Short answer
Both are portable players, $499 against $369.
The FiiO M11S reaches 100 dB on 566 of the 567 models here, the Shanling H5 on 565.
| Specification | FiiO M11S | Shanling H5 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 200 mW | 227 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 44 mW | 48 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 23 mW | 24 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 12 mW | 12 mW |
| Output impedance | 1.5 Ω | 4.7 Ω |
| Output noise | 1.8 µV | not published |
| Price | $499 | $369 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 566 | 565 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | FiiO M11S | Shanling H5 |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | 4.4mm | 4.4mm |
| Power into 32Ω | 670 mW | 840 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 90 mW | 125 mW derived |
| Output impedance | 2.6 Ω | 6.6 Ω |
| Output noise | 3.1 µV | not published |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 566 | 566 |
Through the balanced sockets the two are level on the same test: each reaches 100 dB on 566 of the 567 models here. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.
| Load | FiiO M11S | Shanling H5 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating. FiiO M11S publishes at 32 Ω and at 300 Ω; Shanling H5 at 32 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 300 Ω only the FiiO M11S figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the FiiO M11S but not on the Shanling H5 — Moondrop PARA.
335 headphones are left alone by the FiiO M11S under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Shanling H5 (64 Audio Solo, 64 Audio U12t, 7Hz Legato, 332 more).
565 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.
Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Shure SE846: FiiO M11S has +36 dB of headroom there against +32 dB. 4 dB is about 2.6 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Shanling H5 because that maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | FiiO M11S headroom | Shanling H5 headroom | FiiO M11S hiss | Shanling H5 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +36 dB damping | +32 dB damping | 20 dB | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +16 dB damping | +12 dB damping | -0 dB | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +21 dB | +21 dB | -2 dB | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +16 dB | +17 dB | -7 dB | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +15 dB | +13 dB damping | -8 dB | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +10 dB | +10 dB | -14 dB | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +5 dB | +6 dB | -18 dB | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +3 dB | +4 dB | -20 dB | not published |
The FiiO M11S costs $130 more than the Shanling H5. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB and 335 more models left alone under the one-eighth rule.
Nothing runs the other way: there is no axis here on which the cheaper of the two does better.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: FiiO M11S and Shanling H5.