HIFI Walker H20 PRO DAP Lossless Music Player Review – Professional Sound Quality
HiFi walker H20 PRO is a $199 USD DAP, Digital audio Player, with Two-Way Bluetooth, Wifi support, and a capable microSD slot supporting up to 512GB microSD cards. Today we will take a deep dive in the music world created by H20 PRO and explore how it sounds like, as well as what other features it has.
Introduction
HiFi Walker is one of the most popular brands for entry-level DAPs, and they are among the best selling brands on Amaozn as well as other websites. The trick is that they offer an excellent sound for a low price, along with reliable build quality. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge Thanks to HIFI Walker for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Deep Bass, Transparent Treble, Warm and Musical Midrange, and an enjoyable overall tuning / signature. Excellent build quality and a superb, bright, colorful display that shows good contrast and has full cover art support, and USB DAC with zero delay. It can work as a Bluetooth DAC, or transmit music to a pair of bluetooth earphones. Really good all-rounder.
Cons – There is no case for it right now and no internal memory.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3AlhPVD
Build Quality/Aesthetics
HIFI Walker designed a new DAP, and the H20PRO is a High Resolution Player, with support for much more than the original popular H2 series. We now have support for LDAC, aptX, DSD and the whole DAP is created around a Dual ESS ES9219 DAC. This DAC is not as popular as all the others we’ve seen in our most recent reviews, but variations of it have been seen in other entry-level DAC/AMPs and DACs. To make your modern listening experience more seamless, H20 PRO supports Bi-driectional Bluetooth with 5.1 suppor, and the maximum data rate supported is 32 Bit / 192 kHz for PCM and DSD256 for DSD files.
To navigate the H20 PRO, you will have to use the 3.2″ Touch Screen, and the tiny DAP offers a driving power of 380mW per channel for a 32 OHM impedance from its 4.4mm output, and 112mW per channel for a 32 OHM impedance from the 3.5mm single ended output. The software for H20 PRO is provided by Hiby, which supports Dual band Wifi, and Hiby Music compatibility, including Internet Radio support, and Wifi Music Transfer, and even Hiby Link functionality.
We have excellent technical numbers, including a Dynamic Range of higher than 115 dB, and a SNR or Signal To Noise Ratio of 118 dB. The THD is very low, at 0.005%, and the DAP casing is made of Aerospace Grade Aluminium. There is not a lot more data available on the official website, but H20 PRO comes with a microSD card, in our case with a 64 GB card, and it can support micoSD cards up to 512GB, but you can purchase it with a card of 128 GB capacity. I can confirm that it works very well with our 256 GB microSD card, and that in general, it is a functional DAP.
Software / Subjective Usage
One of the best features that a music player can have is a USB DAC functionality, and I can confirm that H20 PRO supports USB DAC functions, with no noticeable USB DAC delay, being perfect for real time playback and watching movies, playing games. Judging from the Amazon page and store page of H20 PRO, most people who purchase it do not return it and it is a well received and popular little DAP. It is interesting that H20PRO got both the cover art support and speed of the DAP so good, compared even with Android DAPs.
To complement the already excellent deal, HIFI Walker includes a small, but efficient battery, and with 1500mAh, H20PRO gets up to 10 hours of battery life. It is possible to set an arbitrary shut down time, to set a shutdown idle time, so when the DAP turns off after it has been idling for a while, and to configure after how long the screen turns off. We have OTG support, if you want to use an external file source.
We get an extreme brightness for the display, and it looks very clean and crisp, with strong colors and contrast. As H20 PRO has a small display, I do appreciate that you can set the font sizing to a really big one, but at the same time the e-Book reader function won’t be very helpful on such a tiny display. The MSEB function, an advanced EQ engine produced by Hiby is excellent though, and I really appreciate being able to fine tune headphones. There is also a classical EQ with multiple profiles, if you find MSEB to be too complicated.
