Update! I was testing the M23 yesterday as I brought it with me on a road trip and I never had any issues playing music on either Apple Music or the Fiio player. Never experienced this before in a DAP where it was extremely buggy for 3-4 days and now is fine. Fiio hasn’t released a new firmware update so I’m not sure what happened other than it might have not updated properly the 3 times I reset the device but the funny thing is I never tried to update it again as it just started working properly other than I still get the lag and a few other issues like the the FiiO Control App that never connects 😆 It’s back to start stop😅 I will also add that I have now seen 5 other people in total also have issues and have to return their unit.
Hey brother good review. It's definitely because Fiio has their pockets. NO ONE EVER HAS A BAD FIIO REVIEW., Thank you for being brave. I've had issues with some of the dongles, so I don't buy their products anymore. However, it's good to see someone being honest about the products they put out.
This wasn’t a review just an initial first look and it seems like it has corrected itself as yesterday I have had zero issues other than the usual lag. Will see how it goes in the next few days now that I can listen to it properly.
This wasn’t a review, that will be coming this weekend but on the Canadian Amazon site they have the Fiio M11 Plus’s ESS on for $700 Canadian which is as cheap as I have seen that DAP. Looks like they raised the price up to $900 but I’m sure it will go back down to $700.
Do you know if the M11 plus worth buying? Or the Astell & kern better. I'm new to mp3 players never had one .I'm looking to improve sound quality a little without adding a dsp.
Glad I found your channel. If someone is looking to a gently used FIIO DAP player, what models are highly recommended for the best audio and hopefully have digital (coaxial) out as well? I can't believe how many different FIIO models they have to chose from. Thanks.
First of all, ist such a pleasure to have your channel as a independent source to get REAL reviews with honest info how something really is!!!🙌🙌🙌 I also looked every video concerning the M17, which I purchased after I saw your videos of it, and have a burning question about it if its ok to asked here. I have a Helix DSP Pro MK3 in my car and I want to connect the M17 in the Enhanched over ear Headphone, Analog, PO. As know, your Ultra has the 8 Volt input sensitivity, my DSP Pro MK3 4 Volt.. Is it still possible to connect the M17 if my Installer, (Alexander Maier from Speakercity in Germany., one of the best in Germany!) sets the gains properly? Or should I change to a Ultra to get the best SQ in my car by going analog out of the M17 because the difference in input sensitivity is also a important factor to SQ? My system consists of the following components: Audi A6 Avant 2024 Model, M17 Head unit, 1 x Helix c-four(Brax ML1 and ML3), 1 x Helix C-four(bridged, Helix Compose Ci7 200), Steg K2.04(Bridged, JL12w7AE Fortissimo BP), Helix DSP Pro MK3, extra Power(2 Capaciter, 2 x extra Battery…) and off course good cables of Audioquest😉. Please Help!!! I am looking forward to see what you recommend! Greetz from Gemany!
Hi Dave, been a while, so glad to see you brother. Thanks for a short update on the Fiio M23 and letting us know about the issues, I was curious about this DAP but now I know not to look for it. I still have the Fiio M 11 LTD and I'm fine with it. Thanks again and look forward to your future reviews🙏🙏
Yes! thanks Dave, we are fine and enjoying the sunny days as much as possible. I hope Fiio fixes this or no one will buy this product. Glad to see you my friend.
Lol i was reading this same issue on Amazon review. Guessing is you write that review. And i was waiting for you to review this player cause you're using it in the same way i intended to use it. Thank you
@@greatmusicneverdies6253 I never had that many issues with Fiio products before until I bought the M23. Honestly even if it didn’t have any issues I still wouldn’t recommend it based on its price. This should have been M11s price and the M11s should have been $200 less.
I have the same issues with my M11 Pro playing Tidal offline content. The download is fine. It will play for hours through headphones, but in my car I use SPDIF and I get this content not available message. The native music app works fine for me.
Interesting, I never had the M11 pro, just the regular M11 and the only issues I had with that was with the Dual SIM and the fact you couldn’t use Apple Music because of the Samsung chip they were using at the time.
Thanks for the review. I would love to know in your next video if you are streaming the music or if you have it downloaded, I have an M11 plus that I download the music and for the most part it’s OK but every once in a while, I have a song that gets deleted, and I was wondering if it’s the Apple Music or if it is the M11 plus. I was using Qobuz and it got so bad deleting all the music I got rid of Qobuz and started using Apple Music and it seems to be better but not perfect
This wasn’t a review, it was just to inform people to not buy it until Fiio has a proper firmware update. The review will becoming more than likely this weekend. I download all my music and for streaming music services I always listen to them offline with the exception of the WiiM Mini which I streamed the music. I actually prefer Apple Music over everything as I feel it has less issues that the other Hi Res Music companies. I liked Tidal for a while but had many issues with it deleting my playlists.
