High-end audio products made in China are increasingly accessible and high-quality. In the past they have mostly been designed and distributed by western companies taking advantage of abundant, low-priced labour in the world’s most highly-populated country. Things are changing, though, as China’s own brands arrive in the West. One of these is Shanling, and it’s well worth getting to know.

It was in October of last year that I was first impressed by a Shanling product, the CD-T100 tube CD player which I encountered in this magazine’s office. A search on the Internet turned up several more Shanling products which looked interesting and affordable. Clearly the company was not out to imitate the multinationals, but instead aspired to create entirely original products to excite the most jaded audiophile.

The SLM-A40 Mk II

I found out that the SLM-A40 Mk II integrated amplifier runs in Class A when I almost burned my fingers on the unit’s large cooling fins. Of course if I had read the English translation of the Chinese manual first, that wouldn’t have happened. (Note: this review originally appeared in a French-language publication). Despite what its name suggests, this unit’s transistors put out 50 watts per channel into 8 ohms. Exceptionally, it contains a 24-bit/96 kHz upsampling converter with optical and coaxial digital inputs, the same as the one in the CD-S100 player. This feature is especially interesting if you have a digital source whose converter is of marginal quality but has these two outputs—like many DVD players.

The Shanling integrated is magnificent to look at. Unlike most of its competitors, whose front plate may be the only aluminum part, this amplifier’s whole case is aluminum. The metal knob on the left selects one of five analog and two digital sources; the right-hand knob controls volume. In the centre, a sober display screen either shows that the unit is in standby mode or indicates volume level and signal source.

The muting, standby and screen brightness control functions are accessible only from the elegant RC-08 remote control, which also lets you select a high-level analog or digital source. Both the amplifier and the CD player come with this remote, and several buttons are duplicated on it so that each unit can be controlled separately. The heavy metal handset is easy to use, and its look fits the electronics’ pure lines perfectly.

The four metallized feet of the SLM-A40 Mk II are each made of three half spheres of soft rubber. With these, along with its 16-kilogram weight, the amplifier is unlikely to start waltzing across your audio furniture! On top of the case are six ventilation grilles, positioned over two larger ones on the case bottom. Also on the case top are two graphics which show distortion levels with reference to frequency, at five watts output and at the rated maximum of fifty watts into 8 ohms. At the back, along with the analog and digital inputs already mentioned, is the amplifier’s one and only switch. The unit’s owner is thus encouraged to keep it in standby mode, always ready to play, which is a good idea. The four excellent gold-plated loudspeaker connectors could be mistaken for WBTs, except for the Shanling name on them. Note that the holes for banana plugs are a bit large and require adjustable connectors. Lastly, the company supplies a detachable power cord of the kind you usually have to buy for a small extra fortune. A thoughtful touch!

It’s a little surprising to take out the ten Allen screws which hold down the amplifier’s top plate, and look inside to see analog and digital technology cohabiting so easily. The Burr-Brown 1738 converter and the Crystal CS8420 upsampling module are hidden inside an aluminum box at the back. The 600-watt main transformer, in the centre, is in an aluminum case as well. On either side of it, the circuitry of the two amplifier channels is identical. After the amp had been plugged in for several hours, I was able to verify heat levels. Although the many output transistors make the large lateral fins very hot, the temperature inside the amplifier, which may affect the circuits, is kept down to a reasonable level. It seems clear that this original design has been put together with an attention to detail which equals and even surpasses the work of western companies, at a price which defies competition.

The CD-S100 Mk II player

The CD player has the same kind of all-aluminum case as the amplifier. At 37 cm. it is a little deeper than average. The disc drawer and the display screen are centrally placed in the front panel. The loading mechanism is fast and has a confidence-inspiring solidity, but the action of its pushbutton is a little noisier than most. All the buttons on the front panel are metal. Out on the far left is the standby control, with the usual five others in order to the right of the disc drawer. The play button is larger than the rest. At the back, a nice little surprise: the excellent American-made CMC analog and RCA digital output jacks. We won’t bemoan the lack of an optical digital output, since the one which is provided will perform much better.

