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

[keithmarsh]

We've had user feedback on this issue, and the phenomenon is the same as yours, so please check your CD-ROM!

The phenomenon we have confirmed is that there is a ring in the middle of the CD that has no data at all, this kind of CD will cause our software to misjudge, we do not support this kind of CD.

I just received my Skylight DM13 and I have only tried ‘official’ CD albums. In the space of an hour I’ve had this issue 4 times - after pausing a CD, it no longer plays sound to my headphones. I have to insert a different CD to get the sound back.

Just to confirm, these are not CD-ROMs, they are shop bought CD albums.

This issue is so frequent the player is almost useless.

So disappointed.

 

[wilfen]

My question is about bluetooth codecs on the DM13. I can only connect with SBC (which shows up on the LCD screen). I've tried many different headphones and earphones that use aptx etc, but only SBC connects. How can I get the DM13 to use codecs other than SBC? Thank you for any help you can provice.

My question is about bluetooth codecs on the DM13. I can only connect with SBC (which shows up on the LCD screen). I've tried many different headphones and earphones that use aptx etc, but only SBC connects. How can I get the DM13 to use codecs other than SBC? Thank you for any help you can provice.

My question is about bluetooth codecs on the DM13. I can only connect with SBC (which shows up on the LCD screen). I've tried many different headphones and earphones that use aptx etc, but only SBC connects. How can I get the DM13 to use codecs other than SBC? Thank you for any help you can provice.

My question is about bluetooth codecs on the DM13. I can only connect with SBC (which shows up on the LCD screen). I've tried many different headphones and earphones that use aptx etc, but only SBC connects. How can I get the DM13 to use codecs other than SBC? Thank you for any help you can provice.

 

[Safeinthemountains]

I just received my Skylight DM13 and I have only tried ‘official’ CD albums. In the space of an hour I’ve had this issue 4 times - after pausing a CD, it no longer plays sound to my headphones. I have to insert a different CD to get the sound back.

Just to confirm, these are not CD-ROMs, they are shop bought CD albums.

This issue is so frequent the player is almost useless.

So disappointed.

Really bad that you have this kind of issue. I also have the Skylight version (bought mid-feb from Aliexpress chinese retailer) With V2.5 firmware and didn't have this kind of issue... So either it's your firmware, or there is a defect on your unit. I advise you to return it for defective unit under warranty. I hope FiiO Willson will have a more comprehensive answer for you...

 

[ztaticx]

Really bad that you have this kind of issue. I also have the Skylight version (bought mid-feb from Aliexpress chinese retailer) With V2.5 firmware and didn't have this kind of issue... So either it's your firmware, or there is a defect on your unit. I advise you to return it for defective unit under warranty. I hope FiiO Willson will have a more comprehensive answer for you...

I just received my Skylight DM13 and I have only tried ‘official’ CD albums. In the space of an hour I’ve had this issue 4 times - after pausing a CD, it no longer plays sound to my headphones. I have to insert a different CD to get the sound back.

Just to confirm, these are not CD-ROMs, they are shop bought CD albums.

This issue is so frequent the player is almost useless.

So disappointed.

FiiO Willson has already answered on this regard.

F

Post in thread '[FIIO DM13] HiFi Balanced Output Portable Stereo CD Player DM13 Is Officially Released!'

Mar 11, 2025

One really annoying issue with my FIIO DM13 is that sometimes the PRE out doesn’t produce any sound.
This happens after playing a disc, pausing it, waiting for the device to power off, and then trying to resume playback after a few minutes.
The track time indicates that it’s playing, but there’s no sound from the 3.5mm headphone output (I haven’t tested the other output).
I’ve tried switching the output to SPDIF (with sound output? I don't know and I don't care because I'm not supposed to have to do that) and back to PRE, but the only workaround that seems to work is inserting a...

• FiiO Willson

There are some CDs that aren't compatible with DM13. Period.

 

[keithmarsh]

FiiO Willson has already answered on this regard.

F

Post in thread '[FIIO DM13] HiFi Balanced Output Portable Stereo CD Player DM13 Is Officially Released!'

