xDuoo X2 - small lossless player with microSD and OLED!

[archy121]

* subscribed

 

[fredhubbard2]

Hi all, long time lurker here.

I am really tempted to fork out for this little player although would like to prepare myself...

I listen to mp3s and my music is organised alpha by artist then albums . I hardly ever listen to my music on shuffle . Earlier in the thread it's mentioned that it scrambles the logical order of music libraries. Will I need a drive sort program to reorganise my tunes for the xduoox2 or did a firmware update sort this?

 

[castleofargh]

joining the group a little late, one of my clip+ is on its last leg, so one day I felt like a fearless adventurer, went and bought the X2 online. I had sworn to myself that I would never again buy any Chinese DAP apart from FIIO stuff.
but who knows, maybe mercury was aligned with venus, maybe I was drunk, maybe I just felt like the yellow and blue text couldn't possibly be on a bad DAP(sansa clip+ forever!!!!!!!!!), it made me hope(don't try hope, it never works!) and I bought one.
 
I didn't try any objective comparison or testing yet, only a little more than a week using it for maybe 20hours, but clearly I will do a review. because it's a special little guy. annoying as hell, but special still.
the impedance is low, the output doesn't seem to show any kind of weakness. it's almost puzzling in fact for such a little toy. it's the kid of a clip and a X1 for sound, power, impedance, size. means a lot in my book.
 
 
still a little whine, else it isn't me ^_^:
what to say? it's all I expected. good clean sound, and the UI makes me scream.
 
the mirror like screen is the dumbest thing I've seen since the 22ohm ak100 and the ck4 with the big ass non tactile screen. "hey let's make a small dap so people will carry it everywhere, and then let's make it impossible to read the screen outside!".  oh well, if I have something in my eye, then I can look it up into the DAP, that's something...
 
the blue and yellow text feels like home(sansa), but I guess there is a consensus here, plz rockbox guys plz, if you can do anything to save this baby, I beg you to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chinese people have taken over the world, but obviously making cool UI isn't a required skill to rule the planet.
 
 I certainly didn't expect to have to remove so much tags for the files to stop stuttering or refuse to play/not show up. well I guess in a way it's easier to solve problems than with FIIO, here you can just go judge dredd on all tags and be done with it, as only folder browsing is available anyway. 
  it really doesn't work for my use, I tend to pair µSD cards with a specific IEM, not with a specific DAP(EQ+DSP encoded in the tracks). but for those who do stick a µSD to a DAP and never use it anywhere else, it's really not a problem in practice.
 
my real grip ATM is that I can only use it with the  low sensitivity IEMs I own. the lower volume 1/40 is a little loud for many of my IEMs(hf5, IE80..). I would need the minimum loudness to be around 10db lower(half as loud) to enjoy using them in a relatively quiet place. it's a major problem for a guy like me who really like to listen to music at low volumes. the rest TBH is comfort and can be worked around just fine, it's a nice DAP and it delivers more sound quality than what it costs for sure. but people with very sensitive IEMs who don't listen loud, just don't get that DAP.
 
 
don't know if it was already posted, but there is an excellent review from the headphoniaks guys(if that blog was a girl, I'd ask her to marry me). http://headphoniaks.com/blog/xduoo-x2-reproductor-sansa-clip-killer/ 
in Spanish, so some may need to google translate, or just look at the specs, it's still very very meaningful.
 
thanks to @getclikinagas for his little grouping of information, thanks for the feedbacks so far, and to the OP for keeping a nice first post with good stuff. I found out for the flac tags on my own pretty fast, but I'm very sure most people with less experience of annoying DAPs would have concluded the DAP was broken or something. 

 

[fredhubbard2]

^ ...so is the tag removal purely for flac or does that apply to mp3 files aswell? , and in removing tags does this mess up files if i want to use an sdcard in one of my other players ?
 
cheers,

 

[castleofargh]

Hi all, long time lurker here.

I am really tempted to fork out for this little player although would like to prepare myself...

I listen to mp3s and my music is organized alpha by artist then albums . I hardly ever listen to my music on shuffle . Earlier in the thread it's mentioned that it scrambles the logical order of music libraries. Will I need a drive sort program to reorganize my tunes for the xduoox2 or did a firmware update sort this?

didn't look too much into it yet, but it seems to simply sort stuff by the order it was uploaded or something like that. I'll look at a way to deal with this while removing all tags(should be ok with only folder and song name).
for mp3 and keeping minimum tags, I have a µSD sorted properly both for folders and songs, it's one of the cards I use usually in my fiio X1. I explain how I created it in a spoiler thingy in that review of the X1 http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-x1-ultraportable-hi-res-dap/reviews/12876# using mp3tag.
 
 

  ^ ...so is the tag removal purely for flac or does that apply to mp3 files aswell? , and in removing tags does this mess up files if i want to use an sdcard in one of my other players ?
 
cheers,

I've had a few troubles with MP3 too, but a lot less and I do have some TAGs I made myself to rank songs in foobar that I don't always think to remove on DAPs. I will test all those stuff in the next 2 or 3 weeks. I always start with casual listening first. 
 
if you remove all tags, you end up with the file name as only name or reference. so unless you love browsing by folder(I'm one of those), for everything else, it will effectively make a mess on most DAPs.

