[PenguinHeadphoner]

Looking forward to Part 5 : Sound

I will make it quick for you then

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 5 : SOUND QUALITY

5°)a Sound quality - First statement : listening conditions
So I can get to those tracks and listen to them.
How do they sound ?

I'll have to listen a little more carefully to give better full impressions but I will do that later.

All I can already say is that this test will be done WITHOUT EQ.
Reason is simple : there's no way to get EQ on this if you use the USB Drive function.
So either you find a headphone that suits the musical setting of the EH-3 or... you will have to look somewhere else
But that is expected. I asked and Shanling replied that there is no EQ built-in the EH-3. Maybe in an EH-4 ? Who knows...
Anyways, listening session will be made with Sony MDR-Z1R, Oppo PM-1, Dan Clark Aeon Flow Closed and Dan Clark Aeon X Open.
So 2 open backs and 2 closed backs...
[EDIT 1]The above statement is not entirely true anymore. I found a way (might sound a little fussy but it seems to work well) to get EQ working on the EH-3 and thus, the following is made WITH EQ !

So is it sounding good ?


5°)b Sound quality - Second statement : is the output really powerful ?
Shanling announces super high power for this device.
Is that monstruous power really there ?
I have no measurement tool.
But what I can say is that I have the EH-3 set to "Low gain" and that I hardly can go over 50/100 volume with this setting.
And that is with my Dan Clark Aeon Flow Closed, which is probably one of the most unefficient headphones on the planet.
With the Sony, which is much more efficient, I let the volume level between 30 and 40 depending on the tracks listened...

So the EH-3 can drive the DCA Aeon Flow Closed (DCA AFC) with ease so I can't imagine a headphone "resisting" the EH-3.
So YES, I guess the announced power is there indeed.
And that was one of the reasons I wanted to test this device.
So there we are : ease of use and powerful playback makes this device look good so far


5°)c Sound quality - Sound qualities - Overall impressions
OK. It is powerful. But is the sound good ?
What are the tracks I will use as a test ?
I listen to all types of music except "Electro/Dance".

At first I wanted to do a targeted sound review.
In other words, select several tracks and play them and compare them with different headphones.
But I decided to drop that method.

For two reasons.
First reason is that it takes time and I do not have that much time.
Second reason is, after listening to this device for about 1 week now, I don't want to do that

Why don't I want to do that ? Is that a bad thing ?
Quite the opposite...
In fact, it sounds so good that I just want to enjoy it.

The overall impression can be summed up this way : "Enjoy the music. Forget the rest".
Really...
The Shanling is one of those REALLY RARE devices that makes me forget about technical aspects of sound.
I am not asking myself : "Is the bass dry and deep as it should ?"
I am not asking myself : "Is the mid like the singer is going to spit in my face ?"
I am not asking myself : " Is the treble clear an shrill enough to rip my ears off" ?".

I just listen to music and want to listen to more of it...

So. Is it perfect ?
It probably is not.

There are four things to know about this device :
1°) It is all you want, but not "demonstrative". So, on first listening session you may get the feeling that it sounds nice but just random. If you get the device and get that feeling, I urge you to listen to it a little more I will not talk about "burn-in nonsense". I don't believe in it. But as I said : the sound tuning Shanling made on this device is nothing "Punch in your face"... And that leads to point 2
2°) the sound is "relaxed". You can listen to it for hours. is it neutral ? It probably is not. But it is so relaxing that you can listen to it for hours without the slightest fatigue or irritation like you may get with other devices after some time. So I think, but can't say, that this device may not please everyone... Me I like that sound. Others may not. I will not enter a debate about purely subjective feelings. But if you want something like "punch in your face" the EH-3 is probably not the one you should look for.
3°) The DAC (probably...) is on a class of it's own. It is the first time I am listening to a ESS9039Pro. And so far, I was not a fan of ESS and liked the "Velvety" sound of the AKM flagship DAC's more... (probably pure placebo). But here ? Woah... This DAC will squeeze every last drop of your musical juice ! Of course you will not say "I never heard this track before". But after some listnening, you will just be surprised at how much there is in this track that you probably missed so far !!!
4°) of course, being precise is a thing. Being lusical is another story. Rare are the devices that reconcile "precision and details" with "musicality and emotion". You have to choose between those two. Not with the Shanling EH-3. You just have both... Best of both may I add. I only got that with some Linn high-end gear and with the Apertura speakers.

