It seems that Shanling is very fond of the approach taken in the auto industry - to re-use its successful finds, releasing different models in a very similar package. We have already seen the M5, similar to the M2 of the previous generation, now it's time to "rethink" M2s, releasing the older model - M3s.
Of course, the main changes took place inside. Moving strictly within the limits of a fashion, Shanling have made M3s completely balanced, having added the second DAC AK4490 for this. Also, the amplifier underwent processing, in addition to adding a balanced connector, the company was able to reduce the output impedance and process the sound in the direction of "more interesting" feed. To feed all this good, increased the battery capacity, so the operating time with the use of the usual output is noticeably increased (and when using a balanced one - no). Of course, the size of the case has slightly increased and, quite expected, the price. If M2s is sold somewhere for $ 200, then the price for the novelty fluctuates around 250-280 dollars (of course, the figures are correct at the time of review).
Specifications
- DAC: 2 × AK4490
- OU: MUSE8920 + AD8397
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz (-0.15 dB)
- Signal to noise ratio: ≥115 dB
- Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: 0.0015%
- Output power (@ 32Ω): 130 mW typical output, ≥230 mW balanced
- Output impedance: <0.3Ω normal output, <0.6Ω balanced
- Channel separation: > 75 dB typical output,> 102 dB balanced
- Supported formats: MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, AAC, ALAC, APE, ISO, DSF, DFF
- Maximum resolution: up to 384 kHz / 32 bit, DSD to DSD256
- Screen: 3 "480 × 800
- Battery: 2600 mAh
- Operating time from one charge: up to 13 hours normal output, up to 8 hours balanced
- Charging time: ~ 2.5 h
- Input: USB-C
- Outputs: 3.5 mm headphone / line, 2.5 mm balanced
- Memory card: MicroSD
- Dimensions: 113 mm × 53 mm × 14.5 mm
- Weight: ~ 135 g
Packing and delivery kit
Packaging M3s is quite traditional: a box of solid black cardboard with a texture, on top of a white "dust jacket" with good polygraphy. Inside, too, there are no surprises - directly under the lid is the player itself, and below - accessories:
- USB-C-cable
- instruction and warranty card
- 4 protective stickers (suitable for both front and rear panels)
- spare sticker «HighRes» (for those who do not have high resolution)
- a plug for the 3.5-mm port (it can also press the reset button)
- MicroSD card reader
So it turns out that, on the one hand, there are a lot of things in the set, but on the other - the most important, cover, they did not put it.
Design and management
The appearance of the player is very similar to M2s, with the small difference that the "troika" has become even longer (the necessary step to accommodate the increased battery and the balanced circuit). The player still looks great: the metal "frame" of the case is complemented by 2.5D glass on both sides. It looks fine, perhaps, M2s and M3s are the most stylish players of the initial segment. And on average, perhaps, they would look very OK. Of course, the glass collects fingerprints, but then the oleophobic coating is applied, so it is easy enough to wipe it off. It is also obvious that the glass is fragile enough, but here, except for the cover, it is difficult to advise something. The player is available in three colors: black, blue and graphite gray, they all look very stylish. The build quality is very good, there are no backlashes, no squeaks and no knocking when shaking.
The increased size of the device did not hurt it, the player is still thin enough and narrow, so it fits well in your pocket and just as well falls into your hand and is controlled.
The controls are quite traditional. On the left side there are three playback control buttons, a microSD card slot and a reset hole. On top is the power button, it also serves to turn off the screen. On the lower edge there are interfaces: two outputs (3.5 mm and balanced 2.5 mm) and USB-C. Like the previous version, the player is very versatile in terms of connections, it can be charged via a USB port, connected as a USB flash drive or DAC, and the player sees external USB DACs and USB-OTG flash drives connected via this port. On the right side is the control wheel, it is used to select menu items, and on the playback screen allows you to adjust the volume. Clicking on this wheel is used to select menu items, just below is the button to return to the previous item. Wheel encoder quality, so it rotates clearly, with characteristic light clicks, allowing you to conveniently control the player. Like previous models of the company, M3s retains an ergonomic inherent in the entire line: the volume can be adjusted only on the playback screen, otherwise it serves as navigation for menus. I can not say that this is a big problem, but such a stubborn ignoring of the defect surprises.
