[PenguinHeadphoner]

1) Yes, it supports DLNA and you can use Eddict player app to access local server and play it to EH3 over Wi-Fi.

2) Other DLNA apps can work with EH3, but there might be some issues with certain apps or features.

3) EH3 at this time behaves the same as EA5, some apps are unable to progress to next song. Our software team says they might check on 3rd party apps compatibility in the future.

4) EH3 has no built-in EQ.

Hi,

Just got the EH-3 and I am at home.

As I said, I would like to use it as a renderer. Any hint on how to do that ?

I connected the device to Wi-Fi network with Eddict app.
In the "Settings" it now shows "Connected to... MyNetwork".

I enabled DLNA because I assume this mandatory for the device to appear as a renderer.
But the EH-3 doesn't appear as a "Target" in third-party software.

I probably did something wrong...
Device appears on network under 192.168.1.28 IP address. But I cannot connect to it even if "Wi-Fi file transfer mode" is enabled...

Any help would be appreciated

Regards.

FRED

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

Hi,

As I wrote a little earlier, I just got the Shanling EH-3.
Here is a review of this product that I will update as experience grows...

PART 1 : Why did I get this device ? What is the use case scenario ?

For quite some time now I have tried to find THE unit that would fill my needs.
What are those needs ?

Since some time, my wife works from home and as such has claimed the living room for her needs
So I can't really listen to my Hi-Fi system anymore (OPPO BD105 as source and pre-amp => 2 X Linn AV 5125 => Front speakers Linn Keltik Acitve Quad amped / Center speaker Linn 5120 active bi-amped / Bass : Linn something that looks like an UFO / Rear : Linn Kaber active tri-amped fed byt 3 X Linn LK100).

Since I have been "forced" to listen to music from my room and as I can't disturb dear wife while she is at work I listen mainly from my headphones. Those headphones are right now the four models named hereafter : Closed Back : Sony MDR-Z1R / Dan Clark Audio Aeon Flow and Open Back : Oppo PM-1 / Dan Clark Audio Aeon X Open.

Since I also do not have access to my CD player anymore, I have jumped to "online" music. So I ripped my whole CD Collection and stored it on a 2TB SSD hard drive unit. That unit is connected to a "mini PC" that is powered by an Arch-based Linux operating system (Arco Linux distro). The mini PC is loaded with Emby server software AND Plex music server software (both can also be used as video servers but I do not use them for video). I also buy music from Qobuz and download it and add it to the server. And I also listen to Qobuz streaming directly.

So my set-up so far has a device that is used as a streamer (it is a Raspberry Pie 4 running rAudio or moOde. I added a digital card to gain Optical and Coaxial output.
The Pi4 is hooked up to an external DAC ( I have some of those : Aune X8 as a standalone DAC and other that include a headphone amp : Aune X1S, Aune S6 and Sabaj A20D 2022 Edition). The DAC can be hooked up to a headphone Amp.

With this solution, I can achieve what I want and that is : being able to control my music by computer and/or smartphone using software that fits my needs : I use Symfonium on Android because that offers everythig I am looking for in software and deve is super reactive (not always super nice but superbly reactive and takes demands into consideration). But BubbleUPnP or mConnect would also be a choice to consider.

But all this takes quite some space, the result is dependent of some parameters that I can't get my hands on and hardware still has some limitations (Aune S6 has too weak headphone amplifier to drive DCA Aeon headphones properly ; Sabaj A20d does not have real "Balanced output" or more simply, I do not like the sound, like on Sabaj A20d (purely subjective)...

So what I was looking for is : a device that includes a Music renderer over UPnP/DLNA + a good DAC section and a stellar headphone amplification part and that can be controlled flawlessly with my smartphone and, ideally, from my computer !
And of course that would not cost a kidney...
One of the devices that may have checked all the boxes is the Shanling EA5, that also includes a Power amplifier, should you want to feed some external speakers.
But that was too Shanling Eddict App dependent (and that software looks superb but lack a lot of features that are "must-haves" for my needs) and of course, headphone amp is a little limited (of course EM5 is another option).

