SHANLING ET3 DIGITAL TRANSPORT - REVIEW
SHANLING ET3 DIGITAL TRANSPORT
Over the course of my life I have owned some quite spectacular CD Players (CDPs) and DAC/Transport combinations. One that comes to mind immediately is the Mark Levinson No. 39 CDP which was svelte, beautiful, with a hint of the Art Deco in its curved front facade. It was armor-car like in its weight and heft. And from its front face a thin, sculpted, metal drawer smoothly emerged, as if on silk rollers. I would come to discover when I traded up to the Mark Levinson DAC/Transport separates, that I still preferred the No. 39. Then there was the Accustic Arts DAC/Transport combo, whose designations I do not remember (no longer on the Accustic Arts website). But what I do remember of this Accustic Arts combo, even to this day, was that its tone/timbre, the texture, its image weight and palpability had eclipsed every CDP or DAC/Transport combination that had come before it. There were others that had excelled in many areas and were exceptionally musical—Audio Aero Capitole, Meridian 508.24 CDP—and had long held my interest.
Recently or fairly recently, I had the opportunity to review two Top-of-the-Line (TOTL) CDPs—Accustic Arts Player II and the NEODIO Origine S2.What these two CDPs revealed immediately was that those who has spoken to the demise of the CD Player had been, at best, premature and incredibly shortsighted (see turntable). Or had it been cynicism and profiteering in an attempt to flood the market with a “better than sliced bread” alternative—streaming? Well, the Accustic Arts Player II and the NEODIO Origine S2 easily walked over streamer/DAC combinations far greater in collective cost, though not inexpensive themselves, and buried the gossip of the CD's demise as well as the very expensive streamer/DAC combos that had challenged them.
Since then, I have noticed a great many CDPs and Transports rising up across the high fidelity landscape the world over and though my collection of CD’s has whittled down to a precious few I have remained very curious and interested. The two TOTLs above proved easily better than all but a single streamer/DAC—Grimm Audio MU2 (at the pinnacle of digital reproduction).
This review features what might be considered a mid-fi Digital Transport—Shanling ET3—merely by its price at $895. But would its technical and musical abilities also find it categorized as mid-fi?
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the component actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review, then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.—that likewise starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
The System - Headphone Reference
Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer
Baetis Audio Revolution X5 Streamer
Silent Angel Rhein Z1 Streamer
Silent Angel Forester F2 Power Supply
Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch
Silent Angel Genesis GX Master Clock
Bricasti Design M1SE DAC
Border Patrol SE-i DAC
Aurorasound HEADA Headphone Amplifier
Atma-Sphere GEM Headphone Amplifier
Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amplifier
ABYSS AB1266 PHI TC Headphone
HIFIMAN SUSVARA Headphone
MEZE Empyrean Headphone
Audience Front Row Cables/Wires
Kubala Sosna Emotion/Sensation—Cabling and Wires/Power Cords
RSX Beyond Power Cables
AntiCables Power Cables
Black Cat TRØN Signature AES/EBU Digital Cable
Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 Ethernet cables
TORUS RM20—Power Generation
The System - Reference Two Channel
Grimm Audio MU2 Streamer/DAC/Preamplifier
Silent Angel Bonn Pro8 Network Switch
Air Tight ATC 5s Preamplifier
Air Tight ATM 1E Amplifier
Atma-Sphere MP-3 Preamplifier
Atma-Sphere S-30 Stereo Amplifier
Atma-Sphere Class D Monoblock Amplifiers
TRAFORMATIC RHAPSODY 300B Single-Ended Integrated
LYRIC Ti 100 Single-Ended Integrated
Devore Audio Orangutan 0/96
Fern & Roby Raven III Speakers
Kubala-Sosna Realization Interconnects, Speaker Cables, Power cords
Grimm Audio SQM Interconnects (XLR, RCA)
Black Cat TRØN Signature AES/EBU Digital Cable
RSX BEYOND, MAX Power-cords
SEISMION Amplifier Stand (powered)
TORUS AUDIO Power conditioner
The Sound
When I received the Shanling ET3 Digital Transport from Adam Sohmer, I immediately got out my whittled down and rather pitiful collection of CDs, plugged the ET3 to the least expensive in-house DAC—Border Patrol SE-i—in the reference headphone system. I then began its burn-in with the Eiji Oue Stravinsky CD (Reference Recording) that whirled away for days on end.
I sat down close to two weeks later to begin the ET3 Digital Transport’s review. I took the ET3 off of repeat, and started the Eiji Oue Stravinsky CD this time for the purpose of reviewing.
One of the first things that I noticed was its solidity. Bass weight was taunt, well defined, and dynamic. In this respect, it had already bettered all of our less expensive streamers as coupled to the Border Patrol SE-i DAC as well as many past streamers that had been reviewed, some quite expensive. The soundstage was expansive—wide, deep, layered—and there was a wonderful openness and clarity that made the lesser streamers seem, well, closed-in. Tone/timbre and texture were very good and this gave instruments and performers a naturalness and an ease that drew you into the performance. There was also a quiet, perhaps via direct, in-house (right there) connection that only the best streamers in-house surpassed.The Getz/Gilberto album (Verve Reissues) via the ET3 and Border Patrol SE-i was beautiful, rich, detailed, and truly engaging. And one of my favorite reference albums for sorting out a given component in a review—Dave Brubeck’s Take Five (Columbia)—was handled beautifully by the ET3. Joe Morello’s drum kit was alive, its cymbals well resolved, distinct, with air and ambiance all about and naturally so. Paul Desmond’s sax was textured, rich and tone/timbre were natural and engaging. Positioning for each of the performers stood out as more three-dimensional than the lesser streamers.
