[FiiO]

Responding to my own question:

I think these sound settings might have been omitted in the M11+ because of the way FiiO implemented audio processing to bypass Android’s SRC and audio stack altogether. In other words, those settings wouldn’t work anyway. [?]

I use the Settings -> Sound -> Media Volume = 0 (muted) on my Sony ZX507 DAP so that I know when UAPP messed up and didn’t use the Direct High-Res driver and I can restart the app (because no sound will be heard when Android Media Volume is 0 and audio is routed through Android audio processing).

It’s a good test to see if you are getting bit-perfect or Android SRC. For example the native Sony Walkman music app (which we know bypasses the Android audio stack) plays audio with Media Volume = 0; but, any streaming service app (e.g., Apple Music, Qobuz, Amazon) does not play any sound with Media Volume = 0. UAPP supports “direct” to the ZX507 DAC and bypasses Android Audio as well.

Cheers,
Gus

Dear Gus141,

Yes, in order to bypass SRC, Notification Volume is muted by default in the player.

Best regards

 

[LongNguyenHorn]

Which one should have less treble glare between the Plus and Plus Ltd ? Thanks

 

[Ichos]

Which one should have less treble glare between the Plus and Plus Ltd ? Thanks

The M11 Plus ESS

 

[adeadcrab]

Which one should have less treble glare between the Plus and Plus Ltd ? Thanks

If you can find the LTD, it is the AKM DAC so a bit softer on the top end. Allegedly..

 

[whitedragem]

Which one should have less treble glare between the Plus and Plus Ltd ? Thanks

yes; some sort of qualification on this should be said...
which is faster:
A red ferrari 355 OR
a '67 voltswagon beetle GT

.....
when falling from a cargo plane?

I have no idea whether a the year 1967 had a VW, and whether the 'GT' designation is 'even a thing'...

the point is.. worrying about something that 'doesn't matter' cause the difference is irrelevant (they fall at the same speed give or take some wind resistance...)
ie not what we thought we were comparing.
The glare you may refer to is likey to be contributed to via a range of front end issues... noisy power lines, less accurate clocks, angle and proximity of DAC chips on the board in relation to other critical components etc..

I understand the question puts the two systems, in the real world against each other... there should be definite answer... but I'd hazard that neither player is affected in the way that you might be expecting...
it is the reason I bought one of these players... well thought out build and design and top R&D that has bypassed 'poor' music playback issues.
I have experienced what you are talking about. (on cheaper parts or less capable parts)
In fact, running a DAC Magic (ancient budget consumer class DAC) into my system at the moment, I'd say that the issue you have described is something I should expect.
Using an iFi AC purifier right next to the DACs power supply is known to fix many issues but can exacerbate exactly/'specifically' the phenomenon you are enquiring about... It is something I have 'thought about' /'am thinking about presently'

The FiiO M11+'s don't suffer any such issue to my awareness.
In fact the treble response from the M11+ (AKM version here) into Ultrasone Ed5 (known for revealing top end and 'brightness') are exceptional on the kit and I have spent the best part of a fortnight living with the M11+ as a primary player (someone challenged these players don't have enough volume output on Low Gain, so I have been driving my home over ear headphones non stop to see if any genre or song would catch me without enough volume. (not once have I left Low gain mode!)

Music loud clear and so beautifully clean an analogue...
Doesn't quite have the sound stage width of home seperates when fed 'line out' into high end kit... (and I really enjoy doing so... )
not a good as a Diablo/desktop kit,.. close enough to not care, and the sound from the FiiO is honest and musical and natural, that I will use it all day even if seven seconds of a cable plug in and a menu selection could switch it to being source (transport) into an outboard 'home' DAC.

buy weither with confidence

 

[gonzfi]

Are the line outs on this dap true line outs?

 

[whitedragem]

as in 2.1V?

Funny you should say that, just twenty minutes ago I discovered how much less 'line level' output power these devices have vs, say, a DAC magic...

that being said,.. I have used the line out from the 4.4mm balanced (perfect/very high quality)
the 3.5mm port I would suggest has the scale and range, but probably isn't seen by the preamp/'receiving equipment' as 2.1V....

