The thing about PLANNED Obsolescence is that you don't need to do it via firmware UPGRADES -- this is how you get caught. You bake that into firmware since rev 1.0: decrease maximum screen brightness by 0.001% for each day since Jan 1, 2018. Now _every_ device of that model is identically a little dimmer as time passes on. Do the same thing with DSP coefficient precision, noise injection, artificial crosstalk, etc and ALL the devices just sound a tiny bit crappier, say 2% after 3 years. As a company you already know when the next product is scheduled to come out... Would any company do this? Perish the thought.
When I had the FiiO X7ii, I emailed FiiO about the gapless not working on the device. I listen to tons of classical and jazz. It's super annoying to hear all the tiny gaps in the middle of the music. They asked me to try the feature with other music apps (e.g. Hiby, foobar), so I did. It turned out the gapless doesn't work on FiiO native music app on the X7ii, but works on other music apps. They have also confirmed the issue with their software team. However, they said they cannot promise the issue will ever be fixed by their future firmware updates. I assume they will never bother to fix it because there are other apps that can use the gapless feature on the X7ii. I like the DAP and the interface of the native app. But since I can't use gapless on it, I sold my X7ii.
Do You have the Oriolus BA300S still, Are You using it? What's your long term about it. Have an opportunity to get a used one, wonder about Your opinion ?
Intriguing combo. I’m at End game, I think, with the Sony WM1A. But I picked up a Little Bear five amp which is similar to the Oriolus but is lacking the 4.4mm port. I haven’t connected them yet. One thought on planned obsolescence: yes some companies have been caught slowing down their devices and hardware companies make money by selling hardware. So my philosophy is always to verify what new firmware does before installing it. One point “for” firmware updates. The Sony WM1A and 1Z recently got an update to 3.1 firmware which added some DSP controls and Bluetooth receiver mode. Which is awesome! And that’s three years after it was released. Not all firmware developers are bad
What are you thinking about the Little bear five experience? I want to buy one but in my country currency it's something expensive to not get a good use/experience with.
And sony not using the android. Sure we got less feature as no streaming and other stuff from Android but we got more stable firmware without any decrease in performance
Hi, nice reviews, i enjoy your channel. One question, I recently sold my FiiO x5iii, and I have the sennheiser IE800 earphones, between the M11 and the Sony WM1A, witch one is better ?, ps I am engineer, so I will attempt to convert the IE800 to balanced myself....
Hi, in your previous video, you had praised the Sony ZX300 (which now also has Vinyl processor dsp), would you still recommend that vs Fiio M11 (without Oriolus for both devices)?
Hey Badboy, would you say you always rock the M11 with the Oriolus or is it sometimes too bassy and you listen to the M11 solo. That might be the wrong term cause I know the tubes add warmth but not like what a bass boost on a normal amp would. I like deep bass but I also like the detail of good mids and treble.
Hi, in your previous video, you had prided the Sony ZX300 (which now also has Vinyl processor dsp), would you still recommend that vs Fiio M11 (without Orioles for both devices)? Thanks
Very good points regarding firmware. I work in the cellular industry and the average user does not understand this concept. Especially regarding Android system because of all of the versions and ui skins overly. The device runs Android 7, a guy told me he would not get the dap because of the older Android kernal? I asked the same question" what else are you going to do with it but play music?" Lol
I read an article recently that basically Google stopped doing significant changes to the Android OS after version 5, most of them are just cosmetic and security updates, cause the UI for example, has been similar for the past few iterations.
@@ricksiow2953 The companies like Samsung have enough ability/access to decrease certain perceived performance parameters. Are DAP makers in that game yet? It would increase profits. I'd guess they are to some extent as they get better at interfacing with the android system and modifying it.
@@BadGuyGoodAudioReviews if that's the case, Samsung would be no better than apple when the latter tried to decrease iPhone performance without prior informing the users
@@ricksiow2953 yeah it goes for a lot of companies i would say lg and htc are better when it comes to that because they dont send out updates unless it is tested. Samsung 1ui has come out on recent devices which is more stock to android so hopefully they are getting better.
I have an iPhone 5 I bought new when it came out and used it off and on for various things without any updates and it works just fine. I find it alarming that many young people feel that pushing back against corporate mischief is "cringe". It bugs them if people have a low opinion of their favorite giant corporation.
Yo Chris,what is a better audio device regarding eq and sound playback etc.specifically audio,not including the screen spotify and all the bells and whistles the m11 has over the lotto paw5000 mk2,so what is the better bang for your buck m11 or lotto paw5000 mk2?