 

[batteraziiz]

Nice... For now I couldn't find any. I'll let you know as soon as I find one.

Are you okay with AliExpress? Just confirming.

Sure, why not. As long as there is some sort of express shipping option. I'm impatient.

 

[fredhubbard2]

didn't look too much into it yet, but it seems to simply sort stuff by the order it was uploaded or something like that. I'll look at a way to deal with this while removing all tags(should be ok with only folder and song name).
for mp3 and keeping minimum tags, I have a µSD sorted properly both for folders and songs, it's one of the cards I use usually in my fiio X1. I explain how I created it in a spoiler thingy in that review of the X1 http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-x1-ultraportable-hi-res-dap/reviews/12876# using mp3tag.
 
 

I've had a few troubles with MP3 too, but a lot less and I do have some TAGs I made myself to rank songs in foobar that I don't always think to remove on DAPs. I will test all those stuff in the next 2 or 3 weeks. I always start with casual listening first. 
 
if you remove all tags, you end up with the file name as only name or reference. so unless you love browsing by folder(I'm one of those), for everything else, it will effectively make a mess on most DAPs.

 


hi

thanks for your replies, so if i shove one of my cards from one of my sansa's into it, it wont display all the artists/ albums in alphabetical order as i have them arranged. so i will need to drive sort them :-/

 

[castleofargh]

hi

thanks for your replies, so if i shove one of my cards from one of my sansa's into it, it wont display all the artists/ albums in alphabetical order as i have them arranged. so i will need to drive sort them :-/

as said, I didn't do any real test, I didn't even add any music, I just tried a few µSD cards I had already loaded for other DAPs. what I wrote is at best "newbies intuition" so don't put too much faith in it.
others who had the DAP longer are probably better placed to talk about it right now.

 

[redfx]

I use FAT Sorter, he sorts files A-Z on the card

 

[getclikinagas]

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

joining the group a little late, one of my clip+ is on its last leg, so one day I felt like a fearless adventurer, went and bought the X2 online. I had sworn to myself that I would never again buy any Chinese DAP apart from FIIO stuff.
but who knows, maybe mercury was aligned with venus, maybe I was drunk, maybe I just felt like the yellow and blue text couldn't possibly be on a bad DAP(sansa clip+ forever!!!!!!!!!), it made me hope(don't try hope, it never works!) and I bought one.
 
I didn't try any objective comparison or testing yet, only a little more than a week using it for maybe 20hours, but clearly I will do a review. because it's a special little guy. annoying as hell, but special still.
the impedance is low, the output doesn't seem to show any kind of weakness. it's almost puzzling in fact for such a little toy. it's the kid of a clip and a X1 for sound, power, impedance, size. means a lot in my book.
 
 
still a little whine, else it isn't me ^_^:
what to say? it's all I expected. good clean sound, and the UI makes me scream.
 
the mirror like screen is the dumbest thing I've seen since the 22ohm ak100 and the ck4 with the big ass non tactile screen. "hey let's make a small dap so people will carry it everywhere, and then let's make it impossible to read the screen outside!".  oh well, if I have something in my eye, then I can look it up into the DAP, that's something...
 
the blue and yellow text feels like home(sansa), but I guess there is a consensus here, plz rockbox guys plz, if you can do anything to save this baby, I beg you to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chinese people have taken over the world, but obviously making cool UI isn't a required skill to rule the planet.
 
 I certainly didn't expect to have to remove so much tags for the files to stop stuttering or refuse to play/not show up. well I guess in a way it's easier to solve problems than with FIIO, here you can just go judge dredd on all tags and be done with it, as only folder browsing is available anyway. 
  it really doesn't work for my use, I tend to pair µSD cards with a specific IEM, not with a specific DAP(EQ+DSP encoded in the tracks). but for those who do stick a µSD to a DAP and never use it anywhere else, it's really not a problem in practice.
 
my real grip ATM is that I can only use it with the  low sensitivity IEMs I own. the lower volume 1/40 is a little loud for many of my IEMs(hf5, IE80..). I would need the minimum loudness to be around 10db lower(half as loud) to enjoy using them in a relatively quiet place. it's a major problem for a guy like me who really like to listen to music at low volumes. the rest TBH is comfort and can be worked around just fine, it's a nice DAP and it delivers more sound quality than what it costs for sure. but people with very sensitive IEMs who don't listen loud, just don't get that DAP.
 
 
don't know if it was already posted, but there is an excellent review from the headphoniaks guys(if that blog was a girl, I'd ask her to marry me). http://headphoniaks.com/blog/xduoo-x2-reproductor-sansa-clip-killer/ 
in Spanish, so some may need to google translate, or just look at the specs, it's still very very meaningful.
 
thanks to @getclikinagas for his little grouping of information, thanks for the feedbacks so far, and to the OP for keeping a nice first post with good stuff. I found out for the flac tags on my own pretty fast, but I'm very sure most people with less experience of annoying DAPs would have concluded the DAP was broken or something. 

