FiiO • DAPs
FiiO M11S
Open pageThe M11S is FiiO's roughly $499 Android digital audio player, and the steadiest praise is physical rather than sonic: a CNC machined, polished matte black aluminium casing called flawless with no gaps, a glass back panel, and a 5 inch 1280x720 IPS screen at 300PPI running Android 10 on a Snapdragon 660. Three outputs sit at the bottom (3.5mm, 2.5mm and 4.4mm), and the 3.5mm and 4.4mm can each be set to line out instead of headphone out. A Mode Selection menu adds Pure Music, USB DAC, Bluetooth receiver and AirPlay modes for listeners who want to bypass Android. Inside are dual ES9038Q2M DACs decoding to 384kHz and DSD256, with FiiO rating the 4.4mm output at 670mW. Tonal accounts diverge. One review hears slightly shy bass fundamentals under a mid-bass with a lot of presence, upper vocal frequencies weighted ahead of body, and a top end smoothed relative to FiiO's costlier player. Another hears a sturdy bass foundation and a distinct clickiness in the highs. A third hears a clean but not cold sound with a touch of extra focus up top. Drive capability is the sharpest split: one listener reports plenty of power on tap and an enjoyable stretch with HiFiMan HE400se planars, while another had to push a HiFiMan Edition XS a little past 80 percent volume. Single-ended output power is reported as more limited, so balanced is the recommended path. Streaming rated well below local file playback in the one review that scored them separately.
Strengths
- CNC machined aluminium casing with a glass back, described as flawless with no gaps and premium materials throughout.
- Three outputs (4.4mm, 2.5mm and 3.5mm), with the 3.5mm and 4.4mm each settable as line out rather than headphone out.
- Android 10 on a Snapdragon 660 with a 5 inch touchscreen that feels as natural to use as a smartphone.
- A Mode Selection menu adds Pure Music, USB DAC, Bluetooth receiver and AirPlay modes, so Android can be bypassed entirely.
- Noise control holds up on high gain: very sensitive IEMs such as the Shure SE846 sit almost dead quiet in the background.
- Dual ES9038Q2M DACs decoding to 384kHz and DSD256, with FiiO rating the 4.4mm balanced output at 670mW.
Weaknesses
- Single-ended output power is more limited than balanced, so balanced cabling is the recommended way to get the most from it.
- Some headphones need pushing much harder: a HiFiMan Edition XS planar had to be boosted a little past 80 percent volume.
- In one account the bass fundamentals sit slightly shy behind a mid-bass with a lot of presence, and the low end does not kick deep.
- Upper vocal frequencies are weighted ahead of the body in one account, giving softer voices presence rather than fullness.
- Streaming sounded flatter than local file playback in one review, rated 7/10 against 10/10 for local files.
- Firmware text carries spelling and translation errors, and at close to three times a phone's thickness it is impractical to pocket.