[Shanling]

Hi everyone. I have owned the M3X for a year and have owned the M3 Ultra for a day or so now. Key differences from my user experience so far:

I can actually play 3D audio through Amazon Music on balanced headphones without stuttering finally. That's a plus. Not sure what the change between players is that fixed the issue for me but I'm happy.

I cannot watch any video in browser without video and audio stuttering. This happens on every browser, every video site, whether downloaded or streaming. What is the fix for this? I do not have this issue in video players, just browsers. This issue is not present on the M3X with same browsers installed.

I can no longer use Netflix on this device. There is no compatible app where the M3X could use the Netflix app for Android 7.1.

Android 7 to 10 did not improve my selection of apps that will work with this device. Video apps are extremely hit and miss. Hulu, Netflix, Paramount Plus, Disney Plus do not play video at all. Tubi, Amazon Video, Adult Swim, Pluto apps work fine.

Quicker access to the device when pressing power button while sleeping is appreciated on the M3 Ultra. Noticed that improvement immediately.

Location accuracy seems to be worse than the M3X for those that are using any kind of GPS with the device. I have also had apps fail trying to access location services.

Between what seems to be a change in tactile touch screen and keyboard from Android 7 to 10, it is 100x times harder to type with accuracy on the M3 Ultra. I get constant missed inputs and incorrect inputs when attempting to type on this device. I feel I have to press areas multiple times and harder than expected to work.

Screen colors and images pop on the M3 Ultra. Looks to be an improvement over the M3X, but the screen size and DPI limits on both devices usable video apps.

Sound quality has definitely improved being a warmer tone and better sound stage. Audio settings are no longer part of the quick launch bar. I played with no EQ settings when playing music, just turned on Dual DAC and High Gain for more aggressive music.

Build quality feels heavier and more solid on the M3 Ultra. The unibody metal casing more than likely leads to worse GPS performance.

Moving between screens feels snappier with the new processor and Android version.

Android Auto doesn't seem to work on either device. I mention this because at one point Android Auto worked on the M3X. I believe this is due to a change in Google requirements for the app.

My biggest complaints are the stuttering of audio/video in browser and typing on the M3 Ultra. These issues combined are possible deal breakers for me. I am hoping a change to a different keyboard helps with the input issue, and a fix for stuttering audio in browser is provided.

Between the two devices, if only concerned about audio apps and audio quality, the M3 Ultra is the clear better performer. If looking to use the devices as full portable media players (including streaming video), the M3X is cheaper and offers better functionality currently for video.

Hi, thanks for feedback.

For the browser video audio, we are aware of issues with Chrome, it's due to change in the Chrome app. Older versions still work, last compatible version should be 88.0.4324.93
We would recommend to use Firefox, that one works in our testing without problem.

Unfortunately can't comment on streaming apps, they are not available in our region and not something we test.

Our devices have no built-in GPS. "Location" services are kept in Android mainly due to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

For keyboard, we use the same software keyboard as before. But I can say that slightly different display construction makes for a different typing feel than on M3X.

 

[chucknoel2015]

@Shanling . will this play tidal offline listening for highest possible quality? I dont normally stream on tidal since I always go out and about so I will mainly use it for offline listening. (current setup : u12t,ifi go blu,s21 ultra)

 

[Shanling]

@Shanling . will this play tidal offline listening for highest possible quality? I dont normally stream on tidal since I always go out and about so I will mainly use it for offline listening. (current setup : u12t,ifi go blu,s21 ultra)

Yes, M3 Ultra can work fine with Tidal offline and MQA 16x

 

[chucknoel2015]

Which one do you prefer m6 ultra or m3 ultra?

 

[fish1050]

DAP definition of insanity, continually buying new Shanling DAP's and expecting missing features and issues to be fixed and then complaining when they aren't. The only Shanling DAP's I will consider are the MTouch DAP's as they are a simple design with no android headaches (and gapless playback works). Considering the M1S but hearing that the special character issues still persist as it is the biggest complaint I have with the Q1 I may take a pass and keep my Sony A55 (with custom firmware) until it dies. I can't bring myself to spend this much money on a DAP and have these ever lasting issues that seemingly will never be fixed.

Android is built on Linux so why can Shanling make Linux based MTouch DAP's with gapless playback but not Android DAP's? Never really got an explanation from @Shanling why this is such a hard thing to crack. Maybe they should have someone from the software team come on this forum and field these questions and finally give some answers, instead of the now patented "Software team is working on it"or the other popular response "software team says it can't be done".

