[FiiO M5] Compact and Versatile Hi-Res Music Player
Aug 19, 2019 at 10:15 AM Post #376 of 773
I couldn't resist. I felt like I needed another watch. lol

IMG_20190819_192901.jpg
 
Aug 21, 2019 at 3:25 AM Post #379 of 773
How does this compare to the m0, R3 and even M6. I'm after a portable solution to use with Bluetooth headphones/iems
 
Aug 21, 2019 at 5:50 AM Post #380 of 773
M5 uses Qualcomm's Flagship BT Chip CSR8675. Is there any firmware update planned to upgrade BT4.2 to 5.0 ? Are there any special reasons why BT5.0 is not implemented? @FiiO

Dear friend,

In the development stage of M5, some bluetooth codecs haven't adapted to the bluetooth 5.0.

And actually the Bluetooth 5.0 may not help with the sound quality too much compared with the bluetooth 4.2. Considering the big work and longer time of updating, we decided to use the mature bluetooth 4.2 version for M5 still at that time.

Best regards
 
FiiO Stay updated on FiiO at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/FiiOAUDIO https://twitter.com/FiiO_official https://www.instagram.com/fiioofficial/ https://www.fiio.com support@fiio.com
Aug 21, 2019 at 1:34 PM Post #382 of 773
Will the watch strap be available to buy as I really want one if I buy an M5?
 
Aug 21, 2019 at 5:53 PM Post #383 of 773
Will the watch strap be available to buy as I really want one if I buy an M5?

I asked FiiO customer service about buying the watch band, as I bought the M5 from Amazon US. This was their response:

“Hi, thank you for your mail and support to FiiO.

The new model of the M5 wrist band will be released in September if everything goes well.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a nice day!”
 
Aug 21, 2019 at 11:52 PM Post #384 of 773
I have had my M5 for about 3 weeks now, ordered via AliExpress so I got the watch strap. Probably never going to use that function, but still nice to get it. My thoughts on the M5 are as follows.

PROS
1. BT connection quality. Gosh this thing has a rock solid connection. I've got a Sony 1000XM2, a Jabra elite sport, and a bunch of other Bluetooth devices, the M5 make them all look like child's play. It connects through walls and distance. A lot of others have already touched on this but it is still worth mentioning.
2. Signal to noise ratio: this device is really well made in terms of SNR. There is absolutely no hiss or other added sounds when nothing is playing. Incredibly quiet, even at high volume levels. Kudos to Fiio for this.
3. Sound signature. Without equalizers, the sound is really flat, almost expressionless. To me this is a huge plus though some might not like this. If the recording is terrible, you get to hear it in all its harshness, but a really well mixed recording absolutely shines. Although truth be told, I cannot listen to it flat, and the built in equalizer has only presets (really?), I only ever select the Dance option as this filters out a lot of the 1Khz sounds that makes most recordings sound unbearable, and also has a slight bass boost.
But for me the real joy comes from streaming from my Galaxy S10+ using LDAC at the highest quality, and playing music from neutron music player, with the equalizer set just right. My default test track for any playback system is Paul Simon's "The boy in the bubble". A good music player should be able to reproduce Bakhiti Kumalo's fretless sounds without any EQ help, and the M5 does this effortlessly (listening with a Fiio F9 Pro).
4. Battery life. 10 hours is more than adequate for my uses.

CONS.
1. If you buy this thinking you are getting a Digital Audio Player AND a Bluetooth receiver, you will be sorely disappointed. This is actually a Digital Audio Player OR a Bluetooth receiver. Meaning it can perform either function but not both at the same time. It appears the CSR8675 doesn't play well with the SOC or something. But you cannot use the default music player and have Bluetooth connection at the same time. I was hoping I could be listening to music and be notified of incoming calls. But the Bluetooth receiver is just another app on the device, which requires other apps to stop functioning.
2. No Multipoint Bluetooth connection (cannot connect to 2 devices simultaneously). I initially thought it did, but edited my post after getting an email from Fiio confirming it does not support this feature. This has brought it way down in my estimation.
 
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Aug 22, 2019 at 9:17 PM Post #386 of 773
I have had my M5 for about 3 weeks now, ordered via AliExpress so I got the watch strap. Probably never going to use that function, but still nice to get it. My thoughts on the M5 are as follows.

