Shanling ME200 review

Shanling ME200 — according to rumors, two companies Shanling and Knowles devoted a lot of time to these earphones at once. Some developed a dynamic driver, while others selected a balanced armature and tuned the final sound. All these experiments eventually led to gorgeous results. This new product stands out for its balanced, versatile sound that will not leave anyone indifferent.


Accessories & Packaging

Not the most compact cardboard box in which the earphones were packed. Detailed specifications can be found at the back of the box. In front, the manufacturer notifies us that the cases are printed on a 3D printer, made of acrylic. Under the cover is a black box with the Shanling logo and a ribbon for easier extraction.

Inside: a leather case, in which there were earphones with a cable. Below are various silicone and foam nozzles, and under them is a small box with documentation and a brush for cleaning.

Cover is made of leather, is stitched with high quality, and on the whole we have no complaints about it. The walls of the case are very durable, it can be used as a cover for transportation.

Inside there is one mesh pocket, where various ear pads feel quite good. All nozzles are placed on a special podium, they are all signed. Vocal ear pads raise the upper middle, pushing female vocals a little closer to the listener. Bass and balanced practically do not differ.


Design

Body of earphones are quite light, and they are supposed to be worn behind the ear. Printed on a 3D printer, the material is acrylic. The Assembly is excellent, the design is solid. The case of the earphone is quite smooth and slippery to the touch. The MMCX platform for connecting to the cable turned out to be flat. There are two compensation holes, one near the sound channel, and the second near the MMCX platform.

The name “ME200” is printed on the inside of the case and two channels are marked (L-R). the sound Channel is short, but in our case the sound channel is long enough for a deep and comfortable landing. Also on the sound guide there is a protrusion for fixing ear pads, there is a protective metal mesh. MMCX connectors are reliable, the cable is connected with effort and securely fixed in the connector.

The front part is already decorated in a slightly different style. Here we see a transparent resin insert that shimmers very beautifully in the sun. The sound insulation is excellent, the ergonomic shape of body allows you to plant them deep enough. They do not fall out, do not shift.

The ME200 comes with a replaceable four-wire silver-plated cable made of oxygen-free copper. The cable itself is in a soft silicone strong braid, at one end there is a metal straight plug.

The cable is thick and, thanks to its thickness, is very easily untangled. Soft silicone earhooks with metal connectors on the other end. The behind-the-ear without a memory effect, not like in the cheap Knowledge Zenith models.


Sound

The ME200 performed well with all sources, with the exception of Meizu, which was expected to save on high frequences. Paired with Meizu DAC Pro, the sound is very good, but with such a fairly simple source – the potential of the earphones will not be revealed at 100 percent. We recommend a more or less serious source that can fully reveal high frequencies. We did not find any problems with low and medium (here even the Q1 player showed itself in all its glory). The developers used two very high-quality driver. Cooperation with the Knowles American company is paying off – 1 balanced armature allows you to enjoy the middle and high. The dynamic driver is interesting because it was developed from the company itself (a driver with a diameter of 10 mm with a membrane made of polymer nanocomposite (PU-PEEK). In total, this combination works wonders: the speaker is responsible for drive and emotions, the emitter with balanced armature – for detail.

The sound of the ME200 is balanced, natural, honest, with a very wide stage and comfortable high frequencies. The sound character is V-shaped, we can please potential owners – high, comfortable, soft and natural. The emphasis here is not on high, but rather on the upper middle frequencies (3-4 kHz). The high frequency register is transmitted clearly, without the “sharpness” characteristic of cheap hybrid gags. We also don’t observe the “joints” of driver that are noticeable to the hearing, the flow is solid and uniform. The well known audiophile plugs “iBasso IT01S” have more ringing, whistling, sharper high frequencies. Yes, they work better on micro nuances (we don’t know how they succeed, because only one speaker was used in these earphones), But along with these nuances the flow became extremely unpleasant – sibilants crawled out, all kinds of hissing and whistling sounds. Here, all these shortcomings are missing, and most importantly – we do not observe the loss of significant details of the high frequency range.

The selection of ear pads has a very big influence on the sound. Complete “vocal” attachments accentuate the upper middle, bass muted. The midrange frequencies are fast, clear, open, fairly musical and dense. The earphones perfectly reproduce complex jazz, multiinstrumental symphonic and classical music. The stage is mostly wide, and a huge virtual space is built. Beautiful and open sounds of female vocals.

Low frequencies are served with an accent, but the accent is moderate. Shanling engineers were able to develop a very high-quality dynamic driver. The emitter does not cut deep bass lines, which are distinguished by precision and good control. The impact is accurate, no smudge you will not hear here, the bass is very elastic and fast. Quantitatively, it is enough, a little more and you would get bass-head earphones.

ME200 is suitable for most genres. Ideal for jazz, blues, vocals, electronic music and classical. You can listen to symphonic music or appreciate the beauty of the low-frequency range in electronic styles. If the priority is heavy electric guitar genres (metal, shred, shoegaze) – we would advise you to change the nozzles to complete “bass”.


Verdict

ME200 – definitely a successful model. We honestly did not expect such a breakthrough from Shanling engineers. Full-fledged, adult, high quality sound. It is possible that some older audiophiles will not like the softening on the treble, but we like this softening on the contrary. We’ll evaluate the build quality of the body at 10 out of 10. We would especially like to note the leather case and good equipment package. Feel free to recommend them as the only universal earphone for every day.


Specifications:

Model: ME200
Drivers:Balanced Armature and Dynamic driver
Impedance: 16ohm
Sensitivity: 111±3dB
Frequency response range: 20-40000Hz
Connector:3.5mm Jack
Cable length:1.3m
Cable:Silver-plated copper
Weight(single earphone):6.3g