Shanling should fire their software team and just outsource the software programming. Stick to making excellent sounding DAP's and let the pro's handle the software. I understand their are budgetary constraints but I would be willing to pay a little more for a Shanling DAP without these issues. As it stands now I would not consider buying most of their DAP's with these issues.

 

[nijfi]

DAP definition of insanity, continually buying new Shanling DAP's and expecting missing features and issues to be fixed and then complaining when they aren't. The only Shanling DAP's I will consider are the MTouch DAP's as they are a simple design with no android headaches (and gapless playback works). Considering the M1S but hearing that the special character issues still persist as it is the biggest complaint I have with the Q1 I may take a pass and keep my Sony A55 (with custom firmware) until it dies. I can't bring myself to spend this much money on a DAP and have these ever lasting issues that seemingly will never be fixed.

Android is built on Linux so why can Shanling make Linux based MTouch DAP's with gapless playback but not Android DAP's? Never really got an explanation from @Shanling why this is such a hard thing to crack. Maybe they should have someone from the software team come on this forum and field these questions and finally give some answers, instead of the now patented "Software team is working on it"or the other popular response "software team says it can't be done".

Shanling should fire their software team and just outsource the software programming. Stick to making excellent sounding DAP's and let the pro's handle the software. I understand their are budgetary constraints but I would be willing to pay a little more for a Shanling DAP without these issues. As it stands now I would not consider buying most of their DAP's with these issues.

I'm now in the market for a streaming Dap. I'm inclined towards Sony but considering Shanling too.

Forgive my naivety, but wouldn't you get around lack of gapless from Shanling by using a different player of your choice like Poweramp, Omnia etc etc?

What other software issues do Shanling have?

 

[Rochambeaux]

Got mine in a few days ago and very impressed. Was comparing it with the DX170 that I received a week ago before I realized this was out. The DX170 is going back. The iBasso is much lighter and the screen is larger/nicer but sound and (especially) performance wise the M3 Ultra is easily superior.

The only issue I'm running into is using a different launcher on the device (Nova Launcher Pro). The M3 Ultra uses something called "Quickstep" and no matter what I've tried it refuses to give up being the default Home app. I rally hope I can find away around this as it's the only complaint I have but having a UI I'm familiar with is a pretty big deal.

 

[Shanling]

I'm now in the market for a streaming Dap. I'm inclined towards Sony but considering Shanling too.

Forgive my naivety, but wouldn't you get around lack of gapless from Shanling by using a different player of your choice like Poweramp, Omnia etc etc?

What other software issues do Shanling have?

Yes, you can pick one of many other apps and they will work gapless without problem.

Got mine in a few days ago and very impressed. Was comparing it with the DX170 that I received a week ago before I realized this was out. The DX170 is going back. The iBasso is much lighter and the screen is larger/nicer but sound and (especially) performance wise the M3 Ultra is easily superior.

The only issue I'm running into is using a different launcher on the device (Nova Launcher Pro). The M3 Ultra uses something called "Quickstep" and no matter what I've tried it refuses to give up being the default Home app. I rally hope I can find away around this as it's the only complaint I have but having a UI I'm familiar with is a pretty big deal.

The launcher is locked by our software team, as switching to a different launcher would cause issues with the prime mode.

There was some discussion about this in M3X thread, starting around here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sha...-android-player.950199/page-140#post-17199595

 

[InvisibleInk]

I'm now in the market for a streaming Dap. I'm inclined towards Sony but considering Shanling too.

Forgive my naivety, but wouldn't you get around lack of gapless from Shanling by using a different player of your choice like Poweramp, Omnia etc etc?

What other software issues do Shanling have?

He's spreading a message about the software on the non-Android DAPs that Shanling offers. The software on these "Mtouch" operating system devices has a history of usability issues that have yet to be addressed.

 

[fish1050]

I'm now in the market for a streaming Dap. I'm inclined towards Sony but considering Shanling too.

Forgive my naivety, but wouldn't you get around lack of gapless from Shanling by using a different player of your choice like Poweramp, Omnia etc etc?

What other software issues do Shanling have?

You can't use other apps in Prime Mode, stuck with Shanling player app which makes Prime Mode useless. Why offer Prime Mode if the only app that works in it doesn't really work?. Other software issues have to do for me at least the inability to handle special characters. I have thousands of songs with apostrophe's that never display properly on any Shanling DAP I have owned. It is 2022 and Shanling is selling to international markets so this is something they should address finally.

