You’ve got to love FiiO’s quest to mix modern tech with retro formats: fresh from making some really desirable cassette players, FiiO has now turned its attention to the portable CD player.
The new FiiO DM13 delivers old-school CD playback but it takes full advantage of modern tech to deliver a surprisingly good specification. The first and very welcome addition here is aptX Bluetooth, enabling you to stream CD quality to compatible wireless headphones or speakers.
That means you’re not limited to cabled headphones, although if you prefer those there are both 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs, too. And there’s an analog line-out and an SPDIF digital one so you can connect it to other audio kit.
Unlike the portable CD Walkmans of old, this player also doesn’t rely on a fistful of AA batteries; it has an internal rechargeable one that delivers up to eight hours of playback between charges. There’s a desktop mode that bypasses the battery altogether and uses mains power instead, too.
Properly portable for music on the move
The one thing I remember most about portable CD players is how skip-prone they were, but it looks like FiiO has taken that into consideration here: the DM13 has switchable Electronic Shock Protection that should help to prevent unwanted skipping.
The Bluetooth connections support multiple codecs: SBC, aptX, aptX HD and aptX Low Latency but not AAC, which sadly means I probably won’t be buying this to go with my AirPods Max: SBC isn’t great on Apple headphones and Apple doesn’t do aptX.
Still, on the positive side the DM13 plays not just audio CDs but data ones too, with support for FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC and MP3 formats. And the price isn’t too punchy either – the FiiO DM13 will be available to buy from September 2024 with a recommended price of $179 / £179 (around AU$345).
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