At the time this review was written the Shanling M3 digital audio player could be purchased on several websites. Here is Shenzhenaudio’s listing of the product on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/SHANLING-M3-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00W4PMV0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442769442&sr=8-1&keywords=shanling+m3
Before I start this review I want to make my biases clear so you can understand how I rank this device. When it comes to DAPs, what I look for is something that accomplishes more than just being a fancy MP3 player. User interface, design, build quality, functionality, features, responsiveness and ease of use all weigh in on my ranking of a DAP.
What inspired me to jump on the Shanling tour bus was the specs. Just looking at the chipsets and details when reading the description to go along with a very unique scroll wheel, I really wanted to try this thing out. Here are the specs I’m talking about:
Specification
The M3 came in a small and discreet black packaging with a paper outside sleeve that featured nothing more than the product name written in shiny black print. Removing the sleeve revealed the same black design and print. The box flips open to an owners manual, and when removed it reveals the device. After removing the device and the foam that the M3 was resting in, a black box was packed that contained a high quality charging cable and screen protector. The M3 comes in options of two different colors, gray or black.
Shanling offers very little in terms of accessories. Here is what comes in the package:
Accessories
Note: always make sure to charge your new device completely before using it for the first time. Not doing so can cause complications with the device and battery.
Initial Impressions
The M3 is not a flashy looking unit. In fact I would say it has a very simple and modest appearance (albeit a little bulky). Some have said that it resembles an oversized zippo lighter and I wouldn’t disagree with that statement. Don’t expect to turn heads or blow minds with its flashy looks. The M3 looks like it could have been modeled after the old Gameboy systems of the early nineties
The front of the unit features power button on top, along with a very unique scroll wheel and small screen.
The top of the M3 has a 3.5mm headphone out jack.
The bottom of the M3 bottom is a clever design that from left to right features a 3.5mm/SPDIF line out, a Micro USB charging/data/DAC port, a micro SD slot that reads up to 128GB and a 3.5mm/SPDIF line in. The variety of line in and line out ports makes the M3 a Swiss Army knife of sound. Simply put, there are lots of ways to use this gadget.
The left side of the device features, well, nothing. Here’s a picture to prove this.
The right side of the M3 has a little indentation towards the top which gives better ease of access to the scroll wheel.
Firing up the M3 for the first time opened the device to five different options. I will explain these as they are displayed from top to bottom.
Music Center
Selecting top option (Music Center) reveals five more options. You can open all of your music files, open your favorite music files (these can be chosen in playback mode), open your music by album classification, open your music by style classification (Alternative, Dance, Funk, Rock etc), or by artist classification. This is well done and incorporates options to cater to your listening preferences.
The second menu option was also titled as music center and had the same options. by looking at the symbols for the first two main menu folders I assume the very top option would be used for videos possibly.
The third menu option was the file browse menu, where you could choose from the internal 8GB of storage or from an installed microSD card.
The fourth menu option was the Play Settings menu. In this menu you will be able to adjust gain, pitch, max volume limit, default volume at power on, break point memory play, channel balance, play mode and playing surfaces.
The last menu options was the settings menu. This is where you can update your media library, adjust backlight time, apply a sleep timer, adjust the screen lock operation, change themes and colors, restore the device to factory settings, change the language, get product information, change the input selection, activate upsampling, upgrade firmware, and change the USB mode selection. As you can see there are a lot of options here.
The display of the device isn’t incredible, but works well for what it is meant for. It did seem dim and sometimes almost unreadable when using it outdoors on a sunny day. A big positive is that the M3 has theme and color settings that help customize user experience. The M3 also displays album artwork.
I was able to take my 32GB microSD card and plug it into the device. After a quick scan using the “Update media library” option I was able to listen to music. If you understand how DAPs work for the most part, you will be able to use this thing pretty much without the need of instructions. Just incase you are new to DAP technology, Shanling provides instructions in both Chinese and English.
I was able to play all of the music files I had on my microSD card, including DSD. This is a big bonus and feature for this device.
The user interface is very simple but also very fast and responsive. I NEVER got any kind of lag, making the M3 fun and easy to use.
