Hello all,
So I've been using the M3X for a week or so. I have a few reactions and questions.
- For the first few days, I was using the 3.5mm single ended connection, with both my Etymotic ER4-XR and Blon BL03 phones. I will admit that while some tracks sounded very good to me, on tracks with a prominent snare drum or bongo (or similar), to me the drums were sounding TOO prominent. Too dominant. However, I then starting using a balanced cord/connection with both the Blon and Etymotic, and what a difference. Besides the channel separation, the drums have receded into the background on such tracks and I can now say I think the sound is excellent. I found a couple of other comments here or in reviews making the same observation, that while using the 4.4mm balanced port, the drums recede. So my question is, why would this be so? Not looking for an especially technical answer really, just a confirmation that it's actually happening. I haven't seen it mentioned often here, but as I said I have seen it mentioned a couple of times. To me it's very obvious and a dramatic and welcome change when comparing the balanced to single-ended sound.
- I'm using the native Shanling player. It's connected to wifi. I have tried to use the "Get album art and lyrics" function (you can find it by hitting the 3 dots at the bottom right of the album art screen) for several tracks for which I'm missing the art. Without fail, what happens is that I get a loading screen and the "YES" button at the bottom, but nothing is ever found or downloaded, it just seems to be searching endlessly. I've tried it with popular tracks for which there should definitely be album art available online. So... is there something more I need to do to make this function work correctly and download album art if it's available?
@Shanling if you have any suggestions about this (or anything else here) I'd be grateful.
- I've tried to use the equalizer (again using the Shanling player app, in prime mode) to pump up the bass just the little bit by slightly moving up a couple of bands on the low end. What happens, besides the volume drop, is that the treble gets very veiled. With the M2X equalizer this did not happen... moving the bass up a smidge does exactly and only that, and the treble stays nice and clear. However, I can remember that for a while after the M2X was first available the equalizer actually behaved in a similar way, it wrecked the sound. And then an update seemed to fix it. So I'm wondering if there's something I can do, while still using the Shanling app, to use the equalizer to improve the bass without imposing a muffled veil over the treble. (Or am I incorrect on this?)
- I love the sound of the M3X. I also love a warm sound. Both Etymotic and the M3X seem to me to be neutral (with a slight bass boost to the Etymotic). For certain genres (like some hip hop) I want to warm up the sound and pump up the bass a bit. I'm thinking about adding a warm, musical IEM or earbud to the stable that would pair well with the M3X. Would be interested in any recommendations.
Great player!