Fiio M11 Review

Thanks to the pioneers of smartphone-esque music players for veering the world from hi-fi players experience into an Android-based smart audio player.

One of those pioneers is Fiio M11 Portable High-Resolution Audio Player, which is more like a smartphone and a hipster alternative to all gauche Apple and Sony PMPs.

Fiio, a digital audio obsessive brand, is living a double life for over a dozen years; in China and throughout Asia, the brand is known to be the frontrunners in the digital audio players and peripheries.

You must be thinking, why do we even need to have a FiiO M11 Pro or any other audio player as half-decent smartphones are capable of streaming, storing a few tunes, streaming, and sounding less as atrocious as they do?

The obvious answer is the sound quality; smartphone audio offers a cliche experience, whereas FiiO is ready to serve you the à la carte option.

Design and Built

When compared to other Fiio DAPs, the Fiio M11 is thicker and heavier; this audio player boasts a 5.15-inch IPS display with a 720p resolution, enclosed in an HD territory. The best thing about this player is its bright and sharp screen; even the viewing angles are also better, good enough to watch videos.

To make it more appealing, its inputs – 2.5mm jack, standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 4.4mm jack to go with a USB-C port – are arrayed at the bottom. 

There is a play and pause button on the left edge along with a volume dial and track navigation. On the right edge, there are two microSD card slots; both can handle as high as 2TB, respectively. 

Caveat: Users have reported having issues with some high-end cards in slot 1, which is acknowledged by Fiio; if you have a limited music library, it’s an internal storage of 32 GB (only 26GB is usable). 

Stress not, physical controls are a few; most interaction is done via the touchscreen. 

On the audio side, Fiio offers dual AK4493EQ DACs, with enough amplification and power – to use just about any pair of headphones.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the overall look is its fantastic screen-to-body ratio, though a power button is placed at a strange place, but if you think deeply, having the power button on the far left of the top edge makes sense to you too.

The best thing about this is that you can use any headphones you want with the FiiO M11 audio player without the need for an adapter.

Hardware

In terms of hardware, the M11 is running a Samsung Exynos 7872 hexa-core CPU chip in conjunction with 3Gb of RAM, clocking at 1.6GHz (for 4 little cores) and 2GHz for the other 2 big cores.

For the audio specifications, you will be treated with a pair of AK4493EQ DAC chips, which is enough to decode up to 384kHz/32-bit PCM files and up to DSD256. 

Software and Connectivity

The M11 offers multiple ways of playing your audio, including streaming on WiFi through various streaming platforms, including the most popular ones such as Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, and more. You can access these apps directly on your player since they are fully supported by the OS and screen of the M11. Having these services incorporated is a major plus point since many other competitive devices don’t offer the same.

You can also add music onboard the player in multiple ways, the most basic method is to connect to a PC or laptop via the USB and transfer the files, or using microSD cards, but you can also get audio files onto your M11 player wirelessly through the built-in WiFi Transfer function. WiFi file transfers are easy, quick, and hassle-free when you get the hang of it.

At first, it seems a little finicky to use, but once you get it working, it is a very useful feature. Another reason we love M11 is that it is Roon-ready to access it directly from M11.

M11 allows you to both broadcast and receive Bluetooth signals with its two-way Bluetooth functionality. Unfortunately, you do not get Bluetooth 5.0 with M11, so you would have to compromise with Bluetooth 4.2. Apart from that, M11 offers all other necessary Bluetooth tech, including LDAC, LHDC, aptX, and aptX HD; the notably missing thing is AAC over Bluetooth, though it works with AAC as a format.

Being friendly to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi signals, it was easier for the M11 to become a receiver of the audio coming from an iOS device or Mac computer.

It means you can play tunes from Google Play Music, Apple Music, or just about any other source; this player is good for streaming FLAC and WAV files, thanks to its DLNA and UPnP support. You can always connect something compatible with FiiO M11, using its coaxial-to-3.5mm adapter.

The M11 player runs on Android 7.0 Nougat; sadly, there is no Google Play Store to download apps. Instead, it has its own market, which boasts many popular music and streaming apps. Don’t worry, with the Chrome browser preinstalled, you can easily surf over YouTube and Netflix.

Bluetooth and WiFi Connectivity

The M11 offers multiple ways of playing your audio, including streaming on WiFi through various streaming platforms, including the most popular ones such as Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, and more. You can access these apps directly on your player since they are fully supported by the OS and screen of the M11. Having these services incorporated is a major plus point since many other competitive devices don’t offer the same.

You can also add music onboard the player in multiple ways, the most basic method is to connect to a PC or laptop via the USB and transfer the files, or using microSD cards, but you can also get audio files onto your M11 player wirelessly through the built-in WiFi Transfer function. WiFi file transfers are easy, quick, and hassle-free when you get the hang of it.

Battery Life

M11 possesses a larger 3800 mAh Li-Po battery that can play up to 13 continuous hours of music playback; turning wireless radios might decrease these numbers, so use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when needed.

The best thing – you can keep M11 in deep-sleep, a kinda stand-by mode, for up to 50 days!

Audio Performance 

On the go, I listen to M11 via the 2.5 mm balanced out with the FiiO’s very sensitive FH7 and FA7 IEMs, especially in noisy situations and at home, with my Quad ERA-1 planars, using the 3.5 mm SE output.

