FiiO DM15 R2R CD Player

FiiO DM15 R2R CD PLAYER .

I really like this FiiO DM15 R2R . I would have rated the unit FIVE STARTS , but those TINY BUTTONS , even though the REMOTE helps and NOT being able to turn the unit ON/OFF via the REMOTE is REALLY DISAPPOINTING . OVERALL , I'd recommend purchasing the unit .

So far its a amazing cd player and sounds amazing does a great job playing in a moving vehicle without esp turned on.

5 stars, despite technical issues

It's built to a very high standard and every bit of the hardware feels well designed and elegant. The buttons are small, as many reviewers point out, but I don't have a problem with that, even though I have large hands (I usually hit the buttons with my thumb nail). The manual is well written for English, which is good since I needed to consult it to change the display language from Chinese. The sound is also excellent and pairs well with my Yincrow RW-2000s. The EQ presets are nice to have, but I don't typically use them, same with the classic CD player functions of repeat and shuffle. Also, I'm perplexed by the "retro" setting--I don't know what that means or what genre(s) it is intended for. The "Magic Bass" though, is great. Level 1 is just right to add some energy and presence for hiphop and rock when the mood strikes. It also behaves a lot like the "loudness" button on vintage HiFi gear by adding energy and liveliness to any music played at lower volume. Level 2 is a bit much for my tastes and muddies up the mid bass, but I bet it has its uses for real bass heads. As a DAC/Amp, it blows my cheap dongle DACs out of the water and outperforms the Shiit Fulla I was using. Music is full of energy, but also very detailed. Two issues that keep it from being perfect, both of which can hopefully be resolved via future firmware updates: 1. On discs that are nearly maxed out in capacity, the final track doesn't play right. I believe this was also an issue with the DM13, from what I've read. I'd hoped FIIO would have resolved it by now but I've encountered the problem on 2 albums so far. 2. In order to use it as a DAC with my Pixel 7 phone, the player cannot be in "desktop" mode and the USB power must not be connected. However, once the player then does recognize the phone as a source (player displays "DSD"), then I can reconnect the USB power and switch the player back to desktop mode and everything continues to work. So, it's just a quirk, but it took a while to figure out and I've not seen anyone else mention this in forums or reviews. The last thing I will add is that Apos ships this unit from China, it is not stocked in the US. This was not advertised, so I was mildly disappointed that I would have to wait much longer for delivery than anticipated. I could have ordered this from a larger retailer that shipped it from the US for the same price, but I want to support small businesses whenever possible. Features not yet tested: BT transmission, Line-out performance, ESP performance, remote control Firmware: v1. 39