Shanling M0 Pro DAP Review

[respice finem]

Hi,
Sure, but you probably noticed that most of those smartphones offer limited storage space and that this storage space is often consumend almost entirely by your cats pictures and your partty movies
So you may need to store music elsewhere and there, the dedicated player cmes in handy...

Of course you may reply that tyou can always stream from Qobuz or Tidal.
But then again, you're not always in areas with a nice connection for one, and not always have enough data transfer in your plan to listen to music all day long.

Regards

It all depends on the intended use, yes. I got zero cat content and zero party movies on my phone, so it's a bit different for me. I also tend to take, say, five new pictures, instead of 500 some people would take, on a weekend trip. The argument of needing the space for other things than music is valid nonetheless. It's a shame newer phones don't have a microSD card slot any more (same goes for headphone jacks).

 

[Sak]

It's much more convenient to use a portable music player than a smartphone. When it's in your pocket, you have full access to the control buttons, which are programmable on some players. Adjusting the volume with one finger and navigating back and forth through your music library with buttons is very convenient. Moreover, portable players usually have a powerful amplifier that is sufficient for most in-ear monitors, including planar ones.

 

[neRok]

Cute little guy, when I first saw it I was hoping it might be a more modern replacement for my very ageing Sansa Clip +.
But the minute I read about the swipe touch control panel I knew it wasn't for me, I hate those damn things. The first remote
I got for my Apple 4K has one and its junk to use. Later generation units went back to a conventional 5 way controller.
Oh well, for my uses, portable music in my trunk, at the poolside, etc, my little Sansa still fills the bill for me and they're still available everywhere for mostly under $50

They were good! (enough). I had a few over the years, and all of them got rockbox firmware and ran with a big SD card full of flac files. I just search my PDF receipts folder and the last one I bought was 2012! But I wouldn't consider this new Shanling because it doesn't have physical buttons. I tried a touch screen DAP back in the day (Cowon J3 in 2013) and it was annoying not having buttons I could operate "through" my pants whilst sitting on the train. I sold that and moved to Fiio X3 from memory. Still have it.

To everyone wondering why have a DAP, well it was good when they were small in the pocket (like the Clips), because when I was catching the train for example I could leave my phone in my bag instead of in pocket. X3 was borderline too big. However, I haven't been catching the train much since covid, and my X3 hasn't been getting much action. It goes good when I go out 4wding in an old 90's car that only has aux cord though, because you can plug it in and it will take a beating (getting banged around and have sun on it etc) ,and yet the music keeps playing for many many hours!

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Modern phones are "mobile" in a very relative sense of the word... I would pay double for one of these if it had a telephone function, so I could go jogging when I'm on call for work.

 

[staticV3]

Modern phones are "mobile" in a very relative sense of the word... I would pay double for one of these if it had a telephone function, so I could go jogging when I'm on call for work.

What you're looking for is a smartwatch with cellular (Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, etc) paired with Bluetooth IEMs.

 

[Berwhale]

I wasn't aware of such a product - Moondrop FreeDSP USB-C IEM cable.
How is it working for you? What iems are you using with it?

It's discussed in detail here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...oondrop-product-dsp-equipped-iem-cable.48005/

I'm using it with my Moondrop Starfields at the moment. I like the cable, but the software needs some work.

 

[respice finem]

It's much more convenient to use a portable music player than a smartphone. When it's in your pocket, you have full access to the control buttons, which are programmable on some players. Adjusting the volume with one finger and navigating back and forth through your music library with buttons is very convenient. Moreover, portable players usually have a powerful amplifier that is sufficient for most in-ear monitors, including planar ones.

A valid point, certainly. I wonder though, if it would really suffice for "concert volume" with the Truthear RED, or, to name a different beast, the BD T1 Mk2. Both are quite "power hungry", the one for current, the other for voltage. The RED, plus the resistor, was the first one I've reached the -0 dB with, on the RME ADI-2 DAC. No I'm not deaf (yet)

 

[Roland301]

"Fine" with me, though I don't quite understand the purpose of such players, considering everybody has a portable player already, which is a smartphone. Maybe to save space on said smartphone?

SD card slot (and one that is easily mountable as USB mass storage rather than being forced to use MTP protocol or break out a SIM tool).
Also, transparent audio playback without having to dodge Android's various sound processing quirks.

 

[Berwhale]

SD card slot (and one that is easily mountable as USB mass storage rather than being forced to use MTP protocol or break out a SIM tool).
Also, transparent audio playback without having to dodge Android's various sound processing quirks.

