Shanling Q1 - Portable Hi-Res music player

shigzeo

The Hiss King
Pros: Great output, ergonomic physical UI, good GUI and touch targets, gapless, good array of DAC filters, good codec support, great current for most earphones/headphones on the market, good power
Cons: GUI slows down several layers in, strange behaviour of frequent playlist, glass extruded too far out: could break, spins a bit too much on a table, good sound, but next to no sound signature.
Shanling Q1-2.jpg


Disclaimer: Shanling sent the Q1 to me for a review at Headfonics. That you can read here: Shaling Q1 review. I also reviewed it at ohm-image. I paid nothing for it and have enjoyed it immensely. It is a pre-production unit in special reviewer purple. Production versions look different. They also come in boxes.

NOTE: This text is verbatim the text found at ohm-image.net. I am the publisher of the original text and own ohm-image. I ain't no pirate. For full photos, hit up the original, again here:


ohmage to the Shanling Q1

Companion RMAA measurements can be found here:

RMAA: Shanling Q1 24-bit

Finally, if you want to see how the Q1 handles in a real hands-on, check out my YouTube video below. Same review text, but lots of use case showcase moving pictures.



The Q1 is smaller, cheaper, and, at normal listening levels, it sounds just as good as the M2X. Sure, it lacks the M2X’s rubber port gaskets, balanced output, wifi, Tidal (and on and on and on), but its simplified graphical and physical UI are just what my doctor ordered.

Specifications:
Screen: 2,7 inch 360x400 touch screen
System: Touch OS by Shanling
Weight: 136,8g
DAC: ESS Sabre E9218P
Battery life: up to 21 hours (depending on usage)
Deep standby: up to 20 days (depending on usage)
Charging time: 2 hours (depending on usage)
Battery capacity: 1100 may
Storage: up to 2TB micro SD card
Audio formats: APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3, OPUS, WAVE, AIFF, DSF, DIFF
Output port: 3,5mm jack headphone output
Output power: 80mW @32Ω
Output impedance: <0,2Ω
Channel separation: -78dB
Recommended headphone impedance: 8-300Ω
Frequency response: 20-40kHz
Distortion: 0,004%
Signal to noise Ratio: 118dB
Ground noise: <3,2uV (High Gain) <1,5uV (Low Gain)
Dynamic Range: > 105dB
Hi-Res support: up to 384kHz / 32bit, DSD64 & DSD125
Bluetooth: Two-way Bluetooth 4,2
Bluetooth Codec: Two-way LDAC, AAC, SBC, Transmit only aptX

Haptics and build: ohmage and porridge

The Q1 is more compact than a slimline Aiwa MD player. Heck, its footprint is smaller than a minidisk cassette and is only about three times thicker. Unlike a HX100, its buttons are easy to reach, and sized for adult fingers. The tracking back button falls right under the index finger, the play/pause button falls right under the middle finger, and the tracking forward button right under the ring finger. The one fly stirring in the ointment is the ambiguous iconography behind its play/pause button, which sure as not, looks like a stop/start control for a portable recorder.

The Q1’s headphone jack is centre aligned along the bottom edge. This ensures that headphone cables droop directly from the player in a clean parabolic arc to your ears. Top-aligned ports force the headphone cable to double back behind the player and hook on or stab random stuff in front of you, which can damage both the player and plug.

Thanks to its curved bottom, the Q1 feels great in the hand. But on a table, it spins like a top. Still, the Q1 is buttoned up pretty tight. If not for its protruding glass screen, I reckon it could take a spill or two from your kitchen table. Its back is hollowed from a single piece of metal, and its large buttons sit atop solid plinths. Glass screen aside, it is ready to be rough handled.

The Q1’s screen is pretty low resolution and isn’t great for browsing photos. But, its colours are reasonably crisp. Viewing angles are sufficient enough to keep text and art legible for most viewing, but gosh if it doesn’t wash out pretty fast when held at an angle. In every aspect, it is superior to the screens in Cowon’s D2 and Onkyo’s DP-S1. Even when scrolling fast, image tearing is minimal. Conversely, when browsing two or three layers deep in the UI, the Q1 stammers a bit.

Speaking of UI, while easy as pie to learn, and reliable whilst jogging from home to work, its icons are straight from Windows XP. They are ugly and a poor match to the Q1’s playful exterior. But they are the right size for easy touching. And, they are perfectly placed for fingers of all sizes. Behind them is a responsive touch/swipe engine. A few screens are confusing, hide too much, or display incorrect information. An example of the latter is ‘You’re The One For Me’’s place in my Frequent list. I’ve never played it on any portable device, let alone the Q1, and I’ve not listened to it more than a handful of times on any device. How it nabbed spot one on my frequency list constitutes a conspiracy on the order of 9/11.

I’ve tracked the Q1 at near twenty hours of playback with a good salad of use cases. Sure, you can do better, but it is more than enough to get through a day of work and the commute to and fro.

Its Bluetooth functionality is awesome. You can dual it up as a receiver for your iPhone and plug in your favourite tethered earphones, or send signals from it to your favourite wireless buds. The latter can get up to 50 metres from the Q1 before the signal quality goes kaput. That’s almost as good as an iPhone, so cool beans.

Kitsch: ohmage

This bad boy is pre-production. If you want to see how the full package looks, check out any review from February on. It’s generally no-nonsense, if styled a bit joke-ily. Its easy to suss GUI and reliable button array are great. The chrome accents are a bit kitsch, but installed in such a solid player, they are nothing but a bit of eccentricity.

Storage: porridge

You’ll have to pony up for a micro SD card because the Q1 lacks internal storage. I’ve been using 32GB Toshiba beasts of speed and reliability and 200GB Sandisk dogs of surfeit and self-destruction.

Battery life: ohmage

I’ve tracked the Q1 at near twenty hours of playback with a good salad of use cases. Sure, you can do better, but it is more than enough to get through a day of work and the commute to and fro.

