Shanling M2 audio player review: a Chinese man who mesmerizes everyone with his velvety baritone

The Chinese not only like to overtake America and settle in Siberia. Our partners in geopolitics still like it when their economy is called a factory for the whole world. It is quite logical therefore find in the market of audio equipment one more celestial and very decent manufacturer. Today we will talk about the Chinese company Shanling, known in the Asian market for its domestic audio systems. In 2014, when the demand for portable audio began to fountain, the company released its first mini player Shanling M3, which has become quite popular among audiophiles and audiophiles. The distinctive features of the M3 are original design, good sound, and versatility of use. And now, after a year and a half a junior model of the famous flagship is on sale: a much smaller, with an even more thoughtful exterior and, most importantly, no less decent sound!

Thanks to XChesser Audio for providing a sample for listening

Shanling M2 audio player

Specifications:

Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC

Amplifier TPA6120A2 + JRC MUSE8920

Screen 2.35″ TFT 360×400

Output power 125 mW @ 32 Ohm 13 mW @ 300 Ohm

Built-in memory None

Supports microSD memory cards

Supported audio formats APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, AAC, OGG, MP3, WAV, AIFF, DSF, DIFF

Outputs Headphone, line, coaxial

Battery 2200 mAh, up to 9 hours

Body material Metal + carbon

Dimensions 110×52×14 mm

Weight 115 grams

Appearance and kit

The device is delivered in a glossy polygraphic box, inside of which there is a black “chest. Inside the box we find the device itself, the cable microUSB USB to connect to the power adapter and synchronize with PC, card reader, coaxial cable to output the “digits” with s dif, documentation in Chinese and English languages and two protective film on the screen.

The player is light, beautiful, lies very comfortably in the hand. Material is aluminum. Color black, with a carbon fiber pattern and the company logo on the back.

Built well, all clear, symmetrical, no backlashes and creaks, you can not pick on. Now I’m holding this baby in my hands and, you know, my heart rejoices! It feels so good to the touch and pleases the eye with its design. “Made in Chine” becomes a serious brand!

The player has a rectangular shape, rounded on the right side under the control wheel radius. So, about the wheel: as with the flagship, all control is based solely on one wheel, which also works as a joystick.

True, in the first couple of days I was a little annoyed with the way of surfing the menu. I try to spin the disc-wheel, but it just jumped somewhere, pressed “down” to get to the next folder track, but no, it takes me to the menu…

Probably because I’m always against everything bad and always for everything good I got used to the peculiarities of Chinese controls pretty quickly. After a couple of days, removing the lock on the control “roulette”, began to quietly spin the wheel of observation on the entire menu, all the basic functions, without removing the player from a warm pocket of the jacket. So, right away you can not swear at the manufacturer, at least the first few days after getting acquainted…

The menu is quite understandable and nice. You can browse through any folders, you can switch the output from line to digital and you can switch the USB DAC function to make the player work as an external sound card of the PC. In the menu there is a special item, there you can choose this function USB DAC or another function-USB storage device, to use the device for filling the memory card with music material from your computer.

What I liked most of all was the ability to upgrade the firmware right from the settings menu, without “dancing with bamboozles” all over the apartment. I threw the firmware on the memory card, plugged it into the device, chose the menu item update firmware, and voila! The device found the firmware, updated, rebooted and you are welcome to use it! In general, there are no “cockroaches.

In the center, on the front side of the player is a screen. The color reproduction is satisfying and the covers look nice, as well as the menu itself. In the upper right corner, as I promised, is the click wheel. It is also a joystick. The right side of the device is smooth and empty. The left end-face from top to bottom: hole for M2 emergency reset, on/off button and MicroSD card slot.

On the top end are two jacks: a 3.5mm headphone output and a combined line/digital coaxial output. The latter is covered with a protective cover to keep all sorts of debris out. At the bottom there is a MicroUSB cable connector for connection to a power adapter or for synchronization with PC.

The Chinese player turned out to be omnivorous: all music material, only DSD was not tried, it ate and did not choke. Even, I would say, went well..

In general, the player is cool, beautiful, moderately easy to use in terms of controls, “everything is cool!”

The sound

Now about the main advantage, the sound.

For listening we used the following headphones: Etymotic ER-4S, Westone UM3X, Phonak Audeo pfe 112 gray filters , Beyerdynamic dt 1350, Audio-Technica ATH-SX1a, Beyerdynamic dt 250/250, Hifiman HE-4. With all headphones unit played properly. I did not notice any genre preferences in the device. No problem for any genre.

The sound of Shanling M2 can be defined as neutral. On some headphones there is a slight lift in the lower midrange, but no more than that.

From the first notes the device strikes with its velvet, masculine sound. A baritone, so to speak. If you try to reproduce the manner of M2 from the point of view of tactile sensations, it is akin to stroking a velvet cloth, and it is gray. The sound is smooth, mellow, yet assertive, with no pronounced peaks and troughs. The sound canvas looks more like the work of impressionists of the end of XVIII century: clear separate strokes, smoothly passing into the base, but the integrity of the picture does not disappear for a moment and the fine details do not fade and do not disappear.

There is, of course, and a fly in the ointment in this integrity. On some headphones, for example Westone UM3X, you feel a slight squeeze, as if the musicians were placed in a small room, where everyone seems to be in their places, but someone is about to encroach on the space of a neighbor. Because of this there is a feeling of some simplification of aftershounds, closeness… But this remark is just a pickle.

Let’s move on. The power in it, “dear mother!”I was amazed, when “for fun” I plugged my isodynamic headphones Hifiman HE-4 to this baby. I repeat, the Hifiman HE-4, Carl!!! If who does not know, not any stationary device can cope with these ears, and certainly not a portable one… So, Shanling M2 swallowed them like a black killer whale swallowed a school of cod – in one breath…

At the same time the headphones did not went into the ringing, did not become “sibilant”, the sound remains dense and punchy, and the volume is still in stock. Right now I am writing and listening to this particular combination: M2 player serves as an external sound card, digital signal is fed from PC, HE-4 on the head. Good for my head!

The tweeter is crisp, without ringing or excessive brightness.

Mids – the middle part is moderately detailed, smooth, not straining, dispose to prolonged listening to the musical material. No peaks and dips, all in all, all good.

The woofers have a decent weight and punch. Can hit so hard that “give way!”They not only like to overtake America and settle in Siberia, but also can “murmur” softly and evenly. But there is a little softness in this kick. It does not appear in all headphones, and it is not critical actually for such a baby.

The unit was also connected as a source of digital signal transport , through the complete adapter from the coaxial output, to an external DAC MyST PortaDAC 1866OCUB v.1 MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2 , and to the amplifier MyST PortAMP-II , from the line output. In all cases, the Shanling M2 performed well, which adds a few more pluses.

Conclusions

The player is very interesting. It’s compact, beautiful, and most importantly, with good sound. This is not just a compromise solution, but a bid for leadership in the segment!”Yes, the control wheel can cause some inconvenience, but, in fact, I got used to this Chinese control logic after two or three days, and nothing, I’m not going to change the citizenship. And there’s no need to complain with such a size and quite a humane price tag. By the way, the price in America for Shanling M2 fluctuates around 17 000-18 000 Dollars. I think it’s quite humane with the current sanctions situation in the country.

Sound, design, playback time, the ability to use the player as a sound card when connected to a PC, the ability to use as a transport to output a digital signal from the coaxial, connect to an external amplifier, price.

Not very user friendly controls.