Shanling M6 Portable Wireless Digital Audio Player & USB DAC [Dual AKM AK4495SEQ DAC], Hi-Res Audio, Balanced Output, Two-Way Bluetooth, 3.5mm/2.5mm balanced/4.4mm - Black

My beloved Pioneer XDP - 300, while only about three years old, was beginning to shed battery life, so I decided it might just be time to upgrade. I'm pretty particular about my needs, while also being blissfully ignorant about many technical/audiophile points that can tie some people up, and for me the Shanling M6 hit the sweet spot. I haven't been sorry. It's a beautifully compact, beautifully designed little device, weighty and full of glorious sound. You can download other apps from Google Play on this (when shopping around, I noticed that several other compatible devices didn't allow for that) so I've downloaded Poweramp, which I use rather than the dedicated Shanling app. You can, by the way, also download and use music streaming devices such as Tidal, but I can't attest to that or how well it works. I invested in a 1TB micro sd card, and this is more than enough to hold all my many, many music files - I've even started downloading high-res material, and there's still plenty of room. It comes with a variety of headphone jacks, including two different ones for balanced cables, including a 4.4mm one, which I'd never encountered before). Bluetooth powers my various wireless speakers wonderfully, and even as I type this I'm listening to Mahler's 1st with it, coupled with a Cambridge YoYo and the sound is divine.Downsides: It takes a while to boot up, about a minute, and while the Shanling music app offers excellent sound, I found it cumbersome to use and to update. It kept ignoring my tagging and bunging songs in different files (any band with a live album called "Live", for instance, all had their songs lumped into one big "Live" album file, regardless of the band/artist name). I now use the Poweramp app, which I find more intuitive, informative and which updates without a blink.These are minor inconveniences, however, and in ultimately I'm in it for the music. As I'm now retired, I don't listen to music on the go so much any more, but am more than happy to peruse the wide range of files I've ripped onto here and play it in the best sound possible at this price point. And I'm more than happy -- this thing sparks the proverbial joy.

I’ve used a number of hi res player and this is near perfect.The Shanling app needs a little work which they’ve been improving with firmware updates.I really wish the Android software was refined and optimised for better battery life. Also it’d be nice if you can buy apps.Otherwise for me personally, this is a near perfect player! Super happy with this