SHANLING M8T Android Portable Player with Dual JAN6418 Tubes & AKM AK4499EX DAC

Flagship Tube Sound in a Portable Player

The Shanling M8T is the first portable player from Shanling to run vacuum tubes, taking a technology the company has refined across 37 years of CD players and amplifiers and making it pocketable. Two low-voltage JAN6418 tubes sit alongside two flagship AKM AK4499EX converters and a traditional op-amp headphone amplifier, giving the M8T both the warmth of a tube stage and the clarity of a current-generation DAC. It is a genuine flagship: a deep-black body machined from a single block of aircraft-grade aluminium, a 6-inch Sharp display, and up to 1125mW of balanced output.

Dual JAN6418 Tubes with Anti-Shock Suspension

A matched pair of JAN6418 tubes forms a dedicated tube output stage, and this is the first time Shanling has fitted tubes to a portable player. Both are low-voltage and power-efficient, and they are suspended inside a custom-designed anti-shock structure that eliminates microphonics — the ringing and noise that vibration normally introduces when tubes are used on the move. The result is the smooth, warm character tubes are prized for, without the fragility that has kept them out of portable designs until now.

Trio of Output Modes

The tubes are only half the story, because the audio circuit can also bypass them entirely. The M8T offers three distinct output profiles: pure Transistor for a dynamic, hard-hitting presentation with no tube in the signal path; Triode for a touch of added warmth; and Ultra-Linear for a thicker, more relaxed sound. Switching between them takes a moment and changes the character of the player far more than a typical filter setting, letting one device cover several listening tastes.

Flagship DAC Circuit: Two AK4499EX with Two AK4191EQ

Conversion is handled by two AKM AK4499EX DACs, each paired one-on-one with its own AK4191EQ ΔΣ modulator rather than sharing a single modulator between them. That independent pairing removes the clock signal distortion that appears in simpler two-DAC, one-modulator arrangements, giving cleaner overall sound performance particularly with high-resolution files. Shanling tuned the combination to keep the solid, smooth voicing of the original M8 while meeting the demands of modern Hi-Res material.

Traditional Op-Amp Headphone Amplifier

The analogue stage is deliberately conventional where it counts. An in-house I/V conversion stage uses ADI ADA45253 high-speed, low-noise amplifiers with each resistor and capacitor carefully matched, shielded against noise around the DAC section. An OPA1612 handles low-pass filtering with thin-film resistors and Panasonic tantalum capacitors, while a classic ADI AD8397 delivers high current output. A custom FPGA with upgraded Japanese KDS crystal oscillators at 90.3168MHz and 98.304MHz keeps timing accurate.

Open Android 13 with Shanling AGLO

The M8T runs a fully open Android 13 system with access to the Google Play Store, so music and streaming apps install the same way they would on a phone. Shanling’s Android Global Lossless Output (AGLO) ensures audio leaves those apps in true Hi-Fi quality without unwanted resampling, which is what makes an open Android player worth using. The system is built to receive future updates and over-the-air updates keep it current.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 and Generous Storage

Behind the audio hardware sits a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 octa-core processor built on an 11nm process with an Adreno 610 GPU — comfortably more power than music playback needs, which is the point: the interface stays smooth and apps open without hesitation. Memory runs to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB of UFS 2.1 internal storage, and a microSD card slot accepts cards up to 2TB for listeners who keep a large local library.

Endurance and Fast Charging

An 8350mAh battery powers the tube and amplifier circuits for up to 15.5 hours on the single-ended output, 13 hours on the balanced output, or 96 hours when used purely as a Bluetooth transmitter. Quick Charge 3.0 and Power Delivery 2.0 are both supported for 18W charging, so the player spends less time tethered to a cable. Three levels of gain and precise volume control let it drive everything from the most sensitive in-ear monitors to demanding full-size planar headphones.

Wireless Streaming and Two-Way Bluetooth

Bluetooth 5.0 works in both directions: as a transmitter it sends audio to wireless headphones, and as a receiver it turns the M8T into a Bluetooth DAC/amplifier for a phone or tablet. LDAC, SBC and AAC are supported both ways. On the network side a Qualcomm WCN3980 module provides 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi with MIMO, and DLNA and AirPlay handle network streaming. The Eddict Player app for Android and iOS adds remote control.

Deep Black Design and a 6-Inch Sharp Display

Following the style set by the M9, the main chassis is carved by CNC machines from a single piece of aircraft-grade aluminium, with an intricate wave pattern running along the sides — Shanling’s most complex visual design to date. The 6-inch Sharp LCD panel has a Full HD 2160 × 1080 resolution with strong viewing angles, set into the deep black body. At 147 × 82 × 22mm and 383g it remains a genuinely portable flagship.

