The M9 High Resolution Music Player from FiiO is going to appeal to the modern day digital consumer who wants a high level of audio quality, portability and a host of features that you won’t find with less expensive players. The M9 is FiiO’s flagship DAP.
Some of the features that set it apart include its ability to connect wirelessly or send files wirelessly. So if you want to listen to music via a streaming service like Tidal or Spotify you can do that. If you want to transfer songs wirelessly from your computer to the M9, you can do that as well. You can also connect the M9 to you computer to function as a DAC.
There’s so much the M9 can do, so in this review we’ll dive into the specifics about the different features and talk about how well everything works.
Ultimately, this is an outstanding DAP and truly earns it’s flagship title. But there are a few reasons this may not be ideal DAP for everyone which we’ll discuss below as well.
Currently the M9 retails for around $300, but you can click here to check the current price.
ACCESSORIES
Included with the M9 is a 3.5mm to coaxial adapter, a USB Type-C cable, a clear rubberized/silicone protective cover and a manual.
DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY
The M9 is solidly built fully-aluminum, unibody design. It feels sturdy in the hand and has an ergonomic design to it.
The screen is a LG IPS multi-touch one with 16 million colors and 3.2 inches in size. The resolution is 800×480 with a pixel density of 292 PPI. What’s great about this screen is that you have zero viewing angle issues or problems with color distortion. It works very well.
It weighs 133g and the dimensions of the M9 are 60mm x 106mm x 13.3mm which makes is reasonably compact. However, it is a bit husky or thick compared to most smartphones. But fortunately, it is still easy enough to carry around in a bag or pant pocket.
On the left side of the player there are several buttons for: power/lockscreen, play/pause, and selecting the previous or next track. These buttons can all be activated or deactivated within the “key-lock” setting option.
Then near the top there is a volume wheel which is responsive and accurate to use. Each rotation position provides 1 volume step up or down for a total of 120 volume steps. Finally at the bottom you have a Micro SD card slot. The M9 includes 2GB of internal storage and using the Micro SD card slot the storage can be expanded up to 2TB.
On the bottom of the M9 you have two outputs. One is a 2.5mm balanced output (≥210mW @ 32Ω) and the other is a 3.5mm headphone/lineout/coaxial output (≥170mW @ 32Ω). If using the coaxial output, you will need to use the included coaxial adapter. Having a balanced output connector is one of the aspects of this player that really sets it apart from other portable players in this price range.
Finally, in the center is a USB Type-C transfer/charging port that supports functionality for USB DAC use and USB audio capability.
Charging time takes about 2 hours when needing to fully charge from zero battery life.
FEATURES
The M9 has a lot of features, many of which are geared towards the modern music listener. For example the M9 includes WIFI and DLNA support.
It has Bluetooth 4.2 audio with full support for the following formats: LDAC, aptX, aptX HD, SBC and HWA. This means you can listen to your music wirelessly without any compromise in music quality.
Using the M9 in Bluetooth mode works really well. I found it easy to connect to a variety of Bluetooth devices. It holds the connection without drops and provides a nice, clean signal that sounds great!
The M9 includes dual AK4490EN DACs (one per channel), which offer a sampling rate of up to 32Bit/768kHz PCM and supports up to DSD256 (11.2MHz). This is the same DAC used in FiiO’s flagship Q5 portable amp and it’s what gives the M9 such excellent decoding performance.
There are a host of additional audio settings you can adjust within the “Audio” submenu that’s part of the “Settings” category found on the home screen. Here you can adjust or change things such as:
• Output selection: PO, LO, SPDIF
• SPDIF output: DoP (DSD over PCM), D2P (DSD to PCM)
• Gain: low, high
• 5 different lowpass filter options
• 6 wireless playback quality codecs can be selected
• 9 different balance levels
And because the M9 also functions as a DAC, you can now have a great listening experience using any files stores on your computer. Basically you will connect the M9 to your computer or laptop and use the M9 to do the work of decoding your music rather than your computer/laptop.
The M9 has a, Android based OS which makes it very intuitive to use. So there’s really not much of a learning curve with learning how to use or navigate it. The learning curve would have more to do with understanding how to use or benefit from all the included features. But getting up and running with playing music on this is a breeze.
Responsiveness is excellent, and scrolling is fluid without any lags or delay. Although it’s not quite as snappy as newer smartphones, the response is still very good.
The home or main menu screen has 9 different categories: FiiO Music, File Management, Gallery, Tech Support, Settings, KKBox (a leading Taiwanese music streaming app in Asiatic countries), MOOV (music streaming app), NetEase Music (Chinese music streaming service) and TIDAL.
It has a touch-sensitive screen which provides the same level of functionality as the physical buttons located at the left side of the device.
