Shanling M6 Pro 21 Review

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UI & Usage 

No surprise here, the Shanling M6 21Pro behaves exactly like the M6 21, which is a good thing!

Android 7.1(.1) + Shanling Music App

The Shanling M6 Pro 21 enjoys the full Android experience, topped with the brand’s latest software. 

Okay, Android 7.1.1 Nougat may seem a bit old now and some players, like the new iBasso DX300 already moved past Android 8.1. But for audio purposes, it doesn’t make a real difference and Nougat is already a good bite into the new world. 

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Thanks to the Google Play certification, you can install, almost, any app you like, through the classic Play Store, or APK Pure if you want to use an alternate marketplace. The M6 Pro 21 supports Spotify, Qobuz, Deezer, Amazon Music, Tune-in, etc… Even Apple Music worked flawlessly and I could enjoy the new Hi-Res Apple experience, even if the Android app didn’t get as much love as its genuine counterpart.

The experience is pretty seamless and thanks to Qualcomm’s CPU + 4GB of ram, everything feels buttery smooth. Also, Shanling expanded the internal storage from 32Gb, up to 64Gb. I don’t know if it helped, but music indexation appeared to be a lot faster than before.

The Shanling Music App didn’t change much, too. It’s snappy and fast, displays the right amount of settings, and comes as a great stock player. Swiping from top to bottom unveils the quick-access menu, where you can choose to :

  • switch on/off the WiFi
  • same for the Bluetooth
  • activate the line-out function or use the phone-out
  • enable the high-gain level, mid-gain, or low-gain
  • access various audio settings
  • enable the AirPlay playback function
  • toggle between Android and Pure Player mods
  • change the USB mode to storage or DAC
  • take a screenshot
  • turn down the screen
  • and most of all, choose between single or dual DAC, when you listen to your music
Shanling M6 Pro

Shanling M6 Pro

Audio Setting menu

  • Select output: phone out (PO) / Line-out (LO)
  • Lowpass filter: Sharp Roll-Off / Slow Roll-Off / Short delay Sharp Roll-Off / Short delay Slow Roll-Off / Super Slow Roll-Off
  • Gain: Low / High / Turbo // Low for your IEM and sensitive headphones, High for the demanding one, Turbo for the VERY demanding one
  • Single-end: single or dual, depending on how you want your output to behave
  • Balance: Left -10-0 / Right -10-0 // if you have an auditive deficiency, this might help
  • Boot Volume: if you want your player to boot up at a specific volume level
  • Max Volume: for your safety, cap the volume
  • Wireless playback quality: you can choose between LDAC (Adaptative/Standard/Sound quality first/Connection First) or aptX(HD) and SBC, depending on your headphone
  • AirPlay: with AirPlay playback, you can stream your music wirelessly from any iDevice, like a smartphone or a Mac

USB-C and SD Card

All Shanling players use a USB-C connector and the Shanling M6 Pro 21 makes no exception. The transfer rate is great and the DAP supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

As I said before, the M6 Pro 21 offers 64Gb of internal memory and relies on micro-SD cards for additional storage. Every type and size are supported, from SDHC to SDXC up to 2TB, even if they are not available yet.

Again, the USB-C port supports two-way transfers and so, the Shanling M6 Pro 21 can be used as a DAC on a computer, or a source once paired with a DAC.

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Airplay / DNLA / Tidal

Good news, the Shanling M6 Pro 21 supports all major streaming providers!

You can download your favorite apps through APK Pure, or the Google Play Store. Then, all you have to do is sign in with your Google account, and download the apps you need. Personally, I downloaded the Play Store app, directly from APK Pure. 

The Shanling Music app supports DNLA and Synclink. All you have to do is click on “NAS” and scan for a nearby connection, then you’ll have access to all of your files, available on your local server. I never had any issues and was more than surprised by the steady connection. Once connected to your local hotspot, you can easily play music from every source to your DAP.