Thank you. I bought Fiio Q15 few months ago and it still has issues fiio promised to resolve long time ago. I am not buying anything from that company ever again.
@@CarAudioHorizons PEQ (one of the main selling features of this device) doesn't work properly. People on headfi keep complaining, fiio keeps saying it's working on that.
Yes, it work well on the M17 and now you can just use usb type c for it sometimes 😆 I’m sure they will have a firmware update soon. I’m finding their sound signatures to be all over the place since the original M11 which I thought was their best DAP for the money they have ever brought out. FiiO seems to be using a lot of the same old tech from past DAP’s as well instead of progressing which has been extremely annoying
The original M11 was good other than you couldn’t use two micro sd cards and you couldn’t use Apple Music with it as it had the Samsung chip which was incompatible with Apple Music
I received mine two weeks ago, listened very often in long Tidal sessions (online and offline) without experiencing mentioned issue even once. What I noticed though, is that the M23 tends to get warm to the touch when listening to high quality tracks.....
This is my second unit and I found an online review were the guy mentioned it as well. So it’s definitely a ship the product and update it later scenario.
And worst is community and reviewers defending all companies on using this chip from middle age. Can you imagine you made a Bugatti and put a 2 cylinder engine in it.
Every FiiO DAP I’ve tried, I’ve been quite unhappy with. I’ve owned two HiBy DAPs the R6 III and the R8 II and they work much better than other brands I’ve used including FiiO, Sony, and iBasso.
I personally like the original M11 and the M17, although the M17 took a while for me to warm up to its sound signature. Ever since the M11s I’m not sure what Fiio is doing. It’s unfortunate that a lot of the other companies don’t offer a proper coaxial digital out like a full size one that’s on the M17. This is what most car audio guys are going to use and Fiio is one of the few that offer it but no longer include the adapter and since they don’t include the adapter the sound quality I find has been inferior
I think I'm going to stick to using my phone with a dongle with the power that some of these dongles are putting out you don't really need a Dap anymore
salut j'attent que ce bestiau arrive en France il est dis 6 a/10 jours c'est mon premier baladeur audiophile j'espère ne pas être déçu j'espère que la mise a jour est correcte et j'espère qu'il y aura des mises a jour comme les smartphone régulièrement
I just bought one from Amazon and tried putting in the SD card using the tray. It doesn't fit!!! Maybe it's the wrong size SD card...whatever...this thing is a freaking brick and I'm sending it back. The user manual is a joke. Nothing in it is plain spoken...no common sense. The damn tray doesn't even have "walls" to hold a card in. Maybe my card is the wrong size...but the design of the tray is just stupid. Why not just have a system like all other music players where you simply insert the card?? They work fine. I'm just looking for a great sounding dap for the gym, etc. I have a Hidizs AP80 Pro that sounds pretty good and it's simple. Less than $200. After hearing your problems with the M23...I don't need to bother. Thanks for the warning. If I was a company making these things....I would concentrate on the best sound for the money....super reliability...simplicity. Hey, Fiio?? Get a clue. UPDATE 10/17 - I ended up with the new Hiby R4. For $250?? Great sound...love it!!
Fiio has had many issues with most of it’s products over the years. Some never get fixed. Their Fiio control app is a good example as half the time you can’t connect and then when you do connect it tends to disconnect. All of their devices have had issues with going from 16 bit to hi res tracks when going from one track to the next. These are just two examples of Fiio product issues.
@@arupian666 I have tested a few Astell & Kern DAP’s but for the most part just with headphones. The SP2000 sounded really good but I never had the chance to try it out with my car audio system. I tried the SR15, 25 and the old Khan in my system and they were all mediocre. The FiiO M17 is still the best DAP I have tested in my vehicle but I will buy another flagship DAP this year. Will see what Astell and Kern bring out later this year or early next year to beat the SP3000
I dont understand why Fiio cant just get the software well optimized for their hardware and they have been around long enough for them not be having these issues... I got the M7 back in 2019 i was so upset i wanted to smash the player on the wall because the UI was sluggish and unstable i have avoided them since then... I will try shangling or Ibasso they seem to be better sonys are too expensive
Could just be software issues they need to work out. Update firmware then troubleshoot it. Unfortunately we live in this day and age of not everything works correctly out of the box.