Sound: ohmage

I look at sound quality a bit differently to many reviewers out there. If a device does what it sets out to do, and performs well within its category by keeping hiss low, nailing gapless playback, and keeping current-to-voltage ratios high, it gets good marks from me. If it does all of that whilst providing a unique signature, dayum!

The Q1 hisses a tiny bit more than an iPhone SE, making it almost perfect for the most sensitive earphones on the market. And, it spits perfect current into low-Ω headphones and earphones. This ensures great frequency response and stereo performance no matter what’s plugged into it.

Recently, I’ve tested a few mid to high-end players that return worse measurements than the Q1, a fact about which I recently argued at length with a high-profile reviewer. If sound quality means how it makes you feel, the Q1 isn’t as good sounding as Cayin’s N6ii, but if sound quality is measurable as a percentage of deviation against the original signal, then the Q1 basically shows up players as high up the scale as the AK380.

Even with a minimum slow filter engaged the Q1 belts out music at a foot-tapping pace. There’s not a real comfy chair bone in its body. And that is the biggest bone I have to pick with it. I’d much rather soften its top end with a DAC filter than EQ. The good news is that the Q1’s EQ is robust and easy to use.

As you can see, the Q1 keeps up incredible stereo pressure across the spectrum through a variety of loads. IMD and THD distortion top out at 0,052% under the extreme load of an Earsonics SM2. Driving the current-hungry but voltage shy Audio Technica ES7, the worst distortion the Q1 puts out is 0,0089%. Obviously, both are totally inaudible. Jitter is nominal for a player in its price range, and as low as many high-end DAPs on the market today. At normal listening levels, SNR, stereo separation, and DR drop, but only commensurately to the volume differential between MAX and comfort.

Objectively, the Q1 is impeccable and among the best DAPs I’ve tested. It also sounds good, but it is obvious that Shanling didn’t put much effort into really tailoring its output for a specific sort of sound. Whether peaky and open, or dark and rich, I wish they had. Yes, I prefer the latter, but that preference isn’t what drives the desire for a more unique sound signature. For whatever reason, high-end DAPs tend to deliver the more unique signatures. Oftentimes this comes coupled with unique distortion patterns, and more. The Q1 sounds like a better-measuring iPhone. That means: near perfection, but it means very little character, even after applying DAC filters, EQs, and the like. I love the DAP, and I know that technically, its sound is top-notch. But, like many if not most audiophiles, I pine for a DAP that advertises itself along many audio avenues, including a unique and tailored house sound. Unfortunately, the Q1 totally lacks a house or brand-painted sound.

End words

Its few flaws in UI and haptics aside, the Q1 is the best DAP I’ve reviewed in recent memory. It performs almost without flaw. And, while it lacks a unique sound signature, it sounds great. Its battery life is good, and it is robust, easy to use, and generally responsive. You can even use it as a tethered or wireless DAC for your phone or computer. The Q1’s got it where it counts; better yet, counting up to its price point doesn’t take that long. It’s awesome.

ohmage: 4
porridge: 2
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surja
surja
hi,

Can you use the Q1 as a bluetooth USB transport device? I'm looking for a bluetooth receiver with a digital out for my Chord Mojo.

Zelda

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Build quality - Zinc alloy
Compact and portable
Battery
Sound Quality
Bluetooth sound quality
Cons: Playback buttons can be too sensitive
REVIEW – Shanling Q1 – The New Series



Website – Shanling


Q1 Specifications
  • Dimensions: 75*62*16.5 mm
  • Screen: 2.7 inch 360*400 touch screen
  • System: MTouch OS by Shanling
  • Weight: about 136.8 g
  • DAC Model: ESS Sabre ES9218P
  • Battery Life: up to 21 hours
  • Deep standby: up to 20 days
  • Battery: 1100 mAh lithium battery
  • Charging time: 2 hours (depending on usage)
  • Charging connector: USB-C
  • Storage: up to 2 TB Micro SD card
  • Audio Formats: APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3, OPUS, WAV, AIFF, DSF, DIFF
  • Output: 3.5mm jack headphone output
  • Output power: 80 mW @ 32 Ohm
  • Output impedance: <0.2 Ohm
  • Channel separation: 76 dB
  • Recommended headphone impedance: 8-300 ohms
  • Frequency response: 20Hz ~ 40kHz
  • Distortion: 0.004% (A-Weighting, Output 1KHZ 485mV)
  • Signal to Noise Ratio: 118dB (A-weighting)
  • Ground noise : < 3.2 uV (HIGH GAIN) (A-weighting); <1.5uV (LOW GAIN) (A-weighting)
  • Dynamic Range: >105dB
  • Hi-Res support: up to 384 kHz/ 32bit, DSD64 & DSD128

Price: U$D 119 (Retail). First units were sold for $79, and now currently $89 on Kickstarter campaign.

The Shanling Q1 demo unit here was provided directly by Shanlingcompany as one of the first review units.

Shanling Q1 Kickstarter page


Design

The Shanling M0 is still one of the smallest portable players in the market, with full touch screen and multiple audio features, and also one of the most minimalistic and (subjectively) cute players available in various colors. The Q1 still follows the small and compact formula, but certainly larger and similar to other entry-fi options. The bigger design on the Q1 boosts now a much more solid build quality with a main body made of a single piece of zinc alloy instead of machined aluminum of the M series or most portable players out there. The tougher zinc material does imply a much heavier weight, ~135g despite the small design – the M5s, previous flagship player, is about twice the size of the Q1 but not far in terms of weight due the aluminum shell. The the whole front panel is of glass with a 2.7” touch screen. It is still pocket-friendly, easy to carry around as an everyday audio source. It is advertised as having a more “retro” look, not quite sure why, but does not look as modern and shiny as the M5s. Like the M0, the Q1 also has a square shape but with much more rounded corners and back. The silicone cover case that should be included on the retail units might result convenient for getting a better grip of the player. Do note the purple version here is only for the demo review units, while the final ones will arrive in other color options.


