Preamble:
Shanling Audio (
http://shanling.com/en/default.html), which isn’t that well known in Europe and America, is a Chinese audio manufacturer which has got a quite high reputation in the Asian area and has specialised in making audio products and already exists since the 90s of the last century.
Not long ago, the company began to release portable audio products as well, and is now currently offering a portable Bluetooth DAC, named H3, a small portable amplifier (H1), a DAP (M3) and its most recent product, the entry-level DAP, the M2, which retails for a MSRP of $250.
And so, finally, I am thankful that Shanling Audio agreed to send me a sample of their M2 for a review tour which I am coordinating, with the friendly support of my co-organiser who is registered as “h1f1add1cted” on Head-Fi and as “AG1M” on the German HiFi-Forum, and we are looking forward to some impressions/reviews of the M2 from other German audio enthusiasts, but for now, here is my take on this neat little DAP.
Technical Specifications:
Display: 2.35” TFT LCD screen (360x400)
Format Supported: APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3, WAV, AIFF, DSF, DIFF
Sample rate: 44.1 kHz – 192 kHz
Output Level: 1.3 Vrms
DAC: Cirrus Logic CS4398
Low pass filtering: JRC MUSE8920
DAC: supported up to 192 kHz/32 Bit
Output: headphones (3.5mm)/combined LO and COAX out (3.5 mm)
Output power: 125 mW @32 Ohm/13 mW @300 Ohm
Frequency response: 20 Hz~20 kHz (-0.5 dB)
THD+N: <0.004%
SNR: >102dB
Clock Jitter: 30ps (Typ)
Referenced clock jitter: 200 femtoseconds
Battery: 2200 mAH lithium battery
Delivery Content:
Besides the actual DAP, Shanling Audio included a brown leather case (which is no standard accessory and can be bought separately), which has got cut-outs for all relevant buttons, the operation elements and all connectors and not only protects the device, but also holds it tightly in place.
The M2 comes in a white outer packaging which has got a large picture of the DAP on its front. Opening its lid, one can pull out the actual black package with the help of a red loop, which contains the DAP and its accessories. After taking off the lid which features a silver Shanling logo, the M2 gets revealed along with its accessories, which are: a quick-start guide, a warranty card, a USB cable for charging, data transfer and use as a USB DAC with a PC, a coaxial cable for connecting the DAP to an external DAC, two screen protectors, a micro SD to USB adapter as well as a velvet carrying pouch.
Looks, Feels, Build Quality:
The M2 has got an enclosure which is entirely made of black aluminium and real carbon fibre. The sides are slightly rough, the front is brushed and the rear is made of carbon fibre and has got a silky matte sealing/finish.
On the bottom, one can find a micro USB port which can be used for charging, file transfer as well as for using the M2 as a USB DAC with a PC. On the lower left side is the micro SD slot, on the upper left is a silver aluminium button for powering on/off and locking/unlocking the screen, as well as a small hole which has got a reset button behind it.
On the top side are two connectors, of which the left one it the headphone output and the right one acts as combined Line Out/Digital Out jack.
On the front’s centre is the 2.35” TFT LCD screen located, which has got a resolution of 360x400 pixels – it may appear not much for today’s standards, but the display is surprisingly clean and crisp and has got good colours. In the upper right corner is the M2’s unique core feature, a dial with integrated D-Pad, which intentionally looks like a DSLR’s operationelements. Its D-Pad has got five buttons which are used for playback controls and for going back and forth in the menus. Unfortunately, I have to say that it only visually looks like if it was taken from a DSLR, but doesn’t really feel like one (e.g. like the one on the Canon EOS 60D I once used to own). The turning resistance is quite low and the tactile and audible notches are rather undefined and a bit too weak. The D-Pad however is quite good (although its centre button is a bit hard to press), but it took me a while to figure out that the pressure points of the buttons are located on the outside, just underneath the scroll dial.
The haptics turn out to be very good and due to the rather compact size (the M2 is a bit shorter and narrower than an iPhone 4), it lies comfortably in my hand and is easy to operate. Build quality is flawless as well.
Operation, User Interface:
The impressions of the User Interface were written based on the FW version 1.01. As soon as the M2 is returned to me after the tour, I will add impressions of future FW versions and include them to my reviews.
