[yannis]

Shanling - Where To Buy

https://en.shanling.com/category/335

 

[Shanling]

If the RCA outputs on the back are feeding my active speakers, and then I plug an headphone on the front, what happens? Will the headphone output disable the RCA output?

When headphones are inserted, RCA outputs are muted.

On the Shanling site it costs 829 dollars so I don't think there is any discount (list price) while on Zococity, in addition to not accepting payments via Paypal, it doesn't ship to Italy. Alternatives?

Yes, it's listed as official dealer of our Benelux distributor

 

[Hisma]

OK so I've owned this for a few days. At first I was amazed at the detail, but over time the honeymoon period quickly faded as I realized how "thin" it sounded, as well as the narrow sound stage. The most impressive feature by far is how detailed vocals and strings sound. But the staging is mostly forward and tall, barely any depth at all. And notes are pretty much flat as board .
I'm running it paired with a goldplanar GL-AM16 IEMs, which does require some oomph to drive, but the H7 should easily have more than enough power.
I've become so disappointed with the thinness and extreme lack of note weight & staging, I am considering returning it. But from reading reviews, the sound completely opens up after around 100+ hours, so I am really hoping it gets better with proper burn-in.
I also did another test today. I decided to use the RCAs and ran the H7 through an amp. The powerful but simple simple SMSL SP200, THX AAA amp. Holy crap, it was like a whole other experience. The thinness disappeared, and I had noteweight, noticeable subbass thump (tho not basshead bass which is fine w/ me), and also improved sound-stage.

So what do owners recommend? Is perhaps hearing how good it sounds from a properly broken in amplifier a good indication of how it may sound once the H7 amp is broken in? I can't possibly see how this product would be so popular w/ the current sound I'm getting out of it...

 

[Polky74]

OK so I've owned this for a few days. At first I was amazed at the detail, but over time the honeymoon period quickly faded as I realized how "thin" it sounded, as well as the narrow sound stage. The most impressive feature by far is how detailed vocals and strings sound. But the staging is mostly forward and tall, barely any depth at all. And notes are pretty much flat as board .
I'm running it paired with a goldplanar GL-AM16 IEMs, which does require some oomph to drive, but the H7 should easily have more than enough power.
I've become so disappointed with the thinness and extreme lack of note weight & staging, I am considering returning it. But from reading reviews, the sound completely opens up after around 100+ hours, so I am really hoping it gets better with proper burn-in.
I also did another test today. I decided to use the RCAs and ran the H7 through an amp. The powerful but simple simple SMSL SP200, THX AAA amp. Holy crap, it was like a whole other experience. The thinness disappeared, and I had noteweight, noticeable subbass thump (tho not basshead bass which is fine w/ me), and also improved sound-stage.

So what do owners recommend? Is perhaps hearing how good it sounds from a properly broken in amplifier a good indication of how it may sound once the H7 amp is broken in? I can't possibly see how this product would be so popular w/ the current sound I'm getting out of it...

Even though I don't own it yet (but I do own the M6 OG) this subtlety in the sound seems strange to me... in my opinion there could be two causes and perhaps even connected to each other. The first is certainly the lack of running-in which negatively affects both the DAC and the amplification parts. The second could be the poor synergy with the IEMs/headphones you listen to it with. We are also waiting for other answers... mine should arrive in a few days and I sincerely hope not to find it too with light and inconsistent notes. It would be a joke given the flattering opinions expressed so far.

 

[Hisma]

Even though I don't own it yet (but I do own the M6 OG) this subtlety in the sound seems strange to me... in my opinion there could be two causes and perhaps even connected to each other. The first is certainly the lack of running-in which negatively affects both the DAC and the amplification parts. The second could be the poor synergy with the IEMs/headphones you listen to it with. We are also waiting for other answers... mine should arrive in a few days and I sincerely hope not to find it too with light and inconsistent notes. It would be a joke given the flattering opinions expressed so far.

bad synergy is definitely one of my thoughts. But read this review as an example -
https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/shanling-h7-review-big-bold-ballsy/

he mentions several times about the break-in period (he mentions 50 hours being the magic number).

This part in particular stood out, as what he said about the staging being 2D & just plain flat upon first listen -

I’m late to the party with my H7 review, as I don’t like rushing things. A few days were needed for the sound to settle in and what was supposed to be a week of listening, transformed into a two-month listening marathon. You probably saw it in plenty of my pictures posted around here, including in a few videos of mine, as I still wanted to have a nicer grip over its sound signature.

