While trying to count on out the best mode to approach a review of the Fiio DM13 Portable Stereo CD Player , I decide tonotreview the Fiio DM13 Portable Stereo CD Player . get me explain .
I am buy the farm to talk about its lineament and what I think about them , do n’t interest . or else of focusing solely on aim , setup , sound calibre , battery lifetime , etc . ( I ’ll get to that ) , I ’m attack this a little differently . Since the existence of this back - from - oblivion portable CD player has been so polarizing and head - scratching to many I ’ve cite it to , I think a more interesting advance would be to brush up it in terms of who might like it , who wo n’t , and why or why not .
perchance you ’re honest-to-goodness like me and and have loads of CDs you ’d like to wager again . Or maybe you think the reimagined $ 149 player is cool and like the idea of getting one but have n’t a cue why . Hopefully this will serve .
The specs
But first: reading disc…
Just so we all bang what we ’re blab out about , Formosan electronics company Fiio — which makes excellent , primarily digital devices like DACs andnetwork music streamer — has been on a nostalgia bender of later , take vantage of the continuing uptick in sales of physicalmusic sensitive . Last summer , it generated a ton of retro ballyhoo with its Walkman cassette deck clone , a portable tape recording role player called the CP13,which I reviewed last month .
Hoping to repeat its succeeder , Fiio has brought forth the DM13 portable magnetic disk player . It is n’t your dad ’s CD Walkman circa 1998 , but rather a twist that attempts to do the query , “ Can the portable CD participant be reimagined to actually be utile again ? ”
Yes , the Fiio DM13 recreate CDs , but that does n’t intend it ’s a dinosaur . The DM13 reads WAV , WMA , and MP3 single file , as well as AAC and FLAC single file from compact discs . Fiio has also add all kinds of connectivity options , outfitting it with not only two 3.5 millimeter phone jacks ( one a powered output , one a communication channel output ) but two balanced 4.4 mm outs ( P.O. and LO as well ) for a noise - costless pumped-up connection with agreat pair of headphonesor other compatible analogue outputs . You ’ll need the right cables , though .
Digitally , you may link the DM13 with a USB - C transmission line or thumb drive for transferring music to your computer ( more on this below ) , as well as a S / PDIF digital optic / coaxial output , which opens a whole caboodle of options for relate to your hi - fi setup , likeintegrated amplifiersor an external preamp .
The biggest differentiator between the CD player of old and the DM13 is , of course , Bluetooth . The DM13 actually does it better than many modern devices ( include the iPhone ) , with support for the standard SBC codec , yes , but alsoaptX , aptX Low Latency , and aptX HD , which means you ’ll be able to get much better Bluetooth sound calibre out of the player with a pair of headphones , earbuds , orBluetooth speakersthat support it . Most the great unwashed wo n’t notice the dispute between a wired connexion and these aptX codecs , but sound nerds will be pleased .
Outside of that , the DM13 is a sleek ( albeit bulky ) , portable / background compact disk player with all the usual playback characteristic ( random , repeat , gapless , favorites ) and an eight - hour battery , all for $ 149 , which takes a snatch of the confidence game out of the risk of infection .
Now , back to the question at bridge player : Who the heck would want to bribe one of these ?
The nostalgia seeker
Many would debate that as far as physical music spiritualist formats go , the tactile ritual ofdropping a needle on a vinyl recordand admiring the sleeve art is second to none . If you , like me , were abide a bit too late for vinyl ’s original go - around , then your version of milk crates full of records was , instead , improbable , skinny Ikea shelf towers pack with CD jewel cases and pillowcase system of logic binders for toting them to parties .
If you ’re reading this , it ’s likely those CDs are somewhere in the deep - dark reaching of your home , and you have no way to dally them . But you want to . Well , you ’re in for a treat .
Sure , you could believably obtain every CD in your collection on Spotify orany number of streaming services , but where ’s the fun in that ? I had a blow flip through my slip Logic Sir Frederick Handley Page and pulling out old ’ 90s favorites and discs of long - lost local indie bands I bought off the stage ( I was in one of those long - lost indie bands , too ) .
I got lost down a cony hole of old burned mixed candela I made ( or acquaintance made for me ) that provided the soundtrack to some traveling I did in the former aughts . The euphony , and the Sharpie - scribbled labels on the discs , instantly transported me to Australian beaches , student lodging bunkbeds , and slow - boat rides down the Mekong river in Laos .
While I do prefer the almost ceremonial process of playing a record book and check it spin around on a turntable , I have to include that removing a CD from its jewel case , putting it in the DM13 , and cluck the palpebra shut fired off all kind of nostalgic synapses in my brain . I was also remind of how cool and detail some CD folder and artistic production could be .
