Shanling Myryad Music 1 Hi-Fi earphones review. Clear sound.

Today I am testing wired in-ear earphones with the telling name Music 1, which was the result of cooperation between the Chinese Hi-Fi brand Shanling Audio and the British manufacturer of stationary sound equipment Myryad Audio. It was the Myryad engineers who were responsible for setting up the music performance here. But do these dynamic IEMs play that well, or can they compete with others in their class? The price tag of the model, by the way, is very budget, but we are still promised a full-fledged audiophile level. Well, we’ll see. To the point.

Shanling Myryad Music 1 specifications

The editors express their gratitude to the online store Soundmag.ua for providing earphones Shanling Myryad Music 1 for review

In the box

Since the Shanling Myryad Music 1 are entry-level earphones, you shouldn’t count on a huge set of accessories here, of course. With all that, the model surprised me. In addition to 4 pairs of silicone and 2 pairs of foam ear cushions, the set also includes a clip and a compact fabric cover with a zipper. The choice of nozzles could be more generous, but the presence of a cover pleases.

Separately, I would like to talk about the cable. It is made variable, this is a serious plus for durability. There are two-pin connectors 0.78 of the QDC standard, that is, the jacks for them are raised, and they themselves are recessed, this leaves less chance of bending or breaking them. And if you need to replace the cable with a new one, compatible options can be found without problems.

The conductor itself is made of silver oxygen-free copper. As you understand, in modern earphones it is always oxygen-free, this is not a guarantee of quality, but, in practice, the acoustic transparency of the Shanling Myryad Music 1 cable is really good, especially considering the price of the model. There are also no complaints about ergonomics, the insulation is soft, and there is no tendency to tangle. The gold-plated 3.5 plug comes out at an angle of 130 degrees, so it is unlikely to break the audio jack of your source.

And finally, a small bonus – on the cable there is a headset with a microphone and buttons for adjusting the volume and controlling playback.

Design and wearing comfort

The design style of Shanling Myryad Music 1 is laconic but pleasant and neat. The housings of the earphones are made of glossy plastic, although they do not collect prints and scratches too actively. Of the decorations, only the Myryad emblems on the faceplates. I wonder where Shanling is… But that’s not the point. The shape of the bowls is pseudo-custom, they are printed on a 3D printer. Thanks to the light weight and complex curves of the shells, the wearing comfort for me personally turned out to be almost perfect. I can only criticize the average passive noise isolation.

Additional features include the use of the patented Biomaster antimicrobial technology for earphone housings, which inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. Most likely, it is some special coating. Not sure if I should take this promise too seriously, care and hygiene are still important with IEMs, but I can now punt that it’s really clear sound.

By the way, the model is available in many shades. I had earphones in black for the test. Gray and beige are also available from the conservative options, but there are also brighter colors: green, red, purple. Although I myself would probably choose the black version, since I don’t like a too bright design for my equipment, but I definitely appreciate the variety.

Shanling Myriad Music 1 sound

Main testing was done on iBasso DX160, FiiO KA3, FiiO BTR5 2021 and Shanling UA1 Pro.

I can call the model colorful, warm, and cheerful. The speaker installed here proved to be quite fast, so none of the parts of the range annoyed me with excessive softness or lazy viscosity. When needed, Shanling Myryad Music 1 can keep pace and not stray from the rhythm.

The placement of accents helps to increase the drive, although the picture remains recognizable. The level of resolution of the earphones is basic, corresponding to their price class, so it is better not to overload them with overly complex compositions. But they cope with the main layer of material without distortions.

First of all, the emphasized area of the upper middle and high frequencies, which highlights female vocals and string parts, attracts attention. Of course, I have come across much louder IEMs, but if you are sensitive to this spectrum, it is important to listen to the model before buying it yourself. But this coloring makes Shanling Myryad Music 1 an excellent choice for live genres, acoustic instruments are revealed very colorfully and emotionally.

Earphones are also friends with electronic music. But metal and other aggressive, poorly recorded tracks can be presented too sharply.
The bass in Shanling Myryad Music 1 is forced, dense, and weighty, but fast and punchy. They, surprisingly, have decent control, convey the initial variability of textures and develop a clear pop. The impact is accentuated, the relief and holography are good for their class, and the depth is not bad.

The middle is quite transparent and melodic. I liked the rich timbral range with a beautiful variety of shades, thanks to which the model sounds more natural. Although, of course, in this price class, exemplary naturalness should not be expected, the earphones look more interesting next to competitors. I will also note the good distribution of instruments, the panorama gets a lot of air. As I already mentioned, the area of the high-resolution is highlighted, this gives it more detail. The scale of the stage is not record-breaking, but acceptable.

The upper frequencies are bright and sparkling. As always with budget models, the range is somewhat simplified, but it hardly makes sense to look for an exquisite palette of overtones for this money. The high frequencies in the Shanling Myryad Music 1 are a little dry, because of their sonority, sibilants can be noticeable on bad recordings, but their extension is better than I expected.

Shanling Myryad Music 1 is not picky about the power of the amplifier, you can easily listen to them with a smartphone or a portable DAC. Although their sensitivity is low, there was no lack of volume during testing. There is also no background noise.

As for competitors, the choice of IEMs in this segment is huge. I will probably stop at those models that I personally like the most.

So the FiiO FH1s hybrids sound more neutral, cool, analytical, and flat. They offer clear presentation without coloration, high detail, and a good balance between all parts of the range. The earphones are universal, moderately singing, and also fast and accurate. They are distinguished from the object of the review by a certain soft watercolor character, a slightly smaller variety of textures, and sometimes noticeable syntheticity. The Shanling Myryad Music 1 has a more natural and analog timbral palette, although the tonal range is more V-shaped.

The next competitor is the FiiO FD1 dynamic model. It is technical, effective, energetic, and collected. Earphones delight with high-speed attacks, emphasized drive, and excellent intelligibility. Their basses are linear and embossed, the middle frequencies are saturated and detailed, a little dry, and the high frequencies are iridescent, refined, and extended. FiiO FD1 is inferior to the object of the review in terms of stage scale while playing more evenly. The choice here depends on taste preferences.

Of course, the hit FiiO FD3 and iBasso IT01X also deserve attention, they give a more mature level, but their cost is also higher, so I don’t see the point in discussing them in detail in this article. But if your budget allows, take a closer look at them.