FiiO DM15 R2R CD Player

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

This little CD player is a great addition to our audio setup. CDs sound great running it through a receiver. Apos customer service answered my question regarding which cable to use quickly.

Great Industrial Design Makes for a Fine Player

I am not sure who the intended user for this device is. I am a long time CD collector who has passed through the various stages -- vinyl, CD SACD, FLAC, streaming, vinyl again and back to CD/SACD, which allows me to own but it is more convenient than LP. . If you're new to CD, this is probably as good a place to start as any. The player is barely larger than the CD itself and sports a solid variety of input and outputs. Unless you own a difficult to drive set of planars, it will drive your full-size headphones, and it is quiet enough for use with IEMs. The R2R DAC implementation won't challenge any Holos or Denafrips, but it sounds perfectly fine. If you own a better DAC, you can use the USB C output to connect to it. I used mine as a transport with the Xduoo XD-05 Pro, and was rewarded with slightly better sound - more dynamic, perhaps due to the much more powerful amp in the Xduoo DAC/AMP. You can also line out to the analog inputs of a CD-less system. While I would not connect this to a high end system, it should perform well in home systems based on individual components up to about the $1,000 per component point, at which point I would say get a better transport/DAC. My use case is to replace my DAP for in-home listening with headphones - to enjoy an entire CD at at a time, reading the liner notes and appreciating the ordering and themes of the songs, to get away from streaming. It should perform admirably as a portable device, but there I think you might be better served with a DAP or a phone and dongle DAC. I have no complaints - I will note that as a consequence of the design the control buttons are tiny, but even as an older user they work for me. If you find them challenging, use the supplied remote. Overall, this is another solid product from FiiO. I have one other "portable," a vintage Sony, and this outclasses it in every way. While, I have not heard the new units from Moondrop and Shanling and cannot make any comparisons, I can recommend this player.