Fiio M23 Review – Premium vinyl record cleaners

Fiio M23 Review

Digital audio gamers are nice gadgets for devoted audiophiles, however most are usually costly. Fiio has just a few completely different mid-budget gamers, and the M23 is the most recent mannequin to hitch that choice. This new participant goals to be a step above a few of these different mid-budget DAPs with some vital parts. With these adjustments, does the M23 make the case for being among the best mid-budget gamers available on the market?

What You Get

M23
Screen Protective Film (Pre-Installed)
Protective Case (for Dark Blue Version)
Leather Case (For Silver Version)
USB-A male to Type-C Female Adapter
Tray Eject Pin
GPL V2 Manual
Warranty Card
Type-C to Type-C knowledge/charging cable
Quick Start Guide

Build

If you’ve used any of Fiio’s different mid-budget gamers just like the M11s, the M23 will probably be not a lot completely different by way of design. You can anticipate the same-sized display screen and building from different Fiio fashions. It additionally has the identical touch-sensitive quantity leveler. While the M23 doesn’t actually have an aesthetic it may possibly name its personal, that is nonetheless a design that works. It feels nice to carry in your hand, particularly when it’s in its versatile plastic case. For its ins and outs, the M23 offers you 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone ports. It additionally has two completely different USB-C ports for energy in and one to make use of the participant as a DAC.

Design

The essential ingredient of the M23 consists of its AKM DAC combo and its THX AAA amplifier. This is the kind of flagship DAC chipset that a number of the finest high-end gamers, serving to separate the digital and analog parts of the sound sign for purer constancy. The M23 additionally makes use of particular DWA Routing Technology to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio.

Battery Life

The battery life can differ a bit relying on which headphone output you’re utilizing, however both means, the M23 can have a really quick charging time. You ought to get a most of ten and a half hours of utilization, however just one hour of cost time will replenish eighty p.c of the battery.

Sound Impressions

Fiio’s sound signature for his or her DAPs tends to be my favourite. With the ability of twin AKM DAC chips, the potential will be huge for a participant that’s solely $699. Like with any DAP that gives it, I primarily used the 4.4mm balanced headphone output for my headphone pairings. This gave me the best illustration of the participant’s sound at its most full. Just a few of the headphones I used have been the Audeze LCD X, Focal Clear MG, and the Campfire Audio Cascara.

Immediately, the fullness of the M23’s sound signature hit my ears with an expansive scale. This mattered a ton for the Cascara particularly, showing as broad because the dearer Supermoon, and simply as articulate. The mixture of the AKM chipset and the THX amplifiers fills out a ton of the stereo imaging, whereas nonetheless sustaining these clean areas that protect pure soundscapes. This is accentuated with open-back headphones, which is able to showcase that degree of separation and layering extra distinctly.

While dynamic vary is enhanced, sure timbral components would possibly really feel a bit too smoothed over. This occurred extra with the Cascara, notably within the upper-mids. I’ve heard them have a extra distinguished assault earlier than, however it wasn’t as noticeable when utilizing the M23. Fiio gamers are usually smoother, which is nice for lows and scaling again harsher treble, however somewhat an excessive amount of is veiled. This wasn’t a constant challenge although, because the Clear MG retained most of its musicality. A bit of heat goes in numerous favors for me. Something related will be stated in regards to the LCD X’s pairing with the M23 as effectively, however extra of the treble pulls by, bringing out extra of the tail finish of notes.

Summary

This is a seven-hundred-dollar participant that would stand confidently subsequent to some thousand-dollar gamers. While the sound isn’t all the time excellent, it reserves a degree of high quality that solely AKM DAC chips can deal with. Combined with the ability of the THX AAA amp design, the M23 is actually one of many prime mid-budget gamers accessible proper now.

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