A few months ago, I posted here asking for opinions comparing the Fiio M6 and the Sony NW-A55. Last week I ended up getting the Fiio M6, and since I asked people here for opinions, I figured I'd post my experiences with it.

tl;dr - I really like it, and I'm happy I got it. I have no regrets, although there are things that could be improved.

Headphones: usually I use Fiio FA1 IEMs. I also have Sony 1000XM3 (wired and Bluetooth) and WF-1000XM3 (Bluetooth only). I prefer the wired connection and only use the WF1000XM3s when I'm outside hiking or whatever.

PC connectivity: I installed a 128GB microSD card, powered the M6 up, connected it to my PC via USB-C, and fired up MusicBee. MusicBee saw the device and the memory card. After configuring it to write to the 128GB SD card rather than 12GB device memory, I copied over about 30GB of MP3 and FLAC. I think it too about a half hour, although I was messing around with copying playlists and other things. Transfer was fast, no timeouts or any problems.

Musical tastes: all over the map. I'm generally more a fan of instrumental music than vocal. I like a lot of classical music, but I also like orchestral works by soundtrack composers like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Christopher Franke, Ramin Djawadi, and the like. But I've also got a lot of pop, rock, jazz, and folk.

Streaming: I don't. I live in Canada, data plans are horrifically expensive, and I've got a few decades worth of CDs that I've ripped to MP3 and am reripping to FLAC.

Having loaded up the M6 and started to listen to it, I quite like it. I currently have an iPod Nano and a Samsung S7. The iPod has better acoustics than the S7 when playing the same MP3, but the S7 plays FLAC files better because, well, the iPod doesn't play FLAC. So for FLAC files, the M6 is the best, having both the high end DAC and the ability to play FLAC.

The M6 always sounds at least as good as the iPod or S7, and is usually much better. Generally speaking, there is more improvement when using the wired headphones (FA1 or 1000XM3). With the Bluetooth WF1000XM3s, by default, it's not really much different than the S7, to be honest. Of course, I'm usually only using those outside in noisy environments, where subtle differences won't be noticed anyway.

For the instrumental and orchestral FLAC tracks, the M6 is a significant improvement over the S7. The M6 doesn't provide any more bass than the iPod or S7, but it has a clearer sound stage. In one orchestral piece, I could make out the snare drum playing in the back when the horns took center stage. When listening to that on the S7, if I specifically listened for it, I could just make it out, but I'd never have known it was there. On the M6 it was faint, but definitely noticeable. I'd listened to that piece for years and never noticed that. I'm experiencing that a lot with many of my orchestral pieces.

The M6 audio is clearer than the S7. There's no hiss or distortion. There's not a lot of bass (default equalizer), but it's not shy of bass either.

Physically, the M6 is easier and nicer to use than a phone. It's actually smaller than my Sound Blaster Nomad MP3 player from 1998. It's about the size of a 2005 era cell phone, so some of my old Nokia cases actually fit it, which is nice when I'm outside and using Bluetooth headphones. There are only 4 buttons (power on top, and pause/play, up and down on the left side). The side up/down buttons take some getting used to because they behave differently based on whether the screen is on or not. This isn't an MP3 player I'd hook up to my car stereo and try to operate while driving.

Battery wise, it sucks, as expected. When setting it up, I saw it drop from 94% to 90% in less than 10 minutes. That was with the screen on, though. With the screen off, as it usually is, I used it for 45 minutes, and it was at 85%. I've never had it die on me, although I have seen it with only 21% charge at end of day. Fortunately, it charges via USB-C, so it's easy to recharge. The majority of the time, I used wired headphones, so Bluetooth and Wifi are both disabled. When I'm out, Bluetooth is enabled, and it probably speeds battery drain by about 10%. I don't use the Wifi, because I don't stream.

Software wise, it's a bit of a Frankenstein monster. The default Fiio player app isn't great. I used the Fiio Android app and didn't really care for it. Surprisingly, the Fiio app on the M6 is actually worse. It doesn't even understand genres, unfortunately. And even the equalizer is limited. To be honest, if I was limited to using the Fiio player software, it would really downgrade my opinion of the M6.

Fortunately, you can install other players from the Fiio site (link). I've been using Media Monkey for years, and Musicolet, so I installed both.

I've configured the Fiio player's equalizer for Pop, Musicolet for Classical, and Media Monkeys' for folk, and switch between players depending on the genre I feel like.

One of the things I wanted to use was my existing M3U playlists. How those are handled depends on the software being used. Media Monkey sees them automatically. Musicolet has its' own playlists, but can import M3U playlists, though you have to do it one at a time. And the Fiio native player just doesn't. There are hacks online on how to do it, but it's not worth the effort to me.

So, in summary, the Fiio M6 is a great little DAP with terrific audio, a good price, mediocre default software that can be improved by using third party players, and terrible battery life. As I get more comfortable with it, I'm going to start playing with PowerAmp and tweaking the equalizer, but even without it, it's a great player, and I recommend it.

