INTRODUCTION

   Even though once upon a time cellular phones could just be used for making and answering calls and sending and receiving text messages today, they can be used for a wide range of things such as surfing the web, navigation, video calls, multimedia messages, taking pictures and yes even listening to music. For the vast percentage of consumers smartphones in general provide acceptable audio quality (regardless of connection type - wired/wireless) but there's always a more demanding audience looking for even better (if not the best) possible results and although there are several smartphone models that can achieve very good results the general consensus is that an mid/high-end audio player (even ultra-high-end for some audiophiles) offers a lot more. FiiO is probably the most popular music player manufacturer in the world currently and after testing their mid-end M6 model with us today we have their latest high-end one, the M11.

   FiiO was established in 2007 and has experience in researching and developing countless portable music products of different types, and sell FiiO-branded products through sales agents worldwide. The brand name FiiO is composed of Fi(fidelity from HiFi) and iO(number 1&0), representing the real feeling and convenient life that digital brings to life. Meanwhile, the Chinese “??” is the transliteration of FiiO, indicating the positive and innovative spirit as thriving as spring. FiiO is focused on product quality, adheres strictly to ISO9001 standards in quality management and works hard to attain the lowest repair-related product returns rate. FiiO designs, produces and sells high-quality products at favourable prices to those who love music and style; our high-resolution digital audio players, portable headphone amplifiers, DACs and earphones have all received praise from the majority of users. Several products from FiiO have created record sales in their respective product segments and have received countless awards including iF Design Award, Reddot Award, EISA Award, VGP Award, etc. FiiO places great importance on users' needs and ceaselessly pursues perfection in product design and manufacturing, to supply users with the best audio products at the best prices.

   Since the M11 is the latest high-end model by FiiO its specifications are quite impressive starting by the 14nmm Exynos 7872 hexa-core CPU by Samsung (2xCortex-A73 @ 2.0GHz / 4xCortex-A53 @ 1.6GHz) featuring the 16nm Mali-G71 MP1 GPU (1.2GHz / Bifrost support) and paired with 3GB LPDDR3 RAM and 32GB ROM (roughly 25GB of storage available). Under the hood of the M11 FiiO has also placed two Asahi Kasei Microdevices AK4493EQ DAC modules (32-bit 2ch DAC with -113dB THD+N and 123dB* S/N / support up to 768kHz PCM data and 22.4MHz DSD data), two OPA1642 ultralow distortion & low-noise Op-Amps, two audiophile-approved OPA926 Op-Amps and a 3800mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack (quick charge 2.0 and MediaTek Pump Express compatible - can keep the M11 going for up to 13 hours). The M11 is also equipped with an 18:9 bezel-less 10 finger multiple-touch 5.15 inch IPS screen (1440x720p / 16.7M colors / 312PPI), Bluetooth v4.2 and dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz wireless connectivity (Samsung S5N5C10B01-6330 module), two micro SD card slots (support up to 2TB capacity cards each), metallic CNC chassis, tactile volume control wheel and 2.5/3.5/4.4mm audio outputs. FiiO has also added support for every audio format (DSD/ISO/DSF/DFF/DST/DXD/APE/Apple Lossless/AIFF/FLAC/WAV/WMA/MP3/OGG/AAC) and bluetooth transmission codec (LDAC/LHDC-HWA/aptX/aptX HD/SBC) in the book and as expected it runs on a customized version of the Android v7.0 OS. Last but certainly not least the M11 is both Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certified (among the first of its kind to receive this certification thanks to its LDAC codec support).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

FiiO packs the brand new M11 inside a black box that has a product picture at the front right beneath the Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless logos.

At the rear we find the usual barcode used to check whether the player is genuine or not, the 2D and regular product barcodes and some of the supported wireless codecs.

Once you remove the exterior cover you will see the FiiO logo.

The player is safely packed inside a synthetic bag and a black piece of foam (the rest of the bundle is placed inside two small cardboard boxes located under the player).

Along with the player you are also getting a TPU protective case, USB Type-C charging cable, card slot eject pin, coaxial to 3.5mm cable, warranty information papers and a quick start guide.

THE M11

The 211g heavy metallic body of the M11 measures roughly 130mm in length, 70.5mm in width and 15.5mm in height (TPU case not included).

To have a better idea about its size we placed the M11 right next to the M3K, the M6 and the M7 music players again by FiiO.

The 5.15 inch bezel-less IPS screen sits beneath an 7H tempered glass screen protector (featuring a 90% light transmittance rate) pre-applied from the factory.

At the rear of M11 we find the 2.5/3.5/4.4mm audio outputs and the USB 2.0 type-C port.

