xDuoo X2S

amazon xDuoo X2S reviews

XDuoo is a well-known manufacturer of portable audio equipment in the world audio community. With products ranging from players to DAC/AMP, especially the famous TA light amp series. But today, we will not talk about those Amps anymore but will be on hand with its digital music player model, the xDuoo X2S. This time is the return of the popular cheap music player xDuoo X2 with a new look. That is still a cheap, compact music player with a screen that shows the name of the song, the common 3.5 SE port, and great battery life.

BOXING AND ACCESSORIES

The first is about product packaging; xDuoo still keeps its low-cost DAP model the same packaging style from the past to the present with a hard cardboard box and glossy plastic wrap outside. The top side is printed with the product image, emphasizing the words “DSD” printed in the lower right corner of the box. The back includes the basic parameters and Serial Number.

xDuoo X2S comes in a simple box, xDuoo X2S music player, USB-C charging cable, manual, and warranty card from xDuoo. With a cheap music player like the X2S, it is understandable to have a few accessories, but this is also a good point when I hope the most valuable part will be in the music player.

DESIGN AND FINISHING

The design of the X2S compared to the X2 has some significant changes but still retains the same old shape as compact, fits in the palm, and is easy to put in a pocket when moving or for wearing to exercise. X2S weighs only 50g, with an aluminum alloy shell, 0.96 inch OLED display screen, smaller than X2’s screen but better display quality.

Regarding the control button design on the xDuoo X2S, it is now quite different from the X2 when it no longer puts all the buttons on the top of the machine but spreads it out, keeping only four buttons on the front: Menu, next track, backtrack, pause/play music), the volume button is moved to the right edge, the power button is separated from a separate button and located on the top edge of the USB-C charging port, the left edge has a memory card slot and reset hole and the last The same is a gold-plated 3.5 jack on the bottom edge.

Some hardware upgrades of X2S compared to X2 can be mentioned, such as memory card slot upgraded to up to 128Gb (compared to 32Gb), decoding chip up to DSD (compared to FLAC 24bit), and charging port/data copy is upgraded to USB-C. USB-C port only has the function of charging and copying music to the device, cannot be used to output the USB DAC Dongle, but this is also reasonable when the main purpose of the X2S is a Hi-Fi music player compact and should be kept that way.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

The user interface of X2S is still similar to X2; I just rearranged the order a bit to make a difference. And most importantly, the interface is extremely user-friendly and easy to use. We can browse songs through pre-made folders, playlists, or favorites.

The menu on xDuoo X2S includes six items:

Playing: The track is being played.

Music: All Songs, Artists, Albums, Genres.

EQ: Now Playing, Rock, Bass, Pop, Jazz, Classical, Soft and Custom (62, 125, 500, 1K, 4K, 6K (-6 -> +6)).

Folder: Browse by folder in the memory card.

Favorites: You can create three favorite folders.

Options: Language (30 languages), create a playlist, repeat mode, screen brightness (0-11), default volume (save according to last shutdown/self-setup), set screen lock button, set sleep mode, auto power-off setting, screen offsetting, device information (Firmware and free space), reformat the device, auto-update and reset the device to factory default.

With buttons to adjust the menu, the buttons on this music player respond quickly, accurately, with almost no delay when used. The volume of the X2S has been reduced from 40 steps to 32 steps (0-31) compared to the X2. There should be at least 100 volume up/down steps to split the output power with a Hi-Fi player. With the X2S, when there are only 32 volume steps with some highly sensitive IEMs, the difference is that the volume will probably be quite loud when increasing one step, which can partly affect the sound quality.

The memory card slot on the xDuoo X2S has been upgraded to 128Gb. It makes sense that since xDuoo has brought DSD decoding capabilities to the X2S, increasing memory capacity is essential. The memory card scanning process will happen as soon as we plug it in. And one thing you should pay attention to is that reading the memory card for the first time when plugged into the machine will take a long time. With a 128Gb memory card, you should probably consider making a cup of coffee to wait because it can drag up to 20 minutes long.

With the ability to play DSD music, I tested a few DSD64 songs; the machine reads and runs smoothly and does not jerk or stall like some other cheap music players. In addition, the battery life is also a plus point of the old X2 series; now, when the X2S can completely guarantee 10 hours of continuous music playback. I have to test the music to run 8 hours at night at 10/31 volume; it only takes 2/4 of the battery, a pretty impressive result.

where can you get a xDuoo X2S online

Linsoul XDUOO X2S Hi-Res Lossless Portable Compact Music Player with Aluminum Shell, OLED Screen, Up to 128G TF/Micro SD Card: Buy it now

Xduoo X2S Hi-Res Lossless DSD128 PCM 128GB OLED Portable Music Player: Buy it now

Xduoo X2S DSD128 PCM 24Bit/192Khz Hi-Res Lossless 128GB OLED Portable Music Player: Buy it now

SOUND QUALITY COMPARIBLE WITH XDUOO X2

With a compact design and powerful performance, the sound quality of the X2S is also quite impressive. In normal EQ mode without customizing, the sound quality of the X2S is quite easy to hear, with a slight V-shape but not too much mid-range. The sound quality of the X2S, in general, is probably quite pleasant, with a lot of emphasis on bass and treble.

Bass

The bass range is strong, energetic, and quite round; the vibration is moderate and a bit deep, not very clear. Compared to X2, the X2S’s bass hits harder, more volume, but the vibration and speed X2 hits better. But for the cheap segment, this is a bass range that I scored quite well.

Mid

The mid-range is slightly back with slight V-shape sound quality, giving the bass and treble bands the stage to show. There is a lack of detail of the mid-range, with some slight adjustments in the EQ at 1K; the mid-range will somewhat improve its lack. The singer’s voice is a bit warm and dry, not very smooth. Unlike X2S, the mid-range of X2 is somewhat lighter, smoother, but thinner; sometimes, the female singer’s voice will be harsh and not as well controlled as X2S.

Treble

The treble range of the X2S is deliberately emphasized a little more than the X2 creates emphasis. But apart from the X2S’s treble being a bit brighter, the rest of the treble range of these two models is almost the same. With clear treble, jingle, not too harsh, and moderate detail.

The most unfortunate point in both X2 and X2S that has not yet improved is the soundstage. That is also a common minus point of most cheap music players with a good horizontal soundstage, but it has not been improved very well in terms of depth and height.

CONCLUDE

When xDuoo X2 was born, it was then called a new breeze for low-cost music players with good sound quality, a strong line of headphones, and extremely impressive battery life. X2S does the same thing and adds many more outstanding new upgrades. The problem is whether the appearance of low-cost Hi-Fi players like the X2S is a wise investment? The answer depends on the individual. But for me, this is a wise choice for those who want to separate from the smartphone and enjoy high-quality music with the ability to pull quite a lot of mid-range ears that are certainly few smartphones on the market can do. With a compact body, simple user interface, fast response, good sound quality, and extremely long battery life like the X2S, what can we expect from a cheap Hi-Fi player anymore? Certainly, there will be many competing music players in this segment with the X2S; But, to beat the X2S completely, it will be difficult for opponents to do it.