Shanling CD-T300 CD
Player/Transport
Museum Quality Design
Review By Phil Gold
About ten miles from my house sits a strange
construction — a movieplex no less — in the shape of the alien
spaceship from Close Encounters. I have no idea if that particular shape
is conducive to its function in life. But the subject of today's review,
which shares much the same overall shape and propensity for cool lights,
is very much the case of form following function. After all, a CD is
circular, so why shouldn't a CD player follow suit. There are some
obvious advantages. The structural integrity of a circular machine and its
lack of parallel sides help to minimize resonance, and you can easily fit
the optimal number of feet —
three of course. Three feet under a
rectangular object might be problematic, but not here. The major drawback
is that with the platter centrally located, the machine has to be very
large to contain and isolate the all important power supply. No problem,
just move the power supply outboard, and while you're at it, make sure
that doesn't sit in a rectangular box either.
Back to the drive
mechanism, you'll want that located dead centre, which makes any kind of
sliding drawer mechanism problematic. So let's use a top loader, and
while we're at it, let's find the best one ever made. Will the
venerable Philips CDM-4 reference grade King of the Rockers do? So
what if it's no longer in production. Lucky we bought a bunch of them
years ago and set them aside for a day like this. Let's offer a limited
edition of just 300 units (with 30 allocated to the US).
Thus begins the design process and that's before deciding on a
balanced tube output stage, twelve Burr-Brown OPA627 chips for I/V
conversion and low pass filtering. and eight, count 'em eight Burr-Brown
PCM1704K D/A converter chips. The most dramatic design decision is sure to
amuse your friends. When you remove the heavy disc cover, which normally
glows with a blue sheen, Shanling provides a base to set it down on. Do so
and it glows blue again, thanks to a battery in the base. Cool!
Not so cool are the remote controls — yes there are two! One is large
and complex, the other slim and modest in its feature set. Both are made
of high quality materials but the way the text is embossed make it very
difficult to read the purpose of each button, unless the light falls just
so. Strange how so many companies fall down on this simple point. This is
the main user interface. It should be simple to use, easy to read and
comprehensive. I don't much care if it's plastic or metal. Back to the
drawing board please. A third party remote will probably do the trick but
won't necessarily give you access to all the features. For example on
the big remote there is a button to switch between 44.1kbps and 96kbps
oversampling.
But Shanling has done a much better job with the unit itself. The
connections are all neatly inset in the rear of the circular frame, not
crowded too closely together as often happens, and the top mounted
controls are clear with a high quality feel to them. They sit above a
discreet front-facing LED status panel. Best of all, the four tubes (2 for
unbalanced, 4 for balanced) are set into the bevel and are easily
replaceable without tools. The on off switch is the large knob sitting
atop the rearmost of the three illuminated feet. You can choose rubber
feet, metal feet or spikes, all included in the Shanling's magnificent
carrying case. The fit and finish of this player is absolutely exemplary.
The substantial outboard power supply, which contains three
transformers and filtering, boasts a large meter, switchable between
voltage and current readings. The power supply has its own separate power
switch. You'll need quite a lot of space to accommodate the Shanling,
its base for the drive cover, and the power supply.
Tweaking
So there's quite a few ways to audition this player: oversampling on
or off, output balanced or unbalanced, stock tubes or your roll your own.
I found the oversampling beneficial, tightening up the resolution and
soundstage, so I set it on and left it there. I also preferred the
balanced output to the unbalanced, but the margin was not large in my
system. The biggest improvement was upgrading the stock Electro Harmonic
6922 Gold Pin tubes to Valvo E88CC Red Label tubes from Holland.
Shanling's Canadian distributor Charisma Audio supplied me with a pair
of these so I could try the unbalanced output only. I preferred unbalanced
output with the Valvos to either output with the stock tubes, so I
recommend this inexpensive upgrade ($160 to $200 a pair). If you want to go
all out, Bernard of Charisma Audio recommends the Telefunken CCa tubes for
their greater high frequency extension and tighter bass. They will set you
back more than $300 a pair, or $600 for the balanced setup.
My unit was brand new in the box so I let it run in for a few weeks
before serious listening. Unfortunately I ran into a couple of problems
with this unit. It seemed to be sensitive to feedback, actually skipping
on one or two tracks when played at high volume levels. The second problem
was that on jumping to a new track the unit did not always play the track
cleanly from the beginning. I requested a second sample to see if these
were design limitations. I am happy to report neither problem showed its
face on the second sample.
Let The Music Roll
So how is the sound? Let's take it one track at a time, in
competition with the formidable Meridian G08 CD Player (reviewed
here). Brahms Piano Quartet Opus 25 [DG Originals 447 407-2] is rich,
powerful and involving on the Meridian. Gilels' piano tone is full and
weighty, the focus tight and the attack strong. On the downside, the
string tone of the Amadeus Quartet is a touch strident. DG never quite
mastered the recording of chamber music as well as the rival engineers at
Philips. The Shanling, playing single-ended with stock tubes, offers wider
separation and improved location of the instruments. It reveals the soft
pizzicato string playing behind the piano, softening the attack and the
stridency of the strings. Bass loses some of its firmness and resolution,
while tape hiss becomes noticeable. The Valvo tubes offer better color in
the strings and the bass recovers somewhat, but not to the level of the
Meridian. Both players are convincing here and there are no winners or
losers.
