By Nick Smith, 13th December 2023
One of the hobby’s great ironies is how many of us spent years, even decades assembling vast music collections… that now gather dust while we use streaming platforms instead.
This year I became a convert of Apple Music and have hardly touched my FLAC/DSD albums since. So weeks ago when I was offered a free Xuelin Clear in exchange for a review I wondered if it’d be worth it.
No android?
No streaming??
No touchscreen?!?
I try to keep an open mind but it didn’t seem promising. Then the Clear arrived, so I grudgingly took it out of the box, plugged in some IEMs and began to listen…
Suddenly my perspective changed.
Packaging
The USD $549 Xuelin Clear arrives in a large, high quality cardboard box that belies its’ modest price.
Inside is a fairly spartan instruction manual in English & Chinese, a USB-A > USB-C cable & wall plug for charging, and a few warranty cards.
The inclusion of a leather case & screen protector would’ve been welcome additions, but I can understand they were probably omitted to keep costs down.
Tech Specs & Battery Life
Xuelin Clear utilises a pair of ES9038Q DACs & twin OP1622’s op-amps to generate 5.2V from its’ 4.4mm balanced jack, and 2.6V of 3.5mm output. USB-C charging & Micro-SD cards up to 2TB are supported, with 64 or 128GB of built-in storage depending on the option you choose.
Clear supports file formats such as FLAC up to 192kHz, WAV to 192kHz, MP3 to 48kHz and DSD 2.8MHz but sadly no higher DSD resolutions.
Battery life is quoted as 8 hours but you may get a little less depending on how much you use the screen, though the 3100mAh internal battery charges quickly.
Ergonomics
At a mere 157 grams, with very small 10 x 6 x 1.6 cm dimensions the Clear is tiny & extremely lightweight by modern DAP standards.
This isn’t quite micro-player territory but isn’t far off. In my recent Astell & Kern SR35 Review I spoke of the pleasurable experience of using a smaller player that glides in & out of a pocket, particularly when you’re out & about. There really is nothing like it, and I dearly love smaller players for this reason.
The ballooning of modern DAP weights & form-factors in recent years (with screens up to 6 inches!) has conditioned us to become accustomed to bulkier, clunkier devices that deliver horsepower & features we don’t end up using much of the time. Going back to simpler, smaller gadgets feels liberating and may leave us wondering if we really do need to lug those expensive bricks around.
The magnesium alloy case has somewhat angular edges in the hand but they’re rounded off enough to not be uncomfortable, and the level of machining is such it feels like you’re holding a premium device.
The volume wheel clicks smoothly & precisely and the round aluminium buttons are easy to locate “blind” with the device in a pocket. I certainly have no build quality issues with the Clear, and for this price think you’d have to be pretty fussy to fault its’ construction.
Page 1 – Introduction, Tech Specs & Battery Life & Ergonomics
Page 2 – Interface & Usability
Page 3 – Sound Performance & Technical Performance
Page 4 – Source Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
Comments