Setting Up

A total breeze.

 

Included manual was useful and very newb-friendly, and I haven't run into any issues between the FiiO M5 and Micro Center 32 GB microSDHC card. Transferring music between my PC and the M5 is simple, all I have to do is copy and paste the files to the microSDHC card (laptop's microSD card reader finally got some use, lol), and the M5 reads it like a charm.

 

My FiiO M5's had Firmware Version 1.3.2 on arrival, so I decided to update it to the latest, Firmware Version 1.4.7. The entire process was painless, logged below on the off-chance that it'd help someone:

1. Check the FiiO M5's Firmware Version by navigating to Settings > System Settings > About M5. The Firmware Version icon is a rectangle with an up arrow, and the Firmware Version number should be something along the lines of FW1.x.x (e.g. FW1.3.2).
2. Check the FiiO M5's latest Firmware Version on FiiO's M5-Firmware Download thread.
3. Download the FiiO M5's latest Firmware Version from the attached download link. The file should be a .ZIP folder, and should be named M5.zip.
4. Connect the FiiO M5 to your PC with the USB Type-C (FiiO M5) to USB Type-A (PC) cable included in the box.
5. Copy and paste M5.zip from your PC to the FiiO M5's microSDHC card.
6. With the FiiO M5, go to Settings > System Updates, and select Confirm.
7. Wait while the FiiO M5 updates itself. A green loading bar and a percentage should indicate how far the update has progressed.
8. After a minute or two, the FiiO M5 should update successfully.

 

I had more trouble trying to center the protective film on the M5's touchscreen surface than I had with the firmware update.

 

General Use

Chargin'.

Approximately 9 hours of non-stop music in my ears; conveniently ran out of battery a few minutes after I got home.

 

Build Quality

I doubt my photos can convey it properly, but the entire product is attractively minimalist -- sleek aluminum around a tempered glass surface. You know what else is attractive? It's ability to attract smudges and dust particles (aaayyy...). But seriously, I find myself polishing the M5 after every little touch, to the point where I really don't want to use the touchscreen if I don't have to, lmao. Which makes the next little feature very handy!

 

Button & Gesture Controls

• Power/Lock Button (Single-Tap): Lock Screen or Play/Pause Music.
• Power/Lock Button (Double-Tap): Play/Pause Music or Lock Screen.
• Volume Button (On Hold): Volume or Next/Previous Song, or Fast Forward/Rewind.
• Screen (Double-Tap): Turn Screen On.
• Screen (Hand Gesture): Turn Screen On.

Incredibly nifty. By far my favorite feature that the M5 offers, especially since the M5 renders my BASN MC100's in-line remote control very useless (according to the FAQ, the M5 isn't compatible with in-line remote controls of any kind). Also, touching the buttons through the fabric of my shirt won't leave any gross oily blemishes on the M5's surface. Sweeet~

 

Transparent Clip

Ah, a pic of how I use and interact with the FiiO M5 at work; the buttons are barely visible on the top of the device (freaking beautiful):

The transparent clip is an easily overlooked accessory, I think, but it's a huuuge boon for me -- at least, with the way I use the M5 at work and the way I handle my daily carry stuff (i.e. stuff everything in my pockets ). With the M5 being as pretty as it is, I was too paranoid to shove it down my pants pocket, lest the beautiful aluminum chassis or the glass got scratched by my neighboring keys and/or Swiss Army knife. In comes the transparent clip to the rescue; the M5 pops into the clip, and I clip the M5 to the previously-useless watch pocket of my jeans!

 

Worked like a charm, and my setup above survived the short warehouse session I had at work today. Was worried about the M5 slipping out (aluminum and glass do be sliding very smooth against fabrics), but with the clip, it managed to stay snug in my pocket all shift.

 

But, uh, the clip doesn't hold up when the cable gets caught on a stray chair and the entire thing -- FH5's and the attached M5 -- gets yeeted right out of both my ears and my pocket. I managed to catch it before anything hit the floor or collided with anything else, though. Rapid reaction time FTW.  Also, kudos to BASN for making a durable MMCX cable with connectors that fit nice and tightly in both MMCX and 3.5mm ports. Seriously saved my purchase(s) today.

 

To be honest, the FiiO M5 was my backup plan if I couldn't find a quality MMCX cable with in-line remote control. I sorta need/want the convenience of controlling my music without having to open up the player every single time.