EQ would be the Lotoo. Sound is a bit warm but detailed. The M11 wins on every front beside EQ. Sound is to taste. Neutral/ish M11. like a tad of warmth in the replay the Lotoo
So I'm in a bit of a predicament. I would like to upgrade from my Onkyo dp-x1a to something with a better screen and a much better battery (dp-x1a is 1630 mAh). I was very interested in the M11 but I've learned that it doesn't support USB audio player pro, which I use standardly to stream tidal and qobuz. So I'm now trying to determine where I can go from here. The dx220 would work but I'd rather not shell out such an exorbitant amount of money for just a single feature. Do you have any other suggestions in the sub $900 range? Oh and great videos by the way, your opinion is always quite spot-on.
Im getting my M11 today.Im sure first thing that will pop up is firmware update.So I should ignore it since all I want it for is to play my music stored on a card?
No. Update to the point that you are satisfied and/or the device has been optimized and all promised abilities have been provided. I am just saying do not just update F.W. for the heck of it ;)
Updates are generally fine as long as they only fix things. The problem begins when the company starts ADDING IN FEATURES. Still, sound advice. I think you’re thinking about planned obsolescence. It’s when companies expect a product to function below 100% in set number of yeas.
Does it sound better than the R6 Pro? I would prefer the android based DAP with Google play over having to download the app through the backdoor. The R6 Pro is a bit more money though...
Still waiting for mine and the first thing I would have done was update, the latest firmware adds ldac receive I think. But now? Thank for this valuable advice dude
Re: Firmware Updates - This is exactly why I almost never update the firmware on my phone. I think I've only applied two of the new firmware updates in the past three years simply because they were adding something I actually wanted. Other than that, it's not worth it because you just don't know. As an aside, that setup gave me a hard-on. Glad that amp isn't overly expensive like some others I've seen.
There is planned obsolescence and there’s the other side of the coin... It’s easy to across the board ascribe malfeasance when it is so often incompetence (and money savings). Code was rushed out the door to make a launch date, and folks don’t know how to optimize code or address tech debt. Do you spend money on development cycles to optimize code for something you sold last year, or do you focus on this year’s shiny new bauble? New shit sells, the Street wants to see money being made hand over fist, etc. It’s a multi-faceted issue.
My recent FiiO M9 update caused the audio to focus on the right. I've done tones of reboot and finally decided to reset everything. And shit, it worked. Them updates mess with the device.
It's not just Android, Apple just got nailed with this with older iPhones. They ended up offering cheap battery upgrades as part of their mea culpa. Your best bet is to find a device that can be rooted and flashed to run a pure open source Android like LineageOS. This way you can see the source code that went into building your operating system. No proprietary bullshit there.
I just brought the m11. How do i put my cd on it. And not just that wen I'm listening to amazon music hd wen u put it in the background the music cuts out every time
I don’t think FIIO (or other DAP manufacturers) update the same way other android based devices do. My FIIO M9 is sitting on an older version of android and I don’t think they will ever update to a new version of android. The only reason I would update my M9 through FIIO firmware update portal is if they have an increase in external storage capabilities. Besides that if it’s not broke don’t fix it!
I was speaking in general terms. Not really about FiiO. Just pay attention to updates for instruction sets for performance parameters for devices that might already be absolutely perfectly fine for the end user as is. Just food for thought.
On DAP it's usually more tricky as it's not a full android like on M9 but I've just search for the X7 and it was possible to upgrade/downgrade so it'll probably be for M11 too
My x7 ii is after 18 months finally kinda ok, not great but ok, the sound of course is top notch but the software is bad, it barely can run their own fiio music app, BARELY - meaning half the time the app crashes which is why i am using power amp on it. Meanwhile Porta-Fi stated how great the software on my x7 ii is lol, that is when i lost all hope for that ugly shill
@@StiffUpperLipsnusreviews (my 2 cents, i got electronics background) in theory, that would be remotely not the same result. it is a solid state w/ solid state sound @ best. The amp9, w/c will still to be released is a good response, for another day...
@@yingkaik get them for the price they're an absolute steal, they kick the ibasso out the water in every category, the filters are also actually working i didn't expect that the built quality the accessories the cable everything is flagship worthy and can easily be confused with something a 1500 dollar iem, watch currawongs video for the fh7 he nails it imo :)
@@hkhudadad i do love the build quality over the ibassos. I tried pairing it with the m11 and its a dream. Its about 750 sgd over here though so trying to save up for it
@@yingkaik yeah the built is very good, perfectly crafted i paid 480 $ imported to germany and i am pairing it with my good ol Fiio X7 mk2, sweet combo
the Oreo update was the headless horsemen coming for my 2 phones demise, damn that planned obsolescence, just 2 years life span for a phone these days!
