Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

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nodder64
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:48 pm

Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

Post by nodder64 »

Hello everyone,

I am happily using MM on a windows laptop, smartphone (moto g6) and super-cheap portable (Victure M3).

I am now considering buying a Hi Res portable player and looking for any experience about which the following portable players works best with MM. I've found a lot of reviews of these, online, so I'm well set with advice and views about their . . . sound quality, reliability, price, accessories and so on. What I am really looking for is concrete experience of using these devices with MM - for example, does everything sync OK? Do playlists transfer to the device? Is album artwork visible on the device? And . . . is all of this achieved in a reasonably straingforwand way? The range of devices I am looking at is as follows . . .

FiiO Shanling Q1 - https://hifi-passion.de/high-res-player ... 01623.BLAU

HiBy R2 - https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r2 

Thanks in advance for all your thoughts and experiences about using these devices with MM.

Cheers

Nod
Peke
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Re: Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

Post by Peke »

Hi,
nodder64 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 1:54 am What I am really looking for is concrete experience of using these devices with MM
I am not sure about Shanling Q1 and HiBy R2 but from list you provided But I would go for FiiO M6 as cheaper model and FiiO M9 as an more expensive model. But also Based on recent experience in my past tests (even I tested previous model NW-A100) I would also consider Sony NW-A105 at same Price Range of FiiO M9, but fully have Google Services and Play store, user I worked on extensive support testings say that its display is even better than more expensive FiiO model M11 and you do not have to go thru process of installing Amazon Store and then purchase MMA so that you can use WiFi Sync with MMW/MM5.

That said here is my personal ranking based on my personal testing and user feedback I worked with directly:
  • M3 Pro, M5: Do not support MMA install, no WiFi limited playlist support. Most likely due the form factor and OS/APPs itself
  • Shanling Q1, HiBy R2: I suspect same issues as with M3 Pro and M5 due the fact you will be limited to native player support
  • M7: OK device, I had it for week on test and it is nice, but no WiFi which was replaced by FM radio I listen rarely and Europe/US mostly already switched to DAB+ Digital Radio Broadcasting so wasted feature(*)
  • M6: Same as M7 minus FM with added WiFi, MMA is Whitelisted and you can buy MMA pro from Amazon Store with a bit work(*)
  • M9: Better DAC and Headphone support(*)
See Comparison of FiiO M6, M7, M9

Finally Sony NW-A105: I have tested NW-A100 and it sounded beautifully, also at time of testing I had FiiO M11 (on testing) and Sony was more responsive, but subjectively FiiO M11 sounded better with headphones I had at the time and could drive them better but again M11 is almost double the price and M11 only partially supported Play store with a bit of hustle, while NW-A105 support it out of the box. So my PERSONAL recommendation AT TIME OF THIS WRITING Sony NW-A105 overall looks like more complete device, while I have not personally tested it and seen to what extent I can customize it and remove non needed apps from it to make it more mine I hold reserve on your choice and your experience. So I stick with AT TIME OF WRITING statement.

* FiiO Answer regarding Third Party apps https://www.fiio.com/newsinfo/139014.html and there is a MM Forum step by step how to do that and it works.

I hope I helped more than confused you. Finally Happy Monkeying!
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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nodder64
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:48 pm

Re: Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

Post by nodder64 »

Wow! Awesome response, thanks vey much. The Sony was also - semi - on my list.

No confusion / only assistance.

Thanks again

Nod :D :D :D
Peke
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Re: Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

Post by Peke »

nodder64 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:29 am Wow! Awesome response, thanks vey much. The Sony was also - semi - on my list.
No confusion / only assistance.
Thanks again
My pleasure, it is always better to ask than later spend more time on figuring out what went wrong.

Would be nice if you can share how purchase ended and how all went from your own personal experience and perspective. If possible I would took my own earpieces, SDcard and tried each device with same songs to see which one handle better.
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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nodder64
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:48 pm

Re: Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

Post by nodder64 »

I'll be pleased to share my experiences. May take a little while - currently ripping my old vinyl and CDs. Then comes the new player :D
Peke
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Re: Help in choosing a portable player (FiiO, Shanling or HiBy)

Post by Peke »

nodder64 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 9:55 am I'll be pleased to share my experiences. May take a little while - currently ripping my old vinyl and CDs. Then comes the new player :D
There was a Topic regarding vinyl and CD ripping and sound quality here I have done some tests, but unless you are not too deep into RIP my suggestion is FLAC ONLY and 24/96 for Vinyl is minimum and FLAC 16/44.1 for CDs, any lossy format is completely unacceptable.

NOTE: Here is the link of that test results viewtopic.php?p=479618#p479618 and talk started fe posts above that.
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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