Screen

The glass touch screen is now of 2.7”, diagonal size, so more comfortable to use than the M0 or Fiio M5 micro sized screens. Resolution is of 360x400 but it is an upgrade over the M0 and a bit better than the M5s. Album covers (when available) look good enough, colorful and with decent contrast and sharpness. Maximum brightness level is decent too.
The screen is placed right in the center middle of the front panel with equal spaces from each side for all the multiple touch gestures. There is no screen film included, but there might be one on the retail package.
There were various beta firmware updates since receiving the review unit, and the current one is 1.1 version. The startup of the device is fast and the whole system runs very fast too. The various menus the screen can display up to four lines, same as the M0, but thanks to the larger size it is comfortable to read with sharper fonts. Scrolling through menus is fast, but still can be too sensitive. In comparison, it is better than the M0 and closer to the M5s.


Layout

The layout is logical and well organized. On the left there are the three standard playback buttons equally separated, previous/back on the top, play/pause in the middle and next at the bottom. Unlike the main metal chassis of the player, the buttons are made of plastic. They do not stick out from the lateral surface but easy to recognize without looking at the player. The only issue present here is the sensitivity of these buttons is too high and can be very easily pressed, at least with this review unit. Maybe the silicone case will help, but the only solution so far is to lock the buttons when at least the screen is off.


On the right side, there is the usual wheel introduced on previous Shanling models. It works for both volume adjustment and for power and screen on/off functions. It is larger than on the M0/M5s and sticks out, so easier to operate. A good thing is the increased clicking resistance of the wheel button that requires extra force. However, combined with the more sensitive buttons on the left side, pressing the wheel button can unwantedly activate one of those. It can also be locked during screen off, but personally I had no need to do so. The volume control is very accurate. With the M0 and even the M5s the volume sometimes skipped one or two steps and here on Q1 it is very precise. More importantly, the volume changes are subtle, more suitable and easier to use with sensitive sets like IEMs.


At the bottom, there is the analog audio output for standard 3.5mm plugs in the middle, which works as Lineout port too if set from the playback settings. Take note that the LO will set the volume to maximum, so be sure to disconnect the headphones; there will always be a confirmation message before. To the left there is the USB Type-C port for charging and data management of the micro SD as the Q1 player has no internal memory. The Type-C connection works for DAC use, as both a digital source and external Amp/DAC. If used as a source for other DAP or DAC, the volume can be set to be fixed or variable from the settings options.


User Interface & Navigation

The OS on the Q1 is the new MTouch 3.0 version. The own Shanling MTouch system was introduced on the M0 and continued on the M5s and M2x, and the implementation is similar on the Q1. Having tried both M0 and M5s, the Q1 is kind of a mix of both, closer to the M5s. Like the M0, the main screen allows one icon only per time and a single swipe to left or right will bring the next icon, or alternatively by a single touch on the left/right arrows. At the moment the available icons cannot be customized, unlike the M0 and M5s. the screen size is much more comfortable to use than the small 1.8” on the M0, and also features multiple useful shortcuts on the various screen like the M5s does.

There is no manual included with this unit (but probably will be one) and it is not really needed to figure out the whole interface. The response is fast and smooth. The player can be set to start up on the last played track or position, or alternatively on the main screen at the ‘My Music’ icon.


There are six icons at the main screen:
  • ‘My Music’ – to access the music media library, arranged by song, album, artist, etc.
  • ‘My Favorites’ – with all the selected tracks
  • ‘Folders’ – to browse and manage the micro SD folders and files
  • ‘Playlist’
  • ‘Playback’ – for all audio settings
  • ‘System’ – for all other system configurations, including Bluetooth pairings, system update, and more.

Even for those that are not familiar with the Shanling interface it shouldn't take much time to figure out how to navigate through the multiple screens and menus or find the various shortcuts. A swipe up gesture from the bottom of the screen (on any screen) will take back to main home screen right at the 'My Music' icon. At the home screen there is a small bar showing the current playing track and a single touch on it will take back to the playback screen. On any menu screen there is a small ‘play’ icon on the upper right corner which will also take to the playback screen. When navigating through folders and menus a single swipe to the right will return to the last previous screen, and on specific ones, a left swipe may reveal other screens.
Moreover, a swipe down from the top of the screen will open a short menu with eight different icons and a lower bar to adjust the screen brightness. The different icons have different functions:
  • Bluetooth on/off
  • Buttons lock, when screen off (if set from the setting options)
  • Gain, low to high
  • USB function, Data/Charge or DAC
  • Equalization on/off
  • Audio 3.5mm output, Phone or Lineout (a message window will appear)
  • And shortcuts to Playback and System menus

At the music playing screen, there is small icon to toggle between the different playing sequences and another icon to quickly add or remove the current played track to the ‘favorites’ playlist. A swipe to the left will show and extra screen with three extra icons, one is to add to a selected playlist, the second to see the track info and the third one to access the playback settings. An extra swipe takes to the Lyrics screen if available.


Multiple screens below:
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Wireless performance

The Q1 supports Bluetooth 4.2v with different codecs, SBC, AAC, AptX and also LDAC. Some would have liked a 5.0 BT and HD codecs support, but nonetheless the quality is already very good on the Q1. The connectivity is usually solid, much better than on the M0 and even than M5s. It is on par with the Fiio M6 which is already very good for a small portable DAP and has a similar transmission range. Logically, the Q1 supports Two-way so not only works as transmitter but also as Bluetooth receiver, including a wireless DAC mode through the USB port. I think the LDAC works both when receiving and transmitting. The current codec will be shown next to the battery indicator.

As transmitter, the sound quality is very good, and so far the best heard among small DAPs. There audio signal is has more clarity and control on the sound. Even with True-wireless earphones like the Jays m-Seven there is a notorious improvement in quality, more impact on the bass, cleaner midrange and a bit less artificial treble. Soundstage feels a bit less compressed as well.


