Shanling UP4 & UP2 - Bluetooth 5.0 DAC/AMP with ES9218P, balanced output, supporting LDAC, HWA LHDC, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency, aptX and AAC.

[fsi22]

Sorry maybe I'm being dense but what measurements? If you're on about maximum volume it seemed correct. If you want performance numbers it performs as standard AptX but with lower latency.

Once again these figures shouldn't really be trusted completely.



So the D10+BT entries, the devices are actually receiving a sample rate of 48KHz. The chain is as follows Windows 10 USB > Topping D10 > D10 Optical > BT transmitter > BT receiver.
(The optical to bluetooth transmitters I've tested seem to resample to 48KHz for transmission. Upsampling from 44.1KHz on these transmitters causes extra noise/errors.)

The Linux entries should have avoided any resampling with the following chain Linux > PulseAudio > BT Receiver.
(So everything is done software side and then sent using a standard USB bluetooth data dongle, no audio encoding is done by the bluetooth dongle.)

It's a shame I don't have a better recording device but rightmark has its limitations anyway. I did these tests mostly for curiosity on how well the cheap optical to bluetooth transmitters performed.

If it's the latency of AptX-LL you're interested in,
UP2 +28ms
H7 +26ms (Bang & Olufsen H7 do support AptX-LL)
(These latency results are how delayed the sound is compared to my wired headphones. The bluetooth result also varies a couple of ms.)

I hope this answers your question?

I was curious about difference apart from latency between Aptx HD and LL.

Yes, it does, thank you.

 

[vaguely]

Love my UP2 - Use it everyday as BT receiver out and about and as USB DAC in the office. You'd have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.
Noticeably better sounding than the BTR3 IMO - the UP4 looks very interesting but I'm happy enough with the UP2 that I don't think I'll upgrade until I need to.

lol love the idea of making any earphone BT, currently using LG v20 as my DAC but I think i'll grab an up2 2, 2 go along with my next earphones after I sell my Hyla's, ty! couldn't find much on the up4, maybe that's for the best ;]

 

[Shanling]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone with an UP2 and android phone could confirm an issue for me please. You'll need to be able to use LDAC and adjust the sample rate through developer options. From what I remember the developer options didn't always stick so leave and enter again to check the sample rate change has taken.

My UP2 seems to have a lower maximum volume while using LDAC@44KHz vs LDAC@96KHz. I took some open circuit voltage readings and was quite surprised with the difference. Other codecs don't appear to have an issue and I've also tested my source using an ES100 without issue.

We tested it yesterday. We had some phones that showed this problem, while others showed no change between 44.1 and 96. Will look more into it.

lol love the idea of making any earphone BT, currently using LG v20 as my DAC but I think i'll grab an up2 2, 2 go along with my next earphones after I sell my Hyla's, ty! couldn't find much on the up4, maybe that's for the best ;]

You can find info on UP4 in first post or in this link: http://en.shanling.com/article/118

To put it shortly: UP4 provides more power, theoretically better sound and little bit better battery life. But is bigger, heavier, more expensive and to truly use it to its fullest, you need to have headphones with balanced connection.

 

[rchs]

I've had the UP2 for a few days driving Pinnacle P1s and so far so good.

iOS defaults to AAC but the cyan hue could easily be confused with blue/SBC. Android has all the options covered and working fine. I'd previously been using a Fiio Q1 Mark II, the Q1 sounds a tad better but not enough to match the convenience of the UP2.

The media controls work great, with a satisfying click. The volume dial is not sensitive enough, it takes a lot of turning to raise the volume. My one gripe is that the volume resets to zero when you turn off/on the device.

Interestingly, you can use the USB DAC while connected via bluetooth, defaulting to USB unless the bluetooth device is playing audio. Whether this is intentional I don't know. Note that the device will turn itself off if you connect to USB while connected to bluetooth, but not if you disconnect to USB.

 

[Dasky]

We tested it yesterday. We had some phones that showed this problem, while others showed no change between 44.1 and 96. Will look more into it.

Thank you for checking this, hopefully a firmware update can solve the issue.

 

[elfrench]

Are there any news about the app for up2?

 

[Shanling]

Are there any news about the app for up2?

Still no update.

 

[vaxick]

Is there any benefit of waiting for the UP4 if you won't be using the balanced output? Will it still provide extra power through the 3.5mm jack compared to the UP2. I need a BT receiver for running, but I'd also like to use it at home with my Audioquest Nighthawks.

