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FiiO M27
FiiO is expanding its line-up of advanced portable players with a new flagship model, the M27. The device has been designed as a portable-desktop crossover, combining the freedom of listening on the move with the performance and flexibility of a full-size desktop component. In practice the M27 can work both as a standalone player with a powerful headphone amplifier and as a high-quality digital source in an elaborate stereo system, which according to the manufacturer is intended to set a new benchmark in the high-end portable player segment.
The heart of the M27 is a sophisticated audio path built around a pair of ESS Sabre ES9039SPRO reference digital-to-analogue converters. The use of two DAC chips is intended to deliver very high dynamic range, ultra-low distortion and precise rendering of fine detail across the entire frequency band, both for headphone listening and when the player is used as a source for a stereo system. Amplification is handled by a section offering up to 2 x 5000 mW in balanced mode, a figure more typical of desktop headphone amplifiers than portable devices and one that allows the M27 to drive even the most demanding planar and dynamic headphones to their full potential. The player supports PCM files up to 768 kHz and 32 bit together with native DSD decoding up to DSD512, so it can work with high-resolution music libraries with practically no format limitations.
The FiiO M27 runs on Android 13, which gives access to streaming and multimedia apps and provides an interface that is close to modern smartphones in terms of convenience and responsiveness. Processing is handled by a Qualcomm QCS6490 chipset from the same family as Snapdragon 778G and 770G solutions, supported by 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of built-in storage. The manufacturer has also returned to a design with two microSD card slots, each supporting cards up to 2 TB. This allows the total memory capacity to be expanded to 4 TB, which will be important for users who collect large libraries of lossless high-resolution music files.
In line with its hybrid brief the M27 offers an extensive range of connections. There are three headphone outputs, a 3.5 mm jack in single-ended mode, a 4.4 mm balanced output and a 6.35 mm output that will be particularly useful in desktop and studio applications. The player is also equipped with coaxial digital input and output and an optical output, which makes it easier to integrate with other audio components. The built-in Bluetooth module supports a wide range of codecs including aptX Lossless, which enables lossless audio transmission to compatible headphones or wireless receivers. In everyday use the M27 can therefore serve both as a self-contained listening hub and as an advanced source in a larger audio system. The FiiO M27 is available in two enclosure versions. The aluminium model is priced at €1,499/$1,799/£1,499, while the titanium version costs €2,199/$2,099/£1,899. Info and photos by FiiO.
