fizzytao
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Thank you for your confirmation! Still considering to get the N6 Ultra. If so, will sell the M11 Plus LTD.
Shanling M6 Ultra - 4x AKM AK4493S DAC, Snapdragon 665, Android 10 DAP
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This is really up to your personal choice and also depends on what headphones would you be pairing with them.
I personally prefer M7.
Line-out output affects both SE and Balanced. Please make sure you are connecting balanced output only to the balanced inputs on the amplifier.
LakeOfTheWyles
100+ Head-Fier
Both M7 and M6 Ultra are 15% off at musicteck again
LakeOfTheWyles
100+ Head-Fier
“No f@&$ing way you’ll be disliking this one tonalitywise”
Having both Fiio M11 Plus LTD and Shanling M6 Ultra with HifiMan Arya Stealth on balanced (meze silver plated) cable.
Sharing first impressions comparison:
Soundwise M6 Ultra has notably wider soundstage & more detail and slightly better instrument separation. I guess thats the magic of having 2 extra DACs. M6 has also more power, listening Arya on 45/100, while M11 needs 80/120, both on high gain. Otherwise tonality, speed, punch, they are both alike. Both have issues on my old Wifi access points (Cisco 2702) with latest software both on DAPs and on APs. M11 had extremely weak wifi signal, particularly in horizontal position, it was disconnecting often, vertically oriented (back pointing to AP) it was working ok. M6 didnt had signal issues, but reported abysmall internet speeds in same spot same position. Once I replaced my access points with Ubiquity U6 Pro, both players perform great on wifi, achieving around 100Mbps throughput in my regular listening spot and player positioning (2m away from AP, horizontal, top of DAP pointed towards AP).
M6 ultra has much better Bluetooth LDAC TX performance, able to stream to my Fiio BTA30 Pro (for tower speakers) from all around the apartment, while M11 is choppy even within couple of meters.
M6 Ultra (267g) is quite lighter than M11 (302g). Those 35g makes quite a difference.
Both have great build quality, although M11 has a micro sd shelf with tight fit, while M6 has kinda finicky micro sd slot with flimsy plastic cover. I know that 4,4mm balanced is a future, but I like presence of 2,5mm TRRS on M11 as it allows me to use my older balanced cables without adapters.
Sharing first impressions comparison:
Soundwise M6 Ultra has notably wider soundstage & more detail and slightly better instrument separation. I guess thats the magic of having 2 extra DACs. M6 has also more power, listening Arya on 45/100, while M11 needs 80/120, both on high gain. Otherwise tonality, speed, punch, they are both alike. Both have issues on my old Wifi access points (Cisco 2702) with latest software both on DAPs and on APs. M11 had extremely weak wifi signal, particularly in horizontal position, it was disconnecting often, vertically oriented (back pointing to AP) it was working ok. M6 didnt had signal issues, but reported abysmall internet speeds in same spot same position. Once I replaced my access points with Ubiquity U6 Pro, both players perform great on wifi, achieving around 100Mbps throughput in my regular listening spot and player positioning (2m away from AP, horizontal, top of DAP pointed towards AP).
M6 ultra has much better Bluetooth LDAC TX performance, able to stream to my Fiio BTA30 Pro (for tower speakers) from all around the apartment, while M11 is choppy even within couple of meters.
M6 Ultra (267g) is quite lighter than M11 (302g). Those 35g makes quite a difference.
Both have great build quality, although M11 has a micro sd shelf with tight fit, while M6 has kinda finicky micro sd slot with flimsy plastic cover. I know that 4,4mm balanced is a future, but I like presence of 2,5mm TRRS on M11 as it allows me to use my older balanced cables without adapters.
fizzytao
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A nice brief review. Thank you! Have you got a chance to compare the 4.4mm LO of the two? I have the M11 Plus LTD, too. I wanna get the M6 Ultra and expect a more punchier bass and a little ‘thicker’ vocal. Do you think it is a valid expectation?
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For the bass and vocals they sound same to me in terms of punch & thickness.
Some software issues of M6 Ultra on SW 1.22 & drivers 5.20 in Windows11:
- USB DAC function doesn't work on USB 3.1 Gen2 port. Must be connected to USB 2.0 port (confirmed with 2 different PCs). (Windows11 reports USB device not working)
- When you switch from USB DAC mode to USB Disk mode, then charging sometimes doesn't work afterwards (neither through PC and QC3.0/4.0 charger) until you restart the unit.
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However although battery icon shows charging, the battery it self is actually discharging.
- Couple of freezes when using Tidal to explicitly control M6 Ultra. Had to hold power for 12 seconds to force shutdown and same to enable again.
- Over the Air update function take ages, freezes multiple times on network error, offered Server2 doesn't work at all. It takes whole day to make this thing update it self, and you cannot download new firmware from EN mutation of Shanling's website either as to use the upgrade from disk option.
Overall Fiio M11 Plus LTD's software is much more stable and reliable, with much more configurable options (limiting battery maximum charge, etc.) and practical functionalities (like rotating screen by 180 degrees)
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fizzytao
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Thank you for the feedback! Looks like M6 Ultra needs more work on firmware and drivers.
Yeah its kind of shame, sounds good, hardware is good, but the software feels almost as some alpha release when it comes to USB interaction with PC. However when used as DAP-only it performs ok in terms of SW stability, although there is some unexplainable delay when you want to bring minimized and playing Tidal back to front.
German Expat in Vietnam
Headphoneus Supremus
Thats the biggest problem from Shanling players Maybe the own Software team is not the best. 
