FiiO M3 Pro Review

UI & Usage

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Overall navigation

The FiiO M3 Pro is pretty straightforward with its basic UI.

There is no streaming option, no WiFi, and no third-app support. However, you have three in-built apps that might be of use, for the most curious of you.

Those apps?

• Calculator, to… calculate.
• Recording, to record your meetings, courses or a quick interview
• E-Book, to read your e-books on the tiny screen

As it seems, the M3 Pro is aiming at scholars or small-business owners, as well as savvy audiophiles.

Everything is fast and the overall experience is frustration-free. You click, it works. Just swipe from right to left to go backward, and this time FiiO added a “home” button, located on the upper left of the screen.

• Category, to browse through your music with tag sorting
• Now Playing, pretty explicit if you ask
• Browse Files, useful for those who prefer their own file management
• Recording, to use the M3 Pro as a voice recorder
• Settings, again pretty explicit. All your playback settings are listed there
• E-Book, just put your e-books in the SD-Card and you’ll be able to read them on the DAP
• Calculator, a neat app for… calcul
• Gallery, if you want to use the M3 Pro as a photo viewer, that’s possible

I like the overall presentation and FiiO’s new objects look much better than the previous one, in my opinion.

USB-C and SD Card

The FiiO M3 Pro uses a USB Type-C port. It’s the best option available yet, with a reversible design, fast data transfer, and dual-way transfers.

The USB port works as an entry and a gateway: you can either plug the M3 Pro to your computer and use it as a DAC, or connect a DAC and use the M3 Pro as a source. A cool option we are seeing more and more on DAP, and one I use much more than I expected with my actual setup.

The USB-C port supports card up to 2TB. Unfortunately, I only have 400Gb cards at the moment, but since all other FiiO’s Player gulped my cards with ease, I see no reason why the FiiO M3 Pro would not.

My previous warning, concerning the connection to a computer, doesn’t apply here. As a non-Android player, with no Samsung chip inside, it worked instantly on my computer as a DAC (if you’ve already installed the FiiO USB DAC driver)

Battery life and charging

FiiO advertises 15h of continuous listening, a pretty good number if you ask!

There is no fast charge, no QC2.0, MTK PE or USB PD, just plain USB 10W supports (5V 2.0Ah). Thankfully, with a small capacity ( 1000mAh ) the FiiO M3 Pro is fast to charge and you can leave it in a car, plugged to a USB port (for example).

Deep sleep is supposed to last 35 days (!), but I couldn’t confront those numbers yet. All I can say is that the M3 Pro outlasted me, for now.

Bluetooth

Strangely, the FiiO M3 Pro doesn’t carry a USB chipset. That may be one the option FiiO had to remove to keep the price low, but for those who need a Bluetooth inlet, this might be a big drawback.

Everyday carry

This is, by far, the easiest FiiO player to carry on.

Last time, I said that the FiiO M5 was the easiest player to carry on. That isn’t true anymore, and the new M3 Pro stole the M5 seat.

The thin housing allows you to fit the player in almost any pocket, pouch, or bag. Even if FiiO didn’t supply a silicon cover with the player, I didn’t care much as the glass panels made it easier to slide the M3 in my pocket.

The buttons, if a bit too small, ended up naturally under my fingers, and the clicks felt good each time.

I never felt hindered by the player and when I had to switch back to my regular DAP, I was surprised to realize how ‘transparent’ the M3 was to carry.

Definitely the best FiiO’s player in this aspect.

The article continues on Page Four, after the click here.