Shanling M9

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The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion. The review was originally posted on my site, and now I would like to share it with my readers on Head-fi.

Manufacturer website: Shanling. Available for sale from a number of authorized on-line retailers like Musicteck.

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Intro.

After posting the review of Shanling M8, last year on Tw6, we continue to receive many questions about this audio player, clearly showing that popularity of this DAP remains strong. Today, many DAPs strive to achieve higher resolution, tilting the scale toward a more revealing side of tuning. Shanling house tuning does the opposite, going for a more organic natural tonality with a warmer analog sound. And it looks like it resonated quite well with many audiophiles. The only thing holding M8 back was a slower processor and older Android version which came up in many review comments and some Head-fi discussions.

Of course, Android performance is subjective, considering some audiophiles don’t even care about streaming and want just a pure audio playback. But you have to stay competitive in terms of hardware performance and considering that many other DAP releases already aligned themselves with Snapdragon 660 SoC and optimized Android 9. Shanling answered the challenge with M9, leapfrogging to 665 SoC and moving to Android 10. The release still features a dual AK4499 since Shanling had a reserve of these flagship AKM DACs, though there is a limit to how many units they can manufacturer until stock is depleted and M9 is refreshed.

After finishing my testing, I have been using M9 DAP for a few moths already, and it became a regular feature in many of my reviews, as part of the comparison and source pair up examples. Today, I’m ready to shine the spotlight on this latest Shanling flagship release with its own dedicated review.



Unboxing and Accessories.

The unboxing experience of M9 is nearly identical to its M8 predecessor. The only difference I noticed is when you remove the top of the box, the bottom has cutouts on the sides for an easier extraction of the wooden storage box. I mean, in theory it should be easier, while in practice it was the opposite in comparison to what I saw in M8 unboxing pictures. Of course, all just minor details, and the wooden storage box is still the star of the unboxing experience. While the design of the box is identical to the one which comes with M8, the color of M9 wooden box is lighter, with a color shade somewhere between M8 box and SP2000 box.



Inside this premium giftbox quality storage, you will find a foam tray with a precise cutout for M9 and a leather case for headphone interchangeable sockets. While I personally don’t use packaging boxes for long- or short-term DAP storage, this is something I wouldn’t mind keeping on my desk. Though, for storage in the box you would need to make extra room to fit M9 with its own case. Furthermore, since M9 also carried over interchangeable headphone socket design, previously introduced in M8, the included small leather case, sockets, and socket removal tool are identical, with the only exception of 3.5Pro (a rare 3.5mm TRRS balanced standard) having black plastic jack inlay instead of a red one like it was in M8. Other included accessories were a high quality usb-c cable with a braided jacket, and a plastic screen protector. My review unit already arrived with pre-installed tempered glass screen protector, or at least based on its thickness I assumed it was tempered glass.



The only remaining question, what about the leather case? While not included in a stock packaging, the leather case is optional, but I noticed that from day one Musicteck offers it for free with every purchase of M9, though I can’t speak for other retailers. The case has a very interesting exoskeleton design, with a stiff shell and leather surface on the outside (smooth, aged) and inside (soft, suede) that wraps around the DAP, enhancing its grip rather than offering a drop-down protection. I personally like this design with a big M-cutout on the back and large cutouts on the sides, and full opening at the top and the bottom. I like it because it enhances the grip without hiding the details of the chassis design. Not too many other options are available, and I few I’ve seen add bulk and hide the sexy body of M9. The only nitpicking here is having too little clearance around the volume wheel. It works, but the wheel does rubs against the edge of the case.



Design.

With dimensions of 152mm x 82mm x 22mm and the weight of 409g, there is no denial M9 is a big boy. But the slick design and the manageable thickness of the chassis keeps this DAP portable in my hand. For me personally, if I can easily wrap my hand around the DAP, I consider it to be portable, rather than transportable, though the length of M9 makes it no exactly pocket friendly.

Surrounded by aviation-grade aluminum body frame, the top of the DAP has edge-to-edge glass screen with a gorgeous 6” high resolution (2160 x 1080) display. With such a large display, it is always a challenge to come up with a more original design without looking like another phablet. I think Shanling done a great job to overcome this challenge, introducing rounded sides with a sculptured wave pattern exterior. At the same time, they kept a traditional 3-button transport control (play/pause and skip) on the left side and multi-function volume/power wheel on the right side.

M9 vs M8


The volume wheel is a low profile and, in addition to controlling the volume with a precise click action as you turn in, also functions as push-button to control the power with a long press or turn the display on/off with a short press. Above the wheel you have a status led. At the bottom you have usb-c port in the middle and a spring-loaded micro-SD card opening with a dust cover to the left. The top features a clean design with a single modular headphone port, the same interchangeable port introduced in M8. As a matter of fact, these modules are backward compatible between M8 and M9 since they feature the same interconnect socket.