The Equalizer also works over BT transmission. However, at the current firmware, if the buttons are locked during screen off, then it also won’t be able to control the playback via the Bluetooth headphones. Unlocking the buttons is a solution, but due the sensitivity of the buttons on the Q1 side it is not the best option.


Battery

Battery time is one of the Q1 strengths. As usual it depends on the file quality, volume gain and screen time, but does hold close to 20hrs from a single charge using IEMs with around 30/100 volume in low gain. Wireless battery will be different as it depends on the BT codec and volume set, but still works very well. Charging time is fairly good, usually takes up to 2hrs or less to fully charge.

Sound Quality

Based on the same audio DAC chip ES9218P from Sabre as the smallest M0 model and also sharing similar technical specs may lead to think the Q1 would be too close in sound performance. However, there is more than just hardware tech, and Shanling have a new tuning on the Q1 that can be easy considered as an ‘upgrade’ or simply better sounding DAP over not only the M0 but other compact portable players and yet on a very affordable entry-fi price.

The Q1 is tuned for a rather neutral yet well balanced presentation, surprisingly transparent and very versatile when paired with different gears, be it IEMs, portable or even larger over-ear headphones. The neutrality here is not perceived as being too flat or lean, but more as precise, clean and almost uncolored. It may be just a touch bright and a bit revealing, but mainly with certain headphones. Still not the most revealing when switching from entry-fi to mid-tier and top-tier headphones, which might be good for some being a less picky source.

Bass is shown very neutral, unenhanced, so quantities and sheer power will depend on the headphones used. The Q1 instead focus in giving good bass quality and control, decent speed and articulation. Extension is very good, more natural and effortless reach into the sub-bass region, which rare for the price. Depth is around average, good in layering and tight. Mid-bass control is very good, a bit lighter in impact what helps for a cleaner jump to the upper frequencies, starting from the lower mids.

The midrange is very clear, pretty neutral and linear. The balance is well kept without pushing vocals or instruments more forward. The resolution is very good with nice sense of space and dynamics. Tonality is fairly natural, if anything there is some smoothness with tiny bit richer texture, or at least less cold. Generally, some more v-shaped earphones will sound less lively and slightly fuller on the midrange.

Similar to the lows, the highs are transparent. I wasn’t a fan of the M0 kind of treble presentation, but on the Q1 it is more enjoyable. This Sabre DAC kind of shimmering treble is still noticed here, but more refined. Still not the most natural timbre or totally smooth when using some neutral to brighter sets. Even so, the control is very good for the price and the extension complements very well that on the low-end.

The presentation is well rounded even with in-ear monitors. The soundstage is quite good, well extended with more width than depth or height, so creates a less 3D effect but with good separation. The micro-detail retrieval is good, without tending to be very clinical for an entry-fi DAP. There is no hiss on the Q1, even with most sensitive IEMs and has a black background.

In terms of driving power, as long as it is not used with very demanding headphones, then the Q1 will be capable to drive anything to a comfortable level without losing in dynamics, staging or even speed. The high gain won’t give major changes, just a jump in volume. I still found better to have the high on when using some lower sensitivity IEMs like the final E5000, B1, RE2000 or Dita Twins, or with headphones like the Meze 99 and Soundmagic Vento and didn’t need to pass the 50/100 volume steps.


Comparisons

Fiio M6


The Fiio M6 is a great all-rounder small DAP that packs many features including Wi-Fi online streaming and running under Android OS allows to install many third-party apps (if compatible). The M6 with a slimmer and rectangular shape is easier to carry on small pockets and it is lighter too. The Q1 has a tougher build with the zinc allow chassis and has dedicated playback controls. Screen quality is good on the Q1, but below the M6’s resolution that can act as a small tablet (and can play videos as well). Battery is better on the Q1. Wireless connectivity is similar on both, but the BT sound quality is better on the Q1, even though the M6 supports a wider range of codecs.

In sound quality they perform on a similar level. Sabre DAC on both - not the same chips. They both have a neutral, uncolored and fairly well balanced presentation. The M6 is a bit more forward and richer on the midrange with a slight edge on the upper mids, more suited for vocals. There is more mid-bass lift and limited, less extended sub-bass. Treble is more sparkly and offers more low-treble energy. The Q1 is more linear, with more extension on both ends, more dynamic on the lows and more present sub-bass. Mid-bass is slightly softer, more noticed with darker, bassier earphones. Midrange is leaner and a tad colder but then more open and airy. Instruments can sound better separated too. On the treble, the Q1 is a bit sharper and has less natural timbre. Soundstage is better on the Q1, wider and more spacious.



Fiio M5

The Fiio M5 is more of a M0 rival, but being a newer product offers a good comparison. The ultra compact size is a key feature on the M5, like it was with the Shanling M0, with a lighter aluminum build, while the Q1 is about 4 times heavier. Battery is average on the M5, below the M6, and a win for the Q1. M5 offers more BT codecs than the M6, so has the upper hand over the Q1, but the Q1 still has the better wireless audio quality. The larger screen is also more friendly and accurate to use, but the navigation and scrolling is smoother on the M5.

For sound quality, the M5 takes a AKM chip versus the Sabre ESS on the Q1. Again, both small DAPs offer a balanced presentation but differ in the overall tonality. M5 is smoother sounding, a bit darker, punchier on the mid-bass and reserved in the highs extension, also more forgiving at the price of having a bit less detail. The midrange is very close in terms of balance and weight. Q1 extends better on the highs, and again, brings better soundstage.



Shanling M5s

A less fair comparison, as the M5s was the previous flagship DAP until the announcement of the M6, and priced about 4 times the Q1. Technical differences were mentioned above on each section. As for what sound matters, they have a very different approach. The M5s has a very transparent and refined sound, with a smoother, natural treble that results in a less lively signature next to the more energetic Q1. The Q1 will make the M5s kind of darker sounding but neither of these have a strong emphasis on the lows or much of coloration. Both perform very well on their price tag.


