The Goldilocks zone: Shanling M3 Ultra REVIEW

[@SuperReview]

Which one I would buy, how I broke my Hiby, and why I'm skeptical of the new Sony Walkman in the Q&A 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmeZgnqGftB2hpI

[@chungang7037]

nice, exactly what I wanted to check out!

[@raphaelmeillat8527]

Love your take on detailed sound comparisons across DAP's. Refreshing to hear such honest take on this touchy topic. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@andyhunt5150]

I really want to buy this thing😂. Great point about not being able to hear distinguishable differences in competing DACs. The human ear is simply not sensitive enough. That’s what an EQ and volume are for.

[@wahid-lg1kk]

Actually you can. You can hear it most clearly in dongle dacs. Compare a colorfly cda m1p to a fiio ka3.. The difference is obvious, and the only physical difference is the dac.

[@krayozmines]

I prefer the audio jack on the top. Shanling please dont change. There are already so many daps with bottom jacks. Keep yours on top please :D

[@SuperReview]

Yeah, good to have an option. What do you like about it on top?

[@krayozmines]

@@SuperReview i like to lie down in bed while using my shanling and sometimes i operate the dap with its bottom resting on my bed. with the jack on top, my in ear cable won't be there to hinder my dap resting flat on the surface of my bed. sounds very simple and not really that big of a deal to most people but for me it's a very valuable feature considering how often i do this.

[@christianwagner9790]

Wow, refreshing honesty concerning your take on sound comparison between Daps. I gave up long ago trying to hear differences in players , it's too tiring. AND.......another vote for jacks on the bottom.

[@SuperReview]

Jacks on the bottom is all that matters in life 🙏

[@SmoothSailingMusic]

Excellent video. Super helpful in my decision making. Ordered one this morning.

[@napalmhardcore]

I'm honestly confused by some of the people in this hobby. Audio is pretty well understood at this point in time and there are many studies which demonstrate how unreliable our senses are, particularly our auditory abilities. It's also been well established how prone we are to psychological effects such as placebo and confirmation bias. When we're talking about dedicated audio gear such as DAPs/DACs/amps from reputable manufacturers which get subjected to third party tests that measure all the parameters that contribute to sound quality (frequency response, output impedance, distortion, channel separation/balance etc) the differences should be far beyond our ability to discern a difference. How's it supposedly possible when two products which essentially measure neutral and have almost identical output impedance for one to have a warmer sound, more airy highs or a more fluid midrange (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean)? If one sounds warmer or has more airy highs, that would imply there's a difference in the frequency response. If one has a more fluid midrange, that would imply it's altering the waveforms which would show up as distortion. You can't simultaneously have something which measures well (which most self proclaimed audiophiles demand) yet somehow have these magical properties which supposedly make something more "organic" or "musical" sounding. The one that really gets me is when people give these lengthy nuanced descriptions about the difference they hear between different DAC filters. The whole objective of them is to keep digital noise/artefacts out of the audio band and leave the stuff in the audio band alone. They certainly shouldn't be influencing sound stage, instrument separation or any of the other things I've heard/read attributed to them.

[@SuperReview]

I feel like it's a microcosm of a much larger human phenomenon.

[@jamesrevell6475]

AMEN!!!

[@carlosdominguez3108]

Yup. At some point this audiophile stuff is as subjective and nonsensical as the people collecting crystals and gems. Does all this stuff affect the sound, sure. But it really is just a bunch of different people with a bunch of different hardware talking about their subjective experience, and it's full of placebo. At some point, you gotta just get off the bandwagon. I think the mid-fi is that point for me. Gear that's above entry level, let's call it the sweet spot.

[@Andyhandle]

Helpful review thanks. I'm waiting to try the Sony a306, much lighter and thinner, more recent version of android (v12), headphone socket on the bottom and longer battery life. I use USB audio player pro app on android, works brilliantly my LG v60 with its ESS sabre quad dac.

