Fiio DM13 review: Get ready to fall in love with CDs all over again

Whereas making an attempt to determine one of the best ways to strategy a evaluate of the Fiio DM13 Moveable Stereo CD Participant, I made a decision to not evaluate the Fiio DM13 Moveable Stereo CD Participant. Let me clarify.

I’m going to speak about its options and what I take into consideration them, don’t fear. As an alternative of focusing solely on design, setup, sound high quality, battery life, and many others. (I’ll get to that), I’m attacking this a bit otherwise. Because the existence of this back-from-oblivion transportable CD participant has been so polarizing and head-scratching to many I’ve talked about it to, I believed a extra fascinating strategy can be to evaluate it when it comes to who would possibly prefer it, who received’t, and why or why not.

Possibly you’re outdated like me and and have a great deal of CDs you’d prefer to play once more. Or perhaps you suppose the reimagined $149 participant is cool and like the thought of getting one however haven’t a clue why. Hopefully this may assist.

The specs

However first: studying disc…

Simply so everyone knows what we’re speaking about, Chinese language electronics firm Fiio — which makes wonderful, primarily digital units like DACs and community music streamers — has been on a nostalgia bender of late, profiting from the persevering with uptick in gross sales of bodily music media. Final summer season, it generated a ton of retro hype with its Walkman cassette deck clone, a transportable tape participant referred to as the CP13, which I reviewed final month.

Hoping to repeat its success, Fiio has introduced forth the DM13 transportable disc participant. It isn’t your dad’s CD Walkman circa 1998, however moderately a tool that makes an attempt to reply the query, “Can the transportable CD participant be reimagined to really be helpful once more?”

Sure, the Fiio DM13 performs CDs, however that doesn’t imply it’s a dinosaur. The DM13 reads WAV, WMA, and MP3 recordsdata, in addition to AAC and FLAC recordsdata from compact discs. Fiio has additionally added all types of connectivity choices, outfitting it with not solely two 3.5mm headphone jacks (one a powered output, one a line output) however two balanced 4.4mm outs (PO and LO as effectively) for a noise-free wired reference to a fantastic pair of headphones or different suitable analog outputs. You’ll want the suitable cables, although.

Digitally, you may join the DM13 with a USB-C cable or thumb drive for transferring music to your laptop (extra on this beneath), in addition to a S/PDIF digital optical/coaxial output, which opens an entire bunch of choices for connecting to your hi-fi setup, like built-in amplifiers or an exterior preamp.

The largest differentiator between the CD gamers of outdated and the DM13 is, in fact, Bluetooth. The DM13 truly does it higher than many trendy units (together with the iPhone), with assist for the usual SBC codec, sure, but additionally aptX, aptX Low Latency, and aptX HD, which suggests you’ll have the ability to get a lot better Bluetooth sound high quality out of the participant with a pair of headphones, earbuds, or Bluetooth audio system that assist it. Most individuals received’t discover the distinction between a wired connection and these aptX codecs, however sound nerds shall be happy.

Outdoors of that, the DM13 is a modern (albeit cumbersome), transportable/desktop CD participant with all the same old playback options (random, repeat, gapless, favorites) and an eight-hour battery, all for $149, which takes a little bit of the sting out of the danger.

Now, again to the query at hand: Who the heck would wish to purchase one in all these?

The nostalgia seeker

Many would argue that so far as bodily music media codecs go, the tactile ritual of dropping a needle on a vinyl report and admiring the sleeve artwork is second to none. When you, like me, have been born a bit too late for vinyl’s unique go-around, then your model of milk crates stuffed with data was, as a substitute, tall, skinny Ikea shelf towers filled with CD jewel instances and Case Logic binders for toting them to events.

When you’re studying this, it’s doubtless these CDs are someplace within the deep-dark reaches of your property, and you haven’t any method to play them. However you wish to. Nicely, you’re in for a deal with.

Positive, you might in all probability discover each CD in your assortment on Spotify or any variety of streaming companies, however the place’s the enjoyable in that? I had a blast flipping by my Case Logic pages and pulling out outdated ’90s favorites and discs of long-lost native indie bands I purchased off the stage (I used to be in a type of long-lost indie bands, too).

I acquired misplaced down a rabbit gap of outdated burned combined CDs I made (or mates made for me) that supplied the soundtrack to some touring I did within the early aughts. The music, and the Sharpie-scribbled labels on the discs, immediately transported me to Australian seashores, hostel bunkbeds, and slow-boat rides down the Mekong river in Laos.

Whereas I do want the virtually ceremonial technique of enjoying a report and watching it spin round on a turntable, I’ve to confess that eradicating a CD from its jewel case, placing it within the DM13, and clicking the lid shut fired off all types of nostalgic synapses in my mind. I used to be additionally reminded of how cool and detailed some CD booklets and artwork may very well be.

The archivist

Streaming music companies are nice and have tens of tens of millions of tracks, proper there on your search area to serve as much as you. However amongst these jewel instances of yours, perhaps you’ve acquired a couple of (or many) uncommon gems which have someway managed to flee the libraries of Spotify and Apple Music.

Possibly it’s a bootlegged recording of the Beatles on the Cavern Membership that your uncle gave you, or the one current copy of some rap album your crypto bro good friend lent you. Or perhaps the grunge band you have been in within the ’90s put out a couple of CDs however cut up up over artistic variations earlier than the streaming revolution hit (ahem).

