Shanling M1 audio player review: musical impressionism takes you to another dimension

This time a universal “midget” came to me. And immediately showed how many things can! Can be a transport or a travel DAC, or a notebook sound card. In addition, the “midget” has a decent screen, good battery life and a pretty good sound, and its dimensions are no more than a Zippo lighter. So, only “midgets” are on the scene today. Let’s get acquainted already: listen to a miniature audio player Shanling M1.

Thank you XChesser Audio for providing a sample for listening.

Shanling M1 audio player

Specifications:

DAC chip:	AK4452
Amplifier:	MAX97220
Screen:	2.35″ TFT 360×400
Output power:	35 mW @ 32 ohms
Built-in memory:	none
Audio formats:	APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3, WAV, AIFF, DSF, DFF
Outputs:	for 3.5mm headphones
Interfaces:	digital USB in/out , bluetooth aptx in/out
Battery:	950mAh, 9-10 hours of playback time
Dimensions:	60×50×12.8mm
Weight:	60 g

Look and kit

“Lilliputians” nowadays come in a black box. It looks like a small box, but once you open it, well, it’s a real grandfather Jacob’s box with lots of goodies in it: four protective film 2 films per front and back , three cables for power adapter and synchronization with PC: usb type-c/usb type-c, usb type-c/micro USB, usb type-c/usb-A, card reader for microSD and any papers, instructions and warranties. I also got a plug for the 3.5 jack with a thin metal terminator. This is the secret weapon for emergency reset player. Cool!

That’s human nature: no matter how much you put, it will still be not enough. Something else I would add to the package I found, namely usb type-c/ USB-B IN cable and usb type-c/micro USB IN . You’ll urgently need these wires when you’re thinking of streaming a digital signal to your favorite DAC/amplifier. So feel free to get it wherever you want, even if it’s from old man Hottabych. However, I have no questions for the old man.

You don’t have to have very long legs to be beautiful. There are other options. You can be small, glossy, black. M1 fits like a talisman in the palm of your hand and makes you feel better. The size is amazing, only 60×50×12.My fingers reach for the flick of the lighter, like a Zippo lighter, like an old habit. There was a time, lit..

The body material is aluminum and glass, and the click wheel is probably more like plastic. The color is black, but could be blue or white. In short, this is exactly what “midget” Hi Fi looks like.

Glossy screen 2.35 inches, TFT, 360×400 resolution covers the entire front side. You can even look in the mirror. On the top end of the device was found in the form of a plate, it is a generic mark of the module Bluetooth.

The control wheel, not to be confused with the menu, was sent to spin on the back panel, in the right corner. The wheel adjusts the volume, slides to surf the menu and does “Ok” if you click on the selected item.

On the bottom edge of the device has “an entrance to Ali Baba’s cave”: there is a slot for a microSD card, a usb type-c jack, and a jack for 3,5 mm headphones. Well, I mean, the music is our true treasure!

The thumb on the right side can easily turn the player on and off. And on the left side there are three more buttons: return to menu and up-down movement of tracks. No complaints about the assembly: all without a hitch, without a hitch.

As promised us the bottom face, the device is capable of digital communication not only via Bluetooth with aptx protocol, but also via USB. It would be nice to add to the arsenal of cable/converter, which I found on the Cayin website. The point of the converter is to transfer digital signal from usb type-c to Coaxial. This is what it looks like: one end has usb type-c, the other end has 1 RCA.

I also looked in the menu, but did not find anything new there. The menu was taken over completely from the older models – M2 and M5. I felt it as soon as the vinyl splash screen popped up on the display. So, download and listen to the songs under the native covers. But without fanaticism. Don’t forget that the miniature player can hang from heavy pictures, and you – together with it with the headphones on your head..

By the way, in case of such a fire, and there is a secret “stunner-reset”, have not forgotten? However, it is better to be friends with your head and not to use the reset..

Sound

For listening the following headphones were used: Etymotic ER-4S, Westone UM3X, AAW NEBULA TWO, Phonak Audeo pfe 112 gray filters , Beyerdynamic dt 1350, Audio-Technica ATH-SX1a, Beyerdynamic dt 250/250, Phonon SMB-02.

With all headphones the device played properly. The volume never dropped below a decent level, at least I have not noticed. On the forums someone was talking about it. I will not argue, perhaps with very demanding headphones player M1 and does not shout at the top of my lungs, but personally for a comfortable sound shouting is not necessary at all. Sound power was at a decent level in each sparring above – the volume was enough for my eyes and ears.

Here, for example, I put on Beyerdynamic dt 250/250 Om, I run high gain, the volume is set to 82 out of 100, a little more and it will “beat in the ears”. In general, the main thing is to stop in time, as the music should be not only loud as a drum whistle, but also well-drawn in details.

The sound of Shanling M1, perhaps, I can denote as close to neutral. The pitch of this baby comes with a good drive! The sound is dense, I would even say massive, with a slope to warmth though in different earphones the sound density varies . In short, I did not expect that such a midget can be so vocal.

But the resolution and intelligibility it clearly lacks. If you like to listen to small details and savor the musical nuances, then M1 is not your hero of the novel. It seems like the details are all in place, each one sounds in its own time, but the picture as a whole is drawn in one array. Here is the synthesizer, here is the guitar and the vocals are so velvety… But it’s all done not with an ornate brush of Borocco, but with expressive strokes of impressionist style. It turns out, I must say, impressive, a lot of musicality in a given style!

After 15 minutes of musical impressionism, you feel yourself flying away into another dimension, where there is no audiophile husk, no everyday life and no regrets about the lost time..

In the sound of Shanling M1 slips recognizable features of older models – M2 and M5. They are united by a single signature handwriting of the brand: velvet bouffant, dense manner of delivery and, of course, musicality. Perhaps our today’s midget hero, if you grumble about it, allows excessive softness in sound density, it lacks a kind of concentration in the “center punch. It kind of rocks, but it doesn’t really hit you. Though, I suspect that many will even like this delicacy in sound reproduction: soft sounding “does not blow your mind” on the fifth minute, does not bother with annoying refleness and disposes to long swimming in the waves of your favorite music.

The strength of Shanling M1 – in musicality. Its weakness is the lack of transparency, not quite clear rendering of small details. If you just listen to music, but not picky, then most of the bugs will pass your ears, especially since there aren’t too many in the Shanling M1. Tonality is quite even, there is no excessive ringing, no irritating peaks and deficit in bass quantity – too.

Listening to music, it is time to stop thinking about the size of the device, its functionality and price tag, the battery capacity and uptime. These days the configuration can be made to any taste. Via USB, for example, you can connect to an external DAC: when you come home, one-two and the track is uninterrupted and flows through the stationary channel..

Bottom line

The tweeters are smooth, a little softened, without ringing and excessive brightness.

Mids – the middle part is moderately relief, smooth, velvety, unobtrusive, disposed to prolonged listening. No peaks and valleys. Everything is smooth, but not very deeply drawn in detail.

The woofers – have a good but a little softened punch, lacking in focus and precision. No complaints about low frequencies quantitatively, but the quality of bass leaves much to be desired. Though, nowadays even more expensive players have much more faults.

Conclusion

Nice miniature player with a lot of nice features. Very nice design, great build quality and low price. In America you can buy Shanling M1 for about 9 000 Dollars. I think this price tag is quite adequate for the current moment.

Sound, design, size, build quality, the ability to use the player as a sound card and as a transport paired with an external DAC, the connection via Bluetooth, price.

I would like a little more clarity and fine detail drawing. But, taking into consideration all the advantages, we can say that there are no faults.