Shanling M2s High Resolution Mini DAP Review

Shanling M2s Pros&Cons

 

Shanling M2s Specs

• Output power: 130mW @ 32Ω
• Output Impedance: 4.8Ω
• Frequency response: 20 Hz~20 kHz (-0.2dB)
• SNR: 108dB
• Dynamic range: >108dB
• THD+N: < 0.003%
• Channel separation: 75 dB
• Formats supported: APE, FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, MP3, OGG, DTS, DFF, DSF, DSD 64/128/256, PCM up to 384kHz/32-bit
• Display: 3-inch 800 x 480 (310ppi)
• Weight: 100g

Packaging

Shanling didn’t exactly produce some premium packaging for the M2s, but they didn’t go super cheap either. The relatively simple black box is rather understated, but the minimalistic silhouette of the M2s on the lid is actually quite a nice touch.
But perhaps Shanling was making a statement here. They don’t don’t need to produce fancy packaging…instead, they let their products do the talking. whatever the case may be, once you realise just what a gem of the device the M2s is, you start to consider that perhaps, just maybe, it deserved a little more love for its packaging.

 

What’s in the box?

• M2s
• 2x Screen protector
• 2x Protector for rear glass panel
• USB Type-C charging/data cable
• User manual
• Warranty card
• Mini microSD card reader
• Phone/Line output jack plug
   

Accessories

Shanling really didn’t include very much with the M2s. No protectors are applied to the screen or rear glass panel, and instead you get 2 of each that you can apply yourself. The included jack plug is a nice touch, as it shows that Shanling took into account that some people would end up sing the M2s exclusively as a transport for an external DAC such as the Chord Mojo, Hugo, or IFI Micro iDSD Black Label. Oddly enough, no type of case is included, not even a simple silicone case. However, Shanling did include a mini microSD card reader.
 

Design

There simply is no denying it – the M2s is a handsome little devil, combining just the right amount of feminine refinement with classic design. Shanling did a fantastic job to create a modern looking product, whilst still managing to incorporate slight retro design elements.
Along the left-hand side of the device are the next, previous, and play/pause buttons, as well as the microSD slot. The bottom houses the USB Type-C port and the phone/line out jack. Oddly enough Shanling opted to have the USB port shifted to one side, instead of having it in the middle. This does cause a slight annoyance, which will become more apparent later in this review.
The top of the device is where you’ll find the power button.
The right hand side features the ‘back’button, as well as one of the most noticeable design elements of the M2s – the volume dial. 

In the hand, the M2s feels genuinely well-built and solid. With its curved edges and all-metal body, the M2s sits very comfortably in the hand. And even though it only weighs a mere 100g, due to its size that 100g feels reassuringly substantial. However, whilst the glass back panel does add to the modern design style of the M2s, it can make the device a bit slippery when sweat is introduced.
But aesthetically the M2s definitely seems like the nicest built DAP in the $200 and below segment. Heck, it even bests some considerably more expensive devices.

In terms of size, the M2s is surprisingly small. It’s not quite as compact as something like the Hidizs AP60 (in fact it’s technically more than 50% bigger by volume than the AP60), but still shorter and narrower than the Fiio X1ii, which means it’s still well and truly in the mini DAP category. The M2s is around 24% smaller than Fiio’s upcoming X3iii too (which will be competing against the M2s in the sub-$200 category)

What makes the M2s particularly interesting is just how incredibly versatile it is. Just like the Cayin N3 and upcoming Fiio X3iii, the M2s can be used as a perfectly fine standalone DAP, or as a great little transport for hooking up to an external DAC. However, the M2s also adds Line Out functionality, allowing you to hook up an external AMP (something that was missing from Shanling’s other mini DAP, the M1). And speaking of connecting an external AMP, the M2s stacks incredibly well with Fiio’s A3 portable AMP.

In fact, this pair almost seems like they’re made for each other. Stacked together, both fit neatly in Fiio’s new HB1 waterproof case too.