The upper part of the front panel is occupied by a screen, it is the same as in M2s, but since the "troika" is longer, under the screen there is more empty empty space. The screen itself is quite good, the resolution and viewing angles, as well as the color rendition, are quite on the level. Traditionally, in the sun, the screen noticeably blinds, although, with a hand covering, the image can be seen.
Firmware
Over the firmware traditionally worked "great and terrible" Hiby, hence the "typical set of features", characteristic of their players, and the logic of building the menu. If to say "in general" - the player works quite stably and quickly, various "childhood sores" are largely solved, so in most scenarios M3s shows itself as a reliable device.
The main menu is decorated with a traditional semicircle for Shanling with a display on the left side of the cover of the current album. It looks impressive, but it's noticeable that designers have not figured out where to put the increased screen area, in the menu and in "Now Playing" the free space obviously "walks" unused. The main screen offers traditional 5 items: return to the playback screen, media library, file browser, sound settings and system options.
The Now Playing screen does not carry any surprises, everything is expected: at the top - cover, just below - time, name, position and everything else. Long press on the scroll wheel opens an additional menu: play mode, add to the playlist / favorites, play settings, system settings and delete the file.
The menu item My Music hides a typical media library - here there is a list of recently played tracks, playlists, favorites, and also standard groupings: all tracks at once, albums, artists and genres. Scanning files is fast enough, so updating the library takes a long time.
Next is the traditional item File Browser , hiding, as you might guess, the file browser. Here you can see the contents of your memory card or an external drive connected via USB-OTG. At this point, long clicking on the wheel also opens a context menu that allows you to delete the file / folder or add it to the playlist.
Sound settings (aka " Play Settings ") are also quite familiar: volume limit and volume level by default, playback without pauses or fade-transition between tracks, equalizer, memorizing the current position, gain, digital filter mode (4 available), volume leveling ( replay gain), the balance of the channels and the transition to the next folder when the current one is exhausted. This is the "gentleman's set" of M3s on the current firmware.
System Settings is also quite familiar to all users of players with firmware from Hiby. Here you can customize the media library update, background, theme, backlight time and off timers. Of course, switch USB mode (DAC or file access), 3.5-mm output (line or headphone), output mode DSD. You can also set the system clock (in my memory, Shanling is the only non-Android player with this feature). By the way, if you are enraged by the fact that after a short delay the player always returns to the playback screen - this can also be turned off, the option in English is called "Automatically Resume Play". There is also a setting for the buttons that operate when the screen is locked, and selecting the time before the player dives into a deep, battery-saving sleep. Bluetooth is switched on / off immediately and devices are connected.
"Blue tooth" in the player is very universal, the M3s can not only transmit sound to the headphones and speakers, but it can act as a receiver if you want, for example, to stream music from a computer or smartphone. But in this case, the APT-X codec will not work (at least my MacBook Pro shows that SBC is involved). Implemented in the player and support for Hiby Link - with the Android-smartphone (and more recently with iOS), you can easily manage the playback by viewing the media library of the player.
The operating time on one side is increased, the "normal" 3.5 mm output works 12 hours 40 minutes (tested traditionally with MEEAudio P1 in the role of load, 44.1 / 16 FLAC, Gain low), on the other hand - with a balanced output of the charge is enough for 7 hours and 50 minutes of work), which is noticeably less, although also generally quite good.
Sound
To listen to the device used the following headphones: iBasso IT03, Meze 99 Classics, Audio Zenith PMx2, Noble Kaiser Encore, Campfire Audio Andromeda, 64 Audio U12, HUM Pristine and others.
In the previous model, M2s Shanling tried to get rid of the characteristic, slightly vintage M2 feed, but at the same time slightly overdone it, and the M2s sound turned out to be very faceless-averaged. From the series, when there are no problems, but also catch on to something, to mark "in, it turned out well," - too, will not work. It seems that the developers also realized this problem and tried to give the girl M3s her face.
