Shanling ET3 - Dedicated Digital CD Transport, With USB Drive and Wi-Fi Support

[Daniel Johnston]

I used my 203 as endpoint into my Dac.
I've heavily modded mine, and even with an i2s output into the same Dac the ET3 sounds better as a transport.


RooExtend... oh, need to check that out.
Hope it can be used with Roon Rock, as opposed to a windows Roon server install.

*EDIT*
Extensions need to be installed on a seperate computer or on your endpoint, which in my case means having TWO computers on to run Roon...
Naa, I'll leave as is I think.

Cheers for the top tip though.

It's a just a Pi4 that you connect via ethernet to a router. Once you set it up it literally requires no further interaction. It's definitely worth the money. It doesn't even have to be a powerful Pi either. It's insanely easy to set up.

Airplay does have a "sound" compared to RAAT or UPnP since it resamples the music. If you like that, cool. I've never been happy with Airplay. And that is after using many different devices. YMMV.

 

[Brummle]

ET3 on it's way to me
Looking forward to comparing CDs to Roon/Qobuz streaming

 

[gazjam]

It's a just a Pi4 that you connect via ethernet to a router. Once you set it up it literally requires no further interaction. It's definitely worth the money. It doesn't even have to be a powerful Pi either. It's insanely easy to set up.

Airplay does have a "sound" compared to RAAT or UPnP since it resamples the music. If you like that, cool. I've never been happy with Airplay. And that is after using many different devices. YMMV.

Sounds easy enough, a Pi4 won’t take up,too much power either.
Remember the Shanling ET3 uses Airplay 1, which is lossless, so maybe the best sounding version?

Still stuck on 16/44 for DSD though.
Will look into the Pi4 for the future.

See there’s a Pi5 now?

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Sounds easy enough, a Pi4 won’t take up,too much power either.
Remember the Shanling ET3 uses Airplay 1, which is lossless, so maybe the best sounding version?

Still stuck on 16/44 for DSD though.
Will look into the Pi4 for the future.

See there’s a Pi5 now?

Airplay is lossless but not bitperfect unless the source material is 16/44. There is something about the resampling that I don't like. I don't know what algorithm Airplay uses to take a DSD to 16/44, but it is not lossless. You may not be able to hear any difference. If not, that's great. UPnP and RAAT deliver the stream to the DAC without resampling the file. Airplay is one of the most processor dependent streaming protocols. That means substandard hardware could affect the sound.

Get whatever Pi you can that is the cheapest. RooExtend does not require powerful hardware.

 

[gazjam]

ET3 on it's way to me
Looking forward to comparing CDs to Roon/Qobuz streaming

Look,forward to hearing what you think!

 

[gazjam]

Airplay is lossless but not bitperfect unless the source material is 16/44. There is something about the resampling that I don't like. I don't know what algorithm Airplay uses to take a DSD to 16/44, but it is not lossless. You may not be able to hear any difference. If not, that's great. UPnP and RAAT deliver the stream to the DAC without resampling the file. Airplay is one of the most processor dependent streaming protocols. That means substandard hardware could affect the sound.

Get whatever Pi you can that is the cheapest. RooExtend does not require powerful hardware.

Good information Daniel, thanks.
Designed and sold Servers back in the day, very big on minimising CPU use and the like.

Guess having ANY downsampling defeats the purpose of an “all out” Roon streamer, so would never be the endgame for me.
The ET3’s i2s output is something real special, straight into my Directstream Dac i2s, and THAT has an advantage over many “actual” Streamers, even highly thought of ones.
If I could get native output at all resolutions via i2s into my Dac, and spend £150 GBP on a Pi4 vs 4K for, say, a Hifi Rose RS130, and take a 15% hit sound quality wise…

That’s worth doing.

Your posts have got me leaning in a new Direction, thanks Man.
Owe you a beverage.

Gaz.

 

[Brummle]

What interface do you guys use between the ET3 and your DACs?
I ordered a Purecable prime i2s, supposed to be very good for the price (300 EUR when new, I paid 75 EUR for a pre-owned one)

 

[Brummle]

( @gazjam ) I didn't read your post before I sent my last post..

I assume I2S is the best interface

 

[gazjam]

Daniel,
How do you configure Roon to use UPnP via the Pi withe the ET3?
Any tweakery needed?

Saw a post where someone had faked Roon to see the ET3 as a Squeezebox player, seemed a very convoluted solution?
Assuming the Pi setup is a doddle in comparison…

Big fan of not overcomplicating things, usually affects sound quality.

Thanks.

 

[gazjam]

( @gazjam ) I didn't read your post before I sent my last post..

I assume I2S is the best interface

Yup,
I2s all the way, Shanling even recommend it as the ET3’s best output.
My Dac is a PS Audio Directstream, zero i2s pinout schennanigans or problems, it just works.

 

[Brummle]

All right Thanks!!
I have a Mola Mola Tambaqui, will also work straight with I2S, from what I've read..

 

[theORBscureDDJ]

Maybe some particular firmware version? People reported that glitch even with the latest one. If it were mechanical issue, most likely would be more than one glitch per CD.

I'm running the latest V1.7 firmware but still get the single random glitch around the 60min mark on every CD...

 

[Brummle]

I'm running the latest V1.7 firmware but still get the single random glitch around the 60min mark on every CD...

I hope there will soon be a v1.8, that will fix this..

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Daniel,
How do you configure Roon to use UPnP via the Pi withe the ET3?
Any tweakery needed?

Saw a post where someone had faked Roon to see the ET3 and a Squeezebox player, seemed a very convoluted solution?
Assuming the Pi setup is a doddle in comparison…

Big fan of not overcomplicating things, usually affects sound quality.

Thanks.

Squeezebox is it's own thing and hasn't been made in over a decade. Here's a link.

The RooExtend is the easiest, least complicated, and likely cheapest way to make the ET3 a reliable Roon endpoint. If I recall, RooUPnP uses the squeezebox compatibility of Roon to do what you are describing.

 

[Shanling]

It seems you leave no hope for me. It would be nice to hear anything from Shanling directly.

Meanwhile no single word from Shanling. I desperately hope (excuse me for this nonsense).

Our team was on business trip, just got back to office today.

We are aware of this software glitch and it was reported multiple times to our software team. We are awaiting updates from them.

Yup,
I2s all the way, Shanling even recommend it as the ET3’s best output.
My Dac is a PS Audio Directstream, zero i2s pinout schennanigans or problems, it just works.

Yes, I2s is our recommended output for ET3.