Hifiman 801 Appreciation thread - Page 25

Great, thanks.

I also found this, which is even cheaper..but i can't find any reviews or anything...

Matrix 24 bit 96 KHz USB to Coaxial Converter Matrix 24 bit 96 KHz USB to Coaxial Converter [USB to Coaxial] - $69.99 : Welcome to Matrix Electronics matrix-mini Matrix m-stage Matrix cube DAC headphone amp

Anyone with a HM-801 who also have UM Miracle (custom IEM)?

I'd like to know how it sounds, synergy, problems of any kind etc. (the Miracle is 16 Ohm)

Alternatively I'd like to hear from people with other low impedance IEMs how it behaves with HM-801 (GAME or Balanced module).

Well, I'm sure the Miracles sound pretty miraculous out of a Hifiman but I can only talk about my experience with more "modest" IEMs : )

I Have a Hifiman HM-801 which I tried with some Westone 3. I did not like the W3s. There was too much emphasis on the bass and the highs with quite a bit missing in between. Some people have described them as "fun" and colored, the W3s did not amuse/entertain me much = sold!

Then I upgraded my Hifiman with a balanced card mainly for my Sen HD650 which turned out to be a wonderful combo even though I ran them with a regular non balanced cable straight into the balanced jack-in of the Hifiman. This combo is simply jaw dropping.

Back to IEM, I got a pair of Triple-Fi 10 that sounded a whole lot better than the W3s... Super transparent and spacious, gorgeous highs, tight bass, smooth mids, yet, a tad lean/recessed. It felt like it was missing just a tad of guts in the lower mids/mids. I just wished they had just a tad more mids to make them sound a little more "full", "rich".

So, I gave a try to the Westone UM3x and have to say, I am VERY happy with the sound. They are not as transparent as the Triple-Fi  but still very detailed with the touch of warmth I was looking for. Compromise compromise but I'm happy with them and let go of the Triple-Fi... 

One note on the balanced card as I read some comments from people who could not hear any difference from the stock amplifier. 

For me, I was a little skeptical at first and must admit the card takes a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time to burn in (300-400 hrs!!!) 

I thought I had to have a special balanced cable to really take full advantage of the sound. I recently switched back to the stock amp just to see if I could tell any difference and WOW! it sounded very muddy/loose/dark in comparison to the balanced card. There is no way I could go back to the stock amp after experiencing the Balanced card. Maybe, whoever couldn't tell any difference between the two amps didn't take the time to burn in the balanced card, or never heard of cotton swabs!..

Anyway, hope it helps, cheers!

Thanks Tympan, though it doesn't really help me much since I already have the HM-801 (incl. Bal card) and thus would like a response from someone who has heard it with the UM Miracle.

I in the meantime seen that people with the JH16, which is also 16 Ohms, doesn't mention problems with that and the HM-801. I guess I am going for the Unique Melody Miracle ...

Anyone ever done any measurements on the GAME module? I got this answer from them:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/629253/head-direct-hifiman-customer-service-team/285#post_8919334

And it just can't be right. The module for IEMs can't possibly have a 30+ ohm output impedance.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarsHP 

After checking several sources, I have found measurements of the output impedance of the GAME card. One measures it to 33,7 Ohm and another site measures 21,3 Ohm.

The Balanced amp is measured to 10 Ohm.
And the Standard amp module (version uncertain) is 18 Ohm.

Edit: EricHD from Head-Direct now confirms that the output impedance of the GAME amp module is 32 Ohm.

Mine now has 0 Ohm after a small modification made by player.ru user sanmigel. Also 801 now sounds significantly better, especially with Rockbox and RE-272.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungryDaze 

Mine now has 0 Ohm after a small modification made by player.ru user sanmigel. Also 801 now sounds significantly better, especially with Rockbox and RE-272.

That really sounds interesting. A "small mod" sounds intriguing, but how is it done and to what amp module did he do it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarsHP 

That really sounds interesting. A "small mod" sounds intriguing, but how is it done and to what amp module did he do it?

That should be relatively easy - I took a look at the few amp cards I have and notice the high impedance is mostly the result of resistors on the output path, just short them out or remove them should drop the output impedance to near zero.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarsHP 

That really sounds interesting. A "small mod" sounds intriguing, but how is it done and to what amp module did he do it?

Unfortunatelly I can't translate the instruction, but at least I can show it to you. I use the Game amp module. Here is the instruction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungryDaze 

Unfortunatelly I can't translate the instruction, but at least I can show it to you. I use the Game amp module. Here is the instruction.

Any chance you can repost the picture here? I can use google translate to figure out most part but the picture will only come out when you are a registered member of that forum. Thanks.

Oh, it does seem to be similar to what I have said before, resistor mod mainly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS 

 

Any chance you can repost the picture here? I can use google translate to figure out most part but the picture will only come out when you are a registered member of that forum. Thanks.

 

Oh, it does seem to be similar to what I have said before, resistor mod mainly.

Sure, here you go. In my opinion Bing is even better than Google Translate when it comes to EN-RU or RU-EN translation. I'll try to translate the instruction later. I'm a little bit busy these days.

That would really be awesome!

If it is relatively easy to do, then it might be worth the risk ...

Do you get more gain, when you remove the resistors?