[FIIO DM13] HiFi Balanced Output Portable Stereo CD Player DM13 Is Officially Released!

Feb 4, 2025 at 9:11 AM Post #571 of 579
Yes, confirmation would be great. I have so many pre-2000s discs, and it would be disappointing to buy this player only to have a bunch of them sound terrible.
Even for the pre-2000 CDs, the number of discs that had pre-emphasis applied would be fraction of a percent. It really was rare, even in the 80's & 90's. I own at least 1500 pre-2000 CDs, and only one of them has pre-emphasis that I know of ("Cal", Mark Knopfler).
 
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Feb 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM Post #572 of 579
@FiiO Willson would be the on who can tell us if V11 is the latest firmware for the non-Bluetooth version.

The only difference as far as I can tell between the two versions is Bluetooth, so one will have the Bluetooth chipset and the other does not. It would be incredibly risky to try and update the non-Bluetooth version with the Bluetooth version's firmware. There may even be checks in place within the firmware to prevent this, but I imagine at worst you would end up bricking your DM13.

Are you experiencing any issues with your unit that would prompt you to look for a newer firmware?
Please wait few days, We will be releasing the latest firmware for non-Bluetooth versions soon! :beerchug:
 
FiiO Stay updated on FiiO at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/FiiOAUDIO https://twitter.com/FiiO_official https://www.instagram.com/fiioofficial/ https://www.fiio.com support@fiio.com
Feb 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM Post #573 of 579
Thank you sleepwizard and HiFi oasis for your input.

@sleepwizard - yes I recall seeing that comment mentioned in the Fiio firmware "how to update firmware" guide however it was worded in such a vague way - I wondered if it could be the case that they are warning that if you install the "non bluetooth" firmware over a "bluetooth" unit that you would indeed lose some functionality - specifically the bluetooth feature itself. Admittedly I am considering this entirely based upon interpretation of the comment.

@HiFi Oasis - no I am not experiencing any issues -- YET ... however again my reason for posting is to confirm whether or not there really are 2 versions of the product in terms of the hardware. There are a number of reasons I have considered that it may be the case that what is deemed a "non bluetooth" DM13 may actually be hardware equipped to support bluetooth limited only by the firmware not exposing that service. As I mentioned in my previous post - the documentation specifically calls out compliance with FCC bluetooth requirements - whilst the unit itself (with Firmware v11) does not offer bluetooth as on option ... hence my thinking - how about I try the v25 firmware and see what happens. Furthermore the documentation states "product contained may be upgraded and therefore may not match packaging".

Thank you again for contributing to this topic and yes I do hope @FiiO Willson can provide some confirmation / clarity on this front.
DM13 BT that have a Bluetooth version have a Bluetooth module on them and meet FCC-ID certification requirements;

DM13 without Bluetooth version do not have Bluetooth module, but the manual and other accessories are the same as the Bluetooth version.:beerchug:

It is not recommended to install the same firmware for different versions.

Also as I said before, the non-Bluetooth version of the firmware is coming out a bit later due to our holidays in China. I think it should be soon, it should be released within a week
 
FiiO Stay updated on FiiO at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/FiiOAUDIO https://twitter.com/FiiO_official https://www.instagram.com/fiioofficial/ https://www.fiio.com support@fiio.com
Feb 4, 2025 at 9:49 PM Post #574 of 579
DM13 BT that have a Bluetooth version have a Bluetooth module on them and meet FCC-ID certification requirements;

DM13 without Bluetooth version do not have Bluetooth module, but the manual and other accessories are the same as the Bluetooth version.:beerchug:

It is not recommended to install the same firmware for different versions.

Also as I said before, the non-Bluetooth version of the firmware is coming out a bit later due to our holidays in China. I think it should be soon, it should be released within a week

Thank you @FiiO Willson !! I appreciate the confirmation.

1. Is there any reason (other than lower cost) that one might prefer a non bluetooth unit?

2. what material is the "window" portion of "transparent" model and what is the color of the nontransparent portion part of the case?

3. will a solid white bluetooth enabled model ship anytime soon?


Thank you.

 
Feb 5, 2025 at 5:14 AM Post #575 of 579
Yes, confirmation would be great. I have so many pre-2000s discs, and it would be disappointing to buy this player only to have a bunch of them sound terrible.
I have CDs back to when CD players hit market. They all sound fine.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 6:03 AM Post #576 of 579
I have CDs back to when CD players hit market. They all sound fine.
That's good to know. It would still be reassuring to understand how the filter in the DAC for PE is being triggered to turn on. If the filter is off by default, as per the document I linked, then something must be incorporated into the player to trigger it on; otherwise, the filter will just remain off at all times. There's a list circulating online that contains a range of discs that have been tested and shown to have PE, and I own many of them. Here is the Google Doc for those who are curious: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NHIM2WokM00uItNX3hOw5GXl93qsEHtcjmn3QdTth0g/edit?tab=t.0
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 6:10 PM Post #577 of 579
I've been monitoring this thread on and off for a while, and finally decided to buy the transparent model w/ Bluetooth after seeing reports of progress being made on the bugs in the firmware. It arrived a couple of days ago and I thought I'd share my own findings with potential buyers (as well as hopefully give some helpful feedback to the folks at FiiO). So here goes...

