HiFiMAN HM-801 Portable Player / DAC Review: Part One of Two - Page 19

Yes, but it is very important to Fang to get his customer's what they want. He is quite open to suggestions and requests.

He's a true "trailblazer" and visionary. We need more members like him in the audio community.

I am surprised that Edwood is the only person that has gone to Can Jam and listened to the Hm 801 in the last four pages and wrote about his experience. I hope I can add a little bit of my experience to it.

I went to Can Jam on Saturday and the first table I went to was the Hifiman HM 801. I was very happy to be able to meet Feng and his wife. The kind of people that you want to be friend with. Extremely nice people and seem to be very caring about customers wishes but absolutely wanting to do a perfect job. I had the chance to listen to the HM801 as a stand alone player and the HM 801 as a player/Dac with a line out to the Minibox E+. Feng told me that the amp section is a temporary fix for the HM801 and it did not sound better than my ipod/mustang combo. So I did not use the HM 801 as a stand alone player to place my judgement on the player as the amp section is under development. However when I listen to the HM 801 with line out to the Minibox E+, Wow, I cannot believe my ears, it was first rate. I have to say I was totally surprised at the SQ with that combination. I was surprised to hear piano notes were crisp and clear and quite involving. I can see why Jude was raving about the Dac. I can also see why the Minibox E+ thread was raving about the minibox E+ and that it is being compared to the Lisa III. With the HM801 player/DAC/ and Minibox e+ combination, I have a feeling that it may equal the best portable combo or beat the best portable combo available. This is not even with 24/96 resolution. Just for qualification, I have owned and/or listened to SR71a, Predator, Mustang, Pico, Shadow (very close to Mustang), iqube, Minibox E+ and Lisa III in portable terms.

I have a good discussion with Feng and he told me that he is hoping to be able to get the Minibox E+ module to fit into the HM 801. If that ever happens, most of the posts above that complain about storage, size, etc will go away because they'll be busy listening to their music instead of attending to these side issues. Can you believe having a 3 in 1 digital player that have a DAC/amp component that is at least equal to if not better than the combo of PICO and Lisa III. The HM 801 is surprisingly light. I do wish that it is narrower in size but for all the great things it tries to achieve, it is a miracle. I am excited about the HM 801 prospect and anxious to see its potential to be realized someday and hopefully sooner better than later for our sake. I hope others who have listened to the unit at the show can chime in with their experience.

Thank you Ed.

Now I clearly know how good the DAC should be -- the bottom line is that it's as good as the portable Pico DAC (or do you mean the DAC of the DAC/amp combo).

I still don't know how good the amp is. I think a comparison of this with other portable amps will be favorable to the HiFiMan. If it is as good as the P51 (say), people will have a reference and can decide to buy it or not. If it is not as good as XXX amp and XXX amp is the bottom line of most headfiers involved in this thread here, then Fang have a chance to improve it.

Now I just feel that I'm half-blind because of the lack of any impressions on the amp section of the HiFiMan. To buy it is like a leap of faith.

I like this concept very much and do hope that it can be an IPod (or even IMod) killer. This can only be done if the HiFiMan can become a real product and then hopefully better products come out. Consequently we can promote the DAP for the benefits of headfiers.

Thank you so much, Jalo, for your impression. This is the first amp impression of the HiFiMan so far and I truly appreciate it!

Now I only need to wait for Nankai to announce that MiniBox amp module (or something even better) is ready for the HiFiMan .

qusp
I have an HDC flashlight which has a “HA III Military Grade Hard anodized finish” this is commonplace on high end flashlights and even exists on inexpensive items sold on Deal Extreme.

The HDC gets used far more roughly that a DAP ever would including being dropped on concrete by me and rattled against metal railings by my grandson. There is no sign of distress or wear on the finish.

If Deal Extreme items use it then it can’t be expensive.

