[bracque]

Based on specs, which I know can be difficult, how with i5 compare to the shanling m5? Less options I know but is a pure dap? Mass drop has the m5 at 420 right now. I was debating between waiting for the i5, or going m5 or m2.

 

[audio123]

Based on specs, which I know can be difficult, how with i5 compare to the shanling m5? Less options I know but is a pure dap? Mass drop has the m5 at 420 right now. I was debating between waiting for the i5, or going m5 or m2.

ask @nmatheis

 

[twister6]

Based on specs, which I know can be difficult, how with i5 compare to the shanling m5? Less options I know but is a pure dap? Mass drop has the m5 at 420 right now. I was debating between waiting for the i5, or going m5 or m2.

 
Keep in mind 6.3 ohm output impedance of M5 if you use multi-ba IEMs/CIEMs...
 
Saw that drop as well, along with Orion's next to it.  I'm sure it made Nic (@nmatheis) very happy

  Considering that i5 supposed to sound close to N5, and Nic has both N5 and M5, perhaps he can offer some comparison.

 

[twister6]

 
 
THIS is what I want to see, the Meze 99 Classics beside the PSB M4U 2! Two fantastic headphones with some nice looking people checking them out! Both are my favourite headphones and IMO best in class.

 
There is nothing wrong with ugly people listening to Beats

j/k

 

[sledgeharvy]

Keep in mind 6.3 ohm output impedance of M5 if you use multi-ba IEMs/CIEMs...

Saw that drop as well, along with Orion's next to it.  I'm sure it made Nic (@nmatheis
) very happy   Considering that i5 supposed to sound close to N5, and Nic has both N5 and M5, perhaps he can offer some comparison.

This was quoted from Shanling Directly.

Important notice: Output impedance of M5 is 0.18 ohm

Previously we marked the headphone output impedance of M5 6.2 ohm, which is inaccurate-we use our regular testing standard from the full-size units, which is with a different load.
But we recently found out other brands are using a total different standard of testing-a common standard for DAPs. This is why we are now with a new value and need to revise our specification.

The same to M2 and M3, their output impedance is not as high as the number we provided before.

 

[audio123]

   
There is nothing wrong with ugly people listening to Beats

j/k

LOL nicely done mate

 

[nmatheis]

@Andykong
 it was nice to meet you and the rest of the Cayin team at the High End Show in Munich. Looking forward to meeting up with you guys at other shows as well.

When are you coming out with those over ear headphones? I'm ready to buy!

Keep in mind 6.3 ohm output impedance of M5 if you use multi-ba IEMs/CIEMs...

Saw that drop as well, along with Orion's next to it.  I'm sure it made Nic (@nmatheis
) very happy   Considering that i5 supposed to sound close to N5, and Nic has both N5 and M5, perhaps he can offer some comparison.

As sledgeharvy mentioned, Shanling did some research, found that they weren't testing their DAPs' output impedance like other manufacturers, remeasured, and found they were at < 1ohm when using more common measuring protocol. This makes absolute sense to me because I've always liked Shanling M3 (and now M5) with multi-BA IEM even though it was supposedly high OI. The recently released corrected OI for all of Shanling's DAPs validates that for me.

Off the top of my head, I'd say that while they share the sonic similarities of being full, warm, and detailed. N5 takes this into more "fun" territory with more energetic bass and sparkly highs giving the sound more color, whereas M5 takes a more restrained / refined approach which lets your HP / IEM do more of the sonic coloration. N5 is a monster when it comes to driving power.

Beyond that, M5 is a bit smaller but lacks one of N5's two mSD slots and is also missing N5's balanced output. Both are pretty right-hander centric, but M5 is a bit moreso. I give M5 the nod for slightly easier to use GUI with less cluttered status bar. I find both aesthetically pleasing, but N5 moreso.

As you can probably tell, I really like both DAPs a lot and am reluctant to recommend one over the other because it really depends on what characteristics you're looking for. If anyone has more in depth questions, feel free to ask in this thread or PM me.

