XDUOO X5: A Portable DAP With Utilitarian Take

XDUOO also known as Shenzhen XDUOO Technology Co. Ltd. is a Chinese audio company based on Shenzhen, Guangdong which is known for its global technology hub as it was christened as the “Silicon Valley of China” with its well-established electronics manufacturing, entrepreneurial spirit of start-up companies and a major base of major global tech companies like Huawei and Tencent. XDUOO as an audio company has a strong technical audio professionals with a years of rich experience on producing some audio products like headphone amplifiers, audio players and USB audio decoder devices. They develop some good reputation from the audio community with their reasonably-priced products as they keep innovating with a strong customer service to cater its clientele.

This is my first product of the said company and what I have in my hand is their latest entry-level digital audio player also known as DAP, The XDUOO X5. The X5 has a handy size device with a full touch screen along with some functionalities like wireless connectivity via Bluetooth transmission and expandable memory.

The X5's rectangular chassis is entirely made of a solid aluminium alloy yet light enough to be carried comfortably as it has a good build quality on it. On the left side,  the micro-SD card slot was situated and at the right side, there are three button keys and the one with a red colour is a power button and the other two are volume key buttons used to adjust the volume level output. And those buttons also have other functionalities like basic media playback control. The micro-SD card slot can support large capacity memory cards up to 1 terabyte which theoretically can store up to 35,000-40,000 of FLAC files depending on bit rate and sampling rate.

Beneath its bottom part, there we can find the audio interfaces consisting of a dual headphone jack with different outputs, a line out and the USB Type-C port. And on other features, like all modern DAPs, this one can serve as a portable decoding DAC/Amplifier that can be used on PCs, laptops and smartphones as long as it supports USB Audio via its USB type-C input.

The screen type of this device is an IPS HD LCD display panel one and it has a 3.5 inch size with a resolution of  480 x 800 pixel which is rather sharp enough in my opinion but definitely not the best in terms of sharpness and contrast from other modern HD screen panels. The screen supports a multi-touch function in which we simply press and scroll on its UI.

Speaking of its UI display element, it takes 10 seconds to boot up and its UI layout is rather minimalistic and rudimentary as it reminds of an UI format of a certain Chinese phone with a resistive touchscreen from two decades ago. And to be honest, its overall user experience is pretty laggy and clunky in my opinion and I hope that there will be a major software update or a firmware to fix those issues and to improve its user interface and make the icons more visually vivid.

On the main menu UI, the upper part displays a volume level icon, a small digital clock, a memory card icon and a battery level status. Under those elements, there’s another digital clock which has a larger font and a date with a year-month-day number and the name of day. And then, there are nine circular app icons in a 3 x 3 layout,and those icons are decently sharp to be viewed upon. If you do a top-down drag gesture, it shows a shortcut UI interface consisting of Music player status, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Brightness and Volume level.

These are the following applications that are featured on its UI:

• Music
• Playing Set
• Equalizer
• Folder
• Favourites
• Search
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• System Set

The Music App Section

On its player UI, some album pictures with big file size won’t display properly but instead, it rather shows a stylised vinyl icon of its stock player.

The Playback Settings

• Play mode - Sequence, Repeat once, Random & Repeat all.
• Breakpoint Play - Close, Track & Position .
• Maximum Volume - Up to 100 volume level steps
• Save The Volume - toggle off/on
• Default Boot Volume
• Equaliser - toggle off/on, if on, Custom, Popular, Sad(?),  Classical, Jazz, Rock, Dance, Metal & Voice.
• Gain - high gain mode & low gain mode.Digital Filters - Fast Roll-off, Slow Roll-off & Minimum Phase.
• Multi-function Key (Lock Screen) - toggle off/on, Play/Pause +, Next -
• Car Mode - toggle off/on
• Update Media Player
• Delete The Current File

Equalizer 

• Custom
• Popular
• Sad(?)
• Classical
• Jazz
• Rock
• Dance
• Metal
• Voice

In the Custom section, it offers 10-band gain control to adjust and somehow compensates any deficiencies on some frequency response of the paired listening gear like headphones, earphones and speakers.

Folder Section

• Update media library
• Song
• Artist
• Album
• Style also known as genres
• CUE
• ISO
• Recents
• Built-in
• TF card

The update media library takes some seconds to scan all files on both internal memory and on the expanded memory. The display of artists is pretty decent on how it organises them  in an alphabetical manner but the songs are displayed in a cluttered and unstructured fashion. Good thing that it can read CUE and ISO files effortlessly and there will be no need to manually split these metadata types of file storage via other third party apps.

