Xduoo X20- Control it on your smartphones
2017 is quite a busy year for Fiio and Xduoo. Both of two companies released many new products this year.
Last month, Xduoo just published the xduoo nano D3 music player. Now, they released another total new lossless music player, Xduoo X20.
When we said that X20 is a total new player, because it adds many functions.
Well, without wasting time, let’s go into the detail now.
Table of Contents
The main features of Xduoo X20
- Dual way Bluetooth 4.0 , support Aptx ( Finally, we saw Bluetooth on Xduoo products now, and it is great to see that it is dual way, and support Aptx. )
- Support 32bit/384K
- 2.5mm Balanced output ( Balanced to the end ? Yes, That’s Fiio’s slogan. It is also the first time that Xduoo player has balanced output at their music player series)
- Native DSD 256
- USB DAC. Now, you can connect Xduoo X20 to your computer, and use it as an external USB DAC, which support PCM 32 bit/384K and DSD256.
Want to know the best parts ?
Well, you can control X20 on your smart phone. So you don’t need to take out the music player every time when you want to choose the songs.
But how?
Download and install the Hiby app to your smartphones, connecting the X20 via Bluetooth, then you can choose search songs, browse song, play the song, adjust song, and manage the files on the phone.
Sounds amazing? Well, it has happened.
Design
Xduoo X20 is a CNC black alluminum body, which means it is one piece body. It has some weight that promise solidity but isn’t heavy at all and its suprisingly small too for all the butons and features it has.
There is no any buttons on the frond panel besides a big screen, covering most of the front space.
So, at the beginning, I was pressing the screen instinctively because it looks like it is quite intuitivie. But, actually, it is not a touchscreen. You can operate it only through the buttons
All the buttons are located at both sides, 5 at the right and 3 at the left
The buttons are very small, so you need some times to get used to it, because it is getting a little difficult press them, especially when you are doing this on your pocket.
Unlike Xduoo X3 or Xduoo X10, X20 has only one micro SD slot, which support 256G storage, but of course, you can use 64G or 128G if you don’t need a bigger capacity.
Is it Xduoo X20 supporting gapless playback? The answer is YES
Sound
Xduoo x20 digital audio player has a very balanced sound, it’s neither bass centric or mid centric, and you will feel that it has a very linear even if it have sharp mids and highs.
I would decribe the sound as clear and organic, detailed but never harsh, with excellent dynamic extension but not a very airy sound presentation. It sound fowards and energic but never grainy or trebly, soundstage is wide but deepness is average.
Bluetooth
It works well and it connect fast and sound good with the portable bluetooth device, in my case, I use bluetooth speakers to connect it, and the signal is stable, but please note that , it cannot go more than 10 meter, just like any other bluetooth source.
And it also cannot pass trough the wall and obstacle, I guess it is because it is the bluetooth limit ?
But anyways, I think BT is really practical and I tend to use it quite often than with my smarthphone. And you ?
Hiby link
This is an amazing feature for Xduoo x20. especially for those people who plan to connect the X20 to their sound system.
It is really a good thing to have all your music displaying on your mobilephone’s touchsreen, but you are actually choosing track and play it on another DAP, and I have to say that I became fastly addict to this new way, because paring with ESS9018K2m DAC of X20 is just delicious.
By doing this, you need to donwload the hiby music player app on your phone, and open both hiby link connection.
You can download the user guide by clicking here, X20 Hiby Link function user guide.
Accessory
There is a little surprise when you open the black box of Xduoo x20. Because this time, you are not only own a DAP and USB cable, but also a nice and useful leather protective case and an Aux cable, a real high quality cable.
Another good thing is that the USB cable is type C, which is the most common connection in the market, so you can connect it more freely.
