cat3600
100+ Head-Fier
Early Christmas gift for me 
just picked up today.
Probably should put up the M11 Plus Ltd SS for sale!
just picked up today.Probably should put up the M11 Plus Ltd SS for sale!
[FiiO M17] Dual ES9038PRO, dual THXAAA-788+, dual power supplies, 9200mAh battery, 2 volume control modes
drroman66
New Head-Fier
I have had mine for almost two weeks now, and I would say connected to main power source serves mine very well. I have Meze Empyrean, AKG N5005, and Audeze LCD i4’s. They all sound better from mains than off battery.
drroman66
New Head-Fier
You will adore it!Early Christmas gift for me
Probably should put up the M11 Plus Ltd SS for sale!
ScubaDrunk
100+ Head-Fier
Early Christmas gift for me
Probably should put up the M11 Plus Ltd SS for sale!
Happy Christmas
ScubaDrunk
100+ Head-Fier
Ok - still early days with the M17 and nowhere near burned in yet (10 hours so far) BUT
I am noticing that A/B with my Topping setup using the Utopia's, The M17 is pulling the music in closer than the Topping.
I suppose the best way I can explain is the M17 sounds closer (as if I'm sat right in front of the recording) at the moment whilst the Topping gives a more rounded sound stage experience (as if I'm sat in the middle of the recording with all instruments around me in a circle).
I think this might have something to do with burn in on the M17 still being required? Anyone care to comment with their own personal experiences with burn in and opening up of sound stage with the M17?
I am noticing that A/B with my Topping setup using the Utopia's, The M17 is pulling the music in closer than the Topping.
I suppose the best way I can explain is the M17 sounds closer (as if I'm sat right in front of the recording) at the moment whilst the Topping gives a more rounded sound stage experience (as if I'm sat in the middle of the recording with all instruments around me in a circle).
I think this might have something to do with burn in on the M17 still being required? Anyone care to comment with their own personal experiences with burn in and opening up of sound stage with the M17?
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I am about 30 hours in (left it on last 24 h)
I think soundstage is opening more and more... We will see when it ends
I think soundstage is opening more and more... We will see when it ends
ScubaDrunk
100+ Head-Fier
I am about 30 hours in (left it on last 24 h)
I think soundstage is opening more and more... We will see when it ends
Yeah that's what I'm trying to say. It sounds like the sound stage is, dare I say it, duller at the moment. I hope it opens up as the burn in continues.
It's not bad, but I can certainly tell the difference.
cat3600
100+ Head-Fier
I am going to do a comparison between my Sony DMP-Z1 and the M17 after the M17 is burned in. probably end of next week.
I also used the Fiio M11 Plus as a source/streamer for the Sony haven't used the M17 yet, though I doubt there will be any difference between the 2 as a player/streamer through the DMP's internal DAC
I also used the Fiio M11 Plus as a source/streamer for the Sony haven't used the M17 yet, though I doubt there will be any difference between the 2 as a player/streamer through the DMP's internal DAC
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karlheinz147
100+ Head-Fier
Has anyone compared the M11 Plus LTD against the M17 directly?
cat3600
100+ Head-Fier
I will after a few days once the M17 settles down and post that comparison as well
ScubaDrunk
100+ Head-Fier
Now.... Don't be fookin aboot with this comparison because our friends in the south will think we are over estimating the ability of this wonderful Dap, just like our alcohol intake ability (Mickey)
mgeagan
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2013
- Posts
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Has anyone evaluated the sound quality while running on battery vs while charging via USB (not 12V)? The sound quality noticeably degrades when I plug in a USB charging cable -- even if the battery is fully charged and the USB cable is simply powering the M17, and even when I use a power bank rather than a charging brick. This doesn't seem surprising, given that there is a DC-DC conversion happening even when a power bank is plugged in. This isn't a gripe; I'm just trying to figure out the best way to run the M17 while off the grid.
cat3600
100+ Head-Fier
Hahaha I'm a novice look at the no of posts, I might just be sparedNow.... Don't be fookin aboot with this comparison because our friends in the south will think we are over estimating the ability of this wonderful Dap, just like our alcohol intake ability (Mickey)
newworld666
Headphoneus Supremus
I am still really pleased with the M17, though I am deeper in the sound comparison between some options.