Have you ever heard of Invisible Shield? It gives better protection that an iSkin insofar as it protects the screen also and furthermore it does not add bulk. According to the video it is also knife resistant which an iSkin isn’t.
ZAGG | invisibleSHIELD | iPhone, iPod Cases, Screen Protectors, Covers, Shields, Skins, Invisible Shield

Do you actually know what gorilla glass is?
YouTube - Corning Gorilla Glass Stress Tests

Have you seen this video of keys being scratched on an iPhone screen without leaving a trace?
YouTube - Apple iPhone: Screen Scratch Test

Have you seen this video of a carbon steel knife point on the Cowon S9 screen?
YouTube - Cowon S9 Screen Durability Test

I used the word RESISTANT in context, I have no doubt that there is a tool which is hard enough to scratch Gorilla Glass and the screens on the iPhone and S9. But we are unlikely to encounter it in everyday use and specifically in relation to DAPs.

So, as you choose to be pedantic, then it is scratch proof to all practical, every day usage intents and purposes.

Re SysConcept, I intend to try the connector mod you mention but in the meantime this is available and I shall buy one
iBasso D10. .UPDATES 1st page, with Current Opamp Choices by HiFlight . . . images page 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 71 - Page 150 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

pocket LOL; I dont think you've seen my rig; well at least my topflight rig. besides, its easy to skip tracks blind, but how about navigating to playlists etc or touchscreens LOL.

as for the hifiman; as always, i'm still very interested in the product; dont get me wrong on that. though for me the OPA627 is overrated and overpriced.b so i'd be interested in other amp modules.

I think its great that Fang is doing this; as the community has been asking for something like this for a while now. to me the best thing about this idea is the fact that it can be upgraded. if a new amp module is developed, you can buy it and slot it in; if you use IEMs and prefer less power and a lower noise floor; that can be accommodated with a different amp module too. the problem of trying to produce an all in one unit that is 'the best' of everything, is of course the fact that everyone has their own ideas of what that is.

seems you avoided the extra prototyping phase with extra productions each time. but sure, sounds interesting.


errrm yes i've heard of invisible shield. I have it on my ipod. but I still use a case

well I have an iphone, but I still use an XO case

LOL, my you are touchy arent you hehe. someone chooses to disagree with your ideas and you get all techy.

seen it, dont like it as much as their other ones. uses the thinner grade of optical cable. I use the U cable and have no problems with it getting in the way. I made that other one, mainly because the right angled version was just sitting around unused and I felt like getting a cable fix.

I meant the DAC. The amp section was not finished, and not as good as the Pico's amp section. The noise floor is higher, but nowhere near the nasty headphone out of the iRiver iHP-1xx

-Ed

Thank you Ed. Now I know how good the amp section of the prototype of the HiFiMan is as well. Hopefully Fang is going to improve it further.

Can you clarify one more thing:
is the DAC of the DAC only version of the Pico better than the DAC of the DAC/Amp combo version of the Pico?

Many thanks.

@ qusp,
I am going to send some members over to you to learn the art of "multi-quoting

Sorry, but I don't really get why this is'nt just a player w/ a high quality line out section. Does anyone expect a high end CD or SACD player to have amplification beyond a line level signal. No, that's not a high quality player's job, unnecessary circuitry as far as I'm concerned. There seems to be too much pandering to "Joe Average, but wants the Highest Quality player, but it has to be extremely small & include everything". Wait a minute , are'nt all the Ipods & other players small & have everything ? Gee!! Do ya think there might be a slight possibility these players might be better if they just gave us higher quality, fewer frills w/ the capability to connect to peripheral equipment for high quality playback? It might be wiser to try to educate "Joe thinks he knows about A/V equipment"(interchangable name, w the other Joe) as to why he's not getting the SQ he could be getting, rather than let him keep believing he can have everything & still have the best player possible at a reasonable price !

Thanks Nankai.

Anyone tried the HiFiMan with high impedance HPs, please?

i dont understand why noone can make just some software tweek for mp3 players to work as a usb line out

No, not in the slightest. A direct informed response is to be respected and appreciated.

I don’t see you are not agreeing with my ideas, more like undermining them by inference.

That is your choice. Apple might consider it not to be necessary for normal usage.