I don't know either. Shanling's representative in this thread has never hinted that this problem will be solved. He said for example that Qobuz and Tidal will not be implemented in the official app, which would have solved most of the problems, as far as I am concerned.Fair point. Is 6 months considered a mature product? I don't know.
It took Chord 6 years to get the Poly mostly right.
Shanling ET3 - Dedicated Digital CD Transport, With USB Drive and Wi-Fi Support
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Indeed. But I don't think it was ever the intention nor was there any representation that it would either.
Hence, BT and AirPlay.
What I want, and I think Shanling is close to having with the ET-3 is; A high quality CD transport with the quality top loader mechanism. No built in DAC. Comprehensive outputs including AES/EBU, Coax, USB, Optical and BNC. Simple but elegant display that shows basic CD playing info' required. 'Reasonable' price.
The ET-3 is so close to being the CD Transport to beat at its price point.
The ET-3 is so close to being the CD Transport to beat at its price point.
That's right, and then make DLNA work with all the apps like a sub-$100 streamer, the Wiim mini. As I explained to you some time ago, BT is not the solution if you are a minimum audiophile.
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Well, buy it for what it is. Not what you hope it can be. Anything further development is simply a bonus. In any event, everyone will have different wants or aspirations.
For the functionality it offers as a CD player and streaming source as is, I have no issues with it. In fact, I enjoy the ET-3.
I will just say this: for anyone who is considering the ET-3, it behoves you to read up on what it is capable of and what it does. To see if it fits your use cases as it stands.
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Well, I think it was pretty clear from the thread early on what the ET-3 is capable of in the DLNA space. As well as the other options for streaming.
That's exactly what I'm saying. The DLNA was part of the initial equipment of the ET3, I'm not asking to add anything. Just to make the one they sold me work. Then, you said it well, let's leave these heartfelt defenses of Shanling to his representative here.
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Happy discussions and debates wIth @Shanling.
Off to some early morning listening on a clear day near the Equator.
Off to some early morning listening on a clear day near the Equator.
I bought ET3 as a CD transport and it’s been wonderful as that.
Yes, there are bugs and/or some advertised features are not quite there, SRC for one.
Changing the display option doesn’t seem like that tall of an order and I believe shanling will get to it.
Hope everything else gets sorted for folks that are having issues.
Yes, there are bugs and/or some advertised features are not quite there, SRC for one.
Changing the display option doesn’t seem like that tall of an order and I believe shanling will get to it.
Hope everything else gets sorted for folks that are having issues.
nonameGiven
New Head-Fier
Regarding missing the point: a player is not a transport. It will include a dac (plus who knows what else) which is often superfluous, in a similar way that streaming features may be viewed as pointless with the ET3.
The appeal of a transport is that it is (in theory) dedicated to the extraction of data from a physical medium and that's it. Putting all of the engineering and manufacturing effort into making that dedicated function as reliable and pristine as possible is (hopefully) the point.
I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think many people who are looking for a transport actually want a player
The appeal of a transport is that it is (in theory) dedicated to the extraction of data from a physical medium and that's it. Putting all of the engineering and manufacturing effort into making that dedicated function as reliable and pristine as possible is (hopefully) the point.
I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think many people who are looking for a transport actually want a player
It may or may not be, it is a matter of personal needs. Before the ET3 came out, I was leaning towards getting a Audiolab or Cambridge Audio CD transport, I would have saved some money as well. I chose Shanling precisely because of its characteristics as a streamer having a subscription to Qobuz. I'll keep it simple, if you sell a device with certain features, those features should work sooner or later. Possibly sooner rather than later.
nonameGiven
New Head-Fier
absolutely agree with all of this.
On the one hand what I *really* want is a good, reliable transport that includes decent hardware with a reasonable variety of output options. In this sense the ET3 delivers. I think? and that's kinda the thing...we don't know how closely redbook specs have been followed. We don't know (or at least I don't) if, for example, the coax output terminal actually offers the 75 ohm resistance inherent to the coax digital spec. etc. It's well known that there are plenty of devices out there that have "balanced" inputs or outputs, but that the terminal is not connected to anything that's actually balanced in implementation - it's just a plug that accepts xlr. The point here is that at minimum, imo a CD transport should meet standard redbook and "transport" (ie output format) specs at a minimum. And the bigger point is that on some level (until someone tears one of these down to really look at the details) we simply trust that everything is in order, right?
As a follow on, if I see that this or that "extra feature" touted in the sales literature doesn't actually work in real life, this puts the whole device into question. This is just my natural predeliction - call me crazy but if the top level stuff that anyone can see and easily verify doesn't work, I have to wonder what else is not really working too. Further, when it comes to selecting a device I will naturally evaluate the "extras" that I don't need, to see if perhaps they would be enjoyable to have anyway. The "extra" DSD64 upsampling would have been a really nice feature to reality check whether it might be worthwhile to pay more for (let alone find) a custom cable to leverage the other i2s-only upsampling rates on offer, but alas, couldn't do that due to the feature not actually being implemented. Net takeaway is that the only "extra" (compared to other *transports*) I could verify was the upsampling to 192 pcm.