You can actually change the apostrophe's to an older apostrophe glyph that will display properly with the Shanling music players. So it can be done if Shanling programmers would take the time to create the Music app to work with newer standard industry glyphs. I used MediaMonkey which supports an older character set to change thousands of song titles with apostrophe's to an older glyph that does display properly on the Shanling Music players, took me several weeks to do it. Sony can do it with both their Linux based and Android based DAP's so why can't Shanling? I am certainly not a software programmer and I figure out how to fix the issue, why can't Shanling?

If I am paying this much for a product then the product should work fully out of the box. Not kinda sorta work and you need workarounds to make it fully usable. Most manufacturers optimize their DAP's to work best with their installed music player. Not the case with Shanling that says please buy our products but sorry they don't work completely. I can't think of another product I would spend this much money on that doesn't fully work. You wouldn't buy a car without a windshield or brakes because the car maker can't figure out how to install them. How hard would it be to hire an outside programmer and have them write a fully functional player app for Shanling or pay to port someone else's? Most Chinese DAP makers including Shanling used Hiby's OS at some point and I am pretty sure some still do.

 

[nijfi]

You can't use other apps in Prime Mode, stuck with Shanling player app which makes Prime Mode useless. Why offer Prime Mode if the only app that works in it doesn't really work?. Other software issues have to do for me at least the inability to handle special characters. I have thousands of songs with apostrophe's that never display properly on any Shanling DAP I have owned. It is 2022 and Shanling is selling to international markets so this is something they should address finally.

You can actually change the apostrophe's to an older apostrophe glyph that will display properly with the Shanling music players. So it can be done if Shanling programmers would take the time to create the Music app to work with newer standard industry glyphs. I used MediaMonkey which supports an older character set to change thousands of song titles with apostrophe's to an older glyph that does display properly on the Shanling Music players, took me several weeks to do it. Sony can do it with both their Linux based and Android based DAP's so why can't Shanling? I am certainly not a software programmer and I figure out how to fix the issue, why can't Shanling?

If I am paying this much for a product then the product should work fully out of the box. Not kinda sorta work and you need workarounds to make it fully usable. Most manufacturers optimize their DAP's to work best with their installed music player. Not the case with Shanling that says please buy our products but sorry they don't work completely. I can't think of another product I would spend this much money on that doesn't fully work. You wouldn't buy a car without a windshield or brakes because the car maker can't figure out how to install them. How hard would it be to hire an outside programmer and have them write a fully functional player app for Shanling or pay to port someone else's? Most Chinese DAP makers including Shanling used Hiby's OS at some point and I am pretty sure some still do.

Thanks for the detailed response.

I use a Sony Zx300 and album art etc (I'm a Linux user and use Kid3 for tagging) all loads like a dream. In fact everything about the UI on the Sony is just buttery smooth and everything just works, flawlessly.

This is why my sensible head has me looking at the Zx507 as my first Android Dap. I know it will likely sound great, be familiar and just work perfectly.

However, my head has been turned slightly by Shanling as I suspect I'm likely to like their 'house sound', which I'm reading tends to warmth, and so not dissimilar to Sony?
I also really like the look and form factor of their M3 Ultra and M6 Ultra. On a very superficial level, I love that green colour too, lol.

So thanks for your feedback. It's good to hear from long time users of their Daps to see what they make of them. How would you rate the ones you've used from them, sound wise?

My main use would be a largish local library of 16bit flacs through balanced. Then offline streaming from Deezer and BBC Sounds app, often just with my BT Soundcores, but sometimes over balanced too.

 

[fish1050]

Thanks for the detailed response.

I use a Sony Zx300 and album art etc (I'm a Linux user and use Kid3 for tagging) all loads like a dream. In fact everything about the UI on the Sony is just buttery smooth and everything just works, flawlessly.

This is why my sensible head has me looking at the Zx507 as my first Android Dap. I know it will likely sound great, be familiar and just work perfectly.

However, my head has been turned slightly by Shanling as I suspect I'm likely to like their 'house sound', which I'm reading tends to warmth, and so not dissimilar to Sony?
I also really like the look and form factor of their M3 Ultra and M6 Ultra. On a very superficial level, I love that green colour too, lol.

So thanks for your feedback. It's good to hear from long time users of their Daps to see what they make of them. How would you rate the ones you've used from them, sound wise?