First, the good:
  • I was surprised by how solid the DM13 felt when I removed it from the packaging, because I was not expecting so much metal in a portable CD player. I think it should be more prominently advertised that this isn't a big chunk of plastic. It looks and feels very nice!
  • On the latest published firmware (v25), I'm able to play standard Red Book audio CDs from start to finish without gapless playback interruptions. Even discs that contain near their full 80-minute capacity of audio play from start to finish with no unintentional gaps in the transition between two tracks. This includes pressed CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs.
  • ESP seems to work well, most of the time (more on this below). I can move the player around my desk or place it beside me on my bed without any skips. I picked it up and shook it for a few seconds once to see if I could cause the audio to drop out, but it was fine.
  • For all the bugs and issues I'm about to describe below, some of which are genuinely frustrating, I think this is the best readily-available portable CD player money can buy right now (if having Bluetooth is as important for you as it is for me). If nothing else, it's my favorite. I've bought and tested quite a few cheaper portable CD players from less reputable brands in recent years, and the DM13 surpasses them all. I hope FiiO will continue to correct the remaining issues through software updates so I finally have a new player I can recommend to friends and family without a ton of caveats.
Now...onto the not so good.

Bugs:
  • mp3 CD playback has intermittent playback issues when ESP is switched on. The player starts playing normally, buffers data, and stops spinning the disc. After some time, the disc begins spinning again, but the playback buffer runs out and the remainder of the file will either not play, or a portion of the file is missed. I have tested with both CBR and VBR mp3 files (both encoded with recent versions of the LAME encoder), as well as FLAC files. I have not yet had this problem with ESP switched off, so my current workaround is to flip the ESP mode switch on the back of the player before playing a data disc.
  • Gapless playback does not work at all with data CDs. The player does not appear to buffer any of the next track as the currently playing track is ending, so there are long gaps while the player spins up the disc and loads the next song. Tested with both mp3 and FLAC.
  • In Bluetooth mode, audio output stops working under certain conditions. If I take too much time to open the lid/change to a new disc, the Bluetooth connection remains active, but I can't hear any audio until I disconnect and reconnect the device to the player. The same thing can happen if I play a disc to the end, let it stop completely, wait a few seconds, then press play again; no audio until I disconnect/reconnect my Bluetooth headphones or speaker. So far, I have tested with Sony WH-CH720N headphones and a JBL Clip 4 speaker, and this behavior has been identical.
  • I have noticed a few times while listening to Red Book Audio CDs with ESP turned on when very short sections (<1 second) of audio were repeated or (more frequently) missed, as if there was a problem with reading data into/out of the buffer, but it was not a regular or repeatable problem. I don't know how to test for this one, but I'll keep an eye on it.
Other Issues:
  • Gain staging in Bluetooth output mode. Volume controls on the player and the playback device (headphones/speakers) operate independently of each other, which raises a few concerns. The signal path diagram on the product page shows audio from the CD being sent to the Bluetooth transmitter separately from the DACs for the analog outputs—as it should, since this would be a purely digital signal path. Does that mean the volume should be set to the maximum level (V99) in Bluetooth mode to avoid attenuating the signal before the Bluetooth encoder? or is it possible for internal clipping to occur at this level? Where should the volume be set to ensure that the digital audio passes un-altered from the CD to the Bluetooth encoder?
  • Volume level is not remembered separately for each output mode. What this means in practice is: if you switch from Bluetooth mode (where you just cranked the volume to 99) to the headphone output mode, hopefully you notice before you press play, because the volume is still gonna be set to 99. This is dangerous for both your headphones and your ears! Pay careful attention until/unless this is addressed in a firmware update!
  • The secondary button functions need a complete overhaul. The combination of short-presses, long-presses, and two-button combinations to access functionality is unintuitive, and makes me second guess myself every time I do anything. Worse, some buttons have overlapping/conflicting functions; for example, try seeking while in Bluetooth mode (you can't, since a long press on the Rewind button activates pairing, and long-pressing the Fast Forward button clears all paired devices).
    • As it stands, the Function Selection button is extremely under-utilized, and should probably be the entry point for a proper menu system to access functions like Bluetooth pairing, output switching, playback mode (repeat/random), display settings, etc. that don't have a dedicated button. It would be much easier to open a menu with the Function button, then cycle through options and make changes with the other buttons, rather than trying to memorize a bunch of key combos and accidentally triggering things you didn't want.
Sorry for the long first post. I figured it would be better to document everything over several days and collect it in one place rather than making multiple posts. Let me know if you'd like me to test or clarify anything in here.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 9:30 PM Post #578 of 579
I've been monitoring this thread on and off for a while, and finally decided to buy the transparent model w/ Bluetooth after seeing reports of progress being made on the bugs in the firmware. It arrived a couple of days ago and I thought I'd share my own findings with potential buyers (as well as hopefully give some helpful feedback to the folks at FiiO). So here goes...