I do like the idea of a modular headphone port design because I mostly use 4.4mm terminated IEMs. But I can also see it being a bit of a hassle for those who are on the go and need to switch between 4.4mm and 3.5mm jacks. But overall, it’s clever since some people still have 2.5mm cables, while others switched to 4.4mm. Some still use 3.5mm, especially with full size headphones, and maybe a few were curious about 3.5Pro balanced plug (a standard that went nowhere). Plus, Shanling mentioned they might look into the feasibility of XLR socket in the future. Anything modular allows you to futureproof your design, including being able to easily fix a malfunctioning headphone jack.

And speaking of another interesting engineering idea, Shanling raised the bar again in M9 design. They decided to introduce a secondary small OLED screen located in the notch of the screen at the top of the display, to show the time, charging status, volume, or sample rate. The secondary screen could be turned off or stay always on before M9 enters a standby mode. Or you can select to keep it synchronized when screen is on, or have it reversed when screen is off. I found this secondary screen to be very useful, especially when controlling the volume with a main display off while secondary one shows you the value as you adjusting it.



Under the hood.

As I already mentioned, M9 features the same flagship dual AK4499EQ DACs as M8, supporting hi-res sound up to 32bit/768kHz as well as DSD512 and MQA16x unfolding. M9 also utilizes the same amplifier architecture as in M8, including OPA1612 and BUF634 opamps and ADA4610 precision amp. But despite of the same amp components, the output power scaled up, with SE going from 260mW@32ohm to 460mW@32ohm, and BAL being boosted from 840mW@32ohm to 920mW@32ohm, while still maintaining less than 1ohm output impedance. The sound tuning was updated as well, covered in the next sound analysis section.

While some could argue that sound improvement is subjective and a matter of a personal taste, there is no question about a huge step forward in Android performance of M9 by going from Android 7.1, Snapdragon 430, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage (in M8) to Android 10, Snapdragon 665, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of internal storage (in M9). Using both DAPs side by side gives you a clear picture of a noticeable improvement, which I also confirmed in my testing with 2.5x score improvement when running AnTuTu 3D Benchmark test. Carried over were 2-way Bluetooth 5.0 support with Rx (LDAC, SBC) and Tx (LDAC, LHDC, aptX HD, aptX, SBC), and dual band 2.4G/5G Wi-fi (featuring Qualcomm WCN3980 chip).



As already mentioned, screen was upgraded from 5” 1080x1920 (M8) to 6” 2160x1080 (M9). The battery capacity was upgraded as well, going from 7000 mAh (M8) to 8350 mAh (M9) which results in the improvement of SE battery life going up to around 18hrs and BAL battery life going up to about 10hrs. You get a more noticeable improvement in battery life using SE port which is impressive considering SE output power almost doubled. And when it is time to recharge, you can take the advantage of a fast 18W (9V, 2A) charging speed using QC3.0 compatible chargers.



The advantage of Android 10 and fast Snapdragon 665 SoC processor is not only in improvement of user interface performance, but also compatibility with many apps that were optimized to perform better using later Android OS and faster processor. Of course, you are still at the mercy of 3rd party app developers, just like when Tidal updated their app early this year which broke its compatibility with M9 until Shanling had to fix it. I have tested M9 with many different streaming apps, everything worked great. Plus, if you want to switch the default Shanling playback app to something else, Google Play store gives you access to all of that.



Sound Analysis.

The sound analysis of M9 was done using Oriolus Traillii and Aroma Jewel, playing a selection of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”. I had about 200hrs of burn in time before I started analyzing M9.



I prefer to describe the DAP sound based on the comparison to other DAPs and pair ups with different IEMs/headphones since the DAP by itself doesn’t have a “sound”. What we hear is how the sound characteristic of a source shapes the sound signature of connected IEMs/headphones or the difference in sound relative to other sources using the same pair of IEMs/headphones. As a result, this section of the review usually summarizes what I find in the follow up Comparison and Pair-up sections. Of course, this is my subjective opinion, describing how I hear it.

The original M8 set a high bar with its natural warmer analog tuning and more intimate soundstage presentation. Thus, I’m sure, many were wondering about the direction of M9 tuning considering implementation of the same pair of AK4499 DACs. But you have to keep the mind, DAC sets the baseline level of the sound, while the final tuning direction will be shaped by the amplifier section. In my analysis of M9 tuning, I found that M9 carried over the warmth in the lower side of the frequency range with more weight and texture in the bass, deeper rumble, fuller body lower mids. But it also counterweighted that with more transparency and revealing tonality of upper mids and airy controlled sparkle of the treble.

Every flagship release aims to swing the pendulum of tuning to the warmer or the brighter side of neutral reference. Here, the bass and the lower mids are focused on taking that “swing” toward the warmer side of tuning, while upper mids and treble counterbalance it with a more revealing “swing” to add higher resolution, a bit less density, and improved layering. M9 is not an improvement over M8 tuning, each one has their unique sound-personality, a different flavor of ice cream you might enjoy depending on your mood, or in this case, depending on pair up synergy with IEMs/headphones. The improvement took a big step forward in the hardware performance, but the sound gives you a different flavor of tuning.

