SHANLING UA1

It was awesome until the cord wore out and it would pierce your ears with crackles. would not recommend

I purchased a UA2 two months ago and I am very happy with it. I had to purchase the UA1 just to compare them. I received the UA1 today and it sounds just as good as my thousand dollar dac. I am very happy with both of them. Thank you!!!!!

I've owned this for a few months now and have had it paired with the KZ DQ6'S and the volume and power is amazing. I have never turned my phone volume with it at max because it's so loud. At some points it gets quite warm but if you just squeeze it in your hands for a few seconds it cools down quite a bit since it's made of aluminum. I have been having one issue though where randomly while listening to music I'll get these loud crackles that are just ear piercing. I'm not sure what's causing it but I might need to go through warranty.

I wasn't expecting very much, but when paired with something like KZ ZS10 Pro or Blon 02, the improvement in sound quality is really obvious. It does run a little warm and runs the battery down a bit, but it's worth it!

Impressive. Much more than I expected given the price. Highs are extended and clear without harshness. Soundstage is decent on my Hifiman headphone which it can drive to high volume without using high gain. Imaging is pin point accurate. Love the ESS DAC sound. Bass is adequate and overall a fun and laid back sound without sacrificing details. This reminds me of my Oppo BPS 95 sound which has dual ESS DAC for analog out to my Pioneer preamp and Aragon power amp. Makes my well recorded SACD sing. Highly recommended.. Used with Samsung S20 FE. Very well built.

This is my second DAC after Tempotec Sonata HD and I'm quite impressed with UA1. It has robust yet lightweight aluminium build and this nice black sheath-covered (I think it's covered by nylon) cable. Also it has this small green light indicator near the 3.5mm jack output which is useful for the users to make sure whether the DAC is really working or not. Although, I should be upfront about some problems I've been facing with this DAC, that's sometimes it's lagging (like the audio is cut off for like one or two seconds before start working again) when I use it with my laptop or my phone; more often with my laptop. I don't really know whether it's about a compatibility issue, firmware, my source, etc but it does bother me a bit.

For the sound quality, in my opinion, this DAC has balanced sound signature with a little boost / emphasis on the bass. I'm not experienced and don't really know how to explain the sound quality; the bass, soundstage etc, but for me this DAC is suitable for many IEMs / devices. It's a "fun" sounding DAC overall and can give more full-bodied sound throughout the frequencies. For some people, maybe it doesn't immediately give them a "wow" factor, with a huge amount of detail retrievals whatsoever, but it's pleasant to listen to your playlist with this device plugged in especially for a long listening session. It has a good amount of power too and it can drive not-so-demanding IEMs with ease.

Overall I can recommend this DAC for it's great build quality, "fun" sounding and non-fatiguing sound signature and good output power. Also Shanling constantly releases updates for the firmware on it's official website so yeah, it's a good thing for the users.

I do most of my listening through the standard 3.5mm audio jack on my Windows laptop. It has never given me any problems, but a variety of sources had told me that a USB DAC would improve the sound quality of my music to some degree. None of these sources were clear on exactly what would be improved, but I decided to trust them and give a USB DAC/AMP a chance.

Well, this thing has improved the quality of my music considerably and I believe I now, roughly, understand why. I usually either listen to spoken word through highly compressed sources such as YouTube or listen to very dense music (think Clipping, Death Grips, Aphex Twin, etc.) through .flac files. For the spoken word, this USB DAC/AMP simply increases the amount of volume I have available. For the .flac files, though, it has noticeably increased the instrument separation and given new depth to the music I enjoy. I can also push significantly more volume if I wish, but I tend to keep the volume within the 20%-30% range of Windows 10.

As for the device itself, the metal housing feels very solid and the very faint green LED isn't distracting even in pitch darkness. The female 3.5mm connection feels extremely robust and allows all of my cables to be fully inserted with a firm, audible "click". The USB-C connection also feels very solidly built and requires a small amount of force to insert and remove from my laptop. This gives me confidence that it will not quickly wear out or break.

My only minor gripe is that the DAC/AMP gets slightly warm (think around 80-90 Fahrenheit). I have been told that this is completely normal for such a small DAC/AMP as, due to its intended function, it must transmit more electricity than a normal 3.5mm, 2.5mm, or 4.4mm connection would by itself.

I don't have anything from the higher end of audio equipment to compare this device to, but I can say that as a novice I greatly appreciate this device and would recommend it to anyone who is already interested in picking one up.

Detailed bass, and compatible with Samsung S20 FE Android 10.