[alwass89]

Hello everyone,
I just got a brand new M23 yesterday and was quite happy to test it but I noticed something right away that worries me.

On my unit physical volume buttons seems "hard" to push and I can't really feel or hear it clicking much, especially volume minus key.
At first it seemed totally not working, so today I went back to the store and the guy there pointed that if I press harder that I would have in the first place ... it works.
From what I can see, it does look correctly fitted and the volume tactile panel works.

I quickly compared with their demo unit (probably from the same batch since it just got released) and yes it's definitely harder to press that I would expect, altough maybe not as much as mine.

For comparison I also own a M11 Plus ESS and it's very different, it requires a light press that you can feel and hear clearly.


Howerver I'm suprised that nobody mentionned it, so I'm wondering if there's really something wrong with mine (or the batch shipped to the retailer).
IDK why but I don't feel comfortable with it ...


For those who already received one, how is yours ??

I also purchased a new M23 and also had problems with the volume buttons. The volume down worked fine, but the volume up was very hit or miss, sometimes the volume would go up when I clicked and sometimes I would need to make multiple clicks for the volume to go up. I was able to exchange for a new unit today, but will not have time to open and check until much later tonight.

 

[Lifter59]

At 5:51 what about the "stutter" thin

 

[laleeee]

I agree

 

[Patlezinc]

Can you compare the m23 and the m15s sound wise ? Downgrade or sidegrade ?

I just did the comparison.
As ears are poor instruments of measure (the worst maybe), I copied the sames sources on both (Daft punk 10th anniversary « Random Access Memory » in Hi-Res).
So I tuned the volume to be the same on both.
And I switched the headphones as fast as possible, running the song/music at the same playing time. Maybe 5 sec between the switches, sometimes less.
So, in terms of sound, I found them very very similar except on one thing if I want to find differences : the bass. They are more « profound » and a bit louder on the m15s. But you have to listen carefully. Without comparison the M23 is fine.
More bass is not always a sign of quality, so I decided to compare with my desktop stuff (EarMen). And the closest was M15s. So, if we compare, the m23 is a bit shier. If you don’t, it is a good product doing what you are asking.

As always, using a « real » amp is really improving these Daps. Let’s say the sound is 2m large, then you have 3m with the amp. Same with depth : sound is 1m with the DAPs and 2m with an amp. You have the full 3d sound (with good pieces of music).
But I talk about planars (even if I read the same thing about IEMs, and even on very expensive DAPs but i have no experience with IEMs or 3500€ DAPs, so, I just read it…)

Separated usbc is really convenient (I bought it for that) but tweaking the menus of the M15s fixed my issue with the EarMen Amp so I will return the m23 unfortunately.

 

[AudioRat]

Has anyone in here who lives in Europe ordered the DAP from fiio.eu? Seems like a legit shop? They seem to have the M23 in stock.

 

[laleeee]

Has anyone in here who lives in Europe ordered the DAP from fiio.eu? Seems like a legit shop? They seem to have the M23 in stock.

Choose Hifigo and this 20$ coupon : HIFIGOYM20 ( over 700$ )
They have in stock, nice guys, i ordered 8 days ago, i will receive tomorrow . No taxes to Europe..

 

[AudioRat]

Choose Hifigo and this 20$ coupon : HIFIGOYM20 ( over 700$ )
They have in stock, nice guys, i ordered 8 days ago, i will receive tomorrow . No taxes to Europe..

Thanks for the tip, I'll check them out.

 

[laleeee]

Thanks for the tip, I'll check them out.

Priority shipping method is free and all taxes & duties paid by Hifigo

 

[llysender]

That hasn’t been my experience at all. If anything, I’ve found that it has more punch than my desktop stack. With that said, I’m only using IEMs with this DAP so I can’t vouch for its performance with full-sized headphones.

Yeah I felt the same here when I demoed the M23, it seems really biased towards the lower half of the spectrum almost like the M17. Was abit disappointed since I much prefer the hiby r6 pro 2 kind of sound and was holding off getting the Q15 since it was abit on the warm side but the M23 really takes it to a whole new level.

 

[BS5711]

So I tuned the volume to be the same on both.

I want to find differences : the bass. They are more « profound » and a bit louder on the m15s. But you have to listen carefully. Without comparison the M23 is fine.