Mar 11, 2025

One really annoying issue with my FIIO DM13 is that sometimes the PRE out doesn’t produce any sound.
This happens after playing a disc, pausing it, waiting for the device to power off, and then trying to resume playback after a few minutes.
The track time indicates that it’s playing, but there’s no sound from the 3.5mm headphone output (I haven’t tested the other output).
I’ve tried switching the output to SPDIF (with sound output? I don't know and I don't care because I'm not supposed to have to do that) and back to PRE, but the only workaround that seems to work is inserting a...

• FiiO Willson

There are some CDs that aren't compatible with DM13. Period.

So a CD audio player that doesn’t play audio CDs?

Kind of like an inflatable dart board

Many would argue that means it’s not fit for purpose!

I would understand if the CD didn’t play to begin with, or didn’t read. But the fact it plays fine, then plays without ANY sound (after the unit powers off) suggests an issue other than CD incompatibility.

 

[uptipp]

Did anyone have any problems updating their DM13 some people have said that they did and indeed "bricked" their player, l've yet to do mine,it's running on V22 new one is V25 and is it indeed worth updating, I’ll be using mine tomorrow, Weds 19th for the first time,before updating it,as I will be having my Austrian Audio HX15 headphones delivered, fingers crossed my cd player is ok,as reading on here a lot of posters seem to have issues with theirs, to be honest all I want it for is to listen to cds with headphones and travel with it, I don't need it for anything else or the other features it has to offer etc

Many thanks fellow hi-fi heads

PS I forgot to say I actually got a suede travel pouch with mine,with the FIIO logo embossed on it,brown in colour but I’ve also seen it in a light blue so it seems slowly but surely maybe accessories are being made for the DM13



Well I’ve been using my DM13 for 2 days now,still on V22,not updated it yet and I’ve encountered no problems whatsoever,touch wood it’s working perfectly for me,still early days I’ll admit but I’m more than happy sitting here listening to my new lease of life CDs

 

[Daveyc23]

@FiiO Willson my dm13 no longer reading any discs and showing up with NO on the screen. Any ideas on a fix for you this?

 

[glassonion]

Hi @FiiO Willson

I'm loving my player so far!

What's the best way to achieve a fixed volume line out from the Fiio Dm13 to a Sonos system?

Right now, I have a 3.5mm cable running between the player and a Sonos 5 with an AUX input. The player is set to PRE OUT, and the volume control on the player is still active.

I was hoping to bypass the volume on the player and only control the volume through the speakers alone.

is there any way to achieve a fixed volume line out?

Thanks in advance!

 

[uptipp]

Well after a week or so of enjoying my CDs I’m having the same issues now,no sound but the cd is playing,after having got in touch with FIIO technical support team,they said make sure everything is in the “OFF” mode and that there is no red light coming out of the back of the unit via the co port,then it should work and yep it does,my DM13 has come back to life,still not updated the firmware yet,as they say if it’s not broken don’t fix it,so at the moment I’m sticking to that mantra

 

[Raymate]

Just got mine, white/clear lid (had firmware V25 already installed).

So far so good. Only one tiny blip in audio for a millisecond I noticed, but it only happened once.


The only requests I have are for next firmware (if FiiO is listening @FiiO Willson ) are:

1. Have it remember the display brightness setting after each power off. I need to keep setting it to high for each use.

2. Have a toggle for it to NOT auto play when you insert a CD and NOT resume the last track played for said CD inserted. I like that it does it, but sometimes I would like it just to show tracks and total time when I insert a CD; then I press play to start the disc from track one. So perhaps have this as a toggle. Auto start on/off

3. In desktop mode, do not pre-buffer the sound. I find this sometimes delays skipping to the next track as the disc may be mid-cycle or between buffer cycles, so the disc is not at the correct speed when I press skip, so it delays as the motor spins to the correct speed and position. As it seems to still buffer even with ESP off. It seems to be holding about 8 seconds.


It seems to still buffer even with ESP off, as stated above; has anyone noticed this? It's very noticeable with the clear lid; you can see it spinning up and down instead of a constant linear velocity that would be typical of a normal CD playing from start to finish. Again, all with ESP off.

In the same regard, is the ESP buffer lossless? And is this the same for the seemingly ESP off buffering?

