Well, two-days is not much time to get anything comprehensive but the Spring 3 is a great sounding DAC, so far.
I too had a Qutest for 4 or so years. I really liked it. But I wanted to move up to the next level. There were 4 or 5 choices that appealed to me, and my two finalists were the Spring 3 and the Hugo TT2. I had not personally heard either DAC.
I chose the Chord because of my affinity for the Qutest. And, it was a good choice. It expanded on the Chord house sound with a higher resolving DAC. I've had it about a year. I felt I could not go wrong with the Hugo TT2 and I was correct.
But as systems evolve you try different things and find different strengths and weaknesses. I purchased an Audiowise SRC-DX USB to Dual S/PDIF converter and used it with my Hugo TT2. What I found was that I liked the S/DIF input better than the USB input on the Chord. But using a "converter" bothered me. I preferred the sound with the converter but I don't like using a USB powered box to convert USB to S/PDIF.
I looked at changing my SoTM network streamer to get outputs other than the lone USB output on the SMS200 Ultra Neo. But after reading more and more comments from Spring 3 owners about how great it was turned my attention to that DAC and it's very broad input options.
OK, how's it sound? It's not a shocking R2R sound all that different from the Chord FPGA sound, but it is a bit less aggressive? It is clean, clear and precise very detailed and the edges of clicks, drums, piano keys are more etched. It handles reverb decay much more naturally. These are not huge changes. If you love your Qutest you'll love the Spring 3, as well.
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Hi @creativepart ,
Can you write more of your impressions about Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE?
I use the Chord Quetest DAC. And I'm planning to upgrade it in future.
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OP, +1. Most people will likely miss the fact that their dac might not have I square Buss input and therefore miss out on the Shanling's magic
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Circling back on this topic of the Shanling ET-3 Transport. I changed DACs this weekend from the Chord Hugo TT2 to the Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE. This provides more input choices for the ET-3 AND more upsampling options, as well.
Using the I2S output on the Shanling to the Spring 3 I'm finding the sound quality raised across the board.
I'm using DSD512 right now and find it's working really well.
Having a network streamer with only a USB output and a DAC with USB and S/PDIF inputs didn't give me a lot of choices. The Spring three gives me Coax, BNC AES-EBU, I2S and USB inputs.
I2S is the first input I've tried with the Shanling and it's a winner.
By the way, the Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE is a great DAC and I'm finding it a suitable upgrade to the Chord Hugo TT2.
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I'm still enjoying the Shanling ET-3 BUT... I'm a bit disappointed in the USB output options. In S/PDIF coax or optical you can use the transport's upsampling to 192hz. Withe I2S you can upsample to 768hz or even DSD512. But with USB upsampling is not available at all.
I contacted Shanling and they quickly got back to me and said it was a hardware limitation and that it would not be "fixed" in firmware later, because it can't be.
Now, that's not a deal killer. I got it to play CDs at 441.hz. But I do like the upsampling as it adds a bit of air and softness to sometimes harsh sounding CDs.
But be aware, if you're planning on using the USB output, upsampling is off the table.
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Thread Police 😭 upset and whinging these types are.
CD Sales have already been broached upon in this thread with no Thread Police intervention 👍👍👍.
"Get a Life."
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@pindac and? Another post unrelated to the thread subject. Why don't you explain to us the difference between AM and FM.
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First, I’m not a fan of MQA. I tried it with Tidal and a MQA capable DAC when it first came out. I ended up thinking it was not a good thing. It did sound different, I suppose at one time I thought it was better or maybe just different. But after trying Qobuz and listening to higher res files without MQA I dumped Tidal and sold the MQA capable DAC.
I bring all this up, because the Shanling ET3 is capable of playing MQA CDs-yes, that’s thing evidently.
I’m always up for trying things. I was listening to a new Bob James Trio album (Feel Like Making Live) on Qobuz and liked it. Then I heard it was available on a MQA CD. Humm.
Amazon had it for less than $20 (vinyl was nearly $70!) so I thought I’d try it. It arrived today and included a separate "Immersive audio’ BluRay disk, too) Which I’ll never play.