The soundstage is definitely above the average, expanding more in depth and height, especially depth, by projecting sound further out of your head. It still keeps a bit of that intimacy found in M8, but it expands a bit wider relative to M8. And airier treble of M9 helps with layering and separation of the sounds, which also shows the improvement in vertical sound dynamics, making the sound more expanded and less compressed.

Android mode vs Prime mode.

Prime Mode is Shanling version of the pure audio mode where it kills a number of processes running in the background to optimize the performance of M9 for audio playback without streaming or access to other apps. You can’t even get to the screen with your apps, only have access to Shanling audio player app. The switch between Android and Prime modes is very fast, no need to reboot the DAP, also allowing you to go quickly back and forth to compare the sound. In this comparison I found everything to be nearly identical except for the soundstage being noticeably wider and imaging being more 3D in Prime mode.

4.4mm (BAL) vs 3.5mm (SE).

As expected, due to a difference in output power, I had to readjust the volume when going between BAL and SE sockets. But other than that, the tonality and the technical performance were identical.

Hissing test.

It Pass my hissing test without a problem. Actually, what I noticed, during a playback at a normal listening volume, background is pitch black and I don’t hear any hissing. But when I lowered the volume down to almost zero, I did hear a little bit of hissing with CFA Solaris. But like I said, at a normal listening volume I hear zero hissing and pitch-black background.

EMI/RFI interference.

Adding this test to my reviews since people often ask me if I hear any interference in sound when streaming with DAP next to my phone. With M9 streaming Tidal and my S22 phone next to it, I wasn’t picking up any interference.



Comparison.

I was using Traillii and Jewel in this testing, volume matched in every comparison. Also, please keep in mind, I’m mostly focusing on a different in sound. Each DAP has its unique functionality with Pros and Cons. Also, for a faster and more accurate DAP comparison, I was using Oriolus RaoSound 4.4mm analog switch.

M9 vs Shanling M8 (high gain, sharp roll-off filter, M8 volume V28 and M9 volume V24) - very similar imaging, but after going multiple times back and forth, I hear M9 sound to spread wider left/right, though imaging is similar. The tonality between these two DAPs varies. M8 has more coloring, more warmth which is noticeable in lower and upper mids, especially when focusing on vocals, and a little more weight in the low end. In contrast, M9 is more transparent, more neutral, and less colored relative to M8. M9 still has a similar natural organic tonality, but it manages to achieve this level of musicality with less warmth and more transparency in upper frequencies. Also, M9 has some improvement in technical performance, having a higher resolution, thanks to airier treble, and more expanded vertical dynamics. Nothing is night'n'day, but I still find the improvement to be noticeable. The rest of the changes is related to the actual OS performance while running the later Android, using a faster processor, having a more polished and responsive user interface, and implementing a higher output power.

M9 vs A&K SP2000 SS - at initial listening, I had to do a double take because of how close they sound, especially considering AK4499 DAC similarity. I'm glad I was using a hardware switch so I can go quickly back and forth multiple times to focus on the differences. There are not as many, but a few stood out. Starting with the soundstage, it is nearly identical in every direction. But to my surprise, the imaging is different, being more holographic in M9, and more center focused in SP2k. Another noticeable difference was in treble, with SP2k being a little brighter and splashier in comparison to a slightly more natural tonality of treble in M9. Other than that, the rest of the tonality and the technical performance are very similar. Plus, you have to keep in mind fully open Android environment of M9 vs closed environment of SP2k. I actually think, for those who want to upgrade their SP2k without too much deviation from the original sound, and with technical and tonal improvements, M9 is a very good choice.

M9 vs iBasso DX300 MAX SS - another comparison of AK4499-dac DAPs. Starting with the soundstage and imaging, I found soundstage expansion to be nearly identical, but MAX imaging is a bit more holographic and multi-dimensional. Tonality is different in this comparison. M9 has a more neutral natural tonality while MAX has a more neutral revealing tonality. I do hear a little more weight and impact in Traillii paired up with M9, while with MAX the bass is a bit more neutral in comparison. Mids in M9 are more organic while MAX mids are brighter, more revealing, more micro-detailed, and slightly more forward. Of course, this comparison is being made relative to have I hear it with Traillii and Jewel. Treble also varies, with MAX treble being crisper and brighter, while M9 treble also being well defined, but smoother in overall tonality. Both of these DAPs have a fast Android performance, but the size and the weight of MAX makes it less portable and more transportable, while M9 is more portable and pocket friendlier.

