Well, it has arrived! I’ve been listening to it for the last two hours and it sounds amazing. It’s thicker than I expected but is fine in my pocket and gorgeous in the materials. Sound is great, as expected.

Took a bit to get my very first Android device to mount on my Mac to transfer music, but got OpenMTP working finally. MacDroid is much slicker but $40USD or a subscription. F that.

The native music player is fine I guess. I need more time with it. But my main complaint is that it isn’t possible (happy to be corrected) to add an Album to Now Playing from the library. You can add individual songs. I decided to wait on installing something like PowerAmp because I’m not keen on the Google Play store but I will probably cave. I do love the Pure Music mode for hiding the Android functionality and preventing tinkering temptations.

Most things seem nicely responsive. It ain’t a phone though. Scrolling and tapping work fine. Double-tap to wake is hit or miss for me, but I really just need to get used to the physical buttons so this is a tiny complaint.

Screen is pretty and shows off album art really well.

I am way too used to the seamless AirPod Pro connection to my apple devices. Having to remember to connect them before hitting play is a me problem but it’s worth noting. Same issue with my Steam Deck so this isn’t the M21’s fault.

Overall, I’m getting used to it and every moment I do, I like it even more. I’m pleased with my purchase and can’t wait to get some IEMs and start obsessing about bit rates.

Definitely! I’m sitting by my doorstep waiting for it to arrive.

Took the leap after hours of comparison videos and mine arrives tomorrow. I’ll dig in and report back. Anything specific you are interested in?