Just wanted to jump into the thread and chime in a bit. I’ve now owned the M8T for nearly 2 months (about 3 days shy), but wanted to say what a great DAP this is. I ordered the M8T on a whim from Musicteck, but this thing has exceeded my expectations on so many levels that I wanted to come in and share.
I’ve gotten an opportunity to run it with a myriad of IEMs and headphones so far and I am happy that It’s plenty powerful to have run most to my desired listening level. I’m not a low level listener, rather I like things louder, probably averaging 85-90dB (peak much higher, I’m sure). I’ve been pretty much able to run all, including demanding headphones to those levels. Just for reference, IEM-wise I’ve listened to off the M8T are — Flipears Legion & Aegis, FF x HBB Deuce, Hercules Moses, Quill Satin, KB Ears KB02, Forté Ears Mefisto, Ice Labs Spectrumica, Jomo Alpha Ti, Elysian Dio, Subtonic Storm, Lime Ears Maris, Fir Xe6. There are likely others, but that’s what I can recall.
Headphone-wise M8T I listened to Immanis, Caldera Closed, HFA Dahlia, Audio Technica ATX-ADH3000, DCA Stealth, DCA E3, and DCA Noire X. Most of those are not the easiest of headphones to drive and the M8T powered them sufficiently for my listening levels. I would say some of the more demanding headphones aren’t going to be wow-inducing on the M8T, but it was sufficient enough.
Having spent ample time listening to it I can say I really dig the sound and the flexibility of this DAP. Being able to run tube mode or solid state is fantastic. Some of the more energetic transducers I’ve listened to, rounding out the presentation with Tube mode, either UL or Triode mode, fit the bill nicely. Then for some of the harder to drive things, like headphones or low sensitivity IEMs, the transistor mode was still fantastic. The sonic presentation of the transistor mode is relatively neutral, but it’s not sterile or clinical. I think the DX340 is more that presentation. The M8T is colored in a way that is musical and engaging, even without engaging tube mode. When engaging tube mode, certainly gains even more of a euphoric, tubey presentation. It’s less dynamic, though there are differences in dynamism between Triode and Ultralinear mode. So you can further cater the sound accordingly. I found I throughly enjoyed each of the modes for very different reasons and it almost depended on what mood I was in, but having that flexibility was fantastic.
The M8T retains resolving capabilities throughout, though it’s not bleeding edge when it comes to resolution. It’s warmer-tilted nature I think perceptually masks that a bit, but it’s still quite detailed, not really smoothing details out. Holography and soundstage-wise, I think it’s a pretty good, quite good even, especially for the price as well, though once again not being squarely in endgame. I think that you will have to spend twice the price or more to really get even better. I have no qualms as my expectations still have been surpassed, even with getting the M8T understanding it to be catering squarely to the bang-for-the-buck market.
The interface has also been a joy to use. I’ve not had any troubles with my unit and not run into any glaring issues in my two months of ownership so far. The system and UI is snappy and never feels cumbersome or laggy. I was worried though, coming from such a beautiful screen like the DX340 to the standard LCD was going to bother me more, but it’s not been an issue. Sure, I notice the contrast and black levels are elevated, but it’s still a good looking display to work with and the screen real estate is great, too. If it were an oled, though, it would have been gravy and probably something I’d even pay extra for.
Physical size-wise though, I have a bit of mixed feelings. Maybe mixed feelings is not the right sentiment, but maybe rather it’s neither here nor there. I don’t necessarily need (or even want) a substantially heavy DAP, but for the size, it I thought it would more hefty. That can be a good thing in some instances, like physically carrying it in your pocket, it’s less cumbersome, but then compared to other daps, for its size, maybe feels a little less… premium? Again, this is more just an observance rather than a nitpick or gripe. Although, despite it feeling “less premium” than say my DX340, it feels more study. As in, I have less qualms tossing this into my bag without fear of damage to it or anything around it.
The one thing that has further surpassed my expectation, battery life. The battery lasts quite a long time on this DAP, compared to others. That applies while using the DAP and while not using it. Why does this matter? I don’t use my DAP all day every day. There maybe days I don’t always use it. Battery drain while idle is concerning. I can leave this thing on without full shutdown and come back even a full day+ later and only maybe 1-2% has dropped. That has not been the case with many other DAPs I use. This is a HUGE win and positive note for Shanling’s M8T.
As I was trying to think of gripes, like real gripes I had, with the DAP, I am finding myself coming up short. It’s not that it is without flaws, I’m just finding things, such as the ones mentioned, pretty forgivable because this is priced nicely, sounds great for the price, and has great usability.
