[CactusPete23]

Best way to answer this is a scale from 1-10.
Now remember that sound is subjective as everyone has different likings to their taste.

Ipod - 4.5/10
Hiby R3 - 5/10
Shanling M0 - 6/10
Hiby R6 - 7/10
Shanling M5s - 7.5/10
Cayin N8/ - 9/10

We’re talking in terms of detail+balanced low/mid/highs+clean & meaty bass(tubes are amazing)+soundstage+authenticity of instruments+voice clarity+Distinction of sound+melody+gain+distortion

All of the above mentioned together sort of create a full experience. I’m not saying I’m the most distinctive listener, but when you can hear the differences it’s quite euphoric.

Of course having the right gear (music source and earphones) plays a key part in this. I find that some devices have better EQ’s built in them. People aren’t paying this much for just power, believe that. With that said I listen to my m5s the most as my daily driver because i think its the complete package (best value to cost), but my N8 is really a treat, so it’s treated that way

Nice list! Would be interesting to see where the new HIBY R6 Pro hits on this list. It has different amp section (Muse); and is supposed to have a lower output impedance. (Where the r6 was fairly high and that could affect the sound of some, especially lower impedance iems...)

Actually would be cool to have a DAP listing table/chart, like some folks have for IEM's... NOT asking anyone to do that, as know it can take a lot of time and effort ...

 

[PopZeus]

All I'll say is calling the M5s "okay at best" sounds a touch dismissive. Adding numerical scores isn't exactly clarifying either. Scoring "okay at best" as a 7.5, and "euphoric" as a 9 is more confusing than anything else. Ymmv.

Side note: From my understanding, Shanling is not in the market to make ultra high-end luxury audiophile gear. So when I was commenting on where else they could go, I wasn't thinking about a device like the N8. Not saying the N8 doesn't sound sublime. At 8x the cost of the M5s, it had better. Just that going from sounds "great" to sounds "sublime" costs a heck of a lot more (and prices out most manufacturers and consumers) than going from just "very good" to "great". From my POV, the law of diminishing returns still applies to gear as the price tier increases, and that last bit of refinement, while it might be more emotionally affecting, it's by far the costliest. But that doesn't diminish the noticeable increase in quality between ~$100 gear and sub-$1000 gear, imho.

 

[Wiljen]

All I'll say is calling the M5s "okay at best" sounds a touch dismissive. Adding numerical scores isn't exactly clarifying either. Scoring "okay at best" as a 7.5, and "euphoric" as a 9 is more confusing than anything else. Ymmv.

Side note: From my understanding, Shanling is not in the market to make ultra high-end luxury audiophile gear. So when I was commenting on where else they could go, I wasn't thinking about a device like the N8. Not saying the N8 doesn't sound sublime. At 8x the cost of the M5s, it had better. Just that going from sounds "great" to sounds "sublime" costs a heck of a lot more (and prices out most manufacturers and consumers) than going from just "very good" to "great". From my POV, the law of diminishing returns still applies to gear as the price tier increases, and that last bit of refinement is by far the costliest. But that doesn't diminish the noticeable increase in quality between ~$100 gear and sub-$1000 gear, imho.

I'll second this and I think it is one of the things wrong with a lot of reviews and comments - nobody ever rates truly average (in this case 5) as middle of the road and acceptable performance. We use a scale of 1-10 and then we pack everything into 6.5-10 because we don't think it deserves a low score. All this does in confuse the issue.

 

[papa_mia]

Adding numerical scores isn't exactly clarifying either. Scoring "okay at best" as a 7.5, and "euphoric" as a 9 is more confusing than anything else.

Spot on.

 

[abitdeef]

All I'll say is calling the M5s "okay at best" sounds a touch dismissive. Adding numerical scores isn't exactly clarifying either. Scoring "okay at best" as a 7.5, and "euphoric" as a 9 is more confusing than anything else. Ymmv.

Side note: From my understanding, Shanling is not in the market to make ultra high-end luxury audiophile gear. So when I was commenting on where else they could go, I wasn't thinking about a device like the N8. Not saying the N8 doesn't sound sublime. At 8x the cost of the M5s, it had better. Just that going from sounds "great" to sounds "sublime" costs a heck of a lot more (and prices out most manufacturers and consumers) than going from just "very good" to "great". From my POV, the law of diminishing returns still applies to gear as the price tier increases, and that last bit of refinement, while it might be more emotionally affecting, it's by far the costliest. But that doesn't diminish the noticeable increase in quality between ~$100 gear and sub-$1000 gear, imho.