I am having to get a dumbphone because I do not have the discipline to put my iPhone down, and my college classes are only getting harder. So I have ordered a dumb phone. I need an MP3 player that has a decent battery and can store all my music (30gb) and can have Spotify but no other app. I need Spotify so I can download Podcasts and songs that aren’t available on CD to rip. Any other app (like YouTube) would distract me, and I don’t have the will power to resist downloading it on a device if that was an option. The Fiio M6 seems to fit this bill. It has the Spotify app but no other android apps, like google chrome or YouTube. But I noticed that it is several years old and only available used, and in North America for around $180 used. There are cheaper models out there, but they are in Japan so I’m not sure if it would work in North America or not.

So my question is, are any of you still using the M6? Has it gotten sluggish, buggy, or obsolete? Is the battery still holding up? Would a Japanese version be able to be converted over to North America? Thanks for your time, sorry if this is something you get frequently asked.

UPDATE: One just got listed on eBay for $80, so I bought it. I guess I will have to personally see for myself.

Hi..i just found that the M6 is less than 99 US$ on AliExpress. So I want to know if it's a good choice to buy.

I have now a Btr3k for my daily use and a Fiio M3pro for listening in case I have time.

But what I really miss on m3 pro is than the headphone can't skip tracks.

So what do you think?

I was initially skeptical of this device, and did not buy it for the intended purpose of use with hi res audio, however, I paid, what I thought was a steep price, but, having it for the better part of a month. I love this little thing.

I use it for audio books, audible, libby/overdrive, etc, mainly for the small size and to take strain off my phone battery. I love this device, I now feel it to be worth every penny I paid. That being said, using it as a stand alone audio book player, my skepticism that it would be better than a cheap android phone was high. But, combine the battery life, lack of annoyances that come with using an old phone, i.e. Emergency alerts, constant notifications there's no SIM card, Etc, extremely small size, quality of sound, and ease of use? And it's honestly a wonderful little device.

I get about 18ish hours of use before I have to charge it, plus I have the battery bank included with my purchase on Amazon, and a flip phone case that fits both perfectly, I just connect via usb c, even in use, and it gives me about two and a half charges. Around a weeks worth of use, give or take. I use the thing 8+ hours a day, at work and at home.

My only complaint, is that it runs a modified version of android 7, and is somewhat annoying to sideload apps onto, that being said however, does so flawlessly, and has ran the needed apps after enabling the option to install third party apps. (Mind you, this is also wonderful with hi res audio and a good pair of cans, and runs my Sennheisers with no complaints.)

All in all, quite happy with my purchase, and hope to have the device for years to come.

Hi there everyone, i'm very new in this new world of HiFi players and i was thinking of getting one of these. I've reading lots of reviews and saw lots of youtube videos, i ask this because i read that is a very good player but as i read that i read that it has lots of software problems and that is not that good as they say so i would like to read some opinions from people that actually owns it so the review is realistic as it can be. Anyway, what im looking for is a player that sounds much better than my cellphone and i can load it LOTS of music in the best format so i can enjoy it as much as possible, also it would be nice to have the advantages of connect it to my music apps so i can use it for podcasts, playlists, etc. (For example on Poweramp, Foobar, Spotify, etc.) so, i'm not sure if it accomplishes that or something like the M3K Pro or the M5 would be enough so any review or advice on this would be so much appreciated!

I saw this oft recommended when switching to my dumbphone - I think there are a lot of folks like me who really felt the only meaningful value a smartphone had for them was streaming music and podcasts, but also lack the self-restraint for a smartphone not to be an addictive crutch.

I have loved switching to a dumbphone. I initally loved the size and feel of the fiio (it's surprisingly easy to type on its tiny screen) but the Fiio M6 isn't a replacement for streaming, at least with spotify. I had assumed it was from the recommendations, but the issues I've found with it seem to be common among other Fiio users. It's nearly good, but it's just very buggy for these functions.

It routinely deletes my downloaded songs (not podcasts weirdly).

It randomly skips when an AUX is plugged in.

It's very laggy (I could cope with this if it weren't for the other issues).

It often believes it is offline, despite having a stable internet connection.

You get jumpy playback if you use any spotify EQ settings.

Spotify lite is nearly workable if you install it manually, though it's not whitelisted and you have to override Fiios whitelist. But it still skips songs, has no way to filter downloads, and you cannot find your playlists unless they're on your "recently played tab." For someone who listens to albums (I realise I'm now in the minority!) the sorting features are a shame - you can only go alphabetic, rather than sorting by artist in the albums list.

It's also not a great device to leave the house with with as it's pretty fragile. I've dropped it twice on the carpet, from pocket height, and both times had a panic as my $250 devices screen literally pops out landing on carpet from 80cm height. And if I'm nervous taking it out of the house, and I can use my laptop at home for music, then...

