Product Comparison: Shanling M3s vs CAYIN N3

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Shanling M3s

General Specifications

Brand

Shanling

CAYIN

Model

M3s

Origin

China

About the Product

The Shanling M3S is exactly the same with M2S in terms of design. The aluminum frame feels premium and the 2.5D glasses add a sleek finish to the body, so the device feels very complete, one piece and sturdy.

Cayin’s lightest digital audio player to date, the N3 has gotten a ton of hype since its unveiling at Canjam 2017. It features the AKM4490 DAC chipset, an audiophile favorite, with support for all common music formats up to 32 bit/384 kHz and native DSD decoding up to 11.2 MHz (DSD256).

Key Specs

Memory

0 GB

Display

Yes

Integrated Speaker(s)

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Shanling M3s

I'm glad to purchase because the performance , design, and the UI looks fabulous!
Very happy with this player. I tried a cheaper brand and wasn't happy so decided to try this one after reading several reviews.
Great player. Responsive UI. Customizable EQ. Also serves as a DAC. Of course it sounds great!
Have some issues when using it as a DAC on a Windows PC, not sure if it is the cable or the driver but I have issues when switching between it and another external DAC.
The player itself has sufficient power from the 3.5 to play the Senns but not to levels I would like.

CAYIN N3

Screen is certainly large enough to watch videos or view photos, etc.
I think that a better player would be hard to find for anywhere near this price. Great sound on my Audioquest NightHawk headphones.
This player exceeded expectations for an entry level DAP. Very clean, powerful, balanced sound.
No internal storage. MicroSD only. This seems to be consistent with most players around this price range, but I would prefer both.
Display shows large art image and microscopic small text. Opposite small image and large text would be better when playing music clips.

Size & Weight

Color

Black

Height

4.45 in.

3.9 in.

Width

2.09 in.

2.1 in.

Depth

0.57 in.

0.5 in.

Weight

4.76 oz.

3.5 oz.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Shanling M3s

This unit was smaller than I thought it would be but quite easy to use.
The UI is so simple and straightforward, I love everything about it. And also the size and weight are perfectly balanced.
Spectacular sound and great build quality, a player hitting was above its weight. I was impressed by its size.
It seems bulky and needs frequent charging. That is cost of having Android.
I don't hugely like the interface and it's a bit small for my hand.

CAYIN N3

The size is really nice for someone who is on the go like I am. My main music listening places are in the car, working out, and at work where I am quite mobile.
I am able to stick this into a pocket without it looking like i'm walking around with stolen goods and it's so light that I almost forget it's there.
Nice size. Not too big. Not too small. And not too heavy. Perfect! Recommended.
I bought this to keep from running down the battery in my Samsung Note 4 phone. The small size is nice. The value for the money is pretty good.
Very pleased overall with this mostly because of the excellent sound & small size.

Features

Supported Audio Formats

MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, AAC, ALAC, APE, IOS, DSF, DFF

DSF, DIFF, SACD-ISO, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, APE, WMA, MP3, OGG

Memory Card Slot

Yes

Input(s)

3.5mm Jack, USB Type C, Balanced Out

USB type-C, 3.5mm Jack

Usability

Bluetooth 4.1, 3" Retina 2.5D display

2.4" TFT IPS (400x360) display

Voice Recorder

Video Playback

Bluetooth Enabled

Yes

Extras

Supported up to 256G TF card, 2600mAH lithium battery, Portable, Charging time: 2.5 h

Dual digital outputs from One Type-C connector, Enable Blind Control with Physical Buttons on both sides, Big Expansion with a Small Adapter

What customers say about "Features"

Shanling M3s

Excellent DAP, have better resolution than my fiio x3 ii and the UI us very simple and similar to fiio, one of the reasons for me to buy it was the non touch screen.
I purchased it to replace a Fiio unit that did not play DSD, DSF files. Great. The Shanling does that.
The screen brightness doesn't go too high but is fine for indoor use.
The side control wheel has broken. It happened while I was scrolling.
I regularly purchase hi-res files from HD Tracks, Pro Studio Masters, Presto Classical, Primephonic, and Native DSD Music. I would say about 60% of the albums downloaded from these sites are not read on the device.

CAYIN N3

The rounded edges make the device more comfortable to hold.
Very good sound. More punch than my HiFiMan SuperMini. Blu tooth works good with my JBL Everest Elite 700 headphones.
The great feature is the superior bluetooth wireless features in this player, including the new apt-X bluetooth technology.
You can add m3u playlists, however, I can't get them to show up under the playlist section. Instead, you'll have to browse your folder for them.
No radio, video, voice recorder, stopwatch, eBook reader, etc. It's odd that many players in the $20-30 range have such features, but more expensive units like this one do not.

Accessories

Included With Unit

Screen protector, USB cable, Cap for 3.5 mm port

Power

Battery Life

13 hours

12 hours

Battery Life

Shanling M3s

CAYIN N3

What customers say about "Power"

Shanling M3s

The battery life is amazing, the controls are simple, and most importantly its not Android base.
Love the clean interface, which is music focused, no buggy software, no glitches etc. Runs smooth and has great battery life.
It holds a charge very well. I have enough of it for the whole day of use.
You do not have to wait long until it is fully charged. It charges very fast.
The battery life doesn't last as long as unbalanced but still pretty good.

CAYIN N3

Battery life is excellent (at least 8-10+ hours so far). Audio quality via Bluetooth is great, likely better with pro-quality headphones.
The touch buttons are very sensitive. Good sound quality and battery life.
Battery life is about what they claim so far. The Bluetooth works well.
I've been having problems with battery life. The battery drains completely in less than 5 days when the player is idle.
After a year the battery doesn't hold much of a charge anymore.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications