REVIEW: Mechen M30 Lossless Audio HiFi MP3 Player (DAP) - Any Good?

Quick look @ MECHEN M30 High Resolution Digital Audio Player [$70]
Find it here: amzn.to/3J6RURh
Other models: amzn.to/3J9dKns
Details:
【HIFI lossless sound quality】 The lossless music player adopts professional DSP audio lC + imported DAC double decoding, which can effectively restore the real scene. The DAC hard decoding chip adopts the new WM8965 and Ti company's TPA6530 high power. Supported audio formats: MP3（8-48kHz,8-320kbps）、WMA（8-48kHz,5-384kbps,STD 8-96kHz）、WAV（8-192kHz）、APE（8-96kHz,high; 8-192kHz,fast）、FLAC（8-192kHz,LO-L10）、ACC（8-48kHz，8-320kbps,LC）、OGG（8-48kHz）、DSD 128（5.6MHz）.
【High-resolution music player】 The player adopts a 2.0-inch display with a resolution of 320*240, LCD display, intuitive and concise UI interface, user-friendly software operation is clear at a glance, the display has high color saturation, and can display lyrics and music. song title.
【Fashionable craftsmanship】The non-destructive music player is made of high-precision CNC aluminum alloy shell, which is elegant and portable, and does not leave fingerprints. The unique scroll wheel control wheel can quickly find the track function and is very responsive. The independent menu key and return key have a one-key lock screen function, which is easy to operate.
【Large capacity + large memory】The player has a large capacity battery of 1500 mAh, which can be fully charged in 2 hours and play continuously for 25 hours. The M30 player has no built-in memory, but an additional 64GB SD card has been inserted into the player, allowing you to better manage your song files without worrying about the memory capacity.（Expandable up to 256GB）
【Portability and Service】The size of the player is: 2.2*0.6*3.5 inches, and the weight is about 176g. The small size easily slides in and out of any pocket. Perfect to carry.
1. High-Performance Decoder
Professional DSP audio lC + imported DAC double decoding, effectively restores the real scene DAC hard decoding chip adopts the new WM8965 and Tim company's TPA6530 high-power, the integrated amp has the hardware standard of HIFl sound quality
2. Enjoy DSD playback
DSD64 lossless decoding, sampling rate up to 5.6MHz, Experience the natural sound and intense detail of the DSD audio format, thanks to high-quality digital audio.
3. Line out
Line outputs allow connection to another amplifier, such as home and car audio systems and devices such as CDs.
4. USB OTG
Mobile and computers can transfer songs
Transfer songs from the computer: After connecting the computer with the data cable, you can directly download the songs to the disk of the player
Mobile phone transfer: Android phone with OTG function, directly connected to the player to transfer songs
5. Custom equalizer (EQ)
Rock/Pop/Soft/Jazz/Classical/Electronic/Customize etc.
6.Audio format bit rate:
MP3 8-48kHz, 8-320kbps
WMA 8-48kHz, 5-384kbps, STD 8-96kHz, lossless
WAV 8-192kHz
APE 8-96kHz,high; 8-192kHz,fast
FLAC 8-192kHz, LO-L10
AAC 8-48kHz, 8-320kbps, LC
OGG 8-48kHz
EQ Settings:
Bass: The low frequency has enough depth to dive, no boom, no noise
Midrange: The mid-frequency vocals are in the front, the tooth tone is clear, and it has the clarity and separation of large beads and small beads falling on a jade plate
Treble: high-pitched but not sharp, with depth in transparency
Sound field: The sound field is horizontal and vertical, and the sense of space and layering is overwhelming, just like visiting the concert scene in person
DSD Sampling Rate 5.6MHz

[@dragon2knight]

Thanks for this, great job listing it's strengths. Just ordered one!

[@forceitmusic]

Will order one soon. This looks like the beast I was looking for! Thanks!

[@mana_beast_beats1114]

6:06 --- For cover art to display, you have to use Photoshop to manually resize the image (and use Tag & Rename to implant the image into your ID3 metadata). You want WIDTH: 8.889, HEIGHT: 8.889, RESOLUTION: 72 -- use Bicubic Resample to avoid adding noise / speckling to the JPEG and save at 12 (High Quality). I was having problems with cover art with my Hiby R3 Pro, and what I did was I found a cover art that WAS working correctly, painted over it with Grey Paint using the Brush Tool and then I just copy any new cover art and paste it into my Template. Works great for tricky cover art that is causing problems.

[@_wormlet]

Sounds like a lot of hassle

[@dirkdiggler5902]

*_Ain’t nobody got time for that_*

[@tonygatos1]

Thank you for providing a very informative and detailed post!

[@Jacob1451_Kapnobatai]

Thanks! I was wondering how to do this for downloads of my own music I've made

[@tommurphy9352]

just ordered one thanks for the review 👍

[@8polyglot]

Can you adjust the volume when the screen is locked, or do you have to 'wake' the unit to adjust volume?

[@leonardogabriel2480]

Hi! I'm looking for a alternative to classic iPod's scrolling wheel, would you have any ideas?

[@Rabixter]

I noticed that the audio cuts off on the last couple seconds of the tracks. Couldn't find any "gapless playback" related setting, so could only assume its a firmware bug. Was not able to update the firmware using their firmware update tool either. Still deciding whether to return it.

[@pootle5096]

And THAT is a major flaw if you ask me. It's almost 2023 and you'd think something as simple as playing back a complete song would be a given. As for gapless playback, my old Archos from the early 2000's had gapless playback. It's not that hard to sort out surely?