How about ZX300-Oriolus combo? Would it match that m11-oriolus stack?
I think you're right on about the updates (also thank you for fixing the corner of the M11 case 😁)
Yeah I was annoyed by how long it took me to see that...
This device this amplifier what is the battery life on it how long does it last?
Also does it get very hot?
The thing about PLANNED Obsolescence is that you don't need to do it via firmware UPGRADES -- this is how you get caught. You bake that into firmware since rev 1.0: decrease maximum screen brightness by 0.001% for each day since Jan 1, 2018. Now _every_ device of that model is identically a little dimmer as time passes on. Do the same thing with DSP coefficient precision, noise injection, artificial crosstalk, etc and ALL the devices just sound a tiny bit crappier, say 2% after 3 years. As a company you already know when the next product is scheduled to come out... Would any company do this? Perish the thought.
You just dropped a GEM. Great comment. Truth is scary
Keep the videos coming. I truly respect your honesty. Don't change...
Thanks!
When I had the FiiO X7ii, I emailed FiiO about the gapless not working on the device. I listen to tons of classical and jazz. It's super annoying to hear all the tiny gaps in the middle of the music. They asked me to try the feature with other music apps (e.g. Hiby, foobar), so I did. It turned out the gapless doesn't work on FiiO native music app on the X7ii, but works on other music apps. They have also confirmed the issue with their software team. However, they said they cannot promise the issue will ever be fixed by their future firmware updates. I assume they will never bother to fix it because there are other apps that can use the gapless feature on the X7ii. I like the DAP and the interface of the native app. But since I can't use gapless on it, I sold my X7ii.
Do You have the Oriolus BA300S still, Are You using it? What's your long term about it. Have an opportunity to get a used one, wonder about Your opinion ?
Could it also be used together with something like the RME ADI-2 or what would you recommed to make the ADI2 sound more like a tube amp ?
Intriguing combo.
I’m at End game, I think, with the Sony WM1A. But I picked up a Little Bear five amp which is similar to the Oriolus but is lacking the 4.4mm port. I haven’t connected them yet.
One thought on planned obsolescence: yes some companies have been caught slowing down their devices and hardware companies make money by selling hardware. So my philosophy is always to verify what new firmware does before installing it.
One point “for” firmware updates. The Sony WM1A and 1Z recently got an update to 3.1 firmware which added some DSP controls and Bluetooth receiver mode. Which is awesome! And that’s three years after it was released.
Not all firmware developers are bad
What are you thinking about the Little bear five experience? I want to buy one but in my country currency it's something expensive to not get a good use/experience with.
Sony is exceptional.
And sony not using the android. Sure we got less feature as no streaming and other stuff from Android but we got more stable firmware without any decrease in performance
Nice setup.
Would love to have your opinon about the pretty minimalistic NextDrive Spectra X usb-c dac !
Hi, nice reviews, i enjoy your channel. One question, I recently sold my FiiO x5iii, and I have the sennheiser IE800 earphones, between the M11 and the Sony WM1A, witch one is better ?, ps I am engineer, so I will attempt to convert the IE800 to balanced myself....
Enlightenment of wisdom. Wise Advise from user‘s angle. My hat‘s off to you
oh shit damn I need that amp for zx300 too, where is to buy that oriolus?
It's called Planned Obsolescence. And yes its constantly done...
It's the stuff that makes us buy stuff we already bought..and that is the goal
Hi, in your previous video, you had praised the Sony ZX300 (which now also has Vinyl processor dsp), would you still recommend that vs Fiio M11 (without Oriolus for both devices)?
Hey Badboy, would you say you always rock the M11 with the Oriolus or is it sometimes too bassy and you listen to the M11 solo. That might be the wrong term cause I know the tubes add warmth but not like what a bass boost on a normal amp would. I like deep bass but I also like the detail of good mids and treble.
No it seems to add a warmth and emphasize mids in a rich way not really a pseudo bass boost
May have pick up one when they come back in stock. That Japanese version you have is different from the one they have at Music Teck.
Hi, in your previous video, you had prided the Sony ZX300 (which now also has Vinyl processor dsp), would you still recommend that vs Fiio M11 (without Orioles for both devices)?
