INTRODUCTION

    Believe it or not aside my PCs there are but only two devices I use daily, my smartphones and my Hi-Res music players. So aside my smartphones I also have a FiiO music player in my small backpack (whenever I'm using public transportation or going someplace on foot) and a FiiO music player in my car which I've connected wirelessly with my 6.1 sound system using the BTR3 Bluetooth amp again by FiiO (hard to find an 2DIN source that can beat it in terms of audio quality). Basically, I'm always interested in whatever music player FiiO is working on and since they recently launched the M23 Portable High Resolution Music Player I just had to get one in the lab, and I did roughly 2 months ago.

    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 “飞傲” 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.

    For the latest M23 music player (runs on Android 10 - Android 12 update soon) FiiO has paired a 5.5-inch bezel-less LCD screen (1440x720p / 18:9 ratio) with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 14nm SoC (Qualcomm Kryo 260 Octa-Core CPU @ 2.2GHz, Adreno 512 GPU, 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi 4 & Wi-Fi 5 support), 4GB LPDDR5 RAM and 64GB ROM (roughly 46GB available to the user). Once again FiiO has used an customized Android 10 OS for the M23 and typically inside its metal (dark blue aluminum and silver stainless steel versions available) enclosure we find a rich hardware configuration consisting by the AKM AK4499EXEQ stereo premium DAC (switched resistor DAC method with VELVETSOUND™ technology - 64bit, with 156dB S/N and -153 THD+N), AKM AK4191EQ multi-bit stereo premium digital data converter (also employes VELVETSOUND™ technology - 135dB S/N and -124 THD+N) , AWINIC AW32271 charger, four way balanced THX AAA 78+ headphone amp, dual power supplies (digital and analog), dual TI OPA1612 and TI OPA1662 Op-Amps, 8 Panasonic film capacitors, 4-stage 20-rail power supply, 28 tantalum capacitors, microSD card slot (supports cards up to 2TB in capacity), Bluetooth v5.0 chip (supports transmission of SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX HD/LDAC/LDHC and reception of SBC/AAC/LDAC audio codecs) and an 5500mAh 3.8V lithium polymer battery pack (supports quick charge 4.0 and PD 3.0 with PPS - up to 30W). Thanks to the above hardware configuration the M23 can decode up to 384kHz-32bit/DSD256 content while in USB audio mode it can go as high as 768kHz-32bit//DSD512 (supports DoP/D2P/Native). The M23 fully supports MQA 8x unfolding, is Roon ready and sports a 10-band EQ (PEQ supported), analog volume control, 3.5/4.4mm audio inputs/outputs and dual USB-C ports (charging and charging/data). One of the goals of this review (solely based on my curiosity) is to see whether the now old flagship M15 can hold its ground against the M23 so let's find out.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Typically, a large product picture is placed at the front of the box along with the company logo and the desktop mode.

Contact information for FiiO along with several certifications and audio codec logos are located at the rear.

FiiO has placed the M23 inside a formed piece of foam for improved safety during shipping.

Along with the M23 and its silicon protective sleeve inside the box you'll also find an USB-C cable, eject tool/pin, USB-A to USB-C adapter, open source license paper, warranty card, quick start guide and a large paper showcasing all the buttons, switches and connectors on the M23.

THE M23

The 299g heavy M23 (329g for the stainless steel model) measures 136.5mm in length, 75.7mm in width and 18.1mm in thickness (without the silicon case).

To have a better idea about size I placed the M23 right next to the M11S and the M15.

On the left side we find the power button (there's a RGB ring around this button which changes color according to audio codec and content quality), volume touch panel, and a multifunction button.

Moving to the right side here we find the back/play-pause/forward buttons, desktop mode switch (external power required) and the hold switch (locks out all buttons).

Two USB-C ports (power in for desktop mode and charging/data) and a microSD card slot are present at the base.