With FiiO M11, you can drive at about 110 for high dynamic range tracks as older jazz about 105 volume with modern tunes; even after about two days of non-stop burn-in, you will be happy to realize that FiiO runs with a much wider sound yet with the cleaner presentation.

M11 has a layered and spread out sound system; you will feel more like a pumped-up desktop DAC/Amp than as a portable one.

The depth is also crazy, even in terms of frequency response, M11 won linearly, with just a tiny accent in the mid-bass and upper treble.

As far as midrange is concerned, M11 really shines as it is a bit fuller, thanks to it being denser and has more meat to the bone, even voices, pipes, strings, piano, and so on also felt melodious and soul-reaching.

Add to that; its treble is also outstanding in performance – it has more “zing” rather than a whole lot of “SSSsss” that’s a good thing in my book.

FiiO implemented an interesting feature that you will find in Settings > Audio > All to DSD, enabling DSD will convert all PCM audio data streams to DSD format via the digital to the analog conversion process. With it enabled, all your sounds run smoothly, more natural without touching the transient response. 

Make sure that enabling DSD will consume more power and dissipate more heat (M11 will get warmer to touch).

Hi-Resolution Wireless Audio Certified

According to JAS, the organization that created the Hi-Res Audio standard, the Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification logo was released after November 28, 2018, and it can be registered for wireless goods that fulfill the same standards as typical Hi-Res certified items when linked wirelessly. LDAC is the only Audio Codec that has been approved and may be certified for Hi-Res Audio Wireless.

The M11 features all of the standard Bluetooth codecs and can connect to all of the most recent Hi-Res receivers and earbuds. The device also includes Airplay compatibility with Apple TV and other Airplay-enabled speakers.

Packaging & Accessories

Before you open the paper box, you’ll notice two high-resolution logos. The M11 is one of the first products to receive high-resolution wireless certification. Flipping over to the back of the package, you’ll notice that aptX HD, LDAC, and HWA are all supported; this DAP supports almost all of the prominent high-resolution Bluetooth protocols on the market.

Taking off the sleeves reveals a substantial inside box with FiiO’s logo embossed and laminated, similar to the FA7 we saw earlier. The M11 arrives covered in a milky plastic bag in the center of the box, with a glass display protector affixed and a TPU case pre-installed.

Other than the user manuals, the accessories box includes a Coaxial cable and a USB cable. Included is a sim-card pin that may assist you in accessing both of the micro-sd card slots. You’ll also find your standard warranty and FiiO fast start manuals inside the package.

Comparison

How does the FiiO M11 Plus stack up against the Sony NW-ZX507/S?

While both players have only 64GB of internal storage and elegant metal chassis, FiiO outperforms Sony in almost every other aspect for $130 less. With Android 9 instead of 10 and a 3.6″ display instead of the M11’s 5.5″, Sony isn’t hesitant to cut corners on the less crucial functions. Still, while they both handle high-resolution files, the M11’s maximum supported bitrates are greater. Because Sony manufactures the DAC as well as amp chips for the NW-ZX507/S rather than purchasing them from other DAP makers, it isn’t easy to make a direct comparison of the processors that truly matter here.

Like the M11, Sony excludes the 2.5mm balanced jack but offers an extended battery life while being around 3mm slimmer.

What is the difference between the FiiO M11 Plus and the Astell&Kern A&norma SR25?

These two devices are identical in terms of file support, storage, and even pricing. The aesthetic of both of these players is far from similar, as Astell&Kern is noted for different design work. What it might possess in terms of originality, it lacks in terms of flexibility. 

The A&norma SR25 is a bit more Android-based than you are probably used to. Additionally, any streaming apps must be sideloaded onto it via a computer rather than through the play store, and the number of supported apps is limited to roughly 20. It also has a battery capacity of more than 3000 mAh, as opposed to the M11’s 6000.

Do We Recommend Fiio M11?

Although the Fiio M11 has earned our approval for a variety of reasons, including its excellent performance and outstanding build quality, let us consider who should buy it and who should avoid it:

Who Should Purchase the Fiio M11?

• Those looking for a pocket-sized music player with desktop-quality audio
• Those looking for a mid-range DAP with many flagship features but without the four-figure price tag

Who Shouldn’t Purchase the Fiio M11?

• Those looking for a true flagship DAP
• Those looking for affordable audiophile gear

Verdict 

FiiO M11 is one of the really high-end DAPs with the fastest CPU and SoC. It offers three headphone standards and has the best Bluetooth chip capable of LDAC, aptX-HD, and HWA. To set off the limited ROM, the smart audio player offers two microSD card slots.

Sound-wise it boasts a high-quality DAC/Amp unit coiled with impressive traits like impressive depth, wide soundscape, and pin-point accuracy. Being one of the best alternatives to desktop DAC, M11 Transparency, and detail retrieval are of higher levels. 

Overall, FiiO M11 feels quite impressive, solid as a brick; overall, it is a beautiful machined aluminum device with edges, follows a huge glass sheet on the back covering and a huge bezel-less screen. Though industrial a bit, its looks are minimalist but feels a bit heavy yet classy.

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