Customer Reviews

iAudio X5L 20 GB Multimedia Player Black

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've had my iAudio X5L for several weeks now -- it's been with me through two road trips (on just ONE battery charge!) and many commutes to work. I am even *happier* with this purchase then I expected to be! Highly recommended as an incredible gift to yourself or someone you know. This is THE digital music player and then some. I'm thrilled with mine.

First off, I must confess that I was also debating between an iPod or other media players. After reading the reviews at Cnet.com, PCmagazine, and here at Amazon, I went with a 30gb X5L from iAudio. Here's what you get with iAudio that you won't get on the iPod:

- listen to radio AND record from radio
- 24 radio station presets (FM only)
- a built-in mic to record lectures, poetry readings, dinner conversations (you have to be close to the speaker, though, I'm going to expirment with the line-in and see if an external mike can be plugged into that)
- a line-in jack so you can record from old cassettes, records, minidiscs, you name it ... from anything with a headphone jack
- looong battery life, it really does give 35 hours
- much stronger case, a beautiful black finish with a texture that won't scratch and show fingerprints like the iPods; I don't even have a cover over mine, I just keep it in my pocket and it does fine
- oh yeah... and you can watch videos, but I use my X5L while walking or driving so this feature doesn't even matter to me

There are some good tips to know about your iAudio:

- almost all questions can be answered at www.iaudiophile.com/forums ... a fantastic resource for all iAudio users
- sure, it doesn't have the sort-by-tag software of the iPods, but I haven't even found that I miss that. I keep my files organized in folders by Artist\Album\songs and I'm a playlist junkie ... iTunes never does auto-create a playlist that I like anyway. You don't even need to install the software that comes with the iAudio. I use MediaMonkey to organize my music, but I just use Windowns Explorer to drag 'n' drop files into my iAudio's music folder. The Shuffle mode keeps me very happy, and having my favorite radio stations just a couple clicks away is WONDERFUL.
- When you first receive your X5L, you'll have to charge it for 6 hours. Hey, long battery life requires some serious power to start with. But once it's charged, you'll find that you already have a sample song and some sample videos so you can show off your toy right away. (They're basically iAudio commercials, but they are good for showing how good this treasure sounds and looks.)
- using the little button control is pretty simple when you get the hang of it ... press it down briefly in order to see a list for your current mode (ie. list of presets for Radio, list of songs for Music, list of movies for Video...) or hold down the button for a couple seconds in order to get to the main menu. Some people didn't get that, but it really is easy.
- the power, line-in, and USB ports for the X5L are on a little supback that you plug into the bottom of the X5L; it also comes with a line-in cable that you can plug into the headphone (or line-out) jack of any other equipment. Some people complain about having these little "things" to keep with the X5L. I got the Universal MP3 Player Travel Kit from CaseLogic and it has perfect little compartments for the iAudio accessories plus a pocket for the player itself. Or you might try a digital camera case with a couple external pockets - the iAudio X5L would fit in that very nicely, too. That's what I used before my CaseLogic order arrived.
- the only problem I had was actually with my music files, not with the X5L; my songs had been ripped with a mix of id3v1 and id3v2 tags, which meant that some albums would only show on the X5L with the filename instead of the tag info while playing. I used MediaMonkey to clean off the id3v1 tags and that worked very well. Voila - tag information would show on my X5L.

So all in all - the iAudio X5L has performed beautifully. I only wish I had waited and gotten the 60gb. Being able to record from radio and old media has filled up my memory more than I anticipated.
If you're still not sure about getting any digital music player in the first place, let me give this example ... I have 500 CDs, but I was only listening to maybe 30 of them regularly because so many just weren't the kind of albums that would be listened to in one sitting. Now I've culled the best tracks from those CDs and they come up on my X5L's shuffle as a nice surprise from the past. I'm remembering just how much I like this music or that artist. It's a wonderful rediscovery of my own collection! And when I don't recognize what I'm listening to, I just look down and all the info is right there for me. I'm finally starting to tell the difference between my Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus albums (jazz fans, forgive me) but I'm also hearing nuances that I never noticed before from my Erasure and Hotel Costes albums. In some ways, this is like hearing your music for the first time all over again.

