In this article we review the new Shanling UA1 Plus, a dongle sized DAC/AMP priced at just $/€49.
Disclaimer: Shanling sent us the UA1 Plus, free of charge, for the purpose of this review. In exchange, we’re going to give our honest opinion, as always.
About Shanling
Founded in 1988, Shanling has been developing Hi-Fi products for more than 30 years now. From high-end CD players to classy tube amps, the brand made a name thanks to great craftsmanship and top-of-the-line performance, embodied by devices like the new EC3 – a high-end, compact CD Player, or the new CA80 a lovely all-in-one CD/Amp/DAC player – something that I’d love to try too.
Shanling also developed a complete range of players and IEMs, like the M6 and M6 Pro (21) that I previously reviewed, now topped by the Shanling M6 Ultra, the M7, and the almighty M9 that Berkhan and Yagiz loved and praised, with good reasons. In addition to all of that, the brand also have a full range of delightful portable DAC/AMP, like the Shanling H7 – or its sibling the H5 – high-end portable DAC/AMP, that I previously reviewed.
But, like every good chi-fi brand, if Shanling can still be considered ch-fi, the brand keeps on delivering small quirky devices, embedding their motto at a – much – lower price. And nothing embodies it better than the UA1 Plus, the third generation of this pocket-sized DAC designed to replace the USB dongle usually supplied with your smartphone.
The best choice under fifty bucks? Time to find out.
Design & Build Quality
Casing
As usual with the brand, the build quality is absolutely flawless, with no gaps and premium materials visible wherever your eye can see and your hand can touch. The unibody case is simply gorgeous, and compared to the first generation, this new version truly feels like an upgrade from the previous design.
Compared to the H5 we reviewed a little while ago, the Shanling UA1 Plus might look like a toy from afar, but up close, it’s easy to see how similar they are in terms of build. If I had to bet on which one would withstand the test of time, it would clearly be the UA1.
End to end, the UA1 Plus measures just 40mm in length, 17.7mm in width, and 8.2mm in thickness, so its dimensions are roughly the same as the first model. To those measurements, you can add the (detachable) 77mm cable, for a total length of approximately 12cm. Thanks to this, the DAC can easily be carried in a jean pocket, a jacket, or simply stick to your phone if you utilize wireless charging.
And, if back in the day, I found the UA1 a tad cheaper than the Maktar Spectra X2 Lightning Dongle, the same isn’t true with the Plus version, which seems to carry the same level of quality as the X1, even though the Shanling costs approximately four times less. The closest approximation, at least to my eyes, would be the HiBy FC4, which looks like a magnified version of the UA1 Plus.
All in all, it’s a very solid piece of work that truly leaves a good impression
Layout
Like its predecessor, the Shanling UA1 Plus comes with a minimalistic I/O, in tune with its price-point.
Upfront you get:
- a 3.5mm headphone output, so you can connect your headphone (unbalanced)
Backside, you have:
- an USB-C Port, for data transfer and power
So yeah, nothing fancy like the FiiO KA5 and its bluetooth screen, or the LED lighting found on the Hidizs XO. I even thought that Shanling ditched the volume control, until I found out about the multifunctional button that is, surprisingly clever, combining a play/pause function and a volume control.
How ? Just double click and you’ll see the RGB indicator changing alternatively in Red, or Cyan. Once red, just click to raise the volume. To tone down your tune, just double-click again to switch into cyan and you’ll then be able to decrease the volume. Overkill? Yes, but once you get the gist of it, it’s kinda easy to use
No balanced output here, unlike the FiiO KA2, but considering the size that’s no surprise: a 4.4mm Pentaconn is quite large and 2.5mm outputs are becoming rare nowadays – apart from A&K devices.
Bundle
Inside the box
The Shanling isn’t really well-dotted, but for this price, I wouldn’t ask more.
