[FiiO]

How abt the FA19? Looking forward to it after having the FA9

Dear friend,

About August if everything goes well.

Best regards

 

[FiiO]

Thank you Fiio.
Can you share any information about upcoming M23?

Dear friend,

Thanks for your attention. Currently we do not have further information about M23.

Best regards

 

[ImMcLovin]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already but for the 2-pin version of the upcoming UTWS15, can it be made to work with recessed 2-pin sockets? The 2-pin right now is very limiting for many of the IEMs on the market and the only real solution is to buy the MMCX UTWS5 and attach a MMCX to 2-pin adapter. Unfortunately this doesn't always work since it lengthens the cable causing larger IEMs to not fit in the case.

 

[tor230]

Hello Fijo.
Do you have any information about the release of the BTR15?

 

[mcnaugha]

(5) Bluetooth DAC/Amps preview and existing product information
In FiiO's history, Bluetooth DAP/Amps were actually a little earlier than compact portable DAC/Amps (USB dongles). They are important devices for many audiophiles who use cell phones to listen to music. Since 2016, FiiO started to develop Bluetooth devices, putting heavy investments in the wireless darkroom, RF instruments and other hardware facilities, Bluetooth antenna as well as software and hardware developers. It is no exaggeration to say that in this market segment, FiiO has become the brand with the most market share and the strongest developing ability in the world.
In 2023, we will not make many improvements in portable Bluetooth DAC/Amps, mainly because the development of Bluetooth technology has been relatively mature. And limited by size, output power and Bluetooth codecs, it is hard to make a big innovation. Here we would like to share our new products and review some of our previous products.
1. BTR15 (New), expected to be available in the fall
The BTR5 is the most successful portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp in the history of FiiO. It has been more than three years since it was released in October 2019. Thanks to the moderate price, exquisite and good-looking appearance, high-end configuration and high output power, it was even difficult to find a rival. Therefore, it was always out of stock.
The popularity of the BTR5 has set a benchmark in main configuration and design for this kind of product: full Bluetooth format support, with a display, both wired DAC and wireless HiFi support, dual DACs, both single-ended and balanced outputs support, an average body/weight.
So, although FiiO released the BTR7 after that, we believe the most classic one is still the BTR5. In 2023, after 4 years since the birth of the BTR5, we will introduce an iterated model of the BTR5. The main reason for this upgrade is that the Qualcomm 8675 has been on the market for too long and Qualcomm was no longer popularizing it, so it may be discontinued. Or, even if it is not discontinued, the lead time may be very long.
The BTR15 is currently under planning, so we don't have many details to share for the time being. But the 2.5+3.5mm output combination will certainly be changed to 3.5+4.4mm following the trend, so it will have a larger body than the BTR5. The Bluetooth chip may be upgraded to the QCC series, and for other features and specifications, we will also strive to make the BTR15 another classic product according to the chip supply and feedback from our early users.

2. BTR3K (existing model)
The BTR3K is also a classic model: full format support, good performance, warm sound quality, and single-ended and balanced output support. Before the BTR5 came out, it was the main model. Although the BTR5 stole its heat, it doesn't need too many functions and doesn't need to be able to work as a USB dongle if only working as a Bluetooth headphone amp. Overall, the BTR3K is tinier and more affordable.
The Bluetooth DAC/Amp market is still mainly for audiophiles. Currently, the BTR5 is more expensive yet with more sales volumes. Therefore, we are not planning to upgrade the BTR3K in 2023. When the chip is out of stock, it would retire naturally.

3. BTR7 (existing model)
In the beginning, we had some concerns about the BTR7. Because for FiiO's product lines, we define portable Bluetooth DAC/Amps as small and compact ones to differentiate them from portable DAC/Amps with Bluetooth reception, such as the Q7.
At that time, we were still uncertain whether to make a Bluetooth DAC/Amp that is bigger, significantly heavier and more expensive than the BTR5. In the end, we followed the principle of "practice makes perfect".
The BTR7 has exceeded our expectations. This should owe to its significantly higher output power than those mobile-powered dongles, plus the higher resolution display, MQA support, and the more popular 4.4mm balanced headphone output.
As a result, the BTR7 not only extends the product line, but also manages to become the hottest-selling high-end Bluetooth DAC/Amp on the market.