I love the concept of the Fiio. It's really designed as a lossless portable music player with high potential storage capacity, that happens to have options for streaming and some other apps. It's also a DAC. It nearly nails the concept, but is, for some reason, just very buggy with spotify apps - I've tried a number of backdated versions and all seem unstable. It's also pretty fragile as a replacement for on-the-go listening.

If you have a large collection of lossless music you own, it's probably a great option!

I was looking at picking up the m7 because it’s only $100 and has a nice looking design to it but I read that it doesn’t have WiFi capabilities. I can live with that, but if the m6 And m7 have the same audio quality I’d go with the m6. Anyone have any experience with this? My headphones are hd 6XX

Been debating getting a DAP, but would their be any noticeable difference in sound quality (both wired and bluetooth) using something like a Fiio M6 over an iPhone?

Hello Reddit community,

I am starting in this huge World of the audiophilia, so in Order to achieve my first approach to this purist passion, I want to ask to the old and experienced ones some little questions:

First of all, my starter equipment is; a Fiio M6 DAP, and a pair of WH-1000XM3 Bluetooth headphones.

OK, ok before you start telling me that Bluetooth even in their best codec is not the best way to start, my personal preferences and uses are on the go music listener (here is where Bluetooth comes handy), and when I can plug in the 3.5mm jack I can do it well with the headphones I have.

OK looking forward from that quality gap I have when I use wireless, here are my questions:

1. I am ok with Fiio music app in this state, but I heard some People that Usb Audio Player Pro is the best others argumenting that UAPP are just for experienced ones what do you think about this?

2. Other UI on the game is Poweramp, as I can review it is capable the M6 to manage this app too, so my question is it better than UAPP or your thoughts about both.

3. Before your choice benefits and flaws (for experienced ones), from two of them (or another app you can suggest). My third question is, do you feel that any of this apps can do a much richier and the improvement justifies the installation (price and M6 limited hardware resources), I mention this because I read that this "third apps" cannot use all hardware capabilities than Fiio music can do (that have tons of coherence).

Hope you and your relatives are healthy and ok, stay safe.

I purchased this like 2 months ago to replace my FiiO M3, simply because I need a portable player, small but can play any type of file. At that time FiiO just freshly released M6 and it caught my eye due to the sleek look and it fit the bill.

At first I never imagine how having bluetooth capable of aptxHD and LDAC would mean so much until I got my very first bluetooth headphone, just a little after I got the M6, and boy I was so happy I made an investment with M6.

It's not like it have no weakness. Actually at first I found that the sound is far too sparkly and as a person who loves warm to dark sound presentation..I resent that. But I'm saved that M6 support Sony Headphone application which have a nice built in equalizer for my WI-1000X, and ever since then I never really had any problem other than I can't really enjoy anything through my wired headphones.

I did put up some comments on Fiio's forum mentioning M6's lack of whitelisted application, in which I highlight how I like to color my music using Equalizer (an android application). It is a simple application which I think M6 can/might be able to handle. Sure that FiiO Music have its own equalizer, but no matter how I tweak, I never really like how it sound, it is no where near warm and lots of sibilance on the treble, I hate it, doesn't matter which headphone I use via wires (I am using M6 Pro IEM and ATH-M50x for your reference, I used to have Shure SE215 which I love how smooth it is until I lost it, used to have Vmoda M100 until it started to get rustic in the earcups and hinge broke down to rust)

Fast forward to the latest firmware which is released just today (I believe), FiiO white listed a large amount of application for M6, and today I tried Poweramp and boy, I can't be more grateful with its equalizer, this is the kind of application I need for M6!

Oh....and just recently I know that FiiO M6 can handle native DSF files! Recently I got some DSD files and skeptically tried to fit it into the player and boy I was so shocked lol.

Hi!,

I have a FiiO M6 and so far I have been happy with it, but lately I am seeing lots of problems while playing certain mp3 files with the built-in player. Some of them don't play at all, or the player app resets, or it does not automatically skip to next song and I have to do it manually...

It seems a SW problem, as the same MP3s play correctly in my home setup (Volumio with mpd).

Before I consider investing in a new player, I am thinking of trying to do something on software side, so I was wondering if anyone knows about a reliable firmware I can try.

I have seen this:

https://xdaforums.com/t/custom-firmware-for-fiio-m6-fiio-m7-and-fiio-m9.4245917/

And this:

https://xdaforums.com/t/rom-weta-rom-for-fiio-m6-dap-1-00-21apr.4265441/

Not sure if anyone has experience with any of these or can advise a different way to solve these problems. I would be eternally grateful :-).

Hey guy's, I'm thinking about to buy the Fiio m6, it will be mi first DAP, but I'm not sure is it the best to start or if you guys have another option or recommendation better to start in this new word for me. Thanks in advance ;).