Couldn’t agree more, it’s like somebody posted in the AK SR15 thread that that Ultima SP1000 sounds so much better.

God I hope so, it’s 3500 bucks! I’m also a HUGE believer in the law of diminishing returns. That’s why I will never own a flagship dap and I’m pleased as punch with ‘mid tier’ models like M5s and ZX300 or SR15 - pick your poison. Even M0 sounds damn good - although I do love the expansive soundstage and power of the mid tier stuff especially balanced.

I don’t know it my aging ears could even appreciate the difference from mid range to flagship. But I do think the best bang for your audio buck is good cans iems first and then good mid range stuff- and the price of M5s is really good.

 

[fish1050]

Best way to answer this is a scale from 1-10.
Now remember that sound is subjective as everyone has different likings to their taste.

Ipod - 4.5/10
Hiby R3 - 5/10
Shanling M0 - 6/10
Hiby R6 - 7/10
Shanling M5s - 7.5/10
Cayin N8/ - 9/10

We’re talking in terms of detail+balanced low/mid/highs+clean & meaty bass(tubes are amazing)+soundstage+authenticity of instruments+voice clarity+Distinction of sound+melody+gain+distortion

All of the above mentioned together sort of create a full experience. I’m not saying I’m the most distinctive listener, but when you can hear the differences it’s quite euphoric.

Of course having the right gear (music source and earphones) plays a key part in this. I find that some devices have better EQ’s built in them. People aren’t paying this much for just power, believe that. With that said I listen to my m5s the most as my daily driver because i think its the complete package (best value to cost), but my N8 is really a treat, so it’s treated that way

Pretty pointless to assign numerical value to DAP's when you don't include the headphones used to create the numbers. I mean lets face it headphones make the greatest difference to what you hear as the difference between DAP's hundreds of dollars apart is often minimal. The M0 for example paired with my B&W P5S2's to me would rate at 7.5 and my AKG K240's maybe a 6. I would be inclined to spend less on the DAP and more on the headphones provided the DAP has the power and features I want.

Based on your list I should spend $3000 US on the N8 to gain 1.5 points over the M5S at $429 US, talk about a seriously out of wack price difference. Not to mention much better battery life of the M5S which to me narrows the difference even further as I have no interest in a DAP with only 9 hours battery life regardless of price. With such poor battery life I would spend the money on a desktop system and not have to worry about battery life. I for one hope Shanling stays the course and doesn't get into the silly expensive DAP market and keeps making great bang for the buck DAP's that still sound great.

 

[Slashn77]

How do you download Tidal/Spotify on this dap?
I just got mine and I don’t see an App Store or anything

Also I set the screen shutoff time to 40 seconds which is the longest available is that normal? I know it saves battery but would prefer 2-5 minutes

 

[vodanhkhack]

How do you download Tidal/Spotify on this dap?
I just got mine and I don’t see an App Store or anything

Also I set the screen shutoff time to 40 seconds which is the longest available is that normal? I know it saves battery but would prefer 2-5 minutes

Tidal and Spotify are not supported yet. Please check the product specs before buying. They are in the work for the comming FW. Of course you can still streaming musics from your smartphone to M5s via bluetooth

http://shanling.com/Product/Detail?id=6aebf6c1c92246d2864ff33978550901

 

[21qz]

Pretty pointless to assign numerical value to DAP's when you don't include the headphones used to create the numbers. I mean lets face it headphones make the greatest difference to what you hear as the difference between DAP's hundreds of dollars apart is often minimal. The M0 for example paired with my B&W P5S2's to me would rate at 7.5 and my AKG K240's maybe a 6. I would be inclined to spend less on the DAP and more on the headphones provided the DAP has the power and features I want.

Based on your list I should spend $3000 US on the N8 to gain 1.5 points over the M5S at $429 US, talk about a seriously out of wack price difference. Not to mention much better battery life of the M5S which to me narrows the difference even further as I have no interest in a DAP with only 9 hours battery life regardless of price. With such poor battery life I would spend the money on a desktop system and not have to worry about battery life. I for one hope Shanling stays the course and doesn't get into the silly expensive DAP market and keeps making great bang for the buck DAP's that still sound great.

