[mRaaghava]

Well, since the H7 is a portable DAC/Amp it probably makes sense to compare it to other devices that are also portable DAC/Amps, right? Of these type of devices, I currently own and listen to:

Dethonray Honey H1, Chord Mojo 2, xDuoo XD05 Plus (w/Burson op amp upgrade), and a Fiio Q5S. In addition I have an L&P W2 dongle that would also fall into this category.

I own some DAPs too that I listen to. These include the A&K SP2000T, HiBy RS6, and HiBy R6 2020.

For reference I primarily listen at home in the early morning via Roon. I like portable gear as it allows me not to disturb other family members and to get up to get another cup of coffee without having to take off my iems or headphones.

The answer to your question (as it really pertains to the sound produced by all of these various portable devices) is there is no best, there is only different. Ultimately it all comes down to personal preferences and what sounds the best to you. Gear synergy can also make a difference as some iems and headphones sound better (to me) on one DAC/Amp vs. another. There again it’s just a matter of personal preference however. It’s kind of what the hobby/journey is all about.

Some head-fiers are really good at articulating the various differences that they hear in their gear and are able to put what they’ve experienced into writing. I unfortunately don’t have that skill. I chose to pick up an H7 because I seem to prefer AKM DAC chips over ESS Sabre chips and I liked the form factor of the H7. I’ll probably never use the bluetooth or micro SD card features but that’s okay. I will keep the H7 because even lower quality internet radio sounds good on it (to me). When whatever gear I’m listening to makes me forget about bits and sample rates, sibilance, etc. and just enjoy the music than it is the best and worth keeping in my collection.

In short, how do you rate H7 among your portables?

 

[Skullar]

I just sold my Gryphon and have been running the H7 for several days. The Gryphon is definitely “warmer” but the H7 is more detailed. I felt the iFi had deeper bass plus the advantage of bass enhancement. The H7 seems to drive headphones (using the LCD-XC right now) a bit better and the built in SD card is a killer feature for me and makes it a slam dunk. The low gain on the H7 has no hiss on my IEMs so I don’t miss iEMatch (I am not particularly sensitive to hiss though). Overall if I was choosing it would be the H7 for me.

Really love my Gryphon due to various hardware based tuning settings and its portability with Bluetooth. Should be able to hear it in the near future and see if H7 is an upgrade

 

[McCol]

My H7 is winding it's way to the UK, hopefully here by Friday

 

[armstrj2]

I've spent a few days using H7 as my only source. Can safely say it is an excellent source. Well above my expectations and drastically improved on my oob impressions.

 

[sutonpu]

Does anyone know how long the battery lasts?
I hope it lasts more than 10 hours

 

[BlankName]

I've spent a few days using H7 as my only source. Can safely say it is an excellent source. Well above my expectations and drastically improved on my oob impressions.

Any comparisons to other sources?

 

[mark88888]

This is maybe a stretch, but I'd be interested in anyones comments about how the M3X compares to the H7. Trying to figure out if its worth the upgrade.

 

[Scubadevils]

Joining the H7 club, ordered today and hopefully it lands by Friday

 

[Shanling]

How long is the continuous playback time?

Our official specs are 10 hours for single-ended and 8 hours balanced, using local playback.

This is maybe a stretch, but I'd be interested in anyones comments about how the M3X compares to the H7. Trying to figure out if its worth the upgrade.

H7 competes with our best DAPs, quite higher than M3X, especially if you use it with anything that demands proper power.

 

[mark88888]

H7 competes with our best DAPs, quite higher than M3X, especially if you use it with anything that demands proper power.

Thank you for this! So I guess I'm wondering... how? More detailed? Deeper bass? Or I suppose.... simply better in every way? Is it a very clear and obvious difference in sound?

I am using the 64 Audio U12t. I don't think they need a lot of power, but they should be capable of showing the better points of a high quality DAP I would think. (They do sound great with the M3X. I'd like a bit of a warmer sound, yet staying very detailed, and am thinking that the H7 may be a good bet for that.)

I suppose that I hesitate because I know that higher end DAPs offer different features.... but I will use virtually none of them. So I'd hope that most of the price increase is reflected in the sound rather than added features.

 

[sutonpu]

Our official specs are 10 hours for single-ended and 8 hours balanced, using local playback.



H7 competes with our best DAPs, quite higher than M3X, especially if you use it with anything that demands proper power.

Thank you I'm curious so maybe I'll buy it I just don't know what the two knobs are for Is it easy to operate?

 

[FooFighter]

@Shanling for the next Gen make this WiFi enabled and put in a Streamer interface for the standard services such as Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon and that thing will sell like nothing else

 

[sutonpu]

I have ordered...
I will compare it with the M7 when it arrives.
In terms of sound alone, I also liked the M8, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[FooFighter]

Has it been mentioned if H7 is running purely on a custom low profile OS like e.g IFI Audio or is it "just" a ported Android from the DAPs?

Both has pros and cons.
I guess with a limited developer team it might be easier to maintain some derivates of the same (Android) platform.
Am wondering on the other hand if a custom low profile OS specialized on just decoding etc like Ifi is using is more appropriate for long term usage.

 

[merinowool]

@Shanling for the next Gen make this WiFi enabled and put in a Streamer interface for the standard services such as Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon and that thing will sell like nothing else

This would be the best thing for consumers 100%, and should be the standard. I get the folks making these devices don't want to cut into their DAP sales, but I think it's just inevitable since forgoing Android, a screen, and an SoC makes for a more efficient, less costly device.

Interestingly enough, some DAPs feature modes that turn off Android for alleged sonic benefit: Shanling has their pure music mode, iBasso has the Mango OS... If full Android is detrimental to high fidelity audio - the primary purpose of the device - then perhaps it should be dispensed of altogether.