John Darko
Debuting at CanJam London this weekend is another new product from China’s FiiO and it’s another doozy: the DM13 is a portable CD player with 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs. I have asked FiiO for details on each socket’s power output and will update this post if/when I hear back. UPDATE: According to my FiiO contact, the single-ended output promises 350mW into 32 Ohms and the balanced output 700mW into 32 Ohms.
But it’s not just wired headphones that should come a-calling. The DM13 also features an aptX HD-capable Bluetooth transmitter to send audio to wireless headphones and the TOSLINK and USB outputs mean this portable CD player can be connected directly to your favourite DAC – i.e. FiiO’s K11 R2R – for home hi-fi/head-fi use. The analogue line output is for anyone happy with the sound of the DM13’s (unspecified) internal DAC.
FiiO rates the DM13’s internal battery runtime at a respectable (if not tantalizing) eight hours — but it remains unclear if that rating is with the unit’s Electronic Shock Protection (ESP) turned on or off. You’ll need to turn on ESP to avoid audible skips and jumps when walking this portable CD player out of the house. FiiO has also confirmed that the DM13 will read files burnt to CDs as data: FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC and MP3 file formats are supported.
The DM13 begins shipping in a silver finish in September. It will sell for £179 or US$179. Red, blue, titanium and black versions are on the roadmap for Q4 2024.
Further information: FiiO
