Almost 40 years after its invention by Sony, the Discman has come back to life with the new Shanling EC Mini CD portable CD player. In addition to disc playback, this thoroughly modern model offers a USB DAC, a micro SD reader, a Bluetooth LDAC receiver/transmitter, and a true balanced headphone amplifier. Enough to meet all today’s needs?
Shanling EC Mini CD: battery or USB
With the Shanling EC Mini CD player, the Asian manufacturer offers an all-in-one solution for enjoying music at home and on the go. Its dual rechargeable battery means you can listen to your discs throughout the house, in the garden or in the car. In the latter case, the device automatically switches on when the vehicle is started. Its battery offers up to 25 hours of autonomy for micro SD playback and 7h30 for disc playback. Whether at home or in the car, the Shanling EC Mini CD player can be powered directly via USB.
Shanling EC Mini CD: CD player, microSD and USB DAC
For disc playback, the Shanling EC Mini CD uses the same design as the Shanling CD 80. It features the same Philips mechanism combined with a Sanyo HD860 laser. This system can play commercial CDs, burned CDs and the less common CD-MQA. What’s more, the Shanling EC Mini CD can also play tracks stored on a micro SD card, computer or smartphone thanks to its USB-C port. Its dual ESS ES9219 DAC supports Hi-Res tracks up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256.
Shanling EC Mini CD: headphone amplifier and RCA output
The headphone amplifier integrated into the Shanling EC Mini CD player is borrowed directly from the Shanling M3 Ultra DAP. It uses two Ricore RT6863 ultra-low-noise modules. They are capable of developing a very comfortable 240mW into 32 ohms on the balanced 4.4mm jack output, and 140mW into 32 ohms on the unbalanced 3.5mm mini-jack output. Volume is easily controlled from the touch screen or physical interface. In addition, an RCA output lets you connect the Shanling EC Mini CD player and DAC to a home hi-fi system.
Shanling EC Mini CD: HD Bluetooth
In addition to balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs, the Shanling EC Mini CD player can also be paired with Bluetooth headphones or earbuds. Its Bluetooth 5.0 controller ensures high quality wireless listening, thanks to support for HD LDAC and aptX codecs. This practical module is bidirectional, enabling tracks to be streamed to the Shanling EC Mini CD player from a smartphone, tablet or computer.
Shanling EC Mini CD: price and availability
The Shanling EC Mini CD player is now on sale for €359. An affordable price considering the versatility of this device covering all the needs of a modern installation. Its battery makes it easy to carry from one room of the house to another, so you can listen to music in the office while working, then in the living room or bedroom in the evening. For use away from home and on vacation, Shanling’s Shanling EC Mini CD player comes with a hard case for easy transport.
