augustmclaren
New Head-Fier
I really love the look of fiio m3 pro I can see why he likes it. It is indeed asthetically quite pleasing! Output power, range of resistance for driving different cans, battery life and ability to play wirelessly (Bluetooth) are features we need. He honestly can not go wrong with q1 , although it is a bit heavier than fiio m3 pro. Seeing all things, I think he will be very happy with q1 and fret not as Alibaba's page of Shanling deliver internationally. If in the rare case he has an LG smartphone with quad dac, chances are it's 9218 so then it's best to avoid either of these dap's.Real life reviews put Q1 battery life closer to 16 or 17 hours, so real world difference may not be that big. Shanling has done a better job getting the maximum out of the ESS 9218 amp section with slightly better power output than Fiio. If bluetooth is the tradeoff then Fiio should have gone for better battery life than Shanling to make up for it not less.
My nephew is starting college, though not sure when at this point with the coronavirus. He loves listening to my Fiio M9 so he prefers the look of the M3 Pro but wants the features of the Q1. He really wants his own DAP for college so these are the two he is considering. The deciding factor would be being able to demo both before deciding. That may not be possible for quite awhile if at all in the case of the Q1. Unfortunately Shanling DAP's can be hard to find in Canada.