Please can we get a BTR19 which features Cirrus Logic flagship DAC’s and QCC5181 with addition of LC3, LC3plus, LHDC 5.0 and aptX Lossless codecs? Rest of features can be same as BTR7. This would be a sell-out killer 2023 product. It would support spatial audio and aptX Lossless 48kHz which would be a world’s and FiiO first. Audiophile heaven.

Also please can you make clear silicone cases for all of your dongle-like products or ask partner to make? I scratch my KA3 on first day. I want to see my FiiO product in all its beauty and not be hidden by leather case.

 

[mcnaugha]

(6) TWS headphones preview and existing product information
TWS headphones are the most popular and profitable product in the consumer electronics market besides mobile phones in the past few years. Like Apple, the profit of AirPods and AirPods Pro is more than the sum of the profit of several Chinese mobile phone brands. One of the main reasons is that TWS headphones greatly facilitate users. Of course, features like active noise cancellation also give users many benefits that ordinary wired headphones cannot provide.
FiiO has also been putting a lot of effort into developing TWS-related products, such as the TWS ear hook series, the UTWS1/3/5, and TWS headphones, the FW1/5, EW1, etc..
But practically speaking, not just FiiO, brands like Sennheiser, Audio-Technica and other big HiFi headphone brands at home and abroad cannot take a place and make money in the TWS market yet. The main reason is that mobile phone brands are the main leaders in this market, while headphone brands are less competitive in any aspect.
However, we have seen a lot of market research reports that exposed that consumers focused the most on sound quality for TWS products. So, will it succeed if developing them with HiFi sound quality? We are still working hard on it, expecting to provide one more choice for our users, so that they can enjoy the convenience brought by TWS without giving up the sound quality.
1. UTWS15 ((NEW), expected to be available in the fall
The UTWS15 is the upgrade model of the UTWS5. The core architecture of the UTWS5 is still the one with the best sound quality among TWS products, because ordinary TWS products still choose the integrated DAC, which has weaker audio performance than the independent HiFi DAC used in the UTWS5. Even for the new TWS from vivo, we later got to know it used an independent DAC because it is attached to the noise cancellation function, but not using it for better sound quality like us.
So, the main progress of the UTWS15 is in some details of the experience, such as the size and weight of the charging case, the size and weight of the ear hook, as well as the new design of the contact connection. Old UTWS5 users are not necessary to upgrade it.
2. FW3 (NEW), expected to be available in the fall
The FW5 is the HiFi TWS earbuds released by FiiO last year, with very high configurations in all aspects, which is essentially fixed with 1 dynamic driver + 2 Knowles balanced armature acoustic solution based on the UTWS5. Although we have tried to keep the cost down, its price is still a little high compared to ordinary TWS products.
Therefore, we may change the acoustic solution to a single dynamic driver on the basis of the FW5 to see if we can expand the market and increase sales with a reduced price.
3. UTWS3 (existing model)
Although the architecture of the UTWS3 is not as advanced as the UTWS5, the addition of the independent headphone amplifier still made a great contribution to the sound quality improvement, especially those dynamic earphones that require high output power with low sensitivity. It is appropriate to connect them with the UTWS3, and the price is reasonable.
By the way, the design, features and sound quality of the UTWS3 were the top compared to similar TWS ear hooks.

4. UTWS5 (existing model)
The sound quality of the UTWS5 is the top among current TWS products. It is just the right one to help audiophiles upgrade their detachable wired earbuds to TWS ones, convenient and cost-efficient. Therefore, the UTWS5 has also been warmly welcomed by users since its release. From a certain point of view, audiophiles actually do not reject TWS, and recognize the sound quality of the UTWS5.

5. FW5 (existing model)
We introduced the FW5 earlier, i.e. the UTWS5 + HiFi earbuds. Compared to the UTWS5, it fits more with users' habits of TWS products, while the UTWS5 is a bit like a sports TWS.
All in all, we have no plans to upgrade the FW5 this year. If you are interested in it, don't miss the chance.

