Fiio's flagship portable player harnesses precision engineering in pursuit of "uncompromising sonic performance"

Fiio M27 portable music player front and back panels

(Image credit: Fiio)

Fiio has announced the new M27, marking its latest bid to dethrone Astell & Kern at the top of our best portable music player buying guide.

Representing a "bold evolution" of the brand's established portable line-up, the new PMP deploys precision engineering for what its maker describes as an "uncompromising sonic performance."

At the heart of the M27 is Qualcomm’s QCS6490 mobile platform, promising lightning-fast responsiveness, easy multitasking and a stable platform for streaming and playback across a range of audio formats.

That platform is complemented by dual ESS ES9039SPRO DAC chips designed to produce "stunning audio reproduction" with "breathtaking dynamic range" and outstanding detail without distortion.

A total of 10,000mW of balanced output power, meanwhile, should mean that the new player can drive even the most demanding headphones.

Aside from the unit's dual DAC chips, the M27 has been built to grant flagship levels of performance. The portable player's sonic architecture, for instance, uses independent power supplies for key components, resulting in a pure signal path and a cleaner sound.

Fiio M27 portable music player held in the hand — (Image credit: Fiio)

Fiio's 'Digital Audio Purification System' has also been integrated, aiming to reduce jitter and ensure improved timing accuracy and a more spacious, precise sonic signature.

The M27 packs dual microSD card slots, with support for up to 2TB of additional storage per card, while 256GB of on board storage is available as standard if you've got a more modest music collection.

The flagship player boasts 6.35mm, 4.4mm, and 3.5mm headphone outputs, as well as a set of line-level and digital connections. If you're more into wireless listening, the M27 offers support for the aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec, as well as LE Audio and Auracast audio sharing capabilities.

Designed to be tough and travel-ready, the portable player employs titanium alloy for its chassis, combined with a glass fibre rear panel.

The Fiio M27 will launch in Autumn 2025, with pricing to be announced in September. We'll let you know when we get those numbers as soon as they're confirmed.

If the M27 ends up being a big-money proposition, it may have to contend with the Award-winning Astell & Kern A&ultima SP3000 (around £3500 / $3500 / AU$5499) for portable player supremacy.

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Harry McKerrell is a senior staff writer at What Hi-Fi?. During his time at the publication, he has written countless news stories alongside features, advice and reviews of products ranging from floorstanding speakers and music streamers to over-ear headphones, wireless earbuds and portable DACs. He has covered launches from hi-fi and consumer tech brands, and major industry events including IFA, High End Munich and, of course, the Bristol Hi-Fi Show. When not at work he can be found playing hockey, practising the piano or trying to pet strangers' dogs.

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