My main use would be a largish local library of 16bit flacs through balanced. Then offline streaming from Deezer and BBC Sounds app, often just with my BT Soundcores, but sometimes over balanced too.

So the NW-A306 has been announced at least on the walkmanblogspot to replace the A105 and the ZX700 to replace the 507. Won't likely see them until end of this year and more likely early next year. Probably announce them at the CES show next year for North America. Details are scarce but they will be running a Sony optimized version of Android 12 and will come with slightly larger batteries and more efficient bluetooth and wifi chips among others. So they should address some of the complaints of the A105 and ZX507. So you might want to wait till next year and if you really want the ZX507 Black Friday would be a good bet. With the new models announced you might see some closeout deals on the A105 and ZX507 by the end of the year. Of course to accomodate these upgrades the price will go up as well I am sure on the new models.

Could be a great time to get a Sony android DAP in the next few months.

 

[nijfi]

So the NW-A306 has been announced at least on the walkmanblogspot to replace the A105 and the ZX700 to replace the 507. Won't likely see them until end of this year and more likely early next year. Probably announce them at the CES show next year for North America. Details are scarce but they will be running a Sony optimized version of Android 12 and will come with slightly larger batteries and more efficient bluetooth and wifi chips among others. So they should address some of the complaints of the A105 and ZX507. So you might want to wait till next year and if you really want the ZX507 Black Friday would be a good bet. With the new models announced you might see some closeout deals on the A105 and ZX507 by the end of the year. Of course to accomodate these upgrades the price will go up as well I am sure on the new models.

Could be a great time to get a Sony android DAP in the next few months.

Thanks. Yes I saw that about the planned new releases of the A and ZX series. Looks promising.

Unfortunately, here in the UK, Dap buying is always a challenge. The chances of anyone here selling a new Zx507 on Black Friday is pretty much non existent.

Luckily I enjoy the thrill of the chase so will continue to wait, save money and just enjoy reading endless reviews of Sony, Shanling, possibly iBasso too, until something comes up that fits me when I finally make up my mind. It's most likely I'll end up buying secondhand again.

 

[fish1050]

Yes, you can pick one of many other apps and they will work gapless without problem.



The launcher is locked by our software team, as switching to a different launcher would cause issues with the prime mode.

There was some discussion about this in M3X thread, starting around here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sha...-android-player.950199/page-140#post-17199595

Okey so here is a perspective from a consumer, if Prime Mode only works with your Shanling App which you don't seem to have confidence in. You keep telling people to use other apps so what does it matter if Prime Mode is affected by using other Launchers if the buyer isn't going to use Prime Mode anyway? You should want to make this DAP as attractive as possible to potential customers. So release a firmware update that unlocks the launcher and let the buyer decide if they want to use Prime Mode or not? Issue the firmware with a warning telling users if they install it then Prime Mode won't work (can you disable Prime Mode with a firmware update?). Let the customer decide how they want to best use the M3 Ultra for their needs.

How many people will not buy this DAP if they can't use another Launcher?

You need to start thinking about your DAP's from the user/buyer side and not just the engineering side.

Edit: Right now Prime Mode highlights Shanling's greatest weakness (software), you can't create a fully usable Music App. One could argue that until you figure out how to create a really good music player you should make Prime Mode so it can be disabled. If the user is not going to use the Shanling Music App then they won't use Prime Mode.

 

[Shanling]

Okey so here is a perspective from a consumer, if Prime Mode only works with your Shanling App which you don't seem to have confidence in. You keep telling people to use other apps so what does it matter if Prime Mode is affected by using other Launchers if the buyer isn't going to use Prime Mode anyway? You should want to make this DAP as attractive as possible to potential customers. So release a firmware update that unlocks the launcher and let the buyer decide if they want to use Prime Mode or not? Issue the firmware with a warning telling users if they install it then Prime Mode won't work (can you disable Prime Mode with a firmware update?). Let the customer decide how they want to best use the M3 Ultra for their needs.

How many people will not buy this DAP if they can't use another Launcher?

You need to start thinking about your DAP's from the user/buyer side and not just the engineering side.

Edit: Right now Prime Mode highlights Shanling's greatest weakness (software), you can't create a fully usable Music App. One could argue that until you figure out how to create a really good music player you should make Prime Mode so it can be disabled. If the user is not going to use the Shanling Music App then they won't use Prime Mode.

In our feedback, number of users sticking to Prime mode significantly outnumber any demands for unlocked launcher.