They do make a great source... (that is my 30% of my use, the rest would be as a transport 55% use, and then as an amp.. get the rest.. most months previous to this one it was a 40/60 split (with no headphones used directly from the player)

edit: awesome Ichos nail'd it.... (below)

 

[Ichos]

Are the line outs on this dap true line outs?

Yes, amplification stage gets bypassed.

 

[Ichos]

Almost all D/S DACs suffer from some kind of digital glare but honestly the M11 Plus ESS has an excellent implementation with just the tiniest amount of it.

My full review will be ready to post the next week.

 

[Androbot v4]

Hi,

Could anyone please let me know if they have compared Fiio M11 Plus ESS with Hiby R5 Gen 2, I know it's bit of an unfair comparison because Fiio is way expensive than Hiby but for the extra premium I would pay.. I would get Android 10, Newer processor, bigger battery and Bluetooth 5.0.. but none of this will matter if sound wise Hiby is superior especially with Class A amp... I previously had Hiby R3 Pro Saber.. which was fantastic with Saber DAC but given that more and more albums are coming to streaming apps and streaming services like Apple Music is offering CD Quality/Hi-Res audio I sold off my R3 and now looking for an Android DAP which can play Apple/Tidal with CD Quality/Hi-res enabled.. my primary headphones is MSR7B using with 4.4mm balanced cable..

I know sound is a very subjective matter but I would really appreciate if anyone can give their own opinion on Fiio M11 Plus ESS vs Hiby R5 Gen 2.. will help me somewhat make up my mind on which DAP to go for..

Thanks in advance !!

 

[LongNguyenHorn]

yes; some sort of qualification on this should be said...
which is faster:
A red ferrari 355 OR
a '67 voltswagon beetle GT

.....
when falling from a cargo plane?

I have no idea whether a the year 1967 had a VW, and whether the 'GT' designation is 'even a thing'...

the point is.. worrying about something that 'doesn't matter' cause the difference is irrelevant (they fall at the same speed give or take some wind resistance...)
ie not what we thought we were comparing.
The glare you may refer to is likey to be contributed to via a range of front end issues... noisy power lines, less accurate clocks, angle and proximity of DAC chips on the board in relation to other critical components etc..

I understand the question puts the two systems, in the real world against each other... there should be definite answer... but I'd hazard that neither player is affected in the way that you might be expecting...
it is the reason I bought one of these players... well thought out build and design and top R&D that has bypassed 'poor' music playback issues.
I have experienced what you are talking about. (on cheaper parts or less capable parts)
In fact, running a DAC Magic (ancient budget consumer class DAC) into my system at the moment, I'd say that the issue you have described is something I should expect.
Using an iFi AC purifier right next to the DACs power supply is known to fix many issues but can exacerbate exactly/'specifically' the phenomenon you are enquiring about... It is something I have 'thought about' /'am thinking about presently'

The FiiO M11+'s don't suffer any such issue to my awareness.
In fact the treble response from the M11+ (AKM version here) into Ultrasone Ed5 (known for revealing top end and 'brightness') are exceptional on the kit and I have spent the best part of a fortnight living with the M11+ as a primary player (someone challenged these players don't have enough volume output on Low Gain, so I have been driving my home over ear headphones non stop to see if any genre or song would catch me without enough volume. (not once have I left Low gain mode!)

Music loud clear and so beautifully clean an analogue...
Doesn't quite have the sound stage width of home seperates when fed 'line out' into high end kit... (and I really enjoy doing so... )
not a good as a Diablo/desktop kit,.. close enough to not care, and the sound from the FiiO is honest and musical and natural, that I will use it all day even if seven seconds of a cable plug in and a menu selection could switch it to being source (transport) into an outboard 'home' DAC.

buy weither with confidence

Yes i also think that glare or not so much also depend on which iem/headphone has been pair.

Almost all D/S DACs suffer from some kind of digital glare but honestly the M11 Plus ESS has an excellent implementation with just the tiniest amount of it.

My full review will be ready to post the next week.