PROS
1. BT connection quality. Gosh this thing has a rock solid connection. I've got a Sony 1000XM2, a Jabra elite sport, and a bunch of other Bluetooth devices, the M5 make them all look like child's play. It connects through walls and distance. A lot of others have already touched on this but it is still worth mentioning.
2. Signal to noise ratio: this device is really well made in terms of SNR. There is absolutely no hiss or other added sounds when nothing is playing. Incredibly quiet, even at high volume levels. Kudos to Fiio for this.
3. Sound signature. Without equalizers, the sound is really flat, almost expressionless. To me this is a huge plus though some might not like this. If the recording is terrible, you get to hear it in all its harshness, but a really well mixed recording absolutely shines. Although truth be told, I cannot listen to it flat, and the built in equalizer has only presets (really?), I only ever select the Dance option as this filters out a lot of the 1Khz sounds that makes most recordings sound unbearable, and also has a slight bass boost.
But for me the real joy comes from streaming from my Galaxy S10+ using LDAC at the highest quality, and playing music from neutron music player, with the equalizer set just right. My default test track for any playback system is Paul Simon's "The boy in the bubble". A good music player should be able to reproduce Bakhiti Kumalo's fretless sounds without any EQ help, and the M5 does this effortlessly (listening with a Fiio F9 Pro).
4. Battery life. 10 hours is more than adequate for my uses.
5. Dual Bluetooth connection. I have this setup so it is connected to both my PC and Android phone at the same time, and it works flawlessly.
CONS.
1. If you buy this thinking you are getting a Digital Audio Player AND a Bluetooth receiver, you will be sorely disappointed. This is actually a Digital Audio Player OR a Bluetooth receiver. Meaning it can perform either function but not both at the same time. It appears the CSR8675 doesn't play well with the SOC or something. But you cannot use the default music player and have Bluetooth connection at the same time. I was hoping I could be listening to music and be notified of incoming calls. But the Bluetooth receiver is just another app on the device, which requires other apps to stop functioning.
Dear friend,

Thanks for your kind feedback. :two_hearts:

Best regards
 
FiiO Stay updated on FiiO at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/FiiOAUDIO https://twitter.com/FiiO_official https://www.instagram.com/fiioofficial/ https://www.fiio.com support@fiio.com
Aug 23, 2019 at 3:51 AM Post #388 of 773
I have had my M5 for about 3 weeks now, ordered via AliExpress so I got the watch strap. Probably never going to use that function, but still nice to get it. My thoughts on the M5 are as follows.

PROS
1. BT connection quality. Gosh this thing has a rock solid connection. I've got a Sony 1000XM2, a Jabra elite sport, and a bunch of other Bluetooth devices, the M5 make them all look like child's play. It connects through walls and distance. A lot of others have already touched on this but it is still worth mentioning.
2. Signal to noise ratio: this device is really well made in terms of SNR. There is absolutely no hiss or other added sounds when nothing is playing. Incredibly quiet, even at high volume levels. Kudos to Fiio for this.
3. Sound signature. Without equalizers, the sound is really flat, almost expressionless. To me this is a huge plus though some might not like this. If the recording is terrible, you get to hear it in all its harshness, but a really well mixed recording absolutely shines. Although truth be told, I cannot listen to it flat, and the built in equalizer has only presets (really?), I only ever select the Dance option as this filters out a lot of the 1Khz sounds that makes most recordings sound unbearable, and also has a slight bass boost.
But for me the real joy comes from streaming from my Galaxy S10+ using LDAC at the highest quality, and playing music from neutron music player, with the equalizer set just right. My default test track for any playback system is Paul Simon's "The boy in the bubble". A good music player should be able to reproduce Bakhiti Kumalo's fretless sounds without any EQ help, and the M5 does this effortlessly (listening with a Fiio F9 Pro).
4. Battery life. 10 hours is more than adequate for my uses.
5. Dual Bluetooth connection. I have this setup so it is connected to both my PC and Android phone at the same time, and it works flawlessly.
CONS.
1. If you buy this thinking you are getting a Digital Audio Player AND a Bluetooth receiver, you will be sorely disappointed. This is actually a Digital Audio Player OR a Bluetooth receiver. Meaning it can perform either function but not both at the same time. It appears the CSR8675 doesn't play well with the SOC or something. But you cannot use the default music player and have Bluetooth connection at the same time. I was hoping I could be listening to music and be notified of incoming calls. But the Bluetooth receiver is just another app on the device, which requires other apps to stop functioning.

Thanks for taking the time to make your review. The watch band was the feature that ticked that final box that swayed me away from the other ultra portable daps. I hope to put it to use this weekend after I get a SD card to get some music in it.
 

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