the tongue with X2. But in saying this, X1 probably took the lead in detail, take vocals for example, hearing deeper into Norah Jone's voice.
 
X2 does enough, and some more. 

---

Tried driving 100ohm ER4S tonight, the little guy can do it but not to the degree my JDS C421 amp can. The Etymotic is probably a true test to any DAPs internal amp section, whilst they definitely went more than loud enough or louder than my listening level at 35/40, they were lacking dynamics and authority, but rest assured the little XDuoo gave it everything he had!  GR07 MK2 on the otherhand as I've lightly spoken about are driven by this little thing like a true champion, also a very good pairing. This little champ of a player will make you proud, its really that much fun and taken my FiiO X1's former spot as "the coolest little DAP that ever was"

and twister6
 

In comparison to FiiO X1, xDuoo X2 is warmer and has less sparkle in treble.  Overall staging is wide.  I only had 5min to play with it before the work, and tried it quickly with Titan 1 - it's a match made in heaven for bright headphones.  So definitely would be great for Titan 1 or A83 or any other bright or analytical IEMs.  But for something warm like DuoZA or A71 or CKR10 - might not be a good idea, though I still have to test it out.

 
Skim the xDuoo thread. I'm sure there will be more head-to head comparisons. Or shoot H20fidelity a PM (he's really helpful)

 

[vaibhavp]

  Thanks, this was helpful. In any case I'm not really concerned for the price as I'll be getting one as gift : )  It'll be my first DAP and I haven't heard to any DAP before except iPod Nano 6th Gen. 
The questionnaire that you've posted in the later part was really helpful and now I'm confident that X2 will fill in as a great device in my inventory.

if you are getting it as a gift then i think you should start backward from say x5.
 
x5? no
 
x3? err... pls... ok.
 
i think you can get maybe x3 that way
 
also if x2 and x1 are final choices, go for x1 for versitility. you can use it with external amp as well.

 

[suman134]

   
I think the Dunu's resolve stunningly due to the Titanium injected diaphragms. Micro-detailing is very much like BA's though not as apparent.
 

  Yup, its notes are sharp like BA drivers and details is really good, but it sounds slightly metallic and mids are drowned, these are the only drawbacks i can see, if you ignore it, its splendid , but i cant see through it being V shaped. You can lookout for Trades like that if possible.

 

[wrathzombie]

So guys, I have a strange problem. Over the ears, I have had many IEMS/Headphones. If I have to rate the top three Headphones that I have had it would be
 
- HD 25 1-II
- MDR Z1000
- MDR V6
 
If I am talking about IEMs
 
- RE-262
- Custom Reshelled Sony XBA-3
- Brainwavz M2 OR VSD 1S
 
I prefer, IEMs more because I get a chance to listen to music while I am on move through my phone or DAP. I have purchased a lot of cheap IEMs recently, which are definitely good for the price but don't give me that WOW factor which I think I last felt when I bought the RE-262 two-three years back.
 
Does this mean, I am slowly slipping away from the Audiophilia. What kind of suggestions do you guys have for me? 

 
 
Also, what is the upgrade over RE-262?

 

[ShreyasMax]

So guys, I have a strange problem. Over the ears, I have had many IEMS/Headphones.

Haha, the pun is simply brilliant.

 

[EISENbricher]

 
if you are getting it as a gift then i think you should start backward from say x5.
 
x5? no
 
x3? err... pls... ok.
 
i think you can get maybe x3 that way
 
also if x2 and x1 are final choices, go for x1 for versitility. you can use it with external amp as well.

Well of course because it's a gift I'm not getting to chose which one to opt for  : D
I really want Fiio X3 II, but well.... I could get that at some point later. I've only heard good things about that DAP.
 

  Glad I could help/
 
Here's what H20fidelity had to say on Fiio X1 vs xDuoo X2

Quote:
and twister6
 
 
Skim the xDuoo thread. I'm sure there will be more head-to head comparisons. Or shoot H20fidelity a PM (he's really helpful)

Guess what, I just did that. Completed reading through entire thread and I'm happy to know things about this little DAP. 
Thanks for your help (again)  : )