Oilsky MP3 Player with Bluetooth X50AU

Poor-quality sound, disappointing – Unfortunately this player fails in arguably the most important category: sound quality. There's a low bit-rate feel to the audio. There's also not much bass and it's far too quiet. I haven't bothered to do a proper spectrum analysis or compare it side-by-side with a better product. However, I don't think I need to. Usually even cheap mp3 players… Read more

have decent audio and this one immediately jumps out as sub-standard.

I fossicked around in the menu looking for an internal volume restriction (sometimes included as an attempt at ear protection). There wasn't any internal switch. Ultimately in my opinion the volume is too quiet to use this player with either regular headphones or earphones (that sit in your ear). It's only workable with earbuds, the kind that sit right in your ear canal. You get more bass with earbuds and they block out all other sounds.

Strangely enough the FM radio is properly loud. It's a mystery why it should be so much louder than the mp3 engine. I went into the custom EQ setting, I pushed the bass up and most of the other sliders too. It sounded good and loud briefly, but then the distortion started. Even with the sliders on merely subtle gain I got distortion. I'm not sure the custom EQ can be used at all.

The operating system is clearly modelled on the Sandisk Clip, but it's not as good. There's an unnecessary extra button and an unnecessary on/off switch on the top on the face. There's also no way to lock it in play mode which means you can bump it and accidentally change the song (etc). You also can't quickly jump the interface back to the track that's playing. Instead you have to navigate back through the menu (as far as I can tell anyway). There's also quite a few completely useless features. Why would anyone want to watch movies or read books on a screen the size of your thumb? These useless features just get in the way.

Also the clock screen background can't be changed and looks hideous.

I quite like the name of the manufacturer though: "Oilsky". It makes me think about a sky filled with pollution. Weird.

Overall rating: 2/10