[exile1973]

Seems like I am right on track with the target being M3X

Yeah, it definitely won't do you wrong at its price point.

 

[webline]

Hi there,
just got my M3X and I'm very happy with the device. I came from the M2x and with around 30.000 tracks the UI was the main reason to switch for me. The M3x sounds a little bit more transparent, wider stage and more bass (shouldn't be more).

Just one question came up after installing some apps: the USB Audio Player PRO (UAPP) was mentioned several times. I installed this app too but the user interface has no improvements compared to the Shanling player - or did I miss the "killer feature" of this app?
Best, Detlef

 

[holsen]

Hi there,
just got my M3X and I'm very happy with the device. I came from the M2x and with around 30.000 tracks the UI was the main reason to switch for me. The M3x sounds a little bit more transparent, wider stage and more bass (shouldn't be more).

Just one question came up after installing some apps: the USB Audio Player PRO (UAPP) was mentioned several times. I installed this app too but the user interface has no improvements compared to the Shanling player - or did I miss the "killer feature" of this app?
Best, Detlef

For me it wasn't so much the user interface of UAPP (although I like the UI) it is for me the fact that it supports Album and Album Artist as well as gapless and imported playlists. I wrote about the issues with the native Shanling app here; at the time Hiby fixed the problems but it was laggy so I tried UAPP which fixed that too. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sha...t-android-player.950199/page-38#post-16311088

 

[webline]

@holsen I do agree to your findings. Support for the Album Artist would be a great improvement. Still have to find my way of using my little DAP...

 

[rlw6534]

For me it wasn't so much the user interface of UAPP (although I like the UI) it is for me the fact that it supports Album and Album Artist as well as gapless and imported playlists. I wrote about the issues with the native Shanling app here; at the time Hiby fixed the problems but it was laggy so I tried UAPP which fixed that too. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sha...t-android-player.950199/page-38#post-16311088

In general, the advantages of UAPP have always revolved around bypassing the android audio stack for both USB connections and supported devices (hence the USB in the name) and getting true high resolution bitperfect audio from local files, Tidal and Qobuz. You would be surprised how many Play Store music players don't do this and depend on the 24/48 Android audio stack.

For the M3X (and other more recent devices), this has become less of a problem because the Native music apps (Shanling, Fiio, Hiby, etc) typically work correctly on their respective devices. Also, recent versions of Tidal and Qobuz are also working well on most newer devices. This was not true until recently.

I still have some devices that actually need UAPP to play bitperfect high resolution and I purchased it long ago. I continue to use it even though I don't really need it on M3X, mainly because I trust it to play correctly and I'm used to the interface.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[MaceHane2]

Hi folks I’m a new owner of the M3X and here are a few thoughts I have right now.
I‘ve been using an iPod Classic for years and have never had any particular reason to upgrade to one of the multitude of new players as I’ve always been fine with it’s sound quality. Yes I knew any one out of loads of the newer players likely would sound better but as I said, I was happy with it.
I had bought a few different cheap players over the years through curiosity but they were garbage and riddled with instabilities.
Fast forward and for a few reasons I needed to upgrade and as I knew I would never feel comfortable spending many, many hundreds on a superficially flashy and feature-laden unit when all I really wanted was simple music playback, I went for the Shanling as it looked like a probable good deal.

Mostly I’m not exactly disappointed, but not overly happy either as it’s far from being as stable as I’d like and also has little oddities of behaviour that are frankly now starting to irritate me.
A few details …..my issue initially with the unit not turning on was something that stopped shortly after I posted here about it. I have no idea why it stopped, but over the past two weeks it has re-occurred only once and annoying as that was, it’s not enough for me to go through the hassle of returning it as very likely any replacement unit is going to have its own issues. My thinking on that is because of other things.

Several days ago I wanted to put a complication from my iPod onto the player. So far I had only put complete albums on it. So on my Mac I just created a new folder and dragged the forty or so songs directly onto the sd card. Well over the last couple of days I’ve discovered that I simply cannot play that folders content on shuffle, which is how I play everything.
On shuffle mode the unit will only start playing the first track. It doesn’t matter what track one taps on, it will not play that song and automatically play the first. Seven, eight times out of ten it will then only repeat play that track, but occasionally will play another song but then after that it goes back to the first track again.
And in other modes when choosing any track in that folder it’s says file not supported but then plays the song anyway.
Shuffle works on my albums but not on the folder with songs dragged into it. Ive tried numerous ways to resolve it but nothing will get the unit to simply shuffle play through that folders contents.

Just today after listening to an album while out, I choose something different to play and the unit does nothing. It would not play music. Nothing else I picked would play. When I tapped on anything it simply displayed the message Too Frequent! I don’t know what the hell that means, but it was bloody annoying.
When I rebooted the unit was fine again, but things like these irritate the hell out of me.

I’ve downloaded Neutron to accomplish the seemingly arduous task of playing my compilation on shuffle but I’m so used to never having issues with my ipod that I’m questioning this thing. I also generally prefer to use apps that the maker includes, but maybe I’ll look into a couple of other music apps to see what they sound like.
Am I being unrealistic expecting that by 2021 these very mature players will just work without niggles such as these? I sometimes feel that the main few companies simply have so many different units that they’re going to have them all function without issues.

