S:flo2 impressions thread - Page 164

Thanks for the response.  Too bad I only have IEM and would not be able to directly use the LO function.  As someone mention, is there that volume available for cheap? Would it affect the SQ from the LO at all? By listening to LO, I can both save battery life and have better SQ, I am tempting to buy a volume controller. 

After giving the Final Audio FA-BA-SB and A1 a good listen, I can again reiterate that the S:Flo indeed always purrs in the background. Not only when a song changes or when the screen is on. It is low-level, but there. I've not been able to get this fixed with FW updates. If it was hiss instead of a very low level grinding sound, I wouldn't mind as much. Oh well. Any tips would be appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clou91 

Probably my problem right there...

Hmm. I used the HO for a few months when I got mine and easily got around 8 hours with it. For me, I can't telll if there's a drop in battery life between the LO and HO

SO Is it worth it to change the opamp of this player? What are the best choices? I know it may be a matter of personal taste, but any recommendation of more effeciency and better soundstaging?

I think there was mention of the AD8620

Was in heaven earlier on, i was lying on bed listening to norah jones when i decided to fiddle the eq which i have never touch before as i'm always on normal. Norah jones sounded breathtaking and i kept replaying through her whole album with this setting. From top to bottom, 6,8,9,10,10.  The vocal became clearer. mids became more forwarded and i could hear details that i have never heard! But it only works on lossless music and lower bitrate mp3s are horrid.

So I've just read 30 pages of this thread & I'm seriously considering getting one, so to you S:flo2 owners..

1)  I've read that you can only hear a marginal difference in SQ with cheaper amps (say a CmoyBB) - can someone confirm?  So this thing and it's Wolfsons nullify any noticeable advantages gained by using a sub-$100 amp?  (Thinking in terms of budget.)

2)  Why have some of you opted to buy from MP4 nation rather than HouseOfDap?  I'm wondering if I should wait?

     Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 
2)  Why have some of you opted to buy from MP4 nation rather than HouseOfDap?  I'm wondering if I should wait?

The main reason to buy from MP4 nation would be because they offer a 16gb version, are slightly cheaper (I think) and they simply don't know about House of Dap and the T51.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

1)  I've read that you can only hear a marginal difference in SQ with cheaper amps (say a CmoyBB) - can someone confirm?  So this thing and it's Wolfsons nullify any noticeable advantages gained by using a sub-$100 amp?  (Thinking in terms of budget.)

 

Because the internal amp section is good enough, you won't find much improvement on a sub$100 amp, IMO.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

2)  Why have some of you opted to buy from MP4 nation rather than HouseOfDap?  I'm wondering if I should wait?

 

MP4 Nation is selling the "s:flo2", a rebranded Teclast T51 from partnership between MP4 Nation and Teclast (the manufacturer) intended for oversea market.House of DAP is selling the original Teclast T51 (only up to 8GB), intended to sell by Teclast themselves inside China. The players are identical in hardware and software, except MP4 Nation handles s:flo2 warranty while House of DAP handles T51 that they sold (since this consider a parallel import). People buy from HoDAP mostly because they don't want to wait, since T51 is not quite a hot sale in China so HoDAP can get supplies faster.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

So I've just read 30 pages of this thread & I'm seriously considering getting one, so to you S:flo2 owners..

 

1)  I've read that you can only hear a marginal difference in SQ with cheaper amps (say a CmoyBB) - can someone confirm?  So this thing and it's Wolfsons nullify any noticeable advantages gained by using a sub-$100 a

 

mp?  (Thinking in terms of budget.)

 

2)  Why have some of you opted to buy from MP4 nation rather than HouseOfDap?  I'm wondering if I should wait?

The new firmware improves the HO even more. I was using a $350 amp which gave a noticeable improvement until I upgraded firmware. After the upgrade I decided to sell my amp. No use lugging around extra bulk for a tiny bit more detail which I probably won't even notice walking around anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS 

Because the internal amp section is good enough, you won't find much improvement on a sub$100 amp, IMO.
 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by clou91 

The new firmware improves the HO even more. I was using a $350 amp which gave a noticeable improvement until I upgraded firmware. After the upgrade I decided to sell my amp. No use lugging around extra bulk for a tiny bit more detail which I probably won't even notice walking around anyway.

Strange.  I still prefer the LO to HO and like the sound of my $20 E5 better using LO than ampless HO.  /Shrug.

@ Anaxilus

I'll probably go that route too, a no brainer for $18.  How's the M50 with this rig?  What's your favorite pair of phones/IEM with Flo2+E5? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

@ Anaxilus

 

I'll probably go that route too, a no brainer for $18.  How's the M50 with this rig?  What's your favorite pair of phones/IEM with Flo2+E5? 

M50s work well with this combo as do all my IEMs and phones in my sig.  I'm still waiting for my Arrow which will supplant the E5.  The E5 was weird, initially for a few weeks I could get the E5 to distort when driving my larger cans so I stopped using it for a bit.  Tried it again after a few weeks break and it hasn't had that same problem since.    

Sphinxvc,

Unless you are deadset on getting the 16 gb model and you're prepared to wait thru numerous potential delays, then I would suggest you buy from House of Dap.  I bought the sflo2 (3rd batch) from Mp4 Nation and the Teclast T51 from HOD.  The wait time for the sflo2 was nearly unbearable, while HOD sent right out.  I think that the stock headphones that come with the Teclast T51 from HOD are better than the ones with the sflo2 as well.  As far as the "freebies" that come with the sflo2, well let's just say that I'm still waiting on my FM transmitter and free leather case that were (as far as I can tell) sent out 3-6 weeks ago....  So, if potentially long (and very frustrating) wait times are not a problem for you and you feel you must have the sflo2 16 gb, go with MP4 Nation, otherwise I would HIGHLY recommend HOD.  By the way, both models perform the same in terms of sound quality.  I do feel however that it was easier to upgrade from firmware 2.20 to 2.30 with the Teclast than it was with the sflo2, but I was eventually able to fully upgrade both.  Good luck with your decision, and believe me, you will love the sound quality of which ever one you purchase.  Oh, it is true that the Teclast 8 gb costs more than the sflo2 8 gb, esp with the preorder sale price..., so you should also consider this in your decision making.  Both MP4 Nation and HOD provide free standard shipping.

I too use the S:flo2 with the M50 and the sound is amazing. I plug them directly into the LO (with the EQ at -9 across all frequencies) since its more neutral and has a bit better bass compared to the HO which sounds warmer IMO and the bass is a bit lighter than the LO.

Sometimes, when i need even more bass , the bass boost of the E5 does it for me. Its of first decent audio setup and i an extremely happy with it. The only irritating thing is that whenever i am charging the flo through a wall charger and i turn the switch off, the flo locks up and has to be reset but if i pull the charging cable from the s:flo end, nothing happens. Otherwise, its never locked up after the 2.3 firmware.
Oh, and it took of a long time to rip all my CD's again since the M50's are very revealing . It took me a whole week to rip all the discs i had but its worth it IMO.