[dharmasteve]

Can you store Tidal tracks offline?

I just signed up to a tidal trial. Yes it's easy to download and store and save and play offline. All great if you are using headphones, because there's no way to stream to WiFi speakers though on Deezer and Tidal as far as I can see at the moment. Spotify.... yes it's easy. Just located my Jam Symphony speaker in the 'connect to a device' menu in settings....very simple and works. Sadly using the Fiio App I cannot find or cast to my Jam Symphony. Also in Deezer and Tidal I can't find my speaker or even cast to it. So Brownie points for Spotify, but Fiio need to make some changes to their app at least. Having said all that the M9 is a great little player and headphone/earphone output is good, very good. So Fiio I hope you read this, I did pass it on to support a couple of days ago, so please, at least, solve the problem in the Fiio app. Well done to Spotify.

Bluetooth works well though, so if you have a Bluetooth speaker you should have no problem.

 

[MPNow]

Can you store Tidal tracks offline?

I think someone else confirmed that you can a few posts back.

 

[KevP]

I just signed up to a tidal trial. Yes it's easy to download and store and save and play offline. All great if you are using headphones, because there's no way to stream to WiFi speakers though on Deezer and Tidal as far as I can see at the moment. Spotify.... yes it's easy. Just located my Jam Symphony speaker in the 'connect to a device' menu in settings....very simple and works. Sadly using the Fiio App I cannot find or cast to my Jam Symphony. Also in Deezer and Tidal I can't find my speaker or even cast to it. So Brownie points for Spotify, but Fiio need to make some changes to their app at least. Having said all that the M9 is a great little player and headphone/earphone output is good, very good. So Fiio I hope you read this, I did pass it on to support a couple of days ago, so please, at least, solve the problem in the Fiio app. Well done to Spotify.

Bluetooth works well though, so if you have a Bluetooth speaker you should have no problem.

Thanks. That’s quite rare on a DAP at this price. What’s the performance like with Tidal. I’m struggling with a Hiby R6 and Tidal. Freezes, long buffering times, sometimes won’t recognise Microsd card etc etc. So I’m thinking of sending my second one back. If I can get something that works at less than half the price, that would be great. I’ve tried the Onkyo/Pioneer models. Terrible battery life and they just stop functioning after a year or so.

Why is it so hard to get a reliable Android-based DAP, with good battery life, that works seamlessly with Tidal?

 

[inertianinja]

I received my review unit and I've been living with it for about a week.

One bit of surprising, but good news - the M9 works as a USB DAC with the iPhone - using the standard CCK.
So, no longer a worry about X or Y app not being supported. Best of both worlds, IMO.

 

[dharmasteve]

Thanks. That’s quite rare on a DAP at this price. What’s the performance like with Tidal. I’m struggling with a Hiby R6 and Tidal. Freezes, long buffering times, sometimes won’t recognise Microsd card etc etc. So I’m thinking of sending my second one back. If I can get something that works at less than half the price, that would be great. I’ve tried the Onkyo/Pioneer models. Terrible battery life and they just stop functioning after a year or so.

Why is it so hard to get a reliable Android-based DAP, with good battery life, that works seamlessly with Tidal?

Tidal seems to work well. Starts in a few seconds, doesn't crash and changes track in a second or two. In fact Tidal, Spotify and Deezer all work fairy seamlessly.

 

[Oncisounds]

Tidal seems to work well. Starts in a few seconds, doesn't crash and changes track in a second or two. In fact Tidal, Spotify and Deezer all work fairy seamlessly.

Weird you say that actually, I found my M9 to have a really spotty Spotify, the Home page in the app doesn't display just continuously tried to load and the interface is very slow and slow loading when trying to click artists etc. Trying to skip tracks also takes a noticeable amount of time, half a second kinda thing to skip, play, pause etc. Can be quite frustrating actually. Haven't tried tidal or Deezer however and apart from that IV loved it. The sounds awesome, responsive music app and UI interface is nice and basic. My only other issue is the slightly mushy feeling volume dial, the clicks aren't very apparent and I'd rather they be really clicky or just smooth rotation.

