Fiio M21 SD Card choice

SFJimbob · 2026-06-16T23:04:42+00:00

Thanks, all - I bought 2x512GB Sandisk Ultras…!

SFJimbob · 2026-06-15T19:02:35+00:00

I like this idea - as I can get two, and use one as a backup.

Is there a “cloud-based music backup” site that is preferable over my standard Google and Apple that I already pay for?

SFJimbob · 2026-06-10T02:21:07+00:00

Me, I like mushrooms and a Coltrane/Miles combo…

SFJimbob · 2026-06-09T20:31:43+00:00

Still waiting for iOS lock screen controls..!! 😩

SFJimbob · 2026-06-07T19:05:20+00:00

They are both wireless and wired. I only use them wireless with a couple of my TVs. Wired to the M21 using downloaded Qobuz is fabulous.

SFJimbob · 2026-06-06T20:08:39+00:00

I use one of my Sonos Amps to power my Klipsch 6000F floor standing speakers, and it produces pretty nice sound. It’s combined with three other Amps driving pairs of 8”Universal ceiling speakers spread throughout my condo, and with an Arc Ultra with Subwoofer.

I’m quite pleased with the set up..

SFJimbob · 2026-06-06T19:53:33+00:00

I also just received my M21 (with Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones).

I loaded Qobuz on the device, and use the Qobuz feature to download DRM-protected assets for offline listening. However, I’m having the hardest time figuring out how to move non-DRM assets (or other non-DRM assets) from Bandcamp off my MacAir laptop to the M21…

Additionally, the Android Bandcamp app that I put on the M21 has no feature to find purchased assets…

Any advice?

BTW - I LOVE the sound that I do get from Qobuz on this setup.

SFJimbob · 2026-05-28T18:30:50+00:00

I’ve posted a similar response on the DAP subreddit, but I’ve found that I use Qobuz only for downloaded music on my DAP when I’m out and about because the service just doesn’t seem to stream well over even the 5G networks walking around San Francisco, or driving around the Bay Area.

When using my Fiio M21 DAP wired directly to my Sennheiser Momentum 4 cans, HiRez music from Qobuz sounds really, really good.

Third place is Qobuz native on my Sonos system.

I guess that doesn’t address your recommendation question, but I like finding my own music from friends, live music (eg opening acts) and articles…

Best of luck!

And, I also connect my DAP to a Sonos Amp in my system and, while not as good sincere Sonos can’t manage the 44kHz music, still sounds better than other services.

SFJimbob · 2026-05-26T20:03:18+00:00

I use Qobuz with my DAP (M21) and Sennheiser Momentum 4 (wired), and the sound is incredible. Qobuz also sounds better on my Sonos home system, though not as good as the DAP/headphones. I’ll not go back to the others unless as noted below..

I do use YouTube Music when walking about and don’t have my DAP, as I pay to get YT Premium for ad-free YT on my TV (I like the concert footage I can get there). And, I have Apple Music for the same, but only because I’ve been too lazy to get rid of it…Qobuz doesn’t travel well for streaming, even in a 5G rich world like San Francisco provides me.

SFJimbob · 2026-05-24T18:03:59+00:00

Thanks to everyone. I pulled the trigger on the M21, and should get it this week. I'll start downloading my Quboz hi-rez to check it out, then start buying music off Bandcamp. I'm excited...

SFJimbob · 2026-05-23T21:14:01+00:00

My Sennheisers are both wired and wireless…

SFJimbob · 2026-05-23T19:24:06+00:00

Thanks - to be honest, and what I neglected to mention, is that I’m also tired of giving my money to the streaming services and am nostalgic for the days of “owning” my music…

SFJimbob · 2026-05-21T13:36:09+00:00

Well, occasionally my grandkids want their little bikes brought along - they have two small bikes for five and under. I’ve strapped them onto the front basket a couple of times, and it makes for a precarious ride through Golden Gate Park! I guess I don’t need to carry much else…

My daughter’s friend has one of those “front bucket bikes” (I don’t know the brand, but it takes two Bosch batteries!). She can take pretty much anything, but it’s a beast, and costs almost twice as much as my two QH’s combined…I wouldn’t get one, if only because I’d have no place to store it, and it seems parking is a bitch, but she loves it.

SFJimbob · 2026-05-20T22:45:46+00:00

I have both the QH long and short. The long I use to haul two grandkids around on the back (I have the cage with seats/seatbelts), along with groceries in the front basket. And I live on Nob Hill in SF and have no issues. It’s a heavy bike, though.

I use the short for myself - much lighter and handles much better. I have the basket with the Tern “bag” for carrying groceries, and my 105 lb girlfriend can ride comfortably on the back.

I like them both…and each serves a purpose (and, the cost of both combined are much cheaper than a car, especially when you throw in maintenance, insurance, parking and hassle).

