Excellent multi-purpose portable player
Pros:
- Strong, detailed sound
- Fast bootup/shutdown
- Good balanced output
- Very good Bluetooth output
- Large and sharp screen (for a DAP)
- Responsive touch control
- Precise 120-step volume knob
- 6 digital filters for sound tweaking
- Massive storage capacity (dual microSD slots)
- Decent WiFi performance
- Good battery life
- Good build quality
- “All to DSD” is nice bonus feature for audiophiles
Cons:
- Tray-style micro SD slots may be a nuisance for some
- Weight and bulk may not appeal to those used to slim smartphones
- Will need to use balanced out or line out for best sound
- M11 Pro and M11 Plus Ltd exist
I bought the M11 as an upgrade over my X5 3rd Gen. The M11 is basically everything that the X5 III was, but on steroids - bigger, faster, and more grunt. Bigger, more responsive screen. Bigger, longer lasting battery. Much faster startup and shutdown times. More functions. And better sounding.
The M11 has all the lowpass filters from the X5 III, but adds a new one called “low dispersion short delay filter.” To my ears it subtly flattens low frequencies. This may help to tame overly aggressive bass.
The M11 has dual microSD trays (like the X5 III) and supports microSD cards up to 2 terabytes, so you could have 4TB of storage in your pocket. (Weirdly, the M11’s step-up model, the M11 Pro, reverts to a single microSD slot.)
The M11 produces very good sound. It brings out greater musical detail than my X5 III could. I am assuming this is mostly due to the M11’s better DAC (it uses the AKM 4493, whereas the X5 III uses the AKM 4490), though I understand that the quality of the circuitry around the DAC plays a part too.
The balanced output is a big improvement over the X5 III. I had been disappointed by the X5 III’s relatively weak sound from its balanced out, but the M11 has rectified that. However, for the best sound I still use the line out and feed it to an external amp. My favorite portable headphone amp is Monolith’s THX AAA 124460 unit.
The M11 has an “All to DSD” function which upconverts all audio to a DSD sample rate of 2.8 MHz, as compared to 44.1 kHz of CD audio. I’m willing to say I heard a difference between FLAC files and the DSD upconverted file, but that difference is very subtle – generally a slightly more spacious sound and slightly better definition in the treble region. With All to DSD turned off, I compared some FLAC encoded albums to their actual DSD mastered versions. There was a more obvious difference this time around: the DSD version had clearly greater presence and detail, while at the same time sounding smoother than its regular FLAC counterpart. So for me the moral is that an upconversion trick is not a substitute for the real thing. But All to DSD is still a nice little bonus that Fiio throws in, so there’s no harm in trying it for yourself. It might actually make lower quality audio sources sound a lot better.
Bluetooth sounds very good. Maybe it’s the quality of the connection, but whatever the reason, Bluetooth audio on my M11 sounds clearer and stronger than on my phone. The M11 does support the higher spec wireless codecs, namely aptX-HD and LDAC, but I have no way to know if the M11 actually hits those higher bitrates in use.
WiFi performance is basically on par with my phone. I can freely browse the Google Play Store and install apps from it, though I prefer not to clutter up a dedicated music device like the M11 with more bloat. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. While the M11 does its best to imitate a smartphone, it isn’t as powerful as one. Certainly not against the latest and greatest ones out there. Therefore it will take slower to process all the apps that you may be tempted to throw at it. Just use the M11 for its intended purpose as a portable music player that can rival the sound from any phone, and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
The only real mark against the M11 in its field is that it’s competing against newer siblings, the M11 Pro and the M11 Plus Limited. Fiio may have released them too close to each other. So the plain M11 might no longer be desirable for those who want the M11 in its “final form.” However, I can still recommend the “vanilla” M11 as an excellent portable player that nearly rivals my desktop PC for audio fidelity.
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Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
