[Shanling]

Thank you @ASpencer for your concerining on M3 and Thanks @nmatheis for his objective comment.
 
As a second generation product M2 will certainly improve on many aspects.
 
But on the sound wise, overall performance of M3 is still excellent. Ouput power of M2 is smaller than M3.  

 

[nmatheis]

Thank you @ASpencer
 for your concerining on M3 and Thanks @nmatheis
 for his objective comment.

As a second generation product M2 will certainly improve on many aspects.

But on the sound wise, overall performance of M3 is still excellent. Ouput power of M2 is smaller than M3.  

Good points Shanling!

M3 was a good experience for me, as reflected in my review.

 

[coolmen77]

why i can't use M3 as usb dac on windows 7?

 

[flognarde]

First few hours with the M3 thank's to Shanling and its french distributor AUDIOPHONICS.
I have only worked with accoustic material, the only music I can talk about.
There was something artificial about my Fiio X5II and I wanted to borrow a different DAP in the same price range to see if musicality could be improved. I will be writing a genuine review in a couple weeks but I can already answer without much doubts : Yes it can !
Quite more refined, closer to the timbres (tone), more coherence, No sharp edges yet detailed. It doesn't have the soundstage of the IBASSO Dx 90 (V-shaped?) but the overall experience get closer to the smoothness of a live concert.
Of course it very dependent on the recording, you never mention it enough and I need more listening sessions to confirm but I have to say a DAP has to deal all sorts of recordings when dealing with classical music .
I can hardly get into the audiophile's for the reason It's hard to getting away from subjectivity and placebo effect.
Never the less I am using most of the time my AKG K550, the closer I have to some kind of neutrality.
Of course all these differences are subtle and you'd better be peaky to get it. Never the less, I think the M3 is a quite musical DAP, and that is biggest part of music reproduction. It's obsious the engeneers at Shanling know few things about music.
 
To be continued...

 

[coolmen77]

problem is fixed

 

[nmatheis]

Glad to read your initial impressions flognarde. Interested to read what you think after listening to M3 for awhile. You know Shanling is releasing the M2, right?

LINK to M2 thread

 

[flognarde]

Glad to read your initial impressions @flognarde. Interested to read what you think after listening to M3 for awhile. You know Shanling is releasing the M2, right?

LINK to M2 thread

Yes I do, I am supposed to review it in France as soon as it is released... I hope they will do something about the screen (crappy compared to the Fiio) and the finish.

 

[nmatheis]

flognarde:

The screen didn't bother me at all.

What are you referring to with "finish"?

 

[flognarde]

Now there is the U.I. ... And, how to put it ? miles below FIIO. The Driver (for the DAC) refuses to get installed (Win10) . I installed the latest FW2.1. It just doesn't work properly...
The album list don't show the internal storage, most of the pictures from files won't appear. It needs some serious software improvements. 

 

[flognarde]

@flognarde:

The screen didn't bother me at all.

What are you referring to with "finish"?

It's not a big deal, but the overall design, how small the letters are (I am an old fart !) low light, definition from the 90's... Come on Shanling ! The finsh... The back plate is plastic, and on the black version the black paint is so thick it looks and feel like plastic. It's not that big of a deal when you consider how great it sounds, but come on !

 

[nmatheis]

Shanling: The back plate of M3 is plastic? I don't remember that.

flognarde: Hmm... I actually like the M3's GUI. It took a couple days to get used to it, but once it was familiar I found myself liking it better than Fiio's GUI.

 

[flognarde]

@nmatheis I was talking about the X5II 's, don't know how différent it is from the rest of the range... I tried the original X5 for 15 min and it was quite different.
When it looks, smells, warms, touches like plastic, there is a great probability it is plastic...
As I said, it's not such a big deal but needed to be mentioned. Considering most customer won't hear a difference on their Dub Step experience , the design element is a big one from a business perspective.
And my finger is telling me Shanling is aware of the issue. Just a glance at the M2 is enough.

 

[nmatheis]

Thanks for the continued input flognarde.

I've used all the Fiio DAPs except X1, iBasso DX90, and Cayin N6. In comparison, I find the M3's GUI intuitive and quick. I know they refreshed their GUI awhile back. The older GUI left a lot to be desired, but the current GUI is quite good IMHO.

I do agree about the small font size, but that seems an endemic problem with DAPs...

 

[flognarde]

... It's not about being entertained by the screen, just being clear and easily readable. 
Getting back to more serious issues, I just filled my SD card with the beautifull remastering of Gould/Bach Well tempered clavier in DSD, and it won't read it ! no problems with the X5II !
The album folder refuses to integrate both the internal and external storage. 
I have issues with some APE and DSD's on the FIIO but nothing like the one I have with the Shanling. 
And it's getting more serious.

 

[nmatheis]

flognarde:

Sounds quite frustrating. I'm sorry you're having such troubles.

Since upgrading to 2.1, have you performed a factory reset? I'd try that first. If that doesn't work, try reinstalling the firmware.

Regarding album folder not integrating music stored internally and on you mSD card, perhaps a factory reset followed by a database scan would help?

I know iBasso recommends always performing a factory reset after upgrading the firmware. I think it's probably a good practice with any DAP.

The M3 I reviewed is out on your but should be back shortly for a comparison with the new M2, for which I'm greatly excited! It'll be much easier for me to help you troubleshoot once it's back in my hands, and I'm not just relying on memory.