Have any M8 owners tried it w/ Roon? I'm specifically interested in whether or not Shanling's AGLO feature allows bit perfect playback w/ Roon. Unfortunately on just about every other Android DAP Roon utilizes the Android mixer which results in upsampling/downsampling.
Just be safe Tiger! And sorry to be pedantic but 24/44.1 actually adds NO usable information over 16/44.1 (other than extra headroom for editing at a mixing desk). You only start getting additional information in a music file when you move up to 24/48, which is the minimum hi-res spec.
That is not true unless it is upconverted from 16bit to 24bit. If recorded at 24bit, audio tracks have more dynamic range and less rounding errors (amplitude can be expressed from 0 to 16M (2^24) rather than from 0 to 65k (2^16)). When using a digital volume, which most of DACs are using (DX220Ex and P6/P6Pro are rare DACs with analogue volumes), digital attenuation results in more compression in amplitude that has adverse effects on sound quality. Of course, sampling frequency plays more important role, but there are SOME usable information in 24bit over 16bit.
Just some feedback in regard my demo unit P6 Pro and M8.
So I was listening to P6 Pro all day, like 7 hours. And now switched to M8 and been listening like 1hour...
So here are the differences, p6 pro is a stronger player in terms of technicalities, details in retrieving nuances and textures. It has a deeper resolution cause it has a cleaner less coloured tuning. Bass is faster deeper but not as voluminous in mass but visceral rumbly.
Treble is very refined but varies, when dap is cold started its bright then an hour later its gentle... Guess R2R thing....
Over all P6 pro is a reference dap it has a tuning that prioritise the details, technical performance and resolution. While it still maintane an organic warm signature it yet feels neutral warm.
Now when I loaded back my M8 it was instant pleasure, big vast sound presentation. M8 has a beautiful signature its like m8 has life and a soul. It takes music and shows you love with it. Its very impressive how shanling so fine tuned the m8 that it brings so much joy and you want more and more.
The bass on M8 has mass and volume it is not a little bass, when it bounces you feel it with all your body, your moved by it. P6 pro dont do that.
Also m8 has a fine thin layer of this musical signature, it is the trade off to the resolution and clarity that p6 pro offers. If you ask me which dap I like? Well M8 cause its alive it has a music profile that will bring you the deepest and etheral emotions. Cause it has more value in my opinion than the technical parts....
With M8 you get lost in music and with P6 pro you get tired at the end and slightly bored cause it doesn't the fun and musical part at the end of a long session.
Dont be mislead by the idea that M8 isnt as capable or its a tier behind. Its actually not. It simply went for a different tuning priority. It has a very vast soundstage, deep resolution and images the instruments with perfect precision.
M8 and wm1z are the 2 only daps that I found that has soul, magical tuning and love love with music this is very rare and a hard thing to achieve.
Just some feedback in regard my demo unit P6 Pro and M8.
So I was listening to P6 Pro all day, like 7 hours. And now switched to M8 and been listening like 1hour...
So here are the differences, p6 pro is a stronger player in terms of technicalities, details in retrieving nuances and textures. It has a deeper resolution cause it has a cleaner less coloured tuning. Bass is faster deeper but not as voluminous in mass but visceral rumbly.
Treble is very refined but varies, when dap is cold started its bright then an hour later its gentle... Guess R2R thing....
Over all P6 pro is a reference dap it has a tuning that prioritise the details, technical performance and resolution. While it still maintane an organic warm signature it yet feels neutral warm.
Now when I loaded back my M8 it was instant pleasure, big vast sound presentation. M8 has a beautiful signature its like m8 has life and a soul. It takes music and shows you love with it. Its very impressive how shanling so fine tuned the m8 that it brings so much joy and you want more and more.
The bass on M8 has mass and volume it is not a little bass, when it bounces you feel it with all your body, your moved by it. P6 pro dont do that.
Also m8 has a fine thin layer of this musical signature, it is the trade off to the resolution and clarity that p6 pro offers. If you ask me which dap I like? Well M8 cause its alive it has a music profile that will bring you the deepest and etheral emotions. Cause it has more value in my opinion than the technical parts....
With M8 you get lost in music and with P6 pro you get tired at the end and slightly bored cause it doesn't the fun and musical part at the end of a long session.
Dont be mislead by the idea that M8 isnt as capable or its a tier behind. Its actually not. It simply went for a different tuning priority. It has a very vast soundstage, deep resolution and images the instruments with perfect precision.
M8 and wm1z are the 2 only daps that I found that has soul, magical tuning and love love with music this is very rare and a hard thing to achieve.