[@menschmaschine7808]

Did you try it? I am struggling between the sony and the m3

[@JLa748]

Good to see a DAP that carries a more recent chip and android version that can run things like power amp EQ and wavelet. For most players you are stuck with native music app, music platforms and that's about it. An issue for tidal users who would like to tinker with sound firms: no way of customizing the waves of your tunes on a bunch of the competitions android based players. Thanks for review.

[@echonomix_]

I appreciate your approach to evaluating sound.

[@SuperReview]

🤙

[@dragonsofnorway]

I have the Shanling m6 ultra and love it.

[@erice5964]

Looks like you have home button options now with one that I 😊received yesterday. The gesture up was preset. Very iPhone-like, happy with that

[@59250em]

It's very strange for me that you don't hear the differences between the DAP. I Owned the M2 and the sound was very good for the price but when I bought the M3, I heared a significant difference between them in terms of quality of sound (clarity, timber, imaging..). And now that I have the M6 Ultra which is 3 times the price of the M3X, the differences are may be 5 times better in all aspect.

[@Benesyed]

I can't tell blind A/B testing either. I go for functionality.

[@quantumcreator8888]

Mark great review like always ☝️ enjoy ur Tea 🫖 brother ✌️

[@CarAudioHorizons]

I’ll have to review a Shanling DAP one of these days to see how they compare to FiiO’s DAP’s for a source unit for car audio.

[@yablokosmonaut571]

Do you know if it's still impossible to customize the launcher? I'm also someone who would want my app to just have a text list of music apps and settings, not a bunch of colorful and unnecessary icons. Shanling are so good with FW updates that I have to wonder if that's still a limitation. Also a sad factor of the R5 Gen II which is great overall - the Android version being 8. I'm grandfathered into Amazon Prime Music, and for whatever reason, the developers of that app are very stingy about backwards compatibility. Even though it's just a music streaming app, it requires 9 or higher!

[@SuperReview]

Not sure if Shanling updated to support that, when I was talked to them it didn't seem like something they were going to address. And that's sad about Amazon music, I knew the old version of Android would be a limiting factor for R5G2 but I haven't run into it -- but Amazon Music, that's a bummer!

[@DJ_PROMO_PR]

Another great video. After all the DAP reviews you have done, which one is still your number #1 affordable DAP and your #1 not-that-affordable DAP? I know you like the Sony Walkmans...

[@SuperReview]

If I were buying a new DAP for myself and I had none, I would get Hiby R5 gen2. If I couldn't spend that much, I'd probably look for a used R5 Saber or A45/55.

[@phanindramvr2215]

@@SuperReview Nice. How is HiBy R5 Gen 2 better than say Shanling M3 Ultra or M11S?

[@DJ_PROMO_PR]

@@SuperReview I'm dapless at the moment. Had a Hiby R3 Pro for a while and sold it after buying a new phone.🤦🏻‍♂Gonna check out those units. Thanks for the reply.

[@andreyivanov44724]

@@SuperReview Did you like the Hiby r5 more than the m6 ultra, or because of the price?

[@SuperReview]

I like it better because it's smaller and has better battery life.

[@chungang7037]

What program do you use for album tagging? I find that my flac collection will work with one player, but moving to another tags stop working etc and it is different from player to player that I have tried/owned. Anyway, great review as always!

[@SuperReview]

On Windows, I think the app I've used is called MP3 Tag. On MacOS, I use Tag Editor.

[@chungang7037]

@@SuperReview thanks I'll check it out

[@frankpereyda1106]

I have a couple of daps. The old war house calyx m is the one with the best sound , a little warm ,but nice. However the ui is really buggy and it takes about 10 minutes to "warm up". The hiby, fiios and ibassos all sound very similar to me .

[@rajeebdas1724]

Hey Mark... The point about the sound differences that you mentioned that people keep asking.. And I've asked you this before as well.. I think what people wonder about constantly, is , are they missing out on something special sonically. Because due to the economical situations and currency differences, it is EXTREMELY difficulty for many people to purchase stuff that are beyond 200$... Like I'm from India.. And 200$ translates to about 15000 Rupees directly.. Add to that some taxes, it shoots up to about 17000 rupees.. Now, for middle class people like me, that is already a DAUNTING task! But as you'd know, there's nothing available at 200$! These stuff cost like 400-500$! That goes into the territory of 'utopian dream'😂😂 But then, we all do share the same hobby and passion, don't we?! Of being audiophiles and being passionate about owning the best sounding source Device we possibly can! Therefore despite knowing that there probably would just be miniscule sonic differences... despite you repeating this time and again, Guys like me keep pestering you with the same question... Should I own a dap for superior sound? Or is a humble dongle enough?😂😂

[@SuperReview]

If sound is your only concern, there is no reason to spend more than $9 for an Apple dongle.

[@rajeebdas1724]

@@SuperReview I think i know that now ... I have a CXpro 31993 dongle from tiandirenhe that cost me like 15$.. Sounds great and much better than just my phone... I'm happy with it for now

[@joefilter2923]

I got a hiby r3 pro for $159 a couple of years ago, and it’s not very different from the R5 pro GEN 2. I can hear a difference between the class a mode and regular modes. I like the hiby for power and storage, but using an inexpensive android phone with an SD card and little dongle would be fine for me because Hibi makes their app available free, and I really enjoy the EQ settings for MSEB.

[@rajeebdas1724]

@@joefilter2923 yeah .. that's a real plus... Bit perfect for free..

[@123benley]

That's why LG V series come in very handy you could hear a difference when that quad dac was switched on. EVEN More so with better headphones though. If using cheap ones not much difference at ALL. Whereas if you used some good Iems or H-Phones that's when you can hear it. Gone through many cheaper H-Phones iems An the step up in price and quality makes a difference. Otherwise it's all Samey Samey whether a good DAC is used or a cheaper one. Finding the right H-Phones you can hear a change.

[@benadoeffects]

Great information. If you had to choose this unit or the Sony NW-A306, Which one would you go with and why?

[@ebeisaac7700]

Nice review! Can you please give a review of RUIZU Z80? It seems to be the cheapest Android DAP available.

[@ANOLE_VX]

I'm really curious, what happened to your R5 gen2 ?

[@krishnakabcdefg]

Review Sony NW a306 please

[@josecintron85]

I am considering the M3 Ultra and the HiBy R6 III (almost the same price) which one would you recommend?

[@MrPatosexyhot]

R6III

[@rockfordsprout8401]

Are you going to cover the shanling M0 pro? I'd love to hear what you think about that device.

[@SuperReview]

Yes, evaluating it now 👍

[@borkir01]

Got mine M3 Ultra a week ago. Having problems with WiFi range - it is not good at all. Waiting for a Customer Service recommendation.

[@SuperReview]

Curious what they do for you.

[@borkir01]

@@SuperReview still waiting... time difference. If I can't fix this, I'll replace it with hiby r6 iii

[@borkir01]

They got back to me finally. Their only recommendation was to return it. I did not have this problem with m3x and they said that m3x was using different WiFi connector. So, I guess they downgraded it in m3u which is sad. Will be returning mine...

[@ciw8688]

is the battery replaceable?

[@vinc386]

I recycled my my mom’s 5+ yr old Xiaomi phone, installed some custom android 13 ROM on it, with just a couple of essential apps (Spotify, Apple Music, foobar and wavelet), and have been using that occasionally with my ifi go blu via Bluetooth or with a usb C cable. Beside the obvious - the xiaomi is so old, apple music wont run dolby atmos on it - I don’t hear much, if any, difference between this setup vs running the same DAC on Mac or my other iOS devices…is there any difference between an android based dedicated player like this and my current frugal xiaomi + ifi setup?

[@SuperReview]

24:40

[@ZootTM]

Great quality review! Thanks for the detailed information. Has anyone owning this DAP tried to run USB audio player pro on it? Great app for streaming over multiple platforrms with a good Equalizer and other features. It should work but I wouldn't want to buy blindly.