I also paired this with the K11 R2R and this moves the sound to the next level shame the K11 does not have the same foot print as the DM13 it would make a great stack with the CD player on top.

 

[Nightankh]

Just got mine, white/clear lid (had firmware V25 already installed).

So far so good. Only one tiny blip in audio for a millisecond I noticed, but it only happened once.


The only requests I have are for next firmware (if FiiO is listening @FiiO Willson ) are:

1. Have it remember the display brightness setting after each power off. I need to keep setting it to high for each use.

2. Have a toggle for it to NOT auto play when you insert a CD and NOT resume the last track played for said CD inserted. I like that it does it, but sometimes I would like it just to show tracks and total time when I insert a CD; then I press play to start the disc from track one. So perhaps have this as a toggle. Auto start on/off

3. In desktop mode, do not pre-buffer the sound. I find this sometimes delays skipping to the next track as the disc may be mid-cycle or between buffer cycles, so the disc is not at the correct speed when I press skip, so it delays as the motor spins to the correct speed and position. As it seems to still buffer even with ESP off. It seems to be holding about 8 seconds.


It seems to still buffer even with ESP off, as stated above; has anyone noticed this? It's very noticeable with the clear lid; you can see it spinning up and down instead of a constant linear velocity that would be typical of a normal CD playing from start to finish. Again, all with ESP off.

In the same regard, is the ESP buffer lossless? And is this the same for the seemingly ESP off buffering?

I also paired this with the K11 R2R and this moves the sound to the next level shame the K11 does not have the same foot print as the DM13 it would make a great stack with the CD player on top.

Yes, I noticed the same thing. I also don't understand why data buffering still occurs (5 seconds for me) even when ESP is turned off. I think it negatively affects the sound quality, as I mentioned earlier."

 

[Mattfrie64]

Got mine this weekend, Skylight model with Bluetooth. Came with V22 installed, but was able to successfully upgrade to V25 with no issues. Been enjoying it so far with one minor exception.

After playing through several full CDs, I have encountered an issue that seems to be common with current portable CD players. While gapless playback works flawlessly with regular CDs, enhanced CDs feature a brief pause between tracks while the next one is buffered. I have experienced this also with a recently purchased KLIM Nomad, which has no option to disable ESP. I was hoping that the FIIO DM13 would avoid this, especially since ESP is OFF on my player, but I have experienced the same brief pause on several of my enhanced CDs that I have seen on the KLIM.

To test, I tried my copy of Sgt Peppers '09 remaster along with 1967-1970. While there IS a gap between Sgt. Pepper and With a Little Help From My Friends on the '09 (which is enhanced), the same two tracks on 1967-1970 (non-enhanced) do NOT have a gap, and plays flawlessly as gapless. I have also tested with a few of my '99 Bowie enhanced CDs (Diamond Dogs, Low, "Heroes") with the same results.

My theory is that any multi-session disc reads the first session as a non-redbook CD even if it is pure redbook like an enhanced CD, and applies the same type of buffering that it would for MP3 discs. Not sure how the FIIO handles gapless playback on MP3 discs (I don't have any), but I would guess that it is the same behavior.

To confirm my theory, I noticed after the update that stopping a regular redbook audio CD will display the total time on the display in stop mode. Stopping an enhanced CD will instead have it display the number of "files" on the disc even though it is a regular audio CD.

@FiiO Willson Any chance of this getting fixed in a future firmware upgrade? Or is this a limitation of current components that handle multiple CD types (MP3,WMA,Redbook, etc.)?

 

[g4ndr1k]

I bought one for my daughter and connected it to the FiiO R7. So far, so good.

 

[gwompki]

Anyone pairing the DM13 with a portable DAC? It would be awesome if you could use these with a Dongle DAC. Seems like you would need something like mojo that has coax/optical though.

 

[Luckyleo]

I really wanted a unit when they were announced and also when they came out. Turns out, at least in my opinion, it still isn't out in production!!! They have a lot of units in the wild being QC'd by people who paid for the privilege. Not good business, and I will try to avoid the manufacturer for any audio needs if at all possible. Me, I went with a competitors' new offering around the same retail cost and it has zero problems. Best of luck to all of you though. Hope things eventually work out.