M9 vs Sony WM1ZM2 – the new ZM2 golden brick is making its debut in my comparisons, and the tables have flipped here. First of all, let's start with soundstage and imaging. Imaging I found to be very similar, but soundstage is a bit wider in M9. Tonality is where ZM2 sounds more organic, smoother, a touch warmer, with an even stronger bass punch. M9 still sounds natural and detailed, but relative to ZM2, M9 has a bit less coloring in mids, giving the sound more transparency. In contrast, ZM2 gives the sound more musicality. Their technical performance is not too far off. Despite a difference in tonality, they both have a nicely layered sound with high level of resolution. But if you want a natural tonality with more transparency in mids, go with M9. While if you want a natural tonality with more organic warmer mids and more impact in bass, ZM2 is a good choice. They are both running on open Android, but faster processor of M9 makes interface snappier and more responsive.

M9 vs Cayin N8ii - With N8ii in SS output, the sound performance of M9 and N8ii is not too far off, from the technical performance of the soundstage expansion to layering and separation of the sounds. But with SS output, N8ii tonality is just a little more revealing in comparison to a slightly warmer tonality of M9, especially when analyzing mids/vocals. But once you switch N8ii to Tubes, and then play around with Class A vs AB amp mode, the N8ii now sounds smoother and with a bit fuller body in mids when compared to M9. Based on this, M9 tonality is somewhere between SS and Tubes of N8ii. Both have a fast Android performance, and both are on a large size with a bit more heft.



Pair up.

In this section of my review, I will go over how various earphones and headphones pair up and sound with M9. In every pair up, volume is noted with “V”.

Pair up with Headphones.

Tested in “headphone” turbo mode on M9.

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x (V30) – The soundstage expansion is wide open with 3D holographic imaging. The sound signature is balanced, pushing just a bit mid-forward, and the tonality is natural, transparent, leaning more toward revealing side, and even being a bit cold. The bass performance is tight, with a good sub-bass extension, a polite rumble, and articulate mid-bass punch. The balance of the bass is shifted more toward the mid-bass in this pair up. Mids have natural transparent body, and sound clear, detailed, layered, not too much coloring. Treble is clear and detailed, airy, and with a little extra sparkle. M9 drove these 470ohm cans good, but not sure if it was to their full potential since bass performance was leaning closer to neutral.

MEZE Audio Empyrean (V23) - I hear a very wide-open soundstage with an excellent holographic imaging. Sound signature is balanced, and tonality is also natural, transparent, revealing. Bass has a deep extension with a polite textured rumble and a tight mid-bass punch. Again, more weight is shifted toward the mid-bass punch here. Lower mids have a good amount of neutral body, while upper mids have plenty of natural clarity, exhibiting an excellent retrieval of details. The sound has a great layering in mids. Treble is clear and detailed, has a little extra crunch but nothing harsh or splashy.

Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd (V19) - Another very good pair up with a great soundstage expansion and realistic 3D holographic imaging. The sound is balanced, just with a slightly mid-forward bias. Like in other pair ups, the bass here has a polite sub-bass rumble and tight articulate mid-bass punch. The overall weight of the bass shifts more toward mid-bass. Lower mids were slightly north of neutral, with a good amount of body, while upper mids have more clarity, transparency, and micro-details. Vocals sound clear, detailed, even a bit bright. Treble also has plenty of clarity, details, and natural sparkle with a good airy extension.

I was a bit surprised how in all of these headphone pair ups the focus of tuning was shifted more toward more revealing upper mids, while bass impact was rather polite.



Pair up with IEMs.

Switched headphone turbo mode off, and selected high gain in M9.

Oriolus Traillii w/Chiron cable (V24) - Wide open soundstage with 3D imaging. Sound signature is perfectly balanced, overall tonality is natural and a bit more revealing. Bass goes deep, with elevated rumble and fast punchy mid-bass impact. Mids are natural in tonality, with above neutral amount of body in lower mids and organic detailed tonality in upper mids, quite resolving and revealing. Treble is clear and detailed, has extra sparkle and crunch in mid treble.

Aroma Jewel w/FT cable (V26) - The soundstage is wide open and expanded in all 3 directions with holographic imaging. Sound signature is balanced as well, while tonality is more neutral with a slightly more mid-forward revealing presentation of the sound. Bass goes deep, with a textured sub-bass rumble and a punchy and slightly hollow mid-bass; the bass is tight and articulate. Lower mids are leaner which gives upper mids more transparency, less coloring, making them more revealing but not too bright. Treble is crisp and detailed, not splashy or harsh. In this pair up, Jewel does have a little extra energy in treble, but the treble sill sounds natural.

EE Odin (V23) – I noticed right aware there is no hissing in this pair up. Pitch black background with zero hissing at any gain. Bass is well controlled, with a deep and tight sub-bass rumble and fast, punchy, and articulate mid-bass impact. Mids are leaner, more revealing, layered, micro-detailed, but not bright and not too forward, the overall sound signature is still well balanced, but also has a bit more focus on upper mids. Treble is crisp, clear, detailed, more revealing and yet, still well controlled and without any sign of harshness or splashiness. The soundstage is also big, expanded, holographic.

