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

[BORUSSIA]

So I tested the N7 and compared it to the the H7.
Soundwise there are some differences and I would say it comes down to the genre/preferences.
The midrange especially male voices are fuller and have a little more body on the N7.
Tremble is a little smoother on the H7, resolution and soundstage are quite the same (maybe a little better on the N7).
Bass has a little more impact on the N7, but is tighter on the H7. Electronic music sounds less bloated on the H7 and in my opinion better.
Instrumental separation is also just a little better on the H7.
Bluetooth performance is much better on the H7.
I couldn’t connect the N7 to my Ps5, the H7 is working. Connection to Apple TV not possible with both devices.

@Shanling using Tidal MQA I get a dropouts/laggs at around 7 seconds in the song for about 1 second. Is this normal or how can I fix this?

 

[Shanling]

So I tested the N7 and compared it to the the H7.
Soundwise there are some differences and I would say it comes down to the genre/preferences.
The midrange especially male voices are fuller and have a little more body on the N7.
Tremble is a little smoother on the H7, resolution and soundstage are quite the same (maybe a little better on the N7).
Bass has a little more impact on the N7, but is tighter on the H7. Electronic music sounds less bloated on the H7 and in my opinion better.
Instrumental is also just a little better in the H7
Bluetooth performance is much better on the H7.
I couldn’t connect the N7 to my Ps5, the H7 is working. Connection to Apple TV not possible with both devices.

@Shanling using Tidal MQA I get a dropouts/laggs at around 7 seconds in the song for about 1 second. Is this normal or how can I fix this?

Normal, it's MQA filter causing this.

 

[gatorengineer]

Just as a comment driving IEMs it sounds great, unfortunately it doesnt really have the grunt to drive HE-6SEs even with the gain set to high. Reading the reviews here make it sound like it can easily push planars.... My experience is not so much. Again, great unit, sounds great with buds but not quite enough juice for full size cans, Your mileage may vary.

 

[Uprox]

Just as a comment driving IEMs it sounds great, unfortunately it doesnt really have the grunt to drive HE-6SEs even with the gain set to high. Reading the reviews here make it sound like it can easily push planars.... My experience is not so much. Again, great unit, sounds great with buds but not quite enough juice for full size cans, Your mileage may vary.

HE-6SE: impedance 50 Ohm + efficiency 83.5 dB/mW - it's very seriously even for planar cans.

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

Just as a comment driving IEMs it sounds great, unfortunately it doesnt really have the grunt to drive HE-6SEs even with the gain set to high. Reading the reviews here make it sound like it can easily push planars.... My experience is not so much. Again, great unit, sounds great with buds but not quite enough juice for full size cans, Your mileage may vary.

Hi,
Having had the h7 for two weeks, what you are writing seems weird.
I could drive my Dan Clark Aeon flow easily with the h7.
I think they are amongst the most inefficient headphones in the world !

 

[AnirbanLahiry]

Hello Folks,

At the outset, please accept my apologies if this has already been answered somewhere in this thread! The thread is huge and I’ve tried to glance through the majority of it and couldn’t find the answer to this question: how does the Shanling H7 compare to the Astell & Kern SE180 with the stock SEM1 module? Also, with the SEM4 and SEM3 modules? I’ve asked this question in another thread where I got an answer but it was based on an indirect comparison with another Shanling DAP and not H7 specifically. I have the Shanling H7 and also an iBasso DX240. Although I love the DX240, the H7, for me, operates on a different level. I am planning to acquire the SE180 and thus wanted to understand if there is any gain in sound quality over the H7.

Many thanks.

 

[Shanling]

Just as a comment driving IEMs it sounds great, unfortunately it doesnt really have the grunt to drive HE-6SEs even with the gain set to high. Reading the reviews here make it sound like it can easily push planars.... My experience is not so much. Again, great unit, sounds great with buds but not quite enough juice for full size cans, Your mileage may vary.

There is quite a big gap in driving power between IEMs and Hifimans HE-6SE, you picked one of the hardest headphones to drive (And not even mention if running in single-ended or balanced). We belive H7 in balanced mode will do very well with full-size dynamic headphones and even big part of planar models.

HE-6SE: impedance 50 Ohm + efficiency 83.5 dB/mW - it's very seriously even for planar cans.

Hi,
Having had the h7 for two weeks, what you are writing seems weird.
I could drive my Dan Clark Aeon flow easily with the h7.
I think they are amongst the most inefficient headphones in the world !

 

[AnirbanLahiry]

There is quite a big gap in driving power between IEMs and Hifimans HE-6SE, you picked one of the hardest headphones to drive (And not even mention if running in single-ended or balanced). We belive H7 in balanced mode will do very well with full-size dynamic headphones and even big part of planar models.

For me, it drives the Hifiman Arya Stealth and Hifiman Audivina perfectly fine on balanced. Of course, these are not as difficult to drive as the Hifiman HE-6SE.

 

[AnirbanLahiry]

@Shanling is it recommended to update the firmware while charging? I downloaded the 1.7 firmware update and before updating wanted to know if it makes any difference. Thanks.

 

[Shanling]

@Shanling is it recommended to update the firmware while charging? I downloaded the 1.7 firmware update and before updating wanted to know if it makes any difference. Thanks.

Make sure it's charged enough(like above 50%), no need to have it on a charger directly during update.

 

[AnirbanLahiry]

Make sure it's charged enough(like above 50%), no need to have it on a charger directly during update.

Thank you so much for the prompt response!

 

[558752]

Hi,
Having had the h7 for two weeks, what you are writing seems weird.
I could drive my Dan Clark Aeon flow easily with the h7.
I think they are amongst the most inefficient headphones in the world !

Use it to drive aeon 2 noire, he1000 stealth, all perfectly well and good sounding

 

[Hisma]

hello all,

I decided to take advantage of a 20% off sale for the H7 and now I have one on the way. Thanks @Shanling for the killer deal (bought on official store on aliexpress). BTW I think the sale is still on for a few more days for anyone sitting on the fence for one of these.

My question is that judging from the messages here, firmware seems to have a noticeable impact on sound. It may be preference-based, so I'm curious - which firmware gives the warmest sound? I was expecting that with an AKM DAC, it'd lean to the warmer side, but I've heard from others that this dac/amp may not be as warm as I expect. But perhaps there's a firmware version that brings out the warmer AKM sound I love so much?

Thanks!

 

[Shanling]

hello all,

I decided to take advantage of a 20% off sale for the H7 and now I have one on the way. Thanks @Shanling for the killer deal (bought on official store on aliexpress). BTW I think the sale is still on for a few more days for anyone sitting on the fence for one of these.

My question is that judging from the messages here, firmware seems to have a noticeable impact on sound. It may be preference-based, so I'm curious - which firmware gives the warmest sound? I was expecting that with an AKM DAC, it'd lean to the warmer side, but I've heard from others that this dac/amp may not be as warm as I expect. But perhaps there's a firmware version that brings out the warmer AKM sound I love so much?

Thanks!

The Aliexpress store is not run by us, we have official store only on certain Amazons and at https://store.shanling.com/

We do not adjust sound with firmware updates.

 

[Hisma]

The Aliexpress store is not run by us, we have official store only on certain Amazons and at https://store.shanling.com/

We do not adjust sound with firmware updates.

Good to know. Well anyway read responses ITT. many users reporting different sound signatures with different fw updates. Many reverting bc they like sound better on older fw.

So despite you not deliberately changing sound there's enough user evidence here to prove fw updates affect sound.