Please can we get UTWS17 with QCC5181, adding LC3, LC3plus, LDAC, LHDC 5.0, aptX Lossless 48KHz and spatial audio. I would pay anything for these! They would be competition-busting world first. legendary for years to come.

 

[mcnaugha]

(1) HiFi new portable players preview and existing product information
At the request of the users, we would like to share our new product plan for 2023 here with you, so that you can choose the appropriate products based on your needs.

Before getting to the topic, we would like to briefly explain the general strategy of our portable player product line. From 2020 onwards, FiiO has been shrinking its portable product line. The core reason is that the market has shifted to streaming media, and the market for low-end pure audio players has been greatly affected by USB dongles. Besides, the hardware cost of Android players is increasing. Therefore, shrinkage is inevitable. We still hope that you will support and choose our portable players as usual. After all, portable players have been our stars in the past ten years, which have made a great contribution to the development and growth of the company.

1. M15S, expected to be available in March
Actually, M15S is the model that should be available in the fall of 2022. Due to several changes in the solution for supply chain reasons, the closure of suppliers and our staff for COVID-19, our chase for product excellence, solving RF interference, etc. This led to the completion of trial production until December, so it was late to be available before the Spring Festival. But now, everything is ready. When our suppliers come back to work, production will start. Therefore, it is expected to be released in March.

The M15S is basically a minor revision model of the M15. The main difference is that the processor is changed from Samsung 7872 to Qualcomm 660, the best processor for current Android players, and the DAC is changed from AK4499 to ESS9038PRO due to discontinuation. In addition, the M17 also delegates some technologies to the M15S.

In short, the M15S will be very competitive within 1600 USD.

2. M23, expected to be available in the fall.
Following the latest naming rules, M23 is the replacement model for the M11 Plus.

The M11 Plus was launched in May 2021, and it was revised in January 2022 since the AK4497 DAC was discontinued. If the M23 can be released on schedule in the fall, the replacement cycle will be 2 and a half years. That's quite a long time.

Of course, the M11 Plus is still relatively competitive, and we will also try to improve on the current design, and achieve more new features and new designs. Frankly speaking, the development of portable players in the past two years is a bit stagnant, especially the core audio technology. But just like what we did for the M15S, we will try our best to popularize the technology of some high-end models down to the lower-end ones.

3. M11S
There is no upgrade plan for the M11S in 2023. It should be the only model within 500 USD that features excellent Android core configuration (SoC + RAM + FLASH), and audio configuration (DAC chip, DAC/Amp output power, etc.). That's also a result of us sacrificing some profits.

As for the future, unless the chip price is significantly reduced, which is unlikely currently, we will be less likely to upgrade the M11S. After all, it costs a lot to develop an Android player.


4. M17
There is no upgrade plan for the M17 for the time being. The M17 or the future upgraded M27 will be our flagship portable players. We can't be 100% sure about the future, but one thing we are sure of is that we won't release a more expensive portable player in at least 2 years. So, if you need it, you can buy it early and enjoy it.

The M17 as the Android portable player coming with the highest output power, the most complete connectors and the most powerful functions, has been warmly welcomed among users since it has been released, and the sales also exceeded our expectations. It is a very successful product that is designed with many interesting and practical functions, such as the enhanced over-ear headphone mode and desktop mode. The M17 has excellent adaptability and can meet consumers' listening needs in various scenarios. Especially when working with over-ear headphones, it has an overwhelming advantage over competing products.



(2) HiFi headphone DAC/Amps preview and existing product information
(3) HiFi portable DAC/Amps preview and existing product information
(4) USB audio adapters (USB dongles) for mobile phones preview and existing product information
(5) Bluetooth DAC/Amps preview and existing product information
(6) TWS headphones preview and existing product information
(7) Hybrid driver IEMs preview and existing product information
(8) Open earbuds preview and existing product information
(9) In-ear monitors preview and existing product information

I hope the M23 will be based on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC or newer and feature Cirrus Logic DAC's. This would offer aptX Adaptive and Lossless for Bluetooth and provide a more neutral and accurate sound signature than that normally seen with ESS DAC's which tend towards being over bright. I would definitely buy one if it comes with Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 or newer.