 

Music Control

Neato thing about pausing music with the FiiO M5 is that it fades-out nicely before the track fully stops. Very, very appreciated touch -- I always found it a little jarring when pressing the pause button just yeeted whatever tune I was listening to into the void. Resuming a paused track launches me straight back where the song left off.

 

Also, volume! The M5 is maxed out at "60" volume; "20" is comfy for me, "22" is nice for focused sessions, and "25" is the absolute max my ears can handle while I start worrying about losing my hearing. With "30," my FH5's start to substitute as speakers, lol.

 

Bluetooth

Paired the M5 with Hoshī (Desktop PC) and my phone (Samsung Galaxy S8+) just to test out the Bluetooth. Connecting is painless and the sound is surprisingly decent, after a bit of stupidity, er, I'm calling it "troubleshooting."  My actual experience was this:

1. Connect to Hoshī with the M5 to test out the Bluetooth.
2. Test out the sound with TUMENECO's 五秒革命前夜.
3. Music sounds like freaking garbage.
4. Get slightly mad, because the song is absolute baller and treating it like this is downright insulting.
5. Test out the sound with a Twitch stream.
6. Streamer sounds like freaking garbage.
7. Get confused.
8. Write angry notes to put in a status update later.
9. Think about my very biased, one-off sample size.
10. Connect to my Samsung Galaxy S8+ with the M5 to test out the Bluetooth.
11. Test out the sound with TUMENECO's 現夢-genmu-.
12. Music sounds fine.
13. Get confused. Nani?
14. Add more angry notes to already angry notes to put in a status update later.
15. Notice that EQ settings have been applied to the song, halfway through listening to the song.
16. Remove EQ settings from the M5.
17. Reconnect Hoshī with the M5 to test out the Bluetooth, again.
18. Test out the sound with TUMENECO's 五秒革命前夜, again.
19. Music sounds absolute bangin'. 

Lesson learned. Don't mess with EQ too much.

 

Listening Experience

FiiO M5 Bluetooth AMP/Audio Player + FiiO FH5 In-Ear Monitors

 

Audio "Benchmark"

"Benchmark," in quotations, because it's just a list of songs I'm familiar with. If I reference specific songs, vocalists, or artists, this is what I'm referring to.

Out of the box, the FiiO M5 sounded sorta... off. Vocals were brilliant, mids and highs were clear, but lows and clash-y instruments (cymbals, rhythm guitars) sounded awfully messy. Sounds particularly suffered in busy tracks with multiple instruments going on.

 

That's what led me to tinker around with the EQ settings, until the sound sounded alright to my ears. The EQ presets that came included with the M5 all sounded off and killed some sounds from the music I listen to. Below is what I ended up with, IDK what any of these numbers mean or correspond with, lmao, M5's interface doesn't tell me jack.

 

[-12] < +5 (62 Hz) > [+12]

[-12] < 0 (250 Hz) > [+12]

[-12] < 0 (1 kHz) > [+12]

[-12] < 0 (4 kHz) > [+12]

[-12] < +5 (16 kHz) > [+12]

 

With the EQ tweak, bass is a lot more pronounced. I can feel the beating of the drums and the rumble of some basses, while keeping the crystal clarity of the vocals. Really gets my heart going, for some tracks. 

 

Although, IDK if I actually "fixed" the off-sounding issue with the EQ, lol. Could also be the placebo effect from adjusting the EQ, or my ears getting used to the M5's sound, or me convincing my brain that the song is supposed to sound like that, or something else entirely. Freaking FiiO M5 is making me question my sanity audio setup choices.

 

Also, not sure whether it's the FH5's or the M5, or a combination of both, but female vocals are particularly outstanding. Turn up the volume, and I can hear the warble and slight breath present in some songs that I've never noticed before. It's more noticeable in songs with yukina as the vocalist (her slightly uneven voice is mega cute, I can't handleee). By comparison, みぃ's voice is -- how do I put it -- unblemished? Or, smooth? (For the record, comparing their vocals in a semi-analysis like this makes me incredibly uncomfortable -- regardless of what I imply, I love both their voices and both their persons for indescribable reasons.)

 

Recommended Songs

From my Audio "Benchmark" playlist. If, er, the weebs people out there are interested.