Shanling EH90 Desktop R2R DAC/AMP

The Shanling EH90 is a high-end desktop R2R DAC and headphone amplifier. After the praise for Shanling’s SCD3.3 SACD player, listeners asked for a standalone DAC with the same flagship in-house R2R sound, and the EH line, for desktop and headphone listeners, was the perfect fit. A Pro R2R DAC of 212 resistors at 0.01% tolerance feeds a new fully discrete MOSFET amplifier with up to 5.2W per channel into 32Ω balanced, and USB, I²S, AES/EBU, HDMI ARC, optical, coaxial and aptX Lossless Bluetooth inputs make it the centre of a desk or living-room system.

Flagship Pro R2R DAC

Shanling’s Pro R2R DAC uses 212 extremely accurate 0.01% resistors in a 24-bit DAC module, combining a 19-bit architecture with a 4-bit compensating code and an assistive push-pull differential circuit. Shanling’s aim is the organic, natural and highly musical sound that R2R conversion is known for, with the detail intact.

A fully discrete MOSFET amplifier

Shanling’s engineers developed a new discrete amplifier for the EH90, matched to the R2R DAC to balance transparency with the natural character of R2R sound. JFE2140DSGR JFETs manage the input stage and IRF530N and IRF9530N MOSFETs form the output stage, for high current output that stays stable across a wide range of loads and sounds beautifully natural.

Power for flagship headphones

Up to 5.2W per channel into 32Ω from the balanced outputs, or 575mW into 300Ω, drives the most demanding full-size headphones, and two gain levels keep sensitive headphones under control: the 6.35mm output gives up to 1,320mW into 32Ω. Whatever the impedance or load, the EH90 is designed to deliver stable, effortless performance.

A dual power supply

A custom 35W linear transformer powers the hi-fi section and a dedicated 10W supply the digital section, isolating the two for low noise. The sound is further refined by carefully sorted filtering capacitors totalling over 12,000µF.

Every input your system needs

• USB and I²S: PCM up to 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512. The FPGA-assisted I²S input has 10 selectable cable pinouts, for the widest transport compatibility across hi-fi brands, and it shines with Shanling’s CT90 CD transport.
• AES/EBU, coaxial, optical and HDMI ARC: up to 192kHz/32-bit. HDMI ARC fits the EH90 into a modern living room, connected directly to your TV for streaming services and video.
• Bluetooth 5.4: a receiver mode for phones and tablets, connecting as easily as a Bluetooth speaker, with LDAC, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, AAC and SBC.
• External clock: the EH90’s own crystal oscillators are precise and stable, and a 44.1kHz or 10MHz external master clock can enhance it further.

Headphone, line and preamp outputs

With 6.35mm single-ended, 4.4mm balanced and XLR balanced headphone outputs, the EH90 pairs with a wide range of headphones, and its RCA (2.5V) and XLR (5V) outputs work as line outputs or, in preamp mode, drive active speakers or power amplifiers directly.

The elegant 90 series

The EH90 follows the rest of the 90-series models and the SCD3.3, with sleek lines in rigid, durable aluminium, and a panoramic 4.8-inch colour screen shows playback information and settings. It matches the Shanling SM90 streamer, which can feed it over USB or a digital cable.

Good to know

• The EH90’s mains supply is region locked (100V or 220V versions).
• In the box: EH90, power cord, Bluetooth antenna, remote control, USB cable and user manuals. Colours: black or silver.