Nice one Tiger ! The M8 is very capable, it is not only expressive, but is also very detailed and refined too!! And IMO, I dislike the idea of obvious differences between cold/warm situations (temperatures and physically speaking)
Every player/devices have drift parameters that effects them to a degree, and starting with older vintage amplifier, analog system, then DAC, and DAP. It is always the most obvious with R2R discrete, and technically that is one of the sections where engineers from MSB/Rockna sweating themselves to get right, and they do as the pioneers of R2R DAC. Ooooohhhh I can’t imagine I have to go through that in a DAP. I meant even as good as M8, it still has cold/warm issues and the most obvious is the vocal and sub bass extensions but it isn’t to the point where it bother you by a lot.
Just some feedback in regard my demo unit P6 Pro and M8.
So I was listening to P6 Pro all day, like 7 hours. And now switched to M8 and been listening like 1hour...
So here are the differences, p6 pro is a stronger player in terms of technicalities, details in retrieving nuances and textures. It has a deeper resolution cause it has a cleaner less coloured tuning. Bass is faster deeper but not as voluminous in mass but visceral rumbly.
Treble is very refined but varies, when dap is cold started its bright then an hour later its gentle... Guess R2R thing....
Over all P6 pro is a reference dap it has a tuning that prioritise the details, technical performance and resolution. While it still maintane an organic warm signature it yet feels neutral warm.
Now when I loaded back my M8 it was instant pleasure, big vast sound presentation. M8 has a beautiful signature its like m8 has life and a soul. It takes music and shows you love with it. Its very impressive how shanling so fine tuned the m8 that it brings so much joy and you want more and more.
The bass on M8 has mass and volume it is not a little bass, when it bounces you feel it with all your body, your moved by it. P6 pro dont do that.
Also m8 has a fine thin layer of this musical signature, it is the trade off to the resolution and clarity that p6 pro offers. If you ask me which dap I like? Well M8 cause its alive it has a music profile that will bring you the deepest and etheral emotions. Cause it has more value in my opinion than the technical parts....
With M8 you get lost in music and with P6 pro you get tired at the end and slightly bored cause it doesn't the fun and musical part at the end of a long session.
Dont be mislead by the idea that M8 isnt as capable or its a tier behind. Its actually not. It simply went for a different tuning priority. It has a very vast soundstage, deep resolution and images the instruments with perfect precision.
M8 and wm1z are the 2 only daps that I found that has soul, magical tuning and love love with music this is very rare and a hard thing to achieve.
In other words M8 is a warmer, fuller, 'coloured' DAP. What you describe is a fun signature that's not interested in neutral/warm reference tuning but rather imposes it's own weight and dynamics in the music, regardless of the IEM you're using. It's best suited for anyone who wants energy and drive from their music. This is not a DAP for a relaxed, refined listen, especually when paired with energetic and dynamic IEMs like Noir or Trio or Odin.
Absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, but it should be made very clear that this is what the M8 is about. I think Shanling calling it a "reference class" player is a little misleading given the general understanding of reference in these parts.
In other words M8 is a warmer, fuller, 'coloured' DAP. What you describe is a fun signature that's not interested in neutral/warm reference tuning but rather imposes it's own weight and dynamics in the music, regardless of the IEM you're using. It's best suited for anyone who wants energy and drive from their music. This is not a DAP for a relaxed, refined listen, especually when paired with energetic and dynamic IEMs like Noir or Trio or Odin.
Absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, but it should be made very clear that this is what the M8 is about. I think Shanling calling it a "reference class" player is a little misleading given the general understanding of reference in these parts.
Most if not all reviews on the M8 so far has already been on it being a very fun, musical, dynamic, toe tapping, warm/thick mids & prominent bass slam etc. Not to mention Vitaly's fav genre is EDM, so there are many clues as to what their preference are. If you like classical, orchestra, instrumentals etc. not sure if the M8 is the right DAP to showcase a 1 to 1 life like experience, but if you just want to enjoy the music without caring whether it is accurate then the M8 seems like a great choice.
Most if not all reviews on the M8 so far has already been on it being a very fun, musical, dynamic, toe tapping, warm/thick mids & prominent bass slam etc. Not to mention Vitaly's fav genre is EDM, so there are many clues as to what their preference are. If you like classical, orchestra, instrumentals etc. not sure if the M8 is the right DAP to showcase a 1 to 1 life like experience, but if you just want to enjoy the music without caring whether it is accurate then the M8 seems like a great choice.
In other words M8 is a warmer, fuller, 'coloured' DAP. What you describe is a fun signature that's not interested in neutral/warm reference tuning but rather imposes it's own weight and dynamics in the music, regardless of the IEM you're using. It's best suited for anyone who wants energy and drive from their music. This is not a DAP for a relaxed, refined listen, especually when paired with energetic and dynamic IEMs like Noir or Trio or Odin.
Absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, but it should be made very clear that this is what the M8 is about. I think Shanling calling it a "reference class" player is a little misleading given the general understanding of reference in these parts.
In my experiences, the M8 is references class. Being references don’t always have to be cold ... just like drum sets that don’t always have to be made out of wooden housing .
Most if not all reviews on the M8 so far has already been on it being a very fun, musical, dynamic, toe tapping, warm/thick mids & prominent bass slam etc. Not to mention Vitaly's fav genre is EDM, so there are many clues as to what their preference are. If you like classical, orchestra, instrumentals etc. not sure if the M8 is the right DAP to showcase a 1 to 1 life like experience, but if you just want to enjoy the music without caring whether it is accurate then the M8 seems like a great choice.
I enjoy classical and organic instruments music. The M8 has organic instruments like nothing else (digital wise) on the market....not because it is colored or not references....but because it render each instruments a super vivid and unique “pitches” and unique “intensity” that only analog systems have.
Have you tried any of the analog system yet ? Cheap or high end, won’t matter. Just get a good recording of an LP or a tape, hook it up, plug in your headphones, and the first thing you will observe is exactly that, each horn has it own energy, resonances, and density , and so is each violins, bass, etc to carry it own characteristics ....Most of the time, digital system fell short on some of them.... and typically High End digital system lacks a small portions of it, where mid tier system gives all the details with big differences in 3 main spectrums , bass mid treble while missing all the unique characteristics , and low end system is just to make noises that pretend to be music ....
IME, the Warmth of the M8 is the ambient signature. For example the same team and same arrangement would perform everything the same but in different halls, there will always be a different ambient signature that is assigned to it by the hall acoustic designs
However, I have seen people who have grown accustomed to Cold and generalized “pitches” and “Details” to be references and correct ways to listen to music. While the real artists would even call it for being “MonoTones”. This is where things piques interesting views in out hobby. No one is right and no one is wrong, just different preferences, and that is why I always ask people to listen to it for themselves, and only taking impressions, discussions as a guidelines.
In my experiences, the M8 is references class. Being references don’t always have to be cold ... just like drum sets that don’t always have to be made out of wooden housing .
Reference definitely doesn't need to be cold, but in my opinion, reference needs to be as uncoloured as possible, perhaps with a hint of warmth for musicality. Transparent is another word I equate with reference.
Too bright, too mid forward or too warm and it's no longer 'reference' in the true sense of the word. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, and for many people it's actually preferable.
Reference does not equal better, it just equals reference - as close to the source recording as possible. If you want alot more than that - warmth, bass, brightness, colour - that's cool. It's just not reference any more.
Reference definitely doesn't need to be cold, but in my opinion, reference needs to be as uncoloured as possible, perhaps with a hint of warmth for musicality. Transparent is another word I equate with reference.
Too bright, too mid forward or too warm and it's no longer 'refernece' in the true sense of the word. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, and for many people it's actually preferable.
Reference does not equal better, it just equals reference - as close to the source recording as possible. If you want alot more than that - warmth, bass, brightness, colour - that's cool. It's just not reference any more.
And I can tell you that the M8 has no color. You don’t have to take my words for it, just give the M8 a listen. Have you tried it yet ?
If we are talking about as close as original as possible, then what is original ? The moment you try to capture in recording and reproducing something, it is no longer original
Anyways, please don’t state that Shanling is wrong to call the M8 being references in their own views, opinions, and rights
Each of us have our own preferences, and we are uniquely different from one another. Being references to one of us just have a different meaning to others. Otherwise we all will have the same of everything for the sake of being “references”....the same foods, wines, partners, jobs, products, colors, standards.....and that means “Non existence”
But really, IMO and IME, M8 is not only references, but also a high end player.
Anyways, please don’t state that Shanling is wrong to call the M8 being references in their own views, opinions, and rights
Each of us have our own preferences, and we are uniquely different from one another. Being references to one of us just have a different meaning to others. Otherwise we all will have the same of everything for the sake of being “references”....the same foods, wines, partners, jobs, products, colors, standards.....and that means “Non existence”
But really, IMO and IME, M8 is not only references, but also a high end player.
Fair enough.We can go around in circles talking about these definitions. Without question M8 is a high-end player. And I commend Shanling for tuning it the way they have, certainly makes it stand out from the 'crowd' at this level. I'm keeping a close eye on what they do from this point on. Hopefully, the next round of upgrades will see them catch up to their Android competitors in terms of SoC hardware and software maturity. For me these factors are just as important as the sound/tuning, but if sound is all you're after, and the M8's macrodynamic signature is your cup of tea, then it's currently top of the pile for sure.
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