Since I am using Parametric EQ since I understood the benefits the fact that the device would support PEQ would be a good thing... But if I am able to stream using Neutron audio player, this is not mandatory as Neutron can send files over network with the EQ applied (not sure how they manage to do it... But it seems to be working).

So when I heard of the EH-3 I thought : why not give it a try.
So contacted my local retailer and he has been kind enough to tell me : "You can get the unit and test it for 15 days. If you are satisfied, keep it (and pay for it of course). If not, return it, no questions asked and you'll get a full refund". So I thought : "Why not give it a try".

And thus I got this device today. Hooked it up and now fingers crossed : will it be THE device I have been waiting for ? Let's find out

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 2 : UNPACKING AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The EH-3 comes in a double brown cardboard box. It is really light on the inscriptions which I kind of like. The brand appears, a sticker with the content... some "certifications" symbols. That is about it. It is neat and clean. Nothing to complain about.
The packaging serves it purpose quite well. When you open the second box, the device appears to be wrapped in a thin cloth bag to protect it from scratches, something that was not the cas with the H7. You have a plastic bag with the remote control, the manual for the device and another one for the Eddict app. You have some commercials and maybe stickers... Haven't really chacked what that is as I am not interested in it
The device is "trapped" into some foam so it does not move inside the package.
All in all the package serves its purpose well : it seems the device is well protected and will not suffer in transportation.
As accessories you have the power cable and a USB cable. They're nothing to write home about... both standard cables. Nothing shiny. I did not even unpacked them as I will use my own Chord USB cable. It will probably make ZERO sound difference, but hey... I have it so I'm going to use it
There's is nothing more to expect so I'd say it is OK.

Now let's take the device out of it's cloth bag.
It feels quite heavy. It is approximately 3kg (2.8 to be precise) so it is not a light weight. Good.
It looks like it is built well enough.
There is nonetheless something that can be considered not super convenient, especially if you want to pair it with the "partner CD player".
Both have buttons or inputs on their top. So, you won't be able to stack them...
They'll have to be placed side by side

Let's plug it in and update the firmware to latest version.
Powering the device is quite nice, because you have a little display at the center.
If you ask me, I think the pictures of the device do not do that display justice.
It looks much better in real life than on the pictures.

On first power up, you are asked to choose your language.
You have a decently large choice of languages to choose from. Besides Chinese and other asian languages that I can't tell, you have english and other mainstream languages like french, italian, german or spanish. Even though I am french, I decided to stick to english. I found the french translations are... approximative. Note to Shanling : if you would like me to tell your devs how to iron those small quirks out, I am ready to try to help
The printed user manual comes in chinese and english. Fair enough for me. But having it in french would be nice for other people probably and will report to french distributor see if he can work something out... And will of course offer my help there too

Navigating through the options is quite easy. One push on the large knob and you enter the "Menu". Scroll the knob and you can navigate. When you highlight the selected item, just hit the knob again and you'll select the choice. To go back, just push the "Rewind" button on the top. Really easy, nothing to say about it...

While navigating you will be offered and option called "System Setting".
In that option, there is the "Update" option and you can do it either online or locally.
My device was connected to my home network, but it was unable to find an update I think I have a problem in my set-up (see about this later).
So I updated locally. Update took approximately 90 seconds and went smoothly through the whole process.

So I am now with Shanling EH-3 with latest FW version : 1.2. Good...

These are the first impressions. In part 3 I will tell about connecting the device to all possible sources (more or less).

(to be continued with part 3 : Connecting the device)

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 3 : CONNECTING THE DEVICE
Of course, if you get a device like the EH-3, it is because you want to use it as a "central" for several devices that you can hook up to it. And the list of options is quite nice. According to the commercails and manual you can connect :
- a device that will send sound over a coaxial cable ;
- a device that will send sound over an optical cable ;
- a device that will use the EH-3 as a USB-C DAC ;
- a device that will send sound through Bluetooth and with a lot of supported codes (LDAC HQ, LDAC Standard, LDAC Connection, aptX-HD, aptX, AAC and SBC). No apt-X adaptative. I do not need that one so I don't care. But that may be a problem to others...
- a device that will send sound through a RCA analog cable
- a device that will send sound over an I2S cable
- a device that will obviously send files over Wi-Fi

You will of course be able to output to :
- headphones ;
- analog out ;
- and it seems "USB Audio out". Not sure what the purpose of this is, but OK. It's nice to hve it.

