Shanling H7 - High-End Portable DAC/AMP/Player, Featuring new AKM AK4499EX Flagship DAC

[armstrj2]

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.

I can't answer that question but I can tell you the device turns on and is ready to use within 2 seconds so I would guess it is running something much lighter than Android.

 

[BadgerRivFan]

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

Perhaps it is more confirmation bias than anything (due to the cost of each), but after listening to the H7 exclusively for a few days then going back for a quick listen to my other portables, I’d still say my SP2000T is number one, followed closely by my RS6, and then the H7.

In terms of pure portable DAC/Amps only, I like the H7 the best of the ones that I own. The Honey H1 is buttery smooth but its quirkiness detracts from its appeal to me (volume pot issues and some of my Dunu cables with modular plugs have solid connector issues and will intermittently lose a channel. This is very annoying. Also the battery doesn’t hold a charge for more than a day or two on the H1, again very annoying.)

An issue I discovered with the H7 is that when powering it on if you hold the button down for any longer than 2 seconds it will still power up, but will sound terrible and full of grainy sibilant static. To resolve, you need to power the H7 down then power it back up by pressing the power button down for only a second or two. If you hold the button down until you see the start up screen turn on you held it too long and the sound that comes out sounds like crap . Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

Somehow that doesn't sound all that exciting. Also from the pure sound performance. After your first impressions, I have to assume that the M8 also has the upper hand over the H7 in terms of sound. A comparison of the sound of the two would still be very interesting.

 

[FooFighter]

Somehow that doesn't sound all that exciting. Also from the pure sound performance. After your first impressions, I have to assume that the M8 also has the upper hand over the H7 in terms of sound. A comparison of the sound of the two would still be very interesting.

My exact same thoughts

 

[armstrj2]

I would give a different take on it than what has been shared and note that we all hear differently of course.

When comparing sources I use the same files on both devices and use an Oriolus audio selector to switch between each source instantly. This takes bias and audio memory out of the equation. You can hear differences very clearly and in fact, in most cases I find the differences are much smaller than people believe.

I previously owned M9 and N8ii at the same time and after comparing both in a similar fashion I kept N8ii as I felt is was superior for my preferences.

Comparing H7 to N8ii in solid state/p+, I find H7 to be cleaner, slightly more detailed with a more expansive soundstage. While terms like "warm" are often associated with Shanling sources, I find overall that N8ii comes off as being slightly warmer.

Using Mentor to test both, treble extends further with H7 and vocals are clearer. This takes the focus off bass a little which flips around when I swap to N8ii.

There is the feeling of greater mid bass slam with H7 as it cuts through more when called upon. There's also slightly more sub bass for the same reason. When it comes in, you feel it and it stands out more. With N8ii as it comes across slightly warmer, the difference doesn't stand out as such in the overall signature. I hope I'm explaining that clearly.

N8ii is a box of tricks when it comes to being able to adjust the sound, something H7 can't compete with but H7 is a fraction of the price.

Lots of advantages H7 has over DAPs too though if it suits your use case.

Whether you prefer H7 over one source or another will be down to personal tastes but I would encourage people to invest in an audio selector for comparing sources. We all like to think we are unbiased and our music memory is fantastic but that selector has shown me time and again that this isn't the case for me anyway.

 

[docentore]

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.

No need for Android on device like this. And Android wasnt developed for embedded devices like H7.
For 99.99999% it runs some kind of light-kerneled and highly customised Linux distro.

 

[juniores]

The spec says it's Open Android 10.

 

[FooFighter]

So not that light weighted after all?
Whereas I am no specialist to judge here.
I assume that with such an Android stack you get much stuff like mobile device drivers and interfaces out-of-the-box and just need to customize these.
After all Android is also kind of Linux based AFAIK

What has also made me think was some statement about MQA unfolding being limited by system resources.
Wether one likes MQA or not it seems the native chipset isn't supporting MQA decoding perse and thus needs to be done by the software on top

 

[docentore]

The spec says it's Open Android 10.

Fair enough, the note on Audeos page didnt say that

So not that light weighted after all?
Whereas I am no specialist to judge here.
I assume that with such an Android stack you get much stuff like mobile device drivers and interfaces out-of-the-box and just need to customize these.
After all Android is also kind of Linux based AFAIK

What has also made me think was some statement about MQA unfolding being limited by system resources.
Wether one likes MQA or not it seems the native chipset isn't supporting MQA decoding perse and thus needs to be done by the software on top

Yeah, I know about Android roots, it is Linux based. Weird choice of OS esp if you look at CPU used, hope the amp doesnt choke.

