Unboxing of Shanling M6 Music Player | Hifigo

Shanling has crafted the M6 out of CNC’ed aluminum and it certainly feels fantastic in the hand. Nothing on the product feels even remotely cheap by our hifigo standard as a reviewer. At the price US$499.99, we have seen far worse quality in significantly more expensive products, so this is a real win for us.  

At roughly 220g in weight, it feels rock-solid top to bottom. The physical buttons on the side of the unit have a satisfying click and feel very tactile and enjoyable. The microSD card cover is a real nightmare to get off though. I struggle often to flip it out and open. If I had one gripe about anything revolving around the design of the unit, it would be that. It isn’t a big deal, so long as you plan to leave the SD card inside and do not swap SD cards often as I do.

Otherwise, the unit is actually moderately thick, but the size is still more than portable enough for me to slot into a pocket without thinking twice. The M6 comes with a USB-C charging cable, some paperwork and with an optional leather case. The box is fairly standard and has nothing to write home for.

On the front of Shanling M6 is the 4.7-inch IPS HD screen which is supplied by Sharp and has a resolution of 780*1280 which is increased much comparing with the former flagship portable DAP Shanling M5S 320 x 480. The colors are vibrant and the images are clear. It doesn't like many DAPs which the screen cannot be easy to see in direct sunlight and the display only takes up about two-thirds of the front of the unit, the screen of Shanling M6 is full screen and the brightness is sufficient for outdoor use.

Shanling M6 music player is based on a full open Android OS, allowing the installation of any third party APP. Customized Android, avoiding any problems and sound degradation caused by Android's SRC. It's the first Andriod based player from Shanling.

There are three physical playback buttons on the left side (fast forward, play/pause and rewind). The buttons reside in a little recessed groove so they are raised above the surface but do not protrude past the side of the player. They have a subtle but reassuring tactile click, similar to the buttons found on quality smartphones.

Also, at the bottom of the left side is the Micro-SD card slot. This has a plastic cover just like the one on the M0 and this cover can be quite tricky to open if you have short fingernails. I’d love to see a little cutout area on the cover like the Sony DAPs have to make it a bit easier to open.


On the right side of the player is the volume wheel which also acts as the power button. This is the same as the wheel found on the M5s which is still working perfectly on my unit. It feels solid and secure and only protrudes a tiny bit past the edge of the chassis so it doesn’t get caught when you’re putting the player in your pocket.

Finally, on the bottom of the Shanling M6 player is a USB Type-C port, a 3.5 mm headphone output, a 4.5mm and a 2.5 mm balanced headphone output. Overall, the M6 is extremely well-built and feels more premium physically than most other mid-tier DAPs.

Thankfully, the M6 is USB-C and quick charge 3.0 compatible. The battery is about 4000mAh Using the single-ended output at a moderate volume you can expect up to 12 hours of playback. If using the balanced output the battery life of M6 drops to 9-10 hours. The 4000 mAh battery of Shanling M6 player takes 2 hours to fully charge which is quite fast.