Let's connect the device and rapidly make sure it does work :
- USB-DAC => Working no problems ;
- Bluetooth => Working no problems (in LDAC HQ)
- Optical => Working no problems
- Coaxial => Working no problems
- Analog in => Working no problems
- I2S => can't say I have no compatible device
- Wi-Fi => NOT WORKING. Well, MAYBE it works. But I have not been able to enable the function that will allow the device to be used as a media rendered over Wi-FI.
[EDIT 1] For some unknown reason, the EH-3 finally showed up in my DLNA apps and thus was showed as a renderer by my DLNA apps (MConnect, Symfonium, BubbleUPnP , HiFiCast, Neutron and, of course Eddict player...). Why it appeared remains a mystery to me as I did not changed anything in the EH-3 settings ; nothing of course in the DLNA apps... The only thing I did is to change a setting in my Wi-Fi router to set the 2.4Ghz band to "legacy channels b/g". Is it what helped ? Not sure because even after several hours after the setting was done and router rebooted, it still did not show up... But let's not let this mystery distract me from the pleasure to see it appear on the network

So I can now hapily write that it is working

(to be continued with part 4 : Using the device as a USB drive reader).

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

PART 4 : USING THE EH-3 AS A USB DRIVE READER

The EH-3 is advertised to be a fully standalone device that you can use with a USB drive.
Is this true ?

Well it is, as soon as you are ready to use the in-house "Eddict" app.

So how does it work.

1°) How does it work ?
Simple, you install the Eddict app on your phone or other device.
You open the App, go to the Menu and choose "SyncLink". The EH-3 will show up as an available device.
Then you will be able to go back to "Local music".
It can then index your music library and you can go with tags.

2°) Suggestions to improve Eddict player when it is used to browse files
There are two features missing in the Eddict software to make browsing with tags a nice option.
The first one is that you can not sort your albums other than alphabetically.
The second one is that you can not display cover art while browsing. It will only show up when you start playing an album.

Given those two limitations in the Eddict software, I prefer to browse through folders.
If you're a little organized, that is sufficient if you are like me and listen to a full album at the time and not tracks...
There is also a playlist tab, but as I don't use playlists, I will not comment on this.

3°) Good things about using the EH-3 as a standalone USB reader/player
The nice thing is, when you play a song from the USB stick, the display at the front will give info on the track.
And it will also display the cover art.
Really nice and pictures do not show that so that was a plesant surprise as I like that.

I would also like to point out that there is an option in Settings to enable gapless playback.
And if that is enabled you indeed have gapless playback, at least with the playback from USB Drive.
So that is nice. Especially if like me you listen to classical music.

Also nice is the ability to update the library (index the files on the USB stick) directly from the player.
That is nice because for some reason that I can't explain, I was not able to use that feature from Eddict player on my smartphone
Also, as Eddict requires localization services to be enabled, I could not find the EH-3 from my tablet. Probaly because it has no GPS
I could use that feature from my Shanling M8 DAP... no problems there
Once that is done, you can browse through your files by Artist/Album/Genre.
Updating the library is quite fast.
Of course the result will depend on how your files were tagged But that is a story where Shanling plays no role...

4°) Things not so nice when using the EH-3 as standalone USB reader/player
But there are 3 things that are a little irritating.
If you're listening to the device as a USB Disk reader and then switch to another input source, going back to the USB standalone reader will automatically start playing track 1 of the folder you were in when you switched the source.
Maybe there is a way to disable this "feature" but if there is, I did not find it Maybe Shanling can tell here...

