[nmatheis]

I'm running a bit behind on my review. Have notes and just processed the pics tonight, so it shouldn't be too long now. I'll tell you right now that this is my recommendation for a DAP in this price category due to sound & HW + FW UI, though. Loving it and will be sad to send it out on tour

Yes indeed. Please don't forget to make sound comparison against other daps (big brother M3, N5, X7, etc)

Aw, c'mon puppyfi...

But seriously, I've got some listening notes. However, I'm just not able to elaborate on subtle sonic nuances for paragraphs like some people.
:wink_face:

Versus the others, it's most similar to... You guessed it, the M3. They both have a more "audience perspective" presentation than other DAPs I've used. They also sound more neutral than other DAPs to my ears. M3 has a smoother upper end, whereas M2 sounds a bit brighter. Out of those two, if my headphone of choice was a little on the bright side, the obvious choice for synergy would be M3. If my headphone were a little in the dark side, the M2 would be my choice.

Vs N5, the N5 is definitely warmer. Think Cayin's C5 and N6 had a love child. It sounds good but more colored than M2. Sound is more an "I'm in the band" presentation. I prefer M2's controls and GUI better. M2 is also much lighter and more pocketable.

Similar comments to N5 apply to X5 Classic except X5 sounds a bit darker. DX90 is also similar but has more low end control than N5 and more low end presence and a bit of upper end glare to contend with vs. M2.

I also tried the X3 Classic with 3.4 final FW vs. M2. Holy harsh treble, batman! I hadn't listened to the old X3 in a while, and the treble immediately jumped out at me - and not in a good way.

I'm not worried about M2 vs. X7. Totally different beasts as far as HW & FW UI are concerned. At least in my book. X7 is trying to take on TOTL DAPs from AK & Sony.

Does that help some? I really want to emphasize one point. Unlike some, I really don't think DAPs at this price point are night & day different, although as I pointed out above Shanling does sound more noticeably different vs. the others. It's usually more subtle compared to something like changing your IEM. It's more important to me to find a DAP that is easy to use from both a HW & GUI standpoint, gives me enough storage, plays the files types I use, and has good synergy with the HP / IEM I use. The M2 pushes a lot of these buttons for me. I'd prefer it had 2 TF slots, but it's pretty small so I can forgive Shanling for that.

Also, I really like it that Shanling really nailed down the HW controls & FW GUI since the M3. I hope they release a major FW update for M3 to bring parity to their FW!

And I can't wait to see what the M5 brings to the table!


How many of these can you try at LMUE, btw?

 

[Mr Trev]

Does it support OTG? Could be a way round only having 1 msd slot. On the other hand looking at how reliable that "feature" has been on Fiio devices…

 

[nmatheis]

Does it support OTG? Could be a way round only having 1 msd slot. On the other hand looking at how reliable that "feature" has been on Fiio devices…

As you pointed out, OTG support on other is flaky at best requiring the right USB controller inside the OTG device. I honestly wouldn't know where to start and don't feel like spending money to test a feature I'm unlikely to use and that causes major battery drain when I have seen it work.

 

[Mr Trev]

Just wondering if Shanling even had it listed as a function. Like you, from the reports I've read it wouldn't be a huge loss if it didn't.
 
Can you ask your Shanling "mole" if they're planning any BF/CM deals

 

[nmatheis]

Nope, it's not a listed feature Mr Trev. That makes me wonder if I can use the M2 as a DAC/Amp with my iPhone. I'm going to break out the CCK and test it. Who knows, maybe it'll work. Some DX90 users are reporting that DX90 now works with iPhone + CCK...

 

[puppyfi]

Aw, c'mon puppyfi...

But seriously, I've got some listening notes. However, I'm just not able to elaborate on subtle sonic nuances for paragraphs like some people.
:wink_face:

Versus the others, it's most similar to... You guessed it, the M3. They both have a more "audience perspective" presentation than other DAPs I've used. They also sound more neutral than other DAPs to my ears. M3 has a smoother upper end, whereas M2 sounds a bit brighter. Out of those two, if my headphone of choice was a little on the bright side, the obvious choice for synergy would be M3. If my headphone were a little in the dark side, the M2 would be my choice.

Vs N5, the N5 is definitely warmer. Think Cayin's C5 and N6 had a love child. It sounds good but more colored than M2. Sound is more an "I'm in the band" presentation. I prefer M2's controls and GUI better. M2 is also much lighter and more pocketable.

Similar comments to N5 apply to X5 Classic except X5 sounds a bit darker. DX90 is also similar but has more low end control than N5 and more low end presence and a bit of upper end glare to contend with vs. M2.

I also tried the X3 Classic with 3.4 final FW vs. M2. Holy harsh treble, batman! I hadn't listened to the old X3 in a while, and the treble immediately jumped out at me - and not in a good way.

I'm not worried about M2 vs. X7. Totally different beasts as far as HW & FW UI are concerned. At least in my book. X7 is trying to take on TOTL DAPs from AK & Sony.

