Fiio's new Hi-Res Audio player runs on Android and it's far more affordable than you'd think

FiiO has announced an Android-powered Hi-Res Audio music player that wont break the bank.

The FiiO M21 comes with impressive specification and a relatively low price for its category. And for an extra £19, you can pretend you're in 1983 with an optional protective case also available, that's been styled as an old-school cassette player.

The cassette case may be retro but there's nothing old-fashioned about the M21. It has four Cirrus Logic DAC chips, two-stage amplification, a 4.7-inch IPS display, and Android 13.

The M21 will play up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM files, while MQA decoding is on board too. And thanks to Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX and aptX HD support, it can also double as a streamer for your Hi-Fi too.

FiiO M21: key features and pricing

The four Cirrus Logic CS43198 DAC chips are arranged in a matrix configuration, which FiiO says minimises crosstalk and noise. The two-stage amplification provides voltage first and then current gain in order to create a "clear and dynamic" sound.

In a first for FiiO's affordable Android players, the M21 also has a desktop mode that, when connected to power via USB-C, bypasses the on-board battery to deliver up to 950mW per channel into 32 ohms. This, FiiO says, is comparable to desktop DAC/amps. In desktop mode you can also use the M21 to output audio to your Hi-Fi.

You can expect up to 15 hours battery life in portable mode, if you're using the 3.5mm connector, and up to 11.5 hours if you're listening via the 4.4mm balanced output.

The processor is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage. You can expand that by up to a further 2TB through microSD card.

The FiiO M21 is available now, with a price tag of £279 / $329 / €329 (about AU$582).

There's an even more affordable option available too – the JM21, which is also worth considering.