Shanling EC Smart CD Player – All Roads Return To The HiFi Compact Disk
Shanling EC Smart is a $149 USD CD Player design to spin compact discs vertically in the air, with a Cirrus /Logic CS43131 DAC at the heart, Line-Out, Headphone output, Bluetooth connection, and with a metallic construction, being likely the most advanced entry-level CD player to exist out there. Today we will study how well it works in person, how it sounds, and if it is worth considering as an affordable solution for listening to music.
Introduction
Shanling is generally a company centered on either producing the most insane high-end devices, or very affordable entry-level products, drawing the experience, efficiency and design from one world into the other, blending together some interesting features in entry-level units. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Shanling for providing us with the sample for this review.
PROs – Exceptionally beautiful sound, with an euphonic midrange, deep and warm bass, full and thick signature, and a smooth, relaxed treble. It reads all of my CDs very well, the headphone AMP is enough for portable headphones and in-ear earphones, and it has no audible noise with them. Overall, just exceptionally good sounding.
Cons – Nothing at this price point.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/40RoYHp
Build Quality/Aesthetics
EC Smart is a Desktop CD Player, as it does not have an internal battery, and needs a Type-C input to work. It comes with Bluetooth and has a retro tube display that brings back a bit of that vintage magic, being simple, practical, small and affordable. The main body is made of aluminium, and you can actually keep it horizontal although you can’t tell me you don’t love how it looks vertically, spinning discs. The power supply is not included, but I have tested this, and it works with literally any power brick or even external batteries, being simple to use and start up.
At the heart we have a combo of respected components the CD Drive System being the Sanyo DA11, with a single Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC, although the more exciting part is that it has both a headphone output in the shape of a 3.5mm jack, or a line out in the same shape. You can even output the sound of your CDs wirelessly, although that would kind of kill the whole concept of CD and lossless playback. To add injury to the injury with the Bluetooth, it supports BT 5.4 but only SBC, which really won’t be worth the hassle for a CD player, as you’ll lose a lot of the resolution / quality a CD has in the wireless transmission. The Headphone Amplifier is a very common nowadays SGM8262 AMP, the same solution Shanling uses in most of their Entry-Level Recently launched DAPs and DACs, and the same that FiiO uses, including both FiiO JM21 and Shanling M1 Plus.
To avoid pressing on the CD and the Drive system, the buttons on the front of the Shanling EC Smart are touch and Shanling includes a handy remote control, and the whole unit weighs 586 grams, being extremely stable on a desk, much more so than my main monitor. We have a very modest output power of 180 mW for the headphone output, with an average channel separation of 75 dB, with perfect dynamic range of 120 dB, the same as the SNR. The line out level is 2.4 VRMs, and the channel separation is much better at 110 dB, the dynamic range and SNR being even better than those of the headphone output, at 122 dB.
Subjective Usage
As this is the first CD Player I am officially reviewing, I am trying my best to find faults, but EC Smart is really smart in person, and as long as you use modestly hard to drive headphones, it is so nice and incredibly intuitive to use. The only thing that is not included is a 3.5mm to RCA cable, for you to be able to use that line out, as sourcing one can get pretty pricey.
Seeing the CD spin in the air is incredibly beautiful, although having it in person made me realise how many CDs are actually transparent and see-through when they spin. Generally, the usage is very simple, everything just works perfectly, although you have to keep in mind how the display works – you have the first two big numbers, which are the track number, then the two smaller numbers which are the current time of each track. There is no additional information available on the EC Smart, but the remote is very nice. I really would’ve liked some speakers included, but Shanling does include a 3.5mm to RCA adapter cable, so you don’t need to look for one once you buy the EC Smart CD Player.
ddHiFi comes to save the day once again, with their RC30A, RC40A and RC30B series of cables, which allowed me to test the EC Smart with complex audio setups. I am reminded of why the world upgraded to Tidal, Streaming, MP3s and all of the fancy digital formats we have today, as I often skip in between music styles, and changing a CD comes with the fear of breaking something, wear and tear degradation done to the CD itself, and it takes time to change CDs. Overall, I love the sound and romance of the idea, but it is not as practical as it is having the world’s collection of music at your fingertips as you do with most phones connected to the internet.
Sound Quality
Pairings – Testing the Shanling EC Smart has been done with both stereo headphones, including Palma DHS-1, Audeze MM-100, Simgot EM10, HarmonicDyne Devil, Crosszone CZ-8a Enhanced, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, Erzetich Mania V2024, Erzetich Thalia, SIVGA Anser, MIRPH-1, and Soundz Flame. EC Smart is fully capable of driving every single one of those with ease, and with IEMs I cannot notice any kind of background noise or hissing, even with Campfire Moon Rover or NF Acous NE4. I consider EC Smart to be brilliant with both headphones and IEMS, as long as you’re not going for hard to drive planars. The volume saturation gradient allows for granular control, and most of the louder volume comes alive at 30-40 out of 99.
Overall Signature – Shanling EC Smart sounds laid-back, smooth and relaxed, with a warm and full bass, musical midrange, and a relaxed, clean treble that has zero fatigue. It presents music as analogue, very full, well-defined and pleasing to the ear, euphonic and clean. This is true for both the line out and the headphone output, although I prefer using it via the headphone output, as I find the connections more convenient.
Bass – We start with a deep, lush and warm bass, as EC Smart has a really full low-end and a clean sound down at the bottom. There’s a good sense of space, the bass sounding a bit wide. There’s quite a bit of extra bass all around, and EC Smart is currently one of the warmest, fullest and deepest sounding devices in the entry-level range that I heard.
Midrange – To complete the full and warm bass, Shanling created an euphonic, musical and colorful midrange that emphasizes both male and female voices without ever making either of them harsh or fatiguing. In fact, it is so nicely rounded that I understand what folks who are big time into CDs are looking for in a CD Player, there’s a certain musicality and smoothness in the sound that’s simply different, EC Smart sounds very relaxed and laid back, yet it does not lose the resolution.
Treble – And at the top we have a smooth, relaxed and laid-back presentation too, and although at times the treble feels a bit too smooth, the signature works well with both my Judas Priest CDs, Metallica CDs and also classical music I collected over the years.
PRaT / Textures – EC Smart has a smooth, relaxed texture that takes away the edge and harsh parts from all the songs it is playing, everything will be relaxed, maybe lack the impact and hard edges that M1 Plus has, sounding a lot like FiiO’s JM21 in general, but with a much fuller and bigger bass.
Soundstage – And here’s where Shanling managed to score higher scores than anyone would’ve expected, because EC smart has a huge, wide, holographic soundstage, and everything just sounds sweet, travels nicely in space, with a beautiful separation, yet combination. Basically, each instrument is well defined, but they all combine together to create music.
Value and Conclusion
Despite the technical shortcomings of CDs, if you have a large collection and want to just play it and enjoy your music, Shanling EC Smart has incredible value, it handles well all of the CDs I have thrown at it, and it also has a pleasing, amiable sound that’s sweet and romantic, being perfect for basically enjoyment, and working really well for driving headphones and speakers.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a simple, fun way to enjoy your music, if you want a CD player that works well with in-ear earphones, but also with headphones, and which has a relaxed, laid-back and smooth sound, and some of that Compact Disc magic back into your life, you’ll love the new Shanling EC Smart CD Player and what it has to offer in terms of sound and music.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/40RoYHp
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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