FiR Audio XE6 (V23) – Wide open soundstage expansion with a slightly out of your head depth and holographic imaging. A mildly U-shaped signature with a powerful speaker like analog bass, thanks to XE6 kinetic bass drivers, natural revealing mids and vocals which are a bit recessed, and a crisp detailed treble. The XE6 kinetic bass punches right though the mix. Also, zero hiss, regardless of the gain. The neutral revealing nature of M9 extracts more details from the mids of XE6.

Campfire Audio Solaris 2020 (V14) – Since this is Campfire Audio iem, the first question will always be about hissing. During playback, the background was black, and I didn’t hear any hiss at all. Interestingly, when I lowered the volume to zero and hit play, there is some waterfall type of hissing, but during the actual playback, I didn’t hear any. The soundstage is big, with an overall sound being holographic and quite expanded. Also, the sound sig is balanced, while the tonality is brighter and more revealing. Bass has a deep sub-bass rumble with a fast well controlled punch. Bass actually has some extra weight and texture. Mids are revealing, and a bit colder in tonality. Treble is still quite energetic, but not too elevated and not that fatigue. I was impressed with this pair up, especially bass performance.

VE EXT (V30) – EXT does need a bit of a power boost, but even in high gain the sound was great without a need to go into a turbo mode. Soundstage is very big in this pair up, expanding wide and deep, along with 3D holographic imaging. Sound sig is quite balanced and W-shaped with a bit extra emphasis on bass and treble. Bass is very powerful in this pair up, going deep with elevated rumble and hitting hard with a very strong punch. Mids have a good balance between lower mids natural body and upper mids clarity, resolution, and details. Mids do truly shine in this pair up. Treble is crisp and airy, clear and detailed. This was by far the best pair up with EXT I heard.



Other Wired/Wireless connections.

In this section of the review, I will go over various wired and wireless connections I tested and verified with M9.

Line Out

Once connected to external amplifier and LO is selected from notification bar shortcuts, volume can't be controlled from M9, only from external amplifier (if it has volume control). I tested LO output with Cayin C9 and Romi Audio BX2. In either pair ups I didn’t hear any clipping or distortion. As expected, BX2 gave me more transparency, very clean sound delivering the tonality of AK4499 dac output without any coloration. C9 gave me more coloration and smoother tonality, though I found BX2 soundstage to be more expanded in width when compared to C9.

USB DAC

When connected to my Win10 laptop, in notification area of M9, once you swipe it down, I had to select USB Mode to be “usb dac”. M9 was recognized right away, and I was able to control volume from either laptop or M9. The sound using M9 as usb dac with my laptop was identical to listening with M9 standalone.

Bluetooth Wireless

You have 2 modes of Wireless Bluetooth operation, Tx and Rx.

BT Rx – You need to turn on Bluetooth and select Bluetooth Amp mode in the same setting screen, then search and pair up with M9 from your smartphone. Enable LDAC on a smartphone and start streaming from smartphone while using M9 as a wireless BT DAC. Volume was controlled from both, my S22 smartphone and M9. Also, correct protocol (LDAC) was shown on M9.

BT Tx – Paired up M9 with Hiby WH2 TWS earphones within seconds. Found it to work across 28ft of open space, full remote control from TWS earpieces. Within paired earphones setting on M9 there was no switch to enable LDAC, but when I went into Developer Options menu, I was able to confirm LDAC codec being used. Volume could be controlled from M9. The sound was as good as when being paired up with my S22, but the BT distance was shorter in comparison to my smartphone.

Digital usb-c out

I tested this interface using a new Shanling UA5 usb dac dongle which got recognized right away. I was using Shanling own music audio app, and set M9 volume to the max. This way, Volume was controlled only from UA5, but in theory you can control the volume from either M9 or UA5. Sampling rate was displayed correctly. One interesting observation here, when comparing UA5 sound connected to my S22 vs M9, with the same cable, playing the same song, and with the same pair of iems, M9/UA5 has a better layering and improved vertical dynamics. I have no idea how to explain this, but I went a dozen of times, back and forth, and always came back to the same conclusion.



Conclusion.

Sometimes, audiophiles get so focused on hardware specs, they miss the big picture. When M9 was announced, I heard from some people they don’t see the point of this upgrade considering it has the same DAC and amplifier design as in M8. Perhaps, if you don’t care about Android experience with a faster user interface, this holds true. But in my opinion, Android 7.1 and older Snapdragon SoC was holding Shanling DAPs back. You can have the best tuned system in the world with a fully optimized OS, but you are still at the mercy of 3rd party app developers who constantly push updates optimized for the later OS and the faster hardware. M9 release is a BIG deal for Shanling because they finally took a BIG leap forward to introduce the next gen platform.

And it’s not just the next gen with Android 10 and Snapdragon 665, which btw is a good stepping stone for a future Android 11 upgrade if Shanling decides to, but also a lot of other noteworthy improvements. Having dual AK4499EQ and the same Amp architecture doesn’t mean the sound will remain the same. While M8 was well known for its warm analog sound, it had a bit of a limitation in pair up synergy with some IEMs. M9 addressed it by finetuning upper frequencies to bring higher resolution and to improve the retrieval of details, making its compatibility more universal across different IEMs/headphones. Then, doubling the power of SE output also improves its pair up compatibility with more demanding headphones so you don’t have to upgrade the cable to balanced, especially if cable is not removable.

