How much better is the Fiio M11 vs the Fiio M9?

[pointlineplane]

Hi all,

How much better, in terms of sound quality, is the Fiio M11 over the Fiio M9? To be more specific, if you had to rate the sound quality of each (out of their balanced outputs) out of 100, how would each one score? For example, would the M11 be an 88 and the M9 be an 80? Or is the difference in sound quality more drastic, such as where the M11 is an 88 and the M9 is a 60?

I ask because I’d like to buy a sub-US$400 DAP that can do offline Tidal and has balanced output. (I'll stretch the budget up to $430 for the Fiio M11 if it is worth it.) I like the smaller size and lower price of the Fiio M9. I’d be using the DAP with a Focal Elex and Shuoer Tape IEMs, both using balanced cables ending in 2.5mm plugs.

Or, as a related question, how would you rate, out of 100 points, the sub-$400 Android-based DAPs, such as the Fiio M9, Fiio M11 (which is almost sub-$400), iBasso 160, Shanling M6 (which is $499, so not quite within my budget), Hiby R5, etc.?

Thanks!

PS: I am aware of some of the comparison reviews out there, such as (1) https://www.antdroid.net/2020/01/comparison-of-ibasso-dx160-and-hiby-r5.html ("The R5 is only slightly better in sound quality than the average smartphone") and (2) https://porta.fi/android-daps-comparison-fiio-m11-vs-ibasso-dx160-vs-hiby-r5/

PS: Just found out that the Hiby R5 is selling for $299 as of the time of this post! https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r5 So now I wonder how the Hiby R5 sounds compared to the Fiio M9, which is selling now for $249 at B&H.

 

[pjones5]

What did you end up getting (I assume you've since pulled the trigger on it)?

I was faced with a similar decision. I had ordered the FiiO M9 - cancelled it, saved some more money, and then got the FiiO M11 Pro. Realized it was not much better than the M11 (and had a defective screen) so I returned that and finally landed on the M11.

If you're looking strictly at sound quality, not factoring in some of the added features of the M11 (not to mention it looks so much cooler), I don't know if the sound quality is that much better than the M9. Now, I haven't tried the M9 personally. But, I have been using the FiiO BTR5 (which retails for ~$130ish) and there isn't a major difference between that and the M11 Pro (crazy, right?). The M11 will have more power though for those harder to driver headphones.

 

[pointlineplane]

Actually, I still haven’t purchased either. But thanks for sharing your experiences and impressions, especially your experiences with the M11 Pro and M11 — I’ve heard differing opinions on the sound quality of the M11 Pro vs. the M11. Glad you are you happy with the M11!

Also, regarding the sound quality of the M9 vs. the M11, at the bottom of this blog post, the blogger ranked several DAPs, and ranked the M9 significantly worse than the M11: https://www.audiodiscourse.com/2020/03/sony-nw-zx507-digital-audio-player.html

What did you end up getting (I assume you've since pulled the trigger on it)?

I was faced with a similar decision. I had ordered the FiiO M9 - cancelled it, saved some more money, and then got the FiiO M11 Pro. Realized it was not much better than the M11 (and had a defective screen) so I returned that and finally landed on the M11.

If you're looking strictly at sound quality, not factoring in some of the added features of the M11 (not to mention it looks so much cooler), I don't know if the sound quality is that much better than the M9. Now, I haven't tried the M9 personally. But, I have been using the FiiO BTR5 (which retails for ~$130ish) and there isn't a major difference between that and the M11 Pro (crazy, right?). The M11 will have more power though for those harder to driver headphones.

 

[pjones5]

Actually, I still haven’t purchased either. But thanks for sharing your experiences and impressions, especially your experiences with the M11 Pro and M11 — I’ve heard differing opinions on the sound quality of the M11 Pro vs. the M11. Glad you are you happy with the M11!