I wanted an MP3 player mostly for the Bose system in my car using an FM transmitter and occasionally in my home Bose (no, not the one made for the ipod). So, first I bought an ipod shuffle. I tried it in the car and compared the sound quality by switching back and forth between a CD and the ipod with the same song on both. The ipod sounded very muffled as if throwing a heavy blanket over the speakers. It was terrible. I then tried the same thing in my home Bose with the same bad results. I returned the ipod the next day.

I thought that maybe all MP3 players would be the same poor sound quality and I almost gave up on the idea of an MP3 player in my car. But, then I thought I would try one more time with the Cowon iAudio 20GB X5L. Again I compared the X5L to a CD with the same song in the car. I could hardly believe my ears. There was almost no difference in sound quality between the two sources. The ear buds also have a decent sound. Needless to say I kept the iAudio.

The sub-pack that comes with the X5L has jacks for DC charging, USB, line in, and line out. Some people find this annoying having to plug in the sub-pack each time to do any of the above. I also have the cradle that has the same jacks. I keep the USB plugged into the sub-pack and the DC charger plugged into the cradle. I also keep an RCA cord plugged into my home Bose when I want to plug in the player in that device. For me, this method is convenient and I do not have to move cords for whatever I want to do.

I love the EQ and the other 4 sound settings. I can customize the sound according to whichever device I have it plugged into. Also, you can store up to 5,000 tunes which is far more than I will ever use.

There is a little joystick on the front that controls volume, next or last track, fast forward or fast reverse, and pulls up menus. The play, record, and off buttons are on the side. The joystick takes some practice, but is easy to use.

Some people prefer the ipod/itunes method to put music on their MP3 player. I prefer the iAudio/Jetshell. When converting a prerecorded CD to MP3 using jetshell simply click on Code and it will get the Artist, Title etc from the internet. That way you do not have to name each track. Of course, you can still edit that information if you want. Then you can move them to the IAudio. However, I simply go to Windows Explorer then Copy and Paste all the tunes to the iAudio. The whole thing is very simple and fast. Plus, I like being able to create folders and sub-folders and name them whatever I want in Windows Explorer.

The case seems very well built, sturdy and does not look as though it would scratch easily. The long-life battery makes this player a little thick and slightly heavy. But, I have no problem with that.

I have never run down the battery, so I just assume the rated 35 hour life is close to being true. (This refers to the *L* version. The regular X5 is rated at 14 hour battery life). I can not comment on other features either since I have not used them. Like the recording or video. As I said, I only use the X5L for music in my car and home.

Pros: Sound Quality, Long Battery Life, Drag and Drop Files, FM Radio, Picture Viewer, Video Playback, Recorder.

Cons: No Speaker.

Bottom Line: Much better than the ipod.

I had a very hard time deciding on my new mp3 player. Previously I had the Creative Zen Touch, but wanted to upgrade to a bigger capacity player.

The options at 30gb are pretty limited, so my decision came basically to the Video iPod or iAudio X5L.

I have never used the Video iPod, just the Photo iPod, but I made my decision based on what I read.

For me the video playback wasn't anything more than a plus, I was more interested in an mp3 player with decent battery life. Both players play mp3's, which are the only files I have. IPod uses id3 browsing (artist, album, song, genre), while the X5 uses directories (like on your computer). Since I use iTunes to play music, and it organizes my songs into folders by artist, this was not such a big deal. iPod has better video quality, but at such a small screen, I figured it wouldn't matter much. The biggest difference I could note was the battery life, where the X5L is significantly better.

Since most users compare mp3 players to the iPod, here are what I thought to be the pros and cons of the X5L compared to the iPod:

Pros:
-Longer battery life
-Doesn't require a program (iTunes) to transfer music/videos
-Connects to digital cameras
-Supports more music formats

Cons:
-No id3 browsing
-Slightly bigger (about the same size as Photo iPod)
-Number of folders limited to 2000
-Joystick instead of scroll-wheel
-Can't buy music from iTunes

Since iTunes organizes music into folders by Artist/Album even if the artist only has one song, this caused me some trouble with the folder limit. I fixed it by having album folders only for full albums.

So far the video playback has been much better than I expected. I wouldn't watch a movie on anything smaller than a TV screen, but I've watched several hours straight of Family Guy episodes! =)

Personally I think the two players are almost equal.
Basically, if you BUY music from iTunes, get the iPod.
If you need good battery life, get this one.
If you want to browse by album, not just artist, get iPod (although there will supposedly be a firmware update to give this feature to X5 as well).

