A Refined High-Resolution CD Transport

The Shanling ET3 EVO builds upon the popular ET3, combining its flexible digital transport platform with a refreshed exterior and carefully optimised internal circuitry.

Designed to partner with an external DAC, the ET3 EVO delivers digital audio through an extensive selection of outputs, including I²S, USB, coaxial, optical and AES/EBU. This makes it suitable for everything from compact desktop systems to advanced full-size Hi-Fi setups.

Optimisations to the power supply and digital transport circuitry provide a slight improvement in overall transparency, helping the ET3 EVO deliver a clean and accurate digital signal to the connected DAC.

The EVO edition introduces a more energetic and modern appearance. Its dark-grey chassis is paired with a carbon-style texture across the front panel and transparent CD cover, while a glossy red control wheel adds a distinctive finishing touch.

The compact chassis is CNC-machined from aluminium for a solid and rigid construction. Its top-loading design also keeps the spinning disc visible, combining modern digital playback with the traditional experience of listening to physical media.

At the heart of the ET3 EVO is the Philips SAA7824 CD system, paired with a Sanyo HD850 optical laser. This proven combination is designed to provide stable and reliable playback from standard CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

Rather than including its own analogue DAC or headphone amplifier, the ET3 EVO operates as a dedicated digital transport. This allows users to choose their preferred external DAC and tailor the final sound to their existing audio system.

The ET3 EVO provides a broad selection of digital connections for use with modern and traditional DACs:

• I²S digital output

• Dedicated USB audio output

• Coaxial digital output

• Optical digital output

• AES/EBU digital output

I²S and USB support high-resolution output up to PCM 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512. Coaxial, optical and AES/EBU outputs support audio up to PCM 192kHz/32-bit and DSD64.

The flexible connection options make the ET3 EVO easy to integrate with a wide variety of desktop DACs, headphone systems and full-size Hi-Fi components.

A CT7302CL digital processing chip allows the ET3 EVO to convert incoming audio using its All-to-PCM and All-to-DSD modes.

CDs, locally stored music and wireless audio can be upsampled to high-resolution PCM or converted to DSD before being sent to a compatible external DAC. This allows users to experiment with different processing modes and choose the format that best suits their DAC and listening preferences.

The ET3 EVO can play music directly from a connected USB storage drive, supporting drives with capacities up to 2TB.

Its Ingenic X2000 platform supports a wide selection of high-resolution and compressed audio formats, including DSD, DXD, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, APE, MP3, AAC, MQA and more.

Music stored on a connected drive can be browsed and controlled using the front-panel controls, supplied remote or Shanling’s Eddict Player companion app.

Dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi provides support for DLNA and AirPlay, allowing music to be streamed to the ET3 EVO from compatible phones, tablets, computers and network storage devices.

The ET3 EVO can also operate as a network storage server when a USB drive is connected, making locally stored music accessible to other compatible devices on the same network.

Bluetooth 5.0 input provides a convenient way to send audio from a smartphone, tablet or computer to the ET3 EVO.

Support for LDAC, AAC and SBC codecs provides broad compatibility, with LDAC offering high-resolution wireless transmission from supported Android devices and AAC providing an optimised connection for compatible Apple devices.

Bluetooth audio is received by the ET3 EVO and passed through its digital processing system before being sent to the connected external DAC.

The ET3 EVO retains support for MQA-CD playback. It can operate as an MQA Full Decoder, outputting decoded audio at up to 176.4kHz to a standard DAC.

When connected to a compatible MQA DAC through I²S, it can instead perform the MQA Core decoding stage and output audio at up to 88.2kHz for further processing by the external DAC.

Playback can be managed using the physical buttons and multifunction control wheel on the front of the unit. A dedicated remote control is also included for convenient use within a home audio system.

For USB and network playback, Shanling’s Eddict Player app provides access to music browsing and playback controls from a compatible phone or tablet.

Technical Specifications

• Product type: Digital CD transport
• CD mechanism: Philips SAA7824
• Optical laser: Sanyo HD850
• Compatible discs: CD, CD-R and CD-RW
• Platform: Ingenic X2000
• Upsampling processor: CT7302CL
• USB output: Up to PCM 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512
• I²S output: Up to PCM 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512
• Coaxial output: Up to PCM 192kHz/32-bit and DSD64
• Optical output: Up to PCM 192kHz/32-bit and DSD64
• AES/EBU output: Up to PCM 192kHz/32-bit and DSD64
• Wi-Fi: Dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz
• Network support: DLNA and AirPlay
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0 input
• Bluetooth codecs: LDAC, AAC and SBC
• Display: IPS display
• Power consumption: 15W
• Dimensions: 188 × 255 × 68mm
• Weight: Approximately 2.5kg