[Shanling]

The problem I see here for Shanling is that the M0 is so good in terms of SQ and features (with even HiBy Link promised for a future update), that I don't see any real killer features that it's missing. I suspect the M0 is going to eat a large portion of the M5S's lunch.

I was telling people in the past, if you are into Shanling players for the features, M1 is all you need. Go higher if you want better sound from headphone out.

With M0 and M5s it's similar. We will not cripple features on M0 to protect higher end models, we are not Canon
These two devices are approaching very different markets, while M0's hopes are with mass market( I want to see it every BestBuy!), M5s goes for the audiophile crowd.
Audio circuit on M5s aims so much higher, not just with power but with pure sound quality. Of course there will be few people claiming M0 sounds as good or better. But that would be nothing new to audio forums. I have drawer full of these so-called giant killer IEMs. Yet I still pick my High-end customs every day.
Wifi will also bring different crowd, can serve greatly for many, just not sure how far we will be able to stretch its possibilities(but that's more problem of current music streaming industry).

I don't see them as competing products. I think many users after some time with our lovely M0 will like to try to reach out for higher model too, to have two players that will be similar in usage, but will have their purpose.

And regarding the price, announcement should be coming this week!

 

[crabdog]

I was telling people in the past, if you are into Shanling players for the features, M1 is all you need. Go higher if you want better sound from headphone out.

With M0 and M5s it's similar. We will not cripple features on M0 to protect higher end models, we are not Canon
These two devices are approaching very different markets, while M0's hopes are with mass market( I want to see it every BestBuy!), M5s goes for the audiophile crowd.
Audio circuit on M5s aims so much higher, not just with power but with pure sound quality. Of course there will be few people claiming M0 sounds as good or better. But that would be nothing new to audio forums. I have drawer full of these so-called giant killer IEMs. Yet I still pick my High-end customs every day.
Wifi will also bring different crowd, can serve greatly for many, just not sure how far we will be able to stretch its possibilities(but that's more problem of current music streaming industry).

I don't see them as competing products. I think many users after some time with our lovely M0 will like to try to reach out for higher model too, to have two players that will be similar in usage, but will have their purpose.

And regarding the price, announcement should be coming this week!

Not to mention balanced HO And wireless is great too. I'm using Spotify and tidal more every day.

 

[fish1050]

I was telling people in the past, if you are into Shanling players for the features, M1 is all you need. Go higher if you want better sound from headphone out.

With M0 and M5s it's similar. We will not cripple features on M0 to protect higher end models, we are not Canon
These two devices are approaching very different markets, while M0's hopes are with mass market( I want to see it every BestBuy!), M5s goes for the audiophile crowd.
Audio circuit on M5s aims so much higher, not just with power but with pure sound quality. Of course there will be few people claiming M0 sounds as good or better. But that would be nothing new to audio forums. I have drawer full of these so-called giant killer IEMs. Yet I still pick my High-end customs every day.
Wifi will also bring different crowd, can serve greatly for many, just not sure how far we will be able to stretch its possibilities(but that's more problem of current music streaming industry).

I don't see them as competing products. I think many users after some time with our lovely M0 will like to try to reach out for higher model too, to have two players that will be similar in usage, but will have their purpose.

And regarding the price, announcement should be coming this week!

I think the point you made that some people might think the M0 sounds as good as the M5S is tricking the mind into believing it because they bought the M0. They want to believe it to feel better about the DAP they purchased. I have no such illusions and I imagine the M5S will sound much better. I would love to be in a position financially to invest in one but will have to go with my M0 for now. I am just hoping at this point that a dealer near me will carry the M5S so I can at least demo one.

 

[geagle]

I'm sure that the M5s will sound better than the M0. Heck, I have the M3s, and that sounds better than the M0. The M0, OTOH, sounds a LOT better than what I expected it to sound like, given its size . And even compared to the M3s, it's not day and night, IMHO, meaning having the M3s does not make me NOT want to use the M0 - the M3s IS better, but the M0 provides a very acceptable sound quality, with additional advantages in size and portability, so I simply use each in different situations (me).

 

[csglinux]

I'm using Spotify and tidal more every day.

I don't believe the M5S supports any streaming services (other than local Airplay/DLNA).

 

[abitdeef]

Yep it’s not android based, but tidal app is possible- R3 has it.

 

[crabdog]

Yep it’s not android based, but tidal app is possible- R3 has it.

Yes, this is what I'm hoping for but even without Tidal it's still a very interesting DAP. When I'm at work I don't have WiFi most of the time so it would be great for an everyday carry there.

 

[Luke Thomas]

I don't believe the M5S supports any streaming services (other than local Airplay/DLNA).

Is streaming that important? I want it. But I’m thinking I could use my phone

 

[Nalin]

I suppose implementing tidal is not a biggie anymore. M5S will most probably support it but don't quote me on that.

The most imoprtant thing is that it will not have android src problems, so linux based os is definitely a plus on these players.

 

[csglinux]

In my experience, Shanling have always made great products and have great business ethics. So this post isn't trying to be negative - I'm just trying to figure out if my DAP count really needs to go from 3 to 4 The M0 is awesome. For a tiny portable DAP, I can't say enough good things about it. The X7ii is awesome too - great ergonomics (love the side volume control) and the ability to install 3rd party Android apps, including the official Tidal app, which gives me offline capabilities. The QP1R sounds fractionally better and has more power than the other two, but is a purely local-playback DAP (like M0) and has a noticeable noise floor with sensitive IEMs. Each of these DAPs has their strengths. The only thing I can imagine/hope the M5S might(?) offer me is QP1R-like SQ without the noise floor. But I've cycled through lots of other DAPs in search of this and all have been expensive disappointments. The M5S will likely require another gamble.

I suppose implementing tidal is not a biggie anymore. M5S will most probably support it but don't quote me on that.

Proper, useful Tidal support requires offline capability. There's a 100% chance that won't be supported by the M5S. You can quote me on that The R3 had Tidal support, but only sort-of. It was online only, with a really weak 2.4 gHz-only WiFi that suffered really nasty interference. Plus, the R3 just doesn't sound as good as the M0.

Is streaming that important? I want it. But I’m thinking I could use my phone

If you're one of those people for whom streaming is important, yes you can use your phone, but then why would you buy an M5S? Streaming Tidal via BT from your phone to the M5S would means it's not lossless anymore. You might as well stream directly from your phone to your headphones, no?

Output power for hungry planar-magnetic headphones is probably the one sure bet for the M5S, but not important to me, as the M0's output power could easily deafen me when paired with any of the headphones I own (including full-sized cans, like Utopia). Sound-quality of inexpensive DAPs (M0) is now getting so good, I suspect in the end, many people may end up paying just for a placebo effect - which only works for as long as you believe in it

 

[deniska80]

If you're one of those people for whom streaming is important, yes you can use your phone, but then why would you buy an M5S? Streaming Tidal via BT from your phone to the M5S would means it's not lossless anymore. You might as well stream directly from your phone to your headphones, no?

Output power

No.
I’m using tidal offline. And I want this dap because
A) ldac for android phones can handle loseless
B) AirPlay (especially 2nd version) for iPhones can handle loseless too
You can use tidal offline app on your smartphone

 

[csglinux]

No.
I’m using tidal offline. And I want this dap because
A) ldac for android phones can handle loseless
B) AirPlay (especially 2nd version) for iPhones can handle loseless too
You can use tidal offline app on your smartphone

Either option looks like a bit of a compromise to me. As Bluetooth goes, LDAC is very good, but not strictly lossless (even if you're lucky enough to get those theoretical transmission rates). Plus, the MO already has LDAC-receive capabilities. So again it boils down to how much (if any) SQ improvement the M5S gives over the M0.

I escaped from Apple's evil clutches a couple of years ago and haven't looked back, but I'm also pretty sure neither the iPhone nor Airplay will support full-res Tidal, i.e., MQA.

 

[HungryPanda]

I have never been that interested in streaming except amazon music on my phone but daps I want to put my ripped favourite albums on and listen with no fade out notification stuff

 

[deniska80]

Either option looks like a bit of a compromise to me. As Bluetooth goes, LDAC is very good, but not strictly lossless (even if you're lucky enough to get those theoretical transmission rates). Plus, the MO already has LDAC-receive capabilities. So again it boils down to how much (if any) SQ improvement the M5S gives over the M0.

I escaped from Apple's evil clutches a couple of years ago and haven't looked back, but I'm also pretty sure neither the iPhone nor Airplay will support full-res Tidal, i.e., MQA.

I’ve written about quality of m0. If you want sound quality that’s not the way. Even with ldac. The better dac with better implementation gives you more with ldac.
Example: centrance bluedac without ldac soundes better than m0 or even hiby r3.
But it’s your choose.

 

[dblml320]

I am going in a different direction. I have collected or ripped close to 8TB of Flac and DSD music files. No DAP is ever going to have that kind of storage capability. I mainly listen to my DAP's in my house. So, a DAP with built in DLNA is very attractive. With that support I can play my music off my server. My HDTV already supports this, but the sound is not great. My stereo receiver also supports DLNA. So if the M5S DLNA support works well, it will be a winner IMHO.