Fiio X1 Portable High Resolution Lossless Music Player
I have had the same MP3 player for ten years and thought it was about time for an upgrade. With some research done I found that Apple seem to have abandoned this area. Thankfully this is a good thing as the products they make tend to be pretty poor quality in the music side, cheap components etc. I own a Creative MP3 (yes 10 whole years and still going) and got it after returning an I Pod that I found the sound quality to be shocking. So with the biggest name not there the competition can shine.
With the music business now directed at downloads I still do not buy MP3s I prefer to get the album on CD and get the Flac file of the album. Or if I am lucky the HD version of the album. I have also got may MP3s and many other file types. So I want a player that can pretty much play that and all the other files. Seems there is a great HD player market and I decided on the Fiio X1. A few reasons as it was a great price at £90 but also it has had great reviews from industry. But are they just all reviewing for a nice brown envelope and free tickets? Lets see.
Getting the box I was shocked at the packaging size it really is so small, to the point it went through the letter box. Opening and getting into it is easy. Simple packaging is something I like and for anyone with health problems within the hand area this is easy. USB cable is provided for charing, handy is that the charging is the micro kind on a mobile phone at 5V so I have not even used it as I have so may of them. The build quality is nice, sturdy with a metal feel. Now I say feel as some report it has a metal front, it is not metal but it does look good. A nice dial in the middle with a button like an I pod. And four buttons around it for controlling the device. Volume and power on the side of the unit complete the controls.
You really can't get easier than putting in the memory card and attaching to the USB. Again I have one for my phone all set up so so handy. Downloading some music is simple click n drag. No software or i tunes syncing needed. You could use media players to scan and sync but as I have 400GB of music I will do all this manual on my 128GB card. The downloads do take a while as it is USB 2.0 but for £90 I was expecting this.
I have downloaded a mixture of HD music and MP3 at 320kb. I will test by using HD and MP3 on the X1 and also my old faithful Creative player as a comparison.
First album
Metallica, Metallica
HD 96/24 resolution.
A great sounding HD download of this bands classic album. It is a great album for testing equipment on as the dynamics in the music is ideal due to the tempo and sound on the album. First up is the new X1 player. I am shocked at the loudness and turn the player down. There are settings to have it remember a volume upon switching on and also a max volume. I then get to a more comfortable level. Wow it sounds so good and I feel the loudness is simply the extra sound there. The drums sound amazing so snappy, same with the cymbals as if you can hear the studio sound as well with a very slight echo. Guitars again are way bigger, you can feel the buzzing for the string in comparison to the normal ring feel. The start of Sad But True makes me even go wow. It really does sound so much better, it is like a new album. Presenting new dynamics to me. The thought put into the riffs that even after playing melt into the drums is stunning. Never ever heard that before. The bit in the Unforgiven when the band comes in and the bass guitar and electric guitar riff with the drums is new to me like this. Feels more like a performance now.
Same album now with Creative Vision Zen M, MP3 player. MP3 @ 320Kb/s
Switching over to MP3 and instant I am disappointed. The feel is dire, the music really sounds so flat and uninspired. Enter Sandman is a great track but the guitar sound is like it was recorded from a radio onto cassette in comparison. Listening to The Unforgiven it lacks that punch and the mix seems to miss out all that energy from the band riffing.
Same album back to X1 but MP3 @ 320Kb/s
Now there is a big difference in sound quality here, not as much as the HD track but it is way better than the Creative. The guitars sound better as does the rhythm section. The player certainly can improve an MP3 file. It does a sterling job of Sad But True and others follow. If all albums are improved like this the £90 alone is a great spend never mind HD tracks.
Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town
HD 96/24 resolution.
Again it feels loud but it really is all the extra space, as you have never heard the album like this before it is like being in a hotel room next to a busy road then opening the window. You know it is there, you can hear it even see it but when that window opens it all changes. His voice on Racing in the Street is simply sublime. All the music comes across sharper and fuller. Again you can hear any sounds from the studio, I bet people in the industry could tell the equipment used as the sound must be so distinctive.
MP3 @ 320Kb/s on X1 and Creative Vision Zen M
Yeah really not as great as the HD track but the X1 does a great job again with the MP3 tracks. All the songs sound better, cleaner and more solid. You can hear the piano so much better in Racing.. . Going to the Creative there is again a big drop in clarity and feel. Less direct and more of that false feel to the music.
I even had a go on my phone with this album and I think I may never use my phone ever again. For £90 this unit makes all my music sound so much better, just testing two albums even in MP3 it makes the music sound £1000 better. The good quality DAC in the unit is very good. I also had a go with lower bit rate MP3 tracks and again great results.
The unit can also be set to line out so it then can go into an amplifier direct. I also gave this a test and again great results. The machine really is intended for music fans, people who love music they play it every day but I really think the good quality can be heard by others. I am sure in a blind test those who may not be bothered with "sound" would pick this.
TECH INFO:
The headphones used were Sennheizer HD215 on both X1 and Creative. The HiFi set up is a Yamaha AS500 amp, and Eltax Millennium Monitors. Good cables throughout.