Inside the box, you will find :
- 1x Shanling UA1 Plus
- 1x USB-C to USB-A Adapter
- 1x USB-C to USB-C cable (short)
- 1x lanyard loop
- a set of HiRes Audio stickers and a quick start guide
Sadly, the device only comes with a sole USB-C port and no USB-C to 8-Pin adapter, but thankfully I just had to use my ddHiFi TC28i to connect the UA1 Plus to my iPhone – and those who’ll get the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will be able to plug the DAC to their phone directly. Lucky!
UI & Usage
Daily use
As expected, the Shanling UA1 Plus is super simple to use.
You plug it into your phone, insert your headphone jack, and you’re good to go. There were no issues with my iPhone 13 Pro + TC28i, the same with my MacBook or even my iPad. On Windows, since I already had the right driver pre-installed, the connection was also instant, and I was thrilled to hear music out of the Shanling as soon as I plugged it into my computer.
It’s definitely one of the lightest and smallest combos I’ve ever had the chance to review, only beaten by ddHifi’s TC35 and TC44 series. If you’re afraid of dongles that might hinder your every move when you put it in your jacket, this isn’t one of them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people completely forget about the UA1 Plus once it’s paired with their headphones/IEMs.
And, as I explained before, there’s even a multi-functional button with playback/volume controls, something that was truly missing with the UA1 first gen. Top that with a detachable cable, and the UA1 Plus ticks all the right boxes!
Last but not least, Android users will be pleased to see that the Eddict Player app also supports the UA1 Plus, providing an additional layer of control, allowing them to fine-tune the volume levels, adjust the gain, and even switch the digital filter. And, with the embedded EPROM, the DAC will be able to store those settings, even if you switch to another device. Neat!
Specifications
For the nitpickers and nerdy ones here, I’m giving the specs and technical sheets. For all the others, you can just go to the next page to see how the UA1 Plus performs.
Dual CS43131 + CT7601 USB
Like the FiiO KA2 or ddHiFi TC44C, at the heart of the Shanling UA1 Plus, you’ll find a set of two Cirrus-Logic CS43131 DAC.
A very popular chip, issued from the MasterHiFi series and advertised as a “low power audio DAC with a high-fidelity headphone amplifier to provide a superior system-level audio performance”. And, history has proven that Cirrus really knows cirrus knows a thing or two about it, improving year after year, for the last decade.
As usual, this chip is more of an SOC than a simple DAC, embedding all kinds of features like advanced 32-bit oversampled multi-bit modulator with mismatch shaping technology, or an Integrated GND-centered, Class H headphone driver, helping brands like FiiO to create all-in-one devices, with smaller PCB.
To sum it up, you get:
- up to 32bits / 384kHz PCM decoding + DSD256 support
- Hardware MQA renderer
- -115dB THD + 30mW @ 32ohms
- low power consumption, between 6.25-40.2 during playback
- Seamless switching between high performance and low power playback
- Volume matching of the analog output levels and channel mixing
In addition to that, the UA1 Plus also comes with ComTrue’s CT7601 USB Audio Bridge, allowing USB 2.0/1.1 for flawless decoding of high-resolution files, up to 32bit/768kHz and DSD256. Ah and yeah, no MQA here!
So far, so good!
Full specs
- Model: Shanling UA1 Plus
- Type: USB-DAC (dongle)
- DAC: 2x Cirrus-Logic CS43131
- Sample rate : PCM : 8Hz – 768Hz (8/16/24/32bits) native – DSD64/128/256
- Output power: 1.6V @ 32ohm (80mW)
- THD: 0.0004% @ 32ohm
- Dynamic range: 125dB @ 32 ohm
- Signal-to-noise ratio: 126dB @ 32ohm
- Channel separation: 71dB @ 32ohm
- Output impedance: 0.5ohm
- Outputs: 3.5mm TRS
- Input: USB-C
- Size : 102mm x 85mm x 25mm
- Weight: 270,4g
- Price: $49
Time to plug in the DAC now!
The article continues on Page Two, after the click here