The M3 is designed to be used as a portable DAP, but also has capabilities to be used as a DAC for other sources. I can confirm that the M3 worked wonderfully with my LG G3 being used as a source. Although the M3 did help boost the power of my music, making it possible to use power hungry earphones, I didn’t notice a significant upgrade in sound quality over the also installed Cirrus Logic chip of the G3. Let that be more of a testament of how great the sound quality is on the G3 has instead of a knock against the M3.
Unfortunately, I can not confirm or comment on functionality with my Windows computer, as I wasn’t able to figure out a driver error that kept occurring. I have a feeling it has something to do with my recent upgrade to Windows 10. DAC functionality didn’t work on my Chromebook as well.
The scroll wheel of the M3 is both unique and a mixed bag of sorts for me. I find the design to be a break away from all other DAPs. It offers added benefits but also particular downfalls and red flags. The wheel has UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT arrow features similar to a video game controller. There is also a scroll wheel with a certain amount of play (wiggle) integrated as well. The volume is controlled by spinning the wheel clockwise, and turned down by spinning it counter clockwise. There is a click with every increase/decrease of volume. This helps to keep the volume from being boosted accidentally.
I can operate the controls with the device in my right hand and using my thumb. The M3 isn’t going to be left hand friendly from what I figure. Be aware of this all you who are southpaws. You’ll be able to use this thing, but probably not with the same ease as someone who is right handed.
A big red flag for me is the placement and durability of the scroll wheel. From what I can see, owners should be careful not to drop this thing on that particular corner of the device. I guess time will tell how long this wheel will hold up. All I can say for now is that although it seems sturdy, daily use and accidental drops will put the M3 to the test.
The screen of the M3 appears to be made of plastic that from my perspective seems as though it will be susceptible to scratches. Kudos to Shanling for providing a screen protector with the device. Still, It would have been nice to see them offer tempered glass with this product.
As for sound, the M3 offers a neutral and spacious presentation. The sound of the M3 kind of sets itself apart from other DAPs, but not in a bad way. The installed Cirrus Logic chip sounds different than the likes of the most recent popular ES9018 chipset offerings. To be honest the M3 sounds slightly colder and flatter than most of the DAPs and DACs I've heard. With this being said, the M3 has great synergy with more bassy earphones. I really like the M3 with a pair of closed headphones like the Audio Technica ATH-M50 and Soundmagic HP150. I find the M3 to work great with acoustic, live recordings, alternative, rock and symphony. The background is pretty black and I get no audible hiss from what I can hear. The M3 makes listening to bass heavy genres enjoyable, but I found it to be just a little too flat and neutral to maximize enjoyability as compared to other DAPs/DACs.
In low gain the M3 can be used with in-ear monitors, but be careful to not turn them up too high. I couldn’t get past ⅓ volume with most sensitive earphones before the M3 was too loud for my taste.
The M3 drives every headphone I have pretty easily. In fact, I don’t necessarily need the high gain setting to drive my Sennheiser HD600. I can turn the volume up in low gain to a volume that is more than enough for my listening pleasure. If you are considering purchasing the M3, don’t worry about if whether or not it has enough power, it does!
Improvements that could be made moving forward in my opinion would be a better application of the scroll wheel, a sharper, more resolving larger display, better driver support (I say this because of my issues with my computer) and a slimmer and more compact design. Wifi and wireless streaming from a local network would be a big bonus as well. Still, all of the upgrade suggestions aren’t necessarily a big deal. At the end of the day I can live without them and still be happy with this product.
The M3 has lots to offer the audiophile community. It is a well thought out gadget that performs solidly. For the current asking price, the M3 offers a lot of features and functions. The use of this device as both a DAP and DAC makes this a good option in its respective price range. If you are looking for a dedicated audio player that leans towards a leaner and cleaner sound, the M3 might be the one you’re after.
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
http://www.amazon.com/SHANLING-M3-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00W4PMV0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442769442&sr=8-1&keywords=shanling+m3
Before I start this review I want to make my biases clear so you can understand how I rank this device. When it comes to DAPs, what I look for is something that accomplishes more than just being a fancy MP3 player. User interface, design, build quality, functionality, features, responsiveness and ease of use all weigh in on my ranking of a DAP.