So, I’m listening to the MQA CD now. It lights up a green MQA logo on the front of the CD transport and the display says it’s 88.2/24 resolution. My Hugo TT2 DAC doesn’t do MQA but doesn’t need to in this case. It see the CD as 88.2 and displays a light yellow color to indicate this.
It sounds quite good. Is that due to the MQA? Or is it just a nice sounding CD? I’ll have to compare it with my Qobuz version of the music soon. But right now, I’m wondering - if CDs had always had a way to output 88.2/24 instead of 44.1/16 would we have moved away from them so quickly in the end??
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On the Subject of CD sales as well as Vinyl Sales.
Both are Hard Medium Merchandise, that when purchased the Performers get a substantial remuneration as a comparative remuneration to what a Streaming Service Pays.
Nearly all Performers today, who want to have a career in crating music, are focusing on marketing their recordings on both CD and Vinyl.
For the even more privileged in the Music Industry, these Individuals or Bands, have the clout with Record Companies to not have any of their Recordings made available through a Streaming Service until 100K of of Hard Medium Sales have been realised.
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Just circling back after a month with the Shanling ET3... I"m not missing the Jay's CDT2-MK3 at all. This unit sounds great and is a joy to live with.
NOTE: I'm still just using it as a CD transport. I've not attempted to use it as a streamer nor have I downloaded the App that's available for it.
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@creativepart : that’s funny 😂😂.
Who pushes a button elven times? Total hardship! 🤯😉
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dumb question, how do you select, say track no, 12 out of 15 songs from the remote ? Is a universal remote control with numeric keypad works with ET3?
You put the CD on and listen to the 11 songs - as in listen to the entire CD. Just like LPs, you listen to the whole thing. OR, you push the FF button 11 times if you must listen to just one song on a CD.
To answer the universal remote question someone who cared about that feature enough to test out a "universal" remote would have to try it.
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A dumb question, how do you select, say track no, 12 out of 15 songs from the remote ? Is a universal remote control with numeric keypad works with ET3?
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Does the Shanling ET-3 CD transport play gaplessly?
I obviously does with my CDs, To be sure, I pulled out DSOM and it sounds great on the ET-3. No pauses inserted.
I haven't attempted to use the device as a streamer so I can only go by what others have said and as I recall they said it was gapless in all but one network format. I paid little to no attention to this, as I doubt I'd ever use this as a streamer. I bought this for it's CD playback and multitude of output choices exclusively.
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@creativepart dumb question to ask, but here in 2024, it can't be taken for granted: Does the Shanling ET-3 CD transport play gaplessly? (i.e. no inserted 2 or 3 second pauses between tracks when there shouldn't be, such as on Dark Side of the Moon, other prog rock CDs, classical, jazz and such). Thanks!
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Bits are bits and they should all sound the same - until they don't. Then we are left with a big "Hmmm." Just as people tell you that the quality of your streamer is at least as important as the quality of your DAC, (or at least should be on a commensurate price level), I think we can surmise that the quality of a device reading the data from a CD, and then passing that information to a DAC can be important as well. The Philips drive used in the Shanling seems to be a good one.
I have a "decent" Denon CD player I picked up two years ago as a hedge against CD players "going away" and I'm happy with it, but I'd be interested in giving a dedicated transport a try. The words "audiophile" and "fool" shouldn't be close in definition. I can't believe so many people could be fooled.
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CORRECTION - I've been calling the transport the "EC3" but it's actually called the ET3 not EC3.
In fact, I think Shanling makes a full CD Player with the EC3 name.
Sorry for the error.
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Can you cancel oversampling in your Shanling EC3 transport?
Well, I found a setting in the menu that suggests that it can upsample CDs. But it definitely has a "Bypass" setting that shows 16/44.1 output.
It’s kind of confusing figuring out the menu as some things pertain to other sources i.e. Bluetooth and USB Drive/Stick and I don’t know if they apply to CDs too.
But I have mine set at Bypass and the Chord Hugo TT2 is showing 16/44.1 is being received.
UPDATE: I just set it to 192hz and it is upsampling the CD as the TT2 "light" changed from Red for 44.1 to Blue for 192.
