Blend Of Tech And Sonic Mastery – Shanling M3 Plus DAP Music Player
Shanling M3 Plus is a $469 USD DAP or Digital Audio Player with a rather sexy design, 4.7″ display, 4 DAC chips at the core, and one of the most beautiful designs I have ever seen in my entire reviewer career. Today we will review the M3 Plus and compare it with similarly priced competitors that we’ve recently reviewed, including Astell&Kern Activo P1 DAP (429 USD), Hiby R6 PRO II (749 USD), iBasso DX180 (529 USD).
Introduction
Shanling has always been at the forefront of the audio world, especially when it comes to portables, including DAPs and DAC/AMPs. Although at high-end Munich this year we finally got to see some of the flagship-class CD Players for which the company is known for in China, so far Shanling has been making a name for themselves with a smooth and lush sound, bassy music presentation and an excellent customer support, along with reliable build quality for their products. The idea behind M3 Plus is that Shanling wants to offer a much higher performance than that of the M3x and M3 Ultra DAPs, despite M3 Plus having a similar name to them. As we will see, M3 Plus features a very different DAC and AMP section, so we will see if the changes are also reflected in the sonic performance.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Shanling for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/45u3cMz
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oDYPung
Build Quality/Aesthetics
At the music core, Shanling M3 Plus has a 4 DAC Chips configuration with 4 x Cirrus Logic CS43198 Chips, to sing for you in perfect harmony. Those are coupled with a dual SGM8262 AMP setup to power the balanced 4.4mm headphone jack, offering up to 800mW of power for a 32 OHM impedance. The 3.5mm headphone output is far lower in power, having a maximum output of 200mW for the same 32 OHM impedance.
M3 Plus features an ergonomic design, having a curvy silhouette, and a large 4.7″ Display to bring your album art to life. In fact, you can do much more with it as it runs Android 13, and you won’t need to worry, it does support most apps made for Android. It comes with AGLO processing, supports Tidal and even Two-Way Bluetooth Streaming, and USB DAC functions.
If you are a fan of long playback times, M3 Plus offers up to 13 hours of battery life if you’re using the SE or Single Ended output, and up to 10 hours of playback for the balanced output on a single charge. Those numbers are with half the volume, playing music from a local library and a microSD card. When you’re using Streaming, you can drop those numbers by 1-2 hours, or if you listen very loud. This battery life is powered by a 3500mAh battery.
I remember this raising questions before, but The Bluetooth Transmitter and Bluetooth receiver support BT 5.0 protocols, but with the transmitter supporting LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, and SBC, while the receiver supports LDAC and SBC protocols. The idea is that BT 5.0 versus BT 5.2 does not bring any improvement in quality and sonics, and using a newer Bluetooth protocol does not guarantee a better sonic performance for a DAP. from my study of those protocols, using BT 5.2 versus 5.0 will have no advantage for an audiophile, unless you use LE Audio and LC3 codecs.
Shanling M3 Plus has a memory of 4 GB RAM plus a 64 GB ROM, with 51GB available to the user. It is powered by a Snapdragon 665 fast CPU, and it has a 205 grams weight, along with a size of 115x70x18 mm. This makes it small, fun, portable but with a big display for its size. Although you can buy the M3 Plus in multiple colors, the beautiful Mocha that we have is the most beautiful option, and I believe it will make everyone feel happy when they see and hold it in their hands, having an even more beautiful look to it than copper cases.
USB DAC / Subjective Usage / Software
A subjective observation but which I think is important, M3 Plus has a high driving power, but the cutout on the case will allow you to connect thick headphone jacks like those found on the Harmonic Dyne Baroque. Holding the M3 Plus in your hand feels really nice, it is ergonomic, small and lightweight, it has that beautiful sculpting on the case which makes it super nice to handle. Type-C port at the bottom with headphone outputs at the top works really well. Volume wheel is clicky and responsive, while buttons are also nice and clicky.
Software is snappy, fast, with a rather colorful display that has a weak warm tint, allowing it to be enjoyable and not put strain on your eyes. Shanling uses their own music app, which works really well, browsing a local library works really well, Tidal integration is excellent and PlayStore is included as is CoolAPK, APK Pure and Via. Overall, the software is what you’d expect from Android, but with Shanling’s own optimizations for music, and there is a Pure Mode if you want to squeeze every last drop of performance from M3 Plus.
