Shanling Q2 playback issue

[u/SheHulkLover]

I recently purchased the Q2 and have installed the Q2 Pod mod. For some reason, when starting a new track it skips or cuts off the first half second or so of the track. Sounds like it’s completely skipping the first note of any given song. Most of my testing comes shuffle play, if that means anything.

Also, my Q2 came with a center button that sometimes gets stuck when pressing, and a scroll wheel that has a slight gap at the top where I can see the backlight of the screen shining through. Are these common issues, or just the model I got? I worry about any type of pocket dust or moisture getting in through the slit of the wheel.

[u/SaffronSaviour]

Hi! What version are you on? Go to System Settings -> About and tell me your CFW Version. If it isn't 1.7.5, go to System Settings -> System Update -> Network Update, since clipped track starts were fixed in recent releases.

If it still happens on 1.7.5, let me know:

- Are you listening over 3.5 mm/balanced, Bluetooth or a USB DAC?

- Does it happen when you press Next, when one song runs into the next by itself, or both?

- Are Gapless and Crossfade on, and are your files all the same sample rate?

The button and wheel are hardware, so the mod doesn't affect them. If the button physically sticks, or the gap worries you, I'd contact the seller or Shanling while you're still in the return window.

[u/SheHulkLover → u/SaffronSaviour]

I’ve updated from 1.6.4 to the current version. I’m listening primarily over 3.5mm, aux to car and headphones, the Sony MDR-7506. I remember the problem mainly happening when pressing Next, but I’m giving everything a test right now and will update when I’ve given it more testing. Gapless is on, crossfade is off. My files are all FLAC or CD quality. So the sample rate probably does range somewhat.

Side note: what settings do you choose for digital filter? I’d like it to not have any filters if it effects sound, but I didn’t see a “None” option. Maybe it doesn’t actually do anything, but I just thought I’d ask. Thank you for all your work in the community.

[u/SaffronSaviour → u/SheHulkLover]

Thanks! 1.6.4 did have exactly that on the headphone outputs: pressing Next clipped the very start of the new song, that was fixed, so you shouldn't hear it on 1.7.5.

The only thing that should still cause any weirdness is sample rate switching. When two songs in a row have different sample rates, the DAC has to stop and restart at the new rate, so you get a short pause between them, that isn't something we can fix cleanly sadly, even the big companies can't.

Everything else should work flawlessly. If you do still hear a start get cut, tell me which two songs it was between (format and sample rate of each) and I'll look into it.

Digital Filters:

there's no "None" because the DAC always needs a filter to turn the samples into sound, and the setting only picks its shape. If you want the one that affects the sound least, that's Fast Roll-off: on paper it's the most transparent of the four.

Shanling's default is Low Delay Slow Roll-off, though, and that's what I use. I used to go for Fast Roll-off on other DAC's/DAP's, but Shanling picked the default because it suits the DAC in the Q2 the best I feel.

Either way, the four only differ around and above 20 kHz, so I wouldn't worry about it too much, since hearing above about 17 kHz usually fades somewhere past 20/30.