Does that help some? I really want to emphasize one point. Unlike some, I really don't think DAPs at this price point are night & day different, although as I pointed out above Shanling does sound more noticeably different vs. the others. It's usually more subtle compared to something like changing your IEM. It's more important to me to find a DAP that is easy to use from both a HW & GUI standpoint, gives me enough storage, plays the files types I use, and has good synergy with the HP / IEM I use. The M2 pushes a lot of these buttons for me. I'd prefer it had 2 TF slots, but it's pretty small so I can forgive Shanling for that.

Also, I really like it that Shanling really nailed down the HW controls & FW GUI since the M3. I hope they release a major FW update for M3 to bring parity to their FW!

And I can't wait to see what the M5 brings to the table!


How many of these can you try at LMUE, btw?

You sure are the man (afraid not many Shanling reviewers atm)! Excellent comparison! (definitely well worth the wait )

So true of what you had written...I got my M3 (bought used) for over a month already.
It has great synergy with my iems (A83 and DN2K). It has great HW/GUI for my usage. Love the rotary volume knob .
Ever since I got used to the smooth Shanling sound, I sold my x3ii (too flat sounding for my liking, too bright/ glare for some genre (Adele, for example), too digital sounding (feel digital after used to Shanling sound), still dislike the wheel, HW buttons layout after 6 months of usage). My Shozy Alien is still a keeper (but in storage for the past month). Also will keep my first gen wolfson fiio x3 (fw 3.34).
There is a lot of new daps in the $350 category now. Shanling sound may not be for everyone, but I feel that people looking at N5, lotoo 5000 (or even AK Jr) should try to give Shanling a listen.

 

[nmatheis]

Thanks for the kind words and your thoughts puppyfi. You're lucky to have access to what we in the west think of as exotic DAPs!

I'm glad I've found another M3 fan. That DAP is the bomb and deserves more exposure. It's still got a Canadian tour to go, and I have a feeling hakushondaimao's going to like it since he's liking the M2. But he's going to have to wait just a bit longer because I'm getting the Soundaware M1 Esther Analog in for testing soon, which is supposed to be a similar sound to M3. Have tried the Esther puppyfi?

Since you like the M3, you really should give the M2 a try. IMHO, Shanling brought their A Game with the M2 and have shown they will be strong competitor in the rapidly expanding DAP market. If you do try it, please let me know what you think.

 

[puppyfi]

Thanks for the kind words and your thoughts @puppyfi. You're lucky to have access to what we in the west think of as exotic DAPs!

I'm glad I've found another M3 fan. That DAP is the bomb and deserves more exposure. It's still got a Canadian tour to go, and I have a feeling @hakushondaimao's going to like it since he's liking the M2. But he's going to have to wait just a bit longer because I'm getting the Soundaware M1 Esther Analog in for testing soon, which is supposed to be a similar sound to M3. Have tried the Esther @puppyfi?

Since you like the M3, you really should give the M2 a try. IMHO, Shanling brought their A Game with the M2 and have shown they will be strong competitor in the rapidly expanding DAP market. If you do try it, please let me know what you think.

 
Haha..no thank you nmatheis, I am weak in resistance to beauties and nice things. So no more visiting shops, no more auditioning for me at least for the rest of the year (no more saying sorry to my wallet

).
M3 (plus LO to e12a) is pretty much 'end game' for me atm. I shall just lurk around this forum until the time comes when the urge to upgrade overcomes me

  

 

[unbeatableggs]

Just found a pic on Weibo.com which perfectly shows how SMALL the M2 is. Haha
 

 

[puppyfi]

 
I don't see anything small here 

 
(told you...I can't resist beauties 

)
.
.
.
.
Ok, here's more pics on M2 from the chinese website
 
http://erji.net/read.php?tid=1863235&fpage=3

 

[nmatheis]

Haha, it looks so tiny next to that iPhone 6S (Plus size, I'm guessing)!

 

[alpha421]

Beautiful, just beautiful.

 

[nmatheis]

My Shanling M2 review is up: LINK. Enjoy!

 

[Shanling]

There are two questions that we wish to hear more advices from people
 
1. Some mentioned that we should removed the 5800 tracks restriction in the coming firmware and we confirmed that this could be done. However after testing, removing this restriction significantly slows the system responsing speed, and the software developer confirms that this is unavoidable. Considering that M2 has got only one TF card slot which with a maximum of 128G, maybe there are only few users could go exceed the number of 5800, since the average file size 22M is not sufficient for one hi-res track. Then is it worthy enough to sacrifice the system speed for removing the restriction?
 
2. We held a vote to decide whether we should remain stop when skip forward/backward if your track was stopped, in our users' QQ group chat. The result was 44:9-44 supports it should directly play rather than remaining stop. What do you guys here think?
 
The two suggestions are formally raised by @nmatheis and supported by some guys. Thank you.

 

[nmatheis]

1. @Shanling: What would the real-world impact on the system be for implementing more than 5800 track database? By that I mean, what aspects of the system would be slowed down and by how much? I'd suggest implementing it in a closed beta firmware and see what people's reactions are. If the slowdown is negligible, then I'd say it's worth it. This is all for my Tag-browsing friends. I strictly use folder browsing unless I put a DAP on shuffle all tracks to burn in a new pair of IEM, so I'm just suggesting this for the benefit of others.
 
2. Sounds like I've been outvoted