Tag Archives: under 100

Shanling M0 Review – Mo’ Minuture Still

Posted on by
4

Shanling M0 DAP Portable Audio Player Review

Shanling’s shrinking players know no bounds; the titchy M0 measures just 4cm by 4.5cm. Add to that the touchscreen feature, two-way bluetooth, DSD capabilities and 512Gb Micro SD compatibility and you have a fully functional micro miracle! Much smaller, and we may start needing tweezers to handle the thing..

Shanling M0

Pros:

  • Tiny size and light
  • Good sound
  • Versatile
  • Touchscreen operated

Cons:

  • Can require some practice to operate
  • Small screen can omit parts of longer folder/file names

Design and Appearance

The Shanling M0 is very smart and simple-looking from the outside with only one control; that being the combined power and volume control on the right side. On the left is a covered slot for a micro SD card of your choice (all currently available capacities are supported) and along the bottom is a USB-C socket and a 3.5mm headphone socket.

The casing is metallic, with an anodised-style paint job which looks the part and is kind to fingers in that no obvious marks are left after handling. The touchscreen is not so fingerprint-proof but a quick wipe deals with that.

Since the screen is so tiny, any list of folders and tracks may not be so meaningful if you have a few folders which are named starting with the artist name, for example. The album titles are not visible as they are cut off by the edge of the screen, leading the user to guess which album they are going into. There is no option to alter the text size, or use two lines of the display to display the folder or file names – perhaps a future firmware update will address this.

The touchscreen operation is quite intuitive, but some may require a little practice with their swiping actions in order to use the M0 and navigate through the various menus and options.

Durability and Build Quality

The bevelled edges make it sit great in the hands of most people; it feels like a solid and dependable unit with a combined power button, selector and volume control which has a knurled edge so it’s not fiddly. If your fingers are dry (or banana-like) and you’re concerned about dropping this little fella, there are natty little leather cases available for the M0 which will offer some additional grip and protection.

Suitability for intended application

The Shanling M0 is a versatile unit; there is a number of bluetooth standards it can operate by, and the two-way bluetooth feature will allow the M0 to act as a receiver so it can be used with a full-size music system (outputting audio at line-level) if you wanted to listen to the music stored on it whilst relaxing at home. Just remember to alter the output setting back to ‘PO’ (phones out) when connecting headphones again.

Its light weight (37.5 grams or about an ounce and a bit) makes it perfect for joggers who are keen on using bluetooth headphones; slip it in a pocket and it can be virtually forgotten about!

Sound

Considering the diminutive size of the Shanling M0, it packs a surprising punch and can adequately power any portable headphones, with a decent amount of bass and clarity. It also has a few EQ presets for a limited amount of sound customisation but the sound is really quite good as it comes, with the EQ off.

Edifier W360BT Bluetooth Earphones Review – Wearable or Terrible?

Posted on by
1

Edifier W360BT Bluetooth Earphones Review

READ MORE: Best Earphones Buying Guide

Edifier is one of those brands which has escaped our attention in recent years; granted, there are a lot of low-cost brands out there but we are quite impressed with what a relatively humble sum of cash can get from this one. For instance, we have recently been getting familiar with the Sennheiser Momentum HD1 and they are very nice too. But how about cutting the cost in half?

Pros:

  • Superb comfort
  • Good battery life
  • Decent sound for pop and the like

Cons:

  • Vented capsules affect isolation

Design and Appearance

Like the Momentum HD1, the Edifier W360BT consists of a horseshoe-like base which sits around the neck, and this houses all the controls and the batteries, leaving the capsules feeling nice and light in the ear. Controls are on the upper side of the left ‘heel’ of the horseshoe, with charging port and on/off switch underneath.

The capsules have a vent each, and this lets a certain amount of exterior noise in. Great if you are planning to use these for the purposes of exercise and jogging as it’s good to be aware of your surroundings, but the noisy London Underground may cause a few problems if you’re commuting.

It’s not certain if the word ‘attractive’ is suitable for the W360BT as they are not really designed to draw attention to themselves, but they don’t look bad.

Durability and Build Quality

The Edifier W360BT is built for lightness, and due to the way it is worn, has not been made to be particularly rugged. Just comfortable and light. Cables from the neckband part are reasonably protected by strain reliefs, and that’s about it. To be fair, this design sits up out of the way of most things and the light design seems quite suitable.

Comfort

At 46.5 grams, the W360BT can hardly be felt whilst being worn; there is no weight on the capsules going into the ear either, so if you’re always fiddling around to get a decent fit with your current Bluetooth earphones, these may be worth a try.

Suitability for intended application

As mentioned above, there are several uses these can be put to. They are particularly well suited to exercising, considering the way they are worn and the vented capsule design, but the packaging is distinctly aimed at the mobile/commuter market. For general out and about purposes, the Edifier W360BT is fine unless you find yourself in particularly noisy places a lot of the time.

———————————————————————————————–

READ MORE: Best Sports Headphones and Earphones – Wired and Wireless

———————————————————————————————–

Sound Characteristics

Generally the sound of the Edifier W360BT conforms to what most people find enjoyable, with a slightly elevated bass and a warm sound signature.

  • Bass

Low extension is fairly good, and bass makes its mark with enough emphasis for most without going overboard too much. There is a bit of ‘bloom’ here where the bass lacks control slightly. The midrange is not really affected however.

  • Mids

Midrange is clear enough to enjoy vocals and the like; there’s no obvious disconnect between bass and midrange which is nice. Also there’s a decent bit of space in there, showing that the midrange has some good control. There’s no danger here with any spikes or extra presence causing potential listener-fatigue, it’s a comfortable listen.

  • Treble

Presence here matches the midrange; hi-hats and cymbals are clear and present, with a certain grainy quality which is not unusual for this type of earphone. Brass and saxophones get a nice raw edginess, and again it’s hard to imagine anyone having problems here with fatigue.

  • Soundstage and Separation

Soundstage is OK for such a design, although the vented capsules might have improved on this a bit more. Likewise, separation is decent enough with instruments holding their own ground but there’s the sense that they are blending together slightly.

Music genres good for and why

The Edifier W360BT is great with commercial genres like R&B, hip hop and pop, but if you require any more refinement such as with classical music, you might want to consider spending the extra for the Sennheiser HD1 equivalent.

Summary

Edifier’s W360BT is a worthy addition to the current Bluetooth models available, with the neckband taking the weight so we can enjoy music in greater comfort. A good one to take out with you, but try to avoid those very noisy places!