And when the Border Patrol SE-i DAC was replaced with the Bricasti Design M1SE, the ET3 scaled beautifully. Now even the mid tier DACs, while not bested, were in some respects being challenged by an $895 Digital Transport, as coupled to the same DAC.
Eiji Oue Stravinsky via the Shanling ET3 and the Bricasti Design M1SE took on more gravitas, weight, and bass depth, and was more resolving, transparent, and detailed. There were greater dynamic contrasts and even greater nuance. The soundstage via this combo expanded in, literally, every direction bringing greater ambiance and air and it was even more beautifully layered. There was no aspect that was not bettered by the inclusion of the Bricasti Design M1SE with the ET3.
Interestingly, when the ET3 was mated to the Grimm Audio MU2, there was an across the board improvement that challenged all streamer/DAC combinations but did not better them. Using the MU2’s DAC the ET3 scaled to a level I would not have thought possible. Soundstaging—width, depth, layering, positioning—was improved to a degree that the other DACs could not match. And a couple of very expensive streamers, that were in-house for a while, but not reviewed, found themselves on the losing end of this comparison. But this was connected to the Grimm Audio MU2, a truly formidable streamer/DAC with, apparently, a formidable DAC as well. While logically no one would dare couple an $895 transport with an $18k streamer/DAC what the ET3 showed was that it would be a very inexpensive way to get the best out of one’s CDs on the cheap.
Most very inexpensive CD transports would have long ago popped out, their limitations on full display for all to see as the quality and adeptness of the DACs improved. Regarding the Grimm Audio MU2 it is the most transparent component I have ever owned and it will show lessor components, cables, even power cords up quickly and easily. This was not the case with the Shanling ET3 Digital Transport, which scaled beautifully and with a deftness that was hard to believe.
Functionality
Compact design as EC3 (just 25.5 x 18.8 cm)
CNC Machined Metal body
Developed as a pure digital transport
CT7302CL Upsampling chip
All-to-DSD or All-to-PCM Upsampling function
I2S / Optical / Coaxial / AES EBU / USB Digital Outputs
Philips SAA7824 CD Drive
HD850 Laser
Playback from USB Drive
2.4G/5G Wi-Fi with DLNA/Airplay support
Bluetooth 5.0 input with LDAC, AAC and SBC support
MQA CD Support
Can act as NAS server with USB drives
Based on Ingenic X2000 Platform
Companion app
Remote Control included
Conclusions
The Shanling ET3 Digital Transport is surprisingly good and especially so for $895! And while it worked very well with the Border Patrol SE-i, it scaled beautifully with the best of the best DACs and did not, at all, embarrass itself. In fact, it shined with the Grimm Audio MU2 Streamer/DAC and the combo and put some very expensive streamer/DAC combos on notice of their, well, less than stellar performance. Or, in other words, the combo fired them!
If you have a good smattering of CDs and you’d like to play them back or you want insurance when the ‘internet of all things’ takes a hiatus, brief or otherwise, you’ll want to give the Shanling ET3 Digital Transport a go. At its asking price of $895 it is, truly, a no brainer.
Without further ado, we happily award the Shanling ET3 Digital Transport our HIGH NINES award for a budget product that thinks and acts as if it is a true high-fidelity component.
Pros: Scales beautifully, while playing music at every level and crossing and dotting the ’t’s and ‘i’s of high-fidelity playback. Inexpensive!
Cons: None
The Specifications
Shanling ET3
Power consumption: 15W
Dimensions (W x D x H): 188 x 255 x 68mm
Weight: approx. 2.5kg
CD Drive: Philips SAA7824
Disc compatibility: CD; CD-R; CD-RW
USB output: up to PCM 768kHz / 32bit, DSD 512
I²S output: up to PCM 768kHz / 32bit, DSD 512
Coaxial / optical / AES output: up to PCM 192 kHz / 32bit, DSD 64
System: Ingenic X2000 platform, developed in-house
Screen: IPS 320 x290
Controls: Multifunctional wheel & Hardware Buttons
USB Drive audio format support:
DSD (".iso", ".dsf", ".dff") *dst not supported
ISO / DXD / APE / FLAC / WAV / AIFF / AlF / DTS / MP3 / WMA / AAC / OGG / ALAC / MP2 / M4A / AC3 / M3U / M3U8 / OPUS
MQA Support: MQA Full Decoder (PCM176.4 kHz output to all DACs) // MQA Core (PCM 88.2 kHz output to MQA capable DACs)
The Company
SHANLING
Add: #10, Chiwan 1 Rd, Shekou, Nanshan
District,Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Postal Code: 518068
E-mail:info@shanling.com
Tel: 86 075526887637
Fax: 86 075526887638
The Contact
Adam Sohmer
Sohmer Associates, LLC; +
1-347-512-0066;
adam@sohmerassoc.com