Another thing is that if you browse your tracks by folder, and start to play the tracks in Folder 1, once those tracks ahave all been played, the device automatically jumps to next folder and starts playing those tracks. There might be a way to disable this function, but if it exists, I have not seen it. I would like to say that in Eddict "Play list" is enabled. No "Repeat" function whatsoever...

A third thing is, if you browse the library by folder, of course Eddict does not separate tracks by CD. So track 1 of CD2 is played after Track 1 of CD1 followed by track 2 of CD1... Expected but it is a little difficult to use Of course, Eddict CAN NOT be blamed for that... What is to blame is the difference between apps In some apps, if tracks are separated into 2 folders, they will show up as 2 albums. But if you put everything under the same folder, they are displayed as the same album but with CD1 and CD2. Others will display the same album with CD1 and CD2 even if you have it under different folders...

Finally, there is a really nice option : that is to use the Shanling EH-3 as a NAS.
In other words, here is what you can do.
You can attach a USB Stick to the EH-3 and index it.
Then in your favourite DLNA app (or Eddict) you can select a NAS and then you will see the EH-3 pop up as a server.
The idea is brilliant.
Unfortunately, do not expect to be able to use that feature other than with "Browsing by folder".
Why ?
Simple. If you want to browse by artist, select the choosen artist. And what would you expect ? To be given a list of Albums by that artist is that right ? At least that is what I would expect... And that is what you get if you use Eddict with SyncLink.
But not so with the EH-3 used as a NAS. Here you are taken to a new page with ALL TRACKS by that artist... but at least they appear sorted by album.
OK, so we will stick to "Browse by folder" there too. It is already quite nice to have that feature so let's not be too sceptic on this

Of course, the small limitations of the Eddict player and this thing about resuming playback are just details.
But we probably all know, especially in Hi-Fi, where the devil stands...
The really annoying thing is that there are some free apps that can do it.
So I assume it should be feasible in Eddict with minimal work on source code to get a really nice app..
But I am no developper, so that is only an assumption.
Maybe it is much more difficult than I imagine...
Shanling should you need beta testers, count me in

 

[Shanling]

On first power up, you are asked to choose your language.
You havea really large choice : English and what I assume to be "Chinese" and another language... No french, italian, german or anything else I am fluent enough inenglish, but I must say that the brochure that comes with it is simply illegal in France where you have toget your product with a user manual in french. Shanling : beware... I personnally do not care (even if I am a lawyer) but that may cause some legal problems

This is not correct, EH3 offers a choice of 13 languages, including French. You just need to use the wheel to scroll through them.

For Manual, these are managed by our distributors in EU, as the law changes from state to state. From which seller you got your EH3?

- Wi-Fi => NOT WORKING. Well, MAYBE it works. But I have not been able to enable the function that will allow the device to be used as a media rendered over Wi-FI.

(...) with Wi-FI DLNA/Airplay.

And so I am sure it can be enabled somehow, but I must confess that I have not the slightest clue about how it can be done.
So I am hoping for Shanling to pop up here sometime soon and explain me how to do it Or will have to try Facebook.
Hope the answer will be something reasonably optimistic.
I also asked on the Facebook page of Shanling if they can tell me how to do that...

I'm running it right now, EH3 on firmware V1.2
Make sure it's connected to network, DLNA switch on in settings and then it simply pops up in my DLNA apps (Tested Eddict Player app, BubbleUPnP, Mconnect).
That's it, no extra settings needed.
Which app you tried?

Are you able to test it with Wi-Fi file transfer or Airplay?

Also, there is no reason to be reposting your questions in random comments on Facebook, we will respond to you here (please understand we normally don't work on weekends, so when you post on Friday evening, there will be delay in our response).

There are some things I would like to say about this.
First, for some reason, indexing did not work from my SmartPhone.
Second, I am unable to connect with my tablet because I can not activate the Localization services on that device.

When you talk about indexing, you mean the Music library scan?
This is something you can initiate directly on the EH3, if you are facing any issue with the app. But if you are just using folders, you can completely ignore the library scan, it's not needed.

For the tablet issue, have you got any response from its manufacturer why their system doesn't allow such a basic system permission? Might it be to like missing GPS module or something similar?