So as a conclusion, I would like to emphasize that to my ears this is one one the REALLY RARE DEVICES THAT SOUNDS BOTH MUSICAL AND DETAILED at the same time and that, as such, I am enjoying it since a week almost uninterruptedly ! It is a pure pleasure to listen to for hours.

This statement is made with PEQ enabled but I also tried it WITHOUT EQ.
Of course, you are then dependent on your headphones. But even then the sound was really a joy to listen too...
With the Sony MDR-Z1R it was more bass heavy than with EQ, but that is to be expected as the Sony is quite "heavy on the bass"
With the DCA Aeon Closed and/or Open, which are much more neutral OOTB, it sounds spectacularly good for a device that has no PEQ applied !
I think it is important to state here that the EH-3 is not really "forgiving". If your track is not well mastered, the sound will not be "improved". And to my ears it sounds like "Low Res" recordings in 16/44 sound globally less appealing than 24/xx ones...
So, there you go. See for yourself if you want to go for it. And if you go, please share your impressions...
I'll continue a little later about how I am using the device It might be of interest to some of you

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 6 : USAGE WITH DLNA

As I wrote in the first part, scope of this device was to have a device that would be an all in one and that could replace my Streamer + DAC + haedphone amp and do it all with a decent level of quality and ease of use and nice ergonomics. So is it something that can be achieved with the EH-3 ?
Let's find out.
And let's begin with Eddict app and then see if we can circumvent that app...

Part 6-a : Using the EH-3 with Eddict software

To use the EH-3 as a really stand alone device (of course not really stand alone because you will need to add a USB drive...
A suggestion : add an internal slot for a SSD or NVMe Drive ? We can dream of it can't we ?
You can of course use Eddict, the in-house app that is provided to compliment the EH-3.
You can use the software in 2 different ways : with Synclink or while selecting the EH-3 as the NAS and then play files to the EH-3 with DLNA.
So let's explore both ways to do it

1°) Eddict with SyncLink
This is quite easy to do but still a little clumsy
Here are the steps :
- launch Eddict (of course)
- in the upper left corner hit the 3 lines icon
- in the drop down menu, select SyncLink
- you will be presented a list of device to connect to
- select EH-3
- you're now linked to the EH-3.

This litterally takes 20 seconds and works really well out of the box...
So why did I mention that this is a little clumsy ?

Well, now you're linked to the EH-3 you'd probably want to hit the small dented wheel next to the EH-3 that is now listed.
Of course you can do that and that will give you access to set-up of EH-3.
BUT you will not be able to access your music and play it from there
To do that you will have to :
- hit the "Back arrow" at the upper left corner of the display
- on the page where you landed hit the "Cross" in the upper right corner
- and then hit "Local music" on the page with all the icons... The other options will not work.

SUGGESTION TO SHANLING : Maybe place a shortcut to "Music" in the "Set-up page" would be a good idea ?
At least this is something I would expect and if I do, there are probaly lots of other people waiting for this too...

But OK, once you are there, you can browse your library...
Sort of
- if you browse by "Track" you are presentend with a list of all tracks on the drive sorted alphabetically ; hardly usable And this is default. Another sugestion : make at least Albums" the dfault landing point
- if you browse by Artist, it should be usable, provided you made sure your tags do not show up all artists that participated in the album... But that is of course not Eddict's fault, so will not blame the software here... So this might be an option. And good thing is, if you hit "Artist" you are taken to the list of Albums by that artist. Good, that is what is to be expected. And, last but not least, the albums will use the "Disk number" tag and as such display the tracks in the correct order. This is good ! It can be used nicely
- if you browse by Albums, you will have all albums in your library listed in Column view... But with no cover art showing up... Usable if you have about 50 albums in your disk. But with much more, this will come in quite difficult to use... Unless you retag your albums to, i.e. have the name of the artist showing in front of the Album's name. Not really practical to use ;
- you can browse through"Hi res" files... OK. I will for sure not use that so I will not comment on this.
- you can browse through genres ; as the latter, I will not use that. The tags are most of the time out of line and people in charge of tagging music you buy should be blamed for this. SO I will not use that and will therefore not comment on it.
- you can browse through directories. And if you sorted your playlist quite decently, like I do, this may be the best way to do it.