 

[Andykong]

@Andykong
 it was nice to meet you and the rest of the Cayin team at the High End Show in Munich. Looking forward to meeting up with you guys at other shows as well.

The pleasure is ours, your headphone indeed has drawn more people to try out our i5 DAP, for that I must buy you a bear when I run into you again in next show.

I think our next gathering will be RMAF, ad I am looking forwards to that already.

 

[Andykong]

Awesome German teatime!

On Day 1, when I open the cabinet under the main counter, I found a dozen of those tall glasses and I was puzzled what exactly were they mean for, and on Day 3 when they pull out the bottle at "tea time", it suddenly made sense completely.

 

[Andykong]

THIS is what I want to see, the Meze 99 Classics beside the PSB M4U 2! Two fantastic headphones with some nice looking people checking them out! Both are my favourite headphones and IMO best in class.

Well, I took hundreds of photos and these are the best of the best, go figure why I picked these out of the lot.

Eye-candy headphones are indeed indispensable at pubic events, and when they paired with the i5 very well and sing like a songbird, what more can we ask for? :atsmile:

The PSB has active noise cancellation, I have to check and make sure the phone is set to OFF position all the time, not an ideal tools from a show demo perspective, the Classic99 is much better on this account as the are simple and always work.

 

[Andykong]

Thanks. Apple is a different story to android.

We are starting to see apps losing compatibility with android in the low 4s, so I suppose there is a risk that the i5 would not be able to play spotify in a few years.

That I can't disagree, and if by few years, you mean 3-4 years, I suppose the risk is acceptable by some if not most DAP users. How often do we keep using the same DAP after three years? I for one are close to that as I still keep my Fiio X5 (2014 Feb) but it is not my main player now and I certainly won't feel regret when some of the function of this player become "obsoleted" after 2017 (3 years after I purchased).

There is certainly a risk and even when we opt for Android 5, the risk is still there and is not significantly lower in my opinion. From what I observed, Android 5 isn't a game changer in the Android domain, Android 4 and 6 offer a lot more innovations and stay as a benchmark for a much longer time.

 

[Andykong]

Based on specs, which I know can be difficult, how with i5 compare to the shanling m5? Less options I know but is a pure dap? Mass drop has the m5 at 420 right now. I was debating between waiting for the i5, or going m5 or m2.

If you are considering M5, should it be more logical to compare it with N5 instead? I am an old school users, so touchscreen UI is not a must to me, but the connectivity of i5 is attractive. So even when we ignore the different in UI, the WiFi/BT/DLNA/Third party apps package will put i5 in a fairly different direction from the "traditional" DAP and I always encourage users to think twice on their needs and personal preference before they jump on board a new toy.

 

[nmatheis]

If you are considering M5, should it be more logical to compare it with N5 instead? I am an old school users, so touchscreen UI is not a must to me, but the connectivity of i5 is attractive. So even when we ignore the different in UI, the WiFi/BT/DLNA/Third party apps package will put i5 in a fairly different direction from the "traditional" DAP and I always encourage users to think twice on their needs and personal preference before they jump on board a new toy.

Well reasoned response, Andy!

 

[x RELIC x]

The pleasure is ours, your headphone indeed has drawn more people to try out our i5 DAP, for that I must buy you a bear when I run into you again in next show.

I think our next gathering will be RMAF, ad I am looking forwards to that already.

Wow, are they Panda's?! In Canada we buy each other beers!!

Sorry Andy, couldn't resist. :wink_face:

 

[bracque]

If you are considering M5, should it be more logical to compare it with N5 instead? I am an old school users, so touchscreen UI is not a must to me, but the connectivity of i5 is attractive. So even when we ignore the different in UI, the WiFi/BT/DLNA/Third party apps package will put i5 in a fairly different direction from the "traditional" DAP and I always encourage users to think twice on their needs and personal preference before they jump on board a new toy.

All else being equal I would give the i5 a chance. What has me considering the m5 is it is 100 less and available now.

It might have been mentioned but what are the measurements / size of the i5?

Thanks for the response.