Thanks
Very good points regarding firmware. I work in the cellular industry and the average user does not understand this concept. Especially regarding Android system because of all of the versions and ui skins overly. The device runs Android 7, a guy told me he would not get the dap because of the older Android kernal? I asked the same question" what else are you going to do with it but play music?" Lol
My M11 sounds great.It does it's job 4 my listening lifestyle
I read an article recently that basically Google stopped doing significant changes to the Android OS after version 5, most of them are just cosmetic and security updates, cause the UI for example, has been similar for the past few iterations.
@@ricksiow2953 The companies like Samsung have enough ability/access to decrease certain perceived performance parameters. Are DAP makers in that game yet? It would increase profits. I'd guess they are to some extent as they get better at interfacing with the android system and modifying it.
@@BadGuyGoodAudioReviews if that's the case, Samsung would be no better than apple when the latter tried to decrease iPhone performance without prior informing the users
@@ricksiow2953 yeah it goes for a lot of companies i would say lg and htc are better when it comes to that because they dont send out updates unless it is tested. Samsung 1ui has come out on recent devices which is more stock to android so hopefully they are getting better.
Qdc anole vx. Finally you're getting some of this company's amazing product. Will wait for your review.😊
It's pretty epic
I have an iPhone 5 I bought new when it came out and used it off and on for various things without any updates and it works just fine. I find it alarming that many young people feel that pushing back against corporate mischief is "cringe". It bugs them if people have a low opinion of their favorite giant corporation.
Yo Chris,what is a better audio device regarding eq and sound playback etc.specifically audio,not including the screen spotify and all the bells and whistles the m11 has over the lotto paw5000 mk2,so what is the better bang for your buck m11 or lotto paw5000 mk2?
EQ would be the Lotoo. Sound is a bit warm but detailed. The M11 wins on every front beside EQ. Sound is to taste. Neutral/ish M11. like a tad of warmth in the replay the Lotoo
Hey Bad Guy. Do you happen to know how many ohms the M11 supports and Vrms?
So I'm in a bit of a predicament. I would like to upgrade from my Onkyo dp-x1a to something with a better screen and a much better battery (dp-x1a is 1630 mAh). I was very interested in the M11 but I've learned that it doesn't support USB audio player pro, which I use standardly to stream tidal and qobuz. So I'm now trying to determine where I can go from here. The dx220 would work but I'd rather not shell out such an exorbitant amount of money for just a single feature. Do you have any other suggestions in the sub $900 range? Oh and great videos by the way, your opinion is always quite spot-on.
UAPP support has long been added since then.
Making the M11 the only dual MicroSD cards DAP that is affordable on the market.
what cables are you using?
Han audio
Im getting my M11 today.Im sure first thing that will pop up is firmware update.So I should ignore it since all I want it for is to play my music stored on a card?
No. Update to the point that you are satisfied and/or the device has been optimized and all promised abilities have been provided. I am just saying do not just update F.W. for the heck of it ;)
Updates are generally fine as long as they only fix things.
The problem begins when the company starts ADDING IN FEATURES.
Still, sound advice.
I think you’re thinking about planned obsolescence. It’s when companies expect a product to function below 100% in set number of yeas.
After the initial bug cleaning updates I am personally out of the random updates. I am actually set with M11
Does it sound better than the R6 Pro? I would prefer the android based DAP with Google play over having to download the app through the backdoor. The R6 Pro is a bit more money though...
I don't trust Hiby based on past interaction. I have a bias. I'd take the M11 10 out of 10 times but....the bias is real and admitted
buuuuuuut can you tell the difference when using HEADPHONES? pretty sure you can?
Planned obsolescence is real. Agree with you 100%.
Great video for food for thought . Will be reviewing Cayin N6ii Master Quality Digital Audio Player sometime soon?
Yes in a week I will have that :)
Still waiting for mine and the first thing I would have done was update, the latest firmware adds ldac receive I think. But now? Thank for this valuable advice dude
I think some basic functions are still not completed so you might wanna do the initial updates.
@@BadGuyGoodAudioReviews ok mate, thanks for the advice
@@geoffk6375
1.05 is the one that adds the ldac reciever. Which I believe is the latest one.
@@eatmoreporkporky4342 Yeah, folks gotta get the promised abilities for a device. I was talking more long term. I explain shit poorly. :)
Thanks guys
Re: Firmware Updates - This is exactly why I almost never update the firmware on my phone. I think I've only applied two of the new firmware updates in the past three years simply because they were adding something I actually wanted. Other than that, it's not worth it because you just don't know.
As an aside, that setup gave me a hard-on. Glad that amp isn't overly expensive like some others I've seen.
Yeah, I did not want to freak folks out but they should be aware of what has been going on for a while and how it could effect them.