So yes, this is fully functional and deserves to get attention if you want to use the device as a really stand alone device.

There is only one thing missing there : if you enable SyncLink, you will not be able to use any EQ.
So you will have the raw sound. This is not a problem as the sound is really good, but that means you will rely on your headphones sound orientation...
Some may be able to live with it, others less

But if I should give this a mark, I'd probably give it a 8/10 :
- add the cover view while browsing albums
- add cover art while browsing Artists => Albums
- allow to apply some EQ (from the set-up page or anywhere else)

And you'll get a 10/10 for that SyncLink.
Fingers crossed for this to happen...

Nice addition : if you use SyncLink, the cover art is showed on the small display at the front of the EH-3 and shows the bitrate ande sample rate with the artist's name and the track name.

Really, if we could have those 3 things mentioned above (I think the first two are quite easy to add ; no idea about the third one) the EH-3 would be a totally stand-alone player and you can stay in the Shanling Ecosystem and won't have to look elsewhere...


2°) Eddict as both NAS and Renderer

How is this done ?

This is quite simple :
- 1°) start Eddict
- 2°) select "NAS" and then "Search sources"
- 3°) in the offered sources, select EH-3 (obviously)

Once done, you can browse your USB disk hooked up to the EH-3 with Eddict. But that is not superbly convenient.

Is it nice to use ? Some quirks...

First, browsing through the files is really really slow
Second, you can browse by Artist... But for some reason, if you do, you will not get the same result as the one you get with SyncLink.
There, opening an artist would take you to a list of albums by that artist.
Here, opening an artist will take you to a list of tracks by that artist. Sorted by album fortunately.
But that makes the Artist browsing really uncomfortable
So let's stick to the "Dir" tag tha will allow you to browse your music by directories.
Much more convenient, provided you have arranged your content nicely...

Benefits of using this ?

So, now fire up a track.
Once the track is fired, hit the 3 dots and select "DLNA".
Music will be "pushed" to the EH-3 from the EH-3... Really stand-alone is it not ?
There are two really nice things to mention here :
- 1°) the display at the front at the EH-3 will even display the cover art, with track info... Superb ;
- 2°) it will play almost gapless (a small blank between tracks, but probably less than 0.5 seconds).

So what's the catch ?

Of course there is a catch
After 30 seconds or so, Eddict will stop showing what you're playing.
So you do not have any control over the EH-3 with the Eddict player app.
You will have to use the remote control or the hardware buttons on the EH-3.
Again, a really nice feature BUT somewhat turned down by the unreliable aspect of Eddict when used this way (but I assume this is not really how this is meant to be used... and you have SyncLink which is much more convenient to use).

And of course, in this way, there will be no EQ possible

 

[Globares]

PART 5 : SOUND QUALITY

So as a conclusion, I would like to emphasize that to my ears this is one one the REALLY RARE DEVICES THAT SOUNDS BOTH MUSICAL AND DETAILED at the same time and that, as such, I am enjoying it since a week almost uninterruptedly ! It is a pure pleasure to listen to for hours.

Thank you for the sound impressions! So the device is detailed and resolving. Regarding the "musicallity" factor - I value it; there's a general understanding what musicallity means, but it's difficult to quantify, sice its interpretetion depends on the individual taste. Could you compare the EH3 tonality to other devices - like Aune DACs, maybe Chord Mojo? I may have a chance to listen to the EH3 next week, but if this chance will not meterialize I need to invest significant time if I want to try it, so I'd love to learn more details about the sound quality, first.

