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.