There is a laundry list of other improvements, too many to list in the Conclusion. Basically, Shanling captured all the best of M8 and took it to the next level, literally, inside out. One thing I do have to note, this release of M9 came equipped with the original flagship AK4499 DACs, and once they use up the remaining stock of these discontinued DACs (everybody is familiar with AKM factory fire and the outcome of it), M9 will be refreshed with another DAC, turning this into a bittersweet release. But considering Shanling’s house tuning with a more natural organic tonality, I have no doubt the refresh will be heading in the same direction. At the same time, the original M9 is still available for sale, still going strong, and still one of the top available DAP performers.

Shanling M9 - The Music Sounds Better with You...

Introduction

I mentioned in a previous review that I worked in the consumer electronics industry for many years - initially in retail back in the 1990's, and ultimately working directly for various brands in the 2000's. This included a period of importing consumer electronics from around the world for distribution in the UK and Ireland. I introduced a number of DAPs to these markets in the early 2000's to include Rio, MPIO, iAudio, and FiiO. I say this not as a 'CV', but to express my lifelong passion for electronics, going right back to my first Walkman in the late 80's. Unfortunately I no longer work in the industry, but can thankfully keep up the love through this hobby and community.

There are a few portable audio devices that have seriously impressed me for various reasons over the decades, and these include:

1. Panasonic RQ-S15: beautiful slimline metal body cassette player from around 1994
2. Rio Karma DAP: one of the first DAPs to enter the market around 2003, owned by Denon & Marantz
3. iAudio X5: another DAP to hit the market in the 2000's, and one of the first with a colour screen/video playback
4. Sony NW-WM1A: doesn't need much of an introduction, love it or not, safe to say now a classic and still used by many 5 years later. A keeper in my collection, and still use almost every day

It's probably no surprise where I'm going with this - the Shanling M9 is now part of this list, and has become my personal benchmark for a DAP in the 2nd decade of the 21st century!

My DAP journey in recent times has included:

1. FiiO X3
2. Sony NW-ZX300 / ZX507 / NW-WM1A
3. Cayin N6-Tii (R01 and E02 modules)

Disclaimer
I would like to note that I purchased this device at a discount from @MusicTeck in exchange for my impressions - there is no expectation for a positive review, just my honest impressions after almost 6 weeks of use. The Shanling M9 is available from MusicTeck HERE - current RRP at time of publishing this review is $2,799.

I am not a professional reviewer, but enjoy trying out new equipment as part of the hobby, and sharing my thoughts with the community. Also, I am certainly not technically proficient when it comes to some of the deeper details, but will share as best as I can. This is my first review of a DAP, and hopefully not my last. I hope it is useful, and happy to try answer any questions, so please feel free to leave comments below.

Shanling Overview - From the Shanling 'About Us'

Founded in 1988, Shanling began to develop audio products and launched their first Hi-Fi stereo amplifier in the same year.

Shanling has launched new products every year since then and has obtained a series of patented technology qualifications, such as SONY LDAC, Bluetooth BQB, Japanese Audio Association Hi-Res, Microsoft's HDCD, Dolby Laboratories' Dolby Digital, DTS and DVD, SACD, CD patent licenses and many more.

For over 30 years, Shanling’s employees kept integrity, innovation, team spirit and hard work in mind. There is no doubt that our employees are our treasure and that without them, we would never get to the Shanling of today. We believe customer’s satisfaction and quality of products are the highest priorities, the realization of user’s dream and sharing profit with our partners are our development power.

Today, main offices of Shanling are located in Shenzhen and factory is in Dongguang. Shanling is a high-tech company combining R&D, production, processing and sales of products, including Hi-Res portable music players, portable amplifiers, Hi-Fi headphones, SACD/CD players, Hi-Fi amplifiers, power conditioners and many other Hi-Fi products. We have established close relationship with many international top hi-end manufacturers and enjoy a good reputation in the industry.

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Specifications

• Dimensions – 152 x 82 x 22 mm
• Weight – 409g
• Main Screen – 6-Inch 2160 * 1080 LCD with notch
• Secondary screen – Two color low power screen in the notch
• Operating System – Android 10
• CPU – Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
• Memory – Ram 8GB, ROM 256GB + Micro SD card slot
• Hi-Res support – 32/768 & DSD512 & MQA 16X
• Bluetooth – Bluetooth 5.0, two-way, LDAC, LHDC, aptX HD, aptX, SBC Support
• Wi-Fi – 2.4G/5G, supporting DLNA, Airplay
• DAC – 2x AKM AK4499EQ
• Amplifier – AD4610 & BUF364A & OPA1612
• Output Power – Single-ended 460 mW@32Ohm // 920mW@32Ohm Balanced
• Output – Interchangeable system, supporting 3.5mm, 2.5mm, 4.4mm and 3.5Pro
• Battery – 8350 mAh, supporting 18W quick charging
• Battery life – Up to 18 hours in single ended and 10 hours in balanced