I've ordered a fiio m11 this morning. May get the amp too. Would it go well with Kanas pro
I think so. You need a 4.4 cable for them
@@BadGuyGoodAudioReviews where do you get the 4.4 cable that connects the M11 to the amp from?
I dont get it. Why do u use an AMP when you have a gread DAP like the fiio m11? It nor good enough?
There is planned obsolescence and there’s the other side of the coin... It’s easy to across the board ascribe malfeasance when it is so often incompetence (and money savings). Code was rushed out the door to make a launch date, and folks don’t know how to optimize code or address tech debt. Do you spend money on development cycles to optimize code for something you sold last year, or do you focus on this year’s shiny new bauble? New shit sells, the Street wants to see money being made hand over fist, etc. It’s a multi-faceted issue.
My recent FiiO M9 update caused the audio to focus on the right. I've done tones of reboot and finally decided to reset everything. And shit, it worked. Them updates mess with the device.
It's not just Android, Apple just got nailed with this with older iPhones. They ended up offering cheap battery upgrades as part of their mea culpa. Your best bet is to find a device that can be rooted and flashed to run a pure open source Android like LineageOS. This way you can see the source code that went into building your operating system. No proprietary bullshit there.
I just brought the m11. How do i put my cd on it. And not just that wen I'm listening to amazon music hd wen u put it in the background the music cuts out every time
I don’t think FIIO (or other DAP manufacturers) update the same way other android based devices do. My FIIO M9 is sitting on an older version of android and I don’t think they will ever update to a new version of android. The only reason I would update my M9 through FIIO firmware update portal is if they have an increase in external storage capabilities. Besides that if it’s not broke don’t fix it!
I was speaking in general terms. Not really about FiiO. Just pay attention to updates for instruction sets for performance parameters for devices that might already be absolutely perfectly fine for the end user as is. Just food for thought.
Well, on android you can just upgrade or downgrade your firmware so you loose nothing to upgrade unlike on IOS
On DAP it's usually more tricky as it's not a full android like on M9 but I've just search for the X7 and it was possible to upgrade/downgrade so it'll probably be for M11 too
It might be possible for M9 or other "limited android" version but there are no community support for devices like that yet
You still should install security updates though...
My x7 ii is after 18 months finally kinda ok, not great but ok, the sound of course is top notch but the software is bad, it barely can run their own fiio music app, BARELY - meaning half the time the app crashes which is why i am using power amp on it. Meanwhile Porta-Fi stated how great the software on my x7 ii is lol, that is when i lost all hope for that ugly shill
He's a piece of shit. He is a mouthpiece for companies.
Never change a running System! ^^
You better try that oriolus with wm1z
On the ball.
Orlious . Usd.1200.00 amazon. Japan import.
Thanks for the great review & Tip! But im not gonna do that on the M11, I got somethin' better in mind...
Share the secret someday ;)
@@BadGuyGoodAudioReviews i'll pm u. on ur fb page
pmed'
Would changing the amp on the DX220 to AMP8 produce similar results? I would like to avoid stacking.
@@StiffUpperLipsnusreviews (my 2 cents, i got electronics background) in theory, that would be remotely not the same result. it is a solid state w/ solid state sound @ best. The amp9, w/c will still to be released is a good response, for another day...
My fh7 arrived today if anyone wants to know something feel free to ask me
What are your thoughts with it? Im on the fence with it and the Ibasso IT04
@@yingkaik get them for the price they're an absolute steal, they kick the ibasso out the water in every category, the filters are also actually working i didn't expect that the built quality the accessories the cable everything is flagship worthy and can easily be confused with something a 1500 dollar iem, watch currawongs video for the fh7 he nails it imo :)
@@hkhudadad i do love the build quality over the ibassos. I tried pairing it with the m11 and its a dream. Its about 750 sgd over here though so trying to save up for it
@@yingkaik yeah the built is very good, perfectly crafted i paid 480 $ imported to germany and i am pairing it with my good ol Fiio X7 mk2, sweet combo
@@hkhudadad still deciding to go for the m11s of the more analog units like dethon rays or questyle
I feel ya!
eeeey thats the brick ipod!
With tubes...NOS!!!! ;)
FW Updates, NO! my great V10 & hTC 10 were both ruined (in ur own words F#cked) by the Oreo ios! was commonly called bootloop...
My Note 4 got a battery drain issue after it's final update.
the Oreo update was the headless horsemen coming for my 2 phones demise, damn that planned obsolescence, just 2 years life span for a phone these days!
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