Details of Shanling’s New UP4 Bluetooth DAC/AMP Released

Shanling’s UP range of portable Bluetooth DAC/AMPs have perhaps not grown quite as quickly as their range of portable music players, but these devices are really good quality nonetheless. The latest addition is the UP4 which brings with it not just a new name, but a whole host of additional features and improvements as compared to the UP2.

Firstly, yes, it seems that Shanling has, for whatever reason, decided to skip the UP3 and jump straight to the UP4. However, a jump in the name actually makes complete sense if we take a look at what a jump in specs the UP4 has over the UP2.
First up is the fact that the new version has both a 3.5mm single-ended as well as a 2.5mm balanced output, which is a first for any of the UP devices. As is usually the case with a balanced output, there is more power on tap, and in the case of the UP4 there is nearly 150% more power available than the UP2 thanks to that aforementioned balanced output, as well as a roughly 35% increase via the regular single-ended output. Shanling have also gone ahead and implemented NFC technology to allow for easy one-touch pairing between the UP4 and your mobile device (or other compatible music player).

Just like the UP2, the UP4 features Bluetooth 5.0, and Sabre ES9218P DAC chip also makes another appearance, except that this time ’round it’s a dual DAC setup.
Details have not been given regarding the battery capacity, but seeing as the UP4 looks like a physically larger device and that Shanling has stated that the UP4 has a maximum battery life of 15 hours (vs. 11 hours from the UP2), it seems likely that the newer model does indeed have a larger battery.

The MSRP for the UP4 has not been announced, but it seems likely that it will compete directly with FiiO’s upcoming BTR5, in which case the price-tag will probably sit at around $100 or so.