Pairings

Campfire Audio Polaris 2


The new Polaris 2 version is a bass heavy IEM, with dark and bit v-shaped signature. Paired with the Q1, it presents less bass bloat, especially on the mid/up-bass, for a more leveled sub-bass. Extension is not the best Polaris can reach but there is good control. Midrange sounds less distant and smoother, still not forward but less cold. Stage width is very decent.


iBasso IT04

Well balanced bass too, more linear sub to mid-bass response. There is less impact and rumble than the IT04 can show with higher players like the M5s. Midrange is liquid and a tad cool and well rounded with the treble. Good soundstage as usual for the IT04, wide, just missing in depth.


Dita Audio Fealty

For a higher IEM model, the Fealty stands out in soundstage, balance and timbre. The Q1 lacks the balanced output option for best sound results on the Fealty, but does already sound more spacious than when paired with the Fiio M6 or M5. It still requires extra power but sound less congested and less limited in extension. A bit cold on the midrange and energetic on the treble.


Meze 99 Neo

There is enough driving power on the Q1 to make the Meze 99 headphones sound good enough without lacking much in soundstage dimensions or dynamics. The low end is less forward and aggressive and more linear in midrange. The Meze 99 can be sometimes picky on the treble timbre with different sources and the Q1 matches nicely here with its neutrality and good level of transparency.
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AndySocial
AndySocial
I haven't tried every combination of lock settings and BlueTooth receivers I have, but I received mine and updated to 1.2 and see the same behavior. I have the lock option set to "buttons only" and using an Anker speaker, the play/pause button works as long as the screen is on. When the screen is off, the button does nothing. This is a major annoyance, as I need to tap the wheel to wake the screen before I can pause the player. I'll have to try more options and see if AVRCP works when the screen is off with other lock options. I am not optimistic, but Shanling did say they were going to fix this in a Kickstarter comment.
Zelda
Zelda
I've updated to the 1.2v. and as mentioned, still same issue with BT when screen is off. Agree it can be annoying, but also should be easily fixed (hopefully) with future updates
AndySocial
AndySocial
Shanling has acknowledge this bug on their Kickstarter page. They say it works with some but not all BT devices, and they're working on it. Weird, I figured the whole point of the AVRCP standard was to ensure they would be confident things worked once they were standards-compliant.

DarKu

Reviewer at Soundnews
Pros: Interesting and smoothly shaped design, lightweight and portable
- A quite natural sound signature
- Great tonal balance across the board
- Wide soundstage, deep and airy sounding too
- Great Bluetooth codec support
- Works as both a sender and as a Bluetooth receiver
- Impressive detail retrieval at this size and price
- Clean and transparent sounding
- Noise-less headphone out, works great even with sensitive IEMs
- Impressive price to performance ratio!
Cons: No Bluetooth 5.0 support


Shanling is known to be making portable digital audio players for quite some time now. M3 digital audio player that debuted in 2014 came like a storm, even at that time it had DSD playback capabilities, it had a big capacity battery, an interesting Cirrus Logic chipset, lots of power under its belt and a very unique design with a huge volume knob that resembled big integrated amplifiers. Next year they launched a smaller M2 DAP that had big advancements in terms of user interface, then they launched their flagship M5 and since then, they never really stopped tinkering with small and portable music players. What I liked the most about them was not all those cool specs and design decisions but their actual price. They were always very affordable; at their core they were consumer oriented but with audiophile technology inside.

Take the M1 or M0 as examples, they are small and really portable devices, have good specs, powerful Bluetooth capabilities, are made out of metal and yet are very affordable, together those two are cheaper than most decent quality headphones I know of.

The DAP that I will be testing today is not a direct successor to M0 or M1 but it is something in between those two, with a much bigger battery life and a much sturdier construction, without further ado please meet the newest Shanling Q1 DAP.

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Design & Build Quality

Q1 feels absolutely impressive and stays perfectly in the hand. It is quite small but at 137 grams it feels really solid and dare I say heavier for its size, the zinc alloy body is thick and much heavier than anodized aluminum, it all makes sense now. It made a positive first impression on me and I am looking forward to its sound performance.

Instead of just going for the boring black and shining silver, Shanling put some colors in its Q1, I have the purple version (I believe this is a limited edition for press) and I hear that multiple colors are coming along the way like baby blue, creamy white, forest green and red. Shanling used a special coloring method that has great adhesive properties with zinc alloy and why not add a bit of sparkle, glitter, some color and a natural shape.

Q1 has a very rounded shape and it is free of any sharp edges, it is very much against all those sharp A&K designs. The smooth surface and those rounded edges remind me a lot about shapes that can be found in the nature, it looks like a polished purple stone to me but you might see something different in it.

This chapter is very subjective, I think it looks quite different and interesting compared to others and it is definitely targeted at younger generation and not at the grumpy audiophiles.

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Buttons & Layout

Q1 is a touch-screen device and it loves to be touched and swiped in all directions but it still has few ports and buttons. On the left it has 3 buttons: Next, Play/Pause and Previous buttons. On the right it has a pleasant volume wheel that also works as an On/Off/Stand-by button and on the bottom you have your USB Type-C (very glad about this one) that has triple duties: it will charge your device, it can be used for data transfer or it can be used together with a mobile device that supports USB OTG or with a PC or MAC in case you want to use it as a dedicated Digital-To-Analog-Converter or DAC for short.

Yes! It can be used as an external audio card even for your smartphone, very cool feature. There is also a 3.5mm (1/8”) headphone jack that can work as a clean 2V line-output and there is also a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 2Tb! That is plenty even for a huge music collection.

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Display

Q1 has a decent display size of 2.7” and a resolution of 360 by 400 pixels. This is an IPS LCD panel, looks pretty sharp to me and has a decent amount of brightness. I wish the bezels would be a bit smaller, but everything else is nice. Doing swipes and touch screen gestures feels more natural on this screen size than on the tiny Shanling M0 or FiiO M5. I like the swipe gestures a lot more on this one especially in the main menu it feels a bit more responsive with swipes than with touches.

