Fiio M21's Review - Pocket Powerhouse
General/Packaging
Fiio is no stranger to the audiophile community, they released a slew of great products with high price performance ratio and also some high end products of course. I personally have reviewed quite a number of their products and liked them a lot. The M23, Q15, K9 AKM, JM21 and many more. Today I have the M21 from the brand itself, an update to the entry level DAP M11 which packs very good specifications at a very attractive price.
The packaging is the usual Fiio’s kind of presentation. Within the box, it consists of the M21 itself, a pre-applied PET film(screen protector), a silicon case and USB cable of course.
The unit itself feels very solid and the back glass is the matte surface with a pin for magnetic cassette case, desktop mode switch on the left side of the device, dual USB C port, one for data/power, and another for desktop mode where it supports PD fast charging as well.
Specifications (Grabbed from the product page)
Headphones/IEMs used
Aune SR7000
Dunu Vulkan 2
Fiio FT3
Dita Mecha
General Features
Android 13 and overall quite smooth user experience
Throughout the period of me owning the device, the 1.01 update fixes some of the quirks that M21 had, kudos to the Fiio’s Engineering Team
Battery capacity is average but recharging it is relatively fast, and playing offline files with a mix of DSDs and FLACs, looping through the night from 100% battery life, after 8 hours i am left with 10%, which is considered quite good, gain is at high gain, with the volume set to 30/120, balanced output to Dita Mecha
There are various mode to choose from, Android mode, pure music mode, bluetooth receiving mode, AirPlay as well as USB DAC Mode, they all worked well and i managed to use the AirPlay with the SR11 streamer as well, one issue that i noticed with the pure music mode is that, it is unlike iBasso’s mango os which is essentially stripping off everything else leaving just offline music, Fiio’s implementation is that it is just restricting you/prompting you a prompt if you attempt to switch/minimise the Fiio’s Music Player asking if you want to leave pure music mode
M21 with Cassette Case
It transforms the M21 into a retro looking device, cassette player with the cassette skin from M21
The buttons works very well and has good tactile feedback
However, when the M21 is in the case, there are some minor quirks (just me nitpicking), you are not able to touch the screen and you have to open up the transparent panel if you want to operate the touchscreen, but then again, a cassette player doesn’t need touchscreen right?
Sound Impression with Default Digital Filter and High Gain
Upon first listen, M21 sounded slightly warm with good note weights and musical to my ears. I would say, sonically, they are not that colored and very very enjoyable. Good dynamics and lush sounding. On the highest gain (Super High Gain with Desktop Mode on) , it is more than enough to drive non demanding headphones as well as IEMs, The FT3 sounded full with very good control in terms of dynamics
Bass
The M21 exhibits a clean and balanced bass response, and doesn't sound boosted to my ears. Bass has got decent resolution and body to it, never thin sounding and to my ears, they are reproduced in a fairly accurate manner. Sub bass has got good extension but that also depends on the ability of your IEM to reproduce it as accurately as possible, mid bass has a good body and impact to it. Listening to some bass heavy songs with the Mecha, the bass coming from M21 rendered to Vulkan 2 is nothing but amazing, very full sounding and pleasant to your ear, most of all, it is clean sounding. In some complex songs such as Slipknot’s People = Shit, it exhibited excellent control over the bass region.
Mids
Midrange on the M21 is smooth and transparent to my ears. The lower to upper mids transition is done fairly well and there isn't any harshness at all. Vocals for both male and female has got a good body to it. Timbre sounds natural to my ears. The mids are never thin sounding.
Treble
Treble on the M21 has quite good extension and non fatiguing, doesn’t sound boosted to my ears. Decent detail retrieval capability, at the same time it doesn’t present itself as being too analytical.It exhibited quite an airy atmosphere on live recording tracks such as Toto’s Africa Live and it is very enjoyable.
Technicalities
Technicalities is relatively good showcasing the quad dac processing in work, soundstage is rendered well with a good sense of space, but ultimately depending on the music track as well as the IEMs and Headphones.
IEM Pairings Sound Impression
Dita Mecha
Bass is tight and well controlled, lush and thick sounding mids from the Mecha, paired with the M21, somehow it slightly pushed back the mids without it sounding overly recessed, to give the bigger perceived sense of space, treble is not harsh and has slightly better extension based on my listening experience
Fiio FT3 (32 Ohm)
When paired with M21 on high gain mode, the performance is quite close to desktop setup of mine, i would say probably 80% of desktop’s performance in your pocket
Slightly more bass quantity, with the NOS digital filter, overall presentation sounded slightly warmer, giving it a more relaxed listening experience while still retaining most of the technicalities capability
Aune SR7000
The SR7000’s sound signature is leaning towards neutral with a slight warmth, pairing it with the M21 gives the overall sound a slightly thicker noteweight on NOS digital filter, a punchier bass and fuller mids, treble remains more or less similar
Comparison (iBasso DX180)
In terms of device size, both DX180 and M21 are more or less similar
Using Snapdragon 665 vs M21’s 680, should offers a slightly better performance
DX180 using quad CS43131 vs quad CS43198
Based on my observation, battery life seems to be better on the M21 whereas the DX180 doesn’t last that long, streaming tidal with 4.4 out, both device on high gain, from 9am til 5pm, DX180 is left with about 20%, whereas M21 is still at 30+%, volume level on 30 for both
In terms of sound, DX180 is leaning towards a more energetic profile, the upper mids are quite pronounced but not overly forward, soundstage is slightly out of your head, works well with warm and slightly recessed sounding IEMs/Headphones, M21 is neutral warm and works with a wide range of IEMs/Headphones
For power output on high gain, M21 is higher in terms of numbers, 950mw on desktop mode (Super high gain) vs DX180’s 690mw, both on 32ohms
Final Thoughts
After using the device for approximately 2 weeks+ as my daily driver, it is safe to say that I like it a lot and there won’t be any issue in recommending it to anyone who is looking for a DAP loaded with features with good sound that won’t break their bank, the price it’s right and no brainer given the specs and also its sonic performance.
Of course, some corners had to be cut in order to be able to sell it at this price point, lower resolution for the display, but not really an issue for a DAP for me,but then again, if you are looking solely at the sonic performance, M21 is definitely unbeatable in terms of value. Highly recommended!
*A big thanks to Fiio for sending this over for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the opportunity as always.
Fiio M21 Official AliExpress Store Link - Non Affiliated
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