[Podster]

  Hello all. I am proud to say I'm finally a member of the Shanling family! I tell you what, this little guy is great. I spent most of the night last night just losing time "rediscovering" my music...the sound on this portable device is that good that its almost revelatory. The difference between my CA Nova's coming out of my old dragonfly 1.2 with iTunes and then the M5 is so vastly different and improved I have to remind myself I'm wearing the same IEM. I could not be happier with the sound, and honestly I fell right back in to old ipod style controls like my gen 1 nano never left my hand. I also could not believe it could actually handle my HE 400i's, albeit, not the strongest sound I've heard out of them, but from a device the size of a deck of cards I was very impressed. My phone can't even come close to powering them.
 
SO I really really am impressed by this device but I did have a couple of frustrations...
I too have issues with installing both the firmware and the DAC program.
 
With the firmware, my first trouble came with downloading it in general...it took me several attempts. Earlier tries kept getting disconnected and was dl'ing at a snails pace. When I finally did get version 1.2 downloaded, I could never get my player to recognize it. I tried loading a micro sd card in with JUST the 1.2 file on it and formatted in 3 different ways(ex-fat, fat 32 and NTFS)...and the player was never able to see the firmware file. Not sure what else I can do? Then I read a earlier post saying there was no 1.2 firmware its actually fireware? I have no idea what that means..
 
Secondly, I was unsuccessful in getting my Windows 10 pc to recognize my player as a DAC. I downloaded the file. Installed it and nothing. Then I remembered the post on page 20 about windows 10 pc's. So I followed those instructions perfectly, twice, and still nothing. The program appears to load fine but my computer is never able to see the device in DAC mode. It does detect it in USB mode which allows me access to the micro sd card. Going to dig out a windows 7 pc from the closet and see if I have any luck....even though that is somewhat pointless...im just the type that has to keep going til I make things work, regardless. 
 
SO, all in all. I LOVE this thing. My problems with it aren't really a concern, I wasn't planning on using it as a DAC really and version 1.1 firmware seems to be very solid for me...just frustrated by the lack of proper support on this device. Im a tech savy guy and if I can't figure something out then there is certainly a problem. If you advertise a device for certain functionality, it needs to be accessed out of the box or Shanling could at least make their instructions way more concise. We shouldn't have to resort to 3rd party forums to find out how to get something to work.  THIS IS A GREAT DEVICE! SUPPORT IT!
 
Also, I gotta rep team black here.
 

Can relate to everything you've said Twib especially the SQ of the M5 but I disagree with "this little guy" as the M2 is Shanling's baby brother (little Guy)

jk, they are both serious players

I may also be a little partial to the silver

 

[twibmassa]

The price for the M5 is looking nice from Bright Audio on Aliexpress, I'm almost there.. The only thing I've ever bought from that website was a cheap pair of earbuds. Should I feel confident in making a big purchase from there?

I had an immense amount of difficulty ordering from AliExpress and ultimately was not successful at doing so. It will most likely require additional amounts of authentication from your part either by contacting your CC company or an email asking you if the purchase is legit. I jumped through several hoops to try and buy mine from bright audio on Ali but was unsuccessful. Others have done fine with it though.

I will say that this player is on massdrop AGAIN right now. $399 outright and if enough join a price of $365. Much easier and safer option if you ask me

Either way it's totally worth it...great dap for sure.

 

[Jmop]

I appreciate the feedback. The price on that website is tempting especially with the case. Yes! I'm glad to see massdrop having it again, will definitely jump on that when I can.

 

[twibmassa]

After doing a basic drag and drop of my music I've found much of it doesn't have the album artwork attached to it....what do you guys use to attach artwork to your files so the m5 displays them?

 

[nmatheis]

After doing a basic drag and drop of my music I've found much of it doesn't have the album artwork attached to it....what do you guys use to attach artwork to your files so the m5 displays them?

Where did you get your music from?

I'm on a Mac and like to use XLD for ripping CDs, initial tagging, naming, and to embed artwork. I also use MediaRage for touching up any tags XLD missed and also clean up tags, names, artwork for music I purchase online.

You could also use MP3 tag for Windows or in a WINE container on a Mac.

How that helps...

 

[twibmassa]

You are going to get sick of helping me out aren't you?? I am a PC user so most of that I couldn't use but did try mp3 tag. I found a couple programs that did work out but nothing I'm in love with, Honestly the best album art tagger I found was just using player pro on my phone, simple and effective. Most of these programs I've found so far are just a bit more complicated than I'd like them to be. But it got the job done. Went with album art downloader. 

 

[nmatheis]

So you got something to work twibmassa? That's great!

No worries about helping you (and others) out. That's the main reason I hang around here

 

[AudioHi]

I just ordered m5 through massdrop. Reading this thread and after 25 pages I am in. Hopefully it can replace my dx90. I can't wait.. Thank you guys for excellent reviews.

 

[Jmop]

Curse you CA state tax..

 

[cr0wnest]

I have the AK4490 as my desktop DAC and I like it, dont think I've ever tried the CS4398 before so I can't say much. So is it worth to get the M5 over the M2? The UI is the same as far as I can tell, except the M2 looks like it lacks EQ adjustments.

 

[nmatheis]

M2 also has EQ adjustments. I prefer M5 to M2, but I can see some people preferring M2's sound signature over M5. If you already know you like M5's DAC, then I think that makes your choice a little easier

 

[cr0wnest]

M2 also has EQ adjustments. I prefer M5 to M2, but I can see some people preferring M2's sound signature over M5. If you already know you like M5's DAC, then I think that makes your choice a little easier

That makes sense I guess.

Also do these players display music information like artist name, song title, album art, album title via metadata or does it only list it based on the file name? All the chinese DAPs ive seen so far do not seem to support metadata, and that would be a real pain for me since I heavily rely on metadata to browse my music. I suppose the next/prev track buttons also does seeking back and forth? The UI walkthrough videos I've seen on youtube dont demonstrate this.

 

[nmatheis]

That makes sense I guess.

Also do these players display music information like artist name, song title, album art, album title via metadata or does it only list it based on the file name? All the chinese DAPs ive seen so far do not seem to support metadata, and that would be a real pain for me since I heavily rely on metadata to browse my music. I suppose the next/prev track buttons also does seeking back and forth? The UI walkthrough videos I've seen on youtube dont demonstrate this.

You can either use simple folder browsing or tag browsing on DAPs from Cayin, FiiO, and Shanling so no worries there. And yes, you can most certainly scan backwards and forward through songs. Besides not being a touchscreen, it's a pretty modern user interface.

 

[cr0wnest]

You can either use simple folder browsing or tag browsing on DAPs from Cayin, FiiO, and Shanling so no worries there. And yes, you can most certainly scan backwards and forward through songs. Besides not being a touchscreen, it's a pretty modern user interface.

Thanks! Thats good to know, the metadata was one of the biggest reasons I haven't bought a DAP yet. I might just pick this one up.

 

[Tran67]

I have just received confirmation that my order has been dispatched from AliExpress,it was very straightforward,I had put off buying the M5 because it is not available in the UK & there is no repair centre,but Shanling have said there is one in France so I caved in & ordered my M5 (in black),so I will have to pray nothing goes wrong.
I am gutted that I can't make Canjam London as Shanling have informed me that they will be there.I will let you know when my M5 arrives & I have tried it out.