Shanling UP4 Bluetooth receiver review

Flagship Bluetooth receiver and portable DAC by Shanling

1:20 — package and accessories set
2:52 — design and controls
6:43 — sound
15:36 — comparisons

Tracks, mentioned in this review
Deep Purple — Smoke on the Water (from Made in Japan)
Led Zeppelin — Gallows Pole
Pink Floyd — Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

[dnj]

It's not a fair comparison to put it against the BTR3 because that one is weak as hell. The weightier/bassier/warmer sound you're hearing is probably just from good power matching (so it's what you should've always heard with those IEMs) vs. insufficient power from the BTR3 (thinner sound that seems to have more treble in relative terms).

Also, what BT codec are you using that you can easily detect the psychoacoustic changes? Those should be near-impossible to detect, that's why they're psycho-acoustic. Why not give the devices the best chance to show you what they can do differently in their hardware, and always compare them with the best codec (LDAC) at its best settings (16/44/909kbps)?

[hadikargar]

Thank you for good review
Shanling up4 vs hiby r3?
Only sound quality
I prefer smoot sound/wide stage/better dynamic

[browsing]

Damn it's hard to choose which bluetooth receive I should get. BTR3 or UP4 :/ How are the battery life on these two?

[CaffeMarkeR]

Which sound quality do you recommend brt5 vs up4?

[Farazao]

I'll yet make another question. I'm trying to decide what path will I take to listen to my iems on a portable device. I'm looking for something more fun with more body than the btr5 which I already have and the up4 seems like a nice alternative. My question is: to listen to iems only, is there much difference in sound quality from this device to daps like Shanling m6pro and Hiby r6pro? I'm really having a hard time with this since I don't have how to listen to them before buying. Thank's in advance for the attention!

[tommyv]

I’m using iPod touch 5g connect to fiio q1 Mark ll.Do you think if I get the btr5 will there will be better in sound?I’m using Blon -03 and HiFiman he 400i Headphones to listen to my music.Thanks

[garypastore]

I got this UP4 2 hours ago, sounds great, as good as my FIIO X7, & my AuneB1 also! handy, easy to use, a bunch of confusing buttons, but fun & powerfull, 2.5 UE900's, or KZ ZS10's 3.5, worth the money IMHO. enjoy

[megaamit]

Can the Up4 be connected to an android device by a cable (USB 3 on one side and USB C) on another? If yes, will the above-mentioned cable be required or something else? Additionally, I use Senn hd599 50 ohms. Can that be driven by UP 4 and/or ibasso dc02? How does UP 4 fare against Dc02 sonically?

[nonenothing]

bggar called you shill and liar for that birthday present you did to yourself.. and because you don't like blon. because you like only what companies send, and you wasted a lot of money on blon))
do not react please because he helped me to find you. let he keep talking...

[NinadMithbawkar]

@Porta.Fi  I will mostly be using in bluetooth receiver mode with 3.5 unbalanced and currently upto 250 ohms headphones. Is up4 better than btr5 in this regard in terms of sound quality when used in high gain mode?

I was not quite impressed with shanling m0 sound as with the ldac codec it sounded quite similar to smartphone wired audio. Is up4 a significant upgrade in sound over m0?

I would also like to know comparison with shanling q1 if you already listened to it

[BigBebOb]

Do you think these have enough power to drive the 1more triple driver over-ear? What about the btr5?

[enzotibirica]

Anyone knows how well this would drive a 6XX?

[agoogleuser]

But have you tried the 4 built-in filters? I really hope they release the app and competes with BTR5.

[AGGPEE]

Hi i have a question, in order to use the LDAC codec does my phone need to support it too? i have and old phone with android 7, and i think you need android 8 and up for LDAC.

[Lacosagt]

your audio quality is so harsh man can u low down the highs next time please.. thank you.

[tombosechannel]

I need Shanling up4 and Meze audio rai solo haha but up4 vs es100 mark2???

[b.lemaitre]

I can get the Shanling Up 4 for 80€ delivered quickly or Fiio BTR5 delivered slowly (no stock) for 120€, do you think it's a good idea to order the UP 4 or should I wait for the btr5 to be back in stock ?

[FernandoMoodyMusic]

How come you prefer the btr4? All the specs are pretty exact between the two.

[adriankasa]

I have ordered for both. Waiting for it

[diamondhellspawnscorpion]

Just ordered up4 and preferred it over BTR5 as i was not convinced with BTR3 so got kind of hating the fiio brand.. wanted to try Shanling now. Let’s see how this fares