CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Shanling CD50

The CD50 is a compact desktop CD player from the Chinese company Shanling that puts a disc transport, a DAC and a headphone stage inside one small case. It is the first model of Shanling's new compact 50 Series and was announced in September 2026 at USD 279, EUR 299 and GBP 299.99. It does not read SACD, and it handles pressed CDs, recordable and rewritable discs, with gapless track transitions.

Key specs that matter

A Cirrus Logic CS43198 chip turns the digital data into an analogue signal. A front-loading tray carries an HD850 laser. The RCA output is rated at 2.6 V and can be set to fixed line level or to a variable preamplifier mode. At the line output the dynamic range is 124 dB, frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.4 dB and total harmonic distortion plus noise is 0.002 percent, while the headphone section reaches 126 dB. Two SGM8262 amplifier chips drive the headphone sockets, delivering up to 830 mW into 32 ohm from the 4.4 mm Pentaconn balanced jack and up to 210 mW into 32 ohm from the 3.5 mm jack, both with an output impedance of 1 ohm. The chassis measures 188 x 205 x 53 mm and weighs about 1.6 kg.

Engineering and use context

The case is aluminium with a glass fascia finished in either black or silver, and a 2.2 inch screen shows track data and settings. Control works from the front panel or from the supplied infrared remote. The player runs from mains power, and Rubycon capacitors are used in the analogue circuitry. Coaxial and optical outputs send the raw disc data to an outboard converter, so the CS43198 can be bypassed when the owner prefers another DAC. There is no Bluetooth, no network streaming and no digital input, so the internal converter serves the disc drive only and the unit cannot act as a standalone DAC for a computer or streamer. The compact case fits on a computer desk or a shelf where a full width player would not fit.

Pairing

The variable RCA mode lets the CD50 drive a stereo power amp or powered speakers without a preamplifier, with volume set on the player itself. In fixed mode it connects to any integrated amplifier line input. For headphone use the balanced socket gives the higher power, which helps with low sensitivity full size models, while the single-ended output covers sensitive in-ear monitors and easy loads.

Alternatives

The Shanling EC3 is a CD player with a top-loading lid from the same brand with an ESS converter, Bluetooth and USB drive playback.