German Expat in Vietnam
Headphoneus Supremus
Not that you misunderstand me. In terms of sound quality, Shanling is outstanding for me. I don't own an M 6 Ultra. But the M8. And the sound is better tuned to my ears and more musical than a DX300 or DX320. I owned both of them. Only the software is a problem. Perhaps it would be better for Shanling to deal with the software with Hiby, for example. The Shanling Software team doesn't exactly get a lot done.
SolidSlug
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Is the firmware that will add Roon support still upcoming?
- This is strange, I'm running it from USB 3.0 USB-C connector without issue. Might be issue connected with Windows 11, will check on that.
- We saw few reports of this in connection to the new charging switch in USB DAC mode, investigating on it.
- USB charging is so slow, that it can't keep up with the power demands of M6 Ultra.
- Not sure what exactly you mean by "Explicitly control M6U"? You mean just simply playing Tidal music on your M6U?
- OTA updates is run from our Chinese servers, the speed unfortunately changes from country to country. Download link for M6U firmware is available in news section on our website: https://en.shanling.com/article-EM7M7M6UAugustupdate.html
Right now software team is checking on why the Roon app or Roon ARC are not working.
Thanks for the answers and clarifications.
I am using USB-A 3.1 Gen2 port with USB-A to USB-C cable on my X570 motherboard, it doesn't work on that port as USB DAC, neither on USB 3.0 ports. Same with other B550 motherboard (Win11 PC), only works as USB DAC on 2.0 ports. However it works as USB Storage (Disk) on both USB 3.1Gen2 and USB3.0 ports.
Here is the strange thing: When connected to USB2.0 port as USB DAC it draws only 100mA, while when connected as USB Disk to same port it draws 500mA. When connected to USB3.0 port as Disk it draws 896mA. (Fiio M11 Plus LTD draws 500mA in USB DAC & Disk mode on USB2.0/3.0/3.1 ports).
So perhaps if M6 Ultra would at least ask for 500mA on USB2.0 and 896mA on USB3.X(maximum is 900mA) when in USB DAC Mode it might not discharge or at least discharge slower. Anyway I will try to find some PC USB solution that supports 5V/2A (Akasa AK-ICR-25) or Quickcharge (Akasa AK-ICR-34), however unless M6 Ultra will use full power capability & actually work on USB3.X in USB DAC mode it wont help to retain charge while in USB DAC mode.
It froze on me (screen is lid but blank, doesn't react to buttons, had to hold power button for 12s) while enabling Tidal's "Exclusive Mode" to control device in USB DAC mode. It did same when connected to nVidia shield TV Pro’s USB port in USB DAC mode (using high quality settings for USB DACs in Shield’s settings). So likely not specific to Tidal, just general freezing in USB DAC mode.
Shanling M6 Ultra on USB2.0 in USB DAC Mode:
(Why not draw at least 500mA?):
Shanling M6 Ultra on USB2.0 in USB Disk Mode:
Shanling M6 Ultra on USB3.X in USB Disk Mode:
(If I start Shanling Music Player while connected to USB3.X in Disk Mode and output volume is 33/100 High Gain into HifiMan Arya Stealth on balanced, the DAP is actually able to play music and slooowly charge battery. So what we need is working USB DAC mode on USB3.X @ Windows11 and DAP to ask for at least 896mA to slow down discharge or maybe even charge based on load, assuming it will use roughly same amount of power in USB DAC mode).
Fiio M11 Plus LTD on USB2.0 in USB DAC Mode:
(M11 Plus draws same 500mA also in Disk mode no matter if USB2.0 or 3.X)
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Had the opportunity to compare Shanling M6 Ultra side by side with Topping DX7 Pro+ through HiFiMAN Arya Stealth (these I own) and Sennheiser HD800s. Used balanced cables only, for Arya Meze Audio silver plated cable and for HD800s included OEM balanced cable.
With HiFiMAN Arya there is no audible difference in sound quality (I specifically listened for any improvement in base detail and slam of planars), just very little increase in brightness but tiny decrease of soundstage with DX7Pro+.
With HD800s, DX7 Pro+ is noticeably more bright sounding compared to M6Ultra and squeezes little bit more detail, for longer listening I would say M6 Ultra might be better match for HD800s as its warmer thus less fatiguing.
Its quite impressive that M6 Ultra hooked to quite notoriously demanding headphones is on par with similarly priced desktop DX7 Pro+ in terms of sound quality and difference is mostly in area of sound signature. Really a testament what a DAP can do nowadays. I yet have to get opportunity to compare M6 Ultra to some higher-class desktop DAC AMPs in $1500 area, specifically interested in Topping A90D&D90SE combo.
With HiFiMAN Arya there is no audible difference in sound quality (I specifically listened for any improvement in base detail and slam of planars), just very little increase in brightness but tiny decrease of soundstage with DX7Pro+.
With HD800s, DX7 Pro+ is noticeably more bright sounding compared to M6Ultra and squeezes little bit more detail, for longer listening I would say M6 Ultra might be better match for HD800s as its warmer thus less fatiguing.
Its quite impressive that M6 Ultra hooked to quite notoriously demanding headphones is on par with similarly priced desktop DX7 Pro+ in terms of sound quality and difference is mostly in area of sound signature. Really a testament what a DAP can do nowadays. I yet have to get opportunity to compare M6 Ultra to some higher-class desktop DAC AMPs in $1500 area, specifically interested in Topping A90D&D90SE combo.
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