Unboxing

I know this is a brief experience, as once the new toy is taken out, the box then typically is set aside and not used again, unless of course being sold. For me though, it is an important element of my purchase - I love a good unboxing, it often sets the scene for the overall experience, and helps in justifying the cost of whatever the item is! There's not a whole lot really a DAP can come with, bar a few essentials - all pretty much counted for here, though I would like to have seen a screen cloth included - certainly needed to keep the screen all shiny, an OCD for me and thankfully I always have several knocking about the house, never far from reach...

Anyway, The M9 didn't disappoint. The outer sleeve of the box is somewhat minimal in styling, with the M9 branding sitting in the centre.




After sliding off the outer lid, you are greeted with a beautiful wooden box, very much like what an expensive item of jewellery might arrive in. The chances of actually using it again after you take out the M9 are rather slim, but it makes for an impressive and lasting first impression.




Inside, there is a simple presentation with the M9 and a leather case with the interchangeable sockets for the various size jacks.




The small leather case houses the various interchangeable sockets, giving flexibility for any connection: 2.5mm, 3.5mm/Pro, and 4.4mm. The larger 'dial' to the right in the picture below, is the dummy socket.




Finally, there is a sleeve with a spare screen protector (the unit ships with one on thankfully), warranty card, instructions, and USB cable.




The Device

This really is a beautiful machine - the single piece of aluminium looks and feels fantastic. The contoured lines on the side of the device give an incredibly premium look and finish, befitting of a flagship DAP - once in your hand, you know you've bought a high-end device.

On the left side of the unit, there is a simple 3 button array with the basic functions for play/pause, skip forward and skip back. The interchangeable port sits to the top left of the unit.

The screen is slightly raised, this looks stunning but certainly means not only is the screen protector essential, but important to keep protected in a case - it's a shame the supplied leather case isn't really practical as it rests against the volume wheel, which would cause concern for potential damage in the long run. There aren't many 3rd party cases available as yet, I picked up a clear plastic case on Ali Express which was about $40 and does a great job - but I would gladly pay a lot more if a brand like Dignis were to show up with an option.




I love the small screen that sits above and independent to the main screen area. This is like an old Casio digital watch display; and cycles between the time, volume, and sample rate of the track - these are visible even when the main screen is off. A quirky, and useful feature.



The M9 comes out of the box with a screen protector already fitted - I was thrilled to see this, as I hate putting them on and typically make a mess: elusive bubbles, one annyong corner that refuses to stick etc! I will say though, the screen protector marks easily, and I suspect I will have to change it at some point in the coming months. Apparently one of the iPhone screen protectors is the same size, but I have yet to determine which one (any readers who know, I'd appreciate the answer in the comments!) - it would certainly be easier than picking one up via Ali Express, and paying a premium for a specific one.

The volume wheel sits to the right side of the device, and is easy to use in terms of reaching out to turn the volume up and down. I prefer having a wheel like this instead of buttons - very easy in the dark to simply feel where the wheel is, and adjust the volume accordingly, as is often the case when I'm listening in bed, with the M9 on my bedside locker.



On the bottom of M9, there is the USB port and microSD slot. The rubber cover pops open when pressure is applied on the right side, revealing the microSD slot underneath.




The rear of the unit continues the theme of slick, and top tier finish - again, giving a real sense of premium design with the Shanling logo positioned toward the top middle of the unit.




Size

As noted, it is a big device and not likely to be taken out for a stroll or on the bus to work, unless you've big pockets. I have yet to do so, but I would certainly take it in my hand baggage when on a flight on holidays or work travel... it's not a DAP I could leave at home for a few days, as I would definitely miss it too much.

For comparison, the M9 on the left beside a Samsung S20 and iPhone 7.



The trend does appear to be larger sizes with these higher-end DAPs in 2022. I don't believe they are designed for the most part to be taken out and about.

The interchangeable sockets can be detached, and attached in a matter of seconds - a seamless process. I would probably prefer to have a fixed 3.5mm and 4.4mm, as they are the only two I use - of which I would estimate 95% of my time is 4.4mm but there are some earphones knocking about in my collection that are 3.5mm, namely a few buds and it's a bit annoying to have to switch the socket to accomodate for that 5%, but a minor niggle in the scheme of things - and on the flipside, just one connection does leave a nicer finish on the top of the unit.