Ok i got it now. Just because i listened the hiby r5 ii with my moondrop Chaconne. Very clear and nice but might because of the Ess it have some glare in piano notes.
Also after audition it i don't really want to go to warm source again, they now sound dull to me.
And i read somewhere said that the M17 don't have glare and same guy said m11 plus ltd suffer a bit from it. But now i think it is just a price for open, clear, transparency sound. Because even hiby r8 someone reported glare.

 

[kfotheringham]

Hi,

Could anyone please let me know if they have compared Fiio M11 Plus ESS with Hiby R5 Gen 2, I know it's bit of an unfair comparison because Fiio is way expensive than Hiby but for the extra premium I would pay.. I would get Android 10, Newer processor, bigger battery and Bluetooth 5.0.. but none of this will matter if sound wise Hiby is superior especially with Class A amp... I previously had Hiby R3 Pro Saber.. which was fantastic with Saber DAC but given that more and more albums are coming to streaming apps and streaming services like Apple Music is offering CD Quality/Hi-Res audio I sold off my R3 and now looking for an Android DAP which can play Apple/Tidal with CD Quality/Hi-res enabled.. my primary headphones is MSR7B using with 4.4mm balanced cable..

I know sound is a very subjective matter but I would really appreciate if anyone can give their own opinion on Fiio M11 Plus ESS vs Hiby R5 Gen 2.. will help me somewhat make up my mind on which DAP to go for..

Thanks in advance !!

Power wise, there is very little in it. I used Hifiman Deva pro`s with a balanced cable to compare both and they were both roughly in the 90 - 100 % volume range to drive sufficiently to my taste's (R5G2 was in Class A mode). Perhaps R5G2 had a tad more power (few %).

R5 has much better battery life capability in ESS mode. In Class A mode, both are comparable to each other.

Sound wise, I'd say R5G2 was a bit warmer on the low end. M11 was more punchy and textured. Slightly more detail and better layering on the M11 as well - but noticeable.

The biggest difference to me was the user experience between both (as you`d expect with faster processor and more memory). There is no lag at all with the M11, which shows up more when you are using R5G2 with apps such as Amazon Music. I saw lag and crashes using Amazon HD music, but everything is quick and responsive, just like a smart phone with M11 (this may also be partly related to Android 10 as well)

Whether these differences justify the additional £200 is personal, but I'm happy with my decision. I prefer a quick and solid response with every application I use.

I paid £332 for R5G2 vs £550 for M11 Plus ESS

 

[Androbot v4]

Power wise, there is very little in it. I used Hifiman Deva pro`s with a balanced cable to compare both and they were both roughly in the 90 - 100 % volume range to drive sufficiently to my taste's (R5 was in Class A mode). Perhaps R5G2 had a tad more power (few %).

R5 has much better battery life capability in ESS mode. In Class A mode, both are comparable to each other.

Sound wise, I'd say R5G2 was a bit warmer on the low end. M11 was more punchy and textured. Slightly more detail and better layering on the M11 as well - but noticeable.

The biggest difference to me was the user experience between both (as you`d expect with faster processor and more memory). There is no lag at all with the M11, which shows up more when you are using R5G2 with apps such as Amazon Music. I saw lag and crashes using Amazon HD music, but everything is quick and responsive, just like a smart phone with M11 (this may also be partly related to Android 10 as well)

Whether these differences justify the additional £200 is personal, but I'm happy with my decision, I prefer a quick and solid response with ever application I use.

I paid £332 for R5G2 vs £550 for M11 Plus ESS

Thank you so much for this detailed answer.. this certainly helps me make up my mind..

 

[Amber Rain]

HI

Can anyone tell me what file formats you have to use when trying to play movies from the internal storage folder `movies', as the M11 Plus does not seem to recognise the folder or the .MP4 format?

Thanks

 

[whitedragem]

HI

Can anyone tell me what file formats you have to use when trying to play movies from the internal storage folder `movies', as the M11 Plus does not seem to recognise the folder or the .MP4 format?

Thanks

which playback software...?
I think it was later android that locked folders and 'had to be granted permissions etc', can't think of a reason that a capable media player (of mp4) wouldnt' work.
4k might be a heavy processing load though, wouldn't mean they wouldn't be seen.... (untested/theorhetical)