Battery

Q1 has a battery capacity of 1100 mAh, almost double the size of the tiny M0. As a result, battery life has improved a lot, it rose from 15 hours to 21 hours of music listening to lossy audio formats. Once you go lossless and really loud the battery drops to about 14 hours or so. I have listened to it with a wider variety of headphones, Quad ERA-1 planars being the hardest task for it, I was almost maxed out volume wise, I listened to 6 hours the first day in a long trip, 6 hours back home and there was less than 15% battery left on it. I have no complaints since a serious audiophile DAP can hold about 7 to 8 hours at high listening volume with my planars. Q1 has a great battery life considering its power output and its size. Q1 can also go into deep-sleep mode for about 20 days depending on the usage but if you want to preserve battery life just turn it off completely.

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Under the hood of Q1

Q1 is rocking a custom made MTouch OS by Shanling, this is stripped down OS and very lightweight in terms of hardware requirements so it was just natural using an affordable low voltage and dual-core Ingenic X1000E CPU clocked at just 1 Ghz.

Q1 doesn’t have an internal ROM memory and is completely relying on the external MicroSD cards, it supports up to 2Tb cards. RAM memory size is 64Mb but this is not that important since it moves decently and no other 3-rd party apps can be installed on it.

The most important aspect of Q1 is its internal DAC chip, it’s an all-in-one ES9218P from ESS Technologies. I called it an all-in-one because this is not a simple DAC chip, this is a System-on-Chip (SoC) that also carries a simple headphone amp circuit and the final output stage. ES9218P can also output a clean 2V Rms if you use the line-out feature. From initial audio decoding to the final amplification stage, everything is done inside it, so signal path is the shortest it can be, it eliminates the need of a bigger PCB or the use of thin film resistors and increases battery life.

This one is outputting about 80 mW of power into 32 Ohms with an output impedance of just 0.2 Ohms. In simple terms it means that it should work great even with ultra-sensitive IEMs without sacrificing the damping factor. Ground noise stays at less than 1.5 micro Volts on low gain and less than 3.2 micro Volts on high gain meaning it should have a dead-silent background and noise-floor should be nowhere to be found even with multi-driver and sensitive IEMs, I will be testing that soon.

Shanling is using a powerful Bluetooth chip inside and Q1 can work not only as a Bluetooth sender but also as receiver. As a sender (to a wireless headphone for example) it can output SBC, AAC, AptX and LDAC and as a receiver (say receiving data from a smartphone) it accepts AAC and LDAC codecs. Bluetooth version is 4.2 and not the latest 5.0 – this is its only downside but with a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 3 and FiiO EH3NC I didn’t lose a beat while listening to music on the go. It paired nicely with two TWS earbuds, few wireless headphones, with my TV and with few wireless speakers. I was losing the signal at about 10 meters away and with 2 concrete walls between us, that is more than enough in my book. If I am putting it in my pocket and pair it with some TWS earbuds or some noise cancelling headphones the signal stays strong and steady all the time.

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Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Shanling uses a very simple MTouch OS, this is probably the lightest one I’ve seen and most of its features I learned by myself, after one hour of playtime I didn’t even need the user manual so it’s quite intuitive and easy to learn.

Q1 can be operated with those 3 buttons and the volume wheel or by single touches or swipes but I personally love swipes the most especially in the main menu.

Once you go home screen, a single icon will be shown on the screen at a time like: My Music, My Favorites, Folders, Playlist, Playback and System. Most of them are self-explanatory, Playback will have all your playback settings and in System you can enable or disable BT, choose the USB mode, update its firmware and many other features. Once you select any icon, a swipe from left to right will get you back one step and a swipe from the bottom to the top always get you in the main menu. Once you start listening to some music a single tap will show the cover art or the music player functions. A Swipe top to bottom will reveal a quick menu where high or low gain can be selected, where EQ and BT can be engaged or disabled or many other features.

The only two things that are trickier to find and setup are the Bluetooth and EQ, from the top to bottom menu you can only enable or disable them. To properly set those you need to go to System for pairing or unpairing Bluetooth devices, then you need to select Playback and choose any of the 8 EQ built-in presets or enable 2 customs EQ ones that can be tuned to your liking.

Overall, the GUI is quite polished, I’m on FW V1.1 and it moves decently fast. It doesn’t stutter like FiiO M5 did when playing 32 bit Hi-Res files or DSD content. With regular lossy files like mp3 or with simple 16 bit WAV or Flac files it moves fast and I have no complaints.

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Audio Performance

I. Connected to wireless headphones and speakers

My KEF LS50W speakers are also wireless and support the AptX codec, Q1 connected to them in an instant, since my speakers are right in the middle of the apartment, as much as I tried making a hard life for Q1 by walking away from them, the signal would always stay strong without hiccups or stutters. Connecting Q1 to Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless I could leave Q1 in my office and walk with M3s on my head. About 5 meters away and 2 concrete between us everything was fine, music played perfectly, add few meters and music would still be perfectly fine. Only in the last 2 rooms I started losing few beats and music was stuttering – that happened about 10 meters away with 3 concrete walls between us. By my standards that is a strong Bluetooth signal, even with version 4.2 it worked really nice. While walking outside or doing a workout with M3 on my head and Q1 in my pocket the signal was strong and didn’t lose a beat in a 2-hour period.

II. Connected to sensitive IEMs

First thing that struck me is how silent it is with sensitive and multi-driver IEMs. FiiO FH7 and Simgot EN700 PRO shown zero audible hiss or background noise, even on high-gain with a maxed-out volume. In this regard it stays up there with the best, even on same level with the $3000 Benchmark HPA4 which is kind of impressive.