It is basically a rather fast smartphone underneath, but optimized for music, most games in PlayStore work, as you would expect from the very fast Snapdragon 665 CPU. M3 Plus has a USB DAC function that works perfectly, but it has a slightly odd behavior. If music is stopped, when you first play something, it has a delay between 50 and 100 ms, so it is not adequate for real-time playback like games or movies. This being said, after music is playing for around 10 seconds, the delay drops to under 10ms so it is not noticeable and there’s less than a frame of content of delay. Likely, this can be solved with a driver update or firmware update. There are no bugs, no weird effects, and M3 Plus works as intended at all times.
Sound Quality
Pairings and Match-up – To test the Shanling M3 Plus, I have paired it with a collection of Headphones and IEMs, including HamornicDyne Baroque, HIDIZS MP143 Salt, Simgot EM10, ZiiGaat Arcadia, Moritz Dragon, Crosszone CZ-8a Enhanced, Erzetich Mania V2024, Ecoute TH1 (Wired and Wireless), Soundz Flame, and Tin HiFi P1 MAX II. Generally, it has an incredibly high driving power, and it can drive HarmonicDyne Baroque and Crosszone CZ8a Enhanced really well, even being able to drive HIFIMAN Arya Organic, HIFIMAN Susvara Unveiled, and having so much power that I rarely go near 75% of maximum volume. There is no added distortion at maximum volume, and it is very crisp and controlled.
With all the IEMs I tested, I could not hear the background noise floor or any hissing. In theory, the 1.5 OHMs of maximum output impedance are on the high side of things, but the background noise level and hissing is not audible with most IEMs, including sensitive ones. There is a really huge difference between gain levels, it is not nuanced or minor like with most DAPs, if you go low gain, it is really quiet and controlled, but if you go high gain, it will explode, it has a much much higher volume. Control is similar across all volume levels, M3 Plus is enjoyable and distortion-free at all levels.
Overall Signature – I feel somewhat sorry for not spending much more time on the technical aspects, but I know we are all here for the sound, and M3 Plus delivers a really beautiful presentation, deep, powerful, bloomy in the bass, with a full, deep low-end, but with a vivid voicing, and a smoother, relaxed treble. It is really easy to enjoy all music styles with M3, it has an incredible driving power, but no overdrive factor, so it stays controlled and clean, distortion-free and crisp at all volume levels. Overall, it has likely one of the most beautiful sonic presentations in the price range, and it is particularly sweeter and more musical compared to the M3x that we’ve reviewed in the past.
Bass – You have to start somewhere so you start in the low-end, where M3 Plus really shines, or rather blooms and delivers a strong punch, blast and impact. It has a high level of depth, impact and delivers a sound that’s warm, has a strong presence of the ~20 Hz to 60 Hz range, giving music a bold body, and creating more sense in all songs. This works well for all styles, and while this is all with EQ turned off, you have to think of this coloration, as the DAPs ability to actually deliver bass, not an actual coloration as you’d get from using an EQ. M3 Plus will deliver all the blow, punch and thump your music may desire, having a strong bass for metal, rock, EDM, Pop and this whole presentation feeling perfect with all the music I’ve tested.
Midrange – Midrange inherits a bit of that bass bloom, having both a bit of extra body in the lower mids, but also a vivid, cheerful upper midrange which allows M3 Plus to emphasize both male and female voices. It is basically at the boundary of sounding ideal with both, giving female voices the emotion, sharpness and tonality needed for them to sound vivid, while giving male voices the depth, body and strength to sound real. Guitars also sound really bright and sharp, well-defined and even synths sound incredibly detailed, crisp and fun.
Treble – Shanling goes for their house signature with M3 Plus, having a smoother, relaxed and laid-back treble, to allow all music to be equally enjoyable and have zero fatigue. This means that you can expect pop and even rock and even metal to sound somewhat laid-back and smooth, there is enough treble to keep music interesting but it is the smooth and fatigue-free kind, it is never bothersome, M3 Plus just sounds sweet and luscious. Generally, this is in line with the traditional Shanling House Signature.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – To complement the whole signature, Shanling M3 Plus has a rather natural texture and dynamic range, music is never compressed, and textures are natural, they can go from very smooth to more expressive. This being said, it never sound dry, and has a slightly wet character in its sound, it is impressive how silky and generally relaxed M3 Plus can sound despite you actually hearing the information and technical details in each song.
Volume Control – M3 Plus has a wide variation of volume, it has an exceptionally high difference between low medium and high gain, it has excellent control and will sound similar across all volume levels. You can expect the sound to be similar regardless how loud you listen, but voices tend to become more forward at higher volumes, both male and female voices, while bass and treble tend to stay the same. M3 Plus is quite good at staying noise-free even when powering sensitive IEMs.