So, to definitively answer your initial question... Yes, it has upsampling BUT you can bypass it and output 44.1 Redbook from CDs.
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Can you cancel oversampling in your Shanling EC3 transport?
It is important to any Chord DAC that has its own oversampling processing algorithm.
It is non-oversampling for CD Playback. When using it as a WiFi streamer I know you can stream high res out of it via it's DNLA network connections. But, I don't have any of that setup yet. It's just outputting Redbook CD into my Hugo TT2.
By the way you can send upsampled content to the Chord DAC, I do so via HQ Player/Roon/Qobuz. But that works best when you send content upsampled to at least 705.6hz to bypass the Chord's internal upsampling.
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Interesting thread. I own an Esoteric DV60, which I use solely as a transport. The DV60 is a universal player, which means it can read SACD's, DVD A's etc., I do not think it is any less capable as a transport than a unit designed purely for CD's. I have done a few comparisons between it and these type of transports, and the Esoteric has always come out on top. Not to say that perhaps a lesser SACD unit that does all things would be in the same category, but I think generalizations, like those made above, are not always correct.
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Hi @creativepart
Can you cancel oversampling in your Shanling EC3 transport?
It is important to any Chord DAC that has its own oversampling processing algorithm.
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I received my Shanling EC3 yesterday. So, it’s nowhere near broken in yet. I’ve been playing it no more than 2 hours. I should have run it all night on mute, but forgot to.
First impressions... well made, nice form factor, easy quick start for CD playback. As to sound, it’s a bit warmer than the Jay’s CD2-MK3. Like the Jay’s there’s plenty of bass, but it’s not quite as open on top, at least not yet. But it does not seem lacking.
I have not tried ANYTHING other than playing CDs. I don’t know, yet, what firmware it was delivered with. I’ve not attempted Bluetooth or their Eddict Player App. So, I can’t comment there. I did buy this for CD playback. So, the other features are a nice bonus, but not a first priority.
I’m running the CD3 output via coax S/PDIF into my Chord Hugo TT2 DAC. I plan to test optical later today and maybe USB also. The TT2 doesn’t have I2S or AES-EBU inputs.
No buyer's remorse - everything works and sounds good. I'm especially liking the soundstage and depth. But then my DAC is a specialist in those qualities.
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Relevance to this thread, pindac?????
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Yesterday I was invited to see in the New Year, in the company of some of my local HiFi Group members, as well as supply a set of ears to assist with evaluations of a certain component exchange on a CDP and evaluate Two very similarly built Pre-Amp's, that have now evolved to one having TVC Volume Control and the other a Khozmo VC along with a few other bespoke components added to the circuit. c .
Tube Rolling was the fundamental behind the get together.
An Audio Note CD2 was made available to be used for the Tube Rolling experience. The CD2 owner has been trying out the supplied Tube along with a recent acquired Vintage Amperex. Both produced a sonic that was able to be lived with, with the Amperex having the effect that was least attractive to myself, I was on y own on that as the evaluation.
The Pre's were added to be used with each of these Tubes, there was enough going on with the sonic to show the impact the Pre-Amp's selected topology could create. The assessment which was unanimous was that each of the Pre's was at their best with a different Tube upstream.
Next up were a selection of loaned Tubes specially selected for this experience.
The loaned Tubes to be used were all tested and measured showing each being above the Factory Spec' for each Tube. The Period of production for the Tubes ranged from Mid 50's through to Late 60's.
First used for this Tube Roll has been a quite expensive in todays money early 60's version, the introduction of this used with Khozmo VC Pre-Amp' blew all attendees away.
The follow Up tube being a Mid 50's Tube and one that can be found for approx' 70% cheaper than the previous used 60's Tube, again blew all attendees away. This tube begged for both Pre's to be tried with it in use, and both Pre's were amply rewarded for the sonic being produced with this Tube used upstream.
My overall evaluation was quite simple, where I stated not even AN know the quality the CD2 is able to produce.
To gauge the CD2 in use with the Mid 50's Tube the next period was with a £4K CDP in use which has been Tube Rolled and selections made with a lot longer period allowed for evaluations.
