# FiiO M23

- Source: https://stierproducts.com/products/fiio-m23
- Category board: https://stierproducts.com/categories/digital-audio-players
- Placement: #5 of 21 in Digital Audio Players, A tier
- Brand: FiiO
- LP on this board: 792
- Last researched: 2026-09-23T14:40:11.081Z
- Method: https://stierproducts.com/methodology
- Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813 - every board at once, one dated snapshot per release, same licence, prices and photographs left out
- Reuse: Text, rankings, tier assignments, LP values and verdicts are free to quote and reuse with attribution to stierproducts and a link to the source URL (CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.

## Verdict

Rugged, well-supported in current roundups, and backed by FiiO's best-in-class firmware longevity record.

## For

- Rugged chassis suitable for daily use
- Dual-battery design extends playback time
- FiiO provides long-term firmware updates
- PopSci’s overall best DAP
- Powerful amp and great DAC

## Against

- Slightly older platform
- Clinical sound compared with R2R model
- Higher noise floor and distortion
- Shorter battery life than expected

## Flagged as one to avoid

This product entered 1 of 9 runs as one buyers cross-shop but should not buy, rather than as a pick. It is published here rather than dropped.

## Evidence

Consolidated from 8 independent outlets

| Outlet | Said by | Stance | Link | Link status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Architeg Prints | Architeg Prints | B | https://www.architeg-prints.com/blog/fiio-m23-review-powerful-hi-res-player-with-detailed-sound?srsltid=AU7gw4XMUBoa1cL43bfuJSlGI44CKRrncJgqnl2QG5tDFRHA4ZCQNBuz | fetched and confirmed |
| AUDIO ADDICTED | Electro Mod | B | https://www.audioaddicted.com/2026/05/11/fiio-m23-vs-ibasso-dx260-vs-shanling-onix-xm2-mid-range-dap-shootout-2026/ | fetched and confirmed |
| TechRadar | techradar.com | B | https://www.techradar.com/audio/portable-media-players/our-favorite-elite-hi-res-music-player-has-a-record-low-black-friday-deal-are-you-ready-to-go-audiophile | fetched and confirmed |
| Z Reviews | Z Reviews | D | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIaeU76Qzks | fetched and confirmed |
| Product Overview World | Product Overview World | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13fNhYpkjXM | fetched and confirmed |
| HowToMastery | HowToMastery | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZcI7mlL0FU | fetched and confirmed |
| RomaDVD | RomaDVD | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzypdTI6jZE | fetched and confirmed |
| Holysai | Holysai | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2IIMbp9uWA | fetched and confirmed |

## Nearest alternatives on this board

| Rank | Product | Tier | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/astell-kern-a-norma-sr35 |
| 2 | FiiO M27 | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/fiio-m27 |
| 3 | FiiO JM21 | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/fiio-jm21 |
| 4 | HiBy R4 | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/hiby-r4 |
| 6 | iBasso DX340 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/ibasso-dx340 |
| 7 | FiiO M33 R2R | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/fiio-m33-r2r |
| 8 | Shanling M0s | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/shanling-m0s |
| 9 | Hidizs AP80 Pro-X | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/hidizs-ap80-pro-x |
| 10 | iBasso DX320 | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/ibasso-dx320 |
| 21 | HiFi Walker H2 | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/hifi-walker-h2 |

The full board is at https://stierproducts.com/categories/digital-audio-players.

## What this tier means

- A: Excellent. Strongly recommended, beaten only by the very best.

## How to read this

- Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.
- LP is this product's points on its own category ladder. It is comparable within a category and not across categories.
- Link status reports what our pre-publication link check found when it fetched the cited URL. It says nothing about the quality of the review.
- A citation with no usable link is listed rather than dropped, and is excluded from the counted total above.

## Image

https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/fiio-m23.webp

Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.