Shanling M0 Pro DAP Review

[staticV3]

100mW into 300 ohms will give you 112dB through a pair of HD600s which I would consider the minimum for highly dynamic music at lifelike listening levels.

According to Amir's measurements, 100mW into 300Ω would drive the HD600 to 118.5dB SPL

 

[oscar_dziki]

"Fine" with me, though I don't quite understand the purpose of such players, considering everybody has a portable player already, which is a smartphone. Maybe to save space on said smartphone?

If you don't want to run with a smartphone in your pants?

 

[jbattman1016]

"Fine" with me, though I don't quite understand the purpose of such players, considering everybody has a portable player already, which is a smartphone. Maybe to save space on said smartphone?

Headphone jack.

 

[Michael Fidler]

According to Amir's measurements, 100mW into 300Ω would drive the HD600 to 118.5dB SPL

I just know that the spec is 97dB at 1V RMS. With a resistance of 300Ω this gives 3.33mW which is translates to 91.8dB at 1mW. Then we just add 20dB to that to get the 111.8 figure at 100mW.

 

[staticV3]

I just know that the spec is 97dB at 1V RMS. With a resistance of 300Ω this gives 3.33mW which is translates to 91.8dB at 1mW. Then we just add 20dB to that to get the 111.8 figure at 100mW.

Ah yes, I'm fairly sure that's a typo from Sennheiser's marketing department and is supposed to say 97dB at 1mW.

Tyll Hertsens from Innerfidelity measured 97.6dB/mW and Amir measured 99.
At 1Vrms, they measured 102.7 and 103.7 respectively.

 

[Eldus]

Cute little guy, when I first saw it I was hoping it might be a more modern replacement for my very ageing Sansa Clip +.
But the minute I read about the swipe touch control panel I knew it wasn't for me, I hate those damn things. The first remote
I got for my Apple 4K has one and its junk to use. Later generation units went back to a conventional 5 way controller.
Oh well, for my uses, portable music in my trunk, at the poolside, etc, my little Sansa still fills the bill for me and they're still available everywhere for mostly under $50

I wonder how it measures and if RockBox changes anything. I recall reading about a bug back in the day where in the og firmware 1khz would play as 999hz.

 

[Timcognito]

Thanks Amir. I like that you listed the Mfg. specs. I nice stocking stuffer.

 

[Sal1950]

But it's an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator, an iPod, a phone...

I got all that and more at my fingertips approx 16hrs a day at home.
I don't need or want to pay $100+ dollars a month to hall that big thing
around every where I go. I need the safety and security of having a cool little
flip-phone in my pocket to connect anywhere in the world when I'm on the run.
If you need to "communicate" with me instantly, call me.
It costs me right at $100 a year.
Besides, The smart-phone has created the rudest, most ignorant generation
of people that have ever existed.

 

[JohnBooty]

If you don't want to run with a smartphone in your pants?

Offtopic, but I've found that runner's belts like this are great for carrying a phone while exercising. I'm not sure about running but it's fine for tennis and walking. In all of the product pictures they seem to be shown on the front of the model's body, but I think many would prefer to wear it reversed with the pocket between one's back and backside. (Yes, it's essentially a slim version of a fannypack/bumbag)

"Fine" with me, though I don't quite understand the purpose of such players, considering everybody has a portable player already, which is a smartphone. Maybe to save space on said smartphone?

I've realized I sort of hate most smartphone music apps. Sometimes I just enjoy a good old 2005-style DAP.

 

[SuicideSquid]

"Fine" with me, though I don't quite understand the purpose of such players, considering everybody has a portable player already, which is a smartphone. Maybe to save space on said smartphone?

I used a portable player for years despite having a smartphone. Much easier to toss in my pocket and not worry about on a run, or at the gym. Also doesn't drain my smartphone battery on a long trip if I want to listen to music or a podcast.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Amen, I don't have a "smart phone" either. I don't want to carry around the big clunky expensive things simply to make
a phone call.

Mine is indispensable for work emails (being able to open and read Word and Excel files on the go) as well as photography. And for posting in forums!

