Fiio takes aim at Astell & Kern with new brutalist-build hi-res audio player

Date:
Fri, 06 Jan 2023 14:38:26 +0000

Description:
This high-end portable music player boasts dual DACs while undercutting
pricey rivals.

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Its been a while since weve seen anything new from portable audio specialistFiiO, but it's back with a bang specifically a newportable music player that may give high-end rivalAstell & Kern plenty to think about.

With its sleek angled corners, the minimalist design of the new FiiO M11Sisnt the only similarity with A&Ks output, with comparable file compatibility, built-in streaming apps and a dual DAC configuration akin to the South Korean companys much lauded A&norma SR25 MKII high-res audio player albeit with a significantly cheaper asking price.

Running on Android 10, the M11S boasts a 5-inch HD touchscreen display and
two high-grade ES9038Q2M DAC chips one for each stereo channel.

Alongside support forhigh-res audiofiles up to 32-bit/384kHz, theres alsoMQAcompatibility for high-resTidal Mastersplayback. The M11S also comes with a pretty comprehensive list of supported streaming codecs, with LDAC, aptX HD and LHDC Bluetooth compatibility, alongside DLNA and AirPlay streaming.

Apps can meanwhile be installed for high-res streaming service like Tidal , Qobuz and Apple Music along with Spotify.

The M11S comes with a regular 3.5mm headphone jack, along with 2.5mm and
4.4mm balanced headphone outputs, plus a dedicated line-out. The player can handily be usedas a USBDACfor your desktop PC or laptop, as well as a Bluetooth transmitter/receiver forportable devices like tablets and smartphones.

FiiO claimthe M11S has "one of the lowest noise floors" in a portable music player at just 1.9uV, despite a claimed power output of 670mW at 32 ohms, thanks to an "innovative" new headphone amplifier circuit.

The built-in battery lasts for a claimed 14 hours, while theres onboard storage of 32GB thats expandable via a micro SD card slot up to a further
2TB.

The M11S is available now direct from FiiO for 489 / $499 (which is around AU$736). Analysis: this new FiiO may open up an affordable audiophileprice
war (Image credit: FiiO)

Were well used to Chinese tech brands undercutting their Korean and Japanese counterparts, but the launch of FiiOs M11S feels different, largely due to
the fact that no corners appear to have been cut on its spec sheet.

At just under 500 its by no means a cheap device, of course, but with it
being almost 200 cheaper thanAstell & Kerns similarly featuredA&norma SR25 MKII, its likely to have a fair number of cost-conscious audiophiles considering making the leap to a dedicated hi-res digital player not made by A&K.

We can't wait to put it through its paces and see how it matches up to A&K's brutalist baby, and see if it also makes our list of best MP3 players . Watch this space



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/fiio-takes-aim-at-astell-and-kern-with-new-brut alist-build-hi-res-audio-player


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