HiFi Walker H2

PROS
Value for money
Rock solid OS
Physical knobs
Build quality
Sound quality


CONS
Back scratches easily
No volume- and skip control in screensave mode
Only one custom EQ setting
A little heavy


SUMMARY AND THE BIG WHY

Welcome to my hands on review of the Hifiwalker H2 Hi-Res Audio. In this review I’d like to answer the big ‘why’. Why should you buy this device and how could it be to your benefit? Good to know these are my personal experiences. I bought the device myself and did not review for a third party, but for the community. I think there roughly three reasons for you to buy this device:

1. Value for money
2. Simplicity
3. Step up in audio quality

In regards to this three reasons the H2 passes in all regards. It’s affordable for almost everyone in the audiophile hobby. It’s usable, stable and the build quality is nothing like a entry level device. Sound quality is a great step up from a smartphone and the H2 provides good working additional functions. Only a few quirks made it a 4.5 star out of 5. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this!


1. VALUE FOR MONEY

Value for money and price

The main reason for many of us to buy this device is the attractive price tag. It’s roughly over $ 100 and therefor the entry level of Digital Audio Players. Most recommended DAP’s from respectable brands will set you back at several times this money. Easily going up to 4 digit numbers. The reason you are reading this review is because you are looking for much value for little money. This DAP is exactly that. It obviously has its quirks but the pro’s do prevail over the cons, I promise you that.

Build quality

The build quality is great. It’s mostly made of metal with sturdy physical knobs, and a non-touchscreen interface. It’s surprisingly heavy, so I wouldn’t take it on a run. It’s best use is on a desk or in your pocket. The screen does not scratch easily as long as you transport it in the supplied pouch. The back of the H2 does but that doesn’t bother me.


Functions

The H2 will enhance your audio hobby with multiple functions under 1 hood. It’s a digital audio player, a DAC, a headphone amp and a Bluetooth send/receiver. Each of this functions could cost you the price of the H2, and the H2 does all of that at the same time without blinking an eye.


2. SIMPLICITY

OS

I think one of the great reasons to use a DAP instead of your smartphone is lack of distraction. No WhatsApp noises, no incoming mail, no Instagram sounds, just music. Right now I am writing this review listening to the H2 with no distractions from the OS. The interface matches this philosophy. It’s rather simple and to the point. No flashy animations, only text and simple graphical elements. It is sufficient to do what it does best: play great music. It has never bugged me once and is rock solid in stability.


Physical controls

The competitors of the H2 are for example the Shanling Q1 or M0 pro. They provide a nice touchscreen and -interface with minimal physical controls. You will swipe a lot to perform basic tasks and browsing your collection. The H2 chose for a jog dial wheel and physical knobs, like the early iPod did. That means you don’t get to touch your screen. You use only knobs. That’s weird at first after years of use of smartphones. It works fine! The interface is neither deep (no unnecessary menu-diving) nor complex. All functions reside behind a few menu options and are relatively fast accessible. The physical knobs are: rotating wheel, volume up/down, skip forward/back, play/pause/select, return, menu and power. I encountered only one flaw in the OS. The skip- and volumebuttons do not work when the screen is in power save mode. To use these buttons one has to press power once. There is no such thing as a perfect OS…

Music management

All music is stored on the supplied removable micro-SD card, my H2 came with a 64GB card. You can put in the number of GB’s to your need. I just copied my collection (mostly Apple Music AAC) from my computer to the card, keeping the original directory layout. I suggest you do metadata management on your computer before putting music on your H2. The H2 scans your collection and uses this meta-data to build a database. After scanning you can browse your collection by artist, album, song etc. Nothing special but it works like a charm. You are able to mark your favorite tracks and there is a function to build custom playlists.



3. STEP UP IN SOUND QUALITY

Sound quality

Well how does it sound? I compared it to my iPhone using an inexpensive Bluetooth receiver and my Mac Mini using a Sabaj D5 DAC/Amp. The IEM’s of choice were Tinhifi T2, Etymotic ER3SE and KZ PR1. The DAC of the H2 sounds bright, a bit analytical and spacious. Compared to my other equipment I find it a very attractive sound palette. Especially music with electronic and organic instruments, like the French electronica band ‘Air’, have a great separation between the sounds. The sounds are greatly distinct, very clear and spacious. Vocals are not buried in the mix but sound forward and close. Sounds which are panned to the sides really sound far outside your head. A very detailed description of the bass, mids and treble you will have to look for elsewhere. I experienced no problems in this area. To me the sound is clean, evenly distributed and tight. I am able to get more out of my IEM’s than with my other equipment.

Volume controls

Not only the timbre of the sound is important. Sometimes devices have only so many steps to control the volume. Sometimes the volume increase in 1 step is just too big to set a comfortable volume. The H2 has 100 volume steps which is a bliss. Depending which IEM you are using, you always are able to create a comfortable listening environment.

EQ

The H2 has a 10 band equalizer with the usual presets like pop, classic, blues etc. I couldn’t tell you if the presets are any good because I do not not use them. It is possible to create one custom EQ. That comes in handy to correct for example a treble spike or to add some warmth to a cold IEM. The H2 lowers the overall volume of the music in relation to your increase of DB’s in EQ to prevent distortion. Nice. I would have favored to have more custom EQ settings but the supplied EQ is fine.

Power handling

The H2 has more than enough juice to drive all my IEM’s and it handles high and medium sensitive over-ear headphones as well. I would not feed your lowest sensitive 4-digit planar headphones to the H2, but that is obvious.


END

Thank you for reading my review. Please let me know what your thoughts are and if you decided to buy this DAP or something else.