Shanling M8 Android Portable player

[Devodonaldson]

Big endorsement coming from a fixture of the iBasso threads like yourself @RIGATIO

I did like you, bought a used M8 at a similar discount a couple months back. It is out of my regular budget and it wasn’t a particularly good time to splurge, but I wanted an upgrade to my Cayin N3Pro with the same type of signature and figured it was my last chance for a taste of the flagships before inflation boosted prices out of reach.
I love the N3Pro but was frustrated by usability issues and wanted a DAP that could stream. It seemed like the only one fitting the bill, so I laid down the cash without even having auditioned it. The reviews were unanimous, both in praise and in the description of the M8’s signature, so I suspected I was in for a treat. I have not been disappointed.
No compromise on fidelity nor musicality: that is the mark of true flagships.

The only drawback from those early days was the discovery that the M8 is just not a very good Tidal streamer. MQA makes it overheat, it loses track of where it’s at after a couple of songs, volume control acts up… A blessing in disguise really, as it has pushed me to try out Apple Music and I am not looking back! Tidal have butchered many of their CD quality files by replacing them with crippled MQA. Their recent attempts at deploying an artist-centric model is a good idea, but so poorly executed it makes me cringe.
On the M8 everything just works with Apple Music, as it does with Spotify. And who would have thought a software-first company would develop the best streaming UI for its own music software, huh?

Same boat as you. Was Tidal subscriber since 2016. Received M8, had issues with Mqa, switched to Apple Music, no looking back. Love the M8 so much! Audioquest Nighthawk, Mrze 99 Noir, Audeze Euclid, Campfire Solaris, and Audeze lcd-i4 with Oriolus 5 band eq. Amazing sounding DAP

 

[monsieurfromag3]

If you read the product page: https://en.shanling.com/product/390, it has been explained that this is part of the cooling system. I believe @Shanling has also explained it in this thread.

MQA is a special perversion though, as the M8’s beast DAC is not natively compatible with it the Snapdragon CPU gets tapped. Such a ridiculous format, bypassing the audio compute unit in favor of a generic one just because AKM hadn’t ponied up. I’m not a partisan either for or against it on audio terms, the recent so-called “revelations” about it can certainly be rebutted, but on principle it’s horrid proprietary software and I’m happy to turn my back on it.

Just this morning I was streaming a 24-bit/88.2kHz file on the M8 using my phone as a Wifi hotspot and it barely got warm even with the leather case on.

 

[szore]

Having trouble downloading Hiby music. Trying to download on Google play...it says 'will download later' but it never does....Any other way to get Hiby music on here? Ive had this DAP almost 2 years now and never had this problem...@shanling

 

[RIGATIO]

Big endorsement coming from a fixture of the iBasso threads like yourself @RIGATIO

I did like you, bought a used M8 at a similar discount a couple months back. It is out of my regular budget and it wasn’t a particularly good time to splurge, but I wanted an upgrade to my Cayin N3Pro with the same type of signature and figured it was my last chance for a taste of the flagships before inflation boosted prices out of reach.
I love the N3Pro but was frustrated by usability issues and wanted a DAP that could stream. It seemed like the only one fitting the bill, so I laid down the cash without even having auditioned it. The reviews were unanimous, both in praise and in the description of the M8’s signature, so I suspected I was in for a treat. I have not been disappointed.
No compromise on fidelity nor musicality: that is the mark of true flagships.

The only drawback from those early days was the discovery that the M8 is just not a very good Tidal streamer. MQA makes it overheat, it loses track of where it’s at after a couple of songs, volume control acts up… A blessing in disguise really, as it has pushed me to try out Apple Music and I am not looking back! Tidal have butchered many of their CD quality files by replacing them with crippled MQA. Their recent attempts at deploying an artist-centric model is a good idea, but so poorly executed it makes me cringe.
On the M8 everything just works with Apple Music, as it does with Spotify. And who would have thought a software-first company would develop the best streaming UI for its own music software, huh?

I love the dx320 and the M9 but there was always something or missing or too much for me with them (still having the dx320 tho). There was either too much detail thrown at my face (M9) or too aggressive higher mids- vocals (dx320). Both of them are technical monsters but they are nowhere near as musical and nicely warmish as the M8. When im listening the M8, the first thing that jumps to my ears from the very first seconds is the MUSIC itself. Its still insanely detailed but it doesnt show off it. Its a very textured, organic, deep and interesting sound with a great open soundstage.

 

[RIGATIO]

I also switched from Tidal to Apple Music today. Finally it doesnt toast my heands while streaming. The heat was a big issue with the Tidal MQA.
Now its great and the sound quality is at least on the same level.

