Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
One aspect I like about the R2 II is the reduced girth of the case and rounded corners. The extra girth of the M1s is due to the solid aluminum alloy body and although this adds a level of solidity but also adds some weight. The small Shanling M0 Pro surely feels sturdy since the main body is made from a solid chunk of aluminum which is then CNC-shaped. The Shanling M0 Pro looks like a miniature M3 Ultra. It has similar slotted sides and a similar multifunction rotary volume knob.
By doubling up on DAC chips, Shanling was able to obtain better rendering capacity out of the M0 Pro compared to the older M0 plus dual channel and balanced output capability. They were also able to obtain more data conversion fluidity and a much higher headphone output capacity. Both these DAPs sound similar and only when you tap into the balanced output of the M0 Pro do you notice a difference with a slight increase in dynamic performance. If you have a keen ear you’ll also notice better channel separation and a more defined plus slightly wider soundstage as a result of the dual channel output. One of the IEMs I usually pull from the shelf to test a DAP’s ability to quell harshness is the Tri I3 which is a tribrid IEM configured with a dynamic driver, a BA, and a planar driver. This one has notoriously harsh highs and an upper midrange peak. Shanling’s solution was to tool up the output as a line drive and slipped in a couple of Ricore RT6863 amplifier chips to beef up the output stage. This verifiably gives the M1s the ability to work well with more demanding gear. The HiBy R2 II uses a Bluetooth 5.0 radio to transmit and receive a signal although for some reason HiBy states that the R2 II is only a receiver. You could do both but not simultaneously since the device seems to only accept one Bluetooth pairing at a time.The staging capabilities are good and my only critique would be a slight loss of sharpness and definition around elements that gets a small smear treatment due to the overall smoothness in the overall presentation. It’s a choice between Shreek and sharp or smooth and relaxing. I prefer the latter. Both these models have a single 3.5mm output port but the M0 Pro has an advantage due to an available 3.5mm to 4.4mm adapter which also supplies a higher amount of power. If your particular IEM uses a 3.5mm TRRS balanced connection then it will work without the adapter just the same. Another point of interest consists of the Ingenic semiconductor X1000. This particular variant is a MIPS based 1gHz processor with built-in RAM and although there are two variants, a 64 MB and a 32 MB variant, The one used is undisclosed. DAC The M1s seems to be a model that sits in between two of the previously mentioned models. It’s a model that’s not a full-sized, full-blown Android DAP but I wouldn’t consider it an ultra-mini DAP either since it’s at least twice the size of the M0 Pro, for example.
Based on a quite powerful platform, equipped with Bluetooth and WiFi, it is supposed to be an extremely versatile, compact DAP that is well equipped for almost all eventualities. Now also streaming via TIDAL The OS is a MTouch 2.0 Pure Music Player, and M1S does not allow for apps to be installed on it, the wifi being just for Airplay and DLNA. We have good technical numbers too, with a dynamic range of 123dB at 32 OHMs, and a THD+N of just 0.0007%. Shanling boasts the Low-Noise Analog power supply and the American AVX tantalum capacitors. The two-way Bluetooth allows for M1S to work as a Bluetooth transmitter but also as a receiver for a smartphone, and act as a portable Bluetooth Amplifier / DAC. The Bluetooth protocol allows for LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, AAC and SBc if it is the transmitter, but only LDAC, AAC and SBC if it is the receiver. As far as MQA goes, M1S is a Full MQA Decoder. The USB DAC function works perfectly on Windows 10 and Windows 11, tested on both a laptop and a custom build gaming PC with most Windows services disabled. You need to install the Shanling Driver, and you need to do a reset of M1S after upgrading the firmware. The best solution would have been to place those buttons on the now-empty left side. I would have preferred to reclaim that extra-screen real estate and relocate those buttons. The latest upgrade for the Shanling M1s brings exciting new features, including Tidal integration. Enjoy seamless access to your favorite music streaming service on this portable audio player.Updated MTouch system gets all the extra features from the M5s, including Wi-Fi connection and streaming capabilities, it even adapts a similar UI design. But this time powered by a more advanced Ingenic X2000 platform, opening space for future software development.
The 650mAh battery charges fast at under one hour and a half from around 10% to full. There’s no wireless charging available and the charging is done via the USB-C port on the bottom of the unit. Shanling M1s supports decoding for most audio signals including PCM up to 32-Bit/768kHz and native DSD512 audio signals. Its hardware has been upgraded to support MQA(Master Quality Audio) Signals as well. Today we are releasing firmware update V2.3, adding our built-in Tidal app to all M1s players, for full Tidal Online Streaming over Wi-Fi. Are there any accessory standouts? Shanling does include two screen protectors which are nice to have. The screen already comes with one preinstalled so leave it on and save them for later on. Now, I’m not sure if they fixed the exclusivity with Android because the app only works with Android on the M0 Pro.
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The Shanling M1s has a slightly brighter presentation compared to other Shanling gear but it does not veer from neutral much either and does retain an overall naturally balanced character. Perhaps there’s just a smear of a better top-end reach. Tonality overall produces a natural timbre with just a hint of the Shanling soft-mannered warm character. That said, you can do OTA Firmware updates via WiFi, which is good. If you’ve ever tried to load firmware via an SD card, you know how great this is.
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