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for your answer.
OK, I won't post in FaceBook anymore as it seems the person answering is the same here and there

About your comments.

1°) Indeed there are more languages than what I worte so I have edited my post for that part. Sorry.

2°) About the manual : as I said, not a problem to me, but this might be of concern for other people complaining about it.
But I have changed that too.

3°) And yes, indexing works, and it even works from the Settings of the device directly, so this is not a problem either.
And as you mention, browsing with folders is the most easy part (if your're like me an listen to a full album and not random tracks).
So no big deal either.

4°) Now the most important part...
WI-Fi is turned on on the EH-3.
This is edited since the problem is solved


[EDIT] It finally showed up ! Cool... Why was it not showing up ? I changed no setting in the EH-3. I changed of course no settings in my devices (smartphone, tablet, DAP). The only thing is I changed a setting in my router to set the Wi6Fi in 2.4Ghz to "legacy b/g" instead of the more "modern" one. Not sure this helped because after changing the setting I rebooted the router and the EH-3 and still, after 1 hour or so, it did not show up in my apps But let's put technical details asideand be happy it works

 

[Globares]

The features set of the NH3 is very appealing - wi-fi streaming options, line inputs and output sockets for all 4 major jack / XLR plug types are very valuable.
I want to buy DAC/AMP combo for my desk, and looking just on the parameters and features the NH3 would be a clear winner, but of course the sound quality will be the most important decision criterion. I'm looking forward to see @PenguinHeadphoner opinions about the NH3 sound. I'll be grateful if anyone could compare the NH3 sound to other devices, especially the ones on my list - i.e. Aune S9C, Hifiman EF600 and Burson Conductor 3 Performance. So far my experiences with the "Shanling sound" are limited to the UA1 and UA5 dongles - which I own and quite like - but it's really a different device category.

 

[Shanling]

[EDIT] It finally showed up ! Cool... Why was it not showing up ? I changed no setting in the EH-3. I changed of course no settings in my devices (smartphone, tablet, DAP). The only thing is I changed a setting in my router to set the Wi6Fi in 2.4Ghz to "legacy b/g" instead of the more "modern" one. Not sure this helped because after changing the setting I rebooted the router and the EH-3 and still, after 1 hour or so, it did not show up in my apps But let's put technical details asideand be happy it works

Ok, so it was issue on the setting of your router.

Can you tell me what router do you have? Will report it to software team for a check.

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

The features set of the NH3 is very appealing - wi-fi streaming options, line inputs and output sockets for all 4 major jack / XLR plug types are very valuable.
I want to buy DAC/AMP combo for my desk, and looking just on the parameters and features the NH3 would be a clear winner, but of course the sound quality will be the most important decision criterion. I'm looking forward to see @PenguinHeadphoner opinions about the NH3 sound. I'll be grateful if anyone could compare the NH3 sound to other devices, especially the ones on my list - i.e. Aune S9C, Hifiman EF600 and Burson Conductor 3 Performance. So far my experiences with the "Shanling sound" are limited to the UA1 and UA5 dongles - which I own and quite like - but it's really a different device category.

Hi,

Funny enough, I was also intesrested in the AUNE S9c.
Because I already have the Aune X1s, the Aune X8 DAC and the Aune X7s headphone amp... and the Aune S6.
And I think they sound quite decently.
But the S9C is a DAC + Headphone amp.
And those are available in thousands.
You'll have to add the S10Pro to compte with the EH-3...
Not the same price... even if still something that remains affordable especially if you split the cost.

So the S9c isn't really competition for the EH-3.
Not the same DAC Chip (the beloved AK4499 vs. the new and not so wide spread for now ESS9039Pro).

There are of course devices that do seem to compete with the EH-3.
Even in Shanling's own line-up, you can think of the EM5/EA5 line and even the EM7.
I have had the EA5.
Sounded spectacularly good.
But it was powered by Android 7.1 (which is now really old). You could not add any other software so the benefits of Android were limited. And it had a lot of bugs that made it barely usable The EM7 maybe improves things... But that comes at a price out of my league. Maybe if at some point a used or a demo unit pops up I'll consider it...

