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Shanling UA1 and Shanling UA2 – Shanling UA Line introduced

A range of USB DACs with integrated headphone amplifiers will be available with the new Shanling UA line, which the Chinese company is now establishing with the Shanling UA1 and Shanling UA2 solutions.


For years, the Chinese company Shanling has been considered a proven expert for solutions in the field of personal audio devices. Shanling offers a wide range of headphones, so-called Bluetooth amplifiers and portable Hi-res audio players, also known as DAP. Now a completely new product line has been added, which the company calls the Shanling UA Line.

Shanling is not yet revealing too many details about the new Shanling UA Line, but it is clear that it will be based on two solutions: the Shanling UA1 Portable USB-C Adapter and the Shanling UA2 Portable USB DAC/ AMP. Both are very small D/A converters with an integrated headphone amplifier. They are primarily designed for smartphones, in the case of the Shanling UA1 for Google Android alone, in the case of the Shanling UA2 for Google Android as well as Apple iOS, whereby the latter is also suitable for the Nintendo switch. These solutions can also be used with notebooks.

Both solutions combine a compact design, one must rather speak of an almost tiny design, because the Shanling UA1 Portable USB-C Adapter as well as the Shanling UA2 Portable USB DAC/ AMP present themselves in the form of a USB dongle, so they are not much larger than a corresponding memory stick. Both are connected to the respective source device with short cables.

With the new Shanling UA1 Portable USB-C Adapter a solution is available which the manufacturer himself describes as “great sound in its smallest form” and which is designed for use on smartphones, tablets and notebooks, whereby, as the name suggests, a USB-C interface is a prerequisite. The operating systems Google Android, Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X are supported.

An ESS ES9218P D/A converter is used here, which can process signals in Linear PCM with up to 32 bits and 384 kHz, and also DSD up to DSD256. A 3.5 mm stereo mini jack socket is available as output.

The new Shanling UA2 Portable USB DAC/ AMP is designed slightly differently, as it not only provides an unbalanced output in the form of a 3.5 mm stereo mini jack socket, but also a balanced output in the form of a 2.5 mm connector.

The converter used here is also of a slightly higher quality, an AKM AK4493 DAC, a solution from the renowned manufacturer Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation. It can process data in Linear PCM format with up to 32 bits and 768 kHz, and of course DSD up to DSD512. With this solution, Shanling offers several cable options so that the Shanling UA2 Portable USB DAC/ AMP can be connected not only via USB-C but also via Apple Lightning Cable. This means that Apple iOS is supported in addition to Google Android, Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X. The manufacturer also lists compatibility for the Nintendo switch.

When and at what prices the solutions of the new Shanling UA Line will actually be available is not yet known. Shanling wants to announce these details soon and the local sales department will probably also communicate the prices for the German speaking market soon. As soon as we have this information, we will of course provide it immediately.

Getting to the point

Shanling is not yet revealing too many details about the new Shanling UA Line, but it is clear that it will be based on two solutions, namely the Shanling UA1 Portable USB-C Adapter and the Shanling UA2 Portable USB DAC/ AMP. Both are very small D/A converters with an integrated headphone amplifier. They are primarily designed for smartphones, in the case of the Shanling UA1 for Google Android alone, in the case of the Shanling UA2 for Google Android as well as Apple iOS, whereby the latter is also suitable for the Nintendo switch. These solutions can also be used with notebooks.

Manufacturer:Shanling
Distribution:NT Global Distribution GmbH
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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