Xbox One X review

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16-12-2017, 14:36
bobvfr

Xbox One X review

I could easily have put this in the AV forum, or Digital Expressions but it covers all aspects so I thought it best in here.

I hooked up my new Xbox One X last night to replace my original Xbox One, it is currently hooked up to the following:

Tannoy Cheviot speakers

Pioneer VSX323 receiver (This and my Quad 33/405 will be replaced with a Quad Vena some time next year)

Panasonic VIERA TX-65CX802B

There is also a Freesat HD box, external hard drive and a USB stick with my .flac format ripped CD's.

I have the supplied high speed HDMI cable going to the TV and then the optical coming back from the TV to the amp.

I have everything set for stereo throughout the system.

Can I hear a difference between the X and the standard Xbox One, I would say yes, but not by such a difference that I wasn't happy with the standard Xbox One, currently listening to Fairport Conventions "Unhalfbricking" and it's a wonderful sound, its equally good on on both .flac and CD playback, I really can't fault this as digital music player, the sound on films/TV is great but that could be just down to using the Tannoy's instead of standard TV speakers.

I know a lot of audiophiles will not like this, but I really would suggest a trail run if you get a chance.

On to visuals, this is where the real difference comes in, superb is all I can say, I tried a 4k Blu-Ray and it's so sharp you could cut yourself, the same with watching 4K on Netflix there is a real difference between using the Xbox One compared to using Netflix natively on the TV, well impressed, then I tried HD and the difference is massive, the picture quality is enhanced by the Xbox One X and its only a tad off 4k quality, even SD channels are vastly improved.

Finally games, I am not a big gamer but I do enjoy the odd trip round Victorian London in Assassins Creed Syndicate with a bit of mindless slaughter thrown in for good measure, I got the Xbox One X with 3 free games and one is Assassins Creed Origins set in Egypt at the time of Ptolemy which is a 4k game, every games graphics were improved but the 4k one stands out, you really can see the difference.

But my first love is music, and I hadn't intended this route, when I joined here I was on the lookout for a decent CD player, almost by accident I tried the Xbox One and was blown away, and the Xbox One X is just taking that a step further.
16-12-2017, 14:58
Marco

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobvfr

I could easily have put this in the AV forum, or Digital Expressions but it covers all aspects so I thought it best in here...

...except that the appropriate place for all reviews is Strokes of Genius, which is where it now resides ;)

Marco.
16-12-2017, 15:03
bobvfr

LOL

Cheers Marco
16-12-2017, 23:41
Minstrel SE

Thanks Bob.

The Xbox One X is the one Im coming in for as I skipped the other two versions. What can I say? I do hope that the console manufacturers take all the functions seriously because Im running out of shelf room and would like to think of these boxes as entertainment centres.

For example if the thing plays Blu Ray 4K, It should do it very well so I dont have to consider a dedicated unit. It should also play cds well and be considered a multi disc player.

I am a heavy gamer but I like the idea of entertainment centres covering a few functions. The Sony PSX started aiming at this but it was too pricey and not really good enough to catch on.

If anything the original xbox one started removing functions like ripping. I understand its built to a cost but see no reason why the drive video and audio output couldnt be excellent
18-12-2017, 21:09
bobvfr

I think MS aren't really making any money on Xbox One X even though it is double the price of the Xbox One S, to get a PC built to the specs of the X you would have to spend an awful lot more money.

I am currently listening to Bob Dylan's "Greatest hits" cast to it from my Surface Pro, you can do so much with this surprisingly small box (About 1/3 smaller than the original Xbox One and without the large power brick, they really have packed this in.

Lived with it for a weekend now, I have watched 4k films from Netflix and the Blu-Ray player, HD films and TV from the BBC iplayer, Netflix and my Freesat box, everything is improved by a large factor.

I had a wander round ancient Egypt in 4k, killed a few baddies, but I was surprised how good Forza Horizon 3 looks and I don't think I have it upgraded to 4k yet.

I have discovered that you can "Daisy chain" the USB 3 ports, I have the Kinect device plugged into port one, two hard drives into port two (Picked up a USB 4 port hub today) and this allowed me to take the USB stick from the front and his it round the back, I intend to get another 2tb WD hard drive to match the other one, using one formatted for games and apps, and the other formatted in NTFS for music, pictures and films.

But the music is superb, CD, flac, cast from other devices, I have had a really good listen to several well played albums and it's just bliss.

I suppose I must be a sucker for the all in one concept, I had the Philips CDi many many years ago, that was great for it's time, but the Xbox One X is just out there on it's own at the moment.

The only faults I can see are, the HDMI IN port is still on HDMI 1.2 but this is due for a firmware upgrade in the future and I suppose you "Need" a monitor or TV to be on if you want to use it, although I suppose I could rewire it so the HDMI out went to my receiver (Has 4k and HDR throughput) then take another high speed HDMI up to the TV and cut out the optical input coming back to my amp from the TV, then I could use it as a cast to music device without needing the TV on. Will sort out another high speed HDMI cable and try this as soon as I can.
13-01-2018, 11:38
chris@panteg

I would suggest using the hdmi in preference to the optical out, as hdmi is far superior, optical is only capable of 16 bit at best, with hdmi 24 bit 192.
13-01-2018, 13:21
Stratmangler

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris@panteg

I would suggest using the hdmi in preference to the optical out, as hdmi is far superior, optical is only capable of 16 bit at best, with hdmi 24 bit 192.

Optical is only capable of 16 bit?
Sorry Chris, but that is plain nonsense.
Optical can easily carry 24/192 data, but it is dependent on the implementation of the devices at each of the fibre. Some older devices can only transmit/receive at 24/96.
13-01-2018, 19:23
chris@panteg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stratmangler

Optical is only capable of 16 bit?
Sorry Chris, but that is plain nonsense.
Optical can easily carry 24/192 data, but it is dependent on the implementation of the devices at each of the fibre. Some older devices can only transmit/receive at 24/96.

Ok, a somewhat misleading statement but it is bandwidth limited to two channel in any higher resolution.
Hdmi is capable of higher resolution in multi channel as well as two channel but the fact is it is superior to optical and that is a plain fact.
13-01-2018, 20:40
Stratmangler

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris@panteg

Ok, a somewhat misleading statement but it is bandwidth limited to two channel in any higher resolution.
Hdmi is capable of higher resolution in multi channel as well as two channel but the fact is it is superior to optical and that is a plain fact.

If you'd said that in the first place I wouldn't have commented, other than to agree with you :cool: