[nmatheis]

 
K1 works without a battery and I have one.
I compared all of them before purchasing, I can tell you there is no free lunch as anything that needs port power will drain your battery faster.
The K1 uses about the same power as this unit (as rated) and on an iPod touch 6G it burns it quite fast.
So the E10K and E18k are both good for long listening sessions without killing your phone battery.
 
There is also a SMSL M5 which is around $70. Also the Schiit Fulla 1 will work with many phones its just the 2 that needs other power.

 
Thanks for enlightening me about some of the other options. I've used several FiiO DAPs and have generally preferred Shanling. Their DAPs better align with my preferences vs. FiiO.
 
I've tried other several other portable DAC/AMP options, including Calyx PAT, Cozoy Aegis, Cayin C5DAC, iBasso D14, Shanling H3, and thebit OPUS #11. I just haven't tried the ones you pointed out. They've all got their pros and cons... 

 

[Jimster480]

   
Thanks for enlightening me about some of the other options. I've used several FiiO DAPs and have generally preferred Shanling. Their DAPs better align with my preferences vs. FiiO.
 
I've tried other several other portable DAC/AMP options, including Calyx PAT, Cozoy Aegis, Cayin C5DAC, iBasso D14, Shanling H3, and thebit OPUS #11. I just haven't tried the ones you pointed out. They've all got their pros and cons... 

Ofcourse, I was just stating that there are many cheaper options.

 

[LazerBear]

 
Ofcourse, I was just stating that there are many cheaper options.

 
Don't take this the wrong way as I'm writing tongue-in-cheek mostly, but that is a funny thing to say in a market where you can get 50$ DAC/AMPs and 2000$ DAC only pieces of equipment. I personally think the law of diminishing returns applies to hi-fi just as well and I don't think I'd spend a grand on an amp even if I had free money.

 

[Jimster480]

   
Don't take this the wrong way as I'm writing tongue-in-cheek mostly, but that is a funny thing to say in a market where you can get 50$ DAC/AMPs and 2000$ DAC only pieces of equipment. I personally think the law of diminishing returns applies to hi-fi just as well and I don't think I'd spend a grand on an amp even if I had free money.

Ofcourse, I think actually that the law of diminishing returns is strong in high end audio. Especially with the number of budget offerings coming with some flagship DAC chips and high end OPAmp's.

 

[hgpardo]

I have the Zorloo ZuperDAC that has also the same DAC chip (Sabre ES9018K2M) but a different headphone amplifier (ESS ES9601) and no native DSD conversion support. I am using it with a Samsung S7 and UAPP. How does the Shanling UP compares in sound quality to the ZuperDAC or the Dragonfly black / red?

 

[fleasbaby]

...so a friend lent me his UP for a week, and I thought I'd share my observations. Apologies if I repeat anything, I haven't been following the thread. I thought it might help a few folks if I shared though:
 

1. Its tiny, and it looks pretty. Shallow, I know, but these things count sometimes.
2. It has that sexy Shanling house sound. Its hard to define, but its there, and once you hear it, you'll know it again later.
3. It does eat up your battery life. On my iPhone 5, not terribly, but enough that you notice.
4. It worked seamlessly with my iPhone 5.
5. It took a little fiddling to make it work with my Macbook Air. 
6. Once I had disconnected it from the Air, I had to fiddle with my audio outputs a little to get them back to normal.
7. Using Google Music I encountered an odd stuttering in the music, that randomly started up after a while of working fine. It went away when I unplugged and reconnected the device.
8. I also used Amazon Music, and local files on my phone.
9. Call me weird, but I had the oddest suspicion that using the device with my phone it sounded better than when I used it with my Macbook.

 

[ngoshawk]

I'm in the same boat as @fleasbaby. I've used one on both my iPhone 6+ and MacBook Pro. Seamless interaction with the iPhone, and only minor glitches with the MBP.
 
If I go between YouTube and Sling TV, on my MBP, I would have to either disconnect the UP, or toggle off the "Sound Source" setting in Preferences, then back onto the UP. If I did not do this, the volume would be muted. After toggling off and on, or disconnecting, the UP worked flawlessly on the MBP. I never had that issue on my iPhone, though.
 
Another oddity, is the stair-stepped volume control. Instead of being a smooth escalator of volume up and down, it was a definite stair step. On some songs, the "right volume" was either one step too loud, or one too soft. This only occurred on 2-3 songs, though. This was less prevalent on the MBP, and not a deal breaker to me.
 
As for the positives (more coming, as well as an unboxing video), right out of the box, I was impressed with the sound. There is a definite bump in the mids, as well as a deeper reach of bass, while a slight push in treble (to me) could be heard. Support guitar on a twentonepilot's song would be pushed more to the front, as a result.  Not overly pushed, but enough to notice. It was almost like the UP, was stating, "HEY! I'm over here! Let's dance!" The sound improvement (not verified with measurements, just my ears) in my iPhone was quite nice. A deeper bass made the music seem to come alive. I thoroughly enjoyed the addition. The same could be said on the MBP. I do enjoy the UP on both sources.
 
As for the talk regarding there not being power, I can state that every headphone/IEM I threw at the UP was handled well enough (ranged from my Nighthawks, to FLC8S and P1). Even the hard to drive P1 did well. The UP is not all that powerful, but enough to notice and give that extra "oomph" to your music.
 
Using Tidal vs Amazon Music, I preferred Tidal. That said, it is too soon to determine why other than the music sounds a bit more crisp. A bit brighter, and more clear. Again, I have not done enough A/B between the two on my iPhone to state definitively a difference.
 
Overall, this is a fine little unit, which comes with four connectivity cables for various sources. The two I am using worked well, and only the issues mentioned slowed me down.
 
More coming.
 
Cheers!

 

[nmatheis]

Stair-stepped volume has been a characteristic/limitation of each and every battery-free DAC/AMP stick I've used. The way to get around this is to use a third-party music app like KaiserTone on iOS or UAPP on Android which allow for much finer volume control. Those won't help with streaming music apps, though...

 

[ngoshawk]

Unboxing and impressions video. Thank you!
 

 

[ngoshawk]

A hint of my review...it will be UP, tomorrow...
 
Call me jaded by the plethora of choices we have, but I guess now that I have taken the step forward, I am more cautious with purchases such as this. Many people will use the UP and use it well, it is quite versatile and I get it. I’m just not sure if this is for me….yet…
 
It is like Twenty One Pilots Car Radio…I am at a crossroads for sound…I have replaced gear, sold gear, drooled over gear, loathed gear, reviewed gear, borrowed gear, and purchased gear…but there still seems to be a hole....A slot, which I think needs filling. A slot, which I think needs filling with something else....

 

[Septimus]

May someone who has heard both put together a small comparison between the up and the cayin i5?
i own the i5 but im thinking about selling it as i want something smaller and the up seems like the perfect fit.
i really like the general sound of the i5, only the size and the problems with tidal really make me want to get
rid of it as i cannot listen to some of my favourite music without constant stuttering.
 
@ngoshawk i just saw that you have the i5 in your review list, so i guess i will just wait for your up review!

 

[ngoshawk]

May someone who has heard both put together a small comparison between the up and the cayin i5?
i own the i5 but im thinking about selling it as i want something smaller and the up seems like the perfect fit.
i really like the general sound of the i5, only the size and the problems with tidal really make me want to get
rid of it as i cannot listen to some of my favourite music without constant stuttering.

@ngoshawk
i just saw that you have the i5 in your review list, so i guess i will just wait for your up review!

Apologies, I have been away on family business again. The review will be up this afternoon (CST-USA).

And, I do mention a couple of "players."

 

[Septimus]

Apologies, I have been away on family business again. The review will be up this afternoon (CST-USA).

And, I do mention a couple of "players."

no problem!
i am going to order one from amazon right now probably anyway as its on for 130€ but there are only 2 left right now
then i can compare the two myself.
still looking forward to your opinion though as the i5 was my first dedicated dap so i dont have that much experience

 

[ngoshawk]

Review is "UP" @Septimus, this is for you.

 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/shanling-up-portable-dac-headphone-amplifier-amp-es9018k2m-max97-support-native-dsd-decoding/reviews/18078

 

[nmatheis]

Hey, hey. Nice review ngoshawk. A big thumbs UP, lol

And yes, I just had to