Operation and input of the M2 are made with the scroll dial and its D-Pad with five buttons (by the way, the dial as well as all buttons are entirely made of metal). The upper button acts as play/pause button, the left and right ones for skipping and winding tracks and the lower button acts as back/return button. Finally, the centre button acts as selector.
The scroll dial is used for navigation in the menus and for volume control on the playing screen. Volume control covers 60 steps (+ mute), which is less fine-grained than on other DAPs, but it is said that the upcoming FW is going to add more steps.
Practically, in the settings, one can select whether the scroll wheel and the D-Pad remain active and usable when the display is turned off or not.
Control with the scroll dial and the D-Pad is by the way pretty precise and most importantly, intuitive and in my humble opinion a good alternative over the “classical” operation methods, although it would be handy if the scroll speed was automatically increased on long lists when scrolling for a certain time, such as it is the case on the iPod Classic.
The main menu consists of five sub-menus, namely the playing screen, a music database (which unfortunately doesn’t sort the files after the “Album Artist” tag), a file browser, the playback settings and last but not least the general system settings. On the left side, the cover art of the currently playing song is being displayed; the status bar on the top contains information like the current menu one is in, the volume level and a percentual as well as graphical battery level indicator.
In the system and playback settings, there are many options like a wide variety of different languages, three different themes, an option which lets you choose between Line Out and Coaxial Out, the way the M2 is being recognised when it is plugged into a computer (charge only, DAC, file browser) as well as many screen settings and a good equaliser which has got 10 bands with fine adjustment range and many pre-sets. The gain can be chosen as well, just like “folder play”.
The playing screen displays an album art (if existing) in the centre and shows information like the bitrate, a time line and some track information below. Unfortunately, a track counter is missing.
A short press of the centre button opens the currently played folder/album; a long press opens quick settings like the playback mode, the ability to add the file to a playlist, the ability to search for the artist or album as well as the ability to delete the current file.
A short press on the back button switches back into the directly previous menu layer; a long press brings you back to the home screen.
The menu and user interface together with the operation are logically structured, and in my opinion, there is not much that could be improved. Solely a track counter on the playing screen, an increasing scroll speed and a finer-grained volume control would be desirable.
The Shanling M2 supports gapless playback, which works perfectly with FLAC files. With MP3 files, there is sometimes a short gap between files that blend into each other (e.g. most live recordings).
By the way, the DAP recognises when the headphones are disconnected and automatically pauses playback.
Battery Life:
The battery life was determined by playing FLAC files (16 bit, 44.1 kHz and 24 Bit, 192 kHz) the whole time and turning the screen on every once in a while and navigating in the menus. I used the Superlux HD681 as load at 25 out of 60 volume steps at low gain.
Shanling Audio states about 9 hours of battery life; I reached about 9 hours and 15 minutes with the above mentioned test environment.
Sound:
The sound was evaluated with a wide variety of my in-ears and full-sized headphones . Music was stored as FLAC and MP3 files.
Frequency Response, Output Impedance:
With in-ears that have got a flat impedance response, the M2’s output frequency response is commendably flat:
In-ears that have got a varying impedance response (i.e. all multi-driver in-ears) require a source device with a low output impedance, else their frequency response gets altered (depending on the IEM’s impedance response and the source’s output impedance). As it seems, the M2’s output impedance is a bit higher (it should be around 7 Ohms if I don’t have an error in calculation), wherefore it alters the frequency response of multi-driver BA in-ears, and it can be heard.
With the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 (left) and UERM (right), you can see the effects of the rather high output impedance:
The deviation from an ideal frequency response output is around 4.4 dB with the Triple.Fi 10. This can be bypassed by connecting a low-impedance headphone amplifier, like the Leckerton UHA-6S.MKII in my case, wherefore the M2 also has got dedicated Line Out with fixed level.
Hiss:
With very sensitive in-ears like the Shure SE846 or Ostry KC06A, there is some audible ground noise, and it is quite a bit higher than just “quiet” and about on the same level as the HiFiMe 9018d or BlackBerry Q10 (and only a tad quieter than both), and therefore higher than the iPhone 4’s noise floor.
