- Shanling releases new EC Play portable CD player in retro style
- Light, but with many connectivity options
- On sale in May for $199 / £209 (approx AU$420)
CD players have remained fashionable despite the rise (and fall?) of streaming, but now retro audio technology is making a comeback (including cassette players, somehow), and so are ’90s-inspired CD players.
Chinese hi-fi company Shanling has just announced the EC Play, a new and discreet disc player that comes in silver, black or green.
It’s set to go on sale from May for $199 / £209 (about AU$420), less than the company’s high-end portable players like the ECZero AKM, which cost $319 (about £244 / AU$490).
As you’d hope for a portable CD player, it’s a small thing. It measures 14.2 x 12.5 x 2.6 cm – slightly more than a CD itself – and weighs 418g. This makes it lighter than the average FIFA football, which must 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 clean shell, just like the FiiO DM13, without the transparent section or design flair we often see from this kind of technology.
Still, a glance at the above image shows various buttons, screens and ports. The thing may be light, but it hides a lot of functions.
A CD player with lots of tricks
The Shanling EC Play not only works with your standard 3.5mm headphones, but also has a 4.4mm port and a Coax output.
If you like retro but haven’t gone all the way to a wired-only life, it also handles Bluetooth playback. It supports AAC, LDAC and SBC codecs and is on the Bluetooth 6.0 standard.
The Cirrus Logic DAC is said to be designed for a “natural and fun sound”, and there’s a built-in dual headphone amp that can cater for IEMs and headphones that need a little more punch, as well as your standard wired knob.
You can also connect the player to a PC, laptop or phone via USB and it will act as a DAC for PCM 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256 playback.
According to Shanling, EC Play’s battery life is 12 hours. This will obviously vary depending on how you listen to your music, but it’s above average for this type of gadget.
According to Shanling, EC Play is not designed for top-end audio specifications and unique features, but “to recreate the old days”, which is apparently “when portable CD players were practical and a common part of everyday life”.
I’m not holding my breath to see this kind of technology commonly used in public transportation, but Shanling is right in one way. Its EC Play seems convenient to use on the go or at home, with the versatility likely to win over some buyers.
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