Shanling SCD1.3 SACD/CD Player Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Streamer

[zeropoint]

I thought some might be interested in this new fairly moderately priced SACD player, with extras..

Introducing Shanling SCD1.3_Shenzhen Shanling Digital Techno

 

[Platypus20]

I want a SACD player, that does not have a streamer or function as a DAC for other equipment and one that’s not a Blue-ray disc player with all the TV crap, I want a basic CD/SACD player, they are hard to find

 

[GXAlan]

I want a SACD player, that does not have a streamer or function as a DAC for other equipment and one that’s not a Blue-ray disc player with all the TV crap, I want a basic CD/SACD player, they are hard to find

I had the Marantz SA-10 which is one of the very best SACD players out there. That said, when I switched to the Sony BD players to handle DSD to 176.4 kHz (as opposed to 88.2) running into a high end AV processor, I felt like the overall performance was similar enough.

That said, the vintage Sony SCD players of all vintages were all pretty good.

 

[Platypus20]

Problem with Blue-Ray players is I do not want to add a TV screen to see track content, it’s a stereo, not a AV system, no computers either

 

[oceansize]

I want a SACD player, that does not have a streamer or function as a DAC for other equipment and one that’s not a Blue-ray disc player with all the TV crap, I want a basic CD/SACD player, they are hard to find

The Denon DCD-1700NE seems to tick the boxes for you

 

[GXAlan]

Problem with Blue-Ray players is I do not want to add a TV screen to see track content, it’s a stereo, not a AV system, no computers either

Agreed. The remote quality is also very important.

The cheapest modern SACD player I know of is the Arcam CDS50 which can be found for $1000 new and cheaper used as well as the Denon DCD-1700NE

 

[Platypus20]

That it does, will look into it, thank you


Arcam as digital inputs, not something I want, but thank you

 

[Scytales]

Regrettably, this new SA-CD player does not have multichannel analogue outputs, which defeats the most important aspect of the format.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Now listed at @Audiophonics

SHANLING SCD1.3 CD SACD Player DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Black

Shanling's SCD1.3 is a high-end SACD CD player featuring the AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ DAC chip combo, XMOS XU316 USB interface and TPA6120 headphone amplification.

www.audiophonics.fr

SHANLING SCD1.3 Lecteur CD SACD DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Argent

Shanling dévoile avec son SCD1.3 un lecteur CD SACD haut de gamme doté du combo de puce DAC AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ, d'une interface USB XMOS XU316 et d'une amplification casque TPA6120.

www.audiophonics.fr

1299€.

 

[Galliardist]

Now listed at @Audiophonics

SHANLING SCD1.3 CD SACD Player DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Black

Shanling's SCD1.3 is a high-end SACD CD player featuring the AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ DAC chip combo, XMOS XU316 USB interface and TPA6120 headphone amplification.

www.audiophonics.fr

SHANLING SCD1.3 Lecteur CD SACD DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Argent

Shanling dévoile avec son SCD1.3 un lecteur CD SACD haut de gamme doté du combo de puce DAC AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ, d'une interface USB XMOS XU316 et d'une amplification casque TPA6120.

www.audiophonics.fr

1299€.

So the USB input plays back DSD 512 directly but SACDs are converted to 88.2 PCM? Odd.

I suspect it’s two devices in the same box somehow and I think I’d want measurements to understand the how and why before buying.

 

[oceansize]

So the USB input plays back DSD 512 directly but SACDs are converted to 88.2 PCM? Odd.

I suspect it’s two devices in the same box somehow and I think I’d want measurements to understand the how and why before buying.

Sony locked down the SACD format to prevent people capturing/distributing the DSD streams via the digital outputs of the players. It was only happenstance that someone discovered that some Playstations could copy the DSD streams and that a few players became available with workarounds to do the same.

 

[Roland68]

I want a SACD player, that does not have a streamer or function as a DAC for other equipment and one that’s not a Blue-ray disc player with all the TV crap, I want a basic CD/SACD player, they are hard to find

The Pioneer PD-50AE is also new and available for under $1000.
But you should also take a look at the used market. Especially with older Sony SACD/DVD players you should simply ignore the TV section.
For example, you can get a Sony DVP-S9000ES cheaper, sometimes in good condition, for under $500. And if you take a look inside and at the workmanship quality, the current devices no longer look so good. The part is a tank and no savings were made on components back then. But there are also good alternatives around $200-300.

 

[Bgall1982]

So the USB input plays back DSD 512 directly but SACDs are converted to 88.2 PCM? Odd.

I suspect it’s two devices in the same box somehow and I think I’d want measurements to understand the how and why before buying.

If you listen to the SACD directly from the device you get the content @full resolution. If you decide to use this device as a "Transport " is then /when it'll convert tge audio to 88.2pcm

 

[VinylValet]

I own both the SCD1.3 and a highly modified Sony DVP-S9000ES. Looking inside a product to predict sound quality, IMHO, isn't a great idea. The SCD1.3 is a far better sounding player and you don't have to search around for a replacement laser, which you will most likely need to do soon after purchasing a used S9000ES.