There are a couple of touch screen gestures as well which allow you to go to the previous screen by swiping up from the bottom-left, or go back to the home screen by swiping up from the bottom-right.
The M9 uses a 2350mAh lithium-polymer rechargeable battery that gives you up to 30 hours of continuous playback (while in BT mode) or 45 days in deep sleep mode. When using the 3.5mm jack for a wired connection you can expect at least 10 hours of music listening.
There is a unique RGB light indicator on the bottom of the screen which indicates the type of audio format or resolution being played. For example, when playing MP3 files, the FiiO light indicator turns blue and when it’s playing a high res file, it turns a purple color (as shown in the photos below). This is the first time a feature like this has been added to a FiiO DAP.
A 10-band equalizer is included which covers a range from +6dB to -6dB. It has 9 difference presents which includes: Pop, Rock, Blues, Vocal, Dance, Metal, Jazz, Classical and the ability to customize your own EQ which you can manually set.
Because the M9 uses Android it does allow you to install third-party apps (that have been approved by FiiO). Some examples of approved apps you can install are: Deezer, Roon, Qobuz and Spotify.
The downside though is you’re not able to download these apps directly from the M9. You’ll need to download the app you want to use to a microSD card, and then install that app using the “File Management” option on the M9.
Almost all of the modern audio formats are supported which include the following:
– DSD: DSD64,128 (iso, dsf, dff)
– APE (Fast): 192 kHz / 24 bit
– APE (Normal): 192 kHz / 24 bit
– APE (High): 192kHz / 24 bit
– APE (Extra High): 48kHz / 24bit
– APE (Insane): 48 kHz / 24 bit
– FLAC: 192 kHz / 24 bit
– WAV: 192 kHz / 64 bit
– Aiff: 192 kHz / 24 bit
– AIF: 192 kHz / 24 bit
– WMA Lossless: 96 kHz / 24 bit
– Apple Lossless: 192 kHz / 24 bit
– MP3
– OGG
– M4A
– AAC
– ALAC
– ISO
– DFF
– DSF
– LRC – for lyrics
SOUND QUALITY
The M9 puts out plenty of power, is totally quiet and provides an exceptionally clean sound. Overall the sound quality of the M9 can be described as flat and pure. It’s not sterile as there’s just a touch of warmth, but this player offers incredible precision that doesn’t add or take away anything from the music.
It really preserves the original sound of each recording. So there’s no coloration or boosting of any frequencies. However, if you choose to use the EQ you can adjust the listening experience to your liking.
And truly, whichever of the various inputs or output type modes you use, everything sounds incredible. Dynamics, sound stage, transparency, it’s all very well executed.
FiiO recommends using headphones (or earphones) with an impedance between 16 and 300 ohms. The FH5 or the FA7 are examples of balanced earphones that pair really well with the M9. But most earphones or headphones are within this range so the M9 can truly handle just about any type of headphone you’d want to use with it.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Now even though this is an amazing player with lot of great features, there are a few things that may disappoint depending on your situation.
First, if you’ve used any of FiiO’s smaller DAPs, you may find this a bit on the larger size by comparison. So while it’s definitely still a portable DAP, if you prefer using sleeker and slimmer devices then the overall shape and size may take a little getting used to.
Next, while the virtual keyboard is handy and easy to use, some may find it a bit on the small size. Although personally this isn’t something I typically use, if you have larger fingers and know you’ll want to use this feature often then that may be something to consider.
Also, while it’s wonderful to see that the M9 allows you to add any of the approved third-party apps, it’s not going to be as easy and convenient to do as say installing an app on your phone. So depending on your situation, this may or may not be much of an issue.
BOTTOM LINE
But otherwise, the M9 is truly a premium DAP that delivers a very precise and pure sound along with a massive amount of features. And because of all the great features, this makes for a great player to grow into as well.
For example, you may start out using this primarily for Mp3 files, great sound quality and all the features this comes with. But then over time, you may start to develop a larger selection of higher quality music files and higher quality headphones or earphones.
But what’s nice is that you won’t need to upgrade your player because it will be ready to handle everything. So even if you’re not fully taking advantage of all the features day 1, it’s still an amazing player. But more than likely as you go along, you’ll start using and benefiting from the additional features and be really glad they’re already included in this player!
So ultimately, the M9 combines audiophile level features and sound quality with features that will appeal to modern users. Being fully wifi and bluetooth compatible makes this a device you can easily use whenever and wherever.
And it’s ability to function not only as a portable device but as a solid DAC for your computer or laptop gives you even more reasons to enjoy and love this device. So far, this is the best DAP I’ve come across at this price point.
thx for the detailed review, especially appreciate the link to where you can download the third party apps for the M9. it’s just what i was trying to find!