texture is present in shape, strength is present in "core"! Experience Feiao M15

2020 came quite early, and it didn't take long for the year to turn over. Generally speaking, manufacturers will not do much at this time, but Feiao brought a surprise to the burning friends when the New Year came. On the last weekend of 2019, Feiao held its second new product launch conference for the first time within a year and officially launched its flagship intelligent lossless music player M15. Compared with M11 Pro, which had the highest positioning of Feiao music player before, M15 easily pierced the ceiling of 5000 yuan at a double price, raising the positioning of its flagship a lot at once. So where does Feiao's confidence on M15 come from? What kind of experience can it bring to burning friends?

Feiao M15 product specifications

Master: Samsung Exynos 7872(14nm process)

DAC chip: AK4499EQ × 2

The maximum supported specification is 768kHz-32bit/DSD512 hardsolver.

screen: 5.15-inch full fit 10-point touch display (1440 × 720)

Storage: 3GB(RAM) and 64GB(ROM)

Storage expansion: Micro SD(TF) card expansion is supported, and the highest theoretical support is 2TB expansion.

frequency response: 20Hz ~ 90 kHz(-3dB)

Signal-to-noise ratio: ≥ 122dB (A weight)

output power: 490mW(32 Ω/single-ended/big ear mode),70mW(300 Ω/single-ended/big ear mode),800mW(32 Ω/balance/big ear mode),280mW(300 Ω/balance/big ear mode)

interface: Type-C two-way USB 2.0, 3.5mm single-ended interface, 2.5mm balanced interface, 4.4mm balanced interface

wireless function: Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi, LDAC, aptX, aptX HD, SBC, HWA, DLNA, AirPlay, FiiO Link, NAS

battery: 7490mAh high voltage fast charging lithium ion polymer battery

charging time:<3.5 hours

Duration: 15 hours

audio format support: DSD64/128/256, DST ISO, DXD, APE, Apple Lossless, AIFF, FLAC, WAV, WMA LOSSLESS, AAC, MP3, WMA, OGG, etc.

size: about 134mm × 75mm × 18mm (excluding volume knob)

weight: about 310g

reference price: 8998 yuan

's New Design Shows Different Positions

from X5 Ⅲ onwards, Feiao has consciously created a family-oriented design style on its own player. The recognizable elements such as "Feiao Red" and 45 string lines not only bring fashion temperament to the product, but also enable burning friends to identify the product at a glance. After the M series is fully on the stage, the upgraded family elements are still not uncommon.

▲ North American black walnut log wooden box reflects the flagship identity except M15.

on the latest flagship, Feiao has adopted a new design language, which makes M15 have a completely different style from previous products. Different from the tough design of the previous player product body contour, which is mainly based on straight lines, Feiao uses the fifth generation classical column shape on M15, which is just like its name. M15 emphasizes arc transition from the whole machine shape to the detailed design, but it is more like the evolution and upgrading of Feiao's earpiece product design style.

▲ PET coated carbon fiber texture back cover is used on the back, the surface feels fine, and the film has been pasted when leaving the factory. Two familiar small gold labels represent that they have passed the dual certification of Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless.

has a 86%-screen proportion. Although there is still a small gap compared with the current mobile phone's frequent 90%, it can still achieve the visual effect of "full screen" in the music player. The screen using Corning Gorilla Glass allows Feiao to paste the film when M15 leaves the factory this time. Of course, toughened film is indispensable in the accessories. Users can choose whether to paste it or not. The back is better cared for. The PET coated carbon fiber texture back cover is pasted at the factory. The Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless double certification marks are also very good decorations. With a metal-based fuselage material and solid internal materials, the M15 weighs about 310g and has the weight of the flagship machine. Each surface of the fuselage itself and the transition between them all reflect the design concept of "arc", so the grip is very warm and delicate, and the concave design on the left and right sides allows the M15 to hold it better.

▲ The physical keys are concentrated on the left side of the body. In addition to the Hold slide switch, power switch, and play control keys, M15 also provides a custom function key. Users can set it as the most commonly used function to enable/switch. The functions that can be set include adding favorites, switching EQ, Bluetooth decoding mode, and USB decoding mode.

likes to design the volume knob on the side of the fuselage, Feiao moved it to the top on the M15 this time, using an analog potentiometer volume knob. Through ADC curve reconstruction, the bias problem of traditional analog potentiometers can be solved. The bottom circle of the knob is a breathing light, and the brightness can be adjusted with the music. The actual experience of lighting is not dazzling, and the lighting effect also has a sense of advanced. Next to the 2.5mm balance, 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balance interfaces, of which the 3.5mm interface is earphone/line/SPDIF output multiplexing, continuing the complete output interface configuration of Feiao Music Player.

