[actorlife]

Thank OS for the through explanation. Is this the cheapest player that can do dsd without converting it to PCM? I wonder why the bluetooth was not implemented like the M1?

 

[originalsnuffy]

Thank OS for the through explanation. Is this the cheapest player that can do dsd without converting it to PCM? I wonder why the bluetooth was not implemented like the M1?

 
The cheapest player that can do native DSD that I know of is the FIIO X3 II. It is nearing its end of life.  Most likely the replacement will have that also, alone with bluetooth.  
 
However, I like the Shanling sound more than the X3 II.  I just sold my X3 II, in preparation for one of three new units (Cayin N3, FIIO X5 IIII, and /or the FIIO X3 III).  But I would very likely not sell the Shanling because I really like its sound.  Might become a backup unit someday, but it sure has a great sound quality.  A true hidden gem that NMatheis found.  But please do not get me wrong, there is absolutely  no reason to not like the X3 II, it is simply that I liked the M2 even more.  There might be some brands that I think of as "off brands" that are cheaper, but many of those have received mixed reviews and I am not going there. 
 
Bluetooth was not as big a deal a year or two ago.   The M1 has the bluetooth feature, but not native DSD.  The Cayin N3 looks promising by the way.    The pre-production Cayin N3 unit, as I have gathered, does not quite match up with the Shanling M2 in terms of sound quality but the final unit could potentially be better.  Worth watching.  The FIIO X5 III has a lot of great features but does cost twice as much.  It is getting nice reviews so far; I will be testing it in about a week or so.  I highly respect Shanling, Cayin, and FIIO as brands by the way.

 

[1TrickPony]

you might consider the M3 as well. if not go hardcore with M5

I might consider the M4 in the future. nope. not an insider, but as you can tell,I like the Shanling sound!

 

[duo8]

Thank OS for the through explanation. Is this the cheapest player that can do dsd without converting it to PCM? I wonder why the bluetooth was not implemented like the M1?

The cheapest afaik is the XDuoo X3.
As for BT, I guess back then DAP makers didn't really feel like it's worth adding. You'd need a BT chipset that supports the latest/best BT audio profile (aptX IIRC) for it to be worthwhile, and the linux firmware they used on the current players might not be finished then (which also seems to bring along other features like USB OTG/USB DAC support).
Just guesses though, don't take my word for it.

 

[duo8]

I noticed the FiiO X3 has a scene (of sorts) of making custom themes. Is there no interest in doing the same for M2?

 

[actorlife]

The cheapest player that can do native DSD that I know of is the FIIO X3 II. It is nearing its end of life.  Most likely the replacement will have that also, alone with bluetooth.  

However, I like the Shanling sound more than the X3 II.  I just sold my X3 II, in preparation for one of three new units (Cayin N3, FIIO X5 IIII, and /or the FIIO X3 III).  But I would very likely not sell the Shanling because I really like its sound.  Might become a backup unit someday, but it sure has a great sound quality.  A true hidden gem that NMatheis found.  But please do not get me wrong, there is absolutely  no reason to not like the X3 II, it is simply that I liked the M2 even more.  There might be some brands that I think of as "off brands" that are cheaper, but many of those have received mixed reviews and I am not going there. 

Bluetooth was not as big a deal a year or two ago.   The M1 has the bluetooth feature, but not native DSD.  The Cayin N3 looks promising by the way.    The pre-production Cayin N3 unit, as I have gathered, does not quite match up with the Shanling M2 in terms of sound quality but the final unit could potentially be better.  Worth watching.  The FIIO X5 III has a lot of great features but does cost twice as much.  It is getting nice reviews so far; I will be testing it in about a week or so.  I highly respect Shanling, Cayin, and FIIO as brands by the way.

OS You are a big help. For some reason i never tried the fiio dap. I do have the fiio 11 amp though. Im happy wirh the cowon x7 after i got a better iu from a member that created a much better ui on the cowon forums. Clip+ is amazing too. The N3 is very interesting i will keep watching that thread. 150 i what i wanna spend. Thanks again for your help OS.

 

[originalsnuffy]

  @Shanling  I see you have released again the 3.0 version of the firmware on your website ;
 
So I decided to give it another chance after the first attempt was not so good on your last release;
 
After update I still have the same issue I had initially;

1. Boot after update always shows a white screen after boot logo (only volume action shows the proper image) - (Work around to permanently correct this issue is to connect DAP to PC throught USB afterwards no white screen after boot)
2. After about 4 to 8 minutes of playing system stops playing as if the music was stopped; I have done several tests regarding this, low gain, hi gain, all shutdown setting off/on, factory reset, so success to have a proper continuous play;

 
This were the only really big issues I'm finding in the 3.0 firmware so I will downgrade again to 2.1;

 
Shanling, is there still development on the firmware for this model?
 
If not, I think the issues raised in this post should be addressed in the next update.  These are real issues that I have experienced.  Workarounds are  not as good as actual firmware updates.
 
 Thanks.

 

[duo8]

   
Shanling, is there still development on the firmware for this model?
 
If not, I think the issues raised in this post should be addressed in the next update.  These are real issues that I have experienced.  Workarounds are  not as good as actual firmware updates.
 
 Thanks.

I never got any of that. Maybe a hardware issue?

 

[Focalor]

 
I never got any of that. Maybe a hardware issue?

 
It is not an Hardware issue, since after all my workaround + shanling suggested workaround for my issues, I never had any of the issues again;
 
So it is definitely software

 

[originalsnuffy]

   
It is not an Hardware issue, since after all my workaround + shanling suggested workaround for my issues, I never had any of the issues again;
 
So it is definitely software

For now I have gone back to firmware 2.1.  That white screen issue with 3.0 was a killer.  And the constant freezing was annoying.
 
I already traded out one piece of hardware and still had issues at one point.  So either there was a bad batch of perhaps one production run is more likely to develop these problems.

 

[Dark Helmet]

 
For now I have gone back to firmware 2.1.  That white screen issue with 3.0 was a killer.  And the constant freezing was annoying.
 
I already traded out one piece of hardware and still had issues at one point.  So either there was a bad batch of perhaps one production run is more likely to develop these problems.

I have had nothing but problems with firmware 3.0 as well.  I just reinserted my card, and after scrolling to the artist >album>song it reboots.

 

[Dark Helmet]

  Thanks for the feedback, 
 
1. The white screen and improper display is often caused by the file system of your TF card. Please use our formatting tool provided in the zip package, formatting your TF card into FAT32.
2. The abnormal auto stop can be solved by "restore to factory setting".

Your website is unbelievably slow and I can't download the firmware.  The unit is constantly resetting.  Can you at least fix your site so I can download the firmware yet again and try and get this working?

 

[duo8]

Weird. It's perfectly fine for me, never had a single crash since I got it.
Mine is the late 2015 revision.

 

[Dark Helmet]

My M2 is from 2016 and now it's bricked after I tried reinstalling 3.0 all it does is say "upgrading" and then "upgrade file is corrupt" over and over again.  What a lousy product.  I have barely used it!

 

[nmatheis]

My M2 is from 2016 and now it's bricked after I tried reinstalling 3.0 all it does is say "upgrading" and then "upgrade file is corrupt" over and over again.  What a lousy product.  I have barely used it!

Can you return it, bro? I think you got a bum unit cuz I never had so many privileges with it - or any of the other Shanling DAPs I've got for that matter. I'm hoping either the seller or Shanling can help you out!