Testing multi-driver IEMs was an easy task for it, at low gain volume wise I needed about 60 (out of 100) for FH7 and about 65 for EN700 PRO. Going high gain I was at about 48 volume level for FH7 and about 53 for EN700 PRO. All in all, it has plenty of volume even on low gain for any IEMs I have tested, I also have some entry level and mid-tiered IEMs but those are even more sensitive to voltage swings and don’t even need to be mentioned here.

Driver control was excellent with IEMs, I’ve heard punchy notes on the right music and overall a very pleasing and engaging performance. Dynamics were up there with higher priced DAPs and sincerely I have close to zero complaints when it comes to IEM pairings.

Listening to Instant Crush and then to Giorgio by Daft Punk at 24-bit, 88 kHz was quite a revealing performance, music was clear and outlined, muddiness was nowhere to find. Everything sounded musical, pleasing, groovy and up-lifting. It was weird at first, since ESS Sabre design are not sounding this way most of the times, I am pretty sure Shanling tried extracting the last drop of performance out of ES9218P and they probably achieved that.

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III. Connected to portable on-ear or over-ear headphones

There are still people who enjoy music on the go with simple wired headphones like I do so I thought: hey, I should test those with Q1, why not? I tested Sennheiser Momentum M2 (over-ear version), then Momentum 3 and later on a hand-crafted portable headphone called Erzetich Thalia.

With Momentum 2 (and Momentum 3 for that matter) on low gain I went straight up to 82 volume for the same sound pressure level (SPL) I had with IEMs. On high gain, volume dropped to 72. Erzetich Thalia needed 85 on low gain and about 75 on high-gain since it has bigger drivers than M2.

Volume wise Q1 is capable of driving any on-ear or over-ear portable headphones without a problem. There is not a single trace of hiss or noise obviously and those worked absolutely wonderful with it. Since Q1 is a bit fuller sounding (that is very unusual taking into accounts its all-in-one SoC), it worked great with a wider variety of headphones and with Momentum 2 and 3 it sounded even bassier and warmer then how I remember them, very pleasant in a way.

Driver control was there, so were those pleasant dynamics, they rose and dropped in an instant. Q1 has a punchy nature that slams great with modern or old music alike.

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IV. Connected to desktop low sensitivity headphones.

This test was done mostly for fun since normally you wound not use a portable music player with some big and heavy open-back desktop headphones like Hifiman Arya or Quad Era-1. With Era-1 only high-gain worked and I was somewhere between 96 and 100 and maxed out on some classical pieces. Hifiman Arya underperformed and needed much more power than 80mW. Quad Era-1 sounded almost nice, everything was there except for speed, impact and driver control. Those sounded slower and a bit loose compared to desktop solutions.

A pleasant surprise was connecting it to Sennheiser HD660S, although I felt I am again losing a bit of speed, impact and some dynamics in crowded passages, those actually sounded pleasing and quite engaging. Volume wise I would sit somewhere between 90 and 94 on high gain and due to that warmer and punchy nature, the overall performance was pleasing, it sounded natural and quite deep when it comes to bass. HD660S performed like connected to an entry-level desktop Hi-Fi setup and that is a big compliment for the small guy. This was an interesting experiment but also a reminder that desktop planar-magnetic headphones should be only used at home because of their power requirements and open-back design.

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V. Connected to a desktop PC in the DAC mode

I was pleasantly surprised to see the DAC feature implemented in such a small device; I am not crazy about it but someone will surely find this feature interesting. Since Q1 is still an unreleased product I installed the DAC driver from the Shanling M0 and it worked wonderfully!

Shanling Audio Control Panel sees it as Q1 so everything is fine. I recommend leaving the Streaming Mode at Safe and Asio Bufer Size at Auto for the best results.

As I expected, it works perfectly, I listened to some Flac files via Foobar2000 and JRiver and it sounded basically the same as in the DAP mode. Even 24 bit files worked no problem and headphone volume could be controlled by it. If you select Line-Out before connecting it to a PC then Q1 will work as a standard desktop Hi-Res DAC, a nice touch!

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VI. Frequency Response

I will continue describing Q1 mostly connected to IEMs and portable headphones I mentioned before. I continued listening to Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and I couldn’t overlook that big, plushy, soft, bold and deep reaching BASS.

I believe Q1 has a good sub-bass performance and I have spotted it even on demanding tracks, I’m hearing it very clear, precise and deep reaching. I think Q1 has a right dose in terms of sub-bass, it is rumbling, engaging, has a good sustain and doesn’t overshadow anything else.

Mid-bass performance is even better, I consider it elevated by my standards, it is fuller and bolder sounding. It is also somehow softer sounding and transient response is not as good, speed and impact are not the best. Mid-bass notes are coming slower towards me and are going away slower than usual too, those created that warm feeling for me. Combine that with a warmer sounding headphone like Sennheiser Momentum 2 and it is like listening to some digital vinyl, a very smooth and easy-going performance. Because of that I tend to like it more with dry or treble enhancing headphones just to counter balance the musical performance without touching the EQ.

It is a bit odd (I’m probably saying it for the third time) having a smooth, musical and deep reaching midrange for this particular DAC chip and manufacturer. Mid-bass notes are spilling a bit over the midrange and again I am hearing the midrange fuller sounding, meatier and carrying a heavier tone than usual. Listening to older rock recordings and then moving to newer ones I felt like I am looking at a photo through a vivid filter or something like that. Everything is more colorful, it is just juicier sounding, guitars have a longer vibration, the voice is soothing and very deep reaching. Midrange performance is very good, it is still a bit elevated by my linear standards and this kind of midrange makes a lot of sense since most of current production IEMs are V-shaped in terms of frequency response.

Everything from Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin to newer rock tunes sounded natural, engaging, deep and just a hair slower than how I remember them on my desktop equipment.

