REVIEW – xDuoo X10
xDuoo Website
Price: ~U$D 180 (MSRP); available at a lower price from Gearbest
Package and accessories
The X10 arrives in the same package
as the previous X3, outer paper box and cardboard box inside, simple and hassle
free. Below the X10 unit there’s a smaller box that stores the included
accessories that consist in a USB to micro-USB cable, 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable,
optical cable, and 2 extra screen films (there is a 3rd film already installed
on the player). An extra case would be favorable.
Design and Interface
Build quality and finish is
quite excellent on the X10. The unit has an all black finish, a bit plain
looking but rather discreet. Made mostly of thick metal material alloy (aluminum),
with a very smooth finish without any sharp edge and well assembled. Coming
from both the previous X2 and X3 models, the X10 features a good improvement
with the colorful 2” screen and much friendly user interface, and finally a
coherent controls layout.
At the upper side, there are
the power button, which also works for screen on and off, and the micro-USB
port. A small click noise can be heard when powered on and then the players
takes a few seconds to completely start up. On screen off it is still possible
to operate the device without having the screen turning on; main playback and
volume controls are able.
On the right side, there are
the small ‘reset’ button, the up and down volume controls, and the micro SD
slots. Like the X3, the X10 has not internal storage but also features 2 card
slots which is a great advantage for a DAP at this price point. To the left,
there’s just the lock switch. The whole device is completely locked when the
switch is on, and just the screen can be turn on with the power button and in
fact the only button that will turn the screen on; a lock icon is shown on the
upper part of the screen.
On the lower part are the
Gain switch and the 2 output options, ‘Phone’ and ‘Line out’. The phone is
obviously for headphones 3.5mm plugs, while the line out for amplification use.
As labeled, the line out also has the optical output connection and the X10
package already includes the needed cable for this (I couldn’t try the optical
output yet).
On the front panel are the
color screen and all the navigation and playback controls. The screen quality
is good with decent color depth and sharpness; nothing exceptional, but cool
enough and much nicer than the old-fashioned 2-color OLED displays. In the
middle there’re 4 buttons, ‘left’, ‘back’, ‘option’ and ‘right’. Left and right
are used for both up/down navigation through the different menus and also as
back/previous and forward/next during playback. The back button is used to
return to previous screen or back to the main home screen. And on the lower
half panel there’s the scrolling wheel and play/pause/enter circle button. The
wheel is a bit stiff and the response is a bit slow but it doesn’t rotates
freely. It is used for faster navigation on menus, though the left/right can be
used for the same matter.
Following the X3, the
firmware is very stable. The navigation is very intuitive and the different
menus and options are mostly self-explanatory. The player can be set to
automatically update the file database whenever a micro SD card is inserted;
though the scanning is a bit slow.
On the home screen there are
6 options:
- ‘My music’ – a media library that lists all the files by different categories, a ‘playing’ option to return to the current playback and a separated CUE files list.
- ‘Playing’ – returns to the playback screen.
- ‘Folder’ – the typical browser; one for each SD card.
- ‘Favorite’ (though it’s written ‘favourite’?)
- ‘Music setting’ – various playback settings, including volume maximum limit and fixed volume on boot, folders skip and common playback order. The ‘Option’ button also brings up this music setting menu if pressed on the main screen.
- ‘Setting’ – for all the common system configuration.
Overall, the X10 has the
necessary functions for the portable daily use. If anything, the equalization
options are still missing like with the X3 and X2, and compared to some similar
priced players, there is no wireless Bluetooth support nor DAC or even the
fancy OTG function. I never find these extra features really necessary and
always prefer a more stable system, though it’d still be cool to have some
extra functions.
It is worth mentioning that
on the current 1.11 firmware version, the gapless playback it is not fully
supported. Moreover, there is a second to wait until the start of the next
track, and sometimes a second or half missing at the beginning of the song;
probably the most annoying glitch of the X10.
In terms of portability the
X10 is less compact than the X3 but still pocket friendly, not weighting too
much.
Battery, Hiss
Battery rates around the
9hrs, and in practice it’s quite accurate, of course it may be lower depending
on the volume, headphones, and file format. Keeping the screen off certainly
helps in this regard, and the screen won’t turn while using the playback or
volume controls.
Hiss wasn’t really noticed
with most gears, and maybe just a little with most sensitive CIEM sets.
