[augustmclaren]

Let's make this decisive shall we?

​

DAC

Both feature the same ESS SABRE ES9218P DAC​

(Although, ESS SABRE ES9219 would've been better)​

​

COSTS

M3 PRO costs 99 USD​

Q1 costs around 115USD​

​

DEAL-BREAKER

Fiio M3PRO is wired whereas SHANLING Q1 is wireless (supports LDAC AND Aptx)​

​

Comment your thoughts!​

 

[alwass89]

There are a bunch of other similarities besides just the DAC. They both have the same Ingenic X1000/E processor. Both play PCM up to 384kHz/32bit and DSD up to 128. Shanling Q1 has output power of 80mW, this has output power of 75mW which is very similar.

The Q1 has slight better battery life with 21 hours, with the FiiO coming in at 15 hours.

Besides the size and build material, the biggest difference is that the Q1 has bluetooth and the FiiO has e-book support (which a lot of people have asked for), recorder and calculator (which in my opinion are completely unnecessary).

Personally, I like the form factor better on the FiiO, which is much thinner and has a bigger higher quality screen, but on the Q1 I like that it has the volume wheel and then dedicated buttons for forward and back. On the FiiO, the volume and and down and forward and back are shared buttons which is not as convenient.

 

[augustmclaren]

There are a bunch of other similarities besides just the DAC. They both have the same Ingenic X1000/E processor. Both play PCM up to 384kHz/32bit and DSD up to 128. Shanling Q1 has output power of 80mW, this has output power of 75mW which is very similar.

The Q1 has slight better battery life with 21 hours, with the FiiO coming in at 15 hours.

Besides the size and build material, the biggest difference is that the Q1 has bluetooth and the FiiO has e-book support (which a lot of people have asked for), recorder and calculator (which in my opinion are completely unnecessary).

Personally, I like the form factor better on the FiiO, which is much thinner and has a bigger higher quality screen, but on the Q1 I like that it has the volume wheel and then dedicated buttons for forward and back. On the FiiO, the volume and and down and forward and back are shared buttons which is not as convenient.

Hey that's ellaborate and informative! You included the battery life which I had skipped. Would you please consider voting on the poll above? Also, What are your thoughts on the fact that neither of them used the latest sabre 9219? Finally, let me know what's the deal breaker for you and which one would you hypothetically choose? Also, Q1 can drive cans upto 600ohms which is an overkill but an important extension to some!

 

[alwass89]

Yeah, I would vote, but I would still want more information comparing the sound and UI of both which we don't have yet. I do wish that they both would have used the most up to date DAC like the 9219, which seems like it's the upgrade to the 9218P.

I have always been a FiiO guy I've had the X5, X5ii and X5iii, and I would like to stick with a FiiO Player. As my budget has changed over the years I had to look at the factors that I really need in a DAP, I don't need Android to install streaming apps, I don't need balanced connections as I don't have any headphones with balanced cables, and ideally I would like to spend 200 dollars and under. I'm basically looking for something small and easily portable that I can just stick in my pocket for my morning and evening commute, that just plays my hi-res music where I don't need to waste space or battery life on my smartphone. The M3 pro ticks all of those boxes I believe, especially at under $100.

There are some advantages with the Q1, like LDAC support, and the volume wheel and dedicated buttons, but I don't absolutely need wireless as most of my headphones are wired, and like I said, I would like to see a comparison of sound quality and UI experience.

As no bluetooth isn't a deal breaker for me (for others, this is a deal breaker and would make them automatically go for the Q1) and I feel that that lighter, longer, thinner form factor would make it easier to slip into a pocket and commute/travel with, and the fact that many of the specs are similar or the same, I would probably lean towards the FiiO.

 

[alwass89]

Also, I put together the below comparison using information directly from the Shanling and FiiO Websites at : http://en.shanling.com/product/259 and https://www.fiio.com/m3_pro

Q1

Dimension: 75mm X 62mm X 16.5mm

Screen: 2.7 inch 360x400 touch screen

Weight: 133.2g

DAC Model: ESS Sabre ES9218P

Battery Life Time: up to 21 hours (depending on usage)

Deep standby: up to 25 days (depending on usage)

Battery capacity: 1100mAh

Output power: 80mW @ 32Ohm

Recommended headphone impedance: 8-300 ohms

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 40kHz

Output impedance: < 0.2 Ohm

Hi-Res support: up to 384 / 32bit, DSD 64 & DSD128



M3 Pro

Dimension: 95.8mm X 45.4mm X 10.4mm

Screen: 3.46 inch 340x800 touch screen

Weight: 70g

DAC Model: ESS Sabre ES9218P

Battery Life Time: about 15 hours

Deep standby: about 35 days

Battery capacity: 1000mAh

Output power: 75mW (32Ohm/THD+N<1%)