To focus a little closer on the piano sound, consider Chopin's Funeral
March Sonata [JVC JM-XR24008] played by the remarkable Artur
Rubinstein. Here the stock Shanling does not serve the music well. It
seems like the leading edge is missing, and the recording betrays all of
its forty-four years. Valvos offer improved
attack and the sonority of the piano is richer, but now the hiss is
intrusive. The Meridian performs at another level altogether. The
recording shrugs off the years and comes alive in the room. The clarity in
the bass is much improved and the music sounds faster and more menacing -
an iron fist in a velvet glove. At the same time, the performance is more
intimate and the subtlety of the playing shows greater gradations. No
contest here.
Sticking with classical music but moving up to the mid twentieth
century, how does the Shanling sound on a new issue of outstanding
quality, the Shostakovich Piano Trio opus 67, played by the Wanderer Trio
[harmonia mundi HMC 901825]?
Echoing my findings with the Chopin, the Shanling, single ended with
stock tubes, does not convey the power of the strong deep bass line, and
the piano lid appears down, rather than open. The Shanling does offer
superior string tone and better captures the ambiance of the recording.
The Valvos bring a strong improvement in piano tone while the plucked
cello notes are beautiful, if a bit soft. Separation is wider and the
attack is full, with excellent decay on the plucked strings. String tone
is best through the Shanling's balanced outputs, which also improve the
depth of the acoustical space. The Meridian nails this music through its
unbalanced outputs, with more deep bass presence, piano even more open and
greater definition and presence in the strings. Rhythm and pace improve,
and reach their fullest levels through the Meridian's balanced output,
where the bass gains even greater definition, catching subtle changes of
pitch within the notes missed in the other configurations. The string tone
and the three-dimensionality cannot quite match the best the Shanling has
to offer. Deuce.
Classical music is not to everyone's taste, so let's move on to
other genres. Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust" from Rare,
Live and Classic [Vanguard VCD3-125/27] is an old favorite and a
chance to audition a beautiful voice. The Shanling give Baez a full but
nasal sound and exposes the relative weakness of the extension, both upper
and lower, in the complex accompaniment. The Valvo tubes offer richer and
more varied color in the midrange, and improve the extension in both
directions, while increasing the level of detail across the spectrum.
Clearly, a worthwhile upgrade. But the Meridian provides a purer, more
natural sounding Baez, while giving more life to the percussion and
greater bass energy to propel the song along. Advantage Meridian.
To really test the low bass performance of these two machines, let's
bring on fellow folkie Leonard Cohen in the title track from The Future
[Columbia CK 53226]. Don't you just love those lyrics!
Gimme crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
And stuff it up the hole in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St. Paul
I've seen the future, brother: it is murder.
The Shanling makes it easy to make out the words, the choir is clear,
but the music lacks a strong pulse. You hear just hints of he deep bass
content. Changing the tubes makes little difference on this track. The
Meridian offers a fuller bass, an open top, more focus. The music is at
once more relaxed and lighter on its feet, since the speed in the bass is
phenomenal. (Note to self. I'm going to have to get a new reference CD
player. This one's too good!)
Do you like Dexter Gordon?
"Love
For Sale" from Go [Blue Note 7243 4 9879423] brings irresistible
playing. Dexter's tenor sax is clean and focused, hard and precisely
pitched. The Shanling (with Valvos) captures all of this close-mic'ed
sound. It works well for Dexter but I find the percussion too
in-your-face. Bass is firm and the music swings like the devil. I can live
with this. The Meridian brings a little more snap to the percussion,
clarifying the top end, but since there is little deep bass energy in the
recording, it has no special edge over the Shanling.
Is It Right For Me?
This last comparison is very revealing of the strengths of this
high-end digital source. One area where transistors routinely beat even
the best of tube components is in the tightness and definition of the deep
bass, and this is the foundation that often propels the music along. Bring
me more tracks like this, or the Brahms Piano Quartet, and this deficiency
is not apparent. And if your speakers, like the excellent Combak Bravos,
do not extend to the lowest octaves then you may not miss this deep bass
deficiency. I also feel the treble performance of the Shanling is slightly
peaky and then rolled off, and once again this may or may not be a problem
for you. I was very happy with the rich colorful midrange performance. The
Shanling's ability to throw a wide and deep sound stage is enviable and
tops even the high performing Meridian. I would certainly be trying out
two pairs of Telefunkens to improve the bandwidth of the Shanling.
Does the $6,995 Shanling T300 represent good value for money? I must to
say I preferred the Meridian, which at $3995 US undercuts the Shanling as
well as outperforming it on most tracks. But the Meridian looks pedestrian
next to this wonder, and you are paying to belong to an exclusive club of
300 T300 owners and to enjoy the fabulous looks.
Whether
or not we're in the market for a high end CD player, we should all be
grateful to the folks at Shanling for making life interesting. Hunter, my
contact at Shanling, tells me to look out for a matching limited-edition
tube amplifier later this year and some even more intriguing digital
players to come, maybe SACD based.
Specifications
Type: Compact disc player with tubed preamplifier output
Output: Unbalanced RCA
Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 20 kHz (-1dB)
S/N Ratio: > 102dB
Distortion (THD): < .8%
Dynamic Range: > 100dB
Crosstalk: > 100dB
Output: 2.4 V / 100 kOhm
Balanced Output XLR
Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 20 kHz (-0.5 dB)
S/N Ratio: > 115dB
Distortion (THD): < .03%
Dynamic Range: > 112dB
Crosstalk: > 110dB
Output: 4.4 V / 100 kOhm
Weight: 16 lbs, 14 kg for power supply
Price: $6995
Company Information
Shenzhen Shanling Digital Technology Development Co Ltd
10 Chiwan 1 Road,
Shekou District of Shenzhen City
China, 518068
Voice: 86 755 26887637
Fax: 86 755 26887638
E-mail: shanling@szonline.net
Website: www.shanling.com