[@deadline7610]

I use the app to play my offline music and am happy with it. I didn't know it might play amazon music. I saw something about Tital & Qobuz.

[@videoguyla]

Looking for a DAP that supports a library of 20K or higher.

[@abhiansh]

I never thought buying a DAP would be this difficult. I have Sony NW-A106 and looking to upgrade (primarily battery but best sounding ones is priority )... Can you please help me decide best bang for buck ti drive - HifiMan HE X4 - Beyerdynamics DT770 pro 80 Khms - Moondrop Variations - Letshuoer S12 Pro My primary readon is battery life on 106 is much worse and it really dont like druving through my phine battery though I still use LG V60 as my daily drivers. Still considering (priced in SGD) Fiio M11S ($595), Sony 306 ($475 but it will have high gain limiter), If need to stretch it can consider sony 707, fiio m11 pro, Shanglink m3x ultra but all are in ballpark of $1099) Not sure if high end DAP are worth the money but and spensing in ballpark of 1.1K but they bring something which $500 DAPs wont have I can stretch...

[@krayozmines]

Shanling M3 Ultra isn't SGD1K+. I've seen it for about $600++ almost $700 i think.

[@in2green78]

What are your thoughts compard to the Fiio M6?

[@SuperReview]

M6 is a big sacrifice in performance, utility, and battery life. Barely Android.

[@MobileDecay]

There are apps to add custom navigation buttons in Android.

[@SuperReview]

I tried one or two, they were pretty janky and didn't solve my issues with this :(

[@MobileDecay]

@@SuperReview Oh that sucks.

[@Abhi-wn7sw]

Hey is Bluetooth performance noticeably better on m11s or m3u?

[@RizzY_RUS]

what will be more of a future proof DAP: M3 Ultra or Fiio's M11S?

[@123benley]

M5 ultra as it's not android it's a closed OS so best for music you own so it won't have an outdated OS in months I don't know why they cannot release any new android OSs for the Daps rather than being stuck on what it rekseses on. Ipods are old but still very usable once SD mod is done and if need more amplification then there's a few you can use along side it OPPO Ha2 for one or a transport.

[@project-du6ei]

Hi, is it normal that its temperatures goes over 43° celsisus? I only used Spotify, I worried mine came damaged and seller told me it is totally normal in this types of daps. Please help

[@SuperReview]

DAPs get warm, yeah.

[@verobx7201]

Will you be reviewing the Sennheiser IE200 soon?

[@SuperReview]

Yeah, got one pre-ordered.

[@verobx7201]

@@SuperReview alright nice. I mostly want to know how these stack up against the Kato and Hexa

[@markmiller7103]

Tempo Tec 360.00

[@Rod9844]

Hello, I'm in the market for this device and the Ibasso dx 170. Any insight you give will be appreciated! Thank you for this review.

[@SuperReview]

Haven't tried the iBasso, sorry.

[@TWiiZA]

Short answer: if you intend to use streaming apps then skip the DX170. iBasso really cheaped out on the CPU. Tidal runs smoother on my OG (Android 7) FiiO M11

[@Sushanttechworld]

Please review some newer sony walkmans

[@craigwhittle6503]

I just got an M3 ultra and notice the body starts to heat up after some use, is this normal?

[@SuperReview]

If it gets kinda warm, yeah probably normal.

[@craigwhittle6503]

@@SuperReview thanks man it’s been cool all day, I think it might get warm when wifi is on.

[@mushroomcrepes4780]

that box looks like it came straight out of the early 00's lmao

[@SuperReview]

Another era indeed.

[@h1a8]

I use apple music exclusively. So it's very important to me that a player has a system wide eq. That's why I continue to use my galaxy s22 with a dongle (or dac). Does this player have a system wide eq?

[@SuperReview]

Not built in, you'd have to download something for Android.

[@joefilter2923]

The Hiby class A mode is quite good, a notch above regular mode, and it’s a bit worrisome that you can’t hear that. So your comparisons are useless.

