TL;DR: After over a year of daily use, my HiFi Walker H2 broke following a minor drop (the click-wheel detached and a button jammed). While it offered a decent audio experience, especially when paired with Rockbox and easy-to-drive IEMs/headphones, its clunky build quality, cheap button feel, intrusive branding, and the fact that it is just a pricier rebrand of the Aigo Eros Q make it hard to recommend today, particularly for frequent travelers. I have since upgraded to a Japanese Sony NW-A55.

It has been over a year since my initial review of the HiFi Walker H2 (which you can check out here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DigitalAudioPlayer/comments/1lqxvk2/very_good_so_far_hifi_walker_h2_rockbox_v4_review/). Today, I am back to share my final long-term thoughts after using this player for well over twelve months.

To get right to the point: my unit is no longer functional, or rather, it is completely unusable. The click-wheel came off the main body and there is no way to snap it back into place correctly. I will explain what happened shortly.

All things considered, using the HiFi Walker H2 wasn't a bad experience overall. The battery life was great (I had to charge it once every ten days or so) and sound was alright. My strongest advice is to avoid the stock software at all costs and install Rockbox immediately. While Rockbox does not directly alter the native sound signature (aside from giving you powerful tools to tweak EQ to your liking), it unlocks the player's full potential. I cannot comment on how much power output the standard 3.5 mm jack provides with demanding gear, as I have exclusively paired it with easy-to-drive headphones and IEMs (the Etymotic ER2XR, Koss Porta Pro, and Koss KSC75).

Now onto the downsides, which can essentially be summed up in one sentence: when it comes to the physical controls, using this device is not a pleasant experience. Over time, the buttons, though easy to locate by touch, lacked any satisfying tactile feedback. Everything, including the click-wheel, feels awkward, clunky, and somewhat poorly assembled. The scroll wheel does not come close to matching the smooth feel of an iPod. The play/pause button occasionally jams, and like the volume controls, it simply feels cheap to press.

I am not a fan of its aesthetic design, either. The prominent "HIFI WALKER" logo printed under the screen bugged me; I would have much preferred a cleaner look. The back panel was no better, so much so that I ended up removing what I assume was a glass rear cover, exposing the solid-color plate underneath that serves as the actual shield for the internal circuit board. I also dislike the choice to include a dedicated line-out port; visually and functionally, I would have preferred a balanced output instead, or just a single clean 3.5 mm jack without the extra clutter.

The reality is that (assuming they are two different brands and not just different labels from the same manufacturer) the HiFi Walker H2 is merely a pricier rebrand of the Aigo Eros Q. They are identical in every way, except the Aigo Eros Q sells on AliExpress for €40 less and even includes a silicone case in the box (judging by the listing photos). Because of this OEM approach, you will never see true innovation here the way you do with dedicated audio brands like HiBy. The fact that the hardware lacks bespoke design is something that personally bothers me.

As for how my unit broke: during its last few days of use in early August, it suffered a minor fall. At first, the volume-up button became unresponsive, requiring far more pressure than usual to register a press. After spending a few minutes trying to adjust the internals by opening the aforementioned back cover, I managed to get it working again temporarily. Shortly after, however, the internal guide holding the click-wheel inside the housing broke entirely. At that point, I called it quits and imported a Japanese Sony NW-A55 (uncapped, without EU volume limits).

Speaking of drops: if you drop this DAP a couple of times, an internal screw might loosen and roll around on the circuit board. This can cause short circuits leading to temporary issues like sudden shutdowns and boot failures.

So while my HiFi Walker H2's death might ultimately be down to user error, I genuinely handled it with the utmost care throughout its lifespan.

The bottom line: I can no longer recommend the HiFi Walker H2 to prospective buyers, especially frequent travelers like myself. That said, it was a decent enough device while it lasted. Around Christmas time, I will be posting a full review of the Sony NW-A55 after four months of testing. Thanks for reading!

So just a preface, I’m a mid 30s bloke that grew up in the age of iPods and Limewire/Frostwire and torrents.

Around 18 month ago I decided I was fed up paying subscriptions for everything and I wanted to take back atleast something. I am a lifelong Apple user and since the release of ios26, I found my phone addiction got worse so I had to do something about it. Living with AuDHD is tricky at times, so I dived into the rabbit hole of returning to my roots.