How was the volume assessed to be the same on both ?

I wonder what would happen if you repeated the test and intentionally made the M15S a little quieter than the M23 and then a little louder. Would the apparent increase in bass still be present even it a slightly lower volume and would the added bass seem even more pronounced at a slightly higher volume.

My obvious point is that volume matching is very difficult but essential to assessing differences. I was told some time back by an audio engineer and DAC and amplifier designer that comparing gear using volume matching done only by ear is a waste of time and completely misleading. Even slightly higher volume such that you still think they are matched and can't make out the difference in volume in the few seconds it takes to swap devices will make a noticeable difference.

If you volume matched as good as you could by ear then turned the M23 up by just a few numbers on the volume scale I imagine the M23 would be the one with more bass emphasis.

 

[FiiO]

I also purchased a new M23 and also had problems with the volume buttons. The volume down worked fine, but the volume up was very hit or miss, sometimes the volume would go up when I clicked and sometimes I would need to make multiple clicks for the volume to go up. I was able to exchange for a new unit today, but will not have time to open and check until much later tonight.

Dear friend,

Electronic buttons need a certain amount of strength to respond. The buttons need to have a certain amount of activity to avoid being stuck. You may check whether the new unit could be better.

Best regards

 

[Patlezinc]

How was the volume assessed to be the same on both ?

I wonder what would happen if you repeated the test and intentionally made the M15S a little quieter than the M23 and then a little louder. Would the apparent increase in bass still be present even it a slightly lower volume and would the added bass seem even more pronounced at a slightly higher volume.

My obvious point is that volume matching is very difficult but essential to assessing differences. I was told some time back by an audio engineer and DAC and amplifier designer that comparing gear using volume matching done only by ear is a waste of time and completely misleading. Even slightly higher volume such that you still think they are matched and can't make out the difference in volume in the few seconds it takes to swap devices will make a noticeable difference.

If you volume matched as good as you could by ear then turned the M23 up by just a few numbers on the volume scale I imagine the M23 would be the one with more bass emphasis.

Forums are full of useless comparisons because of the bad tool the ears are. You can even read comparison « by memory » which is very funny.
I did the best I could to have the same volume (numbers were close but not exactly the same, like 44/50 in high mode on both).
I did not have any expectations about the results, but it seems you do.
So take my test as it is : something between a waste of time and a test done in the best possible way without a lab and meaning something somewhere.
I did the test because someone asked. I don’t really care which one was the best as I use the Fiio as a file source only.
If poeple really want to be clear on this subject, they should do the test themselves (and would be in the exact same situation I am : doing their best to compare)

 

[BS5711]

Forums are full of useless comparisons because of the bad tool the ears are. You can even read comparison « by memory » which is very funny.
I did the best I could to have the same volume (numbers were close but not exactly the same, like 44/50 in high mode on both).
I did not have any expectations about the results, but it seems you do.
So take my test as it is : something between a waste of time and a test done in the best possible way without a lab and meaning something somewhere.
I did the test because someone asked. I don’t really care which one was the best as I use the Fiio as a file source only.
If poeple really want to be clear on this subject, they should do the test themselves (and would be in the exact same situation I am : doing their best to compare)

I didn’t mean any offence, sorry if any taken and no I didn’t have any expectation. The result could have gone either way because any perceived difference is subject to other factors that almost certainly outweigh any actual difference that might exist just as you asserted.

But I do agree that most such comparisons are all but useless.

 

[Vitor Valeri]

Forums are full of useless comparisons because of the bad tool the ears are. You can even read comparison « by memory » which is very funny.
I did the best I could to have the same volume (numbers were close but not exactly the same, like 44/50 in high mode on both).
I did not have any expectations about the results, but it seems you do.
So take my test as it is : something between a waste of time and a test done in the best possible way without a lab and meaning something somewhere.
I did the test because someone asked. I don’t really care which one was the best as I use the Fiio as a file source only.
If poeple really want to be clear on this subject, they should do the test themselves (and would be in the exact same situation I am : doing their best to compare)

The ideal is to adjust the volume via software for precision in volume matching, as the video below shows.

 

[laleeee]

How can i activate the up an down volume buttons instead of the slider ?