It’s a shame to me because I absolutely love the design and build of this device, especially for its cost, and yes of course it’s sound quality is better than my iPod.
But I can just do without what I’ll charitably call minor problems constantly cropping up.

Maybe there will soon be a firmware update that might add a little more stability to its operation.

 

[abitdeef]

Hi folks I’m a new owner of the M3X and here are a few thoughts I have right now.
live been using an iPod Classic for years and have never had any particular reason to upgrade to one of the multitude of new players as I’ve always been fine with it’s sound quality. Yes I knew any one out of loads newer players likely would sound better but as I said, I was happy with it.
I had bought a few different cheap players over the years through curiosity but they were garbage and riddled with instabilities.
Fast forward and for a few reasons I needed to upgrade and as I knew I would never feel comfortable spending many, many hundreds on a superficially flashy and feature-laden unit when all I really wanted was simple music playback, I went for the Shanking as it looked like a probable good deal.

Mostly I’m not exactly disappointed, but not overly happy either as it’s far from being as stable as I’d like and also has little oddities of behaviour that are frankly now starting to irritate me.
A few details …..my issue initially with the unit not turning on was something that stopped shortly after I posted here about it. I have no idea why it stopped, but over the past two weeks it has re-occurred only once and annoying as that was, it’s not enough for me to go through the hassle of returning it as very likely any replacement unit is going to have its own issues. My thinking on that is because of other things.

Several days ago I wanted to put a complication from my iPod onto the player. So far I had only put complete albums on it. So on my Mac I just created a new folder and dragged the forty or so songs directly onto the sd card. Well over the last couple of days I’ve discovered that I simply cannot play that folders content on shuffle, which is how I play everything.
On shuffle mode the unit will only start playing the first track. It doesn’t matter what track one taps on, it will not play that song and automatically play the first. Nine times out of ten it will then only repeat play that track, but occasionally will play another song but then after that it goes back to the first track again.
And in other modes when choosing any track in that folder it’s says file not supported but then plays the song anyway.
Shuffle works on my albums but not on the folder with songs dragged into it. Ive tried numerous ways to resolve it but nothing will get the unit to simply shuffle play through that folders contents.

Just today after listening to an album while out, I choose something different to play and the unit does nothing. It would not play music. Nothing else I picked would play. When I clicked on anything it simply displayed the message Too Frequent! I don’t know what the hell that means, but it was bloody annoying.
When I rebooted the unit was fine again, but things like these irritate the hell out of me.
iI’ve downloaded Neutron to accomplish the seemingly arduous task of playing my compilation on shuffle but I’m so used to never having issues with my ipod that I’m questioning this thing.
Am I being unrealistic expecting that by 2021 these players will just work with niggles such as these?

I feel like I am. It’s a shame to me because I absolutely love the design and build of this device, especially for its cost, and yes of course it’s sound quality is better than my iPod.
But I can just do without what I’ll charitably call niggles constantly cropping up.

Maybe there will soon be a firmware update that might add a little more stability to its operation.

I've never had any problems with neutron, but you could try hiby music. It's a bit more streamlined and you can open a folder and click on any song in shuffle mode, and it will um shuffle them. Hiby music is very stable, although as I said I've had no issues with neutron.

Not a Mac user, but that shouldn't matter once you get the music on the device I should think.

 

[gadgetgod]

Okay so an update guys, I was using Unique Melody Mirage with my Shanling M3X over the past few days. The pairing was just lovely, low-gain 60/100 volume pretty decent pair. But what surprised me was I plugged the Unique melody Mirage on to my Cayin HA-1A MK2 Desktop Tube Amplifier+Topping E30 Stack, and by god the pair opened up. Despite being just 32 ohms the pair flourished with the extra power showing me better extensions and a slight bit of more openness in the sound.(My HA-1A MK2 is on stock tubes).

So I am planning to get a portable amplifier to pair up with my Shanling M3X and enjoy my headsets with their full potential. I am looking to get xDuoo XD-05 Bal. Anyone here has any experience with the same?. It can also be used as a DAC/AMP with my laptop or smartphone on the go and has too much of power to pair with my headsets. I am guessing it will power up my HD600 well too.

 

[abitdeef]

Okay so an update guys, I was using Unique Melody Mirage with my Shanling M3X over the past few days. The pairing was just lovely, low-gain 60/100 volume pretty decent pair. But what surprised me was I plugged the Unique melody Mirage on to my Cayin HA-1A MK2 Desktop Tube Amplifier+Topping E30 Stack, and by god the pair opened up. Despite being just 32 ohms the pair flourished with the extra power showing me better extensions and a slight bit of more openness in the sound.(My HA-1A MK2 is on stock tubes).

So I am planning to get a portable amplifier to pair up with my Shanling M3X and enjoy my headsets with their full potential. I am looking to get xDuoo XD-05 Bal. Anyone here has any experience with the same?. It can also be used as a DAC/AMP with my laptop or smartphone on the go and has too much of power to pair with my headsets. I am guessing it will power up my HD600 well too.