Wi-Fi Section

• Wi-Fi - toggle off/on
• Wi-Fi Scan
• Matched Network
• Available Devices

Note: As I tested it on Wi-Fi connectivity, it can only detect a specific band which is 2.4GHz.

Bluetooth Section

• Bluetooth Settings - toggle off/on

System Set section

• Screen Brightness - from 0 to 10 levels of brightness scale.
• Backlight Time - 10s, 30s, 60s, 120s & On.
• Power Off Time - Off, from 1 minute to 8 minutes.
• Sleep Time - Off, 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins, 40 mins, 50 mins, 60 mins, 90 mins & 120 mins.
• Lock Screen Clock -toggle off/on.
• Automatic Update - toggle off/on, Time Setting & Date Setting
• Font Size - Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large & Huge.
• Language Setting - 3 types of Chinese language, Korean, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Russian & Portuguese.
• Wallpaper Settings - 6 wallpapers and a customise option
• System Upgrade
• Product Information
• Restore Default Set - Yes or No
• Format Disk - Yes of No,  Format Internal Storage, Format TF Storage.

On its internals, the XDUOO X5 equips a dual Cirrus Logic DAC, CS43131 and this audio IC is known for its stable performance as it is a low-powered, 2-channel stereo module with a strong output level of 2VRMS that it can drive high impedance headphones effortless with a seamless volume matching and channel mixing for less distortion that delivers a pure, natural and high fidelity sound quality from its proprietary AC impedance headphone amplifier. This DAC is capable of processing audio output signals at optimal level, up to 32-bit/384kHz on PCM and a DSD playback up to DSD256.

Another thing that this device has was its bluetooth connectivity as it uses an older bluetooth chip version of 4.2 but it has a capability to do a two-way transmission as it will be beneficial for its functionality as a bluetooth decoder amplifier and also for its in-car mode use. This bluetooth module supports standard codecs like SBC and AAC and also supports an advanced one like Sony LDAC codec.

This device is also powered by a built-in Li-Po battery with a voltage output of 3.7V and a capacity of 2700mAh. It can do a continuous playback of around 10 hours and a charging time of 3 hours as it does not have a fast charging protocol. It has a good thermal control management that it only warms up a bit on for over an hour of usage.

This device can also do some audio track searching via voice command which is pretty convenient for less finger scrolling. And also, I almost forgot to mention that this device also has 3GB of memory storage that you can store some audio files although its capacity seems to be paltry in my opinion.

The product packaging of this one is rather simple that inside of its packaging box has a meagre amount of contents.

Here are the following content inside of its packaging box:

• XDUOO X5 DAP
• USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable
• User Manual
• Warranty Card

This DAP will be paired on some of the selected IEMs in this testing phase.

• LETSHUOER EJ07
• LETSHUOER EJ09
• LETSHUOER S12 2024
• 7TH ACOUSTICS SUPERNOVA
• PULA AUDIO 112 ANVIL
• SIVGA QUE

In its stock tonal format, It appears the XDUOO X5 has a warmish-neutral sound profile that has a sufficient texture and depth on its overall frequency range response.

LOWS/BASS:

This one is able to deliver a sufficient punch and  tactile bass response even if it was paired on a less bassy or neutrally-tuned set. It somehow adds a bit of mid bass texture and a depth on its sub bass presence that makes it sound a bit more engaging.

The added emphasis on the mid bass selection will enhance the note density on bass-clef instruments like more resonant sound on the bass guitars, a broader and raspier sound on double-basses and a thudding sounds from bass kick drums. It somehow lifts a bit to have that deep resonance on low-octave male vocals like basses and bass-baritones as they sound dusky with a bit darker tone on some sub-bass focused sets but it has an ample punchiness on its tuning.

MIDRANGE:

Due to its warmish-neutral tuning, it adds some tad of warmth presence on the vocals and instruments as it sounds more natural, well-balanced and smooth while retaining some clarity and detail on their respective timbre. That smooth character will add some richness, strength and heft on most male vocal types and also on female vocals like contraltos and mezzo-sopranos, it also adds more substantial, resounding and full sound on brasses and percussion instruments.