This sense of being let down by "false promises" was a significant part of the reason I sent mine back. The other reason was the lid, for which I could not find any love, though I genuinely looked for it. Glass lid + cat + occasionally clumsy human is not a great bet, long term - yes I considered this before ordering but wanted to see it first hand. The rattly sound/feeling of the plastic puck does not give an aura of durability. The occasional "open" warning that prevented play *even though* the lid visually appeared to be in place (I'm not stupid, I can actually see if the lid is in place or slightly askew) was not encouraging. And as reported by another user, I too got the occasional horrid rattling blender sounds on play, again, in spite of the lid being visually "in place". It was suggested he had a defective unit. Maybe I did too. But two lid related defects out of a very limited set of reviews is not a great average.
Regarding the idea that other devices have this "promise first, deliver (much) later" thing going on is wild, if it's true. I personally have never received a piece of audio equipment that failed to deliver the functionality outlined in its description, ever. Well unless it was just plain old broken. Which can happen, sure, but that's not really the same thing is it? I was still entertaining the option to keep the unit in spite of the myriad "yeah, no, not really..." revelations coming out here in discussions, but with the lid misbehavior on top of it? No.
Also I wasn't crazy about the presentation with some recordings. It tended to present vocals "pushed back" - I had an especially funny experience listening to "Sympathy for the Devil" - the bongos were blaring from one speaker, the "wooo wooo!"s blaring from the other, and poor Mick Jaggar was recessed a bit between yet "behind" them...audible but the vocals were well out of normal balance in a way I have never heard before. As much as I can appreciate a good laugh, I would like to listen to this album and have it sound fairly normal. Again maybe it was a defect but given all the talk about Shanling "house sound" I have to wonder. Really a transport should not introduce any "house sound" by my estimation, that's what a dac/amp are for.
None of this is to say that others don't or shouldn't enjoy this device. This is purely my experience and my analysis of the thing. It is not my bag, but might be yours, and if it is, that's fantastic! May you enjoy it for a long time.
@nonameGiven Must be nice, as an audio professional I encounter countless ‘advertised features don’t work’ situations, like ALL THE freakin’ TIME.
I’ve bought pieces that cost 20k or more and in their 1.0 version have provided only infuriating issues, but working with the companies and providing them proper feedback in most cases has provided positive results.
The Cambridge CXC failed to read a lot of my discs. It was super picky and I had to replace it.
The Audiolab 6000CDT has a grounding issue and scratches discs sometimes.
All of these issues have been documented for years yet they have never been addressed or fixed.
The ET3 sounds ‘better’ than both of those units IMO. It’s very new to the market so maybe allowing it some time to simmer would be appropriate.
Got two cats and zero issues with the very solid glass lid.
Show me a piece of kit that plays every musical program as intended. Our hobby and passion is riddled with compromises.
It’s a give and take all the time. A dac, an amp, a cartridge will not play every program equally great. You pick your poison and settle or have GAS forever.
I’ve bought pieces that cost 20k or more and in their 1.0 version have provided only infuriating issues, but working with the companies and providing them proper feedback in most cases has provided positive results.
The Cambridge CXC failed to read a lot of my discs. It was super picky and I had to replace it.
The Audiolab 6000CDT has a grounding issue and scratches discs sometimes.
All of these issues have been documented for years yet they have never been addressed or fixed.
The ET3 sounds ‘better’ than both of those units IMO. It’s very new to the market so maybe allowing it some time to simmer would be appropriate.
Got two cats and zero issues with the very solid glass lid.
Show me a piece of kit that plays every musical program as intended. Our hobby and passion is riddled with compromises.
It’s a give and take all the time. A dac, an amp, a cartridge will not play every program equally great. You pick your poison and settle or have GAS forever.
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I'm reporting this device incompatibility issue with most DLNA apps from last summer on this thread. I've never seen Shanling's representative here say a simple 'We know we have this problem and we'll do what we can to fix it' or 'this problem can't be fixed'. It's as if the problem isn't there, that's quite annoying from my point of view.
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nonameGiven
New Head-Fier
@Private Sure, I completely understand and encourage you to "do you", but I personally am not willing to spend money on a device that maybe will work as intended...someday. That's why I sent it back while I still could. Also if it's a hardware issue (like a misbehaving lid or slot that scratches discs - well known for several slot loaders, actually) it will never get fixed unless you want to shell out more money to buy the new and improved version.
I'm perfectly fine living with my old player until I find something "better" (for me). Is it perfect? no! But there is nothing objectively wrong with it in terms of playback functionality, and it isn't costing me anything to keep using it. I am in no desperate position and can be choosy about what compromises I am willing to live with. If it breaks, yes I may be SOL for a bit, but this is life. It's unfortunate that you have to live with subpar equipment in your line of work, but I am not in that position, and I doubt I'm alone.
Again, my opinions are my own and intended to give Shanling input for their next round (of firmware, hardware, whatever). If they ever release a pure transport without the schnickschnack, maybe I will try it if I'm still in the market, but the ET3 is not *my* bag for the reasons given.
I'm perfectly fine living with my old player until I find something "better" (for me). Is it perfect? no! But there is nothing objectively wrong with it in terms of playback functionality, and it isn't costing me anything to keep using it. I am in no desperate position and can be choosy about what compromises I am willing to live with. If it breaks, yes I may be SOL for a bit, but this is life. It's unfortunate that you have to live with subpar equipment in your line of work, but I am not in that position, and I doubt I'm alone.
Again, my opinions are my own and intended to give Shanling input for their next round (of firmware, hardware, whatever). If they ever release a pure transport without the schnickschnack, maybe I will try it if I'm still in the market, but the ET3 is not *my* bag for the reasons given.
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