What inspired me to jump on the Shanling tour bus was the specs. Just looking at the chipsets and details when reading the description to go along with a very unique scroll wheel, I really wanted to try this thing out. Here are the specs I’m talking about:
Specification
- Cirrus Logic CS8422 for upsampling
- DAC chip: Cirrus Logic CS4398
- Power adapter
C5V,2A/USB
- Optical in and optical out port
- Frequency response:20Hz～20kHz
- THD： <0.004%
- Nominal power：250mW @ 32Ω；16mW @ 300Ω
- Battery charging time： 2A adapter- full charging time: approx 6H (power off), USB power charging: approx full charging time:10H (power off)
- Battery life：more than 10H (vol 30，screen off)
- Mode of power supply：，3600mAH rechargeable lithium polymer battery
- Recommended impedance of earphone： 16～300Ω
- Display: 2.4 inch (240X320)
- Storage：built in 8G memory，external TF card supported，max 128GB
- Dimenssion： 69×21×125.5mm
- Net weight： approx 220g
The M3 came in a small and discreet black packaging with a paper outside sleeve that featured nothing more than the product name written in shiny black print. Removing the sleeve revealed the same black design and print. The box flips open to an owners manual, and when removed it reveals the device. After removing the device and the foam that the M3 was resting in, a black box was packed that contained a high quality charging cable and screen protector. The M3 comes in options of two different colors, gray or black.
Shanling offers very little in terms of accessories. Here is what comes in the package:
Accessories
- 1 X M3 Portable Player
- 1 X USB charging cable
- 1 X instruction manual
Note: always make sure to charge your new device completely before using it for the first time. Not doing so can cause complications with the device and battery.
Initial Impressions
The M3 is not a flashy looking unit. In fact I would say it has a very simple and modest appearance (albeit a little bulky). Some have said that it resembles an oversized zippo lighter and I wouldn’t disagree with that statement. Don’t expect to turn heads or blow minds with its flashy looks. The M3 looks like it could have been modeled after the old Gameboy systems of the early nineties
The front of the unit features power button on top, along with a very unique scroll wheel and small screen.
The top of the M3 has a 3.5mm headphone out jack.
The bottom of the M3 bottom is a clever design that from left to right features a 3.5mm/SPDIF line out, a Micro USB charging/data/DAC port, a micro SD slot that reads up to 128GB and a 3.5mm/SPDIF line in. The variety of line in and line out ports makes the M3 a Swiss Army knife of sound. Simply put, there are lots of ways to use this gadget.
The left side of the device features, well, nothing. Here’s a picture to prove this.
The right side of the M3 has a little indentation towards the top which gives better ease of access to the scroll wheel.
Firing up the M3 for the first time opened the device to five different options. I will explain these as they are displayed from top to bottom.
Music Center
Selecting top option (Music Center) reveals five more options. You can open all of your music files, open your favorite music files (these can be chosen in playback mode), open your music by album classification, open your music by style classification (Alternative, Dance, Funk, Rock etc), or by artist classification. This is well done and incorporates options to cater to your listening preferences.
The second menu option was also titled as music center and had the same options. by looking at the symbols for the first two main menu folders I assume the very top option would be used for videos possibly.
The third menu option was the file browse menu, where you could choose from the internal 8GB of storage or from an installed microSD card.
The fourth menu option was the Play Settings menu. In this menu you will be able to adjust gain, pitch, max volume limit, default volume at power on, break point memory play, channel balance, play mode and playing surfaces.
The last menu options was the settings menu. This is where you can update your media library, adjust backlight time, apply a sleep timer, adjust the screen lock operation, change themes and colors, restore the device to factory settings, change the language, get product information, change the input selection, activate upsampling, upgrade firmware, and change the USB mode selection. As you can see there are a lot of options here.
The display of the device isn’t incredible, but works well for what it is meant for. It did seem dim and sometimes almost unreadable when using it outdoors on a sunny day. A big positive is that the M3 has theme and color settings that help customize user experience. The M3 also displays album artwork.
I was able to take my 32GB microSD card and plug it into the device. After a quick scan using the “Update media library” option I was able to listen to music. If you understand how DAPs work for the most part, you will be able to use this thing pretty much without the need of instructions. Just incase you are new to DAP technology, Shanling provides instructions in both Chinese and English.
