[dharmasteve]

So I have a couple of APTX-HD receiver/transmitters I ordered from Amazon. There is no doubt that APTX-HD is a lot better than APTX. A lot better. To me it is ultra clear and very apparent. What is annoying with both units (I got one stupidly cheap), once the Bluetooth is disconnected it does not automatically reconnect. A deal breaker for me, so I ordered the BlueDento BLT-HD an APTX-HD receiver direct from China. Allegedly high quality it arrived in just over a week. It has a built in TI5102 DAC but for my personal setup I set it up through my Arcam Airdac, which co-incidentally has the same chip. At last I have found Bluetooth that is good as WiFi. Bluetooth heaven. It sounds exactly what I want. Bluetooth is much more controllable than WiFi and at the level of APTX-HD sounds exceptional. In case some of you are unsure of APTX- HD (there are so few APTX headphones) it is definitely in another ball game compared to APTX to my ears, particularly when used to send music to a HiFi.
Also using the FiiO M9 as a USB DAC from my laptop outshines the XtremPro X1 USB. DAC+Headphone Amplifier, I use on my laptop, by a mile. The M9 just sounds great in every respect. An amazing little machine which just happens to sound amazing.

 

[Richter Di]

For me the decider was being able to use apps like Qobuz, Tidal. Opens up whole areas of possibility

Ditto!

Most important for me and the only reason I bought the M9 in addition to my Sony NW-ZX2.

 

[Richter Di]

Last night I had a drive where I wanted to hear a new podcast but my iPhones lightning to 3.5 mm jack converter cable was not working.(To plug into the car's Aux input)

So I made a wifi hot spot to the M9 and booted up Spotify on the M9.

Bingo! Worked perfectly. - latest podcasts - to cars 3,5mm aux input

Also Spotify on my phone detected it was connected to the M9 via wifi and I was able to use it as the "control device" (while stopped at red lights)

I can*t connect my M9 via iPhone HotSpot. Any ideas what I could do different?
I open a HotSpot on the iPhone, the M9 sees it. I put in the password and it just does not connect. And yes, I checked the password several times.

 

[Pro-Jules]

Try a reboot?

And also try turning Bluetooth off

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hi
Thanks. Streaming is not important at all. I listen to all sorts of mysic, metal, hip-hop, classical, jazz, classic rock, indie etc. It will be mainly for iems at work. I like a warm sound but with plenty of detail and good bass. Not big loose bass but nice tight bass.

Both DX120 and M9 sound really good, DX120 is maybe a touch warmer, but not a big difference.

Where you may find a difference is, DX120 has no Streaming abilities, but it has two microSD slots, while M9 has one microSD slot, but good Streaming abilities. DX120 is more of a microSD DAP with its own music player, while M9 is more of a Streaming Android DAP. DX120 is a bit thicker and larger in size than M9. If you like having a volume wheel, M9 has one, while DX120 does not. I think you would be happy with either, both are great products, and I noticed no issues with either

Sound-wise N5ii is also great, and has two microSD slots, but I haven't heard the new N5iiSS, so I am not sure how its display looks like, or if it behaves differently from the old N5ii.

 

[FiiO]

Honestly i dont think i have one. Ive tried to peel of the screen but it didnt bung. Iv e already reached out to fiio to get one.

Dear friend,

The screen protector has already been applied for the M9 before factory out.
You could try to remove it from the side for check:

Best regards

 

[Pro-Jules]

LDAC report - I used my M9 an EarStudio ES100 bluetooth reciever today (I clipped it to my shirt pocket and hung my Bose QC20 Noise Cancelling headphones off it and had all its wires tucked into the shirt pocket)

It worked GREAT on the London underground

I just had two momentary drop oust - so I declare it a total success.

Another great thing, to my complete delight my iPhones message sounds interrupted the music (so that's great I won't miss important work stuff) and I was able to make a call on the iphone than go back to LDAC music playback from the M9..

Great!

Two terrific gadgets

The ability to pick of the M9 and play with it without wires was great - I didn't have to fuss over how the wires were doing / dangling.

I expect a Sony LDAC neckband for MMCX in ear monitors this week - I will update you on that.

I love LDAC

 

[gazzington]

Just to check is this considered better than fiio x5iii?

 

[Dobrescu George]

Just to check is this considered better than fiio x5iii?

Better is hard to quantify, seems it has less bugs reported, and from my personal experience, a more balanced overall tonality, less warm, less smooth, so it is more verastile and more universal. May not have as much power, and be as detailed per se though, I haven't done the test between them, since I don't have X5-3.

 

[ASpencer]

Just to check is this considered better than fiio x5iii?

I personally feel this is the best DAP FiiiO has produced and I own almost all of their X series.

 

[gazzington]

I personally feel this is the best DAP FiiiO has produced and I own almost all of their X series.

That's good to know. Does it need an amp to get best sound?

 

[ASpencer]

That's good to know. Does it need an amp to get best sound?

I'm of the thought that this is mobile audio, so I've emphasized using these DAPs with IEMs as opposed to full on headphones. I have DAPs with powerful amps as well as run others
through external amps, but I'm really just viewing these now through the prism of pocket devices. The power suffices for my needs and I'm enjoying the extended battery life running
everything stet using FLAC files without the WiFi on. The M9 is an ideal travel companion. You'll have to decide whether you need an amp's boost.

 

[KESM]

That's good to know. Does it need an amp to get best sound?

Depends...I’ve used it with full sized cans (HD 6XX, Fostex TR X00, Aeon Flow Open)...along with an portable amp (Vorzuge analog with BT aptx HD adapter). I think the M9 benefits notably from the boost in those applications...even on the lowest gain setting. Sounds richer & fuller to my ears. However it’ll do fine without the amp...less boost (grunt) of course. I don’t use iems so I cannot offer any real world experience. I don’t think you need one with efficient cans. I have Grados GW100 & Senn HD1...both have BT built in & are powered fine with just the M9...the amp makes a difference...but I would think you woudn’t miss it all that much. So...I say add an amp if you hear a benefit (which I have in my varied application)...particularly with thirsty cans. Overall...power is always a very good thing (extra power for the low end)...but not required if you’re satisified with the sound quality straight from the M9.

 

[dharmasteve]

That's good to know. Does it need an amp to get best sound?

I would say no, unless it's a high end one. There's plenty of power for most IEMs. The FiiO E17k amp is not an upgrade in sound as I have it. I've got a few DAPs and the M9 is the best. Soundwise it is better than all my DAPs. In fact all my other DAPs were improved by amping. The M9 would need a pretty good amp to improve it. I've just put a balanced 2.5mm cable into my Tin Audio T2 Pros and that adds a fair bit of power and cleanness. Maybe a balanced IEM is the way to go rather than amping?

 

[gazzington]

Anybody compared it to the dx120?