Shanling Q2 portable music player launches with Hi-Res Audio, Quad DAC, 4.4 mm balanced output, bidirectional Bluetooth, and a high-power headphone amp

The Shanling Q2 portable audio player has launched with a multitude of features for high-resolution music enthusiasts. The petite Q2 has an Apple iPod-like design, with support for high-resolution music formats, native Tidal streaming, bidirectional Bluetooth streaming, and 4.4 mm balanced headphone support.

Shanling incorporates four Cirrus Logic CS43131 MasterHIFI audio D/A converters with high-power output supporting 3.5 mm unbalanced and 4.4 mm balanced headphones. Its two-level gain can output up to 425 mW at 32 ohms when set to high, allowing the digital audio player to drive high-power headphones like the Audeze LCD-X planar headphones (sold here on Amazon) with ease.

The audio player runs MTouch OS on an Ingenix X2000 processor. Users can see selected tracks on a 2.09-inch LCD touchscreen and control the unit with a 4-way touch wheel controller. The petite player weighs 83 g (2.9 oz.) and measures 80 x 50 x 14.2 mm (3.1 x 2.0 x 0.56 in.).

The Shanling Q2 can play music from a microSD card up to 2 TB in size and comes with native Tidal streaming support. The player supports most common lossless and lossy audio file formats, including DSD, FLAC, and MP3.

The Q2 DAP outputs music with a frequency range of 20 Hz to 40 kHz (-1 dB), a S/N ratio of 130 dB, and a THD+N of 0.0006% or less. It supports the Hi-Res Audio LDAC and aptX HD codecs over Bluetooth in addition to the standard SBC and AAC audio codecs. High-resolution DSD512 and 768 kHz, 32-bit PCM music streams are also supported.

The DAP's 1,850 mAh battery can power it for up to 12.5 hours when driving balanced headphones, up to 13.5 hours when driving unbalanced headphones, and up to 16.5 hours when transmitting to Bluetooth headphones using the LDAC wireless codec, according to the company.

The high-resolution music player can be integrated into home theaters as a USB DAC. DLNA and Apple AirPlay wireless integration is also possible thanks to its bidirectional Bluetooth 5.2 transmitter/receiver.

Readers can buy the Shanling Q2 portable audio player from Amazon for an MSRP of $269 in Smoky Grey, Moonlight Silver, and Twilight Orange.