There was a popular saying in the photography equipment circle in the early years: A camera that is willing to be taken out to take pictures is a good camera. In fact, this sentence is the same when it comes to portable audio equipment. This is why I have never been a fan of "bundling", that is, adding a separate decoding/amplification device in addition to the playback device. The Shanling h7 and h5 reviewed before are portable decoder amps with excellent sound in the same price range, but their size and weight are fine for home use. I personally would not be willing to carry them out in my pocket (like in my pocket). It can’t be carried in the bag either, let’s talk about the backpack separately). Therefore, manufacturers need to consider other issues as to how to make the equipment small enough without reducing the sound due to volume reduction.
On the other hand, in addition to true wireless and small tail, the most common way to listen to music on mobile phones is Bluetooth decoding headphone amplifiers. Many brands have successful Bluetooth headphone amplifier products. So, are there any devices that have better sound than conventional small tails and can get rid of the limitations of wires and use Bluetooth to connect to mobile phones when needed? Shanling h2 is designed with this goal in mind - of course, h2, a device that can both act as a "big tail" with wires and can connect wirelessly via Bluetooth, is not Shanling's first, but it sells for 1,000 yuan and can be brought with you. The tf card plays it locally, and it seems that other companies really can’t find a second channel. This is the reason why this article will talk about h2.
First of all, the h2 product form itself is not new. Bluetooth and local playback functions are available in its elder brothers h7 and h5. The main purpose of h2 is to further streamline the functions and streamline all the things that are not needed by the Walkman Music Party. In the end, it mainly retains It has the three core functions of USB-DAC, Bluetooth decoding headphone amplifier and card local playback. Of course, the size is very successful in "weight loss" compared to the h5. The width of the body is almost the same as a 6.1-inch mobile phone, and the length is still the same. It's much shorter, so it can really be put into a pocket along with a mobile phone and go out on the street. It also makes people like me who "refuse to tie up" happy to take it out.
packaging is still the Shanling family style, so I won’t describe it in detail. The body design of h2 is not the "secondary reduced version" of h7 and h5 this time, but a new design language. The fuselage is all metal, and the whole is a regular flat cylinder. The top does not use an irregular sloped screen and protruding double-sided scroll wheels like the h7 and h5. Instead, the scroll wheels are hidden in the cylinders on both sides of the fuselage. In the curved surface; between the two scroll wheels is the 0.99-inch screen of the h2. Although it is small, it is still colorful... The overall body width is very well controlled, just about the same as my iPhone 12pro, which means that the h2 is placed It feels comfortable to hold the phone on the back, which is nice.
Although I always require the headphone jack to be at the top of the player, which is more in line with my usage habits; but as a portable headphone amp, h2 is a very wise decision to set the headphone jack at the bottom of the fuselage together with the charging and data ports. When connecting to a mobile phone, there will be no situation where the h2 "has cables at both ends" and I don't know where to put it. In addition to the headphone port, there is also a TF card slot and independent charging port and data port at the bottom, which is very simple. The control logic of
h2 is simple and easy to understand. The left scroll wheel is used for menu selection, and the right scroll wheel is for volume control. You can quickly get started by reading the instructions. The scroll wheel feels good, and the damping and step feel are excellent; the two buttons have a hard feel. The advantage is that the operation feedback is very clear, and it is not easy to accidentally touch or "don't know whether to press or not" embarrassment.
h2 has three sound output modes: Bluetooth, USB, and TF card local playback. Let’s talk about each of them below. Generally speaking, the sound played locally is relatively close to the sound of a mobile phone connected via USB wire, while there are some differences in the sound of Bluetooth. The headphones used are Shanling mg800, mg100, and Olaer's AR5000 large headphones as a reference.
Let’s talk about Bluetooth mode first. Using ldac to connect to an Android phone or player, the sound is thick and full, the style is warmer, and the amount of information is relatively sufficient thanks to the high bit rate.The energy distribution of the three frequency bands is in the middle and lower plate, focusing on a pop charm and the roundness of mid-frequency vocals, and the graininess is not very strong; the low frequency has sufficient volume but the level is a bit tight, but the depth and elasticity are good; the high frequency is slightly dark. , smoothness and burr control are both OK. In general, the feeling of h2 in Bluetooth mode emphasizes a loose, natural and gentle listening experience. The impact of the sound is not strong. "Soft and moist" is the main theme. The listening comfort is very high. It is suitable for walking or taking transportation. Since there are no wires between the mobile phone and h2, it is more convenient to use. The sound quality of
usb wired mode and TF card local playback are relatively consistent, so we will not discuss them separately here. It should be said that h2 in these (two) modes is the "full firepower" mode, or it shows its true strength. By the way, h2 uses the cs43198 decoding chip and xu208 usb chip, coupled with dual sgm8262-2 op amps, the output power is 180mw single-ended (@32Ω), balanced 680mw (@32Ω), among the playback equipment around a thousand yuan Not a bad result. More importantly, in wired mode, the "warm" smell of h2 has been reduced, and the overall sound has become more balanced and brighter. In Bluetooth mode, the somewhat dark high frequencies also suddenly become more energetic. On this basis, the density of the mid-range has increased significantly, the texture and graininess of vocals and musical instruments have also improved further, and the "toxicity" has improved a lot. Moreover, this neutral and slightly warm tone can not only take care of the need for restoration. It goes too far in terms of sound coloration, and at the same time, it appropriately embellishes the mid-range of h2 in terms of emotion, so that it is not too straightforward and bland, and reaches a just right balance.
In addition, the sound field and dynamic performance of h2 are also good. The sound field is not very large horizontally, but the aspect ratio is very healthy, especially the vertical depth is very powerful, which can fully reveal the layering of live recordings. The dynamics left a good impression on me. It can well present the loudness gap and the corresponding atmosphere in large classical arrangements. The transient performance is relatively neutral, neither sloppy nor too fast, and feels quite satisfactory.
Generally speaking, the sound style of h2 is a good choice for pop fans and omnivores. In terms of thrust, as long as you don’t use headphones that are too difficult to get, there will be no problem; pop vocals should be the main battlefield of h2, and most other types of performance are good. Yes, there are no shortcomings except that the large-scale classical horizontal sound field is a bit insufficient. Of course, considering the price of around 1,000, this point can almost be ignored. truth.
Finally, let’s talk about the local playback operation of h2. It mainly uses the eddict player mobile app adapted by Shanling to remotely operate h2. It is more in line with the usage habits of contemporary young people and eliminates the original method of wheel selection + press confirmation. negative experience. Personally, I think this "icing on the cake" function is quite good. The key is that compared with Bluetooth mode, it can exert better sound capabilities.
To summarize, the target group and usage scenarios of h2 are very clear. It is all about the three core functions and their sound quality services, achieving optimal sound performance in Bluetooth, wired, and local playback modes, while also having a compact size and Higher cost performance. At its price point, h2 has the capital to hold its head high when faced with entry-level players and mid-range players. It can be regarded as a good "differentiation" made by Shanling in this price range - this article of mine Before I finished writing, some enthusiasts posted orders in the group, which also shows that h2 has met the needs and pain points of some enthusiasts.
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