Shanling's new CD player promises headphone heaven for over-ears and IEMs

This affordable, audiophile-friendly player gets a brand new DAC and loading mechanism

Lifestyle image of the Shanling CD80 II CD player between two white speakers on a wooden table or sideboard
(Image credit: Shanling)
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Quick Summary

Shanling has upgraded its CD80 CD player with a Mark II version.

The CD80 II has balanced headphone sockets on the front and USB support to play Hi-Res Audio files, too.

Shanling's new tray-loading CD player has been designed with high quality headphone and IEM users in mind. The new Mark II version has been updated with a all-new DAC and CD loading mechanism.

The CD80 II comes complete with 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced sockets on the front, delivering 215mW / 850mW into 32 ohms respectively, and output impedance is an IEM-friendly sub-1.0 ohms.

The previous CD80 came in two versions: the standard CD80 for playback, and the CA80 with 2 x 50W of integrated amplification for external speakers. The amplifier version didn't arrive for some months after the CD player, and I'd expect the same to happen with the Mk II.

Promotional image showing the key connections of the Shanling CD80 II CD player

(Image credit: Shanling)

Shanling CD80 II: key features and pricing

The CD loading mechanism in this model is taken from the more expensive Shanling CD-S100(25), and the ESS DAC of the previous model has been replaced by a Cirrus Logic CS43198. There are dual SGM8262 amplifiers and in addition to the headphone outs, there are also RCA and coaxial digital outputs.

The Shanling CD80 II works with USB drives too, with support for drives up to 2TB with Hi-Res Audio up to PCM 384kHz and DSD256. It also has Bluetooth 5.0 input with LDAC, AAC and SBC. You can control it via the companion smartphone app or with the physical controls and 1.28-inch LCD display, which has a redesigned user interface.

It's all packed into a very compact size of just 28 x 20 x 5cm, making it Shanling's smallest full-spec CD player by some margin. And you can have it in either Silver or Black with a remote control included.

Given the spec, the CD80 II is keenly priced. It's just $359 in the US (about £269 / €310 / AU$553 before tax). UK pricing hasn't been confirmed just yet, but the CD80 was typically £339.

Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

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