Both manner, the Fiio DM13 is a straightforward software for getting all these uncommon tracks off your CDs, not just for preservation however to have at your fingertips everytime you wish to give them a pay attention.

With the DM13’s USB-C connection, I used to be in a position to make use of fundamental digital recording software program, like Audacity, to report music from my CDs onto my laptop, very like how vinyl of us do it with a USB turntable.

Some fundamental know-how is required, when it comes to quantity ranges (it’s a stay recording, not a file switch), file codecs, and bit-rate/pattern charges, however all-in-all, it’s not tough.

Moreover, the DM13 itself has a “CD ripping operate,” the place tracks are copied instantly from the participant to a USB thumb drive you plug into it. The DM13 rips recordsdata in WAV format and at 16-bits/44.1kHz at 1x velocity, just like the recording function, however does it silently, so that you received’t have the ability to pay attention as you do it. After shopping for a USB-C thumb drive off Amazon (none of my outdated USB-A thumb drives would work with an adapter), a few button presses with the DM13 in USB-out mode and whole discs simply copy over to the drive simply. Playback of the WAV recordsdata on my laptop sounded nice, too.

The anti-streamer

One final consumer I believe is likely to be into the Fiio DM13 CD participant is the particular person fed up with paying month-to-month charges (that hold going up and up) to streaming companies and desires to personal bodily copies of their very own music for a change.

Gross sales of vinyl continues to rise, and extra lately, so have CDs, in response to the Recording Business Affiliation of America (RIAA). There’s an abundance of music out there on CDs (Amazon is a superb place to look) and main labels nonetheless distribute music within the format. It’s additionally cheaper than vinyl, which has seen a gradual rise in value because the format began its comeback a number of years in the past. The typical value of a compact disc from artists like Taylor Swift is round $15, and like vinyl, there’s a wholesome used market.

Will it prevent cash? Most likely not, until you already personal cabinets of CDs. You’d additionally, in fact, be giving up the comfort of all that accessible streaming music, nevertheless it’d be yours. And, in case you’re a subscriber to a streaming service nonetheless but to supply its customers a hi-res high quality tier (Spotify, we’re you), then you definately’ll even be assured that your CDs will sound nearly nearly as good as music can sound exterior of subscribing to a service like Tidal, Apple Music, or Qobuz that gives lossless-quality audio for audiophiles.

So how does it sound?

OK, now for the extra conventional a part of the evaluate. For my listening take a look at, I began with my aptX HD-capable B&W Px7 S2 Bluetooth headphones, with the DM13 setup in its desktop mode the place you may hold it secure and plugged in to energy. I additionally took it for a stroll across the block with its “ESP” mode enabled for a extra skip-free learn whereas shifting. Fiio says you sacrifice some sound high quality on this mode, however I couldn’t hear it. The DM13 didn’t skip in any respect whereas strolling, however breaking into a light-weight jog precipitated a few skips, like many old-school gamers did. The DM13 just isn’t constructed for joggers. It’s boxy and never precisely gentle at slightly below a pound, which makes it way more supreme to be used at house.

Some discs sounded nice, some skipped, and a few didn’t play in any respect, both as a result of they’d met the filthy backside of that Mekong gradual boat, or perhaps as a result of I’d purchased them bootlegged from a man promoting them off a blanket on the Khao San Street.

Subsequent, I related the participant through S/PDIF to my Cambridge Audio CXA81 built-in amplifier, and even by a handful of the transportable Bluetooth audio system I’ve mendacity round. In all conditions, connecting was straightforward and, for probably the most half, the sound was nice. The DM13 has no inside EQ, so the sound you get could be very a lot depending on what you’re listening by.

Enjoying by headphones that solely assist the SBC codec (the DM13’s LED show tells you the codec, which is cool) sounded noticeably much less outlined and clear. AptX assist is sweet to must get probably the most out of your CDs when listening wirelessly.

I didn’t have a set of balanced cables to check the 4.4mm output, but when it sounds higher than my trusty Sennheiser HD560S 3.5mm wired headphones I attempted, then that’s a bonus, as a result of that was the best-sounding connection of all of them. Total, I’ve zero complaints with the DM13’s playback options and sound high quality.

Backside line

If in case you have a lot of outdated CDs, a wonderful journey down reminiscence lane is effectively definitely worth the $149 for the Fiio DM13 . It’s nonetheless a dependable and great-sounding music format and, in case you prefer it, there’s an abundance of music available in the market available. Plus it’s transportable, so you are able to do what I did and get a couple of laughs from your folks by displaying up and dropping your CD binders and the DM13 on the desk.

Even contemplating that you will discover all types of funds transportable CD gamers on Amazon for underneath $40, you received’t discover any of these with aptX Bluetooth codecs, digital optical, or 4.4 mm balanced outputs. And if the USB ripping/recording function is one thing that pursuits you, you received’t discover that on funds gamers both.

The Fiio DM13 sounds nearly as good as no matter you join it to, and is a superb answer for including a high-quality CD participant to an current hi-fi setup. When you’re a vinyl collector, including the DM13 to your setup received’t seem to be it’s coming from left area, both. It’s yet one more good instance of outdated issues changing into new once more with a couple of trendy, and much-welcomed, tech upgrades.