 

[holsen]

Simply put: if you don't need balanced output, you don't nee the 4. I can drive my Tin P1 just fine with the UP 2, both when out cycling or as a USB DAC at my deck. I also have a BTR3 and the UP2 is better sounding device.

 

[qOrange]

On a side note, if the app becomes available it would be nice if I could choose to disable AptX-HD. This would stop some transmitters selecting AptX-HD over AptX Low Latency.

Registered just to give a +1 for this. Have a BT transmitter which supports both aptX HD and LL, so it defaults to aptX HD when streaming to UP2. So I was quite disappointed to find out I cannot use UP2 for watching movies as well.

Otherwise, a great product! In addition to what everybody else said, I would like to mention that the mic seems to work quite well (I only tested indoors, I should say).

 

[holsen]

Yes there's no app and yes, you cannot disable a codec.on UP2. But it you're on Android, you can enable developer options. And manually select the codec you wish to use..

 

[Dasky]

Registered just to give a +1 for this. Have a BT transmitter which supports both aptX HD and LL, so it defaults to aptX HD when streaming to UP2. So I was quite disappointed to find out I cannot use UP2 for watching movies as well.

Otherwise, a great product! In addition to what everybody else said, I would like to mention that the mic seems to work quite well (I only tested indoors, I should say).

So a few of the transmitters I've used support dual stream and will select the highest common codec between the devices you connect. I've been using the UP2 in AptX-LL by connecting some other headphones that support AptX-LL only, then once the UP2 switches to AptX-LL disconnecting the other device. I know you can pickup cheap AptX-LL receivers under £5, maybe not the best solution but could be worth a shot?

Yes there's no app and yes, you cannot disable a codec.on UP2. But it you're on Android, you can enable developer options. And manually select the codec you wish to use..

This isn't an option on most standalone bluetooth transmitters, I've seen one with a priority switch between AptX-LL and AptX-HD but it's fairly expensive.

I'd actually be happy to install UP2 firmware that removed the AptX-HD option altogether but I doubt that's an option. So an app would be best, which I'm hoping might release with the UP4 but I've got my doubts.

 

[qOrange]

This isn't an option on most standalone bluetooth transmitters, I've seen one with a priority switch between AptX-LL and AptX-HD but it's fairly expensive.

Exactly this.

So a few of the transmitters I've used support dual stream and will select the highest common codec between the devices you connect. I've been using the UP2 in AptX-LL by connecting some other headphones that support AptX-LL only, then once the UP2 switches to AptX-LL disconnecting the other device. I know you can pickup cheap AptX-LL receivers under £5, maybe not the best solution but could be worth a shot?

Hm, that is the cheaper idea, but I think I'm probably just going to buy a transmitter which streams up to LL. Is LL higher in the hierarchy than standard aptX? I.e. I won't have the same problem with an aptX and aptX LL enabled transmitter?

I would think about switching to the BTR3, but I really need the better mic on UP2. It's a shame Shanling doesn't provide an app.

 

[Galeonero]

Exactly this.



Hm, that is the cheaper idea, but I think I'm probably just going to buy a transmitter which streams up to LL. Is LL higher in the hierarchy than standard aptX? I.e. I won't have the same problem with an aptX and aptX LL enabled transmitter?

I would think about switching to the BTR3, but I really need the better mic on UP2. It's a shame Shanling doesn't provide an app.

Hello, why did you exclusively need an application that disables Up2 or Up2 codecs? If this can be done from the phone's own configuration? You just have to enable developer and then go to developer or advanced settings (depending on how it is on your smartphone)

Man the Shanling up2 works great, I never had a problem using it as a USB DAC or with bluetooth, not so much back, buy it without fear.

 

[moridess]

Hi, I am using Up2 for more than a month and it is great device for portable use with my phone. But now, I am trying to connect it to my PC and use it as external sound card. While connected by USB cable, it is detected without any problem, but it can be only used as audio out device. Is there any way to use an internal microphone as well? I would like to use it as headset with mic, while playing games.

If it cannot be done by USB, is there any other way to use Up2 in that use case on Windows 10 PC? Maybe some cheap bluetooth adapter with Aptx Low Latency protocol, which will be able to transmit and receive audio data in the same time? Thanks for your help.