@CarAudioHorizons I'm sorry I originally talking about the XDUOO XD05 Pro and not the gryphon. I did had the gryphon It is a extremely clean dac when connected it to my vehicle. I returned it because it didn't had enough power to drive my over headphones in my opinion.
@@topandrun126 I will check that out as I see it’s on Amazon. It’s too bad on DSP’s they don’t have a bypass DAC option even though it’s more than the DAC’s that provide the sound signature
Update! I was testing the M23 yesterday as I brought it with me on a road trip and I never had any issues playing music on either Apple Music or the Fiio player. Never experienced this before in a DAP where it was extremely buggy for 3-4 days and now is fine. Fiio hasn’t released a new firmware update so I’m not sure what happened other than it might have not updated properly the 3 times I reset the device but the funny thing is I never tried to update it again as it just started working properly other than I still get the lag and a few other issues like the the FiiO Control App that never connects 😆
It’s back to start stop😅
I will also add that I have now seen 5 other people in total also have issues and have to return their unit.
Hey brother good review. It's definitely because Fiio has their pockets. NO ONE EVER HAS A BAD FIIO REVIEW., Thank you for being brave. I've had issues with some of the dongles, so I don't buy their products anymore. However, it's good to see someone being honest about the products they put out.
This wasn’t a review just an initial first look and it seems like it has corrected itself as yesterday I have had zero issues other than the usual lag. Will see how it goes in the next few days now that I can listen to it properly.
Thank you for the review. You just saved me money. I was thinking of buying the M23 v M11 plus.
This wasn’t a review, that will be coming this weekend but on the Canadian Amazon site they have the Fiio M11 Plus’s ESS on for $700 Canadian which is as cheap as I have seen that DAP.
Looks like they raised the price up to $900 but I’m sure it will go back down to $700.
Do you know if the M11 plus worth buying? Or the Astell & kern better. I'm new to mp3 players never had one .I'm looking to improve sound quality a little without adding a dsp.
@@silverevans7763 Which Astell and Kern are you looking at?
I don't know anything under $1,200 can you please recommend me one. Thank you
There isn’t much under $1,000 anymore that’s any good. We use to get decent DAP’s for the price a 3-4 years ago. Now not so much.
Glad I found your channel. If someone is looking to a gently used FIIO DAP player, what models are highly recommended for the best audio and hopefully have digital (coaxial) out as well? I can't believe how many different FIIO models they have to chose from. Thanks.
The regular old M11 is decent unless you primarily use Apple Music as it won’t play it but it does play Tidal and everything else.
First of all, ist such a pleasure to have your channel as a independent source to get REAL reviews with honest info how something really is!!!🙌🙌🙌
I also looked every video concerning the M17, which I purchased after I saw your videos of it, and have a burning question about it if its ok to asked here. I have a Helix DSP Pro MK3 in my car and I want to connect the M17 in the Enhanched over ear Headphone, Analog, PO. As know, your Ultra has the 8 Volt input sensitivity, my DSP Pro MK3 4 Volt.. Is it still possible to connect the M17 if my Installer, (Alexander Maier from Speakercity in Germany., one of the best in Germany!) sets the gains properly? Or should I change to a Ultra to get the best SQ in my car by going analog out of the M17 because the difference in input sensitivity is also a important factor to SQ?
My system consists of the following components: Audi A6 Avant 2024 Model, M17 Head unit, 1 x Helix c-four(Brax ML1 and ML3), 1 x Helix C-four(bridged, Helix Compose Ci7 200), Steg K2.04(Bridged, JL12w7AE Fortissimo BP), Helix DSP Pro MK3, extra Power(2 Capaciter, 2 x extra Battery…) and off course good cables of Audioquest😉.
Please Help!!! I am looking forward to see what you recommend! Greetz from Gemany!
Hi Dave, been a while, so glad to see you brother. Thanks for a short update on the Fiio M23 and letting us know about the issues, I was curious about this DAP but now I know not to look for it. I still have the Fiio M 11 LTD and I'm fine with it. Thanks again and look forward to your future reviews🙏🙏
Hello my friend I hope all is well. Yes, this device needs a firmware update as it’s been a pain to do a review for.
Yes! thanks Dave, we are fine and enjoying the sunny days as much as possible. I hope Fiio fixes this or no one will buy this product. Glad to see you my friend.