The tactile volume control wheel is located on the top left side of the player right between the next/previous track and play/pause buttons.

On the right side we find the two micro SD card slots.

The power on/off/standby button is located at the front of the M11.

According to FiiO the glass base of the M11 features PET coating (heat, UV and puncture resistant).

In order to sufficiently test the M11 we used the brand new 85h ANC headphones by Jabra, triple driver headphones by 1MORE, Be (Beryllium) earphones by Periodic Audio and the Falcon-C earphones by DUNU.

USING THE M11

Although the M11 is using a customized Android v7.0 version the main screen should be very familiar to everyone.

Via the settings menu you can access pretty much every possible menu as with any Android v7.0 smartphone (minus the SIM, GPS and other secondary functions).

ES file explorer and FiiO Music are the two only 3rd party apps pre-installed in the M11.

The FiiO music app features most (certainly not all however) settings one could hope to find in any similar application.

Almost half of the 5.15 inch screen is taken by the album art.

From this screen you can also access the 10-band dynamic equalizer function.

FiiO ships the M11 with a total of equalizer 8 presets (plus your very own).

From the drop-down menu you have quick access the screens brightness levels, wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), Gain levels, filter settings, AirPlay support and output selection.

Prior to testing our sample was updated to version 1.0.5 (which as you can all see addressed a good number of bugs).

CONCLUSION

   FiiO shipped the M11 over to us almost a month ago and we’ve been using ever since with very impressive results. Unfortunately we don’t have a previous flagship model by FiiO to compare it to (and we never got the M9 model so we could at least compare it with a closer model than the M7) but it easily surpassed all 3 models we have here in audio detail and clarity (mids/highs), even though we have to admit that we were expecting slightly higher bass levels. The same applies for the unit’s volume levels (whether you use it as a music player or a USB DAC) which although impressive we wouldn’t had said no to just a tad more. Audio aside one of the strongest selling points of the M11 is its 5.15-inch bezel-less IPS screen which offers very smooth movement and vivid colors even though it sits behind a 7H tempered glass screen protector. Personally, I’ve always hoped to see a 6+ inch music player by FiiO one day (one which I could also use with the music player of my car) and although the M11 doesn’t deliver on that it does come really close. Using a customized version of the Android V7.0 proved to be a good choice since we came across in issues whatsoever with the latest firmware update (no doubt the hexa-core CPU and the 3GB LPDDR3 RAM also helped). Of course, our sample came with just 2 pre-installed apps so that may not be the exact same case with variants that come ready with several pre-installed apps (some people have reported on receiving such variants online). We’ve also read reports that one of the two micro SD card slots is not functioning properly but we used two 256GB cards without any issues during our tests (we don’t have 2TB micro SD cards here however so we can’t comment on issues with such high capacity models). As for battery life FiiO reports up to 13 hours of continuous use but during our tests we had a really hard time passing the 11th hour mark. This however is very dependent not only on brightness and volume levels but also the type of codec you are using (still 11 hours of continuous use is not to laugh at, not with a 5.15-inch screen).

   The M11 is currently the top of the line model in the M series of Hi-Res Audio Players by FiiO and that alone means that it carries a higher price tag than any other model before it (M9 included). So currently the M11 retails for USD449.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 505Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which although set somewhat high it’s actually fair compared not only to what you’re getting but also compared to what the competition offers at around the same price point. With that out of the way the M11 may not be what we’d call a product for the masses but that’s not its target audience, it’s target audience is very demanding consumers (audiophiles even) looking for a Hi-Res audio player with an impressive list of features and a massive (for its price category) screen and since it delivers as it should (and based on its specifications is also currently the best in its price range) it certainly deserves our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality (Metallic CNC Casing)
- Impressive Audio Performance
- Supported Bluetooth Codecs (LDAC/LHDC-HWA/aptX/aptX HD/SBC)
- 5.15 Inch IPS Screen
- Hexa Core Samsung Exynos 7872 CPU
- 3GB LPDDR3 RAM
- 2.5/3.5/4.4mm Audio Outputs
- 32GB Onboard Storage
- Supported Audio Formats (DSD/ISO/DSF/DFF/DST/DXD/APE/Apple Lossless/AIFF/FLAC/WAV/WMA/MP3/OGG/AAC)
- 3800mAh Rechargeable Battery (Up To 13 Hours Of Playback)
- Dual Micro SD Card Slots (Up To 2TB Each / 4TB Total)
- 7H Tempered Glass Screen Cover & TPU Case
- Customized Android v7.0 OS
- Product Support (2 Firmware Updates In 1 Month)

CONS

- Price (For Some)