So, to me, the EH-3 is on a catagory of it's own.
It "probably" (but cannot tell for sure) has Android underlying, but as you do not see it, it is not too bad, even if the underlying system is based on Android 7.1
But the good thing is, you can get rid of Eddict for almost all of it's uses. And that is really good news.
Because to me (and many others, just read the forums here and there) Eddict is promising, but needs to get more mature to be fully usable and to compliment the magnificient devices it accompanies. Not sure what path Shanling will choose for the next development...

I'll report more on sound qualities of the EH-3, but detailed reports won't be before 3 days now, as I am litterally buried under work
All I can say for now is that my impression is that the EH-3 sounds quite good

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

Ok, so it was issue on the setting of your router.

Can you tell me what router do you have? Will report it to software team for a check.

Hi Shanling,

Well, it COULD be the router.
But as I mentioned : not sure
Because even after I changed the setting and rebooted the router, the EH-3 did not show up.
It only decided to show up after several hours...

Also, I switched back to old settings (so to Wi-Fi4 b/g/n) again, and the EH-3 is still there.
If it disappers it will be indeed the router.

It seems the EH-3 is only doing Wi-Fi with 2.4Ghz and legacy protocols b/g.
There also this puzzling "SmartConnect" option in the EH-3 settings.
Not sure what it is supposed to do... I thought It was your name for WPS pairing.
But obviously it is not. To have the EH-3 to connect to the network, I had to do it with Eddict.

I would happily give you the brand and model of my router, but it is difficult
Because I live in France and here, offers by ISP are really common and they all offer "triple play" : Internet/Phone/TV.
So they provide their own devices !
So my router is the one given by my ISP which is Bouygues Telecom.

I will report here but if you'd rather do it in PM, I'll do it in PM

 

[Shanling]

It "probably" (but cannot tell for sure) has Android underlying, but as you do not see it, it is not too bad, even if the underlying system is based on Android 7.1

There is no Android in the EH3. It runs a Linux-based system, similar to our MTouch players.

Hi Shanling,

Well, it COULD be the router.
But as I mentioned : not sure
Because even after I changed the setting and rebooted the router, the EH-3 did not show up.
It only decided to show up after several hours...

Also, I switched back to old settings (so to Wi-Fi4 b/g/n) again, and the EH-3 is still there.
If it disappers it will be indeed the router.

It seems the EH-3 is only doing Wi-Fi with 2.4Ghz and legacy protocols b/g.
There also this puzzling "SmartConnect" option in the EH-3 settings.
Not sure what it is supposed to do... I thought It was your name for WPS pairing.
But obviously it is not. To have the EH-3 to connect to the network, I had to do it with Eddict.

I would happily give you the brand and model of my router, but it is difficult
Because I live in France and here, offers by ISP are really common and they all offer "triple play" : Internet/Phone/TV.
So they provide their own devices !
So my router is the one given by my ISP which is Bouygues Telecom.

I will report here but if you'd rather do it in PM, I'll do it in PM

Ok, let us know if anything changes. You can PM us, as it makes for better troubleshooting without spamming the whole thread.

 

[PenguinHeadphoner]

There is no Android in the EH3. It runs a Linux-based system, similar to our MTouch players.

Ok, let us know if anything changes. You can PM us, as it makes for better troubleshooting without spamming the whole thread.

Hi,

Good to know there is no Android. Linux as a "kernel" then... Good

So far, it still shows up despite me reverting the setting to Wi-Fi 4. Will try to power it off and see if it re-subscribes when powered on again.
Will report in PM for those "technical" questions that are more "personal case study" than things that may interest a majority of people in this thread

 

[Globares]

Hi,

Funny enough, I was also intesrested in the AUNE S9c.
Because I already have the Aune X1s, the Aune X8 DAC and the Aune X7s headphone amp... and the Aune S6.
And I think they sound quite decently.
But the S9C is a DAC + Headphone amp.
And those are available in thousands.
You'll have to add the S10Pro to compte with the EH-3...
Not the same price... even if still something that remains affordable especially if you split the cost.

