Five years ago it seemed that portable music players - a kind of exclusively dying out, they will be replaced by smartphones. But the success of a number of well-known manufacturers of high-end devices showed that in fact there are users who are ready to pay money for high-quality sound. Many Chinese companies rushed to the "rediscovered" segment of the market, including ONN, the authors of the hero of today's review - the player X5.
In general, at the moment, there are two trends in the market of music lovers, which can be roughly called "on DACs" and "on codecs". Actually, the difference is quite obvious. Players of the first direction use specialized microcircuits for converting a signal from a digital form to an analog one. This gives a better sound, but has a negative effect on battery life. In the second case, developers use energy-efficient sound chips, developed primarily for use in various mobile devices. This results in a worse sound, but allows you to make the device more energy efficient. It is worth mentioning that with the development of technologies the difference between these two devices is likely to decrease.
It is the second type of ON ON X5. It uses the ARM Cortex-M3 processor and an integrated codec, which allows you to pack everything in a very compact and slim body.
The market has already formed a "standard" price for players on codecs, the two most popular representatives of the segment in the face of xDuoo X2 and Fiio M3 are from $ 50 to $ 60. ONN X5 is slightly more expensive, in Ukraine (the price at the time of the release of the review). Is the player worth the price?
Specifications
- SoC: Dual ARM Cortex-M3
- Screen: 2.0 inch TFT, 176 × 220
- Recommended headphone impedance: 16Ω - 55Ω
- Output level: 1V
- Output Impedance: <2Ω
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- Distortion + noise: <0.04% @ 1 kHz
- Channel separation: > 64 dB
- Output Power: > 32 mW @ 32Ω
- Signal to noise ratio: > 100 dB
- Battery: 600 mAh
- Operating time from one charge: ~ 9 hours
- Support for lossless formats: APE (24/96), FLAC (24/192), ALAC (24/192), WAV (32/192)
- Support for lossy formats: WMA, OGG, MP3
- Built-in Memory: 8 GB
- External Memory: MicroSD
- Radio: FM, 87 MHz - 108 MHz
Packing and delivery kit
The box is neat and looks good. Thick black cardboard, restrained printing, everything "as expected." Inside, except for the player and various papers to it, you will find a white MicroUSB-cable and a nice cover-pocket of beige material, simulating corduroy.
This pocket, by the way, is quite convenient, you can listen to the player right there, removing it only for manipulating the control buttons. In turn, this case will protect the player from falls, scratches and rubs.
Design and management
The ONN X5 looks good, the slim body is made of dark gray or silver aluminum, the build quality is very decent, especially considering the price. Even the standard scourge of the Chinese budget segment, shuffling from the shaking of the button, has bypassed the X5 side.
The main controls are located on the front panel, they include 5 buttons in two rows and a screen. The latter is very mediocre, the sun is blinding, and the resolution is much like that of old budget mobile phones. Buttons are quite pleasantly pressed and have a good move.
On the bottom side there is a MicroUSB connector, a headphone jack, a hard reset hole and a power switch. Especially funny is that the power switches of this player are two. The one that is below is the "main" one, if you turn it off, the player will not turn on in any way, but even if you switch it to the "On" state, the player can be turned on and off with a long press on the upper right button. I do not know why this was done, hang on the lower switch the hold function would be much more logical and convenient. On the right side there is a memory card slot.
But the menu of the player, as they say, "something with something." In general, the ONN X5 is implemented a lot: it supports most formats, even high-resolution, there is a sleep timer, an equalizer and a bunch of other functions - but it's all rolled into absolutely unpredictable places, so you have to get used to its management, and even more than one day . The buttons randomly change their purpose on different screens, in general, this is the most illogical firmware of all that I saw. It's quite possible to get used to it, but at first it is perceived as WTF.
A pleasant bonus for many in this player is the availability of FM-radio. I tried it, it even catches some stations, but since I'm not a big fan of radio air, I did not stop especially on this function. Also in the player there is a sound recording function, but it is promised to be removed in the future, guided by the Leninist principle "less is better".
The time I worked on FLAC files was 8 hours and 35 minutes with the Trinity Audio Techne headphones.
Sound
To listen to the player, the following headphones were used.
- Oppo PM-3
- Dunu DN-2000J, Titan 1, Titan 3 and Titan 5
- Lear LHF-AE1d
- Ambient Acoustics AM10
- VE Monk and Asura 2.0
- Complete
As I wrote above, this player is built on the simplest elementary base, so you can not expect much audiophile sound from it. In X5 traditionally for players without a dedicated DAC poorly worked out plans, the music does not sound very large, and distant instruments "crawl" on the near. Also, it does not shine with ultra-high resolution and micro-compliance. The player would not stand out against the background of unknown brothers, if not for one thing: a fairly strong and smooth pitch without any particular distortions. Better not the most detailed sound, but without failures on the high frequency or there is a bloated bass. In addition, in my opinion, this software uses some kind of software sound processing, accentuating the bass and the lower middle.
LF in this player is surprisingly drayvovye and elastic. They lack permission and barkiness in comparison with more expensive models, but they are more than offset by energy. In general, the feed is well suited for those genres in which the power of low frequencies is important: electronic music, pop, light rock. Jazz sounds good too, the bass creates a pleasant background, adding a bit of artificial bodilyity to the music.
The middle frequencies are normal. If you do not carp, they have enough permission for most styles, the player copes with the transfer of emotions and the construction of an imaginary scene in width. Depth, as I wrote above, is very small, but this is a common problem for such devices.
The upper frequencies are surprisingly neat. They are airy and present in normal amounts, but at the same time they do not climb to the fore and do not cut the ear. I would describe the HF of this player as balanced.
In general, X5 is not an audiophile solution, but it sounds exciting enough, especially on simple genres.
Compatibility
32 milliwatts of output power, of course, leaves the player with little chance of working with full-size headphones (except for the most sensitive ones), with most of the liner models and in-channels it copes without problems. I would not recommend using an armature with it, since it emphasizes the simplicity of the player's sound, while the dynamic headphones on the contrary smooth it.
The genre player gravitates to simple styles like pop music, rap and electronic genres. Also easy "go" and easy jazz with a simple rock. To the quality of recording the player is tolerant, on a 10-point scale I would rate it by 4 points.
Traditionally a few good examples tracks.
Michael Jackson - Thriller. Well-recorded pop music (and Jackson did not have another one) is exactly what this player needs. Clean MF will give the basic nuances of the composition, and an energetic bass will make you shake your head in time
Juno Reactor - Zombie. Of course, for Juno Reactor I would like a little more resolution, but the bass, especially in the well-chosen headphones, makes forget about the cavils and plunge into the melody.
Vangelis - Conquest of Paradise. A bit unexpected, but on this track ONN X5 managed to make a funny trick. He gave out a fascinating sound that even blocked his technical imperfection. That unique case, when emotionality took precedence over technology.
conclusions
If ONN had slightly added the firmware and lowered the price, the player would have had all the chances for popular popularity and mass character, now this player is a good option for lovers of smooth filing with slightly accented low frequencies, wishing to get a compact device.
The article is based on materials .
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