Today we have an intriguing introduction: with a portable player from the esteemed Chinese firm Fiio Electronics Technology. Let me remind you, that the company was founded on April 26, 2007. For the first few years, Fiio produced portable headphone amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters. But after three years the company has decided to get out of this vicious circle. In 2010, the development of the first portable player X3 began. The project, however, progressed in strange zigzags, it was frozen more than once, but revived as many times. And so in 2013, the X3 release came to the nation, leading Fiio engineers to immediately realize they needed to take on the flagship X5. This time from side to side did not wobble. Pretty soon, in early 2014, the rest of the world saw the hero of our review – Fiio X5 audio player.
Thanks to Mycroft and Roman Zaitsev personally for providing the equipment for testing.
Fiio X5 audio player.
Appearance and Package
The device came to me in a red and black box, made of thin cardboard with a photo X5. Inside there is a box box, also made of black cardboard, player in a silicone case, two protective film on the screen, Micro USB cable to connect to a PC and power adapter, coaxial adapter, USB-OTG cable, manual, cards and MicroSD card reader. Packaged, in short, not bad.
The player is large and weighty, yet quite slim. The build quality is very good. No backlashes and gaps, all clear, solid and reliable, but a little rough for my taste.
Controls I did not like. It seems to be nothing complicated, but even understandable it can not be called. In my opinion, it is not very convenient to rotate the wheel a la iPod Classic . Spin is a little unpredictable, you’d better have a good hand to stop the “chinese roulette” on the necessary element.
The key actions around this either roulette or “Ferris wheel” are even more ridiculous. In the first hour of getting to know the machine, I did not understand how it worked at all? Over time, of course, you can get used to everything, but why make things so complicated?
In general, the intuitive enlightenment and even logic in the control is completely absent. Alright, enough picky stuff, let’s get down to business.
There is a screen on the front panel of the player, under it are the control elements: the above mentioned “wheel” and the control keys, located on both sides, crosswise.
From what I understand in terms of operation: The left top button is responsible for entering the context menu, the right top button is responsible for leaving the menu. Lower keys move forward backward search, switch and rewind the tracks. A button in the middle of the wheel acknowledges your intentions and starts the recording.
The menu looks very nice. Nice colors, large screen, artist cover icons, all pleasing to the eye before pleasing to the ear.
On the left side of the X5, there are keys for volume control. On top are 3.5mm headphone jacks, line out, coaxial, a hole for an emergency reset and on off button player. On the bottom, on the edges there are two compartments for memory cards and between them there is a socket for a Micro USB cable.
The sound
This is the most interesting part of the review. The following headphones were used for listening: Etymotic ER-4p, Westone UM3X, MyST Nail 2, Beyerdynamic dt-250 250 ohms .
The sound was closer to neutral. I would call the tonal balance of the Fiio X5 as fairly flat. There is depth and good detail drawing. Sounds not boring, close to the analog and disposes to a long-lasting listening to the music material.
The virtual scene is well lined in both depth and width.
High frequencies are not obtrusive, do not hurt your ears, there is not much, not little, just as much as you need. The only downside here is that the treble is a little crumbly and simplistic, but not critical.
Middle frequencies. In this range, in my opinion, especially there is nothing to complain about. Each instrument is well-drawn in space, no obvious distortions in this area. No mush, instruments do not clump on top of each other. Material is delivered in one piece, but at the same time with good detail.
Bass. In principle, not bad. But not without flaws. The percussion is a little soft, no definition in the lower range. Bass slows down a little, it also lacks clarity and speed. But there’s no hum or buzz, either. In general, not bad, but it could be better.
Outputs
In terms of sound, despite the publicized criticism, the device came out quite successful. We also dabbled in flaws, but … if you really pick on them, you can always and everywhere, especially if you sit in ambush. Guy-robbers and do so on the road … However, your ideal can look for a lifetime, but it will not find. You have to learn to appreciate what is actually good and what you have here and now..
I would like to detach the control from the entertaining feminine logic and make the navigation normal and logical in our own way, in audiophile style. I want to intuitively and immediately understand why I press the buttons and spin the wheel.
Some people may even find the “Chinese roulette” in the form of “Ferris wheel” cool and quite convenient, but it didn’t work out so well with me, I’m such a stoic..
Otherwise I liked the player, in some places even very much. At the time of this review, the price in online stores was in the range of 16-17 thousand Dollars. And that’s at today’s dollar exchange rate. The price tag is almost charitable…
Sound quality, two slots for memory cards, quality screen, long battery life, carrying case, support for most modern formats, relatively low price. Possibility of using the player as a DAC, transport.
Size, very uncomfortable controls.
Device specifications:
The device is based on a DAC
PCM1792 chip from the company
Texas Instruments
.
Amplifier part
at
4xOPA1612 and 2xLMH6643
Screen:
2.4′, IPS, 260K colors, 400 x 360
Material
aluminum
Color
: black
The battery
: 3700 mA/h
Charging time
: 5 hours
Battery life : one charge
: 11-12 hours
Support for memory cards 2 slots
: Micro SD, up to 64GB
Input
Micro USB for synchronization with PC and charger connection.
Outputs
: 3.5mm headphone, line and coaxial s/pdif
Supported formats
: DSD, APE, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3
Weight
195 grams
Size
: 114/ 67,6/ 15,6 mm
Is the Fiio X5 audio player worth the gamble, considering its Chinese origin? And does it truly deliver on sound quality, as the review claims?