The CD2, even though not as impressive overall as the £4K CDP, had plenty on offer to strongly suggest it was something quite special.
The Tubes were no longer a case of how long one could be lived with, it was now a case of how long could one of the Vintage options be lived without.
The impression made was so good, other selected Tubes to be trialed, were not tried out.
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Here's another thread where folks have actually listened to the ET-3 and prefer it to the new Schiit URD among others.
Shanling ET-3 CD Transport
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it's time for my Haldol.
You need something way heavier than that 🤯
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I already have on hand a Denon, a JVC and two Sony's (DVD and Blue Ray) players for use as transports. After an Agon member recommended the HD841 I went looking for one on eBay. I expect it will do fine!
Will a CD drive from a 1999 Compaq Presario desktop pc serve as a good transport homie????? It's all "1s & 0s" after all, yes????????????
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I also have the Pro-ject transport and compared it to other players. It's really good.
I think @jasonbourne71 is either a troll (well, actually he is) or he has ears made out of the same plastic as his cheapo cd transport.
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Keep going. This is a target rich environment, material for my doctoral dissertation: "Dysphoric Rumination and Invective Approaches Practiced by Passionate Disillusioned Hobbyists".
Oh, my beeper just went off, it's time for my Haldol.
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While the debate goes on about the sound quality of a basic dvd/cd player against a much more expensive unit like a Shanling, Esoteric or Jay’s Transport I would like to clear up a different misconception. China has many factories, audio companies and engineers. Like all places, there are cheaply made components and ones of high quality. There are companies in China making top level gear. So no, not everything that comes out of China is junk. That’s just a stupid and ignorant misunderstanding or misconception.
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For those CD transport without numerical keypad on unit or remote, how do you select tracks? Do you listen to entire CD or play shuffle?
My point was if we keep forward to track like track 15 of 20, would the laser/lens and CD mechanism fail over time. |
I just found out about the ET-3 and although my Audiolab 6000 sounds really good, especially for the $350 I paid for it, including shipping, I feel a lot more comfortable with a top loader, but in no rush unless I get flush.
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am considering the Jay’s CDT2-MK3. "
It is really as good as everyone says. I kind of got carried away. I bought the Cambridge CXC locally for $250 and really liked it. So naturally I had to try the Audiolab 6000CDT. It too sounded really good so when I found a Jay’s CDT2-MK3 for under $2k I jumped for it.
It’s so big, solid and smooth sounding. But, really, CDs are not that big in my life. Sure, the Transports had me dig out my old CD collection. And, I even bought some new and used CDs to add to it.
But thinking realistically I don’t need a transport at that $2000 level. So, I sold it for what I paid for it and ordered the Shanling. I was going to buy another Audiolab but the Shanling was about the same price. Done.
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CDs outsold vinyl 2 to 1 in England this year.
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From the number of transport threads and the number of transports currently available, it looks like CDs are making a comeback. I know people love streaming because of the limitless choices, but sometimes too much choice has one flipping around rather than listening. Like Netflix. I find myself skipping from movie to movie, but when I put on a cd or a record, I’m much more likely to sit, listen and relax.
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@creativepart I look forward to your thoughts. I also prefer to get a top loader and am considering the Jay's CDT2-MK3.
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I have one on order for delivery on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I’ll report back then.
By the way... I’ve owned a Cambridge Audio CXC, an Audiolab 6000CDT and a Jay’s Audio CDT2-MK3 in the past year. So, it will be interesting to see how this sounds.
I loved the CXC but liked the sound of the 6000CDT better. The Jay’s CDT2-MK3 was fantastic, but I ultimately decided that I didn’t need a $2,000 CD Transport. I was going to buy another Audiolab, probably the 7000CDT but, after owning the Jay’s I decided that I liked the top loading of the Shanling better.
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Just to renew this thread, has anyone purchased the Shanling ET3 transport and is willing to comment on it's sound?
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I bought the ET3 (silver) and it looks and feels very nice. Solid build, great back panel with lots of options. The I2S worked with my Pro-Ject DAC Box RS2, sending complete CD info.