On male vocals, a warm and plush sound on baritones while there’s a brassy and rich sound on tenors, and a tender and soft sound on countertenors. As for female vocals, contraltos have rich and smoky sound, mezzo-sopranos have a velvety and emotive sound, and sopranos have a silky and silvery sound on them. When it comes to instruments, on strings ones, a bit buttery and meaty sound on guitars, a full and sonorous sound on cellos and a rounded sound with eloquence on the violins. The woodwind instruments like piccolos, concert flutes, clarinets and saxophones, and on corresponding instruments that I've mentioned in this category, they sound rich, graceful, melodic and mild. Consequently, on the brasses, trumpets sound full while trombones have their typical rounded sound and horns have a mellow and velvety sound. And lastly, on percussion instruments. Snare drums have a penetrating and clattering sound, field drums have a full and sonorous sound, tom-toms produce those warm and resonant sounds and kettledrums have substantial and rumbling sound on every hit on its vellum. Pianos seems to have a balanced tone as they sound warm, sweet and rich.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

Seemingly that its overall treble response is on smoother, sheen-y as it also has an ample of air that will be beneficial for sets which are somewhat lacking of airy as it  improves its airy extension.

That slight emphasis on the presence section will help a bit on highlighting the clarity and definition on a more coherent vocals and attack on instruments. Treble-clef instruments like cymbals, hi-hats, glockenspiel and celestas have enough lustre and gleam on their sound characteristics.

OVERALL TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE:

It appears the XDUOO X5 is capable of presenting a moderately roomy pitch-black sonic canvas with sense of layering and separation that there’s not a hint any background noise and in that aspect, it makes the perceived sound/speaker stage dimension’s a fairly generous one in regards of lateral expanse, height and depth.

This device is pretty competent in resolution capabilities on both macro-dynamics and micro-dynamics. The macro-dynamics is convincingly to highlight the varying degree of dynamic signal levels from the quietest up to loudness level on intensity, impact and expressiveness on both chorale lines and instrumental passages, while its micro-dynamics has sharp definition on delineating some gains, subtleties and nuances that can be extracted from a played audio track like notational attacks, vocal ends and reverb tails.

As for its output power delivery from high performance audio chip and its built-in headphone amplifier, it can drive some IEMs with special type of transducers like planar magnetics and ceramic-type dynamic drivers that were know to be power-demanding that require more  power output and with a rating of 270mW, it can amplify them effortlessly.

PEER COMPARISONS:

HIBY R3 II

• This is HiBY’s older entry-level DAP that was released in the last quarter of 2023.
• It has a smaller form factor with a physical volume roller that is more convenient to adjust the volume level.
• It has a smaller LCD screen panel but it still supports multi-touch functionality.
• The device doesn't have an internal memory; a micro-SD card is the only way you can store audio files to be played.
• It uses a heavily-modified Linux OS as its main operating system.
• The audio chip that was used on this device is a mobile ESS, the ES9219c which is proven to be a reliable low-powered module with good processing performance.
• It is capable of processing up to 384khz on PCM and DSD256 on DSD digital format.
• While the UI is pretty minimalist, the quality of its icons is more refined as it has a more compact pixel density.
• It has a dual headphone port of different output, a 3.5mm which is rated to deliver a power output of 112mW at 32 ohms and a 4.4 balanced at the maximum output load of 380mW at 32 ohms.
• This one has streaming support for Tidal and Qobuz and since this is a HiBY device, it has MSEB feature which is an advanced PEQ system.
• This device has a balanced-neutral tuning that all frequencies were presented in a balanced presentation with a very little colouration on its overall sonic quality.
• Quite competent in its overall technical performance too.

HIBY R1

• HiBy’s recently released budget entry-level DAP, it has even a smaller profile than the R3 II.
• Inside of its packaging box, it includes a bullet-style IEM that makes it a more practical accessory that you can use right out of the box.
• It has a smaller screen size at 3 inches but its text is still visible enough.
• It doesn't have an internal memory but it has an expandable memory card slot with a SanDisk 32GB card memory card inside already.
• It uses a more stripped-down HiBY OS which is a linux-based distro that was heavily-modified to be more efficient to handle basic media tasks.
• Instead of using an ESS chip, HiBy opted to use the audio chip on this one that the X5 also uses, the Cirrus Logic CS43131.
• It is capable of processing up to  384khz on PCM and DSD256 on DSD digital format.
• The UI is quite minimalist but it is more sleek and stable in terms of user experience.
• It only has a 3.5mm headphone jack and it was rated to have an output load of 101 mW in high gain mode and 78 mW in low gain mode.
• Like its R3 II, it has streaming support for Qobuz and Tidal.
• It has a built-in MSEB PEQ just like all current HiBY DAPs.
• This one delivers a warmish-neutral sound profile output.
• It has an above-average on its overall technical performance.

