- A CD player with aptX Adaptive and a Hi-Res Audio DAC
- A cheaper version of that which also had a built-in tube amp (!)
- $319 (around £244 / AU$490)
We’ve been impressed with Shanling’s portable CD players – the Shanling EC Zero T was one of our favorite products at the High End Munich 2025 audio show – so we’re very interested in the company’s new ECZero AKM, which does much more than just play CDs.
The ECZero AKM is a very talented little device. As Darko Audio reports, what Shanling essentially did here was remove the Model T tube amplification we loved and opted for an all-digital design, with an AKM AK4493S DAC and SGM 8262 op-amps.
This reduces the cost considerably, although it means losing the “meaty” sound of the tube model that we loved so much – but tube amps are always a bit of a risk on a portable device anyway, so perhaps it’s the smart decision in the end.
With multiple outputs and a USB-C input, the ECZero AKM can rip your CDs in real time to USB storage, stream music to your wireless speakers and headphones via Bluetooth, provide balanced and unbalanced outputs for your wired headphones, act as a CD transport for your stereo, and double as a DAC for other digital devices.
Shanling EXZero AKM: key details and prices
The headphone jack produces 525mW into 32 ohms and the balanced output can go up to 836mW per channel if the Shanling is connected to a wired power supply – more than enough to power even fairly demanding headphones. In battery mode, you can expect around 10 hours of playback depending on how hard you use your headphones.
There’s a 3.5mm line out, a balanced 4.4mm line out, combined coaxial/optical SP/DIF and dual USB-C, and there’s Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX and aptX Adaptive. This is not the case enough provide completely lossless CD-quality sound (you’d need aptX Lossless for that), but they’re close enough that you’ll feel like you’re getting the most out of your discs if you have a pair of the best wireless headphones that support them.
There’s no LDAC though – it’s aptX only here. And it’s worth noting that Bluetooth only transmits: you can’t use it to receive audio from your phone to listen to it on the best wired headphones connected to the Shanling.
However, if you connect the USB-C input to your computer or other devices, it can support high-resolution audio up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD256, so that’s a nice bonus.
The controls are minimal, and there’s a small 1.68-inch color LCD screen to let you know basic details like track information, volume, and where you are in the track. There are three selectable gain levels and a 100-level digital volume slider.
The ECZero AKM is much cheaper than the EC Zero T, which had an introductory price of $589; this new model costs a much more affordable $319 (around £244 / AU$490). You can find out more on the Shanling website here.
The best music players for every budget
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
