[shrekito]

Hi,
 
I have owned the M-stage and still own the Shanling PH100 and PH300 plus  a few others.
 
in my opinion the shanling beats the M-stage especially with fussy speakers like the ath-w5000. These headphones can sound awful if not carefully matched to a good amp - I understand the PH100 is actually a clone of the Japanese only HA5000 and that is probably why the shanling w5000 mix works so well. It also sounds superb with my denon ADH-5000 and DT990, Sennheiser 650 but is too bright with the Sony SA5000.
 
The M-Stage sounds good but in my opinion the Shanling is just so much better...
 
michael

 

[nickwin]

Well, the upgrade bug finally got the best of me and I ordered a m stage with opa627 class A mode a couple months ago.  I've been listening to it a ton and comparing to the ph100 and these are my thoughts (so far):
 
The M-stage seems to be more rolled off at the extremes, the ph100 seems to have more bass and treble extension.
 
I feel like the ph100 has a flatter or even more "u" shaped curve where the m stage definitely has a hump in the mid range.  Even though the treble seems to be more rolled off at the extreme on the m-stage, there is an area in the mid-treble that seems very accentuated, which can be somewhat piercing and harsh on some recordings.  The ph100 on the other hand clearly has more high freq energy overall, but its delivered in a smoother clearer fashion.  
 
The ph100 also has a lot more bass energy and impact.  It is a pretty drastic difference in this regard, the ph100 makes my k701 seem almost bass heavy, whereas the m stage makes them seem very bass shy.  Considering that the k701 are not known to be bass monsters, I have a feeling that the bass on the ph100 might actually be over blown, but either way it sounds super clear and tight.  
 
The mids are where the m stage really shines, with the m stage the mid range has a sense of fullness and body that I do not get with the ph100 or o2 for that matter.  Because of this I hear details in the mid-range that I do not hear at all with the ph100 (that being said I hear high freq details with the ph100 that I do not hear on the m stage).  I haven't really made up my mind which is more accurate, the sound I get from the m-stage is closer to the freq response I know the k701s are suppose to have (ie tight bass, a little dry and analytical...) but with the ph100 they sound more life like to my ears.
 
IMO probably the biggest weakness of the ph100 is soundstage/imaging.  To my ears the soundstage is too wide and just seems overblown and unrealistic.  The soundstage on the m stage is narrower with better imaging, which gives it a more life-like presentation.  A good way to describe it is with the ph100 it always sounds like you are sitting on the middle of the stage, with a lot of the sounds coming from the sides, whereas with the m-stage it sounds more like sitting in front of the stage, and the sounds are more focused to front and center (more speaker-like).
 
Honestly it is hard to say which is really "better".  The m stage has better soundstage/imaging and richer mids. The ph100 has more bass and treble extension (bass impact and treble "sparkle"), and has a clearer/smoother sound overall.  The m-stage tends to highlight the mid frequencies while with the ph100 the bass and treble tend to over power the mids to some degree.  My biggest gripe with the m-stage is that it just seems a little congested overall, especially in the mid-treble, which can be fatiguing at times.  Its hard to describe, but the m-stage just seems to have more "grain" or "sand".
 
I'm still deciding which to keep.  If only I could combine the clarity and punch of the ph100 with the soundstage and mids of the m-stage, that would be something really special.

 

[bizkid]

Bump for new impressions. Im also interested in how close of a HA5000 clone this really is. Does it use the same transistors?

 

[Moak]

A little update: my Shanling PH100 has developed a sporadic buzz in the right channel. And I can hear a (ground?) hum in both channels, but it's more dominant in the left. None of this can be heard when music is playing, but it's still extremely annoying to me, as I use this amp with my computer and keep my headphones on at most times, even when not listening to anything. This malfunction slowly developed over a long period of time, I think, because when I first got the amp it was very quiet.

I must say that I'm not very happy with Shanling's build quality. In the past I noticed that my Shanling PCD300A (cd player) analog left channel line output sometimes failed due to a cold solder joint. And even worse, the digital coax RCA out did not output a signal at all because the wire was hanging loose. Thankfully I was able to fix both connections easily using a soldering iron and some common sense.

Due to these experiences I will definitely not buy anything ever again from Shanling, or anything designed in China, and am not sure if I could recommend the PH100 or PCD300A to anyone. I did enjoy the PH100 a lot when it was working properly, but failure in less than 2 years with normal usage is pretty pathetic. Something else probably worth mentioning is that the PH100 amp has two inputs, and the signal from one pair of inputs can faintly be heard in the other... how horrible is that?!
The PCD300A is still used daily and works like a charm, I can only pray that it keeps doing so for a long time to come.

The PH100 will soon be replaced by a Meier Audio Corda JAZZ.

Who is the better one? The PH100 or the Meier Audio Corda JAZZ?
Could one of them harmonize with my Hifiman HE-400i?
Unfortunately, the headphones with my Lake People G100 sound pretty weak. That sounds even better with my iPad mini2!
Unbelievable.

 

[RazorJack]

This thread takes me back...

Who is the better one? The PH100 or the Meier Audio Corda JAZZ?
Could one of them harmonize with my Hifiman HE-400i?
Unfortunately, the headphones with my Lake People G100 sound pretty weak. That sounds even better with my iPad mini2!
Unbelievable.

Meier Audio Corda JAZZ is a lot better than Shanling PH100. I'm not sure about how well it would pair with the Hifiman HE-400i headphone, but my guess is that the JAZZ should be able to handle it just fine. It's a very powerful little amp, with a pitch black background due to its active balanced ground, excellent crossfeed if desired, and very nifty gain switch.

In other news, my Shanling PCD300A cd player died quite a while ago. Lousy Chinese crap...

My beyerdynamic T1 and Meier Audio gear are still going strong with almost 8 years of daily heavy use. German/Dutch engineering for the win!