▲ The concentric circle analog potentiometer volume knob on the top of the fuselage is treated with a different highlight process from the fuselage, with soft touch and good operation feel. Next to the 2.5mm balance, 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balance output interfaces, the gold brushed trim ring makes their appearance more elegant.

solid keys are concentrated on the left side of the fuselage, and the circular shape echoes the overall design with good integrity. In addition to Hold slide switch, power switch and play control key, M15 also specially designs a custom function key. Users can set it as their most commonly used function in the system to realize one-key on/off of this function. Optional functions include adding favorite, switching EQ, Bluetooth decoding mode, USB decoding mode, etc. The key operation is very convenient and feels good, but I also encountered a problem. It is easy to press the key by mistake when holding the player with my right hand. I don't know if this problem can be avoided after wearing a protective cover.

▲ The USB at the bottom Type-C a two-way USB 2.0 interface, which shoulders rich functions such as charging, data transmission, USB DAC, USB Audio, etc. The Micro SD expansion card slot next to it adopts the same Cato design as the mobile phone, with good integrity and can support the expansion of 2TB memory card at most. M15 has 64GB of storage space.

M15 is very simple. The USB Type-C two-way USB 2.0 interface shoulders rich functions such as charging, data transmission, USB DAC, USB Audio, etc. It is worth mentioning that M15 supports QC2.0 and MTK PE dual fast charging and is compatible with PD2.0 chargers. The battery capacity reaches 7490mAh, which should be regarded as one of the largest products of its kind, with a battery life of up to 15 hours. The Micro SD expansion card slot next to the USB interface adopts the same Cato design as the mobile phone, with good integrity and can support the expansion of 2TB memory card at most. In addition, M15 has 64GB of storage space.

▲ M15 Although there are not many random accessories, Feiao has the activity of buying machines and sending gift bags worth 800 yuan on e-commerce. The gift bags include SK-M15 holsters, HB4 storage boxes, DK1 Type C bases, car isolators and LT-TC1 wires, and still maintain the consistent style of "big accessories factory.

strength is hidden in the "core"

▲ Two AK4499EQ DAC Decoding Chips on M15 (Official Disassembly Chart)

Whether it is a music player, headphones or earphones, whether you like its sound style or not, you cannot deny that Feiao's products are basically in the front row in terms of component selection and materials compared with products of the same price. On flagship models such as M15, this characteristic is naturally brought into full play. Part of DAC Feiao uses two flagship decoding chip AK4499EQ on M15. The DAC uses a new current-type output architecture. Each chip contains four DAC channels, which greatly improves the theoretical signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range. The operating amplifier part matched with it consists of four OPA1612 to form IV conversion, and then two OPA2211 to form an LPF low-pass filter circuit. The last four OPA1622 amplify and expand the signal to form a fully balanced ear amplifier architecture.

▲ Qualcomm CSR8675 Bluetooth chip provides support for aptX HD, LDAC, HWA and other high-quality Bluetooth audio coding technologies (official disassembly figure)

M15 is our familiar old friend -- Samsung Exynos 7872 with 14nm technology, which has been applied to M11 and M11 Pro. With 3GB of storage +64GB of built-in storage capacity, the system based on deep customization of Android system runs smoothly. Although Exynos 7872 itself integrates Bluetooth and USB decoding functions, M15 still uses a separate Qualcomm CSR8675 Bluetooth chip and XMOS XUF208 USB decoding chip. CSR8675 is currently Qualcomm's flagship Bluetooth chip, which supports Bluetooth 5.0, provides support for aptX HD, LDAC, HWA and other high-quality Bluetooth audio coding technologies, and has LDAC lossless two-way Bluetooth function. The highest specification of XMOS XUF208 can support 768kHz/32bit, and can hardware DSD512, connecting most PC, Mac, Android and iOS devices can be used without drive.

▲ Metal Shielding Cover on Chip (Official Disassembly Drawing)

In addition to the selection of chips, the materials used for other components in M15 are also quite solid. The eight-layer gold-sinking PCB board allows Feiao engineers to have more space to design circuits, so that digital and analog circuits do not interfere with each other. At the same time, the digital-analog circuit part also has an independent shielding cover, which is matched with a dedicated 2.4G frequency band absorbing material to reduce the possibility of interference to a lower level. The power consumption of the AK4499EQ is relatively high and the heat generation is not small. Therefore, in the internal heat dissipation design, Feiao conducts the internal heat to the shell and then radiates it out by applying various means such as customized thermally conductive silica gel, graphene and white copper fins.

▲ Many high-quality dedicated audio capacitors used on M15 ensure the purity of sound (official disassembly diagram)

4 high molecular tantalum capacitors, 4 Panasonic stepless film capacitors and 8 small film capacitors ensures the purity of sound. The power supply part uses 28 220uF polymer capacitors and 5 100uF high-voltage capacitors... From the point of view of materials alone, M15 should be one of the best in the same price, even in the face of more expensive products.

Trial Experience

first, let's talk about the experience M15 system brings to me. The system customized based on the Android system is easy to get started, which is exactly the operation mode on the smart phone. The pre-installed Feiao market mainly provides downloads of various streaming media music apps. In addition, it also intimately provides third-party application markets that we commonly use on mobile phones, such as Yingyong Bao and Kuan, through which users can install various types of apps on M15.

