[zeroselect]

Did anyone notice one very important spec of the FiiO M15 and one that really surprised me... this could explain some people reporting overpowering bass... warmer signature...

Maybe this is why it feels so right to me. I love me some bass.

Also I am running my Solaris on balanced.

 

[vilhelm44]

Did anyone notice one very important spec of the FiiO M15 and one that really surprised me... this could explain some people reporting overpowering bass... warmer signature...

Output impedance for 3.5 is 1.4ohm but worse for 2.5/4.4 it's around 3ohm! Check https://www.fiio.com/m15_parameters



This is quite high for a modern player... This is such a shame and a handicap...

If you have IEMs with lower impedance (and there are a lot of those these days), unless you have some LID, FIBAE or any compensation tech this will skew the signature bass wise and make your IEMs warmer... Out of balanced with the 1/8th rule means you need to have an IEM 24ohm or higher not to suffer from this!

This is a good spot! I was just checking OHM on the VE8 and they are 22, so they could just about work well. I still may give it a go out of curiosity.

 

[ryno1507]

Would using an iFi iEMatch help with sensitive iems? Or is this dumb on such an expensive DAP?

 

[jmills8]

Would using an iFi iEMatch help with sensitive iems? Or is this dumb on such an expensive DAP?

Mid level dap.

 

[haoyuan]

Would using an iFi iEMatch help with sensitive iems? Or is this dumb on such an expensive DAP?

I have had the andromeda for a while and now solaris and use them with other Fiio players like the M11Pro and X7ii. I’ve always hated how the highs are affected by the IEMatch on both. In short it takes the sparkle away.

On the M11Pro balanced, the hiss was already so much better than the X7ii and if the M15 has lower hiss than the M11Pro then I’ll consider that a keeper.

 

[jmills8]

I have had the andromeda for a while and now solaris and use them with other Fiio players like the M11Pro and X7ii. I’ve always hated how the highs are affected by the IEMatch on both. In short it takes the sparkle away.

On the M11Pro balanced, the hiss was already so much better than the X7ii and if the M15 has lower hiss than the M11Pro then I’ll consider that a keeper.

Get real iems.

 

[Infoseeker]

If you want something portable with sparkle for Andromeda and Solaris, I highly recommend the E1da 9038s with a 2.5mm balanced cable.

Low noise and an output impedence less than one.

 

[DarginMahkum]

One question though: Why use the balanced output for a highly sensitive IEM?

 

[Infoseeker]

One question though: Why use the balanced output for a highly sensitive IEM?

Well for me it is the only output on the device I suggested. ^^;

 

[Jim Bobber]

I think it is the best to judge by your ears. It is FiiO's own gadgets, so I would expect them to be properly matched.

Agree, and that’s what I would have thought, odd if their flagship iem did not play nicely with their flagship dap!

 

[jmills8]

Agree, and that’s what I would have thought, odd if their flagship iem did not play nicely with their flagship dap!

Many "flagship" iems are mid tier.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Well for me it is the only output on the device I suggested. ^^;

My question was actually for M15. For the DAC you suggest, it is understandable, but I don't see the reason to use balanced output for a highly sensitive IEM on M15.

 

[Pictograms]

that is sad to know, was planning to pair with my 64audio n8 which is already a heavy bass iem

The N8 has LID so it won’t be affected by the impedance

 

[Pictograms]

It's a really great DAC. The Amp part is good, but not great, IMO. Like I said before, the default l.p. filter does not suit my tastes. With the right filter, though, I definitely think this is more musical, more open, more detailed (in good ways), and more enjoyable mids than the SP1000 to which I am comparing tonight. That's as a total DAP. As a DAC/frontend alone (which is a common use case for me), the gap between this and the SP1000 is quite a bit more still, and more than I expected. So it's a keeper for me definitely.

Qobuz installation and usage and SD card usage and DSD playback all work smoothly so far. No issues there, which is good. There are some small clicks when moving from PCM to DSD and back, but not bad.

But caveats: if the filter could not be adjusted, I would be returning this. With the stock filter this is a nice DAP, but not one that I would care to take with me in my bag every day.

Also: the impedance is definitely too high on the balanced connection. It is simply not usable with the a12t. The 3.5 works fine though and there is no noise to speak of (again, on the a12t's)

Also note: the protective cover is definitely for the back. Two clues: it fits perfectly and the back is very soft and easy to scratch without a cover.

Doesn’t your A12t have LID? Which may just mean the balanced out has a lot more bass than single ended

 

[davidmolliere]

That is interesting, as it is advertised to be <1.1 ohm (bottom of the page):
https://www.fiio.com/m15
Well, that is a pity. It is also indicated here on the FAQ:
Recommended headphone impedance 16~150Ω (3.5mm headphone output) 16~600Ω (2.5mm+4.4mm balanced output)

Interesting so conflicting infos between the synthetic product sheet and the detailed one, I'd tend to trust the info that refers to a specific output