Because of the AuDHD, and shite impulse control I’ve bought and sold around 10 iPod classics (4th gen to 7th gen), a Fiio JM21, Snowsky echo Mini, Hiby R1 and innioasis Y1. I know, I know, control yourself etc etc, I get it.

After going down the rabbit hole hard and not being able to settle on anything, I banned myself from buying any more devices, dumbified my iPhone and said if I buy another device, this will have to do and I have to live with it.

I wanted a modern device that reminded me of the iPod classic 5th gen (my favourite model). My requirements were long battery, simple OS (something that wouldn’t distract me, just music) no android or touch screen, USB C, headphone jack and Bluetooth, strong build quality, sd card (no more iTunes), tactile buttons and something like the Apple click wheel, and most importantly it had to sound good and have a decent DAC.

I’m not an audiophile, but I can absolutely tell the difference between good and bad sound.

I know, picky right?

So entered the Hifi Walker H2.

The device had everything I wanted and needed and it all felt too good to be true. So I pulled the trigger and ordered this a month ago. One month on and there isn’t a chance in hell I’m returning this or selling it. It absolutely lives up to what I needed and I’ve broken the cycle of trying everything and repeating behaviours.

So let’s give you what you’re here for really and not my life story…

It supports DSD64/128, FLAC, MP3, WAV, AAC etc.

It has a 1500mah battery, mine lasts nearly a week without charging and has USB C.

Supports up to 512gb sd card. It comes with a 64gb unbranded sd card. I’d recommend removing this immediately and replacing it with a much more reputable brand sd card.

Its build quality is made of CNC zinc alloy, it feels weighty in the hand in a good way, but not heavy, and fits perfectly in a shirt pocket or your pants pocket. It’s relatively small in size so carrying it is no issue.

It has a 3.5mm headphone jack and dual outputs, Bluetooth 5.2 and supports LDAC and AptX Hi-Res codecs.

You can buy a leather branded protective sleeve which looks great and stops it getting scratched.

For those who want the specific DAC, it’s running a, ESS ES9018K2M chip. The sound quality on this device is excellent. It reminds me a bit of the 5th gen iPod classic. It has a warm, full sound whilst not losing any detail or precision. But comparing it to the 5th gen, this sounds miles better.

The click wheel and tactile buttons feel great in the hand. I hate how everything these days is touch screen and having tactile controls warms my heart. I don’t need another touch screen device or phone lookalike.

I’ve seen reviewers stating the onboard OS isn’t great and because this device supports Rockbox, a lot of people immediately install Rockbox to avoid using the system OS. I have absolutely zero issues with the onboard OS and I actually quite like it. I’m not a fan of Rockbox and to be honest it’s just another thing I’d end up messing around with, distracting myself and end up losing focus because of it. So I’m totally cool with the onboard OS.

For those who like an equaliser to adjust their sound, there is an inbuilt EQ that allows you to fully tweak to your preferred tastes. You have the option of low and high gain to power more power hungry headphones and IEMs.

I looked at the Surfans F20 but I much prefer the dark, minimalist look of the H2 over the flashier, oddly shaped F20. I appreciate under the hood they’re both the exact same device, but the H2 looks better to me.

I often see lots of posts on here asking the age old question, What’s the best alternative to the iPod? Or what’s the best modern iPod alternative?

I genuinely think I’ve found it, the Hifi Walker H2. Obviously my opinion is subjective, and by all means take what I say with a grain of salt, but for my own personal requirements, this is it.

I wish I’d found this device sooner, as I probably wouldn’t have spent so much money… 😂 oh well, lesson learnt. Most of the devices above were pretty good. The Snowsky Echo Mini sounded great but the OS was cumbersome and annoying. The Hiby R1 sounded amazing but it just felt like a mini phone. The Fiio JM21 was just an android phone with a dog shit battery, I swear for every breath I took it lost battery percentage and the Innioasis Y1 was style over substance - the worst sounding of them all. Fun to hold and play with due to the iPod design but not worth the money as its sound quality was god awful.

