[Fabian Bautista]

Hello everyone!

Today I want to compare two modern DAPs, namely FiiO M17 and Hiby RS6, with a several-years old DAP King Astell & Kern SP2000 to try to find out which player could be nominated as the best among them.
So let's dive into the comparison!

Few Words About Myself​

I used to be a piano player through my childhood and teens for about 10 years (3 years of private lessons and 7 in one of the top local schools) mainly focusing on improvisation and picking up tunes by ear before my interests shifted towards other areas. That's why I'm very sensitive to music and sound reproduction quality. My favourite genres are Rock, Hard Rock, Electronics and Pop.

Setup and Settings​

Comparison was done using Oriolus Traillii IEM with specially tuned PW 1960 4.4mm cable and DCA Noire headphone with 4.4mm VIVO cable.
UAPP and Tidal were used for streaming. Stock apps were used for playing flacs and dsd from micro-sd card.
As for the line out tests I was connecting all DAPs to Luxman L-505uX MKII amp and Bowers & Wilkins 705 Signature speakers.

Players settings:

• M17 - High Gain, Over-ear and Enhanced Over-ear mods (DC). Hybrid fast roll-off minimum phase filter was used as an all rounder for better bass and treble quality. All To DSD setting turned on for better separation, clarity, details, transients and bass quality again
• RS6 - NOS mode for clarity, Atmosphere Enhanced for wider soundstage, Darwin 1 DSD filter, default late brickwall PCM filter, value of 0 for reference and 20 for lush sound of Harmonic Controller
• SP2K - default short delay sharp roll-off filter was used in order to get maximum details

Perks and Quirks​

Let's start with this one as it could be dealbreakers or showstoppers depending on your use case.

M17​

It's a brick! Well thank you cap but please really consider that it is quite hefty - even hanging it with one hand for some time could be a bit tiring. Navigation and so on could be done only with two hands or while M17 is placed on a dock or somehow else grounded.
Gamerish lights could be turned off completely which make it look as a serious brutal military-grade device (in case you plan to cosplay an FBI agent which tries to listen out for alien sounds).
Knob is too loose and volume control could be only knob or volume buttons but not both.
M17 quickly becomes warm during usage and would actually become quite hot with All to DSD setting turned on.
Supplied dock station has ridiculously loud fan so I keep it turned off for now thanks to the winter time.
The case is a bit loose and it lower locking part looks like it could dangerously open once.

RS6​

This player is lightweight and quite compact but still very comfortable to use due to display taking most of the front space. Unfortunately fine-tune audio setting and equalizer (MSEB) does not work always correctly or system-wide - some settings are completely ignored for MQA playback (not an issue if you are not into it of course).
The worst thing about it is that probably due to R2R architecture it takes enormous tens or even hundreds of hours of time to settle down in terms of sound quality and signature (besides your psycho-acoustic adjustment of course).
So proper burn-in is a must in this case.

SP2K (Stainless Steel)​

Good old veteran still being the top selection among the Astell & Kern DAPs. Does not have any new features from more modern company players like over-air app downloads. Not the fastest DAP in the market for sure but still not laggy at all (shame on you SP2KT).
A bit heavy but compact and comfortable to use unless you want to put it in your hand without a case - beware you can cut some fruits with its edges during your long trips if needed.

Sound Quality​

The most interesting part, right? Here we'll start in reverse order and use SP2K as a reference point.

SP2K​

I've named it a DAP King for a reason - it's still being a reference player for many reviewers and audiophiles emphasizing what a high-fidelity product should sound like:

• High-contrast natural to neutral just a tad warm (in some places along the frequency range) tuning. You'll get all your sub-bass, bass, mids, highs and nothing would be bloated. You won't find midbass occupying and shading out part of the mids and so on
• Excellent and not artificial sounding separation and clarity
• Wide and reference-like soundstage
• Excellent level details
• Good dynamics and transients
• A grain of smoothness to notes sounding which does not compromise details but contributes to overall musicality and sweetness
• Hiss levels are very moderate and not annoying

Only few things could be stated as its weakness points:

• Level of control is a bit loose - you probably won't hear it with IEMs but would start hearing it with your headphones. Using SP2K in a line-out mode on my desktop system highlighted it even more resulting in a bit more ethereal sound and not so punchy as it should be lower end
• Power could be enough to drive regular dynamic phones but even with DCA Noire easy-to-drive planars some times it felt like it lacked needed punch, dynamism and clarity

I find SP2K to be a great reference all-rounder. Its not fatiguing and leaves a very pleasant experience overall - once you start listening it's hard to stop really. While I have to admit I do not pick it always as a default option.
Still a great choice in 2022 though.