Functionality

The M9 is an absolute pleasure to navigate. It has a large 6 inch 2K screen which for middle aged eyes like mine, is simply divine when moving through apps such as Poweramp or Tidal - scrolling through my albums, searching, and general use all at lightning speed. I've uploaded a short video below to demonstrate as seeing is believing in this case - I scroll through some folders on PowerAmp, and then navigate to Tidal and finally some basic settings on the device. As is clear in this video, the UI is super slick, super fast, and a joy to use. I would say it's on-par with any modern smartphone, and a breath of fresh air coming from the comparitively sluggish N6ii-Ti or ZX507 (as two Android devices I've owned). The screen is beautiful, and really shows off album cover art wonderfully.

Worth noting, the microSD loaded in the M9 is 1TB which could be a bit of challenge to navigate on a slower DAP, particulary loading album art etc.



Battery

I'm only using via balanced and seem to get around the advertised 10 hours on a full charge. This of course reduces when the screen is on for longer periods - easy to do when such a beautiful interface to engage with!

Initial 'Bugs'

I noted in the 'cons' at the start how there were some software bugs with the M9 in the beginning. I bought mine at the tail end of this, and thankfully a firmware update arrived within a couple of days so I didn't personally experience any real issues. From what I understand though, it was mostly a problem with Tidal where there was a need to download an older version for it to function properly. This naturally caused frustration for early adopters, it is a lot of cash to spend on a high-end device and be unable to use the latest version of your favourite streaming service. It seems Shanling managed to resolve these issues, and if the dedicated thread on Head-Fi is anything to go by, people must be happy now as there are no complaints recently.

The Music Sounds Better with You...

I often associate items with songs - words of a song pop into my head when going about my day, random connections to various moments in life. When the Shanling M9 first arrived, and I was getting to know it with various IEMs, the Stardust song 'The Music Sounds Better with You' popped into my head - the music certainly does sound better with the M9. I am an IEM only guy for the moment, but that might change - not sure I'm ready for a new rabbit hole, let alone my wallet.



IEMs enjoyed with the M9 over the last 6 weeks include:

1. Oriolus Traillii
2. Vision Ears EXT
3. Aroma Audio Thunder
4. Sony IER-Z1R
5. DUNU ZEN PRO
6. Sennheiser IE900
7. QDC Dmagic 3D
8. BQEYZ Autumn
9. 7hz Timeless

The M9 is my first top tier DAP. I noted previously those I've had in the collection, which included the Sony NW-WM1A and Cayin N6ii-Ti at the higher end. The M9 is a massive step up on both.

This limited edition M9 ships with dual AKM AK4499EQ DACs. Apparently there are only 500 in total due to this chip no longer being available following the fire in the factory. It doesn't seem to be clear yet what will be used in the next iteration of the M9.

Overall, I would describe the sound to be very natural sounding, with an analogue-like profile. The soundstage, layering, and imaging is a significant step-up in all of my IEMs versus previous DAPs I've owned. While the signature overall is very musical, it is certainly not lacking in the technical department, and will really emphasize both in capable IEMs. The bass digs deep in sub, and packs a solid punch in the mid bass - the IE900 for example has really scaled beyond anything I had heard it before - I would say that's a bit of a theme with the M9: anything with a dynamic driver, be it a single DD or as part of hybrid, has fantastic synergy with the M9. Even the comparitively low-cost 'Autumn' from BQEYZ punches way above it's $199 price tag when connected to the M9 - to be fair, it does anyway, but M9 just seems to elevate anything to far beyond what I've already heard.



The latest addition to my collection is the Aroma Audio 'Thunder' - a 1 x DD / 10 BA hybrid and an IEM that has honestly had me question my entire collection recently, especially paired with the M9 - I could probably (but won't!) retire from the hobby with this pairing - incredible synergy with some of the best bass I've heard in this hobby, not to mention the wonderful clear mids and very pleasing treble. I've already called Thunder my 'goldilocks IEM' in that it delivers a tuning in combination with the M9 that I consider 'just right' in every regard. Anyway, Thunder will be the subject of a full review in a few weeks.




As with IEMs, I prefer my sound to lean more musical than technical and that was a key decision for me when buying the M9. As noted though, the M9 strikes an excellent balance of both musical and technical, with superb clarity across a well balanced and large soundstage. It has really driven home for me the importance of a source, and the potential it provides to really maximise investments in IEMs. That's not to say my lower cost DAPs are redundant, I'm still using the NW-WM1A pretty much daily as a player when out walking - but I do of course notice the SQ improvements on the M9.

Conclusion

I feel the M9 has been a bit of an underdog due to the early software bugs - it likely reduced confidence in forking out that amount of cash on a premium device. I do hope more people get to experience what for me has quite literally been a landmark moment in my audio journey. I consider the M9 to be pretty much flawless: spectacular sound, super fast, easy to navigate, beautiful screen - it has become like a home media centre for me that I take around the house. It will be interesting to see where top tier DAPs like this go from here - they can of course and hopefully will improve on battery life, and I would like a complementary DAP that sounds like the M9 but half the size for out and about... oh and I'd probably appreciate a 2nd microSD slot to crank the capacity up to 2TB.

Quite clearly, it comes with my highest recommendation and is an absolute solid 5/5 rating.