We previously mentioned the odd placement of the USB Type-C port. This proved to be a little annoying when stacking the M2s with the IFI Micro iDSD Black Label with the OnePlus Type-C OTG cable. Due to the cable being really short (10cm), this did force us to have to stack the M2s to one side of the iDSD BL, rather than being able to place it slap bang in the middle. But this is really only an aesthetic annoyance.

Speaking of stacking; you may have noticed that with both the A3 and the iDSD BL there are no silicone/rubber stacking bands in sight. This is because we’ve used some 3M Dual Lock Fastener instead. This method just looks so much cleaner, but more importantly it is more secure than traditional hook-and-loop fasteners, and more practical than having one or more stacking bands going across the device’s display, especially with a gorgeous display as the one found on the M2s.

This is one design aspect of the M2s that we must put some focus on. Now, it isn’t a nice AMOLED touch display as you’d find on some of the Astell&Kern players, but the M2s does sport the highest pixel density screen we have ever encountered on a music player. Seriously, at 310ppi it’s nearly as good as the 326ppi found on an iPhone 7, and a little higher than the 293ppi display found on the $3500 A&ultima SP1000. That’s pretty incredible for a $200 device, and it’s an absolute joy to look at. Colours seem rather vivid, yet natural, and text is wonderfully crisp. It’s certainly not the brightest screen out there, but is still adequately legible outdoors.

Personally, I have owned and/or reviewed around a dozen DAPs, and I can confidently say that the build quality of the M2s is right up there at the top of the list among the likes of the Fiio X7 and X5iii, which really says a lot for a $200 device. Quality control also looks top-notch, with no signs of obvious flaws (the same of which cannot be said for many of the competitors).

The most obvious flaw with the design of the M2s is the fact that it’s not the easiest to operate in one hand. Sure, it can be done, but it isn’t a very ergonomic design, at least not for right-handed people. Actually, it’s a bit of a weird situation.
When holding the M2s in your left hand, your fingers are within reach of all the buttons and the control/volume dial, but using your right-hand to work the dial still feels more accurate.
Likewise, when holding it in your right hand, the power button isn’t as easy to reach, but it just feels like you have more control by using your right thumb to turn and push on the control/volume dial. 

Read: IFI-Audio Micro iDSD Black Label Review

User Interface

Something we truly must commend Shanling (or perhaps Hiby Music) on is the great UI look and feel of the M2s. It has what is quite possibly the most stunning, complete, and consistent UI of any non-Android-based DAP that we have had the pleasure of using thus far. Or at the very least in the sub-$300 range (excluding Apple’s iPods).
The UI is responsive, and I really don’t recall encountering any strange lags.

Boot-up is pretty snappy, coming in at 11 seconds, in contrast with the 15 second boot-up time of the X1ii, but still slower than the 7 second boot-up time of the AP60.

The entire UI is a joy to interact with, with the only minor flaw/annoyance lying with the control dial. This dial does’t just control volume, but also serves as a scroll-wheel for navigating through menus and lists, as well as a selection button when it is pressed. But here in lies the first problem with the M2s…there’s no way to change volume unless you are on the ‘Now Playing’ screen, or when the display is off.
However, the biggest annoyance is that the control/volume dial is a little inconsistent. Actually, it’s not so much inconsistent as it is less than ideally-implemented. You see, the dial does have a tactile feedback in the form of “clicks”. So you’d assume that a single click would correspond with a single movement on screen. Unfortunately what happens most of the time is that you’d encounter a movement on-screen mid-scroll (between clicks). This leads to numerous corrections on the user’s part in the form of having to turn the dial in the opposite direction in order to go back to their intended selection. Hopefully this is something as simple as Shanling/Hiby having to adjust the sensitivity within the firmware. Although, if it can be fixed via software, we do find it odd that Shanling/Hiby had not fixed this before actually releasing the device for sale.

