RUIZU X02 8 GB Review – The Budget Sonic Pocket Knife

I don’t like awarding stars but am forced to do so. Reasoning is that it is impossible to be consistent between items over time. A description does not change but a firm stars rating depends largely on other review items. While I think, he RUIZU X02 is a highly recommendable item and great value for money, it will never sound as good as a player ten times its price. I thank Ashley of RUIZU for the review sample.

I am relatively new to the world of low-priced dedicated mp3 players. Yes, I had two ipod nanos (third and fourth generation) and an early ipod touch – but that was a long time ago. And I had picked up a cheap and awful-sounding Apple clone at Beijing’s silk market in the mid 2000s. Today, low-priced mp3 players are largely sidelined by smartphones which sport the same functionalities – and more. One function, however, is missing in smartphones, and it has only existed in the fourth-generation ipod nano: an analog radio. Although the respective chip is said to exist in iphones, it is not activated as analog radio usage consumes about five times as much battery as “normal” operation. Manufacturers are simply afraid of a wave of uninformed customers claiming (non-existing) battery failure.

On my search for a portable radio for my commute, I was surprisingly contacted by Ashley from RUIZU on amazon and asked for a review. So, why not? As it turns out, the RUIZU was so much more – a truly versatile device.

• Model: X02
• Screen Size: 1.8in
• SNR: 90 DB
• Audio Format: MP3/APE/FLAC/WAV/OGG/AAC/M4A/WMA
• Recording Format: MP3/WAV/ACT
• Video Format: 128 * 160 AMV Video
• Lyric Format: LRC
• FM Radio Frequency: Europe/N. America: 87.5-108KHz,
• Japan: 76-90KHz Languages: 28 (Chinese, English, Japanese,
• Korean, Deutsch…)
• Built-in Storage: 8 GB
• SD Expansion Card: Up to 128 GB
• Battery: 3.7 V, 460 mAh
• Music Playing Time: 80 hours
• Charging Time: 1-1.5 hours
• Dimensions: 8.8 * 3.8 * 0.7 cm / 3.46 * 1.50 * 0.28 in
• Weight: Approx. 30 g / 1.04 oz
• Price (at the time of the review): ~ $25
• Where to buy: amazon, gearbest, aliexpress, etc.

1 * MP3 Player
1 * Earbuds
1 * Charging Cable
1 * User Manual

The player is amazingly small and light – and it sits well on my palm. The case is coated with soft, smooth rubber that leaves a pleasant feel on my fingers. The 1.8-inch screen is rather small, smaller than in my old ipods. The RUIZI is operated with a panel that resembles Apple’s click wheel – but there is no rotational component to it: operation is by clicking only. The circular panel is subdivided into four buttons, each defining a quadrant. An additional button is in the centre. The clicking is accurate but feels and sounds a bit basic.

The screen comes in colour and has a relatively coarse resolution and slow refresh rate…which is just fine for normal operation.

At the player’s lower end, there is an on-off switch and a micro-usb port. On the right side, there is a slot for a TF card and the headphone jack.

• Music player (shuffle, repeat, speed adjustment, playlists …)
• FM radio (auto-tuning and 30-station preset)
• 5-band equalizer (presets and custom)
• Voice and radio recorder
• Video and photo player
• E-book reader
• Clock (screen saver…very handy) Stopwatch
• Alarm clock
• Sleep timer (1- 99 min)
• Calendar

The menu is intuitive and self-explanatory. I didn’t use the manual (much) as the font was too small even for my glasses. There are some nifty shortcuts such as auto-preset of 30 radio stations. Album covers are displayed.

Easy: works the same as any external hard drive. You create album folders and add music to them. It is easy to click through your folder system. The same accounts for videos and photos.

The included RUIZU-branded earbuds resemble the older Apple buds, the ones that came with the iPod Classic and earlier models. But that’s where the similarity ends. The included buds have too high an impedance and are essentially impossible to drive with both the X02 and my ipod nanos alike. I therefore used the TRN V80 for testing the X02’s sound.

The player has a surprisingly open presentation and good instrument separation. The sound is clear but sometimes a bit on the sharp side both owing to an artificial treble lift. Treble can therefore be strident at higher volumes but equalization can help. Depth, richness of sound, energy, and bass are all ok but by no means a challenge for my iPhone 5S. Sub-bass is a bit lean. The X02 offers a healthy volume, strong enough to warrant the included volume limiter function. Radio reception is good and sounds good.

In comparison (using the Yinyoo NY06 triple driver earphones) the ipod Nano fourth generation sounded darker, smoother, with more depth and with much more bass and a fuller body. The RUIZU sounded clearer and brighter. Resolution was on par. But: the ipod cost six times as much and that was 9 years ago – and it has much fewer functions.

To summarize the sound: it exceeded my expectations…nothing wrong with it when you use earphones better than the included ones – but it is also nothing exceptional. Yes, you can listen to music with the X02 and it is fun.

The strength of the RUIZU X02 is its versatility and I treasure it particularly for its radio. It is small, fits in a shirt pocket and is therefore handy for travel or the daily commute – with an outstanding battery life. The sound is clear and overall satisfactory when you are on the road but it won’t please audiophiles…which is expected at this price. The RUIZU X02 is what it is: a very affordable sonic pocket knife that will provide many hours of pleasure.