With less sensitive in-ears like the Sennheiser IE 800 or Etymotic ER-4S, hiss is inaudible (and logically also inaudible with full-sized headphones).
Resolution, Precision, Soundstage:
Now to the more subjective part of my review. My opinion and experience regarding the sound signature of source devices and amplifiers goes like this: there is an existing audible difference between various devices, but it shouldn’t be overrated – as the basic character of a headphone won’t be completely changed (if the circuit follows a clean design philosophy), but sometimes rather “shaped” a bit and in many cases is rather subtle.
Now to my subjective impressions:
Beforehand, let me say that the M2 has got enough power for in-ears and also for full-sized headphones, but I consider myself as someone who listens to music at rather low levels, so your mileage may vary.
From what I perceive, I would say that the M2 sounds neutral. Compared to the FiiO X3 (first generation), which I perceive as rather warm and “analogue” sounding and the iBasso DX90 which I perceive as rather analytical and “digital” with some minor treble harshness at times, I would say that the Shanling M2 has got a good balance between an analytic and analogue sound with a tendency to a digital sound character.
Personally, I perceive the soundstage as quite spacious and about as wide as the DX90’s (which is from my perception wider than average), but with more spatial depth. Layering and separation are excellent as well.
Regarding lows plus general control and resolution, I find that the M2 is a superb and sonically valuable DAP which has got an arid bass without softness and a very clean instrument separation.
Line Out, Digital Out, USB-DAC:
The output level of the Line Out is fixed and from what I perceive, the sound benefits from the use of an external amplifier and can be improved even a bit, which is audible in better dynamics (volume matched but also at lower listening levels).
The Line Out can be switched to a coaxial output in the system settings, but only works with the included 4-pin cable.
After installing the drivers (
http://www.shanling.com/Source/20151010103853_7311.rar), the M2 can be used as an external USB DAC with a Windows computer. In my case, that worked very fast and well and without any problems. By the way, the volume control on the M2 then still works, which is quite nice, but the volume can also be controlled in the Windows Sound Mixer.
Conclusion:
The Shanling M2 is an inexpensive DAP that offers a good value. It features an unconventional operation method with the scroll dial that resembles the one of a DSLR on purpose, but it is very intuitive and works very well, although the notches could be better tactile.
User Interface and menu design are logically constructed and there are many useful settings like Folder Play and an automatic Hold Mode that deactivates the buttons and dial upon locking the screen. The M2 doesn’t support sorting by the “Album Artist” tag, but many other players don’t either, wherefore I backed on a good folder structure some time ago – and folder browsing is very well supported by this DAP, although I’d like to see an increase of the scroll speed in longer lists.
Regarding the looks and haptics, there is nothing I could criticise about the Shanling M2, as build quality is flawless and every part of the enclosure (the buttons and scroll dial as well) are made of metal and the back is made of carbon fibre.
Sonically, Shanling Audio’s entry-level DAP is sublime and on a high level, with a very well made and spacious soundstage and proper control and resolution as well as a nice balance between an analogue and digital signature with a tendency to the digital side – but there are two drawbacks: the output impedance is not the best match for an unaltered frequency response of multi-driver in-ears and the hiss is a bit high with very sensitive IEMs than I’d like to. For sensitive multi-driver in-ears, the use of a hiss-free low-impedance external amplifier is recommended.
All in all, I personally find the M2 very good, but not as independent stand-alone DAP for sensitive multi-driver in-ears, wherefore I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars or 75% (-0.5 stars for the hiss, -0.5 for the output impedance and -0.25 for small things like the lack of a track counter on the playing screen, the sorting by the “Tack Artist” tag in the database and the slightly undefined scroll-wheel).
On the contrary, with in-ears that have got a flat impedance response as well as with full-sized headphones or in combination with a low-impedance and hiss-free headphone amplifier, I can fully recommend the M2 without many restrictions.
I rated it fairly, as I see things. The M2's sound quality is quite good for the price. It competes hit for hit with the X5 Classic, which was a hundred dollars more upon release. However, no matter what the price, no DAP should sound bad with sensitive, TOTL IEMs. It sort of defeats the purpose. It's unacceptable, and my rating reflects that.