For the past few weeks, I did something I have not done for many, many years — playing CDs and SACDs. It felt a bit strange to press a button and seeing a tray suddenly coming out of the player.
I also had to remind myself to put my index finger into the centre hold and hold the CD/SACD by the edges and not smudge the shiny layer with my finger prints.
I had to relearn all these because I had in for review the Shanling SCD1.3 SACD/CD player. There has been a revival of CD playing among a segment of the Gen Z/Millennial market and, as usual, the Chinese manufacturers have been quick to respond. In Shanling’s case, they had always retained their presence in the CD player segment.
For this review, I had to dig out the meagre collection of SACDs that I own — The Doors (Analogue Productions), Norah Jones: Come Away With Me (Blue Note Records) and Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (MoFi, Limited Edition).
It is quite simple to operate the Shanling SACD player and the commands are quite intuitive. It was interesting for me because for the first time I spent much time on the big rig and on headphones (the Sony MDR-M1 Professional) comparing the CD vs SACD versions of the same song, but I could do it with only The Doors and Kind of Blue as these were hybrid discs while the Norah Jones disc was pure SACD.
Just a few words are needed to sum up the sound quality of the Shanling SCD1.3 SACD/CD player — spacious, smooth and pleasant.
The soundstage is big and well spread out with pretty solid imaging. The music was smooth with no harshness at all. Overall, the music was pleasant to listen to and if you really want to nitpick, perhaps it is a tad polite.
What about DSD vs CD? The CD versions sounded more upfront, more aggressive with less depth in the soundstage while the DSD versions sounded smoother, a bit relaxed, with more resonance to the bass and a deeper soundstage. When playing fast-paced rock track The Doors’ Break On Through (To The Other Side), I preferred the CD version, but when playing Miles Davis’ So What, I preferred the DSD version.
I also tried streaming songs to the Shanling SCD1.3 using the WiiM Ultra and a QED Performance Toslink cable and the sound signature was still smooth and spacious.
Initially, I hooked the Shanling SCD1.3 to Fosi V3 monoblocks to drive the ATC SCM50 floorstanders and when I changed the amplifiers to the Bryston 4B SST, there was an improvement in the sound quality with more precise imaging, more sparkle and better timbres especially in the treble region. So the Shanling SCD1.3 deserves better amplification.
The Shanling SCD1.3 uses the AKM 4191EQ/AKM 4499EX top-tier DAC section, Muses 8920 preamp output, TPA 6120 headphone amp, and a MediaTek MT1389EE and Sanyo HD870 laser. Interestingly, it also offers an I2S output featuring 10 of the most common I2S pin connections for better compatibility.
The Shanling SCD1.3 is available from Red Ape at RM6,199. Call 01154264995 for more details.