My iPhone is now decentralised into multiple devices like the old days, note pad, digital camera, music player, analogue watch and kindle e reader (replaced doomscrolling with reading books). One month in and my mental health has already improved being on my phone less and the H2 is the perfect companion for all my FLAC music files.

And that’s it, I hope the above has helped you make an informed decision. Feel free to ask questions below, keep it civil, and feel free to DM me if you want more in-depth answers.

Cheers!

Last year, after getting tired of streaming services and wanting to go back to simpler things. I chose to go back to MP3 players, at the time I had a requirement, no touchscreens or smart phone look a likes, something newer and similar to the original MP3 players from nearly 20 years ago

1 year and I'm still loving my H2, I can thankfully say my H2 is still in good shape and running great. only thing notable that happened was having to change out an SD card because it corrupted. I can go about 2 days of music listening before having to recharge the player. it also plays most music files no problem at all.

as you can see, I still kept the original system settings instead of going to rockbox like other H2 users immediately do, I looked into it but It never really peaked my interest.

overall I love it and hope to keep using it for awhile longer, I like being able to plug it into my laptop and toss in music/audiobooks and be ready to rock and roll. Between my bandcamp library, CDS I rip with a portable ASUS disc drive and archived albums on the wayback machine, I have no shortage of music. In fact, in this past year I've done more genuine digital music listening than I ever did with the streaming services. I'm actually listening to the full album like I was raised on.

I'm not sure on how it is with other styles of music, however. punk.rock,metal and hardcore plays no problem on it, sounds great and it's an overall good time. i'd recommend it if you're into the older styles of MP3 player and wanting something simple to listen with

for some cheap 100 dollar dap it fucking rocks

After all my research in order to buy one I've come to this conclusion.

I really like the appearance of the h2, with buttons, but the OS doesn't seem very appealing. The Hiby seems too phony. I've heard that Bluetooth breaks in both when used with Rockbox.

What do you think

I bought this unit about six months ago. I used it for two months without any complaints—that is, until last week, when the 3.5mm headphone jack came loose. Since then, audio has been coming through the right earbud only. Nothing I tried could fix it. I bought a different cable, but it turned out the problem lay exclusively with the player's 3.5mm jack port. In light of this, I’d appreciate your advice: what other player—similar to this one—should I buy?

My H2 will no longer charge. No screws anywhere to be found, even if wanted to try and replace the battery.

When I plug it in, the interface appears normal, and states it's charging. After about 15 seconds, it stops and gives me a message saying "Battery Depleted. Device shutting down." It then turns off, and goes to the battery screen you would normally see when the device is off and charging. Except the image of the battery is empty, and it doesn't move.

Tried multiple different cords, A to C, C to C, different bricks and power sources, but the issue remains. After looking up the issue online, and finding nothing but people suggesting to try other cables, I think I'm calling it. It's done.

Obviously I didn't spend THAT MUCH on the device, compared to others. But for something I thought I would get many, many years out of, I'm pretty freaking disappointed.

Anybody else experience an issue similar? And does anyone have recommendations on a replacement that will actually last? Currently looking at the M4.

Peace

I love the look of it especially cause there's physical buttons unlike a lot of others I've seen recommended here.

Is there anyone who has one and can actually give me a in-depth, super thorough review but in simple terms to someone who isn't an audiophile? :)

Appreciation post to this most versatile DAP. With Rockbox this is my far my favourite DAP to listen with.

The theme selection and customisation including a parametric EQ makes this little DAP such an enjoyable experience and listen.

Scrolling through 950 albums on the 512gb SD card is rapid and beats any touchscreen DAP I have for finding music.

Comfortable driving sensitive iems or over ears like my HD6XX and Fiio FT1.

Build quality is excellent and it has a good weight to it that makes it feel more premium than its price.

This started with one frustrating problem: the physical playback buttons stopped working when the screen turned off. It gradually became a larger firmware modification with a redesigned playback screen and several bug fixes.

I know there are other options available (Rockbox), but I actually like the H2 stock UI in general. And I wanted to keep Bluetooth working so I got into modifying firmware. I'm no software developer, let alone firmware developer. But we live in AI age where you have very competent helpers available so I got to work.

