2 big thumbs up for using the words 'free of charge'. Nice review too, Kudos fella 
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
taffy2207
bolmeteus
Good review. This would have been perfect starter gear, if only it had a proper line out. For what it is the pricing might have been more competitive at 40$
oldschool
Sweet review. Perhaps you could've mentioned the lack of support for 96khz FLACs - this is a feature that would've made this little player truly audiophile.
I am surprised at the slight nod towards the Rockboxed Clip+ in terms of SQ - I would expect the M3 has better DAC and amp, given that the Clip+ is a 7-year old product, Rockboxed or not.
I am surprised at the slight nod towards the Rockboxed Clip+ in terms of SQ - I would expect the M3 has better DAC and amp, given that the Clip+ is a 7-year old product, Rockboxed or not.
d marc0
@taffy2207 thank you. I never really paid attention to disclaimers in the past because I was under the impression that if the reviewer says the unit was provided by the manufacturer, more often than not - the review unit was provided free of charge. Not until the recent discussion on this topic have I realised that it's more complex than that. Cheers!
This review unit has been given away to a lucky winner via Raffle on thesoundreq. Unfortunately, I couldn't announce it here.
@bolmeteus thanks mate. Oh how i wish the M3 had a true line-out.
@oldschool Cheers buddy. I'll keep that in mind. Honestly, I thought DSD is the most sought out format by the serious audiophile. And because it's clear in the specifications that 96khz flac is unsupported, it kinda felt sufficient for me. Thanks for the comment, it does provide a different perspective and I'm more than happy to consider your suggestion. I've edited the content to reflect this.
This review unit has been given away to a lucky winner via Raffle on thesoundreq. Unfortunately, I couldn't announce it here.
@bolmeteus thanks mate. Oh how i wish the M3 had a true line-out.
@oldschool Cheers buddy. I'll keep that in mind. Honestly, I thought DSD is the most sought out format by the serious audiophile. And because it's clear in the specifications that 96khz flac is unsupported, it kinda felt sufficient for me. Thanks for the comment, it does provide a different perspective and I'm more than happy to consider your suggestion. I've edited the content to reflect this.
d marc0
@oldschool the slight nod towards the Rockbloxed Clip+ was only made possible by the slightly high noise floor on the M3. Had it been dead quiet for sensitive IEMs, the M3 would surely be on top of the Clip+ in terms of sound quality.
h1f1add1cted
The firmware of the FiiO M3 may not support FLAC 96 kHz playback, but the used Cirrus Logic CS42L5 dac inside of the FiiO M3 support the output up to 24/96.
wahsmoh
I remember my first SanDisk Clip+.. I sat on it and it died lol. I have since owned two Clip Sports, one lost and one I still own today. Honestly.. forget the Clip Sport or + unless you just want a banger DAP to take to the gym.
Just get the X3II or X5II if your aims are for sound quality then combine with the Mojo for even better SQ. I only use the Clip series for the sole purpose of the gym. I would expect the Fiio M3 to be used the same way, but maybe with more structural integrity than the Clip+.
Just get the X3II or X5II if your aims are for sound quality then combine with the Mojo for even better SQ. I only use the Clip series for the sole purpose of the gym. I would expect the Fiio M3 to be used the same way, but maybe with more structural integrity than the Clip+.
