Background
The Shanling H7 is Shanlings foray into a market which seems light on options but there does appear to be a growing demand for these types of products. In the last year we have seen the iFi-Audio Gryphon and the Fiio Q7.
These products are larger and more powerful than your normal USB DAC/AMP Dongles, more expensive and generally can and do compete with DAPS from the mid tier (in my experience).
Where the Shanling differs is in it's additon of a SD card slot, this gives the option of playing direct from the unit or via an app on smartphone (more on that later). Similar to the Chord Poly which of course has been around for a number of years.
For this review I will compare to my current kit - Cayin N8ii, Fiio BTR7 and make some comparsions to the Gryphon although this will be from memory and from extensive notes from when I owned it.
H7 Specs at a glance (Shamelessly taken from Shanling site)
- New Flagship AK4499EX DAC chip from AKM, with its matching AK4191 Modulator
- Extra powerful amplifier offering up to 1.2W @ 32 Ohm
- 3.5 / 4.4 / 6.35mm headphone outputs and rear RCA
- Xmos USB input supporting Hi-Res playback, including MQA
- Combined input for Coaxial and Optical SPDIF
- Bluetooth receiver module with LDAC support
- DSD512 32bit/768Khz
Full spec and product details -
https://en.shanling.com/product/427
Gear and Music used
Custom Art Fibae 7U
Custom Art Fibae 5
Effect Audio X Elysian Gaea
Sennheiser 660s
Grado RS1x
Oppo PM3
Music used varies but mainly alternative/indie guitar driven music. Also some EDM and other electronic music used.
Primary tracks
David Bowie - Starman, Wild is the Wind, Rock and Roll Suicide
The Smiths - I Know It's Over, Well I Wonder and Barbarism Begins at Home
New Order - The Age of Consent and The Perfect Kiss
Morrissey - The Loop, Disappointed
The Fall - Various tracks
The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes, Oh Sweet Nuthin and Rock and Roll
Lou Reed - Street Hassle, Kill Your Sons
The Wedding Present - Various tracks
Pet Shop Boys - Various tracks
Kraftwerk - Various tracks
The Shanling H7 - Boxing and accsessories/Build Quality
This is the first Shanling product I have owned or tried so I had no expectations as to what to expect.
Not disappointed with the whole package. Boxed as a premium product should be, nice sturdy cardbaord box, comes with a small carry pouch and a couple of cables. I bought the Shanling case which is really nice and fits snug but would have been good to include one.
The build quality and finish of the H7 is excellent. The casing is like brushed metal, smooth but not a finger print magnet, I choose the black/titanium model. Edges are rounded with no blocky sharp edges. The 2 dials are well built and not loose with no rattle. Their is a small 1.44 inch screen that is easy to read.
Ease of use/Controls
All controls are accessed by the 2 wheels on the front of the unit. These are pretty easy to use after a few minutes of getting used to them. The right wheel controls the volume and the power. The left wheel is multifunctional and works well for my useage.
H7 is powered up and ready to use within a few seconds of powering up. Bluetooth is quick and easy to connect to smartphone and I've had no issues with dropped connections.
Size wize, I don't really take my devices in my pocket anymore, as a 51 year old most of my listening is at home or when away from the house such as on short breaks etc. When I'm cycling I use TWS for ease of use and functions. The H7 is big, simialr size to Gryphon and my N8ii. It could be portable but would be better in a coat pocket rather than jeans pocket.
Battery life has been as advertised for me with around 8 hours for balanced use.
Input/Output and Sound Quality
Bluetooth - 5.0 is the bluetooth standard on the H7 and supports LDAC/AAC. Connection is straightforward and I've found the range to be better than previous models I've tried such as the Gryphon/Go Blu and Fiio's BTR7. I test this by the distance from my bedroom to bathroom! The previous devices would drop connection to my Samsung S22 Ultra when using LDAC whereas the H7 keeps the connection and I can actually go a few feet further.
Sound quality from Bluetooth is excellent and is very close to the wired connection when using as a USB DAC.
There is also no lag when watching Netflix etc when using Bluetooth
USB DAC - I've only tried the USB DAC with my Samsung S22 Ultra, it's the only source I will need for the USB. No issues with connection using the supplied USB-C to C cable which seems to be of a simialr high quality as the one iFi provide with the gryphon.
I've used the DAC both with UAPP and direct to streaming services such as Qobuz and Amazon.
The sound quality when using the wired connection is marginally superiour to the Bluetooth connection but it's not night and day to my ears. The main differences area bit more depth to the sound with a little more detail, this is also what I found with the Gryphon.
