Updated: HifiMAN HM-801 Portable Music Player Preorder - Page 9

Thanks for the larger pics.

Is the finish for the front and rear aluminum plates painted or polished anodized?

Looks great.

-Ed

X2

Nankai -did you already discuss the operating system the unit will run? What will be handling the decoding of the various formats - a hardware solution or software?

The new images are very intriguing - nicely done.l

Fang, the unit looks gorgeous. If it sounds half as good as it looks it will be an outstanding player. Best of luck.

x3 on a good looking player.

Fang, do you happen to know when jude is posting the second half of his review? He said he would post it in a day or so, and it's been almost two weeks.

more than 2X. I'm eagerly waiting for it as well.

Ah, what the heck! This has to be the current Holy Grail of portable HiFi! I pre-ordered one, ignoring my wallet's sobbing and whining =)

Holy crap, how did i miss this? The specs are quite epic. I'll definitely have to consider one when I'm travelling a lot again.

Those gold buttons appear unique (to me), and not like the iPod control wheel. I'm curious as to how those work, and their usability.

Also interesting that they're in an "X" configuration instead of the usual "+" layout.

Hey! this is a family site...

Oh, interesting. I've never noticed it. I guess I'm too concern of its sonic ability

Hi, Fang. It was great great finally meeting you in person.

Now back to the HiFiMan HM-801. I was surprised at how lightweight it was in person. I was expecting a pretty heavy brick, given the sheer amount of goodies crammed inside.
There was unfortunate shipping mishap that caused damage to both prototypes, but fortunately, different parts were broken in each one, so overall, there was two halfway functional HifiMan HM-801's.
I got to hear one with it's USB input as a DAC hooked up to my portable computer using Foobar.
I also used the built in player with FLAC files loaded up on an SDHC card. And, yes you can browse folders.
The overall UI will be familiar feeling to anyone used to Rockbox. Overall, the sound quality was not a let down.
I'll reserve final judgement until I get a chance to hear the final product, but it's off to a fantastic start.
It's up to quality of my Pico DAC I had there to compare to, if not even better in some regards.

The HM-801's hardware will be done towards the end of June, with the software possibly being finished then, or a bit later.
One thing Fang and I talked about was the possibility of having other Amp builders making their version for the modular Amp bay.
Imagine having a HeadAmp, Ray Samuels Audio, or other Amp built into the HiFiMan HM-801?
Now that would be THE ONE portable I would carry. Period!

You hear that Ray? Justin? Everyone?

-Ed