- Shanling launches new retro portable CD player EC Play
- Lightweight, but with plenty of connection options
- Sold in May for $199 / £209 (around AU$420)
CD players have remained trendy despite the rise (and fall?) of streaming, but now retro audio technology is making a comeback (including cassette players, in one way or another), as are ’90s-inspired CD players.
Chinese hi-fi company Shanling has just announced the EC Play, a sleek new record machine available in silver, black or green.
It’s expected to be sold starting in May, for $199 / £209 (around AU$420), less than the company’s high-end portable players like the ECZero AKM which costs $319 (around £244 / AU$490).
As one would hope for a portable CD player, it’s a small thing. It measures 14.2 x 12.5 x 2.6 cm – a little larger than a CD itself – and weighs 418g. This makes it lighter than the average FIFA regulation football, which can weigh between 410g and 450g. [Editor’s note: I have no idea why we are now measuring our CD players in soccer balls, but I have decided to allow it.]
It has a sleek shell, much like the FiiO DM13, without the transparent section and design style that we often see with this type of technology.
Still, a glance at the image above shows various buttons, screens, and ports. The thing might be lightweight, but it hides a lot of features.
A CD player full of tips
The Shanling EC Play not only works with your standard 3.5mm headphones, but also has a 4.4mm port and coaxial output.
If you like retro but haven’t gone all the way to the wired life yet, it also supports Bluetooth playback. It supports AAC, LDAC and SBC codecs and complies with the Bluetooth 6.0 standard.
The Cirrus Logic DAC is said to be designed for “natural, fun sound”, and there’s a dual headphone amp built in that can cater for IEMs and headphones that need a little more punch, as well as your standard wired earphone.
You can also plug the player into a PC, laptop, or phone via USB, and it will act as a DAC for 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256 playback.
The battery life of the EC Play is, according to Shanling, 12 hours. Of course, this varies depending on how you listen to your music, but it’s above average for this type of gadget.
According to Shanling, the EC Play is not designed for high-end audio specifications and unique features, but “to recreate the old days”, which is apparently “the time when portable CD players were practical and part of everyday life”.
I’m not holding my breath seeing this type of technology commonly used in public transportation, but Shanling is right in a sense. Its EC Play seems practical to use on the go or at home, with this versatility likely to appeal to some buyers.
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