Best sound from a portable device. PERIOD
BACKGROUND:
I've owned a few portable music players:4th Gen iPod 20gb, iPod Touch 2nd Gen 8gb, iPod Touch 3rd Gen 32gb, Zune HD 16gb, Zune 1st gen 30gb, Archos 32 Internet Tablet 8gb)
And a few quality headphones: Sennheiser PX100 original, Sennheiser IE8, Sennheiser HD205, Sennheiser HD428, Etymotic ER6i, Koss Porta Pros, Klipsch
Image S2 IEMs, and Klipsch Image One full size headphones.
I LOVE listening to music, and with an interest in a degree in audio engineering, sound quality has always been at the forefront of my mind when making a purchase like this.
***NOW FOR THE X-FI2 REVIEW:***
And must say the Creative Labs X-Fi2 has to be the BEST sounding out MP3 player I've owned so far. Coming in at second has to be the Archos 32 for it's great adjustable 2 band equalizer and "3D" expansion setting as well, which made for a very good sound stage experience.
SOUND:
The X-Fi2 is by far the best sounding portable device I've heard in a long time.
It's packed with loads of adjustments to enhance your musical experience.
"X-fi Crystalizer"
'Boost' the lows, mids, and highs of even 128kbs/MP3 compressed music for sound that's worlds better, giving you details you may have missed while listening with other devices while still leaving it very balanced. Not bass heavy, nor too tinny with treble.
"X-Fi Expand"
Take the sound away from your ears for true sound staging, truly separated experience. Personally, I can tell where each instrument is, whether it be placed left-front, right-back, or somewhere in between; Rather than just sound blaring into my ears from my left or right.
5 Band EQ
There is a 5 band eq, with setting for 80hz, 250hz, 1k hz, 4k hz, and 13k hz.
With adjustments from +12db to -12db in 1db increments for a truly customized sound.
Preset EQs
There are other preset EQ for set genres like: Acoustic, Classical, Disco, Jazz, New Age, Pop, Rock, Vocal music. There's also "Off" if you need it, but I doubt you'll use it.
BUILD
This MP3 player is built in plastic, with a small chrome accent around the edge of the device. Some say it feels it'll break, but I think it's built fine, not like I plan on hammering a nail with it. As with all electronics, be careful with it to preserve it's life and further it's use for years of enjoyment.
OPERATING SOFTWARE
Sad to say, but I think this is where the X-fi really fails. It's touchscreen is nice, but doesn't seem to cover the awfully slow response of the OS. Powers up quickly, but that's about the only thing that reacts quickly. The menu is darn confusing, making it necessary to open a menu, to open another menu, to open a list, to access the menu you were looking for.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
The X-Fi does indeed play videos, and stores photos, but with the mediocre, pixelated screen (400x240 pixels), it only really benefits from this with the A/V output which requires a 3.5mm 4pin to RCA cable.
MISCELLANEOUS
*Built-In Speaker - sound output is decent, a nifty little perk.
*FM Radio - sounds great utilizing X-Fi settings, great addition, NOT HD radio though.
*Built-In Mic - great little tool as well, works with voice recorder, no mic gain adjustments.
*MicroSD slot- iPod Touch, why don't you have one of these? Good for up to 16gb TF cards, probably works with 32gb cards as well.
*WIDE range of codec compatablitly. FLAC, iTunes Plus, among many others...
BOTTOM LINE:
If you're dying for superior audio from your portable music players, look no further, Cause it's here. The X-fi2.Read full review
