Xunsound XS-01

Xunsound Xs-01

Exploring the unknown 

About player

Player outer shell made off aluminum with solid built look and feel , no rattling sound from buttons. over all external fit and finish is really good. those who like big multi color display can keep away from it . One small OLED of 176X144 resolution (not specified anywhere ) is used for music navigation and other player settings, look like product from early 90's( but help to read in direct sun light ).
Aluminum shell crafted with good CNC cutting so each and every slots give a premium look.over all player feel like a solid built when compare with expensive player like hifiman HM603 slim.

technical specification from aliexpress :
Power handling capability: PO_OUT: 300mwX2 (Alice M2 test)

LO_OUT: 130mwX2

Support card type: Micro TF

Size: Length 93mm + width 57mm + height 20mm

Life time: 7-10 hours; (audio format code rate is bigger, the shorter playing time, DSD format time is shorter)

Charging time: About 5 hours

 
1. TPA6120A2 amp
2. BB op amp OPA604AP two,LPF balance circuit, the sound field sounds better sense
3. Non-direct solution, soft solution; full hard decoding 4. Full CNC system
5. OLED display Screen, during the day out of the street display is better than the TFT display 6. Support card upgrade, regularly update the firmware

Support format introduction: FLAC format: 44.1KHZ-192KHZ 16 / 24bit
WAV format: 44.1KHZ-192KHZ 32bit                    44.1KHZ-192KHZ 16 / 24bit
  MP3: 128-320kbps
DSF: DSD64 / 128 bits
DFF: 64
Cue full track; (support ape, flac, wav album, in the album folder select cue automatic track)
APE (some music may not support)

   

Audio Quality 

 I was completely addicted by zishan z2 till i received xunsound XS-01,purchase of this player is just because DAC which is equipped with it (AK4490EQ instead of AK4490EN in zishan z2), first time when i plugged my KZ ZS6 in to Xunsound XS-01 i felt nothing, it was not at all jaw dropping one. even i felt like player is under powered when compare with zishan z2. i tried with my car audio (VW RCD510) it was really disappointing one.

i put XS-01 over night for burn in (some says its a myth but for me it really works for all audio gears i bought). next day morning he become another person. i turned on Xs-01 with an analytical mind but ended-up in a complete enjoyment. player output is really neutral when compare with other two player (zishan z2 and hifiman HM603), nothing lifted up or drowned down. frequency extension is really outstanding both highs and lows.output is musical with enough darkness. frequency separation is audible when compare with other two players. since it uses two opamp's for LPF theoretical it has a balanced analog section. player did not support USB DAC function.

even with iem KZ ZS6 i felt a day night difference between other musical devices which i used including my laptop running on windows( linux with alsa it almost coming closer to xunsound).long time listening let me judge it correctly because of less coloring audio quality of XS-01 is hard to find. i mad a clear judgment by pairing all of my audio devices with Denon mm400 overhead earphone.

from my point of view components and circuit xunsound used if really matured.

above all of this XS-01 provided with opamp rolling which is an interesting top which did'nt tried yet. line out i used less, even i feel it is less powerful when compare with my other two audio players but one advantage is that volume control works for lineout also.

software

   This is a major downside of player, they released one good audio gear with crappy firmware. always crashes and keys act's none responsive ,frequent reset need(so they provided one dedicated reset button like normal function key😜😡).

first released firmware another big trouble was with .mp3 file it always skips .mp3 file and most of the time become response-less when we force to play .mp3, not only mp3 flac support was only up to 16 bit. later update solved that issue. one the player resets it automatically switch to chines language and the filter selection changes to default setting. currently i ma running with firmware version 1.61 up to some extend they solved issues ,but till now i face some crashes and stuck during usage(now player supports flac up to 24 bit and DSD also). sometimes i feel zishan z2 is much comfortable for use even without a display

conclusion  

If you area true music lover and ready to sacrifice other comforts  ,this player is for you. for a normal music lover this player will feel like a headache. this is my favorite player because i am in the first category.