 

[shuppatsu]

Ah yes, I'm fairly sure that's a typo from Sennheiser's marketing department and is supposed to say 97dB at 1mW.

Tyll Hertsens from Innerfidelity measured 97.6dB/mW and Amir measured 99.
At 1Vrms, they measured 102.7 and 103.7 respectively.

Yes, pretty sure it’s a typo. And it’s not just the HD600. They spec 1V RMS for the HD650 too and the independent measurements are much closer to 1mW.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Nice thing about it is the 2 tb of microSD storage availability, though if you actually put 2-3 thousand flac albums on the card, I think you might have a hard time finding and retrieving any particular one of them.

 

[Michael Fidler]

Ah yes, I'm fairly sure that's a typo from Sennheiser's marketing department and is supposed to say 97dB at 1mW.

Tyll Hertsens from Innerfidelity measured 97.6dB/mW and Amir measured 99.
At 1Vrms, they measured 102.7 and 103.7 respectively.

Thanks for the heads up! In this case 64mW would be more than adequate.

 

[pseudoid]

Thank you for this review, @amirm,
Shanling MO seems to be worth the price (re: performance) but I am not certain if it should be called a "Pro" model...

I've had my 3rd MediaPlayer (xDuoo X20) for about 3 years and it refuses to die.

Mine is indispensable for...

...a variety of uses, since I don't holster a phone.
It serves as my music library in my cars, as well as when I am too lazy to connect to my NAS music library.

 

[Berwhale]

Nice thing about it is the 2 tb of microSD storage availability, though if you actually put 2-3 thousand flac albums on the card, I think you might have a hard time finding and retrieving any particular one of them.

I have the non-Pro M0 and I have 24,534 tracks in my FLAC collection. MusicBee automatically transcodes the FLACs to VBR MP3 and syncs and new ones with the M0 when I connect it to my PC (I have the same setup for my phone and tablet but using OPUS instead of MP3).

I currently have 172GB of MP3s on the 512GB microSD in the M0. Disconnecting the M0 from my PC causes it to update it's library. This happens at a rate of roughly 2,000 tracks per minute, so it currently takes 12-13 minutes for it to finish updating (I think the same task in Power Amp takes a couple of minutes on my phone and tablet)

I don't find it that hard to scroll through my library, sure it's a bit fiddly, but you can slide your finger up and down the right side of the screen to rapidly scroll through the list.

*edit* I may have over estimated the speed of the M0, it's been going for 7 minutes and it's done 11,000 tracks, so under halfway.

 

[Berwhale]

The range of functionality of the M0 (and presumably the newer Pro version) is interesting....

M0 can act as a source and drive a USB DAC - I've had it working with my Topping D50s and it will play through my Moondrop FreeDSP USB-C IEM cable.
M0 can act as a DAC - I can plug it in my PC and play Windows audio through it.
M0 can transmit over Bluetooth (using LDAC). I can drive the D50s over Bluetooth or connect to wireless earbuds (e.g. my Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro)
M0 can receive over Bluetooth (using LDAC). I can transmit audio from my phone and use the M0 as a wired headphone amp.

That's quite a lot of functionality crammed into a chassis that has the same footprint as the case for my Galaxy Buds Pro but is half the thickness...

 

[Sal1950]

Mine is indispensable for work emails (being able to open and read Word and Excel files on the go) as well as photography. And for posting in forums!

What did you do 10 years ago? LOL

 

[Sal1950]

I wonder how it measures and if RockBox changes anything. I recall reading about a bug back in the day where in the og firmware 1khz would play as 999hz.

Maybe when I need a new one I'll have it drop shipped to Amir for testing.
For my needs it needn't be ultra fidelity tho it's onboard DAC plays lossless flac files with no issue.

 

[Jimster480]

Eh this is "ok" I think the abilty to drive another DAC might be good for specific scenarios.
Otherwise the performance itself is kinda lackluster and as someone else mentioned; I would get a Sansa Clip instead... there are also tons of $50 touchscreen Android players on ebay and most of them will work with OTG so DACs.