The Shanling player, like the integrated amplifier, comes with a small Allen driver so you can open the remote handset and replace the batteries. The driver is too small, though, to fit the ten Allen screws holding the units’ identical top plates. To remove these, the curious owner will need a 2.5 mm tool. Inside the player, an aluminum plate isolates the front panel, a similar metal shell does the same for the transformer and the Philips CDM-12.10 transport mechanism is hidden in an aluminum case. The earlier version of this player used a transport with the same model number, but the Mk II uses an updated control chip. This is the first time I have seen so much care put into the design and construction of a thousand-dollar CD player. The 24-bit/96 kHz upsampling function is selected from the remote control, and a blue diode to the left of the disc drawer shows it’s engaged. There’s quite a contrast between this light and the standby/power indicator, which goes from red to a very bright green; with these an d the display screen, which tends towards turquoise, you won’t lose this player in the dark! The remote handset has buttons for setting the CD player’s output level, nicely graduated up to the number 95. In listening, though, I preferred to use the amplifier’s volume control function. Neither unit has a balance control, nor a headphone jack. Finally, although there is a button marked “SACD” on the remote, neither machine can decode this format. Also, the HDCD capability which was a feature of the first version of the CD-S100 is gone on the Mark II. However since relatively few HDCD discs are available, its disappearance probably won’t disappoint many listeners.

Listening

When I first installed these units, the sound was accurate but afflicted with a noticeable hardness which turned out to come mostly from the CD player. After several days of constant play, though, things changed for the better. This little player is only little where price is concerned. The sound of the famous Buena Vista Social Club recording, in 24/96 upsampling mode, was enormous, dense, wide and deep. Guitars, trumpet and percussion had particularly fine timbres, immediate and recognizable. The piano created just the right atmosphere, with a crystalline sound and a special tone which made me think it must be just as old as some of the granddaddies on this recording. Voices stood out through their naturalness and apparent proximity. There was more than enough to warm up a grey autumn!

In contrast, the player’s sound in normal mode (without upsampling) was typically softer, with a slightly smaller stereo image. Since the choice is a matter of taste and the player can switch from one “personality” to the other at the touch of a button, I experimented freely. With comparatively open and less complex music, like Les délices de la solitude by Michel Corrette and other baroque bassoon sonatas by Boismortier, I didn’t use oversampling. Here the musicians’ beautiful timbres count more than a spectacularly huge sound stage. Ideally this player would be able to provide both at the same time, but that’s a lot to ask when you already get so much for the money.

The Shanling units’ beautiful sound owes a lot to the SLM-A40 Mk II integrated amp. Listening to it, you understand right away why so many people prefer class A circuitry to the more common class AB. Such amplifiers, in spite of their high heat output, relatively limited power and sometimes inconvenient size—whether tube or transistor-based—can offer the best of all worlds: digital timbres which approach the warmth and refinement of analog. By good luck this Shanling is relatively small, affordable and its fifty watts rarely leave you wanting more power. I noticed this with Louis Pastor’s album, Diario de a bordo. Here the double bass is beautifully extended in the low range and has a wonderfully ample sound. The soloist’s unique voice, recorded with care from close up, was beautifully centred, present and perfectly human. It was a special pleasure to be able to follow all the lyrics in the CD’s fine booklet, and to let myself be carried away by Pastor’s stories.

For Leopold Godowsky’s Passacaglia, interpreted with verve by the pianist Marc-André Hamelin, the CD-S100 MkII’s upsampling feature is absolutely appropriate. It adds to the impact required by the more explosive passages while increasing the audible detail of the softer moments; this is especially noticeable at the start of the great final fugue at the fourteenth minute. The amplifier clearly reached its limits during the loud passages, but when that happens, with this unit, it is neither especially unpleasant nor surprising. You just have to bring the volume down a little, which is true for most amplifiers on the market anyway.

Every piece of audio equipment on the market has been designed for a specific clientele, whether young, active and gadget-loving or more homebound and drawn to quality and comfort. The Shanling units’ designers have sought to please those who appreciate fine materials and simplicity, and who have built up a considerable collection of CDs over the years. These aluminum cases, with their superb lines, offer precisely the functions you need at the center of a really fine sound system. The brilliant, accurate sound of the CD-S100 MkII player will please ears whose high-frequency capability is not what it once was, while respecting the warm tones of the amplifier. The SLM-A40 Mk II amplifier is clearly a superb piece of equipment. Besides offering a combination of resolution, power and timbral smoothness which is rarely found at the price, it also has a built-in 24/96 upsampling converter. This unit alone has the potential to transform an ordinary setup into a system which can produce sound of great beauty.