As I put a finale in this product review, the XDUOO X5 is a good product that's very comfortable. It has a compact size with a well-balanced weight on which I think is pretty handy to carry. For sure that it is a very sturdy and durable as how it was constructed but there are some caveats that I should want to address about this device. First is the software in which I have noticed when I’m using this one as the UI itself is relatively crude and the user experience itself is pretty cumbersome to use as its UI design is too dated that it harkens back to mid-2000’s where cheap MP3/MP4 players and resistive touch screen phone from China were released in that era. Second is on how the artists’ and albums’ list were organised as it looks unrefined and when I'm scrolling up to bottom, there are instances that are quite laggy. And the last one are the decoding on some higher bitrate and sample rate FLAC file format and DSD files, I noticed that there’s are is sudden skipping on the initial part of the played audio track on FLAC files with 24-bit/88kHz up to 192kHz and some DSD128 files simply won’t play at all. But still I am hoping that XDUOO will address these issues through firmware upgrade or via OTA update that somehow improves its usability and try to bring down its pricing given that there are some DAPs in the same price with better user experience and features that makes them even more competitive.

While I’m considering to highlight these issues. The XDUOO X5 is pretty useful in other aspects and operability like pleasant tonal quality, reasonably good power output, good thermal control and no unwanted noise issues. Other useful functionalities of this one is  using it as a USB DAC/Amplifier and Bluetooth decoder device in which I can use it during my physical activity.

XDUOO X5 is now currently available on HIFIGO, you can check the non-affiliated link that I have provided in the bottom.

LINK:  https://hifigo.com/products/xduoo-x5

SPECIFICATIONS:

SCREEN: 3.5-inch IPS HD screen

RESOLUTION: 480 x 800 pixels

POWER SOURCE: 3.7V/2600mAh Li-Po Battery

BATTERY LIFE: maximum of 10 hours

CHARGING TIME: approximately 3 hours.

TF CARD SUPPORT: up to 1TB (FAT32/EXFAT/NTF5)

SUPPORTED AUDIO FORMATS: MWA, OGG, M4A, AAC, MP3, APE, AIFF, FLAC, WAV, DSD

BLUETOOTH VERSION/FUNCTIONS: 4.2/Input,Output

SUPPORTED AUDIO CODEC:  SBC, AAC, LDAC

HEADPHONE IMPEDANCE RATING: 16-300ohms

HEADPHONE OUTPUT POWER: 200mW @ 32ohms (3.5mm)/270mW @ 32ohms (4.4mm)

SNR: 115dB (3.5mm)/ 120db (4.4mm)

Crosstalk: 75dB (3.5mm)/115dB (4.4mm)

Line Out Output level: 2.0Vrms

PROS:

● Quite compact and handy to carry

● It has a solid built aluminium alloy frame.

● Hardware key buttons are pretty snappy to press

● Clear HD screen panel with multi-touch functionality

● It sports a proven and tested Cirrus Logic DAC, CS43131 which is known for low-power consumption, high performance on audio signal decoding.

● Micro-SD slot for more memory storage that can be theoretically expanded up to a terabyte.

● Bluetooth connectivity that can support LDAC transmission aside from standard bluetooth codecs. 

● Can be used as a USB DAC Amplifier.

● It delivers a warmish-neutral tonal profile.

● Tactile bass quality.

● It has a rich and textured midrange while maintaining a clean and detailed output from vocals and instruments.

● Smooth and balanced treble response.

● Good technical performance without any noise floor from its sonic background

● Reasonable power output strength on both single-ended and balanced output modes.

CONS:

● Rudimentary outdated UI as it reminds me of those UI designs from early to mid 2000’s on feature phones and cheap MP3 players.

● Occasional sluggishness and software bugs on its UX.

● Unintuitive and disorganised UI layout on artists and tracks.

● Some album pictures on the played track won’t appear in the display.

● Noticeable issues on decoding some Hi-res lossless audio file format particularly 24/88kHz as it stutters for a second on the first part of the played track.

● Decoding issues on DSD128 and DSD256 file format.

● Competitors offer a better value and some of them are way more cheaper.

TESTING TRACKS: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Dr. Dre feat. Eminem - Forget About Dre*

P.S.

I am not affiliated to XDUOO nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to the HIFIGO Rep for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

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