Soundstage – As it is usually with the Shanling House Sound, M3 Plus has a natural soundstage, it has a natural instrument separation, and it does not go for the widest or surgical separation between layers and instruments, but it does go for a sound that is as natural as possible, it has a signature that makes you go “wow, this is how music should sound like”. This means that the sound is not small, but not big either, it is perfectly balanced in the staging, and there’s a perfect balance between width and depth.
Comparisons
Shanling M3 Plus vs Astell&Kern Activo P1 DAP (469 USD vs 429 USD) – Activo P1 is a DAP that is about the same size as M3 Plus, with a similar set of features, although M3 Plus has better app support, Android 13 and will work better with Tidal and streaming apps. Driving power of the M3 Plus is much higher, and it has a faster CPU, which is reflected in how smooth the OS is in general. Having an Open Android system means that you can install more apps on M3 Plus, and they will run better. Sonically, M3 Plus is warmer, has a deeper sound, with better bass kick and thump, a more vivid voicing, and a smoother treble with less fatigue, even if you listen to really aggressive technical death metal. P1 is great for IEMS in general, but for full-sized headphones M3 Plus will have the higher driving power and will be more punchy and more vivid in the tuning.
Shanling M3 Plus vs Hiby R6 PRO II (469 USD vs 749 USD) – Hiby is the designer for the operating system and software for most audio companies, so when Shanling , who makes their own, enters the stage it is interesting to note that both DAPs use the same Open Android System, same CPU, and a similar technical configuration. This being said, M3 Plus has a newer Android 13 version, while R6 PRO II still uses Android 12, and R6 PRO II has a much larger display, which makes it harder to carry around compared to the much smaller M3 Plus. Maximum driving power is much higher on M3 Plus, although R6 PRO II has a more granular control for IEMS. Generally, M3 Plus sounds more dynamic, smoother in the treble, warmer in the bass, more bloomy and more refined too. R6 PRO II sounds more raw and direct, technical resolution is higher, but it gets harsh and fatiguing more easily.
Shanling M3 Plus vs iBasso DX180 (469 USD vs 529 USD) – This has to be the hardest comparison because the price is similar, but the design of the two DAPs is different, and both use the same CPU, and both run Android 13 as the operating system. USB DAC function works well with both, and both have a Quad DAC setup. For the outer part, the biggest difference is that DX180 is a larger DAP with a bigger battery, bigger display and it is made to be one of the smartphone-sized DAPs, while M3 Plus is made to be one of the Mini-Sized DAPs. Sonically, both DAPs have a somewhat strong bass, but M3 Plus is bloomy, while DX180 sounds organic, more open and lighter, M3 Plus sounds heavier and has more body. Both DAPS have a natural soundstage, but DX180 has more treble energy and sparkle, puts more energy into music, making it more engaging, while M3 Plus makes music laid-back, relaxed and smoother. You should chose the one that better describes your music listening habits.
Value and Conclusion
Shanling does deliver on their promises and I love that about this company, they kept the price of the M3 Plus the same as their other M3 line of DAPs, but improved the sound significantly, the whole system is lightning fast, and they are using a modern Android 13 OS, having created a DAP that I can believe in, which will survive the test of time, and which has an outstanding price / performance ratio.
Award – Shanling M3 Plus deserves a throne in the Audiophile-Heaven Hall Of Fame, it really managed to outdo all the previous M3 DAPs, but for a similar price, it is literally evolution with no increase in cost, which makes it worthy of being remembered. This being said, it will replace the other M3 DAPs in our Hall Of Fame thanks to the performance increase and no price increase.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a warm sounding DAP with a full, deep bass, vivid midrange and a smooth / relaxed treble, if you enjoy music on-the-go and need a portable music player with a long battery life and excellent support from the creators, Shanling M3 Plus is a fully recommended purchase and a DAP you will enjoy a lot.
PROs
- Beautiful display that has a warm ting, makes it very nice to use at all times, and it has a high maximum brightnes
- Warm, vivid sound with a strong technical precision all while being musical
- Smoother, relaxed treble that makes music easy to enjoy
- Ergonomic and beautiful, I absolutely love the looks of the M3 Plus
- Portable and lightweight
- Fast CPU, Android 13 with PlayStore support, all streaming apps work really well
- Huge difference between gain levels, incredibly high maximum driving power for its size, and no audible hissing / background noise with IEMs
- No bugs and strong support from Shanling
Cons
- Leather case is a separate purchase
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/45u3cMz
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oDYPung
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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