Having said that I fully expect the M6 to be a good quality DAP for the money but the sound won't knock my socks off nor should I expect it to. The M0 for $140 did take me by surprise with the quality of sound it offers. If the M6 is in the same league sound wise and everything works as it should I expect to be very happy with it. At this point there probably isn't much more I can get out of this thread until I get my M6. So I will pop in once in awhile to see if there is any news on firmware updates etc.. In the meantime I hope you all enjoy your players
Waiting for your comparison between the M6 and Shanling M0 . A friend of mine has an expensive Astell & Kern and he regrets buying it over the Shanling M2s ( it's like 10 times more expensive ) . Wonder how the Fiio M6 compares to the Shanling M0 .
I have both the M0 and M6 and M9 and X7ii for that matter (well, the M9 I got for my wife, but I can access it for testing
), oh and have the Chord Mojo and V30 cell phone also, as comparisons. And a BTR1 bluetooth DAC, and even an old X3ii which gets a look in still.
Honestly, I can't tell much apart from one to another. All are astonishingly great in terms of SQ. In listening tests, I just get confused and give up more often than not, trying to ascertain differences.
The M0 is a fine little device and entirely capable, but it's limited severely by its interface and screen. The M6 is a "real" player by comparison and little compromised. I can't for the life of me see much merit at all in going for the M9 over the M6 (other than balanced output), and I can't help feel that Fiio are probably wondering if they've shot themselves in the foot a bit by releasing the blindingly good value M6 alongside the M9.
I am now using each device for different use-cases; the Mojo for desk use, the X7ii for established "good" albums, the M6 for new albums, and the M0 for a bucketload of fave tracks for HQ random play and sterling duty as an LDAC bluetooth receiver, intermittently with the BTR. I even use the X3ii still as an MP3 player of random tracks permanently taped to a good portable speaker for quick on the go listening.
So to recap... for me at least.... All these new devices are absolutely first class in terms of SQ at least with IEM's and really it's down to use-case as to which gets used.
M0 is great, and M6 is great too, better than the M0 of course, except where the absolute portability of the M0 is king.