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 6 : USAGE WITH DLNA

As I wrote in the first part, scope of this device was to have a device that would be an all in one and that could replace my Streamer + DAC + haedphone amp and do it all with a decent level of quality and ease of use and nice ergonomics. So is it something that can be achieved with the EH-3 ?
Let's find out.
And let's begin with Eddict app and then see if we can circumvent that app...

Part 6-b : Use with third party software without EQ

1°) What third party software can be used ?

I am using Android and I think I more or less tried everything that was available on the market and that is able to do 2 things :
- retrieve music on a distant server (a NAS)
- send the music to a renderer/target

So the apps I found that are able to do this are following (with their limitations) :

a) Emby on Android
- Pro : superb app that let's you show your music as you like it : you can sort the albums by title, by year, it displays cover art.
- Pro : it can play music to any UPnP compatible palyer and so it detects the EH-3 as a targat and you can ply files to the EH-3
- Cons : it can only retrieve music from an Emby server (logical) and so you music has to be stored on an Emby powered NAS. In other words, you will not be able to retrieve the music from the EH-3...

b) Hi-Fi cast
- Pro : really nice app ; super easy to use.
- Pro : let's you see cover art and stuff like taht when browsing your music ;
- Pro : can retrieve music from any DLNA server, so you should be able to get your musc from the EH-3 USB storage ; the EH-3 is indeed detected as a ppossible source but it ends up with an "Error : could not retrieve data from media server : Action failed (501)". So this requires a fix or a workaround that I haven't found so far ;
- Pro : can send music to any UPnP compatible renderer, so you can stream music to the EH-3.
- Cons : retrieving files from the EH-3 fails for some reason ;
- Cons : it sometimes acts weirdly when retrieving music from other DLNA servers (i.e. : disk tag not detected )

c) USB Android Player Pro
- Pro : really neat app ;
- Pro : integrates PEQ abilities
- Pro : can retrieve music from the EH-3 without problems ;
- Con : can not stream to EH-3 as it only sees Chromecast compatible devices (but this seems to be work in Progress)

d) Bubble UPnP
- Pro : can retrieve music from the EH-3
- Pro can tstream to the EH-3 as a renderer
- Pro : app can display cover art and stuff... a lot fo customization features
- Pro : can connect to popular music stream services like Qobuz or Tidal.
- Cons : no EQ

e) mConnect
- Pro : pretty simple interface
- Pro : can retrieve music from EH-3 as DLNA server
- Pro : can stream music to EH-3 as UPnP renderer
- Cons : little settings, so if it does not work, there won't be any way out

f) Symfonium
This in indubably my favourite app. I think Tolriq, the guy behing it, works alone. And what he has achieved is simply amazing...
It would be perfect if... it was possible to add source outside of popular music servers (Emby ; Plex ; Jellyfin...).
As such it is not possible to retrieve files from the EH-3 set as a DLNA server.
But you can stream files to the EH-3.

g) Neutron player
Guy, this app's GUI is a mess.
You're lucy if you find you're way out in this...
But if you do, you'll be GREATLY rewarded.
Beside the clumsy GUI, it has one drawback : it can not see the EH-3 as a DLNA server
But it can stream to the EH-3 and that is the most important part as we will discuss it later...

h) Plex player
This is nice, but has 2 great drawbacks that are making it unusable for our purpose : I can retrieve files only from a Plex music server.
And it can stream only to Chromecast compatible devices, which does not include the EH-3. So , this can immediatly be taken out of the equation.

2. What third-party software is usable ?

From the list above it seems that there are a lot of alternatives that can be used to replace Eddict which has some serious limitations.
Truth is, unfortunately, the alternatives are only a few, if any...

- EMBY => not usable : it stops after playing first track
- Hi-Fi Cast => not usable : it stops after playing first track
- USB Android Player Pro => not usable as it can't stream to EH-3 ; can be used as USB player with USB cable
- Bubble UPnP => not usable : it stops playing after first track
- mConnect => not usable : it stops playing after first track
- Symfonium => not usable: it stops playing after first track
- Neutron Player : usable ; but can't retrieve files from EH-3 directly

So we're running short of options it seems
At this point it seems :
- we can have something functional with Eddict, but with 2 serious limitations : not easy browsing ; no EQ
- we can have something unfunctional with thrid party software...