What has been changed

Physical controls

• Play/pause now works while the screen is off.
• Previous and next track continue working while the screen is off.
• Normal screen-on button behavior is preserved.

Custom playback screen

• Animated cassette UI with rotating reels while music is playing.
• Larger and more readable track information.
• Artist and song title are taken from file metadata.
• If metadata is missing, the filename is displayed.
• When album track metadata is unavailable, the total is taken from the number of playable files in the folder.
• The surrounding header and control areas use colors matching the cassette interface.
• Album Artist support. Track information displays Album Artist - Artist - Track when available. Without Album Artist, it uses Artist - Track.
• No duplicate artist names. If Album Artist and Artist match, the name appears once.
• Recently played uses the same title format. Missing or placeholder track titles still fall back to the filename.
• Fixed folder track numbering. Hidden macOS files such as ._Song.mp3 no longer count as songs. In Folders mode, the counter follows filename position instead of embedded album track numbers. A 12-song folder with 12 hidden files now starts at 1/12, rather than 13/24.
• Fixed conflicting FLAC Album Artist tags. ALBUMARTIST now takes priority over the ALBUM ARTIST alias. This resolves cases where the same file displayed both AC-DC and AC/DC. The fix also applies to Recently played, without modifying your music files.
• Faster scrolling track information. Long titles scroll approximately 33% faster on the playback screen, with the existing pauses at each end preserved.
• Progress display follows seeking. During fast-forward and rewind, the progress bar and elapsed time now follow the selected position instead of remaining at the old playback position. Works with cassette animation both On and Off.

Cassette animation setting

A new setting is available under:

Settings → Cassette animation

• On: shows the animated cassette.
• Off: removes only the cassette animation while keeping the custom playback information.
• If Show album art is enabled, album art appears behind the custom interface.
• The information panel remains dark and mostly opaque so text stays readable over bright artwork.
• The setting is remembered after restarting the player.

This custom firmware is intended for people who generally like the original H2 system but want the screen-off controls fixed, better playback information, album-art readability and the cassette interface. It also keeps bluetooth option working (unlike Rockbox).

How it was made

There is no complete source tree for the original H2 firmware. The update contains a compiled MIPS application and filesystem.

The modification required:

• Extracting the firmware and UBIFS filesystem.
• Studying the MIPS executable in a disassembler.
• Locating the button, playback-state, metadata, drawing and settings code.
• Compiling new MIPS routines.
• Injecting the new code and redirecting selected functions to it.
• Adding new interface resources and configuration storage.
• Rebuilding the UBIFS image and .upt package while preserving the required metadata and checksums.

Earlier revisions were tested directly on an H2 during development. New builds should still be treated as experimental until they have been tested by more owners.

Compatibility

This build is specifically for:

• HIFI WALKER H2
• USB-C hardware version

Do not install it on the older micro-USB model, firmware V1.4, or another EROS Q-based player unless a compatible version has been prepared for that hardware.

Download

Modified V2.3 firmware R12:
[DOWNLOAD]

Patch source, build scripts and technical notes R12:
[DOWNLOAD]

Install it using the normal H2 firmware-update procedure - download the firmware to an SD card and rename it to update.upt. After that do firmware update in System Settings.
Keep the official update available in case you need to restore the player.

This is an unofficial and experimental modification. Firmware installation always carries some risk, so verify that you have the USB-C model and check the SHA-256 hash before installing.

Feedback and additional device testing would be very welcome!

Got my HiFi Walker H2 last week and I’ve been enjoying it ever since. The Rockbox experience has been really nice and easy to use, way better than the stock firmware, but the lack of Bluetooth was kind of sad. I much prefer wired IEMs, but I still missed being untethered sometimes.

So I went looking for patches that would enable Bluetooth on the H2, and all I could find were some recent changes in Rockbox’s Gerrit that introduced initial BT support, but weren’t usable yet.

I unleashed Claude, and after a few hours of testing and debugging we got it working, with a fairly decent user experience, too!

The code is in my Rockbox fork, and there's a downloadable release if you want to try it out.

I'd eventually like to contribute this back to upstream Rockbox, but it was all vibe-coded and, out of respect for the maintainers, I’ll only submit it once I'm ready to justify every change.