However, there is some noise when plugging/unplugging or when turning the
device on or off.
Power, Volume, Gain
The X10 is powerful enough to
drive most of the portable gears, from IEMs, earbuds and over-ear sets tried.
Even with 150ohm earphones like the VE Asura and similar, the volume barely
reached the 60/100 steps without showing signs of distortion, unnatural tone or
lack of dynamics. SoundMagic E80s and Sennheiser HD25-ii worked very well too
with their 64ohm. For a more demanding pair like the Zen 2.0 the volume was
still kept below the 70/100 mark, though the earbuds didn’t reach their fuller
performance.
While the X10 has the Gain
option, there’re practically no differences in volume matching (unlike the X3
that showed a bit lower volume on the low gain). It seems more like a damping
feature than an amplification gain. On low gain the sound is a tad smoother,
flatter and more laid back, while on high gain it adds a bit of energy to the
lows and highs for a more lively effect. Apart from that the gain option is
meaningless.
Sound Quality
Gears used: Vsonic GR07, ATH-E50, Brainwavz B200,
1216.ears 3RM, MeeAudio P1, Fiio F9, Sennheiser HD-25 ii and HD585, VE Zen 2, Dunu
DK-3001, Oriveti Primacy (and many more).
Considering the previous X3
model with the very neutral-to-bright presentation, the X10 is much more
flavored. In some ways it can be seen as an ‘upgrade’, but overall they’re two
different sounding devices. The X10 has a well balanced and fairly full sound
signature, with some added warmth to the whole presentation but not having a
serious coloration or specific gain on a certain frequency region. It has a
good sense of musicality keeping a nice level of detail and separation.
The lower notes have a slight
gain trough the mid-bass area, smooth and a bit warm that gives a bit more
weight to the lower instruments, yet safe from sounding dark. Speed and
layering are decent, though some limitation can be perceived in terms of depth
or extension. Both GR07 and 3RM already gain some extra kick which the X10, and
the DN-2002 or Primacy can sound heavier.
The midrange is probably the
strongest part of the player. While not particularly forward it fails to sound
recessed even with more v-shaped sets. It shows some warmer tonality from the
lows and it is also thicker in texture. However, the whole sound is fairly clean
with a nice sense of musicality. The upper mids are smooth, with good texture
for female voices, cutting some sibilance, and also with a clean transition to
the lower treble region.
Similarly to the lows, there
is some limited extension at the upper treble, that while it works well with
too bright earphones, it can also miss the micro details. Image is about
average and the X10 won’t create a really 3D scenario. Soundstage is rather
limited, still a bit larger with more depth than the X3 had, but not as wide as
the PAW Pico and way far from the immersive and open sounding Aune M1s even on
its single output option.
On a closer A/B comparison to
the xDuoo X3, the previous model gives the impression of being more transparent
and cleaner sounding. However, in practice the overall detail is not higher on
the X3; it’s more about the fuller sound on the X10 that gives a more-laid
signature. The X3 is also more aggressive on the treble region and a less
favorable match for brighter earphones or over-ear cans, whereas the X10 is
less fatiguing and enjoyable with a more rounded sound from lows to highs. It is
also a much more all-rounder player that can match more music genres without
missing in any specific area.
Line
Out/Amplification
Amplifiers used: Fiio E12, Topping NX5, Pico
Slim, Fireye HDB.
The X10 works
very well as a source for any portable amplifier and the separated Lineout
input is very comfortable. The player automatically sets at maximum 100 volume
level and the adjustment is strictly done by the amplifier in use. Despite its
own signature and slight coloration as a DAP, when attaching an amplifier it
turns to be a very transparent device not mixing with the extra amp used.
Summary
All in all, the xDuoo X10 is a very
well built and easy to use portable player. The firmware and response has
proven to be very solid. It may not be a real upgrade over the X3 nor won’t it
beat more expensive portable players in pure sound quality. However, the sound is
more friendly in its presentation. Yes, it is missing many features that can be
found nowadays on many new DAPs but for those who do not need them the X10 is a
good option as portable player at the current price.
Pros:
- Good build quality and smooth finish
- Easy to operate
- 2 micro SD slots
- Stable firmware
- All-rounder sound
Cons:
- Battery
- Wheel
- Not EQ or extra features