Lol i was reading this same issue on Amazon review. Guessing is you write that review. And i was waiting for you to review this player cause you're using it in the same way i intended to use it. Thank you
I’m in the process of testing it, unfortunately it’s been a pain because of the issues. How this gets past quality control is beyond me.
@@CarAudioHorizons Exactly. That's all I need to put Fiio on my "don't buy list"
@@greatmusicneverdies6253 I never had that many issues with Fiio products before until I bought the M23. Honestly even if it didn’t have any issues I still wouldn’t recommend it based on its price. This should have been M11s price and the M11s should have been $200 less.
I have the same issues with my M11 Pro playing Tidal offline content. The download is fine. It will play for hours through headphones, but in my car I use SPDIF and I get this content not available message. The native music app works fine for me.
Interesting, I never had the M11 pro, just the regular M11 and the only issues I had with that was with the Dual SIM and the fact you couldn’t use Apple Music because of the Samsung chip they were using at the time.
Thanks for the review. I would love to know in your next video if you are streaming the music or if you have it downloaded, I have an M11 plus that I download the music and for the most part it’s OK but every once in a while, I have a song that gets deleted, and I was wondering if it’s the Apple Music or if it is the M11 plus. I was using Qobuz and it got so bad deleting all the music I got rid of Qobuz and started using Apple Music and it seems to be better but not perfect
This wasn’t a review, it was just to inform people to not buy it until Fiio has a proper firmware update. The review will becoming more than likely this weekend.
I download all my music and for streaming music services I always listen to them offline with the exception of the WiiM Mini which I streamed the music. I actually prefer Apple Music over everything as I feel it has less issues that the other Hi Res Music companies. I liked Tidal for a while but had many issues with it deleting my playlists.
I have the same issue, I cannot log in the fiio music, it keeps repeating restarting
I had that a few times and then it finally let me log into my Apple Music account.
Thank you. I bought Fiio Q15 few months ago and it still has issues fiio promised to resolve long time ago. I am not buying anything from that company ever again.
What’s wrong with the Q15?
@@CarAudioHorizons PEQ (one of the main selling features of this device) doesn't work properly. People on headfi keep complaining, fiio keeps saying it's working on that.
Biggest selling point of Fiio DAPs is the desktop mode and I hear they've perfected this feature with the M23, such a shame it has firmware issues.
Yes, it work well on the M17 and now you can just use usb type c for it sometimes 😆 I’m sure they will have a firmware update soon.
I’m finding their sound signatures to be all over the place since the original M11 which I thought was their best DAP for the money they have ever brought out.
FiiO seems to be using a lot of the same old tech from past DAP’s as well instead of progressing which has been extremely annoying
The dude needs to update it!
@@justinmerrill3548 Dude needs to update what? Are you confused 🫤
@@justinmerrill3548 I take it you didn’t watch the video as that’s the first thing he said. Another D:-;M A/:::ss
I had some issues with my m11. That was my first and last fiio dap😅. I'm happy with my Sony.
The original M11 was good other than you couldn’t use two micro sd cards and you couldn’t use Apple Music with it as it had the Samsung chip which was incompatible with Apple Music
Did you update firmware to the latest (for the moment) 1.01?
Did you watch the video? 😆
@@CarAudioHorizons ok, I see you did :)
I received mine two weeks ago, listened very often in long Tidal sessions (online and offline) without experiencing mentioned issue even once. What I noticed though, is that the M23 tends to get warm to the touch when listening to high quality tracks.....
Mine just all of a sudden started working properly yesterday other than the software lag everything seems to be fine.
Maybe you got a lemon, ask for a replacement, and see? But in 2024 still using SnapDragon 660 from 2017 is outdated.
This is my second unit and I found an online review were the guy mentioned it as well. So it’s definitely a ship the product and update it later scenario.
@@CarAudioHorizons Oh wow, that's really bad.
And worst is community and reviewers defending all companies on using this chip from middle age.
Can you imagine you made a Bugatti and put a 2 cylinder engine in it.
Every FiiO DAP I’ve tried, I’ve been quite unhappy with.
I’ve owned two HiBy DAPs the R6 III and the R8 II and they work much better than other brands I’ve used including FiiO, Sony, and iBasso.