[@SuperReview]

Blind test yourself, please.

[@fredflint9153]

Whats wrong with this dap manufacturers, cant even give the latest android os in 2023 and very slow processors not to mention they are very expensive.

[@SuperReview]

I'm sure there are tradeoffs.

[@fredflint9153]

@@SuperReview with the technology today, there are lots of budget smarphones that is very fast and with latest android, bigger screens and battery not to mention faster charging. There is no reason to compromise those important features. As i can see it, it should be a smartphone with dongle dac/amp. How hard can it be

[@SuperReview]

Sorry, what do you think is the alternative explanation, that they're just stupid and don't know about faster processors? For me it's easier to understand that the people manufacturing, selling, and distributing these devices are dealing with tradeoffs in parts costs, software development costs, etc. You don't have to like the tradeoffs, but asking "what's wrong with manufacturers" is not a helpful frame for understanding anything.

[@fredflint9153]

@@SuperReview because this manufacturers are just too stubborn. Imagine $500 and up as high as 2k+ and you get an outdated android os and slow processors. Come on

[@masterazlan6999]

Hiby R2R.. Is better bro But quet expensive 4 u.. peace!

[@SuperReview]

Haven't heard anything R2R, curious.

[@masterazlan6999]

Its RS2 frm Hiby bro. Slow bro slow.. U.. peace!

[@richhume6717]

Good info, but waving fingers over the screens is very distracting and unneeded. Thanks.

[@SuperReview]

Thanks.

[@tibidt]

It you don't hear diffs .....you should not review audio gear.

[@SuperReview]

I can make stuff up if it makes you feel better about it.

[@tibidt]

@@SuperReview I need to apologize for being disrespectful on your channel, as you might suspect I was in a bad mood, totally not rated to this video. Why I was here: I recently got a high end set of IEMs ( Monarch MKiii) and I would like to make most of them. So far my best source is BTR7.... which to me sounds the same connected either via BT or USB....and although it is great, I feel a high end IEM would benefit form a better DAC/AMP combo. As I don't want to deep too much in the rabbit hole, I am thinking that a DAP would be a better (simpler) solution Vs a desktop stack. Now about the DAPs: I believe that the DAC part for any recent model DAP (above 300$ ....just as a reference) it's more or less the same. Regdelss if it's 4x AKM or 2x ESS or Cirrus logic. They sound all the same! They are all good! But I also believe the AMP stage makes a difference. M3U and M6U maybe be exactly the same or a very very small difference....and very few people can tell. But I do believe Shanling Vs Hiby vs Fiio vs iBasso.... etc...there is a subtle but noticeable difference. For me would be easier to get the Fiio M11 plus (because q local shop has Fiio) but I feel this would be too close to BTR 7....this is why I am considering Shanling.....Hiby is also nice, but a friend of mine has the older R6 and we can swap:)

[@paulosilva8200]

Chinese. They can't ever make something perfect. Wonder about the new dap from sony. They come with 2 models. Best eq in sony. Chinese brands eq is a joke

[@Donsploitation]

Boomer alert. This guy hasn't bought anything in the last 20 years if he thinks Sony still rules the audio space.

[@SuperReview]

What's it have to do with China?

[@rajeebdas1724]

In the hi res audio market, be it chifi iems or dacs or daps....china rules dude... At least give credit where it's due

[@paulosilva8200]

@@SuperReview simple software

[@paulosilva8200]

@@rajeebdas1724 since when. Sennheiser can make 1 dd driver sound better than 6 drivers iem. And what's the best world daps.from where

[@ItsWhatever736]

I have not been watching anything lately, because everything is an hour+ long.

[@SuperReview]

Here you go: www.youtube.com/@SuperReview/shorts

[@tanachip]

Thank you for the no nonsense review!

[@chungang7037]

I enjoy his videos in the early morning with coffee, but yea sometimes you just want the goods. But you learn a lot from his videos if you watch them fully.