I recently bought this sweet little gadget, and there's no doubt I am VERY SATISFIED with my decision. I said to myself, since this is going to be my first mp3 player, I wanted the best in the market right now. So I canvassed for all of the latest mp3 players out there, reading user reviews of these players, and paying attention to X5L's pros and cons.

Pros:
1. MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, MPEG4 (video) playback (I've uploaded the finale episode of Smallville Season 4 in it and boy, oh boy, it's almost good as watching it in your DVD player!)
2. Excellent (and I mean it) jaw-dropping sound quality (I had it compared to a colleague of mine who has an iPod, she couldn't believe what she was hearing! Wrong move on her part, she said haha! In the end, she offered me to exchange her iPod over my x5L! Over my dead body haha!)
3. Various EQ and Sound Field Effects (sweet, sweet settings! It made my music livelier!)
- User-Adjustable 5-Band EQ (Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal, User)
- Supports BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, and 3D Surround.
- Fade-in to the next song feature (it's like listening to a radio! Cool!)
4. TXT(Text), JPEG(Image) File Viewer (I'm glad Cowon have updated their firmware to support Canon cameras! I got a Canon Powershot S1 IS and importing pictures FROM the digicam TO the X5L works like a breeze! Now I don't have to worry if I ran out of memory in my CF card!)
5. FM Radio Receiver and recording (if you ever get bored on your 10,000+ mp3 files)
6. Voice Recording / Line-In Recording (good for voice memos, interviews, or speeches)
7. USB Host - can be used as a USB Mass Storage Device; Copy/Delete files within the X5L!
8. Amazing battery life (I have yet to recharge the battery after opening the package! I wanna drain the batteries first! 2 days and counting... CNET labs was able to squeeze 27.2 hours out of it...)
9. Simple intuitive controls
10. The build is solid and oh, so stylish! Definitely a head-turner!
11. Easy upgrading of firmware (Turn off your x5L, plug the X5L into your PC, copy the latest firmware file into the Firmware folder, unplug the X5L using the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature of Windows, plug the AC Adapter charger of the X5L, and wallah, the X5L updates its firmware!)
12. Reasonable price (It all boiled down to an iPod Photo and iAudio X5L with me. Why buy a similar priced item when the other has MORE features? A lot of my friends got the iPod already, what sense it is getting "IN" the crowd? Boring... just nothing new there.)

Cons
1. Music listening and picture viewing can't be done at the same time (I can live with this right now... A lot of people have emailed Cowon already requesting this feature through a firmware upgrade and I believe this will be out soon.)
2. ID3 You can't browse by artist, album, or genre (I believe there will be a firmware upgrade for this too)

This package came a long way before I got it, but it was well worth the wait. I had it delivered (Sep 16) through Amazon's free shipping option, have it sent to a friend of mine in Chicago (Sep 22), and then have it brought home here in Manila, Philippines (Sep 26). And now I'm enjoying it much to my heart's delight!

If you're looking for an mp3 player super packed with features then don't look any further. Go get one! Highly recommended!

I just received my Iaudio X5L from Amazon and am I satisfied with my purchase. I hesitated a long time between Ipod and other players but upon reading many reviews and fact sheets on the Cowon Iaudio X5L, I gave it my money. First, the delivery was prompt and my package arrived in top shape (thanks UPS). After a day of reading the enclosed guide, I installed all the Jetaudio and jetshell software, found it very easy to use and BOOM my player was filling up with audio and video files i had on my PC. Let me tell you this straight, although there are minor cons with this player (like having the adapter hooked on for transfering....) this thing beats Ipod hands down for sound quality, features and video playback... You are not stuck buying countless accessories and are pretty much free to export and import files unlike with some of the competition.
well worth my money and work.
if you are looking for a killer mp3 player, this one is IT.

Although when I ordered it, Amazon didn't have this particular model in stock...So I bought it from another online retailer. The features are already listed here so I won't type all that again but I will mention few features I like.