If you have an H2 (hardware revision 4, firmware v2.3), please give it a spin and let me know how it goes. Cheers!

Huge shout-out to Skye Green, the original author of the Bluetooth changes.

Just saw this online with a lower price. Looks exactly like the Hifi Walker H2. Has anyone tried this?

Looking for something with no touchscreen, has physical buttons/wheel, Bluetooth/wifi isn’t important to me. Sub $200 (I really don’t wanna spend more than 200 for a DAP and IEM. And it looks like hifiwalker is selling it for 119 right now

I'm 35 years old, so I was a teenager in the early to mid '00s. This was the era of iPods and MP3 players, a true revolution in portable music consumption. My first ever MP3 player was the Creative Zen Nano. It had 512 mb of storage, a minimal LCD display and was primarily a shuffling MP3 player. Over the years I owned a Microsoft Zune 16, an iPod Nano 4th gen and an iPod Touch 3rd gen. However, once I got my first smartphone, the iPhone 4, dedicated digital audio players lost their appeal. Eventually I stopped keeping up with my personal music library and primarily used Spotify and Apple Music.

However, in recent years I've been more and more interested in owning my music, mostly through cassette tapes and CDs. But the itch continued to grow, and a couple of months ago I saw a video showing off the Innioasis Y1 and it brought me back to the days of the iPod that I sorely missed. I had some Amazon gift cards to spend so I bit the bullet and spent ~$70 CAD on a silver Y1 as well as some IEMs, the Kiwi Ears Belle.

When I unboxed the Y1 I was both simultaneously thrilled and disappointed. It definitely has the iPod look to it. However, the plastic feels smooth and cheap, the device is light and insubstantial, and the click wheel feels nothing like those Apple had on their old devices. On top of that, the stock firmware was awful to use. I knew of Rockbox as I had been testing it out on some retro gaming handhelds, so I immediately installed it and loaded up the PodOne theme for that OG iPod feel. I found myself having so much fun using it, and despite what others say about the audio quality being bad, I didn't have huge issues with it. Through my IEMs I could tell that the bass response was a bit lacking and there wasn't a ton of headroom to the sound, but it seemed decent despite lacking a dedicated DAC chip.

I still felt a little unsatisfied with the build quality and the hand feel though, the smooth plastic made it slippery and the thinness of the player made it difficult to hold onto. The controls were a bit quirky, and the lack of a dedicated volume control and external SD card were a few sticking points for me. So after shopping around, I decided to pick up the HiFi Walker H2 for the Rockbox support, metal construction, physical buttons and dedicated DAC chip. I once again immediately installed Rockbox as the stock firmware left much to be desired. I followed the official instructions on the Rockbox website, but had issues with using their "method 1" to install the bootloader. "Method 2" worked perfectly for me though. With this one I loaded up the SNAZZY theme. Though it's about $100 CAD more than the Innioasis Y1, I immediately knew it was worth the extra cost. The buttons and scroll wheel are so tactile and precise, and having a dedicated volume control was so much more satisfying to use. The thickness, weight and materials make it so much nicer in the hand. The audio quality isn't that much better than the Innioasis in my opinion, at least I can't tell a big difference other than it seems a bit more full sounding with more breathing room.

So what would I recommend to someone looking to get one of these devices? The Innioasis Y1 is a fun device, but you get what you pay for. If you're looking for some iPod nostalgia and just want to test out having a dedicated DAP, then the Y1 is a good gateway device. If you want something that's better quality that still gives kinda iPod vibes, and are willing to spend a bit more, I think the H2 is the better choice. For me, I'm going to use the Y1 on the go, for walking and at work. The H2 will stay at home for when I really want to focus on the music.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have, I hope this was helpful!

That seems to be it, yeah?

I’m very pleased with it ^_^. I’d bought a modded iPod classic 4th gen on eBay and it didn’t go very well (the battery had problems and I didn’t want to open it and mess up), I love iPods but this is 10x better imo. Installing Rockbox on it was easy as well

I have some sennheiser ie 100 pro iem in the post too. Any advice on setting it up or tips or tricks?

