UI & Usage
Everyday carry
Shorter and lighter, the Shanling H2 is a lot easier to carry on a daily basis than its sibling, but its width doesn’t make it really practical either. There are worse options of course, and compared to the FiiO Q15 or even the H5, its smaller footprint and reduced weight made a big difference in the long run, especially once paired with my iPhone. It’s kind of an iFi Hip-DAC, with more girth.
And, this time, the combo just fitted in my trousers’ pocket – slightly hindering my move, but not to an extent that I’ll say “uncomfortable” – creating a considerable bulge, but that was expected. Once more, if you want to be completely free of the hassle, get something like the ddHiFi’s C2022 audiophile carrying case – that’s what I did at the end.
Once settled though, there was almost only love for this new DAC/AMP. The digital volume control was perfectly sized, with perfectly matched digital volume steps and, finding the right volume was always simple and easy. I know that ALPS potentiometers can sometimes be overlooked, but even to this day, they still remain king in their domain, in my opinion. The grip is amazing too and this, with the original M15, is one of my favorite device to handle on the go.
Top that with a really cool screen that indicates volume, gain level, and balance, plus a second knob to access all those settings, and you might be surprised by how handy the H2 feels. Menus are fast and simple to navigate into, and if a wired connection isn’t to your taste, Bluetooth is there to save your day.
Desktop mode
As it is, the Shanling H2 remains a portable DAC/AMP at core. But, like the H5, it also comes with some nice desktop features albeit not as extended as its siblings – for good reasons.
First, let’s begin with the loss. If the H5 and H7 came with a mini-toslink input (doubling as a coaxial one) the new H2 only supports USB input if you go wired. Thankfully, an USB-C port remains the almighty solution today, thanks to its versatility and the ability to be used with almost any digital source.
Another loss here is the the RCA line-out, a feature that I found really useful if you wanted to use the H2 as a true desktop/DAC. On the H5, that allowed me to connect my speakers on one side, and my headphones on the other, without the hassle of getting another adapter or plug/unplug all my devices every time.
Thankfully, the 3.5mm output can still be used as a line-out, but I really liked the versatility. Even though, no other device offer this kind of option in this price range too, so I can’t blame Shanling for the missing option!
Plugged into my computer, all I had to do was select USB on the H2 and it was immediately recognized by my MacBook, or even my PS4/Xbox after switching back to the legacy UAC1 USB Mode. Next, all I had to do was plug a headphone/IEM into one of the TRS/TRRS jack, “et voila”.
Battery Life and Charging
Shorter and lighter, the new Shanling H2 obviously comes with a smaller battery. You still get high-capacity batteries, but the new DAC only tops up at 2100mAh of capacity.
To my surprise, once more Shanling didn’t get USB-PD compliance for its H5 and stuck to Qualcomm QC3.0 Fast-Charge, which – thankfully – remains faster than your usual 10W charge. That said, the DAC/AMP will still need up to 2.5h to completely charge!
Meanwhile, Shanling advertises 12.5 hours of continuous playback in single-ended mode and 10.5h in balanced – conservative numbers that I successfully reached during my test.
The article continues on Page Three, after the click here
Page 1: About Shanling
Page 3: Specifications
Page 4: Sound performances
