Fiio M23 early impressions | Comparisons to the Sony NW-WM1AM2, Hiby R6 Pro 2 

For any UK buyers interested in purchasing the Fiio M23. I got the letters wrong in the video: I used this retailer: www.otic-audio.co.uk/

thanks for your honest comparison between the three DAPs. I ended up getting the LG V60 and only using it for streaming/offline Qubos and I am happy with it. Long Battery Life, microSD, big screen, 4 DACs. and best of all 3.5mm jack!. It is really a rabbit hole getting to this hobby. I wish you prosper more in the future and stay honest.👍

FIIO m23 Puissance Qualité de finition Connectique très intéressantes et très complète ✌️

Nice, I had been curious about the impressions on the m23. Are the Sony deviced the first featured DAP on your channel in which you found noise floor? Still new to all this but since my m300 had the back fell off and the battery arrive in terrible state, currently thinking of the zx707 or the new ibasso dx180. But since you never seem to be able to tell too much of an audible difference no matter the price point, I should go for whatever is cheaper which would be the ibasso, and still fairly portable at its size and weight.

Great review ..I wish you would review the Shangling M6 ultra also throw an LG V50 or G8x in the mix for sound comparison

Can you put up exact name of that ofic site you said you got the discount from, I put a search for it but can't find it.

Nice review Luke. It would be great if you can try the Hiby r4 as well. Wondering how that one compares to these expensive daps

Nice comparison. Would be interesting to compare M23 to LG V60. Just to share my experience. For the last 7 years I kept my Note 8 as a main music player which is similar to Note 9. But recently I tried the old LG V30 which is not much different from LG V60 (ES9218P QuadDAC instead of ES9219 QuadDAC) and the difference between Note 8 and LG V30 is just staggering - especially in the low base region. I have a feeling that Note 8 cannot reproduce deeper sound than ~50Hz, but V30 goes down to 30Hz or even 20Hz. One track where this is very noticeable is Unfinished Sympathy from Massive Attack - that base in the background is barely audible on Note 8 (it sounds like tiny blips), while on V30 the base feels like a breeze going through my whole head (no, its not because my head is empty - LOL) . Just amazing. OK, my earphones are Ikko OH10 which are quite bassy, but not too much different tonally from ThieAudio Hype 4 - except in the midds where OH10 is lacking a bit. Would be interesting to see if such audible differences or similarities exist between all these players - Note 9, M23, Hiby, V60 or Sony... Cheers

Did you keep the LG? I remember that you said you will compare it with M23.

What app are you using on the DAP's?

Recently bought the Sony NW-A300. I kinda regret it. The sound is okay. But it's super buggy and laggy. It takes away from the experience when are songs constantly skipping.

Damn that's a bummer with the broken volume level button. If the case for the M23 is made from the same material as the ones for the M10, The case will be changing colour in no time (extreme yellowing just from the UV of sunlight). Just after a few months I had to buy a different one from ebay that was tinted grey/dark. The plastics are really bad. If I get a M23 I'll buy a leatherette case or something. You're right, every player should have this wall-power feature, to preserve the battery when listening a lot at home.

I was going to buy the M23 but having watched your video I think I will buy the Sennheiser IE600 earphones instead as you say in this video (and others) DAPs sound basically the same. I currently have an aging Astell & Kern Jr DAP and a Ifi Hip-Dac for my laptop.

My experience of budget to mid price DAP's is the sound performance is very similar. You are paying extra for added features, build quality, more RAM and better screens etc

oh that sucks.. it seems like you waited a good bit to receive it.. and this issue.. so sorry... I hope it gets replaced. I just picked up the Ibasso DX180 still getting use to it... its growing on me in a big way.. but the M23 was my first choice but the price of the ibasso was too good to pass up.. I hope Fiio takes care of you and does the right thing.

Plugging in and not degrading a battery… I would prefer plugging in and using a battery at the same time, like you do with a laptop. Why? Battery doesn’t introduce noice the switching power supply does.

I prefer Sony

Come on man , before you do a review do some homework , you should know the prices of what you are reviewing .