 

[MPNow]

Weird you say that actually, I found my M9 to have a really spotty Spotify, the Home page in the app doesn't display just continuously tried to load and the interface is very slow and slow loading when trying to click artists etc. Trying to skip tracks also takes a noticeable amount of time, half a second kinda thing to skip, play, pause etc. Can be quite frustrating actually. Haven't tried tidal or Deezer however and apart from that IV loved it. The sounds awesome, responsive music app and UI interface is nice and basic. My only other issue is the slightly mushy feeling volume dial, the clicks aren't very apparent and I'd rather they be really clicky or just smooth rotation.

Could you expand on your thoughts about the dial? Does is it doable, well-built or does it feel like it could wear out easily?

Since I've seen the design of the product my one complaint has been that design. I'm not sure why they decided to go with a dial instead of the typical buttons? Perhaps they needed to compromise for some of the hardware?

Also, does this support the Hiby app?

 

[Oncisounds]

Could you expand on your thoughts about the dial? Does is it doable, well-built or does it feel like it could wear out easily?

Since I've seen the design of the product my one complaint has been that design. I'm not sure why they decided to go with a dial instead of the typical buttons? Perhaps they needed to compromise for some of the hardware?

Also, does this support the Hiby app?

The Dial is clicked between volume steps however when rotating the dial there is a little bit of give between clicks, a little travel. This is what I mean I don't think by all accounts that it will wear out just wish there was less travel between clicks or that it was clicked but it helps keep the volume without accidently changing it when putting in your pocket. I definitely prefer a dial to buttons it has a much nicer and fluid feel to changing volume. You can use the screen to change volume up and down as well.

It doesn't currently support the hiby app no idea if they plan to.

 

[bowei006]

A past post said the M9 will not support Spotify and I have clarified with FiiO that that is not true.

The only apps that come pre-installed are Tidal, Netease, MOOV and KBox. But you can install APKs of select white-listed apps and these include Spotify, Qobuz, Roon, Deezer.

To do this, simply download a trusted APK online and move it to a micro SD card that is formated to be readable on the M9. Then open up the included File Management app on the M9 and click the APK you downloaded and install it there. You have to do it this way as Google Play Store/Services and a web browser does not come pre-installed.

I believe the reason for the need to white list certain apps and it missing play store and others is performance related. Spotify runs...ok on the M9. Not great but not bad either. It works enough and hasn't had any stuttering (from an audio standpoint) from my usage. It's a little slower on bootup though.

 

[harris4crna]

Read complete thread. Ready to take the plunge. Where to purchase in the US? Cannot find it on Amazon.

 

[bowei006]

Can you hear the song of my people? I mean the song of FiiO?

 

[stenog]

For all of you who have the M9 could you please post some info about battery life and charging times

For average use with iems, low gain, is the battery life around 10 hours ?

This device doesn't have fast charge but the battery is not big. Charging time should be max 2 hours, or?

Thanks

 

[MPNow]

Read complete thread. Ready to take the plunge. Where to purchase in the US? Cannot find it on Amazon.

That is the million dollar question. A few of us have inquired about this but we haven't heard back from Fiio yet. Their units did ship towards the end of October but I guess that was to all of the international outlets. I'm expecting these to show up in the US sometime before Thanksgiving.

 

[dharmasteve]

Seems to be some confusion about whether whitelisted apps such as Spotify work or work slowly. I can assure you they do work and work well. With Virgin home WiFi, which is reasonably fast, the app take about 4 or 5 seconds to bring the home screen up first time and from there to play a Mark Knopfler track Sailing to Philadelphia takes about a second or two at the most. Re-entering the app after leaving it is almost immediate. I set my app up to the highest qualities in everything. The only down is if you have big fingers then the keyboard is tiny and it can take a few tries to hit the right letter. On my unit Spotify works very well. Sound quality is very good.

 

[stemplar]

Do you use one of the balanced, turboo, out? (77mW / 300 ohms) Is this enough for the HD650? (My FiiO Q5 with AM3B balanced out knows 70mW / 300 ohms and so is enough for the HD650) But I'm curious about it. If someone answers, is enough dynamics, volume, and so on.
And the other question: if I understand it, can I use DAC / AMP for a Droid / IOS phone with a USB interface? (Works with UAPP or FiiO music?)