Treble is quite extended but because of that elevated mid-bass and midrange is it somehow put in the background. It never draws attention to it and most of the time will not sound bright or harsh. It is just there in right doses. Listening to some classical pieces I can still hear the start and the end of those bells and cymbals, drums are decaying at the right moment for me. It’s funny that all those mid-tones are slower sounding a bit but treble is not like that, it has a quicker tempo and a faster decay too.

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VII. Detail Retrieval

Q1 is decent when it comes to how much information it can extract from your favorite tunes. It will extract a decent amount if you pair it with a nicer IEM or portable headphone. With FiiO FH7 I can hear the guitar amp being engaged at 3-minute mark on Bulls On Parade by R.A.T.M., I can hear feet touching the piano pedal on Moonlight Sonata. It will not extract ultimate micro-detail information like air mass moving around the room, or a car passing by the recording room but it doesn’t really need to. Young listeners will probably use it with some wireless headphones, maybe a decent IEM, most of us just want to have a relaxing musical experience and Q1 offers that in spades. If you want to hear the car passing by, you will need to use an upper-class DAP like the Shanling M6 for example.

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Comparisons

There is one device that has the same functionality, uses the same CPU and I consider it a competitor for Q1 and that is FiiO M5.

Shanling Q1 ($120) VS FiiO M5 ($100)

FiiO M5 is smaller in size, it is easier to carry, however that tiny 1.54” touch-screen is problematic when trying to select a song or changing some settings. It has glass on the front and on the back and a hard-plastic shell around it, Q1 is mostly metal made and feels much sturdier in hand. M5 wins in terms of portability but loses in terms of build quality and usability because of a smaller touch screen.

In terms of specs, FiiO went with an entry-level AKM chip, with a much smaller capacity battery of 550 mAh (half the size of Q1) and will play music up to 12 hours at half volume. M5 offers considerably less power, about 24mW into 32 Ohms, Q1 offers 80mW of power in the same impedance. You can basically use some desktop headphones with Q1 (like Sennheiser HD660S for example) but you can’t do that on M5.

When it comes to sound, FiiO M5 is even warmer sounding and hides a lot of treble information especially on cymbals and bells, so higher registers are not the cleanest or extended. Listening to high quality recordings I have always a feeling that something is not right, something is missing and that is mostly because of the mediocre treble detail. Q1 is clearer sounding with cleaner leading edges of the notes, treble can be sparkly, extended and detailed. Q1 is not messing somehow the tonal balance and doesn’t rush forward the musical performance. When M5 loses power in crowded moments, it also loses control and everything just happens closer me, it is more crowded and muddier sounding. Both have a pleasant sound to them but M5 is just plain sounding with very few Hi-Fi attributes. Q1 feels like a clear upgrade, it’s more powerful, more controlled, sounds wider and doesn’t mess around with that soundstage, if its wide - it will sound wide. In terms of speed, M5 offers longer decays and everything just lingers a microsecond more, transient response is just OK and not that impressive, Q1 is not a Ferrari by comparison, yet it’s a bit faster and slams harder with every single kick and note. Detail retrieval is much better on Q1, it’s not even a contest, it will reveal more nuance and just plain more information from your favorite tunes.

There is really not much to add about them, Q1 is just in another league when it comes to music listening and driver control.

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Conclusions

This was my first contact with a Shanling product and I’m glad I was given the honor for a prime review for this colorful beast. Q1 proven to be much more than what I expected and sounded way different than my expectancy level. It sounded clean, detailed, layered and wide spread as a digital music player. GUI is quite polished, easy to navigate and easy to remember where everything is located in the menu.

Portability factor is crazy good with this one, its small form factor, its pleasant shape and easy to use touch screen interface helped a lot in creating a fine user experience and this is what I would call a really portable digital-audio-player.

As I was saying from the start there is one thing that I loved them most about Shanling products – their price, at only $120 there is nothing really to complain about. To get things even sweeter, Shanling partnered with Santa and launched a Kickstarter campaign where you can get it even cheaper than that! Check it out here

PROS:
  • Interesting and smoothly shaped design, lightweight and portable
  • A quite natural sound signature
  • Great tonal balance across the board
  • Wide soundstage, deep and airy sounding too
  • Great Bluetooth codec support
  • Works as both a sender and as a Bluetooth receiver
  • Impressive detail retrieval at this size and price
  • Clean and transparent sounding
  • Noise-less headphone out, works great even with sensitive IEMs
  • Impressive price to performance ratio!
CONS:
  • No Bluetooth 5.0 support
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
  • Sources: Xiaomi Mi9T Pro, Corsair One i160, Sony Bravia 65XE9005
  • DACs: Matrix Audio Element X, KECES S3
  • DAPs: Shanling Q1, FiiO M5, M11 Pro
  • Headphone amps: Benchmark HPA4
  • IEMs: FiiO FH7, Simgot EN700 Pro
  • True Wireless earphones Creative Outlier Air, Hifiman TWS600
  • Wireless headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless
  • Portable headphones: Sennheier Momentum 2, Erzetich Thalia
  • Full-sized headphones: Hifiman Arya, Quad ERA-1, Sennheiser HD660S
  • Loudspeakers: KEF LS50W
  • Interconnects: QED Reference XLR, Aune AL3 XLR
  • Power Cables: Isotek EVO3 Premier (x2)
  • Balanced Power Conditioners: PLiXiR Elite BAC 400, KECES BP-600
Q1 case.jpg


Overall score 87/100
J
jmwant
Really nice.I enjoy your written reviews a lot.
PierreC
PierreC
Hello, thanks a lot for this review!

Just wondering... I've seen that the Q1 can be connected to a Mac (or PC) as a DAC to send music to wired headphones for instance.
But does the following configuration work also:
Mac -> 'wire-linked' to Q1 (as DAC) -> 'LDAC-linked' to Sony Headphones?
Or in other hand, is DAC mode compatible with bluetooth transmission to headphones (especially LDAC)?

Thanks in advance for your help.
OmniscientNihilist
OmniscientNihilist
does the eq make the volume drop when you engage it?
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