In case you many wondering the detail parameter of Xduoo x20, you can find all of them in the following table.
| Support format | Native DSD 256, 32bit/384K, ISO, DFF, DSF, APE, Flac, Wav, Aiff, Alac, Aac, MP3, OGG, WMA, etc. |
| DAC Chip | ES9018K2M |
| Opamp | OPA1612+LMH6643 |
| Expand Storage | 256GB TF/Micro sd card |
| Bluetooth | Dual way Bluetooth 4.0, and support Aptx |
| Oscillator | Dual Oscillator |
| Jack | 3.5mm Headphones |
| Output Power | 210mW(32Ω /THD+N<0.0015%) |
| Frequency | 20Hz~20KHz(±0.5dB) |
| Distortion | 0.005% （1KHz） |
| S/N | 114dB |
| Jack | 2.5mm Headphones |
| Output Power | 300mW(32Ω /THD+N<0.0015%) |
| Frequency | 20Hz~20KHz(±0.5dB) |
| Distortion | 0.005% （1KHz） |
| S/N | 116dB |
| Jack | Line Out |
| 1.7Vrms(10KΩ@1khz) | |
| Frequency | 20Hz~20KHz(±0.5dB) |
| Distortion | 0.0012% （1KHz） |
| S/N | 114dB |
| Battery | Rechargeable 2400mAh lithium polymer battery |
| Aluminum Body | Alluminum alloy |
| Charging time | <3hours DC5V 2A, < 6 housr DC5V 500Ma |
| Weight | 138g |
| Size | 110*56*16.6mm |
| Battery Life | Around 9 hours |
January 27, 2018 @ 10:33 am
compare it with Fiio X3 III please
February 6, 2018 @ 3:13 pm
Ok, we will do that soon. Thanks for your suggestion.
March 24, 2018 @ 7:27 am
Really interested in this player. With 300mw at 32ohms of balanced output this player should be able to power high impedance headphones like Sennheisers and Hifimans. Would be nice to hear your impressions on these or other Headphones? Also would like to know if this player bypasses the built-in bluetooth chip DAC or does it use the ESS DAC when used as a bluetooth receiver? Can you test using android phone streaming via Spotify connected to X20 via Bluetooth? Thanks. I’m sure other Spotify fans would like to know if this is possible.
March 25, 2018 @ 2:54 pm
Thanks for the comments.
We didn’t test on Sennheisers or Hifimans, but we test it with a domestic brand, Oriolus, it is quite good.
Yes, it will use ESS DAS when you used as bluetooth receiver.
As to the spotify, ok, we will do it later, and updated in in the blog content.
September 9, 2018 @ 12:00 pm
does anyone have the manual of de X20 in Dutch !!
September 10, 2018 @ 1:48 am
You can go to here to download the X20 User’s guide, but at the moment, there is only English version available at the moment.
https://www.xtenik.com/latest-firmware-download/
March 31, 2019 @ 6:51 am
The gapless playback seems a little off on transfer between tracks is there any solution to this problem. This was the biggest selling point of me buying but was disappointed by the messy sound you get when going from one track to the next it’s gapless but out of sync.
December 9, 2019 @ 9:32 pm
If x20 wakes up from sleep, it resume the song it played from beginning. The resume play feature should resume from the exact point (+/- sec) where it left off. This happen in firmware 1.15 and 1.18. XDuoo, please fix this on the next firmware.
December 10, 2019 @ 12:25 pm
Hello
Ok, we will tell xDuoo company about this issue.
December 10, 2019 @ 2:06 pm
You can try setting-breakpoint play, set it to Location.
December 11, 2019 @ 11:00 pm
I have been contacted by Steven of Xtenik thru pm and used the suggested solution for the resume feature. It works!! I was aware of the “location” in breakpoint setting but not knowing what it does, so I used “track” instead. Track parameter will resume at the beginning of song after x20 wakes up from sleep, not what I want. Thank you Steven of Xtenik for his quick help. User guide would help if all parameters are documented to help user understand the implification.
April 23, 2020 @ 6:26 am
Can the X20’s battery be serviced if it dies?
May 6, 2020 @ 10:33 pm
You can return it to us for fixing.
July 7, 2022 @ 1:33 am
Hello
My USB port on my X20 has stopped working. Any way for me to access it to have it replaced ?
I need the player functioning asap, so I was hoping for some info on how to dismantle the unit correctly.
Thanks
Navid