First, the good:
  • I was surprised by how solid the DM13 felt when I removed it from the packaging, because I was not expecting so much metal in a portable CD player. I think it should be more prominently advertised that this isn't a big chunk of plastic. It looks and feels very nice!
  • On the latest published firmware (v25), I'm able to play standard Red Book audio CDs from start to finish without gapless playback interruptions. Even discs that contain near their full 80-minute capacity of audio play from start to finish with no unintentional gaps in the transition between two tracks. This includes pressed CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs.
  • ESP seems to work well, most of the time (more on this below). I can move the player around my desk or place it beside me on my bed without any skips. I picked it up and shook it for a few seconds once to see if I could cause the audio to drop out, but it was fine.
  • For all the bugs and issues I'm about to describe below, some of which are genuinely frustrating, I think this is the best readily-available portable CD player money can buy right now (if having Bluetooth is as important for you as it is for me). If nothing else, it's my favorite. I've bought and tested quite a few cheaper portable CD players from less reputable brands in recent years, and the DM13 surpasses them all. I hope FiiO will continue to correct the remaining issues through software updates so I finally have a new player I can recommend to friends and family without a ton of caveats.
Now...onto the not so good.

Bugs:
  • mp3 CD playback has intermittent playback issues when ESP is switched on. The player starts playing normally, buffers data, and stops spinning the disc. After some time, the disc begins spinning again, but the playback buffer runs out and the remainder of the file will either not play, or a portion of the file is missed. I have tested with both CBR and VBR mp3 files (both encoded with recent versions of the LAME encoder), as well as FLAC files. I have not yet had this problem with ESP switched off, so my current workaround is to flip the ESP mode switch on the back of the player before playing a data disc.
  • Gapless playback does not work at all with data CDs. The player does not appear to buffer any of the next track as the currently playing track is ending, so there are long gaps while the player spins up the disc and loads the next song. Tested with both mp3 and FLAC.
  • In Bluetooth mode, audio output stops working under certain conditions. If I take too much time to open the lid/change to a new disc, the Bluetooth connection remains active, but I can't hear any audio until I disconnect and reconnect the device to the player. The same thing can happen if I play a disc to the end, let it stop completely, wait a few seconds, then press play again; no audio until I disconnect/reconnect my Bluetooth headphones or speaker. So far, I have tested with Sony WH-CH720N headphones and a JBL Clip 4 speaker, and this behavior has been identical.
  • I have noticed a few times while listening to Red Book Audio CDs with ESP turned on when very short sections (<1 second) of audio were repeated or (more frequently) missed, as if there was a problem with reading data into/out of the buffer, but it was not a regular or repeatable problem. I don't know how to test for this one, but I'll keep an eye on it.
Other Issues:
  • Gain staging in Bluetooth output mode. Volume controls on the player and the playback device (headphones/speakers) operate independently of each other, which raises a few concerns. The signal path diagram on the product page shows audio from the CD being sent to the Bluetooth transmitter separately from the DACs for the analog outputs—as it should, since this would be a purely digital signal path. Does that mean the volume should be set to the maximum level (V99) in Bluetooth mode to avoid attenuating the signal before the Bluetooth encoder? or is it possible for internal clipping to occur at this level? Where should the volume be set to ensure that the digital audio passes un-altered from the CD to the Bluetooth encoder?
  • Volume level is not remembered separately for each output mode. What this means in practice is: if you switch from Bluetooth mode (where you just cranked the volume to 99) to the headphone output mode, hopefully you notice before you press play, because the volume is still gonna be set to 99. This is dangerous for both your headphones and your ears! Pay careful attention until/unless this is addressed in a firmware update!
  • The secondary button functions need a complete overhaul. The combination of short-presses, long-presses, and two-button combinations to access functionality is unintuitive, and makes me second guess myself every time I do anything. Worse, some buttons have overlapping/conflicting functions; for example, try seeking while in Bluetooth mode (you can't, since a long press on the Rewind button activates pairing, and long-pressing the Fast Forward button clears all paired devices).
    • As it stands, the Function Selection button is extremely under-utilized, and should probably be the entry point for a proper menu system to access functions like Bluetooth pairing, output switching, playback mode (repeat/random), display settings, etc. that don't have a dedicated button. It would be much easier to open a menu with the Function button, then cycle through options and make changes with the other buttons, rather than trying to memorize a bunch of key combos and accidentally triggering things you didn't want.
Sorry for the long first post. I figured it would be better to document everything over several days and collect it in one place rather than making multiple posts. Let me know if you'd like me to test or clarify anything in here.

Thanks for this thorough rundown. I have an open question into @FiiO Willson regarding the material used for the “skylight window” …
I am curious what your impression is in terms of how robust is the clear material and will it “wear well” as the case gets potentially bumped around?
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 9:58 PM Post #579 of 579
Thanks for this thorough rundown. I have an open question into @FiiO Willson regarding the material used for the “skylight window” …
I am curious what your impression is in terms of how robust is the clear material and will it “wear well” as the case gets potentially bumped around?
It feels like it might be acrylic or polycarbonate, but there's a protector film included in the box that you can apply.
 

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