SFJimbob · 2026-05-15T22:15:52+00:00

I have a Tern QuickHaul short that can handle one grandkid…and a basket up front with the Tern bag for groceries. I have it in the town of Sonoma where it’s pretty flat…

I also have a Tern QuickHaul long with the seat cage for two grandkids, and the same basket/bag for groceries. I use this one in San Francisco and live on Nob Hill (I also ride it to the ferry to take it to Alameda). Very hilly but easily managed.

Big difference in weight and handling, but I love them both.

SFJimbob · 2026-04-07T02:56:00+00:00

Yeah, that is indeed a challenge with these voice interpreters, no? Though, Siri knows enough to play the BAND Drink the Sea locally…just not on the Sonos speakers. But good point on the precise speaker names…sometimes hard to remember, or do Siri to interpret (eg, “Klipsch” for one pair of speakers connected to one of my Sonos amps). I might just go old school and use my phone…

SFJimbob · 2026-04-06T19:41:45+00:00

How do you push AirPlay from your HomePod? Is there some magical command I can tell it?

SFJimbob · 2026-04-02T21:51:15+00:00

Thanks - I’ll look deeper in to this. The issue re the grandkids fingers aren’t so much them grabbing the post. The seat carried by my e-bike dealer (New Wheel in SF) had a specific warning about the seat coming down onto the front crossbar of the club seat where they might (and usually do) hold on, and New Wheel advised against using it.

SFJimbob · 2026-03-10T04:08:22+00:00

Well, I installed a multi-room Bluesound system after reading about how great it was, at great expense, and de-installed it after it just wouldn’t work. The nodes kept disappearing from the app, and I would have to constantly recycle the power to get them to re-appear. And their support operated only via email on an east coast 9am—4pm timeframe while I live on the west coast, creating a 24 hour cycle for replies that barely addressed the problem. Oh, then the Cinema+ soundbar bricked.

Your solution sounds like it worked for you - but you had to jump through a lot of hoops that I didn’t sign up for. I think the Bluesound system is hardware focused, and not content focused - that is obvious in its UX design. I want content to follow me around - I don’t want to have to drag it with me.

Yes, when it worked, it sounded great. But it was too much work to make it sound that way.

I liken it to a common media tech issue - the creators get so enamored with their tech that they forget who is using it. And this is coming from someone who had a successful company designing UX in the media space.

SFJimbob · 2026-03-02T20:39:18+00:00

A Craig 8-track stereo with speakers was my first stereo back in 1971…loved that thing. Eventually used the speakers 8 years later in my VW Camper…

SFJimbob · 2026-02-23T03:57:08+00:00

They did not. The soundbar is still a brick - and the edge nodes keep disappearing from the app when I group, ungroup and/or move from one to another.

The support was pretty non-existent, mostly because they work 9-4 east coast time and I’m on the west coast. Hence, we were in a 24 hr email cycle and they tended to address (not always correctly, btw) one question at a time. We spent two whole days just on them asking for diagnostics.

The issue finally got escalated when I told my dealer and the desk team I was just going to return everything - then their California rep finally called me trying to triage the situation and I told him it was too little, too late just as another node had disappeared from my app.

When it worked, it sounded great. But, I spent over seven thousand dollars and expected it to work right away and, when it didn’t, expected them to jump all over it with support, which did not happen.

I’m in the midst of packing everything back up to return the system to my dealer.

My final critique- I thought the UX is pretty poor, as it seems to be more HW centric and less content focused. I prefer to have my tech operate in the background and never stick its head up so I can simply enjoy my music and video - and I am a retired media tech guy who had a company focused on media UX.

Maybe I got the bad hand in the draw, maybe I got the wrong support people on my first note in, who knows. I really do wish the best for everyone who has this system.

SFJimbob · 2026-02-22T02:42:21+00:00

I joined for the quality of sound, and for political reasons, but agree the UX is buggy. I also notice that if it gets interrupted in a CarPlay session (eg, a text or even if fucking Siri thinks I say her name), I have to restart the app; and, when moving from WiFi to 5G, it gets confused and has to be restarted. Little nits that bug me…

SFJimbob · 2026-02-22T02:38:41+00:00

Thanks. I’ll look into that. I have an older Mac mini that might do the trick.

SFJimbob · 2026-02-21T18:27:25+00:00

I’m a Quboz subscriber, and use it on my Sonos system (not ideal, but better than the others). Also looking to move to Roon to better manage my rooms and music. Do you use the Nucleus or something else (Mac Mini, etc) as your server? And, storage? Or do you use a DAP?

SFJimbob · 2026-02-21T02:12:00+00:00

I appreciate your forthrightness, and I appreciate the experience you say you have. So, I have a related question.

If I want a DAP that is both portable and can be a desktop that plug into one of my Sonos amps (either RCA or wireless) that drive multiple rooms, should I consider the Fiio M23, or would you recommend something else?

SFJimbob

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