M6 is no longer my favourite MP3 player...

Job

Here are my not very well written(and spelled…ahum) and perhaps chaotic thoughts on the 2 players:

The AMOLED display is clearer than the M6's display however by a hardly noticeable bit. The display how is IS noticeably smaller even if its just by 0,2 inch.
The Clix2 also feels less sturdy than the M6 due to the fact it has a plastic-like back and the fact that the front seems to be "loose" Of course, this is meant to be this way as you click the front. The Clix2 has a more toy-like feeling over the M6.
The Clix2 weighs slightly less than the M6. Yet is just a –barely worth mentioning- tad thicker

The Clix2 comes with a screen protector although oddly enough not a full-front protector leaving the glossy black front prone to scratching. As known the M6 comes with full screen, front and back protection making it very well protected against the keys and coins in your pocket

Navigation on the Clix2 is good and dead simple. Menu structures are great and even someone who has never touched an Mp3 player before will get a hang of it within a minute without need for a manual. The display can be used both horizontally(landscape) or vertically(portrait) oriented which is a very nice touch. (However, a player that profiles itself with its bright AMOLED display with 30Fps will most likely be used in landscape mode by most users) Due to the controls the Clix2 is best navigated with 2 hands, unless used in portrait mode.
Navigation is however less fast and a bit more tiring as your thumb will be doing a lot of travelling from left to right and from top to bottom. The touch strip of the M6 therefore allows for easier and faster browsing through menus and can easily be operated by one hand
Navigation is also more loud on the Clix2 as every click is very audible, further adding to the the "toy factor" of the Clix2

The Clix2 is highly customizable, the wallpapers and themes are great, colourful yet no obtrusive and don’t require any extra installation.
In some basic things the Clix2 offers less to its user than the M6 though. The display brightness for example can only be set to Low Medium or High and doesn’t give complete control over brightness like the M6 100 step brightness settings. (Also, the highest setting of brightness of the Clix2 is less bright than the highest setting on the M6.)Besides that, the sound setting are less elaborate than on the M6.

File transfer on the Clix2 and M6 are equally simple. Drag and Drop and you're ready to go.
The Clix2 has slightly faster transfers than the M6

The sound quality seems to be the part where the M6 has an advantage over the Clix2
While the Clix2 seems to be less hissy and has nice crisp sound it also lacks options to customize the sound the way you like it. SRS WOW is nice but the Clix2 does not offer the plethora of sound adjustment options found in the M6. The Clix2 seems to pack a significantly less punchy bass.

Video on the Clix2 looks very good. Videos play nearly instantly, are detailed and colourful.
While there is not a world shocking difference in video quality between the Clix2 and M6 there is a difference nevertheless in favour of the Clix2. The M6 does have the larger display benefit though.

In the end its hard to pick a winner. What player is best depends mostly on personal preferences and not as much on hard facts.

A short overview of pros and cons of each player could include these points:

Clix

Pro:
- Great design and looks
- Great menu structure
- Easy to use
- Clear and crisp display
- Beautiful menus both in landscape and portrait mode
- Highly customizable looks
- Instant-on after automatic shut down
- Video Quality at 30Fps
- Screen protector

Cons:
- Toyish feel
- Loud, audible clicks during navigation(further adding to the toyish theme)
- Light on Bass
- No full body protector
- Best navigated with 2 hands
- Higher price

M6

Pro:
- Nice design
- Strong and sturdy built
- Fast and easy navigation
- Great sound quality, lots of audio settings
- Large, bright display
- Full display, front and back protector
- Lower price

Con:
- Firmware could be polished
- Firmware updates can be confusing and often contain irrelevant extras while not focusing on real issues
- Video maxes out at 20Fps
- Start up time and auto shut down can be a nuisance


In the end, I prefer the M6 over the Clix2. This is based on 2 things.
First, the sound of the M6 is fuller and packs more punch. Second, and for me most important, the Clix2 doesn’t nearly feel as well built as the M6. Where the M6 feels like the sturdy player you can throw in your pocket the Clix2 feels a lot more like something you have to treat with care due to the complete front being one giant moving button and the use of plastic for the back.