Moving on to Bluetooth, start-up is quite quick as well, requiring a total of 19 seconds to startup the Bluetooth module and perform an automatic initial scan for nearby devices, whereas the appallingly slow X1ii required 29 seconds just to turn on its Bluetooth module (as it doesn’t seem to do an initial scan for nearby devices automatically). However, the M2s again lagged behind the 12 seconds required by the AP60.

Updating the media library from a 128Gb card containing 4,621 files (mostly 44.1/16-bit FLAC files and a few dozen MP3s) took 2 minutes and 18 seconds on the M2s, which was only marginally faster than the 2 minutes and 22 seconds it took the AP60 to complete the same task. But both the M2s and the AP60 were considerably faster than the painfully and embarrassingly slow X1ii, which required an absolutely ridiculous time of 33 minutes and 20 seconds to perform the same library update.

We’ve previously touted the Hidizs AP60 as quite possibly being the most versatile mini DAP. Truth be told, it probably still is at its $90 price point, but what the M2s does is to take things up a whole other level by introducing a fantastic new feature. Actually, this feature isn’t exclusive to the M2s, as it has been introduced on the Shanling M1, as well as the Cayin N3, and quite possibly will be available on the upcoming Fiio X3iii and Hidizs AP200 too. The feature we’re talking about is Hibylink.
Unbeknownst to many, Hiby Music is responsible for the firmwares of many DAPs out there. Recently they’ve introduced the new Hibylink feature in both the Shanling M1 and M2s, as well as on the Cayin N3.
What Hibylink allows users to do is to connect their smartphones via Bluetooth to the DAP, and then use the Hiby Music app on their phone to control playback and browse through the music library on the DAP. This is a fantastic feature, as it basically brings a touch interface to a device that does not have a touch screen. The app is still in somewhat beta stage, and it doesn’t look as appealing as the official Hiby Music app, but it’s great progress nonetheless. There is an iOS app on the way too.

Sound

2017 is shaping up to be an interesting time in the world of mini DAPs. Competition is becoming stiffer, and as such we’re seeing better than ever sounding devices in this price range. Thankfully, the M2s is a well-deserving contender.
Currently, the biggest competitor for the M2s is the Cayin N3, both of which have very similar DAC chips. Unfortunately we haven’t personally been able to check out the N3 yet, but some reviews online suggest that the N3 edges ahead ever so slightly in front of the M2s when it comes to overall sound quality.
Now, we can neither confirm nor deny this, but what we can confirm is that the M2s is indeed a wonderfully sounding DAP.

As with many devices equipped with an AKM DAC chip, the sound signature leans towards the warmer and smoother side of the spectrum. This is not to say that it’s an outright warm and/or rolled-off signature, far from it, but rather that the M2s offers a signature that’ll be enjoyable and agreeable with far more people and will be more appropriate for longer listening sessions. Having bucket loads of intimate details can be impressive, but in many cases it gets so overdone that a bright and/or pedantically detail focused signature can come across as fatiguing. So much so that it can feel as though you are forced to deal with every single minuscule flaw of a track. It becomes a chore, rather than a relaxing little breakaway from the day.
The M2s, on the other hand, simply allows a person to sit back and enjoy their favourite music, without sacrificing any of the details. The difference comes into how those details are portrayed. Details that are artificially apparent is not as enjoyable as a device the simply extracts those details with natural clarity.
For the most part, the M2s sounds rather natural, with just enough of an analogue flavour to give it some character. The clarity on offer here is perfectly adequate at this price range and in such a compact package.
Whilst the M2s doesn’t have the widest sound stage, it wouldn’t be fair to call it intimate either. There is a definite sense of space between both the listener and the performance, as well as between instruments.

For Bluetooth applications, the M2s does feature high quality AptX (but not AptX HD) transmission. Of course, this does also require your wireless earphone/IEMs or speaker to also feature AptX abilities in order for you to actually be able to take advantage of this technology.