In terms of sound quality when wired-
I find the H7 to be quite detialed and transparent in it's delivery of my music. When using wired or bluetooth there is a level of detail that is very accurate but not fatiguing, there is a musicality that remains that prevents the H7 from being to fatiguing or shrill. I'd say in some respects the H7 is simialr to the Gryphon in it's presentaiton of the sound, I always found the Gryphon to be fairly neutral with just a slight bit of warmth to the overall signature.
I don't think the H7 has quite the same level of warmth as the Gryphon but it's very close however I would say I find the overall sound to be more pleasing on the H7. This is in part due to the transparency of the mids and highs, bass feels tighter than it did on the Gryphon. However bear in mind that this in not a direct comparsion but by memory and written notes.
In comparsion to my Cayin N8ii? It's almost unfair to compare as they are so far apart on price and function (H7 - £800, N8ii - £2700) however I will.
The N8ii is overall more detailed, more soundstage and more musical in almost an analouge type manner compared to the H7. But they use different DACs, different AMP sections and the N8ii has more options ot change the sound such as the Korg vacum tubes.
Saying that though the H7 does get close to the N8ii in the way the highs are presented, there is a level of detail that is not too far apart. From a power persepctive they are very similar, in high gain the H7 has specs of 1.2mw into 32ohm which is similar to the N8ii in P+ mode and high gain. It shows as well, the H7 able to drive my 660s to similar comfortable levels as the N8ii.
When comparing to the Fiio BTR7 the same considerations must also apply, the H7 is around 3 times more expensive however ther eis a sizable gap in my opinion. The Fiio is good, I still own mine but it doesn't really get close to the H7 in it's sound quality. The H7 presents music more detailed and has a musicality the BTR7 doesn't have.
RCA Output/Coaxil input - I have not used and I am very unlikely to do so.
SD Card - This is the surprise part of the package. Not a first as Chord Poly has the same abilty however I've not seen a product other than the Poly use this.
There are 2 ways to use the SD card slot. First is just selecting the TF card option on the multifunction wheel and letting the H7 paly through the card with basic next track/last card options. I tried this and works as it says on the tin really.
The 2nd option is to use an app from Android/IOS named Eddict Player. This sits on your phone and accesses the card for control via your smartphone.
At a basic level it works however the app needs a bit of work in relation to album art, it currenlty access the internet for this and for me it's been terribly inaccurate. However Shanling say the app will be updated on a regular basis (3rd party app I think), hopefully this will happen as it's a nice feature but has a few little niggles that need ironing out.
Headphone/IEM matchup -
For all my IEM's/Headphones and earbuds (bar one) the H7 paired well, I can't much about this really as we all have our own preferences but the sound qualities I mentioned before were present across all my gear, detailed musical presentation that has a little warmth but not as much as my DAP or other options such as the Gryphon. However my Grado RS1x didn't pair very well, they were quite harsh on certian tracks but I expected this due to the overall treble response of Grado headphones.
With the Sennheier I'd say that I preferred they way the H7 sounds with them compared to my N8ii, this maybe because the N8ii is warmer overall whereas the H7 just lifts the 660s a liitle.
The Gaea which are a little bright in the upper ranges I expected them to be too bright with the H7 but they are not, they sound excellent with the H7, I'd say the H7 lifts the bass in them a little but agian this could just be my ears hearing this.
Functions compared to Gryphon
I think some may be looking at this alongside the Gryphon and wondering which to buy. From sound quality alone, there is nothing in it really and will come down to personal preference, for me the H7 is just as musical as the Gryphon with maybe just a slightly brighter more detialed presence inthe mids and highs. However where the Gryphon has it's advnatages is in the Iematch and xbass functions. That said I'm not sure the H7 will need Iematch type function, for my gear I heard no backgorund noise.
The H7 is also a little bulkier than the Grypon, size wise they are both similar size in the hand but the H7 sits a bit thicker and weighs a little more.
Final thoughts
The Shanlong H7 is an excellent entry into this segment of the marker for Shanling. From sound quality and function perspective it is very very good. It will pair with everything from PC/Tablet/Smartphone to Nintendo Switch and Playstation consoles.
It competes with DAPS in and around and probably higher than it's price range. I wouldn't go as far to say it beats those TOTL efforts from IBasso or Cayin etc however I think it does match those just below that level.
If you are in the market for a mid-level DAP but are undecided and are looking at the H7, take the plunge, paired with a smartphone and using bluetooth or wired then you can't really go wrong. Shanling have produced an excellent powerhouse and great sounding device.
The H7 sits nicely alongside the N8ii for my useage. Bluetooth will be it's main puprose. The Bluetooth performance is nothing short of excellent.