Also, regarding the sound quality of the M9 vs. the M11, at the bottom of this blog post, the blogger ranked several DAPs, and ranked the M9 significantly worse than the M11: https://www.audiodiscourse.com/2020/03/sony-nw-zx507-digital-audio-player.html

I ended up returning the M11, was incredibly disappointed with it. Maybe I had a defective unit, but there was just one issue after another. Going to try out something a little different now, ordered a Q5s and FiiO M6 - figure I can use the amp/dac on the Q5s and the M6 for predominately storage.

 

[pointlineplane]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with the M11! Do you think the issues you experienced were related to software, hardware, or both?

It's user experiences like yours that make wary of getting a DAP that doesn't have full Android support (such as manufacture-supported access to the Google Play Store and somewhat-recent versions of the Android OS).

Once in a while, I'll think about getting the Sony NW-ZX507, but it is roughly twice the price of the Fiio M11 or the iBasso DX160.

I ended up returning the M11, was incredibly disappointed with it. Maybe I had a defective unit, but there was just one issue after another. Going to try out something a little different now, ordered a Q5s and FiiO M6 - figure I can use the amp/dac on the Q5s and the M6 for predominately storage.

 

[pjones5]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with the M11! Do you think the issues you experienced were related to software, hardware, or both?

It's user experiences like yours that make wary of getting a DAP that doesn't have full Android support (such as manufacture-supported access to the Google Play Store and somewhat-recent versions of the Android OS).

Once in a while, I'll think about getting the Sony NW-ZX507, but it is roughly twice the price of the Fiio M11 or the iBasso DX160.

It was an even mix of issues. I had originally looked at getting a Walkman or the DX220, but it was just too expensive so I sort of "settled" for the M11 Pro and then decided to return it and get the M11. I think in the world of DAPs, the M11 does decently well for itself, especially for a $400 price tag - you just can't expect the world of them.

Here's what I liked...
- It has a gorgeous build quality. Holding it in your hand, it feels premium. The glass back looks and feels really nice, but it will pick up scratches if you don't use the silicone cover.
- It powers things well. I ran my HD6XXs and HE4XXs on it no problem.
- I thought the OS ran great, until they made the patch to add Google Play services. I didn't care about not having the Google Play store. The APK App Store pre-installed works plenty well. After the update that added Google Play it slowed down and became more buggy - that was the final straw for me.

What I didn't like...
- Like I said above, I wish I hadn't updated or that there was an easy way to undo the update. I hated having Google services on it.
- The sound quality is okay, but for ~$120-$140 you can get the BTR5 which sounds just as good (at times better, depending on the headphones).
- Defective screen and incredibly poor customer service. I would further note that the defective screen was not on one device, but two!
- WiFi connection was terrible. Couldn't download or stream music unless I was sitting right on top of the router. Yet, I can use my iPhone and iPad in the back of the house no problem.

All in all - I decided to go the portable amp route instead. I have an iPhone so I got the FiiO M6 primarily for downloading large sums of music - but if you have an android phone with an expandable micro SD card, then I'd say that's not necessary.

 

[pointlineplane]

Thanks for the detailed write-up! I use an iPhone also, but mine only has 32GB of onboard storage, so I don't have that much space for Tidal offline tracks -- that's one of the reasons why I was thinking of getting a DAP. Plus, it'd be nice to have some physical controls for play/pause, next/prev track, etc., and more driving power for headphones.

 

[TubeStack]

11 = 9+2, so it’s 2 more better.

 

[pjones5]

Thanks for the detailed write-up! I use an iPhone also, but mine only has 32GB of onboard storage, so I don't have that much space for Tidal offline tracks -- that's one of the reasons why I was thinking of getting a DAP. Plus, it'd be nice to have some physical controls for play/pause, next/prev track, etc., and more driving power for headphones.

Same problem for me, except I've got 64gb of storage.
A lot of people like the M11 - so I wouldn't right it off. I would, however, consider going the Q5s + FiiO M6 route or get something like the DX220. Its more expensive, but I guess that's part of the game.

 

[pointlineplane]

11 = 9+2, so it’s 2 more better.

Yes, that is true. Good point.

Also with the Fiio M11, it goes to 11.