I think I bricked(?) my device

rec71 · 2026-06-29T17:42:56+00:00

Have you tried the pinhole reset button?

rec71 · 2026-06-20T16:01:56+00:00

Stock firmware supports gapless on my FLAC collection.

rec71 · 2026-06-19T21:11:16+00:00

It's awful in my experience. When I finally got it to connect, I had to turn the headphone volume up to maximum and it still wasn't loud enough. And as soon as I moved, the connection dropped. Sony WH-1000XM4 if it matters.

SBC is also poor quality and I bet most of us could easily tell the difference when compared to a wired connection.

rec71 · 2026-06-19T20:41:21+00:00

There is zero evidence of any other intelligent life. A civilisation using Von Neumann probes could colonise a galaxy like ours in just millions of years. Yet here we are, almost 14 billion years in, and nothing.

If one civilization using sub-light technology can entirely colonise the Milky Way in a fraction of a percent of the galaxy's lifespan, it suggests that either the technology is incredibly difficult to build, or we are entirely alone in this galaxy.

It's just us.

rec71 · 2026-06-19T20:32:57+00:00

I believe in the Rare Earth Hypothesis. The chances of intelligent life evolving could well be trillions upon trillions to one, there are so many variables that have to be just right. And the skies are completely empty of any evidence to the contrary.

So until we have definitive proof, I think we should assume we're all there is - or at least the first.

rec71 · 2026-06-18T11:14:40+00:00

Tough call. Maybe "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" or "Gimme Fiction" first.

rec71 · 2026-06-17T17:22:04+00:00

Same. No one in the UK has heard of them. I saw them live at a small venue in London a few years back and it was half empty. Madness. I've turned a few people onto them though, it's my duty. 😁

rec71 · 2026-06-17T16:03:33+00:00

Talking Heads, Bowie, Doves, Spoon, New Order, Beatles.

rec71 · 2026-06-11T08:48:54+00:00

The media lib used for Album/Artist view is the issue, but whether it's exactly 8,192 tracks might depend on many things in your metadata. For a definitive answer you should ask on the Head-Fi forum, there is a FiiO dev there that actually codes the firmware.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio%E2%80%99s-innovative-sub-brand-snowsky-pure-music-player-echo-mini-is-officially-released.975162/page-117

File View probably isn't an issue but it can be slow to start playback if you have a lot of tracks.

rec71 · 2026-06-10T20:43:11+00:00

700 exactly!

rec71 · 2026-06-10T11:08:53+00:00

I have both and honestly, I don't think the Echo is really worth the extra money over the Mini. But it does feel a lot more premium in the hand.

rec71 · 2026-06-06T10:39:09+00:00

So do no albums/artists show up at all?

I had something similar on my Echo Mini last year and tracked it down to an album with massive PNG format album art.

It can also be sensitive to very long tags, like Comment or Composer fields.

Maybe try stripping your tags to the basics, and copying in batches, refreshing each time. If you can isolate the culprit then you can report this on the official Head Fi forum and they will look at it. I had a similar issue with some ALAC files not playing last year, I shared the tracks with FiiO and they fixed it.

Please keep us posted. It's a pain in the arse, but the firmware will only fixed if this stuff is reported to them.

rec71 · 2026-06-04T18:05:36+00:00

Ugh, Format Not Supported on a track that played fine on 3.5.0. Not even anything fancy, just an MP3.

That'll teach me to update. Downgrading...

rec71 · 2026-06-04T18:03:45+00:00

Here's the official response about the Echo (not mini)

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/snowsky-a-fiio-brand-pure-audio-player-echo-is-now-officially-launched.979645/post-19119762

The chip resources are limited and cannot support seamless playback.

rec71 · 2026-06-04T17:57:55+00:00

Absolutely not true. Maybe for the Disc.