For the many folks that have no interest in multi-channel music or home theatre, including myself, the SCD1.3 is a tremendous sounding player, both with SACD and redbook. Based on what I'm hearing after around 200 hours of dynamic signal and left on all the time, there is no SACD player currently out there that I know of at this price that sounds as good, new or used. So far, I've only used it with the balanced outputs of the internal DAC directly driving ATC SCM50ASLT active speakers. I look forward to using it as a transport with one of the following DACs I currently use: Weiss DAC501 and Audio Note 4.1x.

 

[Brian Hall]

Now listed at @Audiophonics

SHANLING SCD1.3 CD SACD Player DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Black

Shanling's SCD1.3 is a high-end SACD CD player featuring the AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ DAC chip combo, XMOS XU316 USB interface and TPA6120 headphone amplification.

www.audiophonics.fr

SHANLING SCD1.3 Lecteur CD SACD DAC AKM4499EX + AKM4191EQ Argent

Shanling dévoile avec son SCD1.3 un lecteur CD SACD haut de gamme doté du combo de puce DAC AKM AK4499EX + AK4191EQ, d'une interface USB XMOS XU316 et d'une amplification casque TPA6120.

www.audiophonics.fr

1299€.

Bad design. Everyone knows the VU meters are supposed to be at the top.

 

[Doc_Octopus]

Hi, I want to tell you about my first week with the Shanling SCD1.3 player: I was looking for a CD and SACD player to be used mainly with optical discs and with almost no interest in streaming (I have another device for that). Searching on the internet I found the SCD1.3 which is the cheapest device for playing SACDs (at the same price there is also the Denon DCD-1700, a model from a certainly better known brand but which mounts the terrible DACs of Texas Instruments). This is the reason for the choice.
The impressions, however, are a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment: the satisfaction is given by the excellent audio quality of CD, SACD and Roon via airplay, the recognition of CDs is quite fast while that of SACDs a little less, the remote control does not have problems giving commands to the reader.
The disappointments are many, but minor, as they concern streaming playback, the touchscreen and the smartphone app:
- streaming playback: no gapless playback; every now and then the screen does not display the correct song covers; I encountered delays and poor compatibility with "mconnect" and "bubbleupnp" with which I had problems playing songs from the audio server to the player.
- the touchscreen is too sensitive, filling in passwords for the wifi network is a lottery, the scrolling of characters is too fast and never stops where you want it
- the smartphone app: terrible, it doesn't always connect to the player and when it does, the only settings that can be changed are the CD/SACD switch and the DAC filter settings, as well as the controls for playing the CD.
One strange thing (at least, I think it is) is that the DAC filters can also be selected during SACD playback: is this normal?
However, I find it absurd that when playing CDs and SACDs, information about the media being played is not displayed, such as album title, artist and song titles, especially when there is a nice LCD display perfect for that task.
I think I've said it all, excellent disc player, but insufficient in the streaming component.

 

[Scytales]

Great insight review for an user perspective.

However, I do not get your view about Texas Instrument (TI) D/A converter chips, and even much less the fact you have chosen this Shanling player because it don't use a TI DAC. Those opinions seems irrational to me.

As for the possibility to choose different DAC filters even for SA-CD replay, it is very much possible that the user interface offering the possibility to change the player's filter setting during SA-CD replay is only a bug : it actually don't change anything.

It is also possible that Shanling has given the user software access to the 2 different low-pass filters the AKM AK4191 digital filter (see AKM's product brief) and/or the AKM AK4399 DAC (see page 29 of the DAC datasheet) does offer for DSD64 and DSD128. But that would be weird, because best performance with those internal low-pass filters could only be obtained, as per the DAC's datasheet, with an additional optimised output low-pass filter.

What do the user manual exactly points out concerning the filter settings ?

 

[Roland68]

Great insight review for an user perspective.

However, I do not get your view about Texas Instrument (TI) D/A converter chips, and even much less the fact you have chosen this Shanling player because it don't use a TI DAC. Those opinions seems irrational to me.

As for the possibility to choose different DAC filters even for SA-CD replay, it is very much possible that the user interface offering the possibility to change the player's filter setting during SA-CD replay is only a bug : it actually don't change anything.

It is also possible that Shanling has given the user software access to the 2 different low-pass filters the AKM AK4191 digital filter (see AKM's product brief) and/or the AKM AK4399 DAC (see page 29 of the DAC datasheet) does offer for DSD64 and DSD128. But that would be weird, because best performance with those internal low-pass filters could only be obtained, as per the DAC's datasheet, with an additional optimised output low-pass filter.

What do the user manual exactly points out concerning the filter settings ?

Probably because the current top DAC chips from AKM and ESS have a good reputation and Ti is a little behind. Although in my opinion the implementation of the PCM1795 in the Violectric V850 can easily keep up with the sound.
The built-in AK4499EX is one of the best DAC chips on the market.

A controller chip is installed in the Shanling, which presumably grants free access to the SACD data stream. In this respect, it may be that the data stream is available in full resolution for AK4499EX and AK4191 and that the filters can also be switched.
Since the player has a SACD logo, Shanling has probably successfully restricted further access to this data.

 

[Doc_Octopus]

I exaggerated in calling them terrible, as well as confusing them with another TI model (the ones that Denon mounts on HT amplifiers).

 

[Roland68]

Does anyone in Germany, maybe even near Cologne or in North Rhine-Westphalia have this player?
It would be interesting to hear him compared to others.