Recommended headphone impedance: 16-100 ohms

Frequency Response: 5Hz – 90kHz

Output impedance: 0.3 Ohm (32Ohm load)

Hi-Res support: PCM up to 384/32bit, DSD up to 128 (5.6MHz/1bit)

 

[calvin8902]

Fiio m3 Pro has bigger and easy access UI touchscreen design, more practical compare shanling that need to slide at different direction.
Fiio with extra function: Recording, Ebook library, calculator and image browser..........we might not need all this.
Fiio m3 Pro slimmer and taller body with lighter weight e70g vs 133g
Fiio with taller body design, i think when holding onhand it is better when come on pressing physical side buttons which design on left slight upper part. Shanling might have a chance to accidentally press those physical buttons.

Fiio m3 pro no bluetooth, Shanling Q1 with two way bluetooth which I could say it is a complete connection that possible to connect everything.
Fiio crosstalk have slight better 78db vs 76db, shanling should have better dynamic range 105db (fiio didn't mention)
Shanling lower noise floor at ≤1.5μV A-weighted vs ≤2μV A-weighted

Personally, Sounding is still more important. I saw a lot review out there for shanling Q1, if fiio sounding not much different as previous m3 than I will prefer Shanling Q1

 

[fish1050]

There are a bunch of other similarities besides just the DAC. They both have the same Ingenic X1000/E processor. Both play PCM up to 384kHz/32bit and DSD up to 128. Shanling Q1 has output power of 80mW, this has output power of 75mW which is very similar.

The Q1 has slight better battery life with 21 hours, with the FiiO coming in at 15 hours.

Besides the size and build material, the biggest difference is that the Q1 has bluetooth and the FiiO has e-book support (which a lot of people have asked for), recorder and calculator (which in my opinion are completely unnecessary).

Personally, I like the form factor better on the FiiO, which is much thinner and has a bigger higher quality screen, but on the Q1 I like that it has the volume wheel and then dedicated buttons for forward and back. On the FiiO, the volume and and down and forward and back are shared buttons which is not as convenient.

Shanling has more experience with this ESS Sabre chip having used it in other products. They have squeezed every ounce of performance out of it. The chip has the amp built in which is why the power numbers are so close, again a slight nod to Shanling with better optimization. So for $16 you get a more from the Shanling Q1 including of course bluetooth, slightly better power and slightly better battery life.

ebook support and calculator are Fiio's lame attempt to make up for no bluetooth. Having owned the Shanling M0 and having demoed some of their other DAP's Shanling has become known for providing very good sound quality at a budget price. Another factor of course will be availability as Fiio DAP's are widely available in Canada whereas Shanling DAP's so far have been pretty scarce by comparison.

 

[calvin8902]

Shanling has more experience with this ESS Sabre chip having used it in other products. They have squeezed every ounce of performance out of it. The chip has the amp built in which is why the power numbers are so close, again a slight nod to Shanling with better optimization. So for $16 you get a more from the Shanling Q1 including of course bluetooth, slightly better power and slightly better battery life.

ebook support and calculator are Fiio's lame attempt to make up for no bluetooth. Having owned the Shanling M0 and having demoed some of their other DAP's Shanling has become known for providing very good sound quality at a budget price. Another factor of course will be availability as Fiio DAP's are widely available in Canada whereas Shanling DAP's so far have been pretty scarce by comparison.

I just received my Shanling Q1, sound far greater than M0 ( i tested fiio m5,m6,m9, shanling m0, m2x, Hiby R3 due to all this model using the same type x1000e processor).

Sound stage slightly wider than my Fiio M11 balanced output (tested with Fearless S8pro), better emphasis on the bass region, i like thier mids overall sound more musical. And High still give me enough detail, i can get separated my high hats sound. It can power my sony mh755, meze 99classic and TFZ Mylove Edtion(55ohm) , all can play good sound around half power volume at low gain.

 

[fish1050]

I just received my Shanling Q1, sound far greater than M0 ( i tested fiio m5,m6,m9, shanling m0, m2x, Hiby R3 due to all this model using the same type x1000e processor).

Sound stage slightly wider than my Fiio M11 balanced output (tested with Fearless S8pro), better emphasis on the bass region, i like thier mids overall sound more musical. And High still give me enough detail, i can get separated my high hats sound. It can power my sony mh755, meze 99classic and TFZ Mylove Edtion(55ohm) , all can play good sound around half power volume at low gain.

Yes I have to say head to head I do prefer Shanling DAP's for sound quality. I have toyed around with the idea of getting a Q1 for myself for my daily commuting. I do however prefer the usability and UI of the Fiio DAP's and Fiio has like 40 dealers in Canada and Shanling struggles to get dealers to carry their DAP's. I really liked my M0 but ultimately sold it and got the fiio M7 and now the M9. I just found the M0 tiny screen to hard to use and with over 9000 songs the tiny screen was a nightmare when scrolling through tracks. If the Q1 had come out sooner I probably would have bought it instead of the M7.

