[mstarkey]

@JamesFiiO, @FiiO
Have you checked that would it be possible to whitelist Poweramp for M9? Or is it too resource hungry for this device?

+1 (@Vahur, did you get an answer to this?)

 

[Zeo-Gold92]

Been eyeing a bunch of different DAPs lately, thought I had settled on one or another but then I get to thinking again lol. Right now I'm considering either the M9, Hiby R3 Pro and the Shanling M2X, I would love to get the IT01S since I used to own the IT01 and enjoyed them a lot. Would the M9 be the best out of all choices? SQ is my main priority as streaming isn't a priority for me, and I like a nice low end but not at the expense of other parts.

 

[fish1050]

+1 (@Vahur, did you get an answer to this?)

The latest firmware 1.0.6 has removed the whitelist restriction so you are free to sideload any apps you want. So try poweramp and if it runs okey then use it.

 

[Ichos]

Hi , I am searching the menu but can't find it.
Is there a way to enlarge the fonts?

 

[fish1050]

Hi , I am searching the menu but can't find it.
Is there a way to enlarge the fonts?

No can't change font size, maybe start carrying a magnifying glass with you If you need large fonts check out the Shanling Q1 - small screen but big fonts.

 

[fish1050]

Closing in on 2 years since the M9 was released. Hope this means we will seen an updated version soon. Better battery life would be nice and improved wifi 5GHZ support. Other than also improving the software and Fiio Player not sure what else needs to be added though.

 

[mstarkey]

Closing in on 2 years since the M9 was released. Hope this means we will seen an updated version soon. Better battery life would be nice and improved wifi 5GHZ support. Other than also improving the software and Fiio Player not sure what else needs to be added though.

Having had mine for a couple of weeks the main deficiency for me personally is the lack of BT5. My smartphone doesn't sound as good but the range is much better.

 

[mstarkey]

Picked up a used one of these a couple of weeks ago having also used the Fiio BTR1 & 3 previously. I'm enjoying the extra versatility of the full DAP (hasn't BT sound quality improved dramatically over the last few years!). My iem's are Sennheiser ie80's and Jabra Elite 75t's. I thought the Sennheiser's would sound better but I actually prefer the Jabra's over BT. Just wondering if changing to balanced would make the Sennheiser's sound any better - surely they should?

 

[fish1050]

Having had mine for a couple of weeks the main deficiency for me personally is the lack of BT5. My smartphone doesn't sound as good but the range is much better.

We will see an improved Exynos chip in the next version since the current one is discontinued by Samsung and hopefully more RAM as well. Better hardware should mean no whitelisted app restriction, hopefully.

 

[highlightshadow]

I had an M9 briefly but i found the CPU just too sluggish ... the Exynos are worse for single-core performance which i guess most of the apps are using ... they should probably switch to Snapdragon ... the 425 in the Hiby R5 i have now is much snappier.

 

[mstarkey]

What would you buy instead of the M9 (for similar money) in 2020?

 

[fish1050]

I had an M9 briefly but i found the CPU just too sluggish ... the Exynos are worse for single-core performance which i guess most of the apps are using ... they should probably switch to Snapdragon ... the 425 in the Hiby R5 i have now is much snappier.

Fiio went with Exynos chip because alot of stuff is built into the chip. It has the RAM and bluetooth controller onboard along with the FM radio used in the M7 and its 14nm Finfet improved the battery life by 20%. The Fiio M11 has the Exynos 7870 chip which is very powerful. I can see Fiio sticking with Exynos chips because of the benefits and we will see a better one in the M6/M7/M9 going forward since the 7270 was discontinued. The 7570 which replaces the 7270 is Quad Core vs Dual Core and should provide a noticeable step up in performance over the 7270 and is used in smartphones and tablets assuming Fiio sticks with Exynos.

I actually find the M9 quite responsive and not sluggish at all given the limited hardware specs. I activated the developer mode and disabled the asian google services and turned off the 3 animation settings and uninstalled the streaming apps I don't use which seems to help performance to some degree. I do find the performance improved with the 1.0.6 firmware update as well

 

[highlightshadow]

I might have just had unreasonable expectations of the capability or performance

I probably could have experimented more but I decided to return to Amazon for refund at the time

 

[leafmulch]

Performance is fairly sluggish, especially Amazon music HD, but it's so affordable and the SQ is so good it balances out. Wi-Fi is dreadful, so downloading albums takes an age, but once offline everything runs well. The 24 bit 96kHz tracks can buffer when streaming, hence downloading is the best approach. I really love mine, but would love it to be quicker.

 

[Ichos]

Qobuz app streaming from wifi 24/96 works like a charm.