Airplay function remains flawless, and you can stream from your iPhone and iPad in just a nick of time. If you don’t want to set up a NAS, this can be a quick and fast option to stream, even if you’ll be limited to 24bit/48kHz max.

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Battery Life and Charging

The Shanling M6 Pro 21 battery is rated at 4000mAh, the same as the M6 21.

If the new Sabre chips drain a little more power than before, you can choose to use only one DAC at a time, increasing the battery life furthermore. On my first run, it took me 8h to reach the 50% landmark, so you should be able to attain 15 hours if you only stick to the single charge mode.

The player enjoys Qualcomm Fast Charge V3 but no USB-PD, so expect a moderately long charge time when using the adequate charger. Deep sleep works perfectly fine and if you just listen during your work commute, one charge could last one full week. 

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Bluetooth

Shanling was one of the first brands to add dual-way Bluetooth on its DAP. This mode allows the listener to connect a digital source to the player, all wirelessly. Compared to DNLA and Airplay, this option trades quality (due to limited bandwidth) for versatility: almost everything has Bluetooth now.

Compatible with apt-X, AAC/SBC, and LDAC, the Shanling M6 Pro 21 supports apt-X HD. Also, if LDAC, AAC and SBC get bidirectional support, apt-X (HD) can only send music to a headphone/speakers, no reception. If your source supports LDAC, no worries, if not you’ll be stuck in AAC or SBC.

Apart from that, it works perfectly well, and it’s a great option if your smartphone doesn’t have a headphone output anymore. Compared to Airplay/DNLA, you get controls directly on the player but lose album covers, your call.

The review continues on Page four, after the click HERE or by using the jump below.

Page 1: About the brand

Page 2: Design & Build Quality

Page 4: Specifications

Page 5: Sound performances

4.2/5 - (141 votes)
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A nerdy guy with a passion for audio and gadgets, he likes to combine his DAC and his swiss knife. Even after more than 10 years of experience, Nanotechnos still collects all gear he gets, even his first MPMAN MP3 player. He likes spreadsheets, technical specs and all this amazing(ly boring) numbers. But most of all, he loves music: electro, classical, dubstep, Debussy : the daily playlist.

7 Comments

  • Reply June 28, 2021

    Claudio

    Hi

    Thanks for your reviews. You should check the specs related to the power output because there are diferent in this version:

    “Amplifier circuit now using OPA2211, up to 760 mW@32ohm ( Original OPA1662 and 600mw)”

    Bye

  • Reply June 28, 2021

    James McCook

    Great review!

  • Reply July 5, 2021

    Howard

    Please describe what you mean by “dry”. I read that and I thing parched desert land, tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and sterile sounding. I don’t think that’s what you mean so if you need more words to articulate what you mean by dry, please use them….. 🙏😎

    • Reply July 6, 2021

      Howard Olsen

      Your links at the bottom of each page P1, P2, P3, etc …. all link back to the original M6 21 Review althogh this is the M6 Pro 21 Review. The only links that are correct are the “Click here” links.

  • Reply July 16, 2021

    Howard Olsen

    Quote: Power output is rated at 12mW / 48mW / 200mW @32ohms (L/M/H) in single-ended mode, and triple up to 36mW / 143mW / 600mW@32ohms in balanced mode. So, again, I’d strongly suggest that you use the Shanling M6 Pro 21 with balanced headphones.

    Again, you’re not just using the pictures of of the M6 21, you’re quote the specs of the M6 Pro

    Correction:
    SE power@32 ohm: 20mW@Low gain, 60mW@High gain, 240mW@Ultra-high gain.
    Bal Power@32 ohm: 60mW@Low gain, 240mW@ High gain, 760mW@Ultra-high gain

    There is just so much wrong with this review I have to wonder if you even listened to it. I bought it. It runs circles around the Lotoo PAW series. It’s musical, technical with exceptional deail retrieval and plenty of weight to the notes. You really should give it a listen, I think you’ll be impressed.

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