Fiio M6 Hi-Res Portable Music Player Now Available – Best Budget Entry-Level DAP?

Fiio‘s latest “ultra-portable” Hi-Resolution lossless music player – the Fiio M6 is now available. It features Samsung’s Exynos 7270 SoC paired with an ES9018Q2C DAC chip for great audio performance and snappy user interface. The Fiio M6 is also built with several wireless capabilities like Bluetooth 4.2 with dual-mode and support for HWA, aptX, aptX HD, and SBC; as well as WiFi streaming with LDAC hi-res wireless support. And there’s more, which I’ll discuss in a moment. What’s more interesting is that the Fiio M6 only retails for $149.99 USD and it’s now available in the US. Check out more of its features and specs below.

Fiio M6 Hi-Res Lossless Music Player now available on Amazon.com

Fiio M6 Hi-Res Music Player – A Budget Friendly DAP

A quick recap, the Fiio M6 features an ES9018Q2C DAC chip and the unit itself is powered by a dual core Samsung Exynos 7270 processor. It’s the same SoC that is powering the Fiio M7 and Fiio M9. Not to mention, the ES9018Q2C DAC is also used on the Fiio M7 as well. The M6 runs on a modified Android 7.0 operating system and does feature a lot of wireless options.

I think Fiio is leaning towards in marketing the M6 as a “wireless audio player”. It does have both WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 and the list of supported features isn’t something that you usually see on an entry level or budget DAP. This basically means that this player will be a good pair for Bluetooth speakers as well. For starters, the Bluetooth connection supports aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, HWA and SBC. The M6 will also function as a Bluetooth transmitter of all formats including LDAC, aptX, aptX HD, and SBC for your computer. It also supports WiFi music streaming with support for Tidal, Spotify, Qobuz, Roon, Deezer, and more.

The M6 has other wireless features such as AirPlay functionality for iOS users and Fiio Link – a feature were you can pair and control the M6 with your smartphone. Fiio Link is probably somewhat similar to the HiBy Link feature. If you’re not really into wireless, don’t worry because the Fiio M6 can also be used as a USB DAC via the USB Type C port (USB 2.0). This portable player doesn’t have any balanced output though, but expect the good old 3.5mm single ended / unbalanced output to be there (on top of the M6).

The Fiio M6 is a small portable player. It’s not the smallest since there are other smaller portable DAPs out there; like the Shanling M0 and Hidizs AP80. These two are really small. The M6’s body is made from a CNC aluminum alloy paired with a 2.5D glass. It has a 3.2-inch IPS touch screen display with a resolution of 400×800.

In terms of storage, there is a 2GB of internal storage but that would be too small to store lossless audio files. Luckily there is a single microSD card slot that can (theoretically) support up to 2TB of microSD card. As of today, there are no 2TB microSD cards yet, and the highest microSD card capacity you can get today is a 512GB microSDXC from Samsung, Kingston and Sandisk’s 400GB microSDXC. If you happen to see a 1TB or 2TB microSDXC card this early 2019, it’s more likely to be fake.

The Fiio M6 is powered by a 1200mAh battery and according to Fiio it is capable of 13 hours of playback with 26 days deep standby time. I’m not sure if it will really reach 13 hours, but depending on your usage, actual playback time may be lesser.

Sound quality wise, don’t expect that it will sound like a $500 DAP, it is an entry-level DAP. But for its price, the M6 does sound good. There are also reports claiming that the Fiio M6 sounds better or on par with the M7. So why get the M7 then? Also, I wouldn’t be pairing the M6 with full sized cans, especially cans with high impedance. You’ll definitely need an external amplifier or a separate DAC with AMP for this; like the Fiio Q5, iFi xDSD / xCAN or Chord Mojo.

Fiio M6 Price and Availability

The Fiio M6 Hi-Res Lossless music player is now available in the US. Currently it comes with a retail price of $149.99 USD. You can check the latest pricing and availability via the link below.

Fiio M6 Portable Music Player available on Amazon.com here

Fiio M6 Specifications

CPU1 GHz Samsung Exynos 7270 Dual-Core
RAM768 MB
Operating SystemFiio OS (Android Modified)
DACES9018Q2C 24-Bit
AmplifierES9018Q2C
Display3.2" LCD (480 x 800 Resolution)
Internal Storage2 GB
Expandable StoragemicroSD card (up to 2TB)
Wired Connections3.5mm headphone out
USB 2.0 (USB Type-C)
Wireless ConnectionWiFi 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth CodecsaptX, aptX HD, LDAC, HWA, SBC
Formats SupportedDSD64, DSD128, APE, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, AIF, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3
External DAC FunctionalityYes, DSD up to 192 kHz / 24-Bit
Audio ResolutionDSD128: 5.6448 MHz / 1-Bit
PCM: 192 kHz / 24-Bit
Volume ControlAnalog (120 Steps)
Headphone Out Specs
Frequency Response10 Hz - 85 kHz (-3 dB)
Impedance< 2Ω (32Ω load)
THD + N< 0.002% (1kHz/32Ω)
Audio Power Output≥110mW (16Ω / THD+N < 1%)
≥70mW (32Ω /THD+N < 1%)
≥7mW (300Ω / THD+N < 1%)
Maximum Output Voltage4.245 Vp-p
Signal to Noise Ratio≥ 118dB (A-weighted)
Noise Floor< 3uV
Pre-loaded music appsFiio Music, Tidal, NetEAse Clouse Music, MOOV, KKBOX
Whitelisted appsSpotify, Qobuz, Roon, Deezer, JOOX, ES file manager, Bandcamp, Sony headphones
BatteryRechargeable Lithium-Polymer Battery 1600 mAh
Charging Time~2.5 Hours via DC 5V/2A
Dimensions (W x H x D)53.3mm x 92.5mm x 11.5mm
Weight83 g
AccessoriesClear case, USB data cable, screen protector

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