Yeah i forgot to put my disclaimer of "Based on the headphones i own." Thanks! You can pay whatever you want to gain whatever you want. Do i feel like the N8 is worth the money, yeah but that's my opinion. You're right though i do love my M5s because it does what i need it to do and its a great DAP. I'm not telling anyone to go out and get a $3k DAP, but hey if you can and this is your hobby, why not? I like using the number scale because everyone understands numbers when rating. If you're happy at 7.5 more power to you!

 

[dissembled]

Tidal and Spotify are not supported yet. Please check the product specs before buying. They are in the work for the comming FW. Of course you can still streaming musics from your smartphone to M5s via bluetooth

http://shanling.com/Product/Detail?id=6aebf6c1c92246d2864ff33978550901

Wait a minute, a Spotify streaming app is coming soon or did I misunderstand you?

My God, direct Spotify support coupled with this device's sound quality would be a match in heaven!

 

[vodanhkhack]

@dissembled : I just heard from @Shanling that Tidal is comming. You should ask him instead
I am just curious about the sound quality of streaming from your smartphone? How is it?

 

[dissembled]

I don't have Spotify on my phone since it's almost full, and I can't install any more apps. I use my laptop instead.

 

[vodanhkhack]

Best way to answer this is a scale from 1-10.
Now remember that sound is subjective as everyone has different likings to their taste.

Ipod - 4.5/10
Hiby R3 - 5/10
Shanling M0 - 6/10
Hiby R6 - 7/10
Shanling M5s - 7.5/10
Cayin N8/ - 9/10

We’re talking in terms of detail+balanced low/mid/highs+clean & meaty bass(tubes are amazing)+soundstage+authenticity of instruments+voice clarity+Distinction of sound+melody+gain+distortion

All of the above mentioned together sort of create a full experience. I’m not saying I’m the most distinctive listener, but when you can hear the differences it’s quite euphoric.

Of course having the right gear (music source and earphones) plays a key part in this. I find that some devices have better EQ’s built in them. People aren’t paying this much for just power, believe that. With that said I listen to my m5s the most as my daily driver because i think its the complete package (best value to cost), but my N8 is really a treat, so it’s treated that way

It is very interesting that you rate the Shanling M5s higher than the over hyped R6. So M5s is truely best for the money

 

[21qz]

It is very interesting that you rate the Shanling M5s higher than the over hyped R6. So M5s is truely best for the money

It’s never ending seems like. Now we have the R6 pro coming out, so that could be a different story. I had the R6 and sold it pretty quick. When it comes to these DAPs it’s really what works best for you, but you wont truely know until you hear and feel it. People can choose one simply for features and sacrifice quality of sound or vise versa. I’d pick the M5s any day over the R6, but that’s me. Also price wise the R6 pro will be competing with DAPs around the 1k mark, so do we even consider it in the same class? @Shanling how does the m5s compare by specs vs the R6 pro, your honest thoughts?

 

[fish1050]

So I just tried to order the M5S from amazon.com which uses musicteck and my final cost including duties and clearance would be $729.17 CDN. Sorry but I am not about to pay over $700.00 CDN for the M5S when I paid $158.00 including tax for the M0. @Shanling help me out here, if you can't get your products into Canadian dealers outside of the M0, M1 and maybe M2S which is currently unavailable I can't consider buying your DAP's as much as I want to. I can buy the Cayin N5IIS and even the N8 and Fiio DAP's from over 40 Canadian dealers but Shanling not an option.

What makes Cayin DAP's worthwhile for Canadian dealers to carry but not Shanlings higher end DAP's? Clearly it isn't the quality of the products so what am I missing here? You said several pages back that your Canadian distributor didn't think the demand was high enough for Shanling's more expensive DAP's, so why is the demand high enough for Canadian dealers to carry the Cayin's more expensive DAP's. Am I missing something?

God forbid I have to look at buying Fiio DAP's as I am sure the M6 will be readily available as the M7 and M9 are. Please don't make me have to settle for a Fiio DAP!! Is there any eta on the M5S being shipped to Canada?