Specifications

• Model: SHANLING M8T
• Product Type: Android portable Hi-Fi digital audio player
• System: Open Android 13 with Google Play Store; Shanling AGLO lossless output
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 octa-core, 11nm, Adreno 610 GPU
• Memory: 6GB LPDDR4X RAM + 128GB UFS 2.1 ROM + microSD card slot (up to 2TB)
• DAC Setup: 2 × AKM AK4499EX DAC with 2 × AKM AK4191EQ ΔΣ modulators (one-on-one pairing)
• AMP Setup: AD8397 + OPA1612 + ADA45253
• I/V Stage: In-house developed with ADI ADA45253 high-speed, low-noise amplifiers and anti-noise shielding
• Low-Pass Filter: OPA1612 with thin-film resistors and Panasonic tantalum capacitors
• Headphone Amplifier: ADI AD8397 high-current op-amp
• FPGA: Custom FPGA solution with 4th-generation Shanling algorithm
• Crystal Oscillators: Japanese KDS active oscillators at 90.3168MHz and 98.304MHz
• Tube Setup: 2 × JAN6418 low-voltage tubes (expected lifespan 5000 hours), custom anti-shock suspension
• Output Modes: Transistor / Triode / Ultra-Linear
• Display: 6.0-inch Sharp, 1080 × 2160
• Headphone Outputs: 3.5mm single-ended + 4.4mm balanced
• Gain: Three levels
• Local Playback: PCM 768kHz / 32bit, DSD1024
• USB DAC Support: PCM 768kHz / 32bit, DSD512 (XMOS XU316 USB input)
• Audio Formats: DSD (".iso", ".dsf", ".dff"), ISO, DXD, APE, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, DTS, MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, ALAC, MP2, M4A, AC3, M3U, M3U8, OPUS
• 3.5mm Output Power (Transistor): Low gain 1V@32Ω (31mW); medium gain 2V@32Ω (125mW); high gain 4V@32Ω (500mW)
• 3.5mm Frequency Response (Transistor): 20Hz–40kHz (0.2dB)
• 3.5mm THD+N (Transistor): 0.0007%
• 3.5mm Channel Separation (Transistor): 75dB @ 32Ω
• 3.5mm Dynamic Range (Transistor): 124dB
• 3.5mm Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Transistor): 124dB
• 3.5mm Noise Floor (Transistor): >117dB (low gain)
• 3.5mm Output Impedance (Transistor): <1Ω
• 4.4mm Output Power (Transistor): Low gain 2V@32Ω (125mW); medium gain 4V@32Ω (500mW); high gain 6V@32Ω (1125mW)
• 4.4mm Frequency Response (Transistor): 20Hz–40kHz (−0.2dB)
• 4.4mm THD+N (Transistor): 0.0005%
• 4.4mm Channel Separation (Transistor): 115dB @ 32Ω
• 4.4mm Dynamic Range (Transistor): 127dB
• 4.4mm Signal-to-Noise Ratio (Transistor): 127dB
• 4.4mm Noise Floor (Transistor): >114dB (low gain)
• 4.4mm Output Impedance (Transistor): <1Ω
• 3.5mm Output (Tube): Output power 3.7V@32Ω (420mW); frequency response 20Hz–40kHz (0.2dB); SNR 120dB
• 4.4mm Output (Tube): Output power 5.5V@32Ω (950mW); frequency response 20Hz–40kHz (−0.2dB); SNR 123dB
• Bluetooth: Version 5.0, two-way; transmission LDAC / SBC / AAC; reception LDAC / SBC / AAC
• Wi-Fi: Qualcomm WCN3980 wireless module, 2.4G / 5G with MIMO
• Wireless Streaming: DLNA, AirPlay
• Power & Data Connector: USB-C
• Battery Capacity: 8350mAh
• Battery Life: 15.5h single-ended / 13h balanced / 96h Bluetooth
• Fast Charging: Quick Charge 3.0 & Power Delivery 2.0, 18W
• Body: CNC-machined single piece of aircraft-grade aluminium with wave pattern sides, deep black
• Dimensions: 147 × 82 × 22mm
• Weight: 383g
• Certification: Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Wireless Audio (Japan Audio Society)

What’s Included

• Shanling M8T portable player
• Leather protective case
• USB-C cable
• Quick start guide
• Warranty card