LF in the M3s slightly accented and also slightly softened, which as a result gave the effect of "realism" for live instruments. Of course, these nuances are not pronounced, so complaining about the lack of permission and working out textures here is not necessary, everything is at a good level for its price level.
The MF range, on the contrary, is fed without the slightest trace of color, the player does not try to add emotions or do something with the scene and the positioning of the instruments, the MF is not beyond the resolution, but for its niche the player is quite good both for micro- and macrodynamics. The imaginary scene is average in both directions, but the separation of tools and plans is done normally.
HF is also a little accented, in most cases it is beneficial for the player's presentation, reminding the competent use of the sharpen filter for the photo - the sound becomes slightly more airy, a little easier, the small after-sounds are accented and give the saturation effect. Of course, with the player should avoid very bright headphones, although it depends more on your taste preferences. Separately, I note that, despite the emphasis on LF and HF, the "middle" M3s has no effect of failure, because the accents are not made with the help of frequency response, it's silly to talk about "V-imagery".
Of course, without a few comparisons it will not do.
FiiO X3 Mark III . Of course, the younger-medium FiiO player is more competitor to M2s due to the price, but since X3-3 is still better in sound than "two", it can be compared with M3s. The player from FiiO offers a more neutral sound with a bias in lightness and better resolution on the midrange / high frequency, while Shanling is more suitable for fans of holistic sound and a warmer music transfer.
Cayin N5 . Another neutral and technical player without pronounced accents in sound. Brought for the brackets the difference in size and ergonomics (and it is great), purely by sound - N5 is better in resolution and microdynamics, but more dependent on the quality of the recording and sometimes it may sound rather dry.
Shanling M2s . If we compare two players with each other, then, perhaps, the most suitable word for describing the differences will be "boring". It can not be said that M2s sounds boring, but in contrast to the spectacular accents of the "big brother", this is exactly how the sound of the second generation is perceived.
FiiO X5-2 . Despite the output of the 3rd generation FiiO X5, the second one continues to be sold, and, taking into account the discounts, is one of the most powerful offers in this price segment. Sufficiently compact size, convenient control, sound, confidently balancing between technicality and emotionality - these are the strengths of the "five". If you compare it with M3s, then X5-2 is better for resolution, offers more emotional midrange, but on some genres, its additional emotions can be superfluous.
Compatibility
The correct step was to rework the amplifying part to reduce the impedance, which made the player more friendly to headphones with a crossover. Also, some models will benefit from a balanced connection, but mainly due to the added power. Given the presence of 230 mW from the "balance", the player is quite versatile in its load and can swing almost anything except for very tight models and high end. Noise with particularly sensitive models (ku-ku, Andromeda) is, but it is not large.
The genre player, naturally, is universal, if you like its slightly "painted" pitch, I especially liked it on styles such as jazz, chamber music, live not heavy rock. However, everything else he plays out is also nice. To the quality of the recording, it is fairly tolerable, more than 6 points on a 10-point scale, it can not be scored.
Several traditional tracks as an example
Kid Rock - Greatest Show on Earth . Do not be embarrassed by the name, nothing to do with the epic Nightwish album, the first track of Kid Rock's fresh album does not. In front of us is the same slightly poppy hard "stadium" format, equipped with an atmospheric introduction and a beautiful melody with driving reefs. This kind of music is well suited to serving M3s, benefiting from the emphasis on LF and good midrange processing.
Max Richter - Song of the Dead . Perhaps, the most interesting composition from the soundtrack to the TV series Taboo. Minimalistic orchestration, piercing female vocals, a contrasting combination of high and low notes, underlined by giving Shanling M3s, sounds very impressive.
Victor Rice - Motion Study I. I will not undertake to define the genre framework of this work of Victor Rice, there is little from reggae, a little bit from Latin music, a lot from jazz, but this list does not end there. If you take a good player (yes, for example M3s) with a suitable pitch, then this album will become a wonderful memory of summer and warmth and help brighten up the winter.
conclusions
Shanling clearly realize in what direction they need to develop their devices. The main drawbacks of M2s were identified and thoroughly eliminated, the new player turned out both stylish and musical. It would seem that one could relax and begin to open champagne, but on the way there are many competitors who promise to make the beginning of the winter very hot.
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