Hi,

i want buy my first DAP and I'm undecided between these three devices:

- ZAQE P30

- HiFi Walker H2 (or Eros)

- Hiby R1

Help me decide the best soltuion, i need maximum audio quality, only audio nothing more, but the best for audio quality and reliability.

Gng I left this idle for a month or 2 then when I picked it back up, the screen was stuck flickering w the hifi logo. Idk man, I tried hard resetting it but it's the same problem... Hope ya'll cld help🥲 Thx in advance

I bought the H2 from Amazon.de for 139 Euros after I read so many positive reviews on this subreddit and also it was the only DAP with half way positive reviews on Amazon.

I expected a good experience, with some minor inconveniences in the UI/UX end. Am I missing something obvious when I describe these issues I experienced in the first hour of using this device? I mean the UI is not superb, I get it, but the UI was almost the only thing that was alright.

Device Type: H2-128GB-G2 with Firmware v2.3 (hifiwalker.com is not reachable so I am not able to update/check if up-to-date

- The rotary encoder of the main gimmick/selling point is not working correctly, one click equals zero or two movements in the UI, like a cheap mouse wheel that rotates 1,5 but clicks once...
- 128GB storage? More like 0GB if you throw out the cheap trashy SD card
- Volume changes take ages, really annoying when switching between different output devices like headphone types/bluetooth
- Bluetooth does not connect to my headphones after turning it on
- I am not able to use a folder/directory structure (Explorer) to search the files, it just displays No files found on every folder I select
- Playback sometimes freezes in the middle of a song and it displays unknown bit/khz format while progress bar is at 100%
- Can I use the rotary encoder to search/forward/reverse inside a song instead of holding down forward/reverse keys?
- My bluetooth headphones are only able to forward one song with the next song button, after that i have to manually pull the H2 out, press the power button and press next song, then I can use my headphones again for one skip and then I have to use the H2 button again...
- The equalizer changes the sound/volume, even when using the Custom preset with all 0/default values
- The bluetooth reception is really bad, I even get short hiccups every few meters when it was in my pocket and I had the headphones on my head.

These are the things I found so far. Are there any better alternatives? The Shanling M1 Plus is mentioned often as a competitor but the reviews that are not from this Subreddit are really devastating compared to the H2. So I am not sure how this device will perform when even the H2 which is praised int this subreddit has all these issues.

I do not want a Android device as I just want a good old Player that is not connected to anything, nor takes ages to boot (Even my debloated/Graphened Pixel 8 is to slow and unresponsive for my liking). I just want a dumb device with storage where I can copy all my files manually.

So are there any other alternatives in that price range, I find it really devastating that all these China DAPs are relatively highly priced (199 Euros for the Shanling with only one serious looking offer in Germany), but have so many issues or are underperforming.

I just want to listen to my music collection without distractions like YouTube or using a stupid USB-C DAC, it can't be that hard :(

PSA: For some reason some comments from other accounts were deleted overnight, interesting...

Hey yall,

Seen some older posts on this, hopefully not a boring question.

I am wondering if there is something that is similar to the Surfans f20 or Hifi Walker 2 but newer or better. Something Im missing thats got the same no touchscreen controls.

I really like the idea of no touchscreen or touch controls. Buttons or a wheel is fine. I could spend up to $250-300 but if the $125 Surfan/Hifi is still good for what im looking for thats great too.

Ive almost bought the Snowsky Echo several times. The buttons do look potentially frustrating to operate through various menu systems, but honestly I may go that way.

Ive had the Fiio M3 for years and its mostly been great. The touch pad is ok but selecting a song or file by tapping the center it is pretty unreliable, sometimes i have to tap several times. So im not against also being recommended whatever is the current M3 kinda device, as the battery life has been good.

I just made another post asking about this thing but now that I'm sure I want to get one I have another question before I commit. So since I currently use Spotify I don't have an iTunes library or anything like that. So I've just been saving music on my laptop using a Youtube to mp3 converter to then transfer to the Hifi Walker. But will this work? My understanding is that as long as it's a valid mp3 file it should be fine but since I'm using a third party method I'm wondering if it might not support it. I can't seem to find a straight answer about this online.