I was able to play all of the music files I had on my microSD card, including DSD. This is a big bonus and feature for this device.
The user interface is very simple but also very fast and responsive. I NEVER got any kind of lag, making the M3 fun and easy to use.
The M3 is designed to be used as a portable DAP, but also has capabilities to be used as a DAC for other sources. I can confirm that the M3 worked wonderfully with my LG G3 being used as a source. Although the M3 did help boost the power of my music, making it possible to use power hungry earphones, I didn’t notice a significant upgrade in sound quality over the also installed Cirrus Logic chip of the G3. Let that be more of a testament of how great the sound quality is on the G3 has instead of a knock against the M3.
Unfortunately, I can not confirm or comment on functionality with my Windows computer, as I wasn’t able to figure out a driver error that kept occurring. I have a feeling it has something to do with my recent upgrade to Windows 10. DAC functionality didn’t work on my Chromebook as well.
The scroll wheel of the M3 is both unique and a mixed bag of sorts for me. I find the design to be a break away from all other DAPs. It offers added benefits but also particular downfalls and red flags. The wheel has UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT arrow features similar to a video game controller. There is also a scroll wheel with a certain amount of play (wiggle) integrated as well. The volume is controlled by spinning the wheel clockwise, and turned down by spinning it counter clockwise. There is a click with every increase/decrease of volume. This helps to keep the volume from being boosted accidentally.
I can operate the controls with the device in my right hand and using my thumb. The M3 isn’t going to be left hand friendly from what I figure. Be aware of this all you who are southpaws. You’ll be able to use this thing, but probably not with the same ease as someone who is right handed.
A big red flag for me is the placement and durability of the scroll wheel. From what I can see, owners should be careful not to drop this thing on that particular corner of the device. I guess time will tell how long this wheel will hold up. All I can say for now is that although it seems sturdy, daily use and accidental drops will put the M3 to the test.
The screen of the M3 appears to be made of plastic that from my perspective seems as though it will be susceptible to scratches. Kudos to Shanling for providing a screen protector with the device. Still, It would have been nice to see them offer tempered glass with this product.
As for sound, the M3 offers a neutral and spacious presentation. The sound of the M3 kind of sets itself apart from other DAPs, but not in a bad way. The installed Cirrus Logic chip sounds different than the likes of the most recent popular ES9018 chipset offerings. To be honest the M3 sounds slightly colder and flatter than most of the DAPs and DACs I've heard. With this being said, the M3 has great synergy with more bassy earphones. I really like the M3 with a pair of closed headphones like the Audio Technica ATH-M50 and Soundmagic HP150. I find the M3 to work great with acoustic, live recordings, alternative, rock and symphony. The background is pretty black and I get no audible hiss from what I can hear. The M3 makes listening to bass heavy genres enjoyable, but I found it to be just a little too flat and neutral to maximize enjoyability as compared to other DAPs/DACs.
In low gain the M3 can be used with in-ear monitors, but be careful to not turn them up too high. I couldn’t get past ⅓ volume with most sensitive earphones before the M3 was too loud for my taste.
The M3 drives every headphone I have pretty easily. In fact, I don’t necessarily need the high gain setting to drive my Sennheiser HD600. I can turn the volume up in low gain to a volume that is more than enough for my listening pleasure. If you are considering purchasing the M3, don’t worry about if whether or not it has enough power, it does!
Improvements that could be made moving forward in my opinion would be a better application of the scroll wheel, a sharper, more resolving larger display, better driver support (I say this because of my issues with my computer) and a slimmer and more compact design. Wifi and wireless streaming from a local network would be a big bonus as well. Still, all of the upgrade suggestions aren’t necessarily a big deal. At the end of the day I can live without them and still be happy with this product.
The M3 has lots to offer the audiophile community. It is a well thought out gadget that performs solidly. For the current asking price, the M3 offers a lot of features and functions. The use of this device as both a DAP and DAC makes this a good option in its respective price range. If you are looking for a dedicated audio player that leans towards a leaner and cleaner sound, the M3 might be the one you’re after.
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
I was cutting pouches for weeks due to the lack of cases also - those interpretations would be very nice to see on the market.