It's the Leatherman of the audio world

 

[Joe Smith]

I still use Apple iPod Shuffle 4gen models for the occasional time I need a portable player and don't want to run down my main phone. Or one of my discarded Blackberry phones that have an SD slot and a lot of saved jazz, etc. The Shuffles were a wonderful little thing, they still amaze me every time I use one.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

That's also my experience: Qobuz players (iOS, Android) have an option to "import" tracks which makes them available offline, but you don't have access to the actual FLAC (or other format) file, it must be encrypted in some "cache" file structure.
What you can do is download tracks/albums you purchased in the Qobuz download store: they are available in several formats (e.g. FLAC) and you can perfectly download them multiple times, copy them as many times you want and wherever you want (e.g microSD card) for personal use--no DRM.

I'm not a member but every now and then I buy FLAC files from Qobuz. They're usually cheaper than CDs. They have a decent selection of the niche stuff I like.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

A couple of months ago I bought a Hiby RII. I use it almost entirely in the car with a TempoTec dongle. It's fine for what I use it for and costs a little less than $100. It does have limited wifi capability; it can act as a DLNA renderer. Not that I use it that way but it can also act as a DAC. I've never used it with headphones except for a brief trial. It looks very similar to the Shanling. The one drawback is the space alien UI design common to all Hiby products.

 

[Crow]

There is a more recent unit, the Shanlin M1S.
It seems better (and pricier), hope to see a review at some point.

 

[staticV3]

There is a more recent unit, the Shanlin M1S.
It seems better (and pricier), hope to see a review at some point.

They're quite different in size: https://comparesizes.com/comparison/Shanling-M1s-vs-Shanling-M0-Pro/1699554392762

 

[EJ3]

It would be interesting to see how well the original Apple Ipod performed.

I know that there were people who claimed that they modified the Apple iPods for better performanc & said that the hardware was better than the software Apple used, so they modded the software to be better.
True or not, I do not know.

 

[EJ3]

What you're looking for is a smartwatch with cellular (Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, etc) paired with Bluetooth IEMs.

Then you are limited in the distance that you can run (metaphor) from the phone & still get a signal.
For me: The point is to leave the phone in the cabin/tent/truck or wherever while I go play and have my music with me, keeping the phone out of it.
As far as I am concerned, the phone is for my convenience, not someone else's convenience to bother me.
Unfortunately, with my wife being overseas long term now & my mother being very close to 90 & me being the only child (living 15 minutes away,
those 2 may need to have access) to me at anytime. So I have to carry the damn phone.

 

[staticV3]

Then you are limited in the distance that you can run from the phone & still get a signal.

No. Smartwatches with Cellular can make phone calls completely standalone. No connection to your phone reqired.

 

[EJ3]

No. Smartwatches with Cellular can make phone calls completely standalone. No connection to your phone reqired.

So I can go on my deck & stand in one particular spot to get cellular? Or mount it on a post in that particular spot.
I guess that you presume that I am in or around some large city.
Back when there were land lines, the closest place to make a phone call was 15 miles away.
Now, I can stand in a certain spot on my deck & make a cellphone call (maybe, not all the time).
It seems that the signal is string enough that I get alerted to incoming calls but I get very broken audio that is unintelligible when I answer and have to go to that certain spot on my deck to call them back & have a 2 way conversation.
This place has been in my family since 1957. And I have upgraded form 1 15 amp outlet to 2 15 amp outlets.
Live in or close to a city? Yeah, I have homes in a couple of them. But would just as soon not be there.
Those homes give me a pretty good income, so cities are good for me in that way.

 

[staticV3]

So I can go on my deck & stand in one particular spot to get cellular? Or mount it on a post in that particular spot.
I guess that you presume that I am in or around some large city.
Back when there were land lines, the closest place to make a phone call was 15 miles away.
Now, I can stand in a certain spot on my deck & make a cellphone call (maybe, not all the time).
It seems that the signal is string enough that I get alerted to incoming calls but I get very broken audio that is unintelligible when I answer and have to go to that certain spot on my deck to call them back & have a 2 way conversation.
This place has been in my family since 1957. And I have upgraded form 1 15 amp outlet to 2 15 amp outlets.
Live in or close to a city? Yeah, I have homes in a couple of them. But would just as soon not be there.
Those homes give me a pretty good income, so cities are good for me in that way.

Interesting, but you asked for a small, standalone device with which you can make phone calls while jogging.
A cellular enabled watch is just that.

 

[Jimbob54]

A valid point, certainly. I wonder though, if it would really suffice for "concert volume" with the Truthear RED, or, to name a different beast, the BD T1 Mk2. Both are quite "power hungry", the one for current, the other for voltage. The RED, plus the resistor, was the first one I've reached the -0 dB with, on the RME ADI-2 DAC. No I'm not deaf (yet)

On the IEM jack or the 6.35 mm?!?!?!