FiiO M15 Review

Design & Build Quality

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Casing

Oh you finally chose a Sony DAP as a runner ? – Nope, this is the new FiiO M15

Yes, there is no way around it : the M15 shares a lot of traits with Sony players, at least visually. The case is made of aluminum, with a matte black finish and round button subtly visible on the left side. Obviously, the screen is the same found within the FiiO M11/M11 Pro. It’s big, curved and beautiful, taking up to 90% of the front panel, far from the previous M9/M7 models.

Build quality is absolutely flawless, with no gaps and high-end materials everywhere your eye can see. Yet, my first sentence wasn’t entirely true, there is one fatal flaw with the FiiO M15, one you can only find once you hold it : the volume knob.

Here comes the FiiO M15

The poor guy has been given a glossy-plastic top covered volume knob which feels absolutely out of place when you handle it. Front panel? Gorilla glass. Back panel? Carbon Fiber covered with PET. The case ? Neat, CNC’ed, polished aluminum with a matte black finish. Volume Knob ? Big glossy plastic one. And that’s a shame because otherwise, the little guy is great to turn and handle.

Like every TOTL DAP, the FiiO M15 is bold and big. 13,4cm tall, 7,5cm wide and 1,8cm thick, so 0.3cm more than the M11 and 0.15 more than the M11 Pro. Compared to modern smartphones, size is not a real issue, even though it won’t fit in every pocket.

Rest assured, it looks and feels like a true high-end player, one that cost a bazillion bucks. Sure compared to the Luxury&Precision LP6 it may look too subtle, but that’s a good trait in my opinion.

Layout

The layout of the FiiO M15 slightly differs from the one found on the M11 and M11 Pro.

First and foremost, all the player’s controls have been moved to the left, leaving the right side completely blank, and the volume wheel has been replaced by a knob, now found at the top of the player

So, now you have, on the left side :

• a switch to lock or unlock the screen
• the classic power on/off button
• the usual play/pause, forward/skip, reverse/backward
• and a new blank button announced as a mighty “do-it-all” button

Double Hi-Res certification

On top of the player, we can find :

• the volume knob, discretely lighted by a blue LED
• 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 Pentacon balanced headphone output, which is slowly becoming the new norm

If the 2.5mm output looked was the ugly duckling on the previous models, the M15 displays all the port in the same row now. Even more, all of them are fitted with a golden ring, even if the 4.4mm alone is really made of gold…

Finally, at the bottom of the FiiO M15, you get :

• the USB-C port, to charge/connect your player and use it as a DAC or a source with the right device
• a single micro-SD port, even if you can clearly see the outline for a second port on the bottom left side. FiiO tried to hide it with a “Dual AK4499” label, but you can’t fool us!

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

The triforce of headphone plugs

Screen

Same as before: the display is the one found on the M11 and M11 Pro.

A 5.15 inches IPS screen, boasting 16,7 million colors, a “retina” 312PPI definition thanks to the 1440×720 resolution and a 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 M15. Viewing angle is large, the refresh rate is fast and you can even watch videos or movies, on a DAP ! Some would argue that the M15 could offer more, since the price is higher, but honestly, a QHD display on a DAP won’t make a big difference in my opinion.

All in all, you really have to be a nit-picker not to enjoy this screen.

Bundle

Inside the box

The higher the price, the dire the bundle.

If the M11 pro ditched the silicon case, compared to the M11, now the M15 only offers… a USB-C cable. So, in the box you have :

• the FiiO M15
• a micro-SD slot tool
• an USB-C cable
• a screen protector
• a quick-start manual

and… that’s it.

Sure, the black wooden box is a sight to behold, and that alone will make a nice addition to my collection. But, where is the damn case ! Even a simple silicon one would be enough…

Let’s see how it works now.

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