If you need more power you can always try high gain. But you have a tube amp in the chain which always adds colour/thd and the reverb effect of the tubes ( perceived bigger stage) So if you want that you're better off getting a nice portable tube amp like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1534628548...CEj0OKKddWjrTJ8PHUrgFs1gqNwHseI8aAolPEALw_wcB

Also available at penon and Ali express. Musicteck still might have them.

 

[holsen]

My long awaited Lotoo Paw 6000 just arrived and I just took the SD card out of the M3X and inserted it into the PW6K. I have not had enough time to any critical listening with it to make a detailed comparison but first impressions...... It's UI is lightning fast, 17,800 tracks scanned into the database in about 8 minutes and because it output 300W there's a bit more weight to the bass and subbass notes and it does sound really good - and it should for $1200 but it doesnt sound $850 better. It's heavy and thick, has some DB tagging issues and doesnt recognize playlists. The M3X is about 90% there in terms of sound, is much lighter, has a much longer battery life and supports streaming.
You can buy the M3X in confidence knowing its an outstanding DAP with really excellent tonality and is priced as an exceptional value. Sound to Sound the LP6K has a bit more depth and perhaps upper end detail (still not sure on that one) but in more than a few ways, I prefer the M3X - for the sound it produces in an ultra-portable device with very few compromises.
----------------------------
Edit
Just noticed that I've been listening to the LP6K in high gain to get the sound I've been getting. I havent had to use the M3X with any of my IEMs in High Gain. Low Gain vs Low Gain M3X takes it.....

 

[abitdeef]

My long awaited Lotoo Paw 6000 just arrived and I just tool the SD card out of the M3X and inserted it into the PW6K. I have not had enough time to any critical listening with it to make a detailed comparison but first impressions...... It's UI is lightning fast, 17,800 tracks scanned into the database in about 8 minutes and because it output 300W there's a bit more weight to the bass and subbass notes and it does sound really good - and it should for $1200 but it doesnt sound $850 better. It's heavy and thick, has some DB tagging issues and doesnt recognize playlists. The M3X is about 90% there in terms of sound, is much lighter, has a much longer battery life and supports streaming.
You can buy the M3X in confidence knowing its an outstanding DAP with really excellent tonality and is priced as an exceptional value. Sound to Sound the LP6K has a bit more depth and perhaps upper end detail (still not sure on that one) but in more than a few ways, I prefer the M3X - for the sound it produces in an ultra-portable device with very few compromises.
----------------------------
Edit
Just noticed that I've been listening to the LP6K in high gain to get the sound I've been getting. I havent had to use the M3X with any of my IEMs in High Gain. Low Gain vs Low Gain M3X takes it.....

This is exactly my impression (from memory) also, the paw 6000 is good but the more I listen to the m3x I'm astonished at the quality of the output for the size and price. Now from memory isn't ideal to say the least but I've listened to so many different daps and dongles in the last year I've gotten very efficient in keeping mental notes of how different stuff sounds.

None of it has sounded bad but it's all just slightly different presentations. I really like the way the m3x presents itself. Very similar to R5s with more even/denser mids and maybe a touch more treble energy and more neutral bass. More width and maybe less depth. I mention r5s because I thought that was a good value for the money, I always thought the vanilla R5 was a touch to warm and the bass a bit slow/soft.

Anyways I'm thrilled to have that sound in a small android package with the crazy good battery life and no amp disengaging clicks/pops

 

[holsen]

I've been A/B comparing between the LP6K and M3X for several hours now and the Lotoo is for sale. I'm convinced the M3X outputs higher wattage than stated. I previously noted that my M5s ran exclusively on high gain. On the M3X I've used all my IEMs on low gain and a lower volume setting. Today with the Lotoo if I wanted to volume match I had to got to 50 / 100 where on the M3X I was at 30. I can hear very little difference in the sound quality. I'll listen next specifically paying attention to sound stage.. But honestly for me, the only area the the 6K has an advantage is the speed of interface and power up & down. IMHO The LP6K is overrated and the M3X is underrated.

 

[Tiax]

I'll listen next specifically paying attention to sound stage.. But honestly for me, the only area the the 6K has an advantage is the speed of interface and power up & down. IMHO The LP6K is overrated and the M3X is underrated.

I would say that expensive DAPs are overrated in general, and law of diminishing returns hits much earlier with DAPs than say iems or headphones.
My PAW6000 is better than Shanling Q1, but to really appreciate this difference i need to sit still and pay full attention. And when i go for a walk or do something else and listen in the background, Q1 is absolutely fine and i don't feel like i'm missing much.

 

[gadgetgod]

If you need more power you can always try high gain. But you have a tube amp in the chain which always adds colour/thd and the reverb effect of the tubes ( perceived bigger stage) So if you want that you're better off getting a nice portable tube amp like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1534628548...CEj0OKKddWjrTJ8PHUrgFs1gqNwHseI8aAolPEALw_wcB

Also available at penon and Ali express. Musicteck still might have them.

I have finalized on XD05 Balanced.

 

[abitdeef]

I have finalized on XD05 Balanced.

Okie dokie lol.