Shanling CD Player - Looks aren’t everything

That was a good review of a classic Techmoan item. Interesting but flawed. Nicely done.

I have a question, is this CD player gapless or does it add a gap between each track. The most recent player I bought isn't gapless, and when you try and listen to a concept album or live album it gets rather distracting. Thanks and keep up the great videos!

I have to admit your reference to the singing detective made me spill my coffee from laughing 😃 .

That CD player isn't exactly cheap. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but you'd think reliable Bluetooth isn't too much to ask for. As for the interface, this video says as much about how crap touch-sensitive controls are in general as it does about Shanling's complete ignorance of ergonomics. Thanks once again for taking one for the team, Mat.

Late to the party, earliest I've been able to watch this. Having been burnt with that Roberts Zoombox earlier in the year, does this have gapless playback? I only found out that one didn't after playing Abbey Road with its medley during the second half. I'd owned it a week by this point. Makes me wonder if all new players are made from the one kit too, like with cassette players. Also, must get round to watching The Singing Detective. Got it on DVD from a charity shop for a pound about two years ago.

I much prefer a CD player that's stereo to whatever the alternative would be! Thankfully they've written it on the box, just in case you thought it was mono (although judging by some of the new cassette personal stereos, a mono CD player can't be far away...) As Mat mentioned, it reminds me of the 80s personal stereos, I remember having a Sony Walkman that actually said stereo on the front twice! (Sony WM-33).

Sad it doesn't cut it, but it's also so bulky... Funnily I've just been designing an open enclosure/stand for a common laptop drive really trying my best to keep the CD-holding part as small as possible so the CD sticks out the most, still just a drive that needs a computer but I want to try continuing the work for making it a standalone audio player at some point... https://cloud.kilrah.xyz/s/a8HsDDeHQcQEsfN

Singing detective - Gregg’s pasty. So glad I didn’t listen to that over breakfast😆.

Enjoyed the Singing Detective reference!

Had to lol at the Graham Hancock reference. On another note: Don't you think they create these half-baked novelty/retro devices because they love watching you videos or at least know you love reviewing these? You can leave that white room, right?

When I grows up, I wants to be a YouTuber!

Thanks for this Matt, I was in need of a desktop unit, but I may forgo looks and get a real cheapy one. Incidentally, during my quest you may be interested to know I found a CD player that appears to use a magnetic pickup system as opposed to laser. Hard to believe I know, but if I'm reading the paragraph under ''Warm Tips'' in this product description correctly, you could draw that conclusion :) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desktop-speakers-MECHEN-Bluetooth-Headphone-Grey/dp/B0D9N9BWQS/ref=asc_df_B0D9N9BWQS

I expect the stereo in the name is to capture people who don't know what they're looking for and are simply searching "stereo"

Related CD question: Are you going to test the Lorde's clear CD fiasco on your many players? Seems like a nice tie-in to your clear LPs and a relatively easy/inexpensive vid to grab some well deserved eyes to the channel. Would love to see your reactions.

Seems like a cool device that could be fairly popular, but it's a swing and a miss as you say. Why is it that these companies put time and effort into producing novel audio gear that you'd think would appeal to a fairly broad audience, but then they leave off fairly important features and can't build adequate functionality into the features they do include? Likely they just think they'll sell enough of these to make a profit, while the folks that buy them wind up with a less-than-ideal product (although there are probably plenty of buyers that are okay with these players).

Another nicely-made video about a disappointing thing. I realise you don't seek out mild disappointments deliberately. Regarding Bluetooth: I have a Trettitre portable player (no longer on Amazon but still available from AliExpress) which seems like a nice design, reminiscent of a decorative doorbell chime. It sounds great but the AMOLED display turns off to save power so you can't see the track number or progress without pressing a button. Worse, it powers off if unused for a minute or so and you have to re-connect the Bluetooth when switching it back on.

Nice video (as ever), shame about the crappy player! Regards

And a lonely thank you for the "Singing Detective" reference.

Could it be that the BT speaker has previously been paired to something else in the room and that device is fighting to use it to output audio?

An interesting device. I’m curious about the buttons that were giving you so much grief. Were they capacitive touch, or membrane? They looked capacitive on the surface, but if they were membrane, that would make it hard to engineer without having issues. I, too, will pass on the EC Smart player, but I’ll never pass on one of your videos. Take some well-deserved time off.

A small thing I noticed, the bluetooth seemed to disconnect both times in the video right after a quick double tap of the skip track button. Maybe that is programmed to cycle through bluetooth devices or something?

Sorry if you already talked about it and I missed it, but was there any conclusion to your recent health related matters, or is that still ongoing?

I'm curious if this same machine will have many 'brand badges' as they are sold by many different sellers in near future, unfortunately Amazon etc are overrun with the same products with various sellers brands over them for sale.

I started to dislike it when you showed the display. Yes, the track number is way too close to the time, especially on track 01. Yuck! Then the bluetooth issues and the random bugs. Nice try, but no... thanks for this well made video!

Looking much healthier Mat. Good to see

I think the people who say the CD will slice your fingers mix up audio CD players and computer CD drives. Audio is played at slow speed and there is not much energy. But a 52x CD-ROM drive does put a ton in. There is a reason those are not exposed. My friend had one fail and the CD made a hole for itself in the metal casing at the back of the drive.

"i think I know what they are doing here" Yep, using images that will entice Mat from Techmoan to buy their product. Yet another excellent video, I am with you, I would rather have something a bit odd rather than something dull. However I also prefer to only have one thing, rather than a cupboard full, you, and other youtubers, showcasing the odd, obsolete and forgotten tech is like having access to my own personal museum.

Nice idea and design, but indeed, usability and some misses unfortunately... Thanks for showing!

Another good idea with a terrible implementation! Seems to be a theme with your latest videos! Also, I've been on a bit of a childhood nostalgia trip lately after some stuff happened in my personal life to trigger it. Have you ever thought of doing a video on radiograms? They were ubiquitous in the 50s-80s then just vanished it seems.

When this popped up in my e-mail I initially thought it was a "sponsorship opportunity" from these Chinese companies trying to send me a new CD player to review. I've turned them all down because in addition to the "meh" sound quality and performance, they're all either cheap and ugly or expensive and ugly.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that it's great that companies are making interesting CD players again. As we know, CDs are becoming popular again and this thing has the perfect aesthetic for me. As someone who never stopped buying CDs because streaming isn't owning your music, I really appreciate this.

I'm early on this one. Nice video and good old caustic techmoan belting it. I was thinking, nice gadget, probably a portable mechanism, as it seemed to be playing when you turned it. I was thinking, I may get one of it ain't far from 30 euros. Then I looked in Internet, good grief. Inflation here or there....

I wonder if they are releasing a higher spec model since the display also shows USB and SD.

Brand name reminded me of Shandling, there was a time at school when people were all raving about the Gary Shandling show.

Looking good!

Thanks, take care!