FiiO M3 Pro hands-on: The little giant that punches above its class

[Redaktion]

Although smartphones have replaced digital audio and media players for most people nowadays, there is still a market for such specialized devices. FiiO is one of the relevant brands in the field and the M3 Pro is a sub-US$100 digital audio player that has a few tricks up its sleeve, as we are going to see in this hands-on review.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/FiiO-M3-Pro-hands-on-The-little-giant-that-punches-above-its-class.497356.0.html

[Anonyneko]

Rocking a FiiO E10K Olympus 2 for years which was similarly priced and punched well above its weight, wonder how this one compares to it in its USB DAC mode.

[S.Yu]

>e-book reader with support only for plain text files
Oh yeah, so typically Chinese...about a decade ago these were ubiquitous, and because many sites with pirated literature only have txt  :)

[Codrut Nistor]

Rocking a FiiO E10K Olympus 2 for years which was similarly priced and punched well above its weight, wonder how this one compares to it in its USB DAC mode.

I had my eyes on the E10K a few years ago, but I ended up buying the X3 II - found a great deal that I couldn't refuse, especially since I had some cash that I had to throw at myself. I never had the chance to hear it in action. For my ears, the M3 Pro in DAC mode sounds only slightly less refined and powerful than the Sound BlasterX G6 when used in Direct Mode. I think the DAC mode is more like a bonus for M3 Pro users instead of a basic feature that you'd get it for.

>e-book reader with support only for plain text files
Oh yeah, so typically Chinese...about a decade ago these were ubiquitous, and because many sites with pirated literature only have txt  :)

Yeah, but given the good quality of the display it would be nice to have a black text on paper-white style background. Or at least black text on gray background, something more friendly to the eye.

[midnight]

is there no custom eq still?

[Codrut Nistor]

Unfortunately no custom EQ on firmware 1.1.0. If I want custom EQ, I go back to my FiiO X3 II or the ancient SanDisk Sansa e250. ;)