The archivist
Streaming medicine services are bully and have tenner of 1000000 of tracks , right there for your search flying field to service up to you . But among those gem cases of yours , maybe you ’ve take a few ( or many ) rarefied gems that have somehow managed to lam the libraries ofSpotify and Apple Music .
perchance it ’s a bootlegged recording of the Beatles at the Cavern Club that your uncle gave you , or the only live transcript of some rap album your crypto bro champion lent you . Or maybe the stain band you were in in the ’ ninety put out a few CDs but split up over creative differences before the streaming revolution attain ( hem ) .
Either way , the Fiio DM13 is an easy shaft for scram all those rare lead off your standard candle , not only for conservation but to have at your fingertips whenever you require to give them a listen .
With the DM13 ’s USB - C connection , I was able to expend basic digital recording software , like Audacity , to record music from my CDs onto my computer , much likehow vinyl radical folks do it with a USB turntable .
Some basic know - how is required , in terms of volume level ( it ’s a live recording , not a Indian file transfer of training ) , file formats , and act - charge per unit / sample rates , but all - in - all , it ’s not hard .
to boot , the DM13 itself has a “ CD ripping function , ” where tracks are replicate flat from the player to a USB thumb ride you secure into it . The DM13 rips files in WAV format and at 16 - bits/44.1kHz at 1x speed , like the recording feature , but does it silently , so you wo n’t be capable to heed as you do it . After buying a USB - century thumb drive off Amazon ( none of my old USB - A thumb drives would work with an adapter ) , a couple of button presses with the DM13 in USB - out mode and entire discs just copy over to the private road easily . Playback of the WAV file on my computer sounded great , too .
The anti-streamer
One last user I think might be into the Fiio DM13 CD participant is the person fed up with paying monthly fees ( that keep lead up and up ) to streaming services and wants to own forcible copy of their own music for a alteration .
Sales of vinyl go along to rise , and more recently , so have CDs , according to the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) . There ’s an abundance of euphony usable on CDs ( Amazon is a great seat to look ) and major labels still dole out music in the data format . It ’s also cheaper than vinyl group , which has seen a steady rise in price since the format start its comeback several age ago . The average price of a thickset disc from creative person like Taylor Swift is around $ 15 , and like vinyl , there ’s a healthy used marketplace .
So how does it sound?
OK , now for the more traditional part of the reassessment . For my listening test , I pop out with myaptX HD - capable B&W Px7 S2 Bluetooth headphones , with the DM13 frame-up in its desktop style where you’re able to keep it stable and plug in to world power . I also took it for a walk around the block with its “ ESP ” musical mode enabled for a more skip - free read while move . Fiio says you sacrifice some wakeless quality in this mode , but I could n’t try it . The DM13 did n’t skip at all while walk , but stop into a light jog make a couple of skips , like many old - school players did . The DM13 is not built for joggers . It ’s boxlike and not precisely tripping at just under a pounding , which work it much more idealistic for utilisation at home .
Some discs sounded great , some skim , and some did n’t play at all , either because they ’d suffer the foul bottom of that Mekong tiresome gravy holder , or maybe because I ’d bought them bootlegged from a guy sell them off a blanket on the Khao San Road .
Next , I connected the player via S / PDIF to myCambridge Audio CXA81 integrated amplifier , and even through a handful of the portableBluetooth speakersI have lying around . In all situation , connecting was easy and , for the most part , the phone was heavy . The DM13 has no internal EQ , so the sound you get is very much pendent on what you ’re listen through .
Playing through headphones that only support the SBC codec ( the DM13 ’s light-emitting diode display order you the codec , which is cool ) sounded observably less outlined and open . AptX support is nice to have to get the most out of your CD when take heed wirelessly .
I did n’t have a curing of balanced cables to prove the 4.4 mm output , but if it vocalise better thanmy trusty Sennheiser HD560S3.5 mm wired headphones I tried , then that ’s a fillip , because that was the considerably - sounding connection of them all . Overall , I have zero charge with the DM13 ’s playback features and sound timber .
Bottom line
If you have lots of old CDs , an excellent trip down memory board lane is well deserving the $ 149 for the Fiio DM13 . It ’s still a honest and great - sound euphony format and , if you wish it , there ’s an copiousness of music in the market to be had . Plus it ’s portable , so you may do what I did and get a few gag from your friends by show up and drop your CD binders and the DM13 on the table .
Even considering that you may find all kinds of budget portable CD histrion on Amazon for under $ 40 , you wo n’t encounter any of those with aptXBluetooth codecs , digital optical , or 4.4 mm balanced outputs . And if the USB ripping / read feature of speech is something that interest you , you wo n’t find that on budget player either .
The Fiio DM13 sounds as right as whatever you link up it to , and is a bang-up solution for tote up a high-pitched - timbre candela player to an existing hi - fi setup . If you ’re a vinyl group collector , adding the DM13 to your setup wo n’t seem like it ’s come from left-hand subject field , either . It ’s yet another dear illustration of old things becoming new again with a few modern , and much - receive , tech upgrades .