 

[123peter]

Hi, M23 will released with AKM chip.

FIIO's earlier answer in this thread to my question about what chip will be used and whether it will be AKM
(I hope they will use 2x AKM 4499EX and I'm happy about it:
- very good
- it's the right decision
- after a long break with the availability of AKM chips, the right one
- having great possibilities with this potential of this new chip
- preserving the specific warm sound for AKM chips
- gives a return to the roots of the long-term cooperation between FIIO and AKM - Asahi Kasei
- expanding the portfolio of products dedicated to AKM enthusiasts.

Another thing is what Android version will be used (still version 10?).
I hope that there will be a newer Android version or with the assurance of FIIO that they will definitely upgrade the version in the future.

For planned processors.
FIIO has always been famous for good responsiveness of devices and decent battery life, so here I am sure it will be a good solution.

It remains unclear what FIIO accountants can "take/deprive" from the more expensive FIIO 15s at the price of ~1500 USD
to produce an interesting, attractive and competitive FIIO M23 for the price of ~1000 USD?

 

[mcnaugha]

FIIO's earlier answer in this thread to my question about what chip will be used and whether it will be AKM
(I hope they will use 2x AKM 4499EX and I'm happy about it:
- very good
- it's the right decision
- after a long break with the availability of AKM chips, the right one
- having great possibilities with this potential of this new chip
- preserving the specific warm sound for AKM chips
- gives a return to the roots of the long-term cooperation between FIIO and AKM - Asahi Kasei
- expanding the portfolio of products dedicated to AKM enthusiasts.

Another thing is what Android version will be used (still version 10?).
I hope that there will be a newer Android version or with the assurance of FIIO that they will definitely upgrade the version in the future.

For planned processors.
FIIO has always been famous for good responsiveness of devices and decent battery life, so here I am sure it will be a good solution.

It remains unclear what FIIO accountants can "take/deprive" from the more expensive FIIO 15s at the price of ~1500 USD
to produce an interesting, attractive and competitive FIIO M23 for the price of ~1000 USD?

I even saw that at the time but forgot.

I don't have much experience with those DAC's. I had a simple headphone jack adapter one and it sounded good but it was clearly faulty as after a listening period it would start outputting high pitched noise until I disconnected it. Based on this though, I will assume I'll prefer the sound to the ESS ones.

I knew I wouldn't get what I wanted at this stage anyway but wanted to put the message out there. My focus was more on the SoC and I fully expect they'll use another older generation one. Probably the Snapdragon 660 again. I wouldn't buy anything that can't do aptX Adaptive at this point.

 

[123peter]

You are absolutely right here, the lack of a set of new codecs, including aptX Adaptive in new devices,
completely deprives the sense of buying them and using the sound transfer function.
FIIO systematically adds new codecs for reception and transmission, I hope that FIIO M23 will be added.

I wish FIIO would return to the old jewelry standard (in their older FIIO devices it was like that)
of metal,silver or gold headphone jack inputs
- it gave prestige,
- a symbol of quality
- durability
- reliability device -like below - old school
I am not convinced by translations about housing insulation, etc ...

Externally, the DAP should look like a DAP - it's a multimedia harvester - not a cheap transistor radio with black small holes.

 

[PROblemdetected]

Lets go, here we go again...

 

[vsg28]

My review sample of the FX15 arrives tomorrow. I'll make sure to upload photos here that anyone can share wherever

 

[SynaestheticA]

FX15 looks like it would sound wild. Electrostatic hype is justified, easily the nicest treble experience. Would have thought this and planar would have got more attention. All I good time I suppose

 

[vsg28]

My review sample of the FX15 arrives tomorrow. I'll make sure to upload photos here that anyone can share wherever

As promised:

 

[SynaestheticA]

As promised:

Nice pics, not my favourite looking iem but it's the sound that matters. Any impressions on that front yet?