I personally like the original M11 and the M17, although the M17 took a while for me to warm up to its sound signature. Ever since the M11s I’m not sure what Fiio is doing. It’s unfortunate that a lot of the other companies don’t offer a proper coaxial digital out like a full size one that’s on the M17. This is what most car audio guys are going to use and Fiio is one of the few that offer it but no longer include the adapter and since they don’t include the adapter the sound quality I find has been inferior
I think I'm going to stick to using my phone with a dongle with the power that some of these dongles are putting out you don't really need a Dap anymore
If you have a DSP then your phone with an SMSL PO100 Pro works excellent
salut j'attent que ce bestiau arrive en France il est dis 6 a/10 jours c'est mon premier baladeur audiophile j'espère ne pas être déçu j'espère que la mise a jour est correcte et j'espère qu'il y aura des mises a jour comme les smartphone régulièrement
Read my pinned comment. Also I will have the Review out shortly.
Did it ever occur to you that you just got a bad unit???
@@bjclenster That’s why it’s called first look and it was two units if you watched the video
what a shame really. was looking for something to replace my OG m11
The og M11 is better than most of the DAP’s Fiio is bringing out of late. I’m sure they will fix this in an update.
I but mine month ago and have the same issue
@@felipevasquez8576 I had many issues with this DAP and don’t recommend it
I just bought one from Amazon and tried putting in the SD card using the tray. It doesn't fit!!! Maybe it's the wrong size SD card...whatever...this thing is a freaking brick and I'm sending it back. The user manual is a joke. Nothing in it is plain spoken...no common sense.
The damn tray doesn't even have "walls" to hold a card in. Maybe my card is the wrong size...but the design of the tray is just stupid. Why not just have a system like all other music players where you simply insert the card?? They work fine.
I'm just looking for a great sounding dap for the gym, etc. I have a Hidizs AP80 Pro that sounds pretty good and it's simple. Less than $200. After hearing your problems with the M23...I don't need to bother. Thanks for the warning.
If I was a company making these things....I would concentrate on the best sound for the money....super reliability...simplicity. Hey, Fiio?? Get a clue.
UPDATE 10/17 - I ended up with the new Hiby R4. For $250?? Great sound...love it!!
@@greatmusicneverdies6253 Yes, the Fiio M23 is just plain old boring with tech from 5 years ago
sounds like internet buffering problem.
All the music is downloaded and has nothing to do with the internet.
Maybe something else is wrong.I m skeptical that Fiio would make this damage to its reputation..If it's firmware I m sure they will fix it
Fiio has had many issues with most of it’s products over the years. Some never get fixed. Their Fiio control app is a good example as half the time you can’t connect and then when you do connect it tends to disconnect.
All of their devices have had issues with going from 16 bit to hi res tracks when going from one track to the next. These are just two examples of Fiio product issues.
1:50... there's the problem. Buy Astell & Kern = problem solved.
@@arupian666 I have tested a few Astell & Kern DAP’s but for the most part just with headphones. The SP2000 sounded really good but I never had the chance to try it out with my car audio system.
I tried the SR15, 25 and the old Khan in my system and they were all mediocre. The FiiO M17 is still the best DAP I have tested in my vehicle but I will buy another flagship DAP this year. Will see what Astell and Kern bring out later this year or early next year to beat the SP3000
I dont understand why Fiio cant just get the software well optimized for their hardware and they have been around long enough for them not be having these issues... I got the M7 back in 2019 i was so upset i wanted to smash the player on the wall because the UI was sluggish and unstable i have avoided them since then... I will try shangling or Ibasso they seem to be better sonys are too expensive
Yes, I was expecting things to get better but they stick to the same old same old. 720p screen, 4GB Ram, Android 10 etc..
And these companies continue to use snapdragon 660 in 2024.
Even all main stream reviewer defending this chip saying its sufficient.
Yes, I never understood these reviewers saying it’s adequate. That definitely doesn’t help move things forward.
Could just be software issues they need to work out. Update firmware then troubleshoot it. Unfortunately we live in this day and age of not everything works correctly out of the box.
Would you consider reviewing the Ifi xdsd gryphon?
I take it you never watched the video 😂
@@topandrun126 That’s pretty old, I’m just looking for new products
@CarAudioHorizons I'm sorry I originally talking about the XDUOO XD05 Pro and not the gryphon. I did had the gryphon It is a extremely clean dac when connected it to my vehicle. I returned it because it didn't had enough power to drive my over headphones in my opinion.
@@topandrun126 I will check that out as I see it’s on Amazon.
It’s too bad on DSP’s they don’t have a bypass DAC option even though it’s more than the DAC’s that provide the sound signature
Why did you not demonstrate how UNUSABLE the device is. We should just take your word that it has playback issues?
@@romeovoid it’s in the review genius, this is a first look, not a review.
He showed it in the review and I have seen another video that the guy had to return it do to other issues.
just return it