[@Rabixter]

@@pootle5096 Yea it does seem strange that in this day and age they can't make a proper music player. BTW I still decided to keep it because most tracks have a few seconds of silence at the end anyway so I don't notice that issue on all songs. It's just one or two songs where I've had that issue. But in hindsight probably not worth the price. Although it feel nice and robust and and the clicky buttons are nice, but that's just my nostalgia talking.

[@ACG7001]

@@Rabixter did you ever fix it

[@Rabixter]

@@ACG7001 I did contact them about it and they said they'll pass on the info to their development team. I didn't get a response from them after that. However it wasn't a huge issue for me because it only happened on some songs where the artist was singing right to the very last second (I mostly listen to eminem and some classical music). So I didn't bother following up with them but maybe they've fixed it in a more recent firmware update.

[@christopherhurly1593]

Hey, I'm wondering if it can function as a portable USB-DAC via the micro-USB port? It would be amazing if it can.

[@0000song0000]

mmmm... it looks wonky but resistant 🙉 considering my fave was my iPod Classic, i like this 😘

[@gu9838]

reminds me of those old rhaposdy music players and such. neat

[@222BRNO]

Great video bud 👍I would have purchased this but it does not have Bluetooth bummer . Is there anything similar to this that has Bluetooth ?

[@user-xy4sv9cl6v]

What mean DAC in specification? Can it be as external soundcard?

[@ruslanaleksandrovich2232]

Which player is better: Mechen M30 vs Shmci C60 ?

[@hold_onto_anything]

i'm sold, just ordered one

[@patpat5557]

How is it?

[@77.88.]

Will it work with Audible Digital Books?

[@user-jz6nk1qw9e]

How many volume settings are there?

[@regalisapertura]

the UI is basically very similar with my Nintaus X10, also the DAC chip use also identical if I'm not wrong

[@soundsnags2001]

Would that remember place in audiobook files??

[@mana_beast_beats1114]

Does it have a setting to Disable Scroll Wheel when the Screen is Off??? I can see that wheel being problematic in a pocket if it "wakes" the player every time it gets moved.

[@isalenav768]

no such settings, but the latest firmware banned the scroll wheel when the screen is off, that may helps.

[@getoutsidenow420]

Thats ridiculous to not have a scroll wheel lockout by default

[@Teaganbear]

@@getoutsidenow420 it does - that's what Isalena said. The scroll wheel is locked by default when the screen is off. It sounds like Isalena is just saying "there is no setting to enable/disable that, the scroll wheel just always is locked when the screen is off."

[@12298]

love ur music

[@Sarlee92]

I’m confused, I looked at the manual for this and the lock is the power button but when I “lock” it all the buttons are still functioning. Which I think defeats the purpose of a lock mode. When I have it in my pocket I don’t want the volume to change or skip songs. Am I doing it wrong??

[@isalenav768]

ask the seller for the latest firmware, the lock screen problem will be solved.

[@wernermueller3096]

Ich habe nun ein zweites Gerät geordert, aber auch dieses funktioniert nicht...Die Fa. will immer nicht funktionierende Lieder begutachten, aber wenn doch nichts funktioniert, was soll 1 Lied? Ist hier jemand, der eine Loesung hat?

[@Baculaquexxx]

Great review!!! do you consider it better than the Fiio m3pro? Thank you!

[@Zhorellski]

Do lossless signal (HiFi) works on Bluetooth too? Or only thru wired Headphones?

[@mana_beast_beats1114]

BT has to compress and degrade the signal and also adds Lag.

[@trocadero1965]

It will at 16bit not 24.. APTX drive. Forget BT, taste good cabled sound

[@rai_Blogz]

Yes it does if you have an LDAC setting on your wireless headphones. LDAC allows bit-for-bit playing which is slower but not noticeably.

[@alejandrak1246]

So between this or the phinistec z3?

[@alejandrak1246]

In terms of taking it and using it solely for music in your car, speaker, headphones. Connect it to computer to upload music etc

[@SleekArrows]

It says file formated not supported tried mp3 aac and dsd formats still same error.... please help 😢

[@KhatarsisDeMango]

Checke the microSD card

[@KhatarsisDeMango]

I've had a lot of problems with othe dap and files. The problem was the microSD card corrupting the files

[@SleekArrows]

@@KhatarsisDeMango ohhh I thought something's wrong with my mp3 player

[@KevinP32270]

i have the exact one and it's called swofy. i can't get it to pair with windows media player.

[@standardprocedure7017]

Looks huge. Bring back the Shuffle.

[@akulinamackenzie4492]

no 2,5 mm balanced

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

A list opt ed features on ip for mine a plus custom made

[@ariathyf144]

Promising on paper for audiophiles but that tn screen is an embarrassment. Peoples who have high quality audio tracks usually have nice cover art collection inside their folders.

[@SinceNovember-xi4zr]

to impress girls? professionals listen and play. pictures- Gert a game console. Sony playstation. dude.

[@user-jr3zr2mp9c]

Yeah, but does it sounds nice? How does it feel in the hands?

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

Put all mp3 brands on one video alike video game consoles

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

Make ip laptop mp3 alike design custom same look on screen buttons

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

Ip all mp3 i watch too laptop alike slide screen pop op pop a like laptop opens

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

But mp3 pop

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

Maketers opt

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

Design models and ip laptop epp now too same size mp3 a a pop

[@Ulexcool]

bro its designed for normal people not lefties

[@user-nd3be7tl8p]

Brief from my bot aid comp maximum immunity safety security

[@SinceNovember-xi4zr]

bs the thing is ok. best I ever had