Does this mean we're screwed ?

Not really... there is a way to have something functional AND with EQ !!!!

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 6 : USAGE WITH DLNA

As I wrote in the first part, scope of this device was to have a device that would be an all in one and that could replace my Streamer + DAC + haedphone amp and do it all with a decent level of quality and ease of use and nice ergonomics. So is it something that can be achieved with the EH-3 ?
Let's find out.
And let's begin with Eddict app and then see if we can circumvent that app...

Part 6-c : Use with third party software and get EQ on the EH-3

So is there a way to have a nice software to browse through music files from the USB drive of the EH-3 and get EQ when playing files ?
Yes, there is. I have tested it and it works quite weel
Is it free ?
More or less : it will require you to spend some 10€ to get a license for a software.
AND NO : this no commercial for that software, I am not affiliated with it and get no paid for this

So how is it done ?

FIRST IT SHOULD BE MENTIONED THAT THE FOLLOWING ONLY APPLIES IF ON FIRMWARE 1.2 (latest as of writing of this)
It seems that if you retrive files from the EH-3 it will play only one file, maybe 2, if you're on FW before that...

In three steps.

Step one : configure PEQ settings in Neutron.
To do so, launch Neutron and do the following :
- go to Settings => Playback => DSP Effect => Frequency Response correction
- once there, hit the + sign at the bottom center
- in the new page, select "AutoEQ"
- you'll be taken to a list of headphones. Find your headphone (list is quite long so you may find your headphone)
- once done make sure you hit the small circle next to your headphones name to highlight it and select it
- now hit the "Check" at the bottom right of the dispaly
- now make sure you have selected the option "Frquency response correction" => should be highlighted in red

Now let's go to step 2. Here you will connect Neutron to your Shanling EH-3.

It is quite simple : from the list of above mentioned software, install these : Bubble UPnP and Neutron.
Now do this (it is long to read, but is done in about 2 minutes and it is worth the time !) :
- Launch Neutron
- in Neutron settings go to "Ouput to"
- you should be presented with a list of renderers and the Shanling EH-3 should show up
- long press the "Shanling EH-3" option and you'll be taken to a new page where you can select "Autoconnect"
- select autoconnect and then hit the cross at the bottom of the page
- now hit Shanling EH3 again so it is highlighted (in Blue by default) and then hit the check at the bottom

OK. Now we have a last step to make. And that is to enable Neutron as a target for your player.
that is super easy.
Go to Neutron Settings => Network
Make sure to enable "Media Renderer (UPnP/DLNA).
Then hit the check at the bottom right of the display.

Now we're done.
As I said, it may sound a little complex, but I can assure that it is done in less than 3 minutes.

So now you can decide to choose Eddict or Bubble UPnP.
Let's take Bubble UPnP.
In the "More" option at the bottom left, you should now see an option to fetch your files in the Shanling EH3.
Select that...

You'll be taken to a page where you can browse the USB disk attached to the Shanling EH-3.
Select your album/track and start playing it.
Once it starts palying, hit "Playback" at the bottom.
Now in the upper right corner, there is the symbol to "Cast..;". Hit it and select "Neutron xxx".

Enjoy your Shanling EH-3 with EQ.

Needless to say you can do the same with Eddict.
Just launch Eddict. Select "NAS" and choose the Shanling EH-3 as a source for your music.
Navigate to your selected track/folder. Start playing.
On the page with the cover art hit the three dots and choose "DLNA".
Enjoy playback on your Shanling EH-3 with EQ

CAUTION : it may happen that, at some point sound will get scrambled. No panic. Grab the EH-3 remote control, hit pause for a second or two. Then hit "Play" again... Done. Here, it happens randomly. Sometimes it does not happen and I can listen to 2 or 3 hours of music before it happens (if it even does happen). Sometimes it happens after 5 or 10 minutes and I have to do it 2/3 times before it gets "stable... But me, I can live with that

If you found this helpful, please hit thanks And pay me a beer if you're in France Paris area

 

[Shanling]

Firmware Update released

Full notes, download link and how-to guide on our website:

https://en.shanling.com/article-CDFirmOct23.html

 

[Vazzee]

Firmware Update released

Full notes, download link and how-to guide on our website:

https://en.shanling.com/article-CDFirmOct23.html

Hello, is it possible to replace the 4x OPA1612 with 4x the Burson Supreme Sound V6 Vivid Dual op-amps?