 

[RIGATIO]

I would give a different take on it than what has been shared and note that we all hear differently of course.

When comparing sources I use the same files on both devices and use an Oriolus audio selector to switch between each source instantly. This takes bias and audio memory out of the equation. You can hear differences very clearly and in fact, in most cases I find the differences are much smaller than people believe.

I previously owned M9 and N8ii at the same time and after comparing both in a similar fashion I kept N8ii as I felt is was superior for my preferences.

Comparing H7 to N8ii in solid state/p+, I find H7 to be cleaner, slightly more detailed with a more expansive soundstage. While terms like "warm" are often associated with Shanling sources, I find overall that N8ii comes off as being slightly warmer.

Using Mentor to test both, treble extends further with H7 and vocals are clearer. This takes the focus off bass a little which flips around when I swap to N8ii.

There is the feeling of greater mid bass slam with H7 as it cuts through more when called upon. There's also slightly more sub bass for the same reason. When it comes in, you feel it and it stands out more. With N8ii as it comes across slightly warmer, the difference doesn't stand out as such in the overall signature. I hope I'm explaining that clearly.

N8ii is a box of tricks when it comes to being able to adjust the sound, something H7 can't compete with but H7 is a fraction of the price.

Lots of advantages H7 has over DAPs too though if it suits your use case.

Whether you prefer H7 over one source or another will be down to personal tastes but I would encourage people to invest in an audio selector for comparing sources. We all like to think we are unbiased and our music memory is fantastic but that selector has shown me time and again that this isn't the case for me anyway.

Thats interesting! Great comparison. So it seems that the H7 has an upper hand when it comes purely to the sound. If this is the case, its what it should be. No android, no big screen, so much costs are reduced. Also there is more room left for audio hardware and battery which obviously reduces the gap between portable dac/amp and TOTL daps. But i didnt expect it to sound better overall than the n8ii. Wow nice.

 

[FooFighter]

Still interested in some M8 comparison
Still my favorite DAP of the last years.

Regarding blind testing it's also very true and it's often difficult to judge unbiased after investing thousands of bucks.

I've just recently been listening to some very affordable Qudelix 5k and was very impressed...

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

Thats interesting! Great comparison. So it seems that the H7 has an upper hand when it comes purely to the sound. If this is the case, its what it should be. No android, no big screen, so much costs are reduced. Also there is more room left for audio hardware and battery which obviously reduces the gap between portable dac/amp and TOTL daps. But i didnt expect it to sound better overall than the n8ii. Wow nice.

Somehow I have the feeling that we could soon get an extensive report on the M8 and H7 from Rigatio to read. Rigatio seems to have tasted blood

 

[juniores]

Still interested in some M8 comparison
Still my favorite DAP of the last years.

Regarding blind testing it's also very true and it's often difficult to judge unbiased after investing thousands of bucks.

I've just recently been listening to some very affordable Qudelix 5k and was very impressed...

I need to listen a bit more and I can write a few words of comparison.

 

[mRaaghava]

Perhaps it is more confirmation bias than anything (due to the cost of each), but after listening to the H7 exclusively for a few days then going back for a quick listen to my other portables, I’d still say my SP2000T is number one, followed closely by my RS6, and then the H7.

In terms of pure portable DAC/Amps only, I like the H7 the best of the ones that I own. The Honey H1 is buttery smooth but its quirkiness detracts from its appeal to me (volume pot issues and some of my Dunu cables with modular plugs have solid connector issues and will intermittently lose a channel. This is very annoying. Also the battery doesn’t hold a charge for more than a day or two on the H1, again very annoying.)

An issue I discovered with the H7 is that when powering it on if you hold the button down for any longer than 2 seconds it will still power up, but will sound terrible and full of grainy sibilant static. To resolve, you need to power the H7 down then power it back up by pressing the power button down for only a second or two. If you hold the button down until you see the start up screen turn on you held it too long and the sound that comes out sounds like crap . Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks for the reply and the last issue will be pretty much annoying. From what you said, H7 may be in par or little inferior to their own midfi DAP Shanling M7.

 

[FooFighter]

Thanks for the reply and the last issue will be pretty much annoying. From what you said, H7 may be in par or little inferior to their own midfi DAP Shanling M7.

If that's the case we need some H8 or H9