In this article, we review the flagship Shanling M9 Plus DAP which costs $2,959 USD.
Disclaimer: The Shanling M9 Plus was sent to us directly from Shanling. The review reflects my honest opinion as always.
Shanling
Founded in 1988, Shanling has been developing Hi-Fi products for 35 years. From high-end CD players to classy tube amps, the brand made a name thanks to great craftsmanship and top-of-the-line performance.
Shanling also develops a complete range of players and IEMs. We reviewed almost all of their portable products, including the original Shanling M9 flagship DAP, which was a recommended buy. Nano also reviewed lots of Shanling products as well as Yagiz. You can check them all out here.
Shanling M9 Plus
The Shanling M9 Plus is a continuation of the M9, with improved hardware/software and improved design. This is the new flagship portable player from Shanling and since the modular M30 device is not portable, I exclude that one from consideration here.
With the release of the M9, Shanling claimed that there was going to be a ”standard edition” M9 model later on, since the M9 was a limited edition unit, because of the notorious fire that took place in the AKM factory. There weren’t many AK4499 chips available at the time. It looks like Shanling changed the project plan and moved on to use new-generation AKMs and scrapped that ”standard M9” idea altogether. It only makes sense.
The device runs Android 10, with a Snapdragon 665 CPU with 8 gigs of RAM. The onboard storage is 256 GB. This is expandable with a MicroSD card. When the M9 was released, these were big upgrades over the M8 model. However these specs are the same as the original M9, so no changes here.
The battery is also the same; 8350 mAh with 18W quick charging support. The ultra-impressive, 6-inch 2K display is also present. Shanling decided to put a 6-inch 2K screen on the M9 for the best display experience in a DAP, and they continue to do so with the M9 Plus.
Upgrades
The biggest change lies in the audio circuit and components. The new device switched to the new AKM AK4499EX DACs. Moreover, this is a quad-DAC design, versus the double DAC of the M9. The quad-DAC design is accompanied by pair of AKM AK4191 digital modulators. This appears to be the common practice of the modern flagship DAPs, as the Astell & Kern SP3000 utilizes a similar internal design.
Here’s what Shanling claims about their Quad-Dac design: ”Quad DAC design offers an increased current output and overall improved dynamics, better SNR and lower background noise, with all four DACs being active for the balanced output. All four DACs are manually tested and paired for ideal matching in the audio circuit.”
Crystal oscillators are upgraded to 90.3168MHz / 98.304MHz versions, the in-house developed I/V conversion circuit was adjusted for ADA45253 and the whole DAC section got its own independent XC9519 power supply chip.
The amplifier section adopts an OP+BUF architecture, as the M9, but now features MUSES 8920 J-FET and BUF634 combination for smoother and finer sound, with an improved power supply for increased stability and total power output at 1120 mW @ 32 Ohm.
Overall, the hardware is not incredibly upgraded, but rather fine-tuned and incrementally improved. However, the Quad-DAC AK4499EX and 2x AK4191 is the most notable upgrade over the original M9.
The End of the Replaceable Headphone Socket
With the new M9 Plus, we no longer have a replaceable headphone socket system that allows you to switch sockets depending on your cable termination. The mechanical performance has been questioned since the M8 model came out, and durability was an important concern, though I’ve had no durability issues during my time with the M8 and the M9. Also, the design was considered an ”over-engineered” one. I think that a single headphone out made the device look cleaner and sleeker. Nevertheless, Shanling dropped this unique approach and returned to a simpler, conventional solution. So, no more replaceable phone-out design here.
Page 2: Design, Build Quality, Package, User Experience
Page 3: Display, Software, Sound Quality
Page 4: Technical Performance, Comparisons, Conclusion
erebos
Soundwise it’s best DAP on the market right now.
Mr Fripp
A comparision with the SP3000, N8ii or thw WM1zm2 or the M17 would be nice. The problem of Shanling is their poor software. As you mencionated in this review the gapless option still is not operative (for me is an important feature). In terms of sound probably it sounds wonderfull but Shanling is trying to compete with premium brand and i think they miss something to become a premium brand. I use to own the M8 and returnered because an annoying noise. I prefer spend that money in A&K or Sony.