The operation and speed of H20 PRO is incredibly quick, it can scan the entire database, and allows you to browse the library instantly, being quite efficient. H20PRO also has full support for high resolution and high contrast cover art, and I find this very pleasing, but you cannot install any apps on it, including Tidal, only the default apps configured by Hiby. Some folks mention this, and I got the question a couple of times, but as with most DAPs, it is not possible to make a playlist on the go. I would suggest instead organizing your music in folders, and using folder browsing, as it is much quicker and easier to handle this from a PC computer.
Sound Quality
Pairings and Match-up – To test the H20 PRO, I have paired it with a collection of IEMs, including Soundz Avant, Soundz Flame, FiiO FD15, BQEYZ Winter, Tin HiFi P1 MAX II, Campfire Bonneville, SIMGOT EM10, NF Acous RA15, HarmonicDyne Devil, EPZ x Tipsy Star One, Hiby x FAduio Project Ace. I also have tested H20 PRO with a collection of headphones, including MIRPH-1 and Audeze MM-100, both showing an excellent sound quality, resolution and control, with a very good maximum loudness and no audible THD regarldess of the volume I am listneing at. Given the driving power, HIFI Walker H20PRO is best used with either easy to drive over-the-ear headphones or In-Ear Monitors and portable earphones.
Overall Signature – Although this is not self-evident, HIFI Walker always has a beautiful sound, and H20 PRO is no exception, having a really warm and pleasing sound with a full bass, deep and fuzzy voicing, and a wide soundstage with a strong instrument separation. There is no background noise or hissing when using it to drive IEMs, and the overall tuning works well even for easier to drive headphones, especially if using the balanced headphone output.
Bass – Bass is warm, full, rounded and pleasing. There’s a magical warmth that reminds me of analogue devices, like tape players and vinyl players in terms of sound. Hearing the H 20 Pro brings back memories of why H2 was so popular and how it got to be one of the most beloved DAPs of its time.
Midrange – With a sweet and clean midrange, a deep voicing, H20PRO sounds really enjoyable, having a bit of extra warmth and fuzz over the midrange. This is all presented in an open, and well separated space, creating the feeling of resolution and clarity really well. H20 PRO is a full upgrade over the original H2 and H2 Touch, being comparable to good midrange DAPs like Hiby R4, and being quite a bit more defined and cleaner sounding than Hiby Digital M300.
Treble – A big part of the reason people like using a portable music player compared to a smartphone or a dongle is the more transparent tuning, and H20 PRO sounds really transparent, offering the sparkle, air and sharpness necessary to keep EDM and Pop music interesting and detailed, but also being able to chill with Cabaret and Jazz, or bands like Underground Fire, where it can sound really smooth and relaxed. It basically allows each song to have its own sound profile, especially tuning profile.
Dynamics – We hear a really dynamic, colorful and punchy sound with H20 PRO. The presentation is great with both modern and dynamically compressed music but also with old music that has a high dynamic range.
PRaT / Textures – Texture expression is very clear, and H20 PRO offers a sharp and edgy texture that reveals a rich sound for synths, and a good revealing ability. Even micro details are sharp and revealed nicely, while H20 PRO is one of the sweetest sounding DAPs out there.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – You can enjoy the H20 PRO starting with the lowest volume, and up to the maximum volume and still have a lot of fun. It is a DAP that handles volume really well, and at about 50 / 100, Campfire Bonneville is driven well, but shows no background noise or sign of increase in THD.
Soundstage – The huge and airy staging of H20 PRO makes it one of the most fun options to purchase if you’re a music lover, it expands the soundstage really well in both the lateral and depth planes, offering a big image of your music. Compared to it, most DAPs in the entry-level price range and mini size shape will sound intimate and somewhat narrow, while H20 PRO sounds expansive and wide.
Value and Conclusion
For the price of 199 USD, H20 PRO offers an excellent build quality, a bright and sharp display, and excellent sound quality, being one of the best price / performance ratio DAPs in the entry-level range.
Although an unexpected favorite, H20 PRO sounds really good, and continues the tradition set by H2 originally, of offering excellent performance and a high price / performance ratio, plus an excellent sound that is wide, warm, with a full bass, and a long battery life, everything rounding up to an excellent little music player you can enjoy for life.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3AlhPVD
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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