FiiO M3 Review!

[Evolution90]

So i bought this Friday morning, went for the express delivery on Saturday option, the M3 was on sale on Amazon for 49.99 (GBP)

The version i bought is white and has 8GB of storage capacity with an optional ability to take an SD card of up to 64GB!

 

Here i was buying this for audio performance and nothing else.

 

 

 

 

 

The included earphones are.... crap to put it politely and are best replaced with some decent - very good headphones to really hear what this device is capable of.

 

So some facts.

 

Output power: 50MW @ 16OHM load

SNR: 95DB (A-weighted)

THD+N: 0.008% (1khz)

Weight: 40g

Discrete DAC section

240x320 TFT

Backlit flush button controls

Supports CTIA standard earphones in-line remotes.

 

 

So right off the bat, this thing is tiny.. it's smaller than a credit card.

Build is plastic yet very solid, feels good, looks even better!

Weighs literally nothing... thank god it has a lanyard i would lose it fast.

 

The battery is fully charged in 2.5hrs with a battery length of 24hrs... pretty impressive.

 

Then we meet the mediocre.. the screen is good enough, it's meh at best.. but this is a music player, we are not watching the final season of *insert favourite show*

 

Now the real deal.

 

Sound quality is WAY above what you would expect for this price, it literally makes my eyes water how great it sounds.

 

Now forgive me but i don't yet have any "awesome" headphones or headsets to really enjoy it to it's fullest, but i tried Rockjaw Alfa Genus V2's with it (sounded meh)

Then i hooked up the HyperX Cloud Stingers... nearly fell off my chair with how amazing it sounded, I think that screams a lot for both the players and the HyperX headset which is a gaming headset (Don't tell the audio nut's i just called a gaming headset awesome in audio quality)

 

Bass rumbles with true presence, it hit's hard and low (not quite sub bass lows) but remember the price tag here (headset).

The device is not what i would call transparent, a bit warm sounding, non clinical.. and honestly it's a great sound.

 

 

I am over the moon i skipped Apple's iPOD, i know this is quite far ahead of their audio quality.. which for the price those things go for is atrocious.

 

I have been listening to it since it arrived and just cannot stop.. it's that good.

 

10/10 product, would not recommend to my enemy.

 

 

To give you a different angle, this is what another person had to say about this device.

 

"The absolute shocker for me came when, on a lark, I decided to play the M3 through my car stereo, which is about ten years old and consists of a Pioneer head unit, Sony multichannel amlifier, Polk speakers and a Kicker subwoofer. The head unit has both USB and aux inputs, and I mostly listen to higher resolution MP3 files from a 32GB flash drive. I've always been disappointed that I've never been able to seriously distinguish between MP3s or CDs played through the system—they both sound about the same, even though the CDs are much higher resolution files than the MP3s. I've always allowed that impression to color my perception of my car system, considering it mid-fi at best, even though I probably spent close to $2,000 on it. With the M3 playing though the car system's aux input, which essentially bypasses all the head unit's internal circuitry other than the volume control, I've been absolutely transfixed by how incredibly good the car system now sounds. The weakness of my car system is most definitely the internal digital-to-analog conversion in the head unit. With the M3 as the source, the system now plays with power, authority and finesse—I'm truly stunned! A word of warning: don't even think about trying to make any kind of programming changes while driving, the M3’s display can be very difficult to read (especially in daylight) and the buttons are very small. Make a choice before you depart and stick with it for the duration. Just lay back and enjoy the ride—when the music is this great, it literally takes you away; I almost feel like I’m driving a new car!"

 

[Evolution90]

Songs i have listened to on this device the most, FLAC and MP3 320kbps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Evolution90]

Just as a heads up, the Rock Jaw Alfa V2's ended up being better overall than my HyperX Cloud, however needed to use the balanced adjustment with these and no extra equalizer settings..

 

 

The Alfa's throw out sub level bass, well rounded and sound very precise, the Cloud's have awesome comfort and great sound but the Afla's take the cake.

 

https://rockjawaudio.com/products/brand-new-alfa-genus-v2

 

RJ's

Drivers: 8mm dynamic

3x Interchangeable tuning filters

Compatible with iOS / Android / Windows Smartphones

Impedance: 16Ω

Sensitivity: 108+/-3db

Frequency response: 20 – 20000Hz

Cord Length: 1.2M

Jack type: Gold plated 3.5mm (right angle jack)

MIC with universal pause/play button

Eartips included: (S/M/L) silicone | (M/L) memory foam | (S) double flange.

 

 

 

Cloud Stinger's

 

Driver:Dynamic, 50mm with neodymium magnets

Type:Circumaural, Closed back

Frequency response:18Hz-23,000Hz

Impedance:30 Ω

Sound pressure level:102 ± 3dBSPL/mW at 1kHz

T.H.D.:< 2%

Input power:Rated 30mW, Maximum 500mW

Weight:275g

Cable length and type:Headset (1.3m) + Extension Y-cable(1.7m)

Connection:Headset - 3.5mm plug (4 pole) + extension cable - 3.5mm stereo and mic plugs

Microphone

Element:Electret condenser microphone

Polar pattern:Uni-directional, Noise-canceling

Frequency response:50Hz~18,000Hz

Sensitivity:-40 dBV (0dB=1V/Pa,1kHz)