 

[Shanling]

Having trouble downloading Hiby music. Trying to download on Google play...it says 'will download later' but it never does....Any other way to get Hiby music on here? Ive had this DAP almost 2 years now and never had this problem...@shanling

You can try simple APKPure (Either app or website).

Are you using any VPN by any chance? This Google issue is often caused due to VPN.

I also switched from Tidal to Apple Music today. Finally it doesnt toast my heands while streaming. The heat was a big issue with the Tidal MQA.
Now its great and the sound quality is at least on the same level.

MQA is the most power / heat demanding format you can play.

 

[RIGATIO]

I thought that this song will never ever surprise me.. but here we go..
The space is unlimited and yet overwhelming.

 

[Kiats]

A lazy Saturday morning with the M8 and the FitEar DC. The DC is probably the most difficult to drive IEM in the FitEar stable. Yet the M8 drives it effortlessly at volume 30 on turbo gain. Wonderfully nuanced and detailed, whilst being warm and organic. [edited to insert correct photo]

 

[RIGATIO]

Rocking the M8 and cant get enough of its musicality. Im even thinking of selling my Monarch Mk2 because for me they are bit too analytical sounding with the M8 and it destroys the musical factor for me. Im surprised how great the IBasso IT07 with Fiio LC-RE Pro cable sound with the M8. Its just soo musical and yet detailed. The sound is very deep with fantastic bass. I remember that they sounded magnificent with the M9 too but the M9 had artificialy boosted trebles and it wasnt the most natural presentation.
The M8 can sound bit boring at times because its so inoffensive but after a couple seconds i realize that the music doesnt have any peeks because the space dissolves most of the high pitch sounds until they hit human ears.
It sounds like it.
Maybe it isnt as microdetailed as the dx320 but its very close. The dx320 has more impact in mid frequecies, especially higher mids (female vocals) are more pronounced.
The M8 is slightly recessed here but due to this fact, its more linear from higher bass up. So the main selling point here is the bass and everything rises from the lower frequencies. It sounds warmer and more pleasing, like many good stationary rigs i tried last time. Its just right in timbre and temperature.
A very special player.
Im enjoying my music like i was a little boy with my first Sony discman tape player. Its just me and my beloved music, no more audiophile bull**t.

 

[RIGATIO]

I think from my experience with many daps, that the Shanling and AK make the best daps on the market.
Ak being more reference like where the Shanling being reference/fun sounding players. I find the tonal balance of the Shanling players flawless.
In the end, over 35 years of Shanlings audio experience pays off. I can hear that in how they manage to tune their daps. Its no joke. Its more like a stationary rigs tuning, with a very linear fr from upper bass to the highest hights.
I have the Pioneer xdp300r which is my reference point when it comes to daps. Its just perfect in tonal balance. Its the flattest sounding player ive ever encountered. I can hear an experience of the Pioneer company there. It was actually better than any dap i compared it to. Not in dynamics and engagement but in tonal balance.
The M8 is just better in every regard. Surely its more dynamic and more controlled across the whole spectrum but its also as flat as the Pioneer.
IMHO this shows a great experience of the Shanlings team.

 

[mekap]

I also have a SHANLING M8 and I really like the sound of it.

 

[jp11801]

My M8 just landed yesterday, so far love the sound I'm using usb audio player pro atm for playback. Will match it up against the ibasso dx320 over the weekend. All and all great device if not slightly glitchy

 

[Devodonaldson]

My M8 just landed yesterday, so far love the sound I'm using usb audio player pro atm for playback. Will match it up against the ibasso dx320 over the weekend. All and all great device if not slightly glitchy

For the record, I heard there are apparently possible audio differences heard between UAPP and the native Shanling player. I only use Shanling and Apple Music, so I can't say from personal use

 

[danielgregori]

Friends, just received my m8. Please tell me, is the burn-in carried out with headphones or can I just turn on a high gain, set the volume to 100 and put it in a closet without headphones and it will be okay?

And one more question, what is the maximum allowable charger in watts and amperes?

 

[RIGATIO]

Friends, just received my m8. Please tell me, is the burn-in carried out with headphones or can I just turn on a high gain, set the volume to 100 and put it in a closet without headphones and it will be okay?

And one more question, what is the maximum allowable charger in watts and amperes?

You need to have headphones plugged in, otherwise the amp will no be in use (i guess).
With the charger, you can use whatever you want, the dap will draw as much power as it can, not more. I use 65w Anker charger and it works. But it will not be super fast in charging as the battery has 7000 mAh