Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Justin Hines photo
1 Level
811 Review
34 Karma

Review on ๐ŸŽง FiiO M9 Hi-Res Audio Lossless MP3 Music Player: Bluetooth aptX HD/LDAC, USB Audio/DAC, DSD128 Support, WiFi/Air Play Full Touch Screen - Black Edition by Justin Hines

Revainrating 2 out of 5

It could have been perfect.

I've been waiting for this version for a long time. I've been searching the market for a DAC with aptX HD and LDAC options - along with the usual high-end wired use cases. After the release I placed an order with Revain. Upon opening, I was pleased with the size, design, and overall build quality. Unfortunately, that's where the fun ends. The software's interface is decent, well organized and easy to navigate. That and the sound quality is great unless you use super efficient IEMs as they hiss (all my hiss). So what went wrong? Well, the device didn't work as it should. USB CC cables didn't work with any of my computers (homemade Win10 desktop and Macbook Pro running Mojave), the only option was to use the adapter with the standard original AC cable. The standard cable also had charging issues as it only worked "sometimes". not cool. Once I found a working cable, the DAC mode on my PC generated a lot of noise with whatever headphones or IEMs I tried. I figured my issues were related so I sent it back to Revain for a replacement. Enter the 2nd block: this one was also broken. Again, the USB-CC cables didn't work at all on any of the platforms I used. Unfortunately, this time the standard cable didn't work at all - for charging or data. This time DAC mode worked, but I was quite disappointed with the significant latency on my Win10 machine. Other than that, I haven't had this problem with my Mac. In addition to the above issues, I was also disappointed with the "Use your phone as a remote control" feature. It wasn't very responsive, crashed a few times on my Note9, and was limited in what it could do. The M9 could be cool, but they need to tweak the software a bit and figure out what's going on with the USB. . There is currently no way to recommend this device to anyone. Others seem to be lucky, but I haven't yet found a review that talks about the things I'm mentioning - I'm wondering if they missed these features? I have two units. both failed, and in slightly different ways. In the end I decided to spend a little more and use the iBasso DX150. So far I'm much more impressed, despite the somewhat slow user interface. I look forward to v2/MKii. It will be on my radar hoping it gets completed.

Pros
  • Highly customized operating system ใƒปWi-Fi music streamingใธจUSB DACใธจUSB audio output
Cons
  • You could choose a newer model

Comments (2)

Please, sign in to write a comment
April 07, 2023
Big improvement over the X5 III
December 18, 2022
I am ZeosPantera and I approve this Message