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Shanling M3X Portable Lossless Digital Audio Player & USB DAC

£9.9£99Clearance
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Now moving on the audio specs it uses dual ES9219C DAC chip which gets help from KDS crystal oscillators. In single ended mode the separation has improved from 65db with M5s to 75db and balanced crosstalk goes super high to 115DB. Large capacity tantalum capacitors for the audio circuit were chosen for its enhancing effects on the lower frequency profile and two Japanese KDS active crystal oscillators for an improved accuracy, decoding capacity and reduction of overall jitter. The M3X is a bit of decoding powerhouse with its ability to render 32-bit 384 kHz PCM files, native DSD256 as well as having the potential to natively unfold and decode MQA files.

On the left of the device, there are three distinct function keys allowing users to choose between next, previous and play/pause functionalities. The buttons are tactile and easily decipherable by touch allowing easy adjustments when not in direct sight. The same indented grooves aids overall handleability of the DAP. Features: 16x MQA unfolding, Bluetooth both ways, AirPlay, Wifi… You name it, the M3X Limited has it. However, I find that the WiFi here takes a bit longer than expected to connect to 5Ghz Wifi bands. Do keep that in mind as I find it annoying at times. Under the hood, we have an 8-Core Snapdragon 430 CPU, with 2GB of RAM and 32-GB ROM. MQA Supports extended as far as full 16X Unfolding, and there is support for both 5G and 2.4G Wifi signals. The Bluetooth support includes LDAC, LHDC, aptX, aptX HD, and SBC. The bluetooth signal is great on my unit, and in line with most other high-end DAPs. M3X also works as an LDAC receiver, if you want to use it as a Bluetooth DAC/AMP. The typical file support includes Mp3, FLAC, and High resolution files, including DSD, and even Opus and ISO files, for those who like to listen to an entire album in one go. Battery life​Shanling claims 23 hours from single ended, 20 hours from the single ended dual DAC mode and 19 hour via balanced. I didn’t attempt to run the device through a full 19 hours to see where it ended up but it did make through my normal work day via the balanced output with 60-ish percent left by the end of the day. I would assume that the claimed battery life times are fairly correct.

FiiO JH3​I have a hard time using the JH3 due to the rather intense treble. It has a very sharp and piercing upper energy that just doesn't work well for me. I did this pairing due to the neutral treble the M3X provides. It did indeed help calm the violence down a bit in the upper treble and while it was still a little too bright up top for me, I was at least able to listen to it longer than normal. The Lows are still fairly ok with a little more fullness. The mids still have a slight grainy sound but since it’s much more tolerable, I was able to get a feel for the instruments and vocals. I thought the M3X did a good job of handling the treble and I got decent detail retrieval from the JH3. The staging was just a bit more open than I remember with other gear. The promised 16X unfolding for MQA is done for local files, and it is done 2X by the CPU, and 8X by the DAC, while for streaming, MQA is done at 2X level. I’m not a strong proponent of MQA, but I do recommend trying it for fun. Shanling M3X is a high-end DAP priced at 340 USD, with one microSD slot, Balanced output, MQA support, and up to 23 hours of battery life from a single charge. The main competition is going to include iBasso DX160, FiiO M11 PRO, Shanling M2X, and iFi xDSD. M3X is a downsized variation of M8, rather than a downgrade, so a lot of the awesome tech and advantages found on the Shanling Flagship can be found on M3X. Shanling designed the M3X as a scaled-down version of their flagship M8, to be a more practical and smaller player, with only a 4.2-inch touch screen. This makes it 25% smaller and lighter than their M6 and M6 Pro players. INSIDE: System: Open Android 7.1.1, with AGLO, very fluid, smooth. Excellent brightness and visibility even in sunlight. CPU: 8-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430

M3 Ultra overall sounds a bit warmer and more relaxed than the original M3X, while managing to improve on the technical aspects of the sound.Part 1 - Non-Audio Opinions​As mentioned above, if you’re not interested in the following, you can skip straight to Part 2 for my sound impressions. However, I'll keep this part very short as I'll only cover things that matter.

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