Inherited some gear....

[ThatM1key]

Your forgetting one thing. The history & story behind the item. That's what Inherited items sometimes feel nicer than buying. Without it, the inherited feels like any other item out there.

 

[themacguy]

Did you get the Shanling EM5?

I'm considering it as well. Just not sure if the DAC is up there with current ESS DACs and the amp could be a bit underpowered for demanding headphones.

But a stack will require more space, cables and difficult to move around.

The Shanling would be really easy to use in more than one location.

I did! I really like it, but take my liking with a grain of salt because this is the only higher end gear I own. The interface can get a little small when using the streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz, but direct play doesn’t have that problem. It’s very easy to move and as you said, it’s all in one, very convenient. Apparently my Meze’s are easy to drive so I wouldn’t know if the wattage is a problem. I listen mostly around 30-45 on the volume scale that goes to 100 I believe.

I also bought a THX DAC dongle, but haven’t tried it out yet, I will need a different audio cable - all I have is the XLR to mini XLR’s.

 

[Snoopy]

I did! I really like it, but take my liking with a grain of salt because this is the only higher end gear I own. The interface can get a little small when using the streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz, but direct play doesn’t have that problem. It’s very easy to move and as you said, it’s all in one, very convenient. Apparently my Meze’s are easy to drive so I wouldn’t know if the wattage is a problem. I listen mostly around 30-45 on the volume scale that goes to 100 I believe.

I also bought a THX DAC dongle, but haven’t tried it out yet, I will need a different audio cable - all I have is the XLR to mini XLR’s.

Some people reported that the XLR connection only works when there is a 4.4mm plugged in at the front.

But Shanling seems to be fixing that with a firmware update soon.