This is not to say that the Clix2 is not well made. It’s a fine little player with great looks and quality both hardware and software wise that will probably do well in your pocket without breaking too.

Firmware wise, the M6 could learn from the slick looking Clix2. Lets face it, the average Mp3 player user expects smooth firmware straight out of the box and wont care to (or even know how to) upgrade every 3 months.

Build quality wise the Clix2 can learn from the throw-in-your-pocket-and-don’t-worry M6.
Most people won’t take the effort to treat their Mp3 player with the kind of care the Clix2 seems to prefer.

Attached Images

	M6Clix2.JPG (258.7 KB, 58 views)
	M6Clix2b.JPG (160.9 KB, 35 views)

Job

and also important.. the M6 build quality

laxx

I have to agree. I had a Clix (v1) and found the sound quality on the M6 better. Not alot better, but noticably better. This alone swayed me towards keeping my M6.

telemachus

Hi,
Excellent synopsis mate!

One thing not mentioned in your pro's and con's is the TWO very things that annoys me most about the Meizu...

1/ browse from music back to folder, click on an image to view it, but no, Miezu says Delete or Cancel? GRRRRR....

2/ browse back from music to read a text file (great) now try go back to the music... you have to go all the way back to the main page and back one more step... problem now is if you want to read text in the folder again, you cannot simply browse back one level, you will go back to the main menu and have to browse all the way back into the music folder again!! GRRRRR.....

Agreed the m6 is a sturdy, solid, fine bit of engineering and craftsmanship.

Mark.

speedracer

Shut Up The Meizu Is Better For The Price. Of Course You Will Get That For That Kind Of Money!!

telemachus

I dont care much about price, I want good features, good audio quality, good design, quality construction.

Meizu is great in some regards and PRICE has NOTHING to do with a poorly conceived menu structure. Its a matter of writing the code properly in the first place, not budget.

mark

DaremoS

Thanks Job for the detailed comparison...

I have one question: do clix2 display cover art?.
Cover art adds always a better looking and a sense of better designed interface... by this is a valuable.

I have been comparing my new iAudio D2 with my Meizu player and I've read good comments concerning Clix2. Due to this I have learned that nowadays MP4 players manufacturers are trying to bring more goodies than in the past and differences aren't so big.

I've learned too that we usually used the "sound quality" argument to destroy others players, and we, deep inside our minds, know that differences in this field aren't so big either and cheap player are compensating such differences with efficient effects like SRS or PlayFX, beside EQ.

At the end to make a player defunct for one of this reasons is simple silly. I own 5 players: Meizu M3, Teclast C260, Onda VX858, Actions ATJ2135, iAudio D2... I use all of them and none of them makes me feel disappointment by its sound (I have been for long years a music collector and an audiophile). I had in the past a M6 and a iRiver X20 (this one i really dislike its sound and limitations and I bring it as a gift).

And come on guys!!! ... price really matters! I would never have an Apple player or a Meizu M8... due to its prices and/or features.

What I mean with this thoughts is at the end we love the players we buy... and we stupidly hate those that we don't have! when technical differences aren't so big.

Sorry ... again... do clix2 display cover art?.

__________________

telemachus

Of course clix2 displays cover art, and it also allows you to navigate to the folder and see the OTHER album art, not just the one embedded in the tags... then navigata directly back to the tracklist instead of back to the main menu like meizu.

I disagree completely about sound quality. Perhaps your ears are not so good ;>
My nokia n95 is CRAP!!! Meizu M6 is MUCH better than the n95 for audio quality.
My wife has the clix2 and I have the m6... so direct comparisons are easy.
all the best
Mark.

DaremoS

:D:D:D:D:D ...

... iRiver X20 (this one I really dislike its sound and limitations and I bring it as a gift).

:D:D:D:D:D

Zaan

I've started looking for something that might replace my M6 (because I'm fed up with all its quirks), and I think the Clix2 might be a good choice, but I'm wondering:

what is the startup time of the Clix2 like? Does it have an auto shutdown time? If not, how fast can it begin playing after I haven't used it for a while?

it was mentioned that it's easy to use for listening to podcasts. I listen to podcasts all the time, so I was wondering if anybody could provide some more information on that.

what's the battery life like?