At first, H7 was two-dimensional with little to no depth, as if all musicians were lined-up, playing exactly at the same level in a 2D Super Mario Brothers world. That was a problem, as usually most of my blues have plenty of depth, even less capable units sitting on the table offered more width and depth to the sound. Something wasn’t adding up, as usually, AKM silicon is quite impressive in this regard, always having that open window to the sound. As I have explained in the previous chapters, the sound was stiff and not that impactful at first, and the only things I could blame were low listening hours, with too little current flowing through its circuit boards. It didn’t need much time to change its clothes, as on the third day, the windows opened wide and finally, I could feel the sound freed from its shackles. Not only the sound was easier on the ear with intricate notes never scratching my timpani, but the sound itself got more depth and from a two-dimensional sound, H7 started sounding like a Biggity Big one.

about dynamics (note weight) -

IV. Dynamics & Transient Response

First and foremost, H7 will need a couple of hours, a minimum of 50 until dynamics will make their presence felt.

and bass response...

The bass slam wasn’t impressive on the first day, but after putting more than 50 hours into it, three days later, it felt rejuvenated and a little punchier sounding. As a whole, I never felt like sitting in between the hammer and the anvil, as the bass punch wasn’t as strong as it was via Q7. I would say it’s above average, it’s quite good, but not outstanding and that’s all right, as not everybody wants an aggressive sound signature.

And I'd say that I think it's the amp section that in particular requires the break-in, seeing as sound was noticeably improved on an external amp.

But that single review mentioned the break-in period over 3 different times and how much it changed the sound. So there really must be something to it...
and all the raving this unit gets here, I can't imagine anyone being satisfied with what I'm hearing my first few days. It wasn't until I put it on an external amp did I realize there may be some hope here.

 

[Polky74]

Can I ask you a question? What did you use to listen to the same IEMs before the H7?

 

[Hisma]

Can I ask you a question? What did you use to listen to the same IEMs before the H7?

don't have a strong reference, as I bought and received them both at the same time. I do have a nice portable dac/amp I can compare with tho. I actually did try using, but I only listened for a minute or two, since I was still in honeymoon phase with the H7. It's a hifiman hm1000 red, which is a r2r dac that was $600 when it came out. So I'd consider mid-fi, not cheap but not budget either. Now discontinued. When I listened for the short time, I immediately noticed it was noticeably less detailed than the H7, despite being warmer & having more bass. So didn't listen anymore after that as it felt like an immediate step down from the H7. However, I did not do any actual critical listening. Perhaps I should go back and do so.

You can read reviews on the AMT-16 IEMs though. It's notorious for being holographic and sound stage being one of its greatest strength. It's the first AMT IEM on the market, similar to heddphone. So the flatness is just not acceptable to me. Both in staging and note weight. But again, an external amp fixed this. So let's just hope break-in will make the difference, similar as to what the review I showed above mentioned.

 

[Polky74]

don't have a strong reference, as I bought and received them both at the same time. I do have a nice portable dac/amp I can compare with tho. I actually did try using, but I only listened for a minute or two, since I was still in honeymoon phase with the H7. It's a hifiman hm1000 red, which is a r2r dac that was $600 when it came out. So I'd consider mid-fi, not cheap but not budget either. Now discontinued. When I listened for the short time, I immediately noticed it was noticeably less detailed than the H7, despite being warmer & having more bass. So didn't listen anymore after that as it felt like an immediate step down from the H7. However, I did not do any actual critical listening. Perhaps I should go back and do so.

You can read reviews on the AMT-16 IEMs though. It's notorious for being holographic and sound stage being one of its greatest strength. It's the first AMT IEM on the market, similar to heddphone. So the flatness is just not acceptable to me. Both in staging and note weight. But again, an external amp fixed this. So let's just hope break-in will make the difference, similar as to what the review I showed above mentioned.