 

[calvin8902]

Yes I have to say head to head I do prefer Shanling DAP's for sound quality. I have toyed around with the idea of getting a Q1 for myself for my daily commuting. I do however prefer the usability and UI of the Fiio DAP's and Fiio has like 40 dealers in Canada and Shanling struggles to get dealers to carry their DAP's. I really liked my M0 but ultimately sold it and got the fiio M7 and now the M9. I just found the M0 tiny screen to hard to use and with over 9000 songs the tiny screen was a nightmare when scrolling through tracks. If the Q1 had come out sooner I probably would have bought it instead of the M7.

I don't like the Q1 screen design, hardly scroll down my library. Easily get press then jump out from that page. By this part Hiby R3/R3 Pro and Fiio 6/9 are better. Still got 1 new toy you might be can consider, the Hidiz AP80 Pro. Or should you compare with Hiby R3 Pro?

 

[calvin8902]

I don't like the Q1 screen design, hardly scroll down my library. Easily get press then jump out from that page. By this part, Hiby R3/R3 Pro and Fiio m6/9 are better. Still got 1 new toy you might be can consider, the Hidiz AP80 Pro. Or should you compare with Hiby R3 Pro?

I keep doing research during mco

 

[fish1050]

I don't like the Q1 screen design, hardly scroll down my library. Easily get press then jump out from that page. By this part Hiby R3/R3 Pro and Fiio 6/9 are better. Still got 1 new toy you might be can consider, the Hidiz AP80 Pro. Or should you compare with Hiby R3 Pro?

Being older I kind of like the retro look of the Q1. If I got one it would only be used for my daily commute in which case I would just be playing tracks in order or via shuffle. The screen size is less of an issue but the bigger size screen has to be better than the M0. Reviews say it is a step up from the M0 for sound quality and it is a great sized DAP to commute with and should sound very good for the price. Having the M9 as my main DAP money wise the Q1 makes more sense than the others.

As for Hidizs I don't trust them, everyone I have talked to say their firmware support is terrible as is their customer support. They are still issuing beta firmware updates for the AP80. It is also more expensive than the Q1. I am actually quite familiar with Shanling and have demoed a few of their DAP's and their home audio products as well. I am wary of Hiby as their DAP's are not available here and I don't want to import a DAP from a manufacturer I have never demoed.

If I am going to get a second DAP the Q1 would be my choice, it just fits my needs so perfectly.

 

[bachankas]

I'm not a fan of Fiio DAP's sound. I love the form factor of M6, but is still sounds strange in highs area, somewhat unnatural.
I had Shanling M1 and M3s, now I have Q1 and I love it. Despite few flaws - too large fonts and spaces between, cutting first second of track when starting playback, to sensitive playback buttons etc. - it's a very nice device. Nice synergy with Fiio FA1 (Fiio makes better IEM than DAPs definitely).

So usage-wise - possibly Fiio
Soundwise - Shanling is the winner.

 

[calvin8902]

I'm not a fan of Fiio DAP's sound. I love the form factor of M6, but is still sounds strange in highs area, somewhat unnatural.
I had Shanling M1 and M3s, now I have Q1 and I love it. Despite few flaws - too large fonts and spaces between, cutting first second of track when starting playback, to sensitive playback buttons etc. - it's a very nice device. Nice synergy with Fiio FA1 (Fiio makes better IEM than DAPs definitely).

So usage-wise - possibly Fiio
Soundwise - Shanling is the winner.

i tested Fiio FA1 (reference style tuning) and FH5 (neutral with bass) both have very good tuning, better than their new model like FA7, FH7 strange tone.
I can imagine FA1 can have a very good pairing with Q1.

 

[noknok23]

Fiio M3 Pro is actually 37EURO cheaper on ali. 66 vs 102 euro. It's a big difference!

Q1 seems to offer a more mature and refined UX? I'm not sure, it looks so-so on both, but slightly less clumsy on the Q1
Q1 support opus, which is a big plus for me. It also has a bunch of wireless features which I don't care for but might be useful in the future.
Q1 has a warmer tuning as I've read on a review. M3pro kind of bright sounding (What do you think?)
Q1 has a way more attractive design. Better button placements.
M3 Pro is lighter. Maybe the form factor is more practical in the end?

Shanling has a better support of their devices than FiiO it seems. They also seems to listen more to their users. But maybe Fiio improved on that?

Overall i find the Q1 to be better although nothing really killing it and M3Pro is nearly half the price.

I want to use the DAP as a transport with an external DAC. Which one do you think better support this usage? Maybe they are about the same.