FiiO M11 Plus ESS Review

Design & Build Quality

Casing

Surprise surprise, the FiiO M11 Plus ESS is a complete revamp of its predecessor. Just kidding, it looks exactly the same as the previous M11 Plus AKM, but why would you change a good design?

Build quality is absolutely flawless, with no gaps and high-end materials everywhere your eye can see. Front panel? Gorilla glass. Back panel? Same with a diamond-cut texture layered under the glass. The case? Neat, CNC’ed, polished aluminum with a matte black finish. Volume Knob? Gone, replaced by a sensitive/clickable surface. 

And, if you look very closely, you will see the only differentiating element of the new FiiO M11 Plus ESS: the volume control surface is now covered by a fake carbon plate. But, apart from that, it’s the exact same player, which kept the same form-factor and the same aluminum case covered by glass panels front and back

Size-wise, the FiiO M11 Plus ESS remains bold and big. As a matter of fact, it’s closer to the M15 than the M11/M11Pro and the numbers are… impressive to say the least: 136,6 mm tall, 75 mm wide, and 17,6 mm thick. Even though, compared to modern smartphones, size is not a real issue. That said, it won’t fit in every pocket.

Again it doesn’t look as posh as the M15, but it looks and feels like a premium player, even more now that FiiO introduces their new honeycomb design.

Layout

The layout of the FiiO M11 Plus ESS remains exactly the same as before.

First and foremost, the M11 replaced the previous scroll wheel for a geeky, sensitive, all-in-one volume button. It works well but, as we’ll see later, it’s a bit too sensitive. Next to that, have the honeycomb design, where every button shares the same hexagonal pattern. 

On the left side you have:

• the classic power on/off button
• the new volume control
• and a new blank button announced as a mighty “do-it-all” button

On the right side, you’ll find:

• prev/next and play/pause buttons
• a switch to fully lock/unlock the player, and especially the volume control
• the micro-SD card tray

At the bottom of the player, you have:

• 3.5mm headphone/line/digital output, so you can connect your headphone, a headphone amp, or even a DAC,
• 2.5mm balanced headphone output, a classic for all of you who didn’t switch for the…
• 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced headphone output, which is slowly becoming the new norm. 
• a USB-C port

All headphones out are now completely blacked out, so no more gold-plated) jack. Some will like this sobriety, others will prefer the classic gold-plated 4.4mm Pentaconn, but all-in-all, it doesn’t really make a difference.

Obviously, everything looks and feels premium, but that was to be expected.

Screen

If bigger, the FiiO M11 Plus ESS screen remains close to the M11/M11 Pro and M15 in terms of specs.

It’s a 5.5 inch wide IPS screen (0.35” bigger than before), boasting 16,7 million colors, “retina” 300PPI definition thanks to the 1440×720 resolution, and an 86% screen to body ratio. FiiO is proud to announce a border-less screen, but you still have a little black bar at the bottom of the player.

Still, it’s one of the best features of the FiiO M11 Plus ESS, a big, vivid, widescreen. The viewing angle is large, the refresh rate is fast, and you can even use that DAP to watch videos or movies, on the go! If you want to get a better screen, you have to check out the likes of Shanling with the M6 21, and iBasso with the wondrous DX300.

Bundle

Inside the box

The FiiO M11 Plus ESS shares, almost, the same bundle as its predecessor.

In the box you will find :

• the FiiO M11 Plus ESS
• a micro-SD slot tool
• a USB-C cable
• the mini-Jack to Coaxial adapter
• a quick-start manual

And… a faux-leather cover! Quite a nice one, even more, something that was desperately missing with the M15 and M11 Pro.

I love it.

Streaming / DNLA / AirPlay / FiiO Link

Now that every FiiO was gifted with a Google Play Store certification, all it takes is a wifi connection, and you can directly install all the apps you need.

FiiO Link is still available: with Bluetooth pairing, you can control your player directly through your phone. It works well and somehow gives the same seamless experience as the Hiby link on Hiby and Cayin player. The only catch is that it’s only available for Android, for now?

Strangely, FiiO ditched AirPlay support and if you can still stream your music through the Bluetooth connection, no more stream from your Apple devices!

DNLA works the usual way, and you can even access your distant drives from the FiiO Music app. Or any compatible app, like HiBy music or Audio Player Pro.

Let’s see how it works now.

The article continues on Page Three, after the click here

Page 1: about FiiO

Page 3: UI, Usage, Bundle

Page 4: Technical specifications

Page 5: Sound performance 

Page 6: Sound Part 2, Comparison and conclusion