FiiO M9 , Android based Hi-Res smart DAP with 3.5/2.5 powerful output|AKM4490 X2 |WiFi|aptX/aptX HD/LDAC/HWA(LHDC)|USB DAC|USB AUDIO OUT
Nov 22, 2018 at 3:59 AM Post #513 of 2,501
'any form of WiFi struggles'. Does this include Tidal streaming?

Tidal and Spotify stream to the M9 well. So listening to Music apps is fine. Trying to listen on external speakers via Bluetooth works well. Using DLNA and other methods that use Wifi from the Fiio app and even the M9 in general to reach speakers is difficult. Listening to Tidal on headphones is simple but getting the stream to speakers by various means is not so simple.
 
Nov 23, 2018 at 4:50 AM Post #518 of 2,501
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Nov 23, 2018 at 9:19 AM Post #521 of 2,501
So, I got my M9 a couple of days ago. And I must say, my first impression was not very good. However, read on, as it at least improved :)
I like the looks, size and weight, and I love the promise that it makes, in terms of high fidelity audio, good DAC, and ability to run Spotify etc.

However I ran into several issues that were quite painful:
- Using LDAC, I had a lot of drop-outs, at first I thought it would be related to my location; too much interference, but no
- I found out that it doesn't support 5ghz wifi
- After downloading most of my collection in Spotify to SD card, on a reboot, the SD card was not found, and Spotify forgot that I had a library on the SD card, even after the card became available again, requiring to completely redownload the collection. Also moving library data from internal to SD was giving me errors about possible permission issues etc.
- I ran into quite a few performance hick-ups, especially when downloading or transfering music
- It wasn't immediately obvious to me if drivers were installed correctly, or how to switch to USB DAC mode, mainly because the Drivers-drive was always coming back (while using 3g/4g usb sticks, normally these drives disappear after the drivers are installed successfully.
- Probably rather an issue with Windows and Spotify, but if I unplug and replug the DAC, and resume playing on Spotify, I will receive very loud static. If I restart Spotify it is gone. I guess it's because of switching between 44khz 16bit internal audio, and 192khz 24bit etc.

In the end, I found out that the LDAC issue was related to having the wifi on and connected, at least during Spotify. As soon as I turn wifi off, everything is golden, perhaps it would work better if the wifi supported 5ghz.
This is quite the downside for me. I mean playing offline music is great, but being forced to do so isn't. I would love my playlists to remain uptodate while listening to music,
but due to the performance issue and wifi issue, it is not feasable.

That said, after 'mastering' the issues, and actually trying it out as an USB DAC, either with 3.5mm or LDAC to my Sony W1000XM3s, I must say I am quite impressed.
Since my iPhone, iPad and Dell XPS each do not support high quality audio other than AAC for the iOS devices, and my previous Galaxy S9+ causing a lot of hick-ups with LDAC, it is amazing to be able to enjoy it again by using the M9!
I also like the prospect of being able to upgrade to high fidelity headphones like the HD800s.
I hope the SD card issue will be resolved or at least limited, and I hope the wifi issue can also be mitigated by firmware/software, although I worry.

I'm looking forward to dig into TIDAL and compare that with Spotify HQ and local FLACs.
Didn't think I would ever be excited for an "mp3 player" again, 10 years later, apparently I am :)
 
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Nov 23, 2018 at 11:39 AM Post #522 of 2,501
So, I got my M9 a couple of days ago. And I must say, my first impression was not very good. However, read on, as it at least improved :)
I like the looks, size and weight, and I love the promise that it makes, in terms of high fidelity audio, good DAC, and ability to run Spotify etc.

However I ran into several issues that were quite painful:
- Using LDAC, I had a lot of drop-outs, at first I thought it would be related to my location; too much interference, but no
- I found out that it doesn't support 5ghz wifi
- After downloading most of my collection in Spotify to SD card, on a reboot, the SD card was not found, and Spotify forgot that I had a library on the SD card, even after the card became available again, requiring to completely redownload the collection. Also moving library data from internal to SD was giving me errors about possible permission issues etc.
- I ran into quite a few performance hick-ups, especially when downloading or transfering music
- It wasn't immediately obvious to me if drivers were installed correctly, or how to switch to USB DAC mode, mainly because the Drivers-drive was always coming back (while using 3g/4g usb sticks, normally these drives disappear after the drivers are installed successfully.
- Probably rather an issue with Windows and Spotify, but if I unplug and replug the DAC, and resume playing on Spotify, I will receive very loud static. If I restart Spotify it is gone. I guess it's because of switching between 44khz 16bit internal audio, and 192khz 24bit etc.

In the end, I found out that the LDAC issue was related to having the wifi on and connected, at least during Spotify. As soon as I turn wifi off, everything is golden, perhaps it would work better if the wifi supported 5ghz.
This is quite the downside for me. I mean playing offline music is great, but being forced to do so isn't. I would love my playlists to remain uptodate while listening to music,
but due to the performance issue and wifi issue, it is not feasable.

That said, after 'mastering' the issues, and actually trying it out as an USB DAC, either with 3.5mm or LDAC to my Sony W1000XM3s, I must say I am quite impressed.
Since my iPhone, iPad and Dell XPS each do not support high quality audio other than AAC for the iOS devices, and my previous Galaxy S9+ causing a lot of hick-ups with LDAC, it is amazing to be able to enjoy it again by using the M9!
I also like the prospect of being able to upgrade to high fidelity headphones like the HD800s.
I hope the SD card issue will be resolved or at least limited, and I hope the wifi issue can also be mitigated by firmware/software, although I worry.

I'm looking forward to dig into TIDAL and compare that with Spotify HQ and local FLACs.
Didn't think I would ever be excited for an "mp3 player" again, 10 years later, apparently I am :)

Good review, thanks. Hope you can get the LDAC issues sorted; I mean having the top Bluetooth tier & not being able to stream Tidal or Spotify is a major deal breaker for many.
 
Nov 23, 2018 at 4:15 PM Post #523 of 2,501
Small tip... When an app has a newer version available. Download it somewhere rename the apk to mp3.

Select it on your smartphone Fiio app to send it to the M9. In the M9 Fiio app click "wifi Song transfer"

Select M9 on your smartphone. Rename it on the M9 with filemanager to apk. It's in the folder Wifi transfer. An

Voila and app update done
 
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