At the top we find a 3.5mm single-ended in/out port and a 4.4mm in/out balanced port.

The rear of the M23 is polished and features numerous logos.

FiiO bundles a basic silicon case with the M23 which gets the job done.

Here you can see the power button and its RGB LED (blue for lossy tracks, green for SQ lossless, yellow for HR lossless, purple for MQA and green for DSD).

M23 OS

Just like past FiiO DAPs the M23 launches in Android mode.

As always, the first thing I do is look for a firmware update from the technical support tab.

From the drop down menu you can set the screen brightness, check the status of Wi-Fi, change the mode, enable/disable Bluetooth, set the gain and output mode, enable in-vehicle mode, enable FiiO Roon and all to DSD functions, switch between dark/light themes, enable night light and rotate the screen.

The Pure Music mode is what everyone will be using and it's very easy to navigate.

Version 3.2.2 was available at the time of this review, so this is also what I used for my review.

From the main Pure Music tab, you can use the EQ function, change the theme, use the FiiO link and control features, scan for music (local/microSD), initiate WiFi music transfer, set the sleep timer, check various beta features (Lab), enter the settings tab and change the language.

The lab features tab gets updated by FiiO every time a new feature comes out and needs testing.

The settings tab has everything I could ever hope to find.

As mentioned earlier the M23 is a Roon ready music player.

Inside the settings you'll find most of things available in Android smartphones plus the more advanced audio settings (you can also change modes from the settings area).

The about page has a somewhat thorough report of the hardware components inside the M23.

CONCLUSION

    Based on its name the M23 music player by FiiO should outclass the M15 and well, depending on your taste in sound it just might as long as you “feed” it with lossless/MQA/DSD content (not in build quality though, the M15 is in a different class). Even though it lacks the bass intensity of the M15 and sometimes even its detail the M23 ends up producing more vibrant vocals and at times more vivid highs and well, for the most part that’s a good thing. Mids and highs are also smooth and as for bass levels although not as warm and strong as those of the M15 they are still surprisingly good (remember, the M15 was the flagship not long ago). The touch screen is not only large for a music player, but it’s also very responsive so no problems here either. As for battery life according to FiiO you should be able to squeeze up to 10.5 hours using the 3.5mm output or 9 hours using the balanced 4.4mm output and well, at around 40-50% volume those numbers seem to be accurate. Still, you can expect around 1.5-2 hours less if you climb up to 60-70% which again is not a bad number for a music player. Worth pointing out is that the M23 is also going to get updated to Android 12 and even though I did end up delaying my review for a week or two for that exact reason it still hasn’t happened.

    At this time the dark blue aluminum version of the M23 Hi-Res Music Player by FiiO retails for USD599.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 728.36Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which at least on the other side of the Atlantic is better than expected (for such a music player). The stainless steel version on the other hand retails for USD899.99/977.75Euros and although it does look great, I just can’t justify the extra amount (purely from a performance standpoint). Overall, the M23 might not be the best music player out there but it’s still one of the best manufactured by FiiO to date and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Impressive Audio Performance
- Supported Bluetooth Codecs (SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX HD/LDAC/LHDC)
- 5.5 Inch LCD Screen
- Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 14nm SoC
- 4GB LPDDR5 RAM
- Desktop Mode
- 3.5/4.4mm Audio Outputs
- 64GB Onboard Storage (46GB Available)
- Supported Audio Formats (DSD/ISO/DSF/DFF/DST/DXD/APE/Apple Lossless/AIFF/FLAC/WAV/WMA/MP3/OGG/AAC)
- 5500mAh Rechargeable Battery (Up To 10.5 Hours Of Playback)
- Micro SD Card Slot (Up To 2TB)
- Silicon Case
- Dark Blue Aluminum & Silver Stainless Steel Versions
- Customized Android v10.0 OS (Android v12 Soon)
- Product Support

CONS

- Stainless Steel Model Price (For Some)
- EU Price (For Some)