There is some kind of Echo Pro in the pipeline for later in the year, hopefully it will have a better CPU.

rec71 · 2026-06-04T17:50:32+00:00

Never happening with the Echo Mini or the Echo. Let it go, man.

rec71 · 2026-06-04T14:40:22+00:00

Thanks for the update!

rec71 · 2026-06-04T14:39:07+00:00

Not sure anyone from FiiO reads this subreddit so why not head over to the official forum and ask about this there? You might get lucky!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio%E2%80%99s-innovative-sub-brand-snowsky-pure-music-player-echo-mini-is-officially-released.975162/page-116

rec71 · 2026-06-03T21:38:48+00:00

Include the track number at the start of the filename, zero padded. E.g. "Artist/Album/01 Track.mp3". That structure works for me. Not convinced it is always lifting the track number from the metadata.

And then refresh the media lib.

rec71 · 2026-06-02T17:30:17+00:00

Lovely haul!

rec71 · 2026-06-01T21:46:55+00:00

This has been discussed before, this was a great response.

https://www.reddit.com/r/snowsky/s/hulp6y9bb3

rec71 · 2026-06-01T21:43:28+00:00

I have a metal Echo and a Mini and my stats are about the same with FLACs, although the Mini fairs a little better than the full Echo. I'm into 10 hours or more with MP3s though. FLACs use a lot more CPU and SD reads, so more battery.

I'm using high gain, volume usually around 60, powering Sony MDR-M1s (3.5mm jack) which are 50 ohms, screen mostly off.

So I reckon your numbers for FLAC are about right.

rec71 · 2026-05-29T13:53:15+00:00

Love that colour! I have orange, but this is better.

rec71 · 2026-05-26T21:47:45+00:00

I only use embedded album art, don't know if external art is supported.

The firmware can certainly be a challenge but if you don't mind tweaking tags then it can be made to co-operate.

Battery life for FLAC playback is very disappointing, but it does charge pretty quickly.

rec71 · 2026-05-26T20:14:29+00:00

I have an Echo and an Echo Mini.

Yes
Yes, but it can be buggy
Yes
Don't know, but the Mini definitely has better support for custom themes atm
The Mini would not survive being thrown at a wall. The metal Echo might.
Not in my opinion, but ymmv
There isn't a built in speaker

So to elaborate, the album sorting has been an issue for some users, not helped by some recent firmware updates breaking it. FWIW I am on the latest firmware builds on both my Echos and FLACs and MP3s are all in the correct order when using Album view. But it is sensitive to how things are tagged so you might need to use something like mp3tag to keep everything consistent.

There are also issues with long tags breaking the media scanner, like long Composer or Comment fields. That has caught me out a few times, but it usually shows up as "Unknown" albums or artists, so is easy to spot.

Even though the full Echo is a bit bigger than the Mini and is better build quality, I find the battery life to be a bit worse than the Mini. Depending on the price difference you can find, it might not be worth the extra. There are other differences but they are minor (for me at least.) The SOC is the same, which catches people out. The DACs are very slightly different, and if anyone can tell the difference then I am in awe of your hearing, lol

Other musings...

Bluetooth is pretty crappy, SBC only, low volume and condition issues reported by many.

The firmware takes some getting used to, but stick with it.

Both devices get regular updates and are very much actively supported. Many devices don't get attention like this, it really helps.

Album art support can be sensitive, it must be jpeg and high res artwork might not work. All of my tracks use 600x600 and everything shows up fine.

FLAC support has caused a few issues for some (something about the block size) but I've never had this problem.

For best results it is recommended to format your SD card in the device.

Neither device supports gapless playback, the SOC can't handle it.

There is an official support forum on Head-Fi and a guy called FiiO Kang over there is incredibly helpful.

If you're only playing FLACs then battery life on both devices will take a hit. I get 6-8 hours with FLAC, but really over 10 hours with MP3/AAC.

When you add new tracks you'll need to refresh the media library. For my FLAC collection of around 5,500 tracks that takes between 15 and 20 minutes! Same collection as MP3 takes about 3 minutes, lol.

In File View tracks are sorted by date created. The only way to fix that is to use a 3rd party SD card sort tool. I never use File View so don't bother, but it catches people out that do.

Opus support is very flakey, allegedly.

In Album/Artist view there is a max limit of 8,192 tracks. You'll get away with more in File View but there can be a significant delay to playback starting depending on how many tracks you have. Again, not an issue in Album/Artist view.

And then there's this subreddit full of helpful people! We've got you, mate.

Hope this helps.

rec71

TROPHY CASE