That's great you own the Aune X1s, since it's exactly the model I'm going to upgrade (X1s GT to be precise). I wonder how you'll compare the EH3 tonality to the X1s GT. I had a chance to directly compare X1S and Hifiman EF600, and while Aune was no match to EF600 regarding the resolution and soundstage, the EF600 was a bit too bright for me and I preferred the overall tuning of the X1S.
The line inputs are nice-to-have for me, not a strict requirement. Most probably I'll end up buying a separate headphone amp for my living room system anyway, when I'm tired moving the EH3 around

 

[WDitters]

PART 4 : USING THE EH-3 AS A USB DRIVE READER

The EH-3 is advertised to be a fully standalone device that you can use with a USB drive.
Is this true ?

Well it is, as soon as you are ready to use the in-house "Eddict" app.

So how does it work.

1°) How does it work ?
Simple, you install the Eddict app on your phone or other device.
You open the App, go to the Menu and choose "SyncLink". The EH-3 will show up as an available device.
Then you will be able to go back to "Local music".
It can then index your music library and you can go with tags.

2°) Suggestions to improve Eddict player when it is used to browse files
There are two features missing in the Eddict software to make browsing with tags a nice option.
The first one is that you can not sort your albums other than alphabetically.
The second one is that you can not display cover art while browsing. It will only show up when you start playing an album.

Given those two limitations in the Eddict software, I prefer to browse through folders.
If you're a little organized, that is sufficient if you are like me and listen to a full album at the time and not tracks...
There is also a playlist tab, but as I don't use playlists, I will not comment on this.

3°) Good things about using the EH-3 as a standalone USB reader/player
The nice thing is, when you play a song from the USB stick, the display at the front will give info on the track.
And it will also display the cover art.
Really nice and pictures do not show that so that was a plesant surprise as I like that.

I would also like to point out that there is an option in Settings to enable gapless playback.
And if that is enabled you indeed have gapless playback, at least with the playback from USB Drive.
So that is nice. Especially if like me you listen to classical music.

Also nice is the ability to update the library (index the files on the USB stick) directly from the player.
That is nice because for some reason that I can't explain, I was not able to use that feature from Eddict player on my smartphone
Also, as Eddict requires localization services to be enabled, I could not find the EH-3 from my tablet. Probaly because it has no GPS
I could use that feature from my Shanling M8 DAP... no problems there
Once that is done, you can browse through your files by Artist/Album/Genre.
Updating the library is quite fast.
Of course the result will depend on how your files were tagged But that is a story where Shanling plays no role...

4°) Things not so nice when using the EH-3 as standalone USB reader/player
But there are 3 things that are a little irritating.
If you're listening to the device as a USB Disk reader and then switch to another input source, going back to the USB standalone reader will automatically start playing track 1 of the folder you were in when you switched the source.
Maybe there is a way to disable this "feature" but if there is, I did not find it Maybe Shanling can tell here...

Another thing is that if you browse your tracks by folder, and start to play the tracks in Folder 1, once those tracks ahave all been played, the device automatically jumps to next folder and starts playing those tracks. There might be a way to disable this function, but if it exists, I have not seen it. I would like to say that in Eddict "Play list" is enabled. No "Repeat" function whatsoever...

A third thing is, if you browse the library by folder, of course Eddict does not separate tracks by CD. So track 1 of CD2 is played after Track 1 of CD1 followed by track 2 of CD1... Expected but it is a little difficult to use Of course, Eddict CAN NOT be blamed for that... What is to blame is the difference between apps In some apps, if tracks are separated into 2 folders, they will show up as 2 albums. But if you put everything under the same folder, they are displayed as the same album but with CD1 and CD2. Others will display the same album with CD1 and CD2 even if you have it under different folders...

