The tech industry considers the Apple iPod as the undisputed king of portable music consumption. However, audiophiles would likely scoff at the thought that the device can manage accurate sound reproduction. Connoisseurs would settle for nothing less when it comes to their tunes. Therefore, companies like Sony and Astell&Kern provide high-fidelity players that demand a premium price for the unparalleled audio quality. Luckily there are alternatives that are more affordable like the Fiio M7.

Some models border on being prohibitive due to the cost of ownership. Nevertheless, this high-resolution music player delivers upscale performance without breaking the bank. It weighs 4.09 ounces and measures 4.29 x 2.05 x 0.51 inches, which makes it pocket-friendly. The body is crafted out of metal with a matte finish for that extra elegance. The front-side holds a 3.2-inch 800 x 480 TFT touchscreen with the physical buttons located on the left flank of the frame. You can get in Silver, Black, or Red colors.

The high-resolution music player runs a customized build of Android and uses a Samsung Exynos 7270 chipset with 768MB of RAM. The 4GB internal storage only leaves 2GB accessible for the user. Nevertheless, a microSD card slot is available and supports up to 512GB. Its built-in 1,880mAh battery lets you enjoy your tunes for up to 20 hours on a single charge. The Fiio M7 can handle all the popular lossless audio formats out there and can stream your music over Bluetooth. LDAC, aptX, and aptX-HD codecs are fully-supported for high-quality wireless playback.

Fiio M7

Photos courtesy of Fiio