Okay. So everyone under the sun has, or is coming out with a portable amp/dac combo. All the big boys are here or coming and a lot of little folks and unknowns are there as well. Reasons are obvious. Listen to a laptop all the time, take it with you on the go. Why not spend more money to get a better combo than having separate gear.
Full disclosure. I’m not a big portable guy. Dollar for dollar, I have yet to hear a portable amp keep up with a home amp. Same thing with a dac. But I have to confess, I kind got tired of having a full set up on my desk. For real listening a CD set up is great. But for convenience playing computer files is really nice. But here’s the twist. I have a Tivoli desktop radio with an input. Doesn’t sound half-bad. Would be great if it could use the dac’s output though.
Also, I’ve never been a conformist. I kind of got sucked into that less-is-more black Hammond computer geek thing. But after a while turned back to the Arts and Crafts motto don’t have anything that isn’t beautiful and functional. At the very least a change from the black in silver hammonds would be nice.
Enter the Shek h1. I first saw this a while back on audiogon. Shek’s home dacs are not terribly well known but very nice. NOS with reclocking for those who like the sound. His earlier black box was improved and they now reclock and people on other boards have reported great success, especially beefing up the power supply.
The h1 is a beautiful or quirky, depending upon your take, portable dac / amp combo. It’s a white box with a headphone mini jack out on the fron and a line in mini on the front as well. The back features a mini-usb jack and a mini line out jack. The knob is not round but a black square. Some folks will hate it, I find it refreshing. Note also it is a mini line out using the dac. Laptop usb to the h1, then mini jack out to the desktop radio. Beautiful. The battery/board does rattle a bit but Derek said that is normal. The line in and headphone jacks are the standard pink and green and there's a little smiley face in black. It is a little big for a fully portable solution, but that's standard for this type of device (ibass d1, meier move, etc.) Otherwise white plastic is beautiful and it’s functional – arts and crafts folks would be pleased.
Great history lesson, but, um, how’s it sound? In a word, great. First off no hiss with IEMs, drove full size cans beautifully. I tried this with the Yuin pk1, some ath buds, the crossroads xb3, the beyer DT231 and the AKG 500. Sources included a modded Sony ES CD player, a modded Toshiba dvd player, a laptop and a meizu player. Also had it hooked up to the Tivoli radio.
This is a warm and musical source. It really removes the digital edges of digital sources. Bass is clear and defined. Highs are smooth and natural. Midrange is where it excels. Great head-stage. With the AKGs significantly improves upon any of these sources unamped. With the Crossroads, bass is tight and punchy. Midrange is less edgy than usual with them. With the AKG it is musical and magical. Of course that’s playing to the AKGs strengths.
Compared to a modified meier home amp or an original master amp with Shek’s bigger home dac, the h1 doesn’t really compete. The ‘disturbing trend’ of folks saying that portable to home stuff is recently a hot topic. More over, the little h1 is multiples less expensive than either of the home set ups. The home set up has more impact-ful bass and greater refinement. Wider head-stage too.
Weakness – well not so much weakness as preference. This is a warm musical combo. That’s at the expense of the hyper detail and extended highs. That’s my preference. AKG 500/501 over Beyers 880s, etc. Of course, it would really balance systems with analytical components or digital sources.
A by-note: usb in to line out to the Tivoli (likewise, a warm, musical piece) are really astounding all things considered. Even the wife was thoroughly impressed when compared to the Tivoli via a regular line out from the laptop.
Finally, the h1 is under $200. It’s a nice change visually, some will love it. It has a line out for dac only use – like a little swiss army knife of audio. No piece is perfect and leaning towards the musical side of the equation is a good choice for where this will be used. And for the price, it would be tough to go wrong.
Full disclosure. I’m not a big portable guy. Dollar for dollar, I have yet to hear a portable amp keep up with a home amp. Same thing with a dac. But I have to confess, I kind got tired of having a full set up on my desk. For real listening a CD set up is great. But for convenience playing computer files is really nice. But here’s the twist. I have a Tivoli desktop radio with an input. Doesn’t sound half-bad. Would be great if it could use the dac’s output though.
Also, I’ve never been a conformist. I kind of got sucked into that less-is-more black Hammond computer geek thing. But after a while turned back to the Arts and Crafts motto don’t have anything that isn’t beautiful and functional. At the very least a change from the black in silver hammonds would be nice.
Enter the Shek h1. I first saw this a while back on audiogon. Shek’s home dacs are not terribly well known but very nice. NOS with reclocking for those who like the sound. His earlier black box was improved and they now reclock and people on other boards have reported great success, especially beefing up the power supply.
The h1 is a beautiful or quirky, depending upon your take, portable dac / amp combo. It’s a white box with a headphone mini jack out on the fron and a line in mini on the front as well. The back features a mini-usb jack and a mini line out jack. The knob is not round but a black square. Some folks will hate it, I find it refreshing. Note also it is a mini line out using the dac. Laptop usb to the h1, then mini jack out to the desktop radio. Beautiful. The battery/board does rattle a bit but Derek said that is normal. The line in and headphone jacks are the standard pink and green and there's a little smiley face in black. It is a little big for a fully portable solution, but that's standard for this type of device (ibass d1, meier move, etc.) Otherwise white plastic is beautiful and it’s functional – arts and crafts folks would be pleased.
Great history lesson, but, um, how’s it sound? In a word, great. First off no hiss with IEMs, drove full size cans beautifully. I tried this with the Yuin pk1, some ath buds, the crossroads xb3, the beyer DT231 and the AKG 500. Sources included a modded Sony ES CD player, a modded Toshiba dvd player, a laptop and a meizu player. Also had it hooked up to the Tivoli radio.
This is a warm and musical source. It really removes the digital edges of digital sources. Bass is clear and defined. Highs are smooth and natural. Midrange is where it excels. Great head-stage. With the AKGs significantly improves upon any of these sources unamped. With the Crossroads, bass is tight and punchy. Midrange is less edgy than usual with them. With the AKG it is musical and magical. Of course that’s playing to the AKGs strengths.
Compared to a modified meier home amp or an original master amp with Shek’s bigger home dac, the h1 doesn’t really compete. The ‘disturbing trend’ of folks saying that portable to home stuff is recently a hot topic. More over, the little h1 is multiples less expensive than either of the home set ups. The home set up has more impact-ful bass and greater refinement. Wider head-stage too.
Weakness – well not so much weakness as preference. This is a warm musical combo. That’s at the expense of the hyper detail and extended highs. That’s my preference. AKG 500/501 over Beyers 880s, etc. Of course, it would really balance systems with analytical components or digital sources.
A by-note: usb in to line out to the Tivoli (likewise, a warm, musical piece) are really astounding all things considered. Even the wife was thoroughly impressed when compared to the Tivoli via a regular line out from the laptop.
Finally, the h1 is under $200. It’s a nice change visually, some will love it. It has a line out for dac only use – like a little swiss army knife of audio. No piece is perfect and leaning towards the musical side of the equation is a good choice for where this will be used. And for the price, it would be tough to go wrong.
