FiiO M11 Plus with ESS Sabre DAC Chip

I am sure that many audiophiles do remember that FiiO released last year the M11 Plus LTD with the AK4497*2 Dual DAC chipset, but since the fire outbreak in AKM’s factory the quantity of any AKM DAC chip is very limited on the market. However, FiiO promised that they do plan to release a M11 Plus with ESS Saber DAC chip in 2022.

FiiO is now finally presenting the M11 Plus with the latest ESS chipset, that utilizes two ES9068AS DAC’s (Digital to Analog Converter), which do offer an audible performance improvement over its AKM model with better SNR and THD+N values. It not only has MQA expansion but also has MQA rendered in the USB DAC mode, to provide you with full MQA Support even in USB DAC mode.

Price & Availability:

The good news for the FiiO M11 Plus with Sabre DAC Chip is that it will come with the same price as the M11 Plus LTD with AKM DAC chip, which is about 749.99 US$.

Features & Improvements: 

• Android 10 OS
• MQA 8X Decoding Support
• ES9068AS*2 Dual DAC Chip’s
• THX-AAA 78*2 Headphone Amplifier.
• Better SNR Performance over the AKM Variant
• Snapdragon 660 CPU (Octa-Core)
• 6th Gen Honeycomb Design
• 5” Bezel-less Touch-Screen with 18:9 ratio
• New-Gen Interactive Intelligent Volume System with an upgraded carbon-fiber panel.
• New Digital Audio Purification System (DAPS) with Self-Developed 4th Gen FPGA+NDK Femtosecond crystal oscillators.
• High-Res Two-Way Bluetooth Support (V5.0 Connectivity)
• Improved Battery Life
• Improved Output Power

Technical Specifications: 

The Difference between FiiO M11 Plus ESS & FiiO M11 Plus LTD (AKM):

FiiO has brought several updates with the new M11 Plus ESS variant. They not only have switched the DAC chipset from AK4497*2 to ES9068AS*2 DAC chips, they have also replaced the low-pass filter from OPA1662*2 to OPA927*2 matching the ESS DAC chipset. The chipset is now tuned to achieve high SNR ratings ensuring quality sound performance with cleaner background response. M11 Plus ESS also has improved output power ratings, providing up to 660mW of clean output at 32Ω of load.

It is tuned and adjusted for achieving improved performance, even better than the AKM counterpart with better Signal to Noise Ratio and Distortion ratings.

Build-In THX Amp Module:

The FiiO M11 Plus Sabre comes with the THX AA-78 headphone amplifier module, which will deliver a higher output performance compared to the AKM variant with an output power rating of up to 660mW@32Ω of load. The Low-pass filter chip has been switched from OPA1662 to OPA927.

Snapdragon 660 CPU with Andreno 512 GPU + 4GB RAM:

The New M11 Plus is equipped with the Snapdragon 660 Octa-Core SoC that comes with a pretty capable Andreno 512 GPU, which is able to provide a smooth GUI (Graphical User Interface) for a Smartphone-Like user experience. The M11 Plus features also 4GB of RAM that will provide full functionality with the latest Android 10 OS.

New Generation Interactive Intelligent Volume System:

FiiO improved the innovative design of its Unique Button + Innovative Touch Panel with a Carbon Fiber design that offers now a more comfortable and precise volume adjustment.

Multiple Headphone Connections + Three Level Gain Mode:

FiiO M11 Plus offers a wide variety of output options, which are 2.5mm, 4.4mm balanced, and 3.5mm SE (Single Ended) Headphone outputs. The M11 Plus also has balanced line-out functionality with the 4.4mm output port. With three-level gain modes, users can easily pair their sensitive as well as demanding IEMs/Headphones with the M11 Plus easily.

Improved Battery Life:

FiiO M11 Plus ESS features a 6000mAh battery. The battery life of the new M11 Plus is also improved from 11.5H on the AKM variant to 14H on ESS Variant. It supports 27W fast charging with QC3.0/4.0 quick charging support.

Thank you for the Read!