We find ourselves faced with too many variables to consider... the iems (new and unknown) the H7 (new and unknown) but the only certain thing is that the weight of the notes of the Hifiman R2R dac will be difficult to find in other dacs, that's for sure. This is a peculiar feature of Hifiman R2R dacs and I know them because I have two of them, one in the Hifiman EF400 and the other in the Hifiman Bluemini. In addition to the running-in of the H7 (to be done) you also have to consider the running-in of the IEMs (that also has to be done) so I think that's just the problem. In addition to this I can already tell you that your Hifiman dap will always play with heavier notes and more powerful bass than the H7 but this will certainly not make you prefer it. What will make the difference will be the details and textures (even in the bass) which will be infinitely superior in the H7 compared to the Hifiman R2R Himalaya. On top of that the treble extension and air between instruments will be far superior on the H7... just in another category. Then there's another thing to consider... would you have preferred them to sound the same? The differences will emerge at the end of the run-in, the H7 will be an excellent alternative to the R2R Hifiman sound at first and then little by little you will begin to much prefer it to the Hifiman sound. Keep in mind that however, both the Hifiman and the Shanling will always prefer neutral iems/headphones precisely to be able to shape the sound with their character. And from what little I have read about your IEMs they are already linear enough to allow the two DACs to express themselves at their best. Give it time and hours of music... it will repay you with interest.

 

[Hisma]

We find ourselves faced with too many variables to consider... the iems (new and unknown) the H7 (new and unknown) but the only certain thing is that the weight of the notes of the Hifiman R2R dac will be difficult to find in other dacs, that's for sure. This is a peculiar feature of Hifiman R2R dacs and I know them because I have two of them, one in the Hifiman EF400 and the other in the Hifiman Bluemini. In addition to the running-in of the H7 (to be done) you also have to consider the running-in of the IEMs (that also has to be done) so I think that's just the problem. In addition to this I can already tell you that your Hifiman dap will always play with heavier notes and more powerful bass than the H7 but this will certainly not make you prefer it. What will make the difference will be the details and textures (even in the bass) which will be infinitely superior in the H7 compared to the Hifiman R2R Himalaya. On top of that the treble extension and air between instruments will be far superior on the H7... just in another category. Then there's another thing to consider... would you have preferred them to sound the same? The differences will emerge at the end of the run-in, the H7 will be an excellent alternative to the R2R Hifiman sound at first and then little by little you will begin to much prefer it to the Hifiman sound. Keep in mind that however, both the Hifiman and the Shanling will always prefer neutral iems/headphones precisely to be able to shape the sound with their character. And from what little I have read about your IEMs they are already linear enough to allow the two DACs to express themselves at their best. Give it time and hours of music... it will repay you with interest.

Exactly agree with your sentiments. So many variables to be considered here, and yes, I do need to also keep in mind I need to break in those AMT drivers as well! It's all going to improve with time. But you nailed it, the fact that the details and textures were so noticeably better in the H7 is the whole reason I only spent a minute or two with the HM1000, before declaring it inferior & going back to the H7. It sounded like mud in comparison, which is crazy for me to think, because I absolutely loved the HM1000 laid back & smooth detail & texture. But the H7 blew it out of the water right out of the box.

I appreciate your feedback. You have given me hope . Let both the H7 & the IEMs burn in a few weeks, then make an assessment. But I also got a window into what the H7 can be when I hooked it to an external amp, and that also makes me more confident it's going to be a beast when it reaches its full potential.

 

[Polky74]

Trust me, in a week your only problem will be remembering to charge the Hifiman batteries so they don't deteriorate.

 

[Polky74]

From the photos it looks huge... sure it's a little bigger than the OG M6 but nothing you can't handle. Updated and ready for its first cry...

 

[Polky74]

Very first impressions right out of the box...
H7 + FiiO FD5 + Diana Krall (24/192)
It has a depth that seems infinite... you can even feel how much space there is behind the singer and her piano... both H7 and Diana Krall deserve applause for the sound representation...
thrilling...

 

[Polky74]

If I had to define with one word what the H7 is, I would say that the word is "class".
It's a classy amp/dac... the power, the numbers, the measurements, the graphs it leaves to others... for it there is only one thing... music.

 

[Polky74]

@Shanling, assuming that we know the high gain power which should be 1.3 watts, would it be possible to also know the low gain power and the medium gain power?
Thank you.

 

[Hisma]

Very first impressions right out of the box...
H7 + FiiO FD5 + Diana Krall (24/192)
It has a depth that seems infinite... you can even feel how much space there is behind the singer and her piano... both H7 and Diana Krall deserve applause for the sound representation...
thrilling...

what kind of cable & tips are you using just for my own understanding? I don't know what sort of sound signature the fiio FD5 has, but I obviously know what the H7 has.
I'm using a silver cable currently, but have a nice copper cable on order. If you see the review I linked above, he found the best results with the H7 using a copper cable & foam tips. I am not using foam tips because they're uncomfortable in my ear, but I did notice they do sound very good with the H7. The whole goal is to smooth out the 2Khz pinna gain.