[QuantumRock]

I recently acquired a Fiio M11 and was able to A/B compare alongside an iBasso DX160 using my main genre of music. I have heard many great things about the M11 and was excited to receive it, but it sounds dry and analytical compared to the DX160. I have reasons for keeping the M11 over the DX160 which are better battery life, faster system, bigger screen, better bluetooth/wifi connectivity, and capable of more storage, but the dry sound is really off-putting. I know there is a difference of chips inside but is there anything that can be done to bring some life to the music on the M11?

 

[pjones5]

I recently acquired a Fiio M11 and was able to A/B compare alongside an iBasso DX160 using my main genre of music. I have heard many great things about the M11 and was excited to receive it, but it sounds dry and analytical compared to the DX160. I have reasons for keeping the M11 over the DX160 which are better battery life, faster system, bigger screen, better bluetooth/wifi connectivity, and capable of more storage, but the dry sound is really off-putting. I know there is a difference of chips inside but is there anything that can be done to bring some life to the music on the M11?

This is an unpopular way of fixing it, but you could download the HiBy music app and adjust some of the MSEB settings. That won’t apply to the android system though.

 

[QuantumRock]

This is an unpopular way of fixing it, but you could download the HiBy music app and adjust some of the MSEB settings. That won’t apply to the android system though.

I should have mentioned most of my listening happens while streaming Tidal or Amazon Music HD.

 

[Mhog55]

On the dap end, not really. You could acquire some warm and darkish headphones, something more on the fun, colored, and musical side. You could sell it and use the funds to purchase the Shanling M6 Pro.

 

[dmac6419]

I recently acquired a Fiio M11 and was able to A/B compare alongside an iBasso DX160 using my main genre of music. I have heard many great things about the M11 and was excited to receive it, but it sounds dry and analytical compared to the DX160. I have reasons for keeping the M11 over the DX160 which are better battery life, faster system, bigger screen, better bluetooth/wifi connectivity, and capable of more storage, but the dry sound is really off-putting. I know there is a difference of chips inside but is there anything that can be done to bring some life to the music on the M11?

I have both too,I like the meatier sound of the DX160 so I tend to listen to that more,but I like to rotate my DAP's

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Tried Low Pass Filter to super slow roll-off? It's not a significant change but will add a bit of "meat" to the sound waves.