HiFiMAN HM-801 Portable Player / DAC Review: Part One of Two - Page 29

thats the same search result i got ~ doesnt seem like UK chip is too much better than U chip ~

its does mean that it might be in short supply or vintage chip may be like the Tube as Fangs make it sound like its rare staff ?

could be the range is higher or the max output/input is higher etc but by how much higher i dont know ~

Thank you for the info. Your links were the other way around. I corrected it in my quote.
I had found the .it link and was about to post it, but your were faster Anyway the .org link is very informative, will have to read it.

Here is what we got in the .it link :

typical dynamic range : 112 dB for UK , 110 dB for U
typical THD+N distorsion @ 0 dB : 0.0008 % for UK, 0.0025 % for U
typical THD+N distorsion @ -20 dB : 0.0060 % for UK, 0.0080 % for U

There we are...

Thanks for the kind words. I hope that both of us can get the UK version.

ES3X is a worthwhile upgrade for the TF10. JH13Pro should be as well.

I'm the same kind of persons. 3000 can definitely give you a audio bliss if spending it in a clever manner. Surely you are going that direction as well.


Don't know this device. How about you doing a review on this vs the HiFiMan?

" Don't know this device. How about you doing a review on this vs the HiFiMan? "

i cant i m not knowledge enough ~ not at all do you mean X51v or Zune HD ?? x51V is the Dell Axim PDA ~ i m sure you know Zune HD, and sorry i mislead you, they both are no where close to HiFiMan at all they are consumer level of MP3 player ~ but on the entertainment side and the convenient level its awesome ! as i m watching movies on my PDA every night now before bed or read books just like kindles

Anyone who has listened to the 801 at RMAF care to chime in with some impressions?

read the thread reply post #22 & #29.

nnn waiting for second batch to be shipped

i contacted Fang, and he replied:
"
second batch will be shipped late Oct or early Nov.
Please let me know after your payment finished. Btw, thank a lot for
your help to translate Jude's review.

Best,
Fang
"

can't wait ('w')

I mentioned in the RMAF impressions thread that the 801 has been improved over the one at CanJam. Listening to 24/96 FLAC via HD600 from the internal amp at RMAF was as good as using the line out to an opamp rolled Minibox E+ at CanJam, and sounded closer to a desktop rig than most portables.

Hi larry and others, Thats very good to hear! Are you on the pre-order list? I wonder if this will replace your iriver/ibasso d10 rig someday.
Greetings, Anouk,

I believe NC8000 has mentioned that 801 is better than the combo iriver/ibasso D10 using the sysconcept IC. This has been mentioned in the 801 preorder thread.

Hi Larry,

Is the SD playback from 801 better than or equal to the IMod 5.5G + PVCAP?

Could it be that SD playback from 801 better than or equal to the IMod 5.5G + VCAP?

It could replace my iRiver/D10 rig someday, but I need to upgrade my main DAC first, and I'm looking at a Woo WES to replace my GES, so there is no money to sink into portable gear when my iPhone/JH13Pro are so good together.

I got my HiFiMAN three days ago. I will say that it sounds every bit as good to me (if not better) than my Marantz 67se connected to my Little Country III headphone amp.
It's quite a bit easier to carry around too!

I wish I knew all the audiophile terms to impress everyone, but I don't. It sounds fantastic. My ears are very happy.

It drives my Senn HD555s really well, but I have to do more listening to see how it sounds with my Senn HD600s

Other than being very picky about the way the music folders are put on my SDHC chip, it works fine.

I have found that it likes flac, and only the flac music files in the folders. No .cue, .jpg, or other files in the music folders.

Sounds really great as a USB DAC too. It's better than I thought, and I had pretty high expectations. Especially for the $$$$ it cost.

Only downside is what you see. It is big, bulky, and heavy, but most of the size and weight is the battery. But it's easier than carrying a player plus a portable headphone amp.

I could not be happier!

It's probably a close race for sound quality between the 801 <-> iMod/Pvcap <-> iRiver/D10. I don't want to speculate more without having compared them.

As far as cost and features, since sound is probably close:

(1) The iRiver H140/D10 was only $600 including opamp upgrades and cable, but it needs more power for HD600. Having line out to a desktop amp is a nice feature, but the 801 for $50 more also has a line out, plus a coax and USB input to connect to PC, Mac, CD or DVD players, although no optical like the D10. I get about 10 hours out of the iRiver before I have to charge it, so even if the amp lasts 25-30 hours I have no music. I need to find one of the USB charging cables, and it could extend the battery with an external USB pack. EDIT - to add, the rockboxed iRiver does play Apple Lossless files, and wont choke on 24/96 like an iMod, although it down-samples them. Like the 801, it doesn't do video like the iMod.

(2) The iMod/Pvcap without an amp or cables was $850 - then add my 3MOVE, LOD and mini-mini and you are up to $1300! But, you also get a video player and iTunes syncing. The 3MOVE drives the HD600 better than the D10 or 801, for about $75 less than a D10 with opamp upgrades. And, because of the 3MOVE it can connect via USB to PC or Mac. And with the line out of the Pvcap it can connect to a desktop amp. As a line out source the iMod is close but slightly behind my Apogee mini-DAC in sound quality, and about like the D10 line out quality. The iMod will run out of battery after 12-14 hours if untouched and just left alone to run, but changing songs and playlists drops it to below 10 hours. So even if the amp lasts 50-100 hours, I have no music after 10-12 hours (I finally found an external battery with LOD pass through and will have to test it, but it's not pretty and pokes out a bit).

(3) The 801 has an advantage over both because it is a 1-piece unit without a bunch of cables, and you can also use it as a coax DAC from your CD or DVD player or PC, and it still has a USB DAC like the other two rigs above. All it is missing is the optical input of the iRiver/D10. However, it can play 24/96 FLAC from the SDHC card or coax input, and my iMod can't play 24/96. The rockboxed iRiver simply down-samples the 24/96 files. 801 still has a line out for a bigger portable or desktop amp like the above two. The 7-8 hours of battery life can be extended by popping in an extra battery, and the internal capacity can be replenished with a second or third SD card. And, the amp can be supplemented with a nicer external portable, or someday an upgraded internal module.

So, that's why I say it could replace my iRiver/D10 someday. If it was available before I had the iMod I would not spend $1300 on the iMod/Pvcap/amp/cables. Even to carry the iPod for video and 801 for music would be less bulky than the whole iMod rig.

Thanks Larry. Very comprehensive.