FiiO M11S: Digital audio player launches with Android 10 and Snapdragon 660 SoC

[Redaktion]

The FiiO M11S is now available to order. Equipped with a Snapdragon 660 chipset and a 5,300 mAh battery, the FiiO M11S supports high-fidelity Bluetooth and wired audio options, plus Apple AirPlay and DLNA technologies, among other features.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/FiiO-M11S-Digital-audio-player-launches-with-Android-10-and-Snapdragon-660-SoC.681682.0.html

[S.Yu]

I'm very skeptical as to whether the sound quality of these players actually improve. They always brag about some sort of new chip, new architecture, but is that even the bottleneck? Is there a bottleneck narrower than the human ear? I noticed quite a few newcomers release $1000+ players, but are they any better compared to old players at that price point, like maybe a second-handed AK380 or something? Or are the analog circuits sinisterly designed to degrade over time so that old products slowly rot just sitting there and new products always sound better?

[AudioMan]

I'm very skeptical as to whether the sound quality of these players actually improve. They always brag about some sort of new chip, new architecture, but is that even the bottleneck? Is there a bottleneck narrower than the human ear? I noticed quite a few newcomers release $1000+ players, but are they any better compared to old players at that price point, like maybe a second-handed AK380 or something? Or are the analog circuits sinisterly designed to degrade over time so that old products slowly rot just sitting there and new products always sound better?

The M11 released in 2019, the M11 releases now so about a 3+ year gap (Though I think they did release beefed up versions of the M11, but these were at bigger price points to reflect their extra oomph). So for an android device that's pretty fair.
For these devices the update is for updating the CPU and standards.
The better CPU so you can run a more up to date android with more features without lagging up the interface.
Updated standards so you can enjoy the latest Bluetooth acronyms, ports, and lossless audio streams.
Truth be told, these devices feel the age pretty badly as they go on entirely down to the android functions built into them. Where you to take the DAC/Amp out and use it as a purely portable DAC connected to your phone. You would easily get a decade out of it before you really felt a need to jump to an updated unit. On the otherhand though, a standalone audio player is more convenient since it doesn't need to be tethered to a phone to operate.

[S.Yu]

I'm very skeptical as to whether the sound quality of these players actually improve. They always brag about some sort of new chip, new architecture, but is that even the bottleneck? Is there a bottleneck narrower than the human ear? I noticed quite a few newcomers release $1000+ players, but are they any better compared to old players at that price point, like maybe a second-handed AK380 or something? Or are the analog circuits sinisterly designed to degrade over time so that old products slowly rot just sitting there and new products always sound better?

The M11 released in 2019, the M11 releases now so about a 3+ year gap (Though I think they did release beefed up versions of the M11, but these were at bigger price points to reflect their extra oomph). So for an android device that's pretty fair.
For these devices the update is for updating the CPU and standards.
The better CPU so you can run a more up to date android with more features without lagging up the interface.
Updated standards so you can enjoy the latest Bluetooth acronyms, ports, and lossless audio streams.
Truth be told, these devices feel the age pretty badly as they go on entirely down to the android functions built into them. Where you to take the DAC/Amp out and use it as a purely portable DAC connected to your phone. You would easily get a decade out of it before you really felt a need to jump to an updated unit. On the otherhand though, a standalone audio player is more convenient since it doesn't need to be tethered to a phone to operate.

I don't even plan on touching BT with dedicated players. BT can't even properly feed speakers(which are far less accurate than earphones) from an audio stream of an average PC. When I asked "is there a bottleneck narrower than the human ear", that certainly did not factor in wireless. BT quality loss regardless of codec is definitely noticeable with even average to below-average playback and decoding. That may come down to the receiving end of the wireless transmission, but it doesn't really matter because there's no sound solution to it. It's just bad, helplessly, meaning that basically you need to strap another player sized device to the receiving end of the BT connection just so you could drive playback properly, which beats the whole point of BT.

So again, I'm asking, wired connection only, are these new players any better compared to years-old high end?
--------------
On second thought, no. Not even a player-sized receiver could fix BT. If it were the case then car audio through BT should be flawless, instead it's far more flawed than it already is. Car speakers even in 6-digit cars are mostly terribly mushy(looking at you, Bose) through 3.5mm, but even worse through BT. The best compromise may be to connect the phone to a decent discrete DAC then have the DAC connected to the car's aux with as short a cable as possible. The cable also needs to be good, silver or silver plated, of course.

[Codrut Nistor]

I think that LDAC is a HUGE step forward from the other wireless codecs. The difference is very easy to hear, even without being a picky audiophile.

[S.Yu]

I think that LDAC is a HUGE step forward from the other wireless codecs. The difference is very easy to hear, even without being a picky audiophile.

Yes, a huge step forward, but still a huge step away from a modest cable. Default cables that are probably 6N OFC still make a huge improvement compared to LDAC, without the power drain, not to mention the silver ones or OCC, which are still quite affordable in short segments used to connect to car audio...

[Codrut Nistor]

True, true. Still enjoying music on wired IEMs/over ears more than wireless, but LDAC is often a bearable compromise.