RS6​

Its being loved for vocals reproduction and analog sound due to its R2R architecture. So, let's see how at several times less cost it could play against SP2K:

• Boosted bass, mids forwardness and warm sounding dominates the frequency rage. You won't hear that much of sub-bass rumble or treble details as on SP2K due to its tuning while they all are present there - you can check it by adjusting how RS6 sound through an equalizer. And this is quite amazing keeping in mind price difference between those products
• The same goes to separation and clarity - while it could be achieved adjusting sound signature, default tuning is much more dense and energizing, especially in low end and mids
• I have to admit that details level is half-step behind SP2K due to RS6 smoothness
• RS6 is more relaxed in terms of dynamics and some transients could be reproduced in a somewhat blurred way
• On the other hand R2R smoothness is just amazing - vocals sound as natural as possible, sweetness is analog-like and addictive
• No hiss was detected at all using Traillii and Noire

Cons are quite the same as for SP2K:

• Level of control is even lower so I can't recommend it being used as a part of desktop system despite having separate line-outs. Combined with its smoothness it sound too weak everywhere except mids
• Again power issues for planars and hard to drive models

Overall if you listen to music to enjoy it and you like energizing smooth analog sound of RS tuning - I can easily recommend it over SP2K.
In case you want to have more reference tuning or you are into critical listening sessions than you won't be able to save funds with RS6
This DAP personally engages me a lot and I often pick it when I want to be blown away by emotional representation, especially in vocals.

M17​

And the final one is here! Let's compare it to SP2K and RS6 in both battery and DC modes:

• Tuning is neutral and almost everywhere linear across the range. Could be perceived as being on the cool side, but not overly much
• Separation and clarity drastically improves the higher gain setting you use:
  • in High Gain they are better than on RS6 but behind SP2K
  • in Over-ear mode they become just a tad behind SP2K
  • in DC Enhanced Over-ear they finally become on par with SP2K - and without a hint of artificial sounding due to high-contrast tuning tricks
• Again higher gain scales level of details and transient very well. Overall M17 is on par in High gain with SP2K but outperforming it in DC Enhanced Over-ear mode. Oh wow! Never thought that winning over SP2K would be possible! While you have to remember it is only achieved in DC mode
• Soundstage is the same good as on SP2K
• Dynamics and punch are clearly the best among those three DAPs. Even at High gain they are the best already while in the more higher modes Traillii start to sound that much realistically dynamic while not perceived as overdriven
• There is no analog smoothness or sweetness there - sorry guys. While someone can say that M17 provide a sort of digital sound I have to admit that it is still very musical one and not grainy
• No hiss up until Over-ear mode - there it becomes a bit more hearable than on SP2K but still not annoying (unlike for SP2KT)

So what are the cons in terms of SQ?:

• Level of control? No - it is almost as good as in desktop gear. Feeding to my Luxman amp worked perfectly, overall system sound was great and not fatiguing (I'm looking at you again SP2KT)
• Power issues? No again! You can drive almost any headphones to their full power unless they are Susvaras or something like DCA Stealth

I think that M17 is a great product with a very fair sound quality reproduction.
Beware it is does not sweeten things out. So bad recorded or mixed music would sound bad and you'll hear it all, M17 is not taking any prisoners here as one of reviewers sad.
On the other hand - good recording will sound just marvellous and you would be able to enjoy every bit of the sound coming.
And it does not matter if it would be IEMs, headphones or your desktop system.

Conclusion​

So which one would I keep if I have to choose only one?
As I need to have a streamer / DAC for my desktop system besides a player for my precious Traillii - I would keep M17 as an all-rounder for my stationary and portable use cases.
If we'll put desktop system aside - I'll pick up SP2K as being enjoyable Hi-Fi product which is much more portable.
And vocal lovers.. well, you know, they are vocal lovers - RS6 is the only option and non-R2R tech is not considered in such case

Hope you enjoyed the reading and it was useful for you, thanks!

Great review!
I never realize that M17 could be on same level of SP2000.
Only one question, it's safe to drive Tia Fourté on Enhanced Mode?

Keep sharing your findings!

 

[Fabian Bautista]

Does the m17 player have a glass / protective film on the screen?

Yes, it has on both protective film, back and forth.

 

[Alexzander]

Great review!
I never realize that M17 could be on same level of SP2000.
Only one question, it's safe to drive Tia Fourté on Enhanced Mode?

Keep sharing your findings!

Thanks for your warm appreciation of this comparison
Yes, it should be absolutely safe - just lower the volume first to not blow your ears.

 

[tb303]

Folks - I'm the Fiio M17 owner and absolutely love it with ZMF/Meze (obviously tuned with the right gain, balanced cable and DAC filter). One question though: what charger can you recommend, as have mixed feelings, seeing not much about it in the manual? Technically, it can be any QC3.0 or PD type one, but again there is a warning not to exceed certain Volts, Amps and Watts, so realistically any modern USB charger should be OK, but again they kind of warn you not to use anything more powerful than what is commonly available on the market. Realistically then, I'm looking for a charger that charges my DAP really fast, but won't damage it. Let me know what your experience is. Tks.

 

[Alexzander]

Folks - I'm the Fiio M17 owner and absolutely love it with ZMF/Meze (obviously tuned with the right gain, balanced cable and DAC filter). One question though: what charger can you recommend, as have mixed feelings, seeing not much about it in the manual? Technically, it can be any QC3.0 or PD type one, but again there is a warning not to exceed certain Volts, Amps and Watts, so realistically any modern USB charger should be OK, but again they kind of warn you not to use anything more powerful than what is commonly available on the market. Realistically then, I'm looking for a charger that charges my DAP really fast, but won't damage it. Let me know what your experience is. Tks.

I think it would make more sense to ask in a dedicated M17 thread - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...attery-2-volume-control-modes.954441/page-377