Rockbox on this gem would be superb.
 
Sadly

.....
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,50788.msg234593.html#msg234593
 

'51 is 8bit processor. Decoding is handled by dedicated audio and video engine. The ram is tiny as well. So to short things the rb port is not possible for this platform.

_________________
 
I'm a little baffled by your listening volumes. I do not own the IEMs you've mentioned, but I do own the OSTRY KC06 which is very sensitive. My listening volume with the KC06 was around 12-13/40.
Just for a common reference, what is your normal IEM listening volume on your Clip+ w Rockbox. I usually hover around -27dB for an IEM like the RE400 (32  OHM+/- 3.2; 102dB/1mW; 30mW max)
I do see you are talking about "low volumes" and not normal volumes. Just trying to get a grip on how low you go relative to your normal listening volume.
________________
Looking forward to your review

 

[DJScope]

I've noticed the X2 catalogues the folders by date copied to SD card, so the latest ones will be shown on the bottom. But the files are in alphabetical order (I think).

 

[H20Fidelity]

  I've noticed the X2 catalogues the folders by date copied to SD card, so the latest ones will be shown on the bottom. But the files are in alphabetical order (I think).

 
There's a way around that. 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/748909/xduoo-x2-small-lossless-player-with-microsd-and-oled/285#post_11269874

 

[fredhubbard2]

^ 
Thankyou, yes noticed that page on a google for 'drive sort' . perfect.
 
half of me thinks this is too much messing around, the other half likes a challenge, maybe ive gone soft all these years with my rockboxed Clips!
 
i think i'll take the plunge. Has anyone tried a screen protecter to see if it lessens the mirror effect in daylight??

 

[DJScope]

   
There's a way around that. 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/748909/xduoo-x2-small-lossless-player-with-microsd-and-oled/285#post_11269874

 
It doesn't bother me. Im happy with what it is. I use Foobar 2k to convert all the files to "/<artist>/<album>/<track number> - <track name>" works a treat.

 

[castleofargh]

   
Rockbox on this gem would be superb.
 
Sadly

.....
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,50788.msg234593.html#msg234593
 

'51 is 8bit processor. Decoding is handled by dedicated audio and video engine. The ram is tiny as well. So to short things the rb port is not possible for this platform.

_________________
 
I'm a little baffled by your listening volumes. I do not own the IEMs you've mentioned, but I do own the OSTRY KC06 which is very sensitive. My listening volume with the KC06 was around 12-13/40.
Just for a common reference, what is your normal IEM listening volume on your Clip+ w Rockbox. I usually hover around -27dB for an IEM like the RE400 (32  OHM+/- 3.2; 102dB/1mW; 30mW max)
I do see you are talking about "low volumes" and not normal volumes. Just trying to get a grip on how low you go relative to your normal listening volume.
________________
Looking forward to your review

ok so no rockbox better know right now. thank you for the info.
 
tried a few random stuff, I'm around -66/-68 on the clip+ RBed when listening in a calm room with a hf5, but the files have replay gain so IDK how valuable that information is. when I'm not lazy and it's raining outside, I'll check the voltages on both. and obviously to walk on the street it's the loudness is ok.
in spec we trust, the hf5 would be almost 4db more sensitive than the re400. the IE80 is a little more than 5db more sensitive than the re400(but that's @1khz and that guy is madly V shaped).
still the RE400 should be a close enough comparison +5db.
 
but I'm one of those guys who will start listening to music or watching a movie at calm but very usual volume level(meaning other people may not find it loud enough, but they can still follow just fine) and as time passes, I feel the need to go down little by little. after a few hours I usually reach the point where the volume control can't go lower, or my own body noises are louder and annoy me ^_^.
I bought my first amp exactly for that reason, I wanted to be able to get the volume lower with my samsung YP-P3 (didn't know about line out and stuff like that at the time). I had just bought the jh13 and they just were too loud compared to the Q-jays I had before that.
but clearly that's me, I don't want to scare normal people from earth ^_^.
 
it's just that I already have the sony A15 for not to sensitive IEMs(else the hiss and impedance start having fun), the X1 is good for hissing, but it's the biggest DAP I own, to me DAPs must be small and light, else I would just go with my amp. so I'm looking for small light stuff.
the sansas are great, but the buffering noise is annoying on really sensitive IEMs.
TBH after listening to the X2 and then reading the specs on headphoniaks, I started to imagine myself with a pair of se846 for universal and my jh13 for custom, plugged to that guy and making a great audio system that takes no place at all. but the se846 is 114db@1mw(not sure about jh13 old version, but even more sensitive). so in the ballpark of 15db louder than stuff I already find just a tad too loud sometimes

.
 
oh well first world problems, I will use that little guy with the mk5 or some of my cheap sony stuff and it will be great. I just had too many expectations.
 
 
 
 
 
 
for everybody else posting above, nice to see there are a bunch of simple solutions to sort the files.