Sadly, though, the ET3 refuses to work properly. The firmware locks up every time I try to use it. It sends info to the DAC and I can see the CD spin, but the firmware will not let me cycle through WiFi, playback and other settings. I am working with the seller and Shanling, but there doesn’t seem to be much that we can do.
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I truly believe that some listener's brains can't discern the difference sonic outputs from different pieces of equipment, cables, power conditioning, etc. Some of us can tell differences in the sonic signatures of various components. And of those of us who can tell sonic differences there is a range of being able to discern these differences.
I don't for a new York millisecond begrudge those listeners whose ears don't resolve differences in equipment. In turn, those who can't resolve sonic differences between audio kit need to quit harassing those of us who can.
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I was interested in this but bought the Jay’s Audio CDT2-MK3. I’m not interested in anything else now. The Jay’s is fantastic.
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The US dealer for the Shanling ET3 transport now has them in stock:
https://shop.musicteck.com/collections/shanling/products/shanling-et3-dedicated-digital-cd-transport
Well, no. I just bought the one remaining silver version at MusicTeck, and the black one had been sold out for some time.
Can't wait to see how this pairs with my Pro-Ject DAC Box RS2. I wanted to buy the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T CD Transport to match but the website says it's "temporarily" unavailable in the United States. Audio Advisor has the black model in stock but not the silver version.
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It is good to see New Products, prior to any demo's having been received, go under the knife, I now know how this stands out against other Devices, in relation to how it can be utilised within a system.
What is yet to be understood, and possibly most contributors will never know, is how it sounds in a system, who is reporting an attraction for the sonic produced and who views the sonic produced as a repellent. This is a watch this space for future experiences being reported on.
As for the side subject, where all Transports CDP are the same and not able to show substantial differences to each other. This as a subject, making these type of statements is one I am not able to agree with, based on my own experiences.
I won't be quoting any hearsay, or using another's description as an affirmation my contribution is totally correct.
Firstly, I have been anti CD as a source in my system for many many years, CD has been close to 40 Years new when I adopted it as a Source Material.
The transition started through being loaned modified CDP's to be assessed in my own system, as well as in the system of the modifier.
This evolved to my having a CDP as a Source within my system, to the place I am now where I have a CDT>DAC in use.
The CDP's that have been is use and loaned for assessment have all been experienced in use through the DAC and a couple have been A/B Compared to the CDT > DAC as a a CDP and CDP > DAC.
The above does show I am limited in my experiences of other digital equipment, but what is has shown for myself, is that there are substantial Attractors/Repellents perceived for a set up during the time the demo's are being undertaken.
I feel very confident, that if the Shanling ET 3 has a demo' in my system and is analytically assessed when compared to the in use CDT, there will be plenty to discuss between any who is in attendance, as to where one has an attraction, or repellent. From a personal approach, the ideal outcome being a perceived repellent is not to overbearing/noticeable and is easily feathered into the perceived attractions, under the guise not all is, or will ever be perfect.
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HaHa....I've had the CEC TL5 for over a year....Belt drive...no jitter...Splendid and musical. A sweetheart of a top loading transport. When I teamed it up with a tubed R2R Audio Mirror Toubadour IV I'm listening to a Live performance every night with all my favorite artists.....Sorry if some don't like it @jasonbourne......I love it !
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@jasonbourne71
"I already have on hand a Denon, a JVC and two Sony's (DVD and Blue Ray) players for use as transports."
Not sure why you have four transports if they are so good, but I am jealous.
Not often that one can be happy shopping for audio equipment at thrift shops and garage sales.
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Years of experience actually do not mean anything, it comes down to what you have heard and in how many different systems. If you don’t think CD transports make a difference come to my Listening Room in Northern NJ. We have around 6 different ones and about 6 different DACs to hear and play with. PLUS we have been repairing/upgrading/modifying gear for 25 plus years. Were are not Techs but electronic design engineers. We build and sell our own audio components. We are in the industry and try to help and show people what makes sound do what it does. We enjoy meeting new people. If you really think that a $16 transport sounds the same and will complete with an Audiomeca Mephisto II, please we would be more than happy to have a listen. We are all about learning new things and we are cheap also!
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