1. FM Station & Audio Recorder.
2. USB OTG - connects digital camera directly to transfer photos.
3. Plays Video/Picture Viewer.
4. Battery Life - Claims to be 35 hours for this model but it depends on the use. For my use: 3 - 4 hours of listening per day I charge it once or twice a week. It never died on me.
5. Text/Lyrics feature.
6. Upgradable Firmware.
7. Strong built/Scratch Resistant.
8. Timer/Alarm/Clock
9. No software, you can drag and drop files. ( It comes with software which you can use)

Things I didn't like:
1. No ID3 Tag support YET!!!
2. Subpack which is a little attachment which comes with the player to charge it, connect to pc and Auxin-out. I wish this was built in. The optional cradle is expensive plus X5L is snuggle fit.
3.You cannot view picture and listen to music at same time.
4. Better resolution screen.
[...]

I just can't understand why anyone would want to buy something else unless it is to just fit in with the masses. I've used this for over a month now and have had no problems. It sounds great, it is easy to use, and it does everything I hoped for including me to copy pictures from my camera to it when my memory card gets full. This feature alone saves me tons in terms of money on additional memory cards. I can carry this in my pocket easily and even the music videos I have look and sound good on here. This is a solid product with no screen issues like the IPod. The only downside is the voice recording feature isn't as good as I was hoping. If that was fixed this would be the ultimate device. Maybe next they will hook these things up to glasses so you can watch large screen video. :)

(I am comparing the X5L to the iPod, because it sort of has become the industry standard, but there are several other great music players out there, so dont forget to check them out too)

(-In response to another reviewer who had trouble getting music purchased from an online store to this player: When you buy music online, it has several restrictions on it, because it is encoded in a "proprietary" format, meaning only certain players can play it. This also prevents pirating music illegally. For example, you can only play songs bought off iTunes with an iPod... )

This is an excellent music player for those who aren't technologically illiterate. If you have trouble operating technology, I would stop reading this review and buy an iPod.

However, if you have computer skills, and are able to "create-> new folder" and use the "drag-and-drop" technique, then this player is better than the 'pod in many ways.

First of all, I dont use cowon's provided software, because it is abysmal.

However, the X5L doesnt require any software; it's plug-and-play.
So right when I got it, I created a bunch of folders and copied my music into them accordingly. Sorry, there isn't ID3 music organization, which is definitely a con, but remember; if you have computer skillz, this shouldnt be a problem. Make ur own folders.

So, to summarize what I just said, the X5L doesn't have great software or organizational features. The iPod really excels in this category

If you are an audiophile, then don't buy the iPod, you will be dissapointed. The iPod has a weak power output, and the X5L does not. I would say the sound quality is comparable to a good portable CD player. As for the packaged headphones, they are about as good as iPod buds, but what kind of audophile uses the packaged headphones?

I am getting lazy, so here are my final points:

The FM tuner is a nice addition; it has great reception, and it is very easy to record directly off the airwaves.

Navigation could have been better...

Video quality is worse than the iPod video, but it's a bit easier to get videos on the player because it accepts more formats of video.

MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE REVIEW:

The X5L has an absolutely EPIC battery life of 35 hours. I charge this device once very TWO WEEKS. As for the iPod; my 3rd gen battery died years ago. And that thing is nearly impossible to replace, althgouh i managed to do it, until the 'pod broke altogether.

Final Word: If battery life is the most important feature, get the X5L.

If you dont care as much about the battery life, consider buying the X5 for its advantages over the iPod, but it really depends on your personal needs.

This mp3 player is not just an audio device. What I found most useful about it is that it can view text files (at the same time as listening to music, or without music).

Why can this be useful? First and foremost, e-books. Second, you can use your player as an address/phonebook and/or repository for any reference data that one needs permanently (what I don't like about yearbook organizers is that you have to re-write all the phone numbers each year ;) ). Use your computer to write up text files and synchronize them regularly with your iAudio. Any information that you use often, you can keep in your mp3-player (for example, I as a law student keep codes there).

The rest has already been said by a lot of people (wide support for audio file formats - MP3, OGG, FLAC etc. ... although WMA files sometimes don't play, but anyway I think this format sucks, so I go with the above-mentioned three; long battery life - that is why X5L should be bought, not X5, especially if you are going to use the screen often, which is the case with reading text files; stylish design - although the black paint peels off fast in case you stick you player somewhere where it has to endure much friction). I just thought I should point out the text-reading feature, because for me, it was the main reason I chose this player - and I am happy.

The battery life on this device is extremely impressive.
I have an hour+ commute each way to work everyday. I've
had my X5L for about a month now and have not had to charge
it once. The sound quality is also top notch. The overall
feature set is awesome. Buy this player and ignore the IPOD.