Thanks for your reply!)

 

[Shanling]

Hello, is it possible to replace the 4x OPA1612 with 4x the Burson Supreme Sound V6 Vivid Dual op-amps?

Thanks for your reply!)

Up to you to experiment, not something we can answer.

 

[jijy]

I preordered EH3 today. I considered SMSL DO400 of same DAC chip, but I chosen EH3.
I'll have to say good-bye my EM5.

 

[Vazzee]

Up to you to experiment, not something we can answer.

Good morning,

Thank you, I was mainly concerned that I have misread something somewhere and I want to replace something that is not an op-amp in the end, or the chassis of the EH3 is glued and not screwed so I cannot take it apart with my skillset.

Again, thanks, and report back how it went after I got my unit.

Cheers!

 

[jijy]

Hello, is it possible to replace the 4x OPA1612 with 4x the Burson Supreme Sound V6 Vivid Dual op-amps?

It's interesting. I have same V6 op-amps and I use them on Topping DX7 Pro.

 

[Vazzee]

It's interesting. I have same V6 op-amps and I use them on Topping DX7 Pro.

The V6 Vivid has done magic to my Aune Magic DAC + Meze Elite, it allowed me to listen to extremely complex songs that I could not listen to before because the whole thing was a meatloaf... into some airy fluffy pastry, I could listen and enjoy the covers by Brass Against The Machine group on YouTube.

Again, will report back if I've managed to squeeze them in.)

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

Hi,
Interesting but of course hazardous.
Of course a "Limited Edition" with those might be of interest

All I can say is, as is, the EH-3 is already a really good device if you listen to it loud enough.
But it can do loud (and even beyond) so that is not a concern

For my needs, prior to changing AMPS or OP-AMPS, I would like to see those two things :
1°) for Shanling to fix the problem that appears when browsing the EH-3 through folders and where tracks are sometimes displayed beginning with track 07... and reejecting Track 01 at the end of the list ;
2°) have EQ possible in SyncLink.

If I would have that, the EH-3 would be close to perfection for my needs...

But unfortunately I do not think that #2 is a priority for Shanling.
And I am not even sure it is technically feasible

So let's hope for a fix in #1

Regards.

 

[Vazzee]

Hi,
Interesting but of course hazardous.
Of course a "Limited Edition" with those might be of interest

All I can say is, as is, the EH-3 is already a really good device if you listen to it loud enough.
But it can do loud (and even beyond) so that is not a concern

For my needs, prior to changing AMPS or OP-AMPS, I would like to see those two things :
1°) for Shanling to fix the problem that appears when browsing the EH-3 through folders and where tracks are sometimes displayed beginning with track 07... and reejecting Track 01 at the end of the list ;
2°) have EQ possible in SyncLink.

If I would have that, the EH-3 would be close to perfection for my needs...

But unfortunately I do not think that #2 is a priority for Shanling.
And I am not even sure it is technically feasible

So let's hope for a fix in #1

Regards.

Hi There,

What do you mean by hazardous?
I meant to swap dual op-amp with dual op amp... So there might be more to it than what meets the eye?)

I am not versed too much /at all, really/ in op-amp rolling, as I only replaced the op-amp on my Aune Magic DAC.

The idea comes from the fact, that one of the French websites sells components, and there I was able to find the ones Shanling is using, and on their website is about €10/piece while the Burson V6 Vivid is about €70/piece, and it made a huge change to how my little DAC sounds, so figured, maybe incorrectly, that if I replace the ones coming with the unit, it will sound even better.

My logic could be flawed as again, I'm not experienced in this field.

You mention valid points for improvement.
I am lucky, that those are not an issue for me, but hope it will be solved for those who are affected.

Cheers