Pair ups.
Although I mentioned a few pairings already, I still wanted to highlight a few to provide a good sense of the strengths of the M8.
64 Audio Tia Trio
I paired the Trio with the PlusSound Exo GPS cable and pairing this with the M8 provided great synergy. The Trio get a very analogue-type bass that is full of texture and detail, quite lush and at the same time punchy and physical. It rumbles more than I am used to. The treble gets a very nice, somewhat sweet sparkle and the overall feel is musical and fun.
FiR Audio M4
I used this pairing in my classical music series because combined with the DITA Audi Oslo cable, the pairing with the M8 produces the biggest and most natural feeling stage I have heard so far. It felt like a concert hall and as if the M4 were scaling beyond my usual PAW6000. The PAW6000 also made for quite a bright pairing that was toned down by switching to the M8 and midrange notes became a little warmer and fuller sounding, that in my opinion really helped with the timbre of acoustic instruments.
Vision Ears VE5
A superb pairing together with the Effect Audio Lionheart cable. I find this pairing to be among the most natural sounding I know and transparency is fantastic. The midrange is beautiful with outstanding vocals that are clear and have great density. The M8 makes the stage of the VE5 bigger and yet they still maintain something that feels intimate and focused.
Connections.
The M8 has a wide range of connection types that give it great versatility. The Qualcomm CSR8675 chipset offers full BlueTooth 5.0 support with LDAC, LHDC, aptX HD and SBC transmission and reception, as well as additional aptX LL, aptX and AAC reception. It has 2.5/5G WiFi with WiFi file transfer support and firmware updates.
For wired, it has USB DAC function with up to 32 bit/768 kHz and native DSD512 support. It has a software Line Out that sets the volume to LO voltage level and this works with every module, as well as USB digital out. I have used the digital out with the Violectric V380 desktop DAC/amp and it works very smoothly. The M8 automatically recognizes a DAC/amp has been connected and when unplugged switches back automatically as well.
Conclusions.
With the M8 Shanling have firmly established themselves in the portable high-end with a very refined, high quality and beautiful sounding DAP. A lot of attention to detail went into it and the only area where some improvements can be made is at the software level. The implementation of the AK4499EQ DAC chips has been done very well and the sound quality reflects that, it is a very high quality reference sound with a hint of warmth and a natural feel. It is refined and does not resort to any tricks to add a perception of detail. Build quality is great and the system runs super smooth with full Play Store support. Last but not least, the highly innovative interchangeable headphone socket adds versatility that will extend beyond just the different types of standard headphone out. Excellent job Shanling!
Twister6 Reviews 
I surprised you didn’t compare the M8 to the Hiby R8 given their similar price point.
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Hi Mark, Alex/Twister6 reviewed the R8 and I (Erik/Wyville) wrote this one. I would have loved to compared to the R8 because it indeed makes perfect sense, but unfortunately I don’t have access to it.
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Just want to chime in as a M8 owner, not only is it superb, but customer service is A+ Had to do a warranty return, and a brand new M8 was delivered in days.
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Have you had a LPGT to be able to compare the SQ of the two? I fully understand they are two different price points, but im currious if the M8 starts to bridge the gap considering its priced higher than the P6k
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I have not had the opportunity yet, but am expecting the LPGT to come in within a couple of days and so I will be able to say something about that later on.
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I have finally had some time to compare the M8 with the LPGT. In all honesty, I think the M8 is closer to the PAW6000 in terms of sound quality. The M8 and PAW6000 represent fairly close alternatives, with the M8 providing a more analogue sound. The LPGT however is a very high quality neutral sound that is a significant step ahead of the M8 in terms of technical performance and dynamics. I can still see people preferring the M8 though, simply because of its analogue quality and wonderful bass performance.
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Do you have the Vision Ears VE8 to be paired with Shanling M8? Also, pair-ups was misspelled as “Par ups”.
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Sorry I don’t have the VE8, which is a terrible shame because I demoed those and really liked them. Thanks for pointing out the spelling errors, corrected now. 🙂
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How do you see the M8 paired with Limeears’ Aether R and Janus D cable? I am actually thinking to upgrade my A&K SR25 with it or SE200. Thank you for your opinion; I am feeling a little unsure.
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Sorry never heard the Aether R or Janus D myself. The M8 has a little warmth to it and can smooth the treble just a bit. Not sure what that would do with your pairing though. I also don’t know how the SE200 would compare to the M8.
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Hi, can you do a comparison between M8 and WM1Z?
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Hi Andy, Sorry I don’t have the WM1Z.
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Hi, can you do a comparison between M8 and Cayin n6ii (E02)?
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Hi Andy,
I don’t have access to the Cayin N6ii, so I can’t compare. Alex (Twister6) reviewed the Cayin, but he doesn’t have access to the M8.
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How was the EE Phantom with the M8? I have the Phantom and am interested in this dap, but am concerned with the synergy
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Any chance to review the Shanling M6 Pro 21?
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I personally don’t have any plans for it, but I am not sure about the others here.
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Hi, any chance for a quick comparison with the DX300? Especially regarding bass performance, tonality and imaging.
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Erik is the one who reviewed M8, while I’m (twister6) the one with DX300, so we can’t do direct comparison using the same pair of IEMs/headphones. The only thing I can tell you with certainty is DX300 performance will be a lot faster and more stable considering M8 running on android 7 and using older snapdragon. But many have been raving about M8 warmer natural tonality, and of course, M9 is just around the corner.
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Aight, thanks. After all I have a tendency to the M8 but for the moment I’m really satisfied with the SR 25 MK2.
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