Enhanced mode, Headphone mode, Line Out 4.4mm to a THX887 (In Enhanced mode and Normal mode).
1) Balanced Line Out from 4.4mm to a 2xXLR3 Input of a Thx887 amp, there is no difference when switching between enhanced mode and normal mode. Which "maybe" means the M17 has a real line out which bypass the amp part of the M17, though there is still a click when I switch the right switch of the m17 from Enhanced mode to Headphone mode.
2) I am obliged sometimes to restart the M17 as it can't switch anymore to enhanced mode.
3) Sometime too, as a dlna receiver (via neutron) or when I access to my upnp server (via FIIO pure audio mode), I lose my current playlist playing, and it starts to play some music on my SD, I have to re-select my streamed playlist.
4) for sure FIIO player is a real pain to use for upnp server access, as there is no way to memorize/store in the M17 any servers available on your network, like Neutron or Bubbleupnp can do. It can be a disaster in my office with so many windows music servers from all laptops
5) There is an annoying click when I switch to a DSD file after playing a Flac file (24/96) (only one click)
6) Unfortunately, it's impossible to make a fast A/B comparison between my external amp THX887 and the M17 Amp in Enhanced mode.
There are too many actions to do to really compare sound impacts clearly :
- unplug and switching the headphone 4.4mm plug between the two devices,
- switching the line out mode on M17,
- changing volume level as lineout mode is not set at 120 by default and M17 going back to a previous vol level en enhanced mode.......
But, .... the M17 in enhanced mode is really very impressive as a DAP, though I feel the stage is probably larger with my Thx887 as amp. This enhancement, can be due to a placebo effect like, I also suspect, when I switch from stock DC power and ifi iPower Elite which seems to be a step-up too.
I think FIIO will need to improve a bit the stability of the M17, though it's already, as it is, far more usable than the horrible A&K Kann Alpha (even after one year of frequent use and some firmware update).
As with M11, FIIO could prove they were able to address and correct many issues with frequent firmware, I have no doubt, they are far more serious than A&K and all of those small issues will be fixed soon or late.
Enhanced mode, Headphone mode, Line Out 4.4mm to a THX887 (In Enhanced mode and Normal mode).
1) Balanced Line Out from 4.4mm to a 2xXLR3 Input of a Thx887 amp, there is no difference when switching between enhanced mode and normal mode. Which "maybe" means the M17 has a real line out which bypass the amp part of the M17, though there is still a click when I switch the right switch of the m17 from Enhanced mode to Headphone mode.
2) I am obliged sometimes to restart the M17 as it can't switch anymore to enhanced mode.
3) Sometime too, as a dlna receiver (via neutron) or when I access to my upnp server (via FIIO pure audio mode), I lose my current playlist playing, and it starts to play some music on my SD, I have to re-select my streamed playlist.
4) for sure FIIO player is a real pain to use for upnp server access, as there is no way to memorize/store in the M17 any servers available on your network, like Neutron or Bubbleupnp can do. It can be a disaster in my office with so many windows music servers from all laptops
5) There is an annoying click when I switch to a DSD file after playing a Flac file (24/96) (only one click)
6) Unfortunately, it's impossible to make a fast A/B comparison between my external amp THX887 and the M17 Amp in Enhanced mode.
There are too many actions to do to really compare sound impacts clearly :
- unplug and switching the headphone 4.4mm plug between the two devices,
- switching the line out mode on M17,
- changing volume level as lineout mode is not set at 120 by default and M17 going back to a previous vol level en enhanced mode.......
But, .... the M17 in enhanced mode is really very impressive as a DAP, though I feel the stage is probably larger with my Thx887 as amp. This enhancement, can be due to a placebo effect like, I also suspect, when I switch from stock DC power and ifi iPower Elite which seems to be a step-up too.
I think FIIO will need to improve a bit the stability of the M17, though it's already, as it is, far more usable than the horrible A&K Kann Alpha (even after one year of frequent use and some firmware update).
As with M11, FIIO could prove they were able to address and correct many issues with frequent firmware, I have no doubt, they are far more serious than A&K and all of those small issues will be fixed soon or late.
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