Value

The value of a device is something that can be quite subjective. We all have different needs/wants, and as such the value we attach to a device is obviously going to be influenced by those needs/wants.
Many people today make use of streaming services such as Tidal or Spotify, and so they might be looking for a DAP that can run those services. Unfortunately, in that regard you’d have to either buy an Android-based DAP, or use an external DAC hooked up to your phone (assuming that the streaming app would even recognise the external DAC). In that case, the M2s might not seem like an appealing choice. Although, you could still connect the M2s to your phone via Bluetooth, and use the M2s as a wireless DAC. So, for streaming services, the M2s isn’t the perfect choice, but it is very usable nonetheless.

However, if you’re looking for a great compact standalone player which can also act as a fantastic source, the M2s may very well be where your search ends.
Personally, I have waited quite some time for a DAP that’ll fit my own needs. What I was looking for is a device that has good sound quality as a standalone device, but also acts as a great source for using with my iDSD BL. It should have a high resolution touch screen, Bluetooth capabilities, dual card slots, line out, USB out, an intuitive interface, and no bigger than the palm of my hand. The M2s ticks every single box apart from having a touch screen or dual card slots. So, no, the M2s isn’t perfect for my needs….or so I thought.
You see, after using the device for the last week, I actually don’t care about having dual card slots, nor a touch screen. The M2s does everything else so close to perfection, that I almost consider it to be perfect…that’s good enough for me, and might be good enough for you too.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the M2s (and possibly the Cayin N3 too) in terms of sound quality and value is going to be the upcoming Fiio X3iii which not only sports a dual DAC design, but also offers a 2.5mm balanced output in addition to the standard 3.5mm single-ended output.

Rating

The TECH MERIT rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the device into account as possible. As such, we have a basic rating, as well as a final rating. The basic rating rates the product purely as a high quality portable audio device, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of standard features and specs. The final rating, however, grants bonus points for any extra features and specs that aren’t quite as common, and is a great way to judge the product as a complete package.

Packaging
Look and feel: 8 / 10

Included Accessories
Screen protector: YES
Protective case: –
Cables: YES

Build
Quality control: 10 / 10
Seems durable: YES
Screen quality: 9 / 10
Intuitive interface: 9 / 10
Responsive interface: 9 / 10
Comfortable button layout: 7 /10
Internal storage: –
Accepts external storage: YES
Relative silence when inserting cables: 9 / 10

Sound
Sound stage: 8 / 10
Detail retrieval: 8 / 10
Sibilance:  9 / 10
Instrument separation: 8 / 10
Neutrality of sound signature: 9 / 10
Ability to EQ: YES
Plays lossless audio: YES
Plays 24-bit: YES
Hiss: 9 / 10

Portability
Small size: 9 / 10
Relatively low weight: 9 / 10
Battery life more than 8 hours: YES

Value
Competitive price-point: YES
Relative value: 8 / 10

Manufacturer
Released the device with relatively bug-free software: 8 / 10
Is prompt with software updates: 7 / 10
Is active and prompt on forums/social-media: 8 / 10

Basic Rating: 8.5

Bonus points
Bass boost: –
Various digital filters: YES
Allows 3^rd party apps: –
Number of cables included: 1
Number of gain positions: 2
Fast charging: –
How premium the case feels: –
Bluetooth: YES
Apt-X: YES
Premium look and feel of the device: 8 / 10
Number of digital connections: 1
Number of analogue connections: 2
Power adapter included: –
Balanced output: –
Dual card slots: –
Touch screen: –
WiFi: –
Dual DAC setup: –
Premium DAC chip(s) used: YES
Screen protectors included: 2
Use of metal and/or glass: YES
Plays DSD: YES
Plays 32-bit: YES
Ultra low power-saving mode: –
Wireless connection quality: 8 / 10
Gapless playback: YES

Final Rating: 9.9