Finally, there is a really nice option : that is to use the Shanling Eh-3 as a NAS.
In other words, here is what you can do.
You can attach a USB Stick to the EH-3 and index it.
Then in your favourite DLAN app (or Eddict) you can select a NAS and then you will see the EH-3 pop up as a server.
The idea is brilliant.
Unfortunately, do not expect to be able to use that feature other than with "Browsing by folder".
Why ?
Simple. If you want to browse by artist, select the choosen artist. And what would you expect ? To be given a list of Albums by that artist is that right ? At least that is what I would expect... And that is what you get if you use Eddict with SyncLink.
But not so with the EH-3 used as a NAS. Here you are taken to a new page with ALL TRACKS by that artist... but at least they appear sorted by album.
OK, so we will stick to "Browse by folder" there too. It is already quite nice to have that feature so let's not be too sceptic on this

Of course, the small limitations of the Eddict player and this thing about resuming playback are just details.
But we probably all know, especially in Hi-Fi, where the devil stands...
The really annoyiong thing is that there are some free apps that can do it.
So I assume it should be feasible in Eddict with minimal work on source code to get a really nice app..
But I am no developper, so that is only an assumption. Maybe it is much more difficult than I imagine...Shanling should you need beta testers, count me in

5°)a Sound quality in standalone USB reader/Playback - First statement : listening conditions
So I can get to those tracks and listen to them.
How do they sound ?
I'll have to listen a little more carefully to give better full impressions but I will do that later.
All I can already say is that this test will be done WITHOUT EQ.
Reason is simple : there's no way to get EQ on this if you use the USB Drive function.
So either you find a headphone that suits the musical setting of the EH-3 or... you will have to look somewhere else
But that is expected. I asked and Shanling replied that there is no EQ built-in the EH-3. Maybe in an EH-4 ? Who knows...
Anyways, listening session will be made with Sony MDR-Z1R, Oppo PM-1, Dan Clark Aeon Flow Closed and Dan Clark Aeon X Open.
So 2 open backs and 2 closed backs...

So is it sounding good ?

5°)b Sound quality in standalone USB reader/Playback - Second statement : is the output really powerful ?
Shanling announces super high power for this device.
Is that monstruous power really there ?
I have no measurement tool.
But what I can say is that I have the EH-3 set to "Low gain" and that I hardly can go over 50/100 volume with this setting.
And that is with my Dan Clark Aeon Flow Closed, which is probably one of the most unefficient headphones on the planet.
With the Sony, which is much more efficient, I let the volume level between 30 and 40 depending on the tracks listened...

So the EH-3 can drive the DCA Aeon Flow Closed (DCA AFC) with ease so I can't imagine a headphone "resisting" the EH-3.
So YES, I guess the announced power is there indeed.
And that was one of the reasons I wanted to test this device.
So there we are : ease of use and powerful playback makes this device look good so far


5°)c Sound quality in standalone USB reader/Playback - Sound qualities - Overall impressions
OK. It is powerful. But is the sound good ?
What are the tracks I will use as a test ?
I listen to all types of music except "Electro/Dance".
So I will take a mixed bag of tracks :
- Melissa Ehteridge - Kingdom of heaven - From the albulm "The Awakening" (but the whole album can be used)
- Bruce Springsteen - Mrs McGrath - From the album "Live in Dublin" (I'll also take the tracks If I should fall behind + Further up the road + Love of the common people
- Pink Floyd - well, of course The Dark Side of the Moon - Wish you Were Here - The Wall. I'll add "Delicate Sound of Thunder".
- Loreena McKENNITT - Santiago from the albums "Live in Paris" and "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" and other tracks like Caravanserai from the album "Live from Alhambra"...
- Jan GARBAREK - tracks from the albums "In Praise of Dreams" and "Twelve Moons"
- Beethoven 5th by Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh SO - About the whole symphony... Recording is simply amazing as is Honck's view on this ultra played work !
- Beethoven Piano Concertos - Yvegueny SUDBIN (piano) VANSKA (conductor) and Minnesota SO - Outstanding performance... To compare I'll also take the concertos by BARNATAN
- Other tracks taken here and there... I'll mention those in the description.

Looking forward to Part 5 : Sound