▲ M15 is exquisite, and the system style is the same as that of familiar mobile phones.

the basic hardware of Samsung Exynos 7872 3GB storage ensures the smooth operation of the whole system in performance. It can be said that M15 is the same as mobile phone in use experience except that it cannot make phone calls and take photos. However, through many special functions, you can still feel the identity of its music player strongly. This time Feiao integrated four working modes on M15, including Android mode, pure tone mode, USB DAC mode and Bluetooth receiving mode. As the default mode, Android mode can provide the most complete intelligent system experience. You can listen to songs online and install various apps. Pure tone mode only runs Feiao Music App, at this time M15 is a simple music player. USB decoding mode is suitable for desktop applications, and users can connect it to PC, notebook computer and other devices for use. Bluetooth receiving mode can be used to receive Bluetooth wireless signals from various devices.

▲ M15 provides four working modes

In the audio options set by the system, we can select the output mode, digital filter mode, wireless playback quality, etc. of the 3.5mm interface, and we can also switch the high and low gains. In addition, there is a big ear mode here, which is mainly designed for the use of 300 Ω high impedance headphones. In this mode, the PO output power under 300 Ω load can reach 70mW, and the balanced output power is as high as 280mW. However, in low-resistance headphones, such as 32 Ω load, PO output power is 490mW, and balanced output power reaches 800mW. It can be said that the M15 contains a thrust comparable to that of a bench-top ear in its small volume. In addition, many functions in the audio settings can be seen in the system drop-down menu, making it more convenient to switch and adjust with one key.

The audio options in the settings have many functions. You can set them carefully according to your listening needs.

▲ The system drop-down menu provides a variety of audio settings to facilitate one-click switching.

in the audition part, I used Feiao's FH7 earplugs and Sennheiser HD600 headphones for audition. First, I tried the difference between FH7 and M15 under 3.5mm single-ended and 2.5mm balanced interfaces. It can be said that the difference in hearing of FH7 under the two interfaces is still obvious. The sound quality of FH7 under the balance port is more pure and transparent, the high-frequency part feels more obvious, and the penetration is strong. The sound field has audible expansion and better separation. The voice of FH7 under a single port will be thicker and closer to the ears. Although the voice of the singer under the balance mouth is thinner, there are many more details. On the whole, I prefer the sound of FH7 under the balance port, which has a wider adaptability to music types, so I connect FH7 to the balance interface of M15.

▲ Feiao Music App has good UI appearance, rich functions and convenient operation.

then I tried the thrust of M15. HD600 was auditioned under the original single-ended line because no suitable balance line was found. Even so, under M15, the HD600 with an impedance of 300 Ω shows the sound quality that I did not hear on a portable music player in the past. When matching with other players, I think it is enough to make HD600 emit normal sound pressure, which is only the basis on M15.

HD600 has the characteristics of open and accurate sound field positioning, solid and powerful low frequency, real and audible human voice, etc., which are all released to a large extent under the promotion of M15. If it is a pity under the single-ended interface, it may be that the music details are slightly blurred. However, in the balanced interface, this defect has also been made up. At the M15 conference at the end of last year, Feiao prepared representative large earphones including Baia T1, Sennheiser HD800, SONY MDR-Z7 and other large earphones for audition. As far as my short-term audition experience at the scene is concerned, M15 can basically promote these large earphones well and bring a good sense of listening. Among them, the analytical power of the earphones under its balance interface left a deep impression on me.

compared with the M11 Pro, which I auditioned not long ago and has not been in the flagship position of Feiao player product line, there is a certain continuation of the fine sound style in M15. But on this basis, M15 has shown a comprehensive improvement in terms of separation, sound field, sound details and control compared to the former. The advantages of M15 sound field and separation degree are naturally obvious on large headphones such as HD600. However, even in earplugs such as FH7, I can feel distinct scenes in listening to large-scale music. The sound field is complete and the positioning is accurate, giving full play to the potential of headphones in this respect.

M15 is balanced and healthy. The purity and transparency of high frequency brings people a kind of "crystal clear" sense, which is the feeling brought by the complete presentation of sound details. At the same time, the extension of sound has reached a very high level, and it has maintained good control. There will be no dry and stinging hearing. The vocal part M15 has achieved a good balance between pleasant and real. Although the sound is slightly close to the ears, it will not produce any pressure when listening for a long time. The full and detailed voice outline restores the singer's style. The low-frequency part has strong cohesion, outstanding elasticity, and moderate diving. It can well shape the texture of instrumental music such as the drum. The low frequency transmitted can bring people a sense of listening in density and dynamics.

from the brand-new appearance design, the "stacking" of internal chips and peripheral components at all costs, to the volume constraint of the portable music player brought by the actual experience, which is comparable to the thrust of desktop earphones and the comprehensive and balanced sound quality performance, Feiao M15, the new flagship, is worthy of its positioning. Although the M15 doubled the ceiling of its own music player price at one time, it is not inferior to the higher-priced products on the market in terms of its strength from the inside to the outside. Therefore, although we seldom use the word "cost performance" on flagship models, we have to say that M15 does continue the consistent "cost performance" route of Feiao products.

author:Microcomputer Official Microblog02-10 11:30

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