Fostex HP-P1 Portable Amplifier and DAC for iPod/iPhone (Short REVIEW and Impressions Thread) - Page 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by pekingduck 

The HP-P1 (and CLAS too..) only works with iDevices...
 

that is really unfortunate.. especially considering that the DAC unit is connecting thru an ordinary USB cable. I would think that should be relatively easy to make it work as PC DAC as well.. Clearly not the case :P

This won't be my next DAC/Amp then :P

Thanks for the answer though :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by David593 

Hi NewMexiCat and all I am looking at the Fostex and have Edition 8 phones, I have been amazed at the quality from my iPhone 4 with these headphones but am looking to get the best out of them. How much of an improvement was the Fostex with your Edition 8s? I won't be able to try here in the Uk without hearing first so your experience would be invaluable!! My main player is a Naim CDX 2 and I want to get as close to that as possible in a portable rig. Thanks for your help in advance David

Hey David,

In my short audition time, I thought the Ed.8's sounded very good with the HP-P1 and certainly a huge improvement over the Ed.8 straight out of the iPhone 4.  My only quibble was that, for my ears at least, the bass was a little over-emphasazied on the HP-P1.  As you know, the Ed.8's are not boomy, bass-heavy phones like others in the Ultrasone line, but the HP-P1's amp sent them more in that direction.  Still sounded very good, but I prefer the synergy with my Pico and the Ed.8 better.  Of course, you can always use the HP-P1 as a DAC only and add the amp of your choosing, but you are then going to be carrying around a fairly substantial brick.

subscribed! I haven't got time to read all posts in this thread - this is late at night in Denmark - so I'm sorry if this has been mentioned a hundred times already:

I find the HP-P1 (dac and amp) to have incredibly good synergy with my ER4S.

Generally I feel, that the amp section is lacking when compared to top portables like iQube and Lisa III. Still the dac section is a killer!

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewMexiCat 

Hey David,

 

In my short audition time, I thought the Ed.8's sounded very good with the HP-P1 and certainly a huge improvement over the Ed.8 straight out of the iPhone 4.  My only quibble was that, for my ears at least, the bass was a little over-emphasazied on the HP-P1.  As you know, the Ed.8's are not boomy, bass-heavy phones like others in the Ultrasone line, but the HP-P1's amp sent them more in that direction.  Still sounded very good, but I prefer the synergy with my Pico and the Ed.8 better.  Of course, you can always use the HP-P1 as a DAC only and add the amp of your choosing, but you are then going to be carrying around a fairly substantial brick.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by librarian 

subscribed! I haven't got time to read all posts in this thread - this is late at night in Denmark - so I'm sorry if this has been mentioned a hundred times already:

 

I find the HP-P1 (dac and amp) to have incredibly good synergy with my ER4S.

 

Generally I feel, that the amp section is lacking when compared to top portables like iQube and Lisa III. Still the dac section is a killer!

Two very good arguments for keeping my CLAS...

Well my HP-P1 has just come in, plan to do some testing with it using my UM Miracles and Merlins (Merlin's yet to arrive). I used to have the CLAS+SR71B setup and found the bulk a little much, so decided to move onto smaller venture. This seemed ideal. Let's hope that's the case 

Quote:

Originally Posted by daj523 

1.  

I had a custom LOD to USB made using Mundorf silver/gold cables for my HP-P1. Compared to the stock Fostex LOD to USB cable, the Mundorf cable gave a much cleaner and smoother sound overall. Separation was much improved. The only negative I found was that the stock Fostex cable had more bass quantity but a bit murky.
Hope this helps.

To me that sounds like saying your digital pictures from you camera look slightly redder when you transfer them to the PC using a cheap USB cable, but bluer when when the absolute code of the image passes through a silver cable. You can probably gather what I think about that... the emperor is indeed naked.

It's a nice DAC though from what I've heard so far, but without the ability to run an SPDIF or USB device in it's a bit overpriced. Sounds nice though, very clean, with emphasised low extension. I have it for review too, but I won't be paying to keep it. I might've done if I could've connected SPDIF or something else.

Does anyone know what parts Fostex are using for the amp section? i.e. if you use it purely as an amp, what hardware is involved?

If one can carry 30-pin protocol to USB within the space of a short cable, is it not possible to convert from standard USB to the USB end of a 30-pin in a similar space? Does anyone know if it's just a matter of pins or a completely different setup?

Hey

I just received the HP last night, but my Itouch wants to act up and throw random clicks in the sound..

A reveiw posted somewhere else had a ipad issue, but its was cleared with a reboot...

Either mine needs a new install, already did that once before because it acted up in another way, pretty annoying no plug and play just yet...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hemshemems 

Hey

 

I just received the HP last night, but my Itouch wants to act up and throw random clicks in the sound..

 

A reveiw posted somewhere else had a ipad issue, but its was cleared with a reboot...

 

Either mine needs a new install, already did that once before because it acted up in another way, pretty annoying no plug and play just yet...

 

 

This is the second time I hear about clicking with ipod touch and hp-p1. I had no problems at all with my classic...
 

This is a link to the Danish head-fi forum. The HP-P1 is getting some user reviews. Might be interesting for someone. I guess you can google-translate with some succes. At least there are some great pictures too :-)

http://d22100836.u318.surftown.dk/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=580&p=9065&hilit=fostex+tour&sid=a3bf754bd361de30f98fa2ca29fd91ec#p9065

Thanks, I am looking to buy a foster too, so I am reading all I can find.

I received my HP-P1 from Moon Audio on Wednesday and am enjoying this greatly!  Two years ago I took the plunge and bought an Ipod Classic 160G.  I LOVED the capacity of this thing and loaded it with my entire collection of lossless CD’s.  And I have been dissatisfied ever since.  I have good headphones (Audio Technica W1000’s and Etymotic ER4-P/S).  They tend to be detailed and analytical and they expose the flaws of the source.  So, I got a line out dock and a Corda HA-1 amp and things improved a bit at the expense of portability.  But I was never fully satisfied.  The combo was, frankly, boring, flat and lifeless.  My classical collection suffered most as I just wasn’t moved when I played them.

And now, what a difference!  I noticed it right out of the box.  I started with my Ety’s and I was like, wow, this is what this music sounds like!  This is what these fabulous earphones are truly capable of!  I am now revisiting my wonderful classical music collection as though for the first time.  The amp powers my W1000’s well and good.  But it seems like the pairing of this unit with the Er4-S is truly a match made in audio heaven.  The music is richer, less analytical and more dynamic while preserving/enhancing details (searching for words here).  The Ety’s were a set of sleepy phones that have now come to life.  So, I recommend this for anyone with the Er4-S.  And now I know what I have always suspected:  The latest generation Ipod Classic DAC was the weakest link (the Corda is a great amp by the way, It serves my computer rig now).  I had been hoping that the Ipod DAC could do what it simply could not do, was probably never designed to do, which is deliver truly audiophile sound through the dock to a decent amp.  It never could.  Problem solved.  My classic is now a first rate transport for a wonderfully matched DAC/Amp magically mated to my Ety’s.

Another winner with this dac/amp is, of all things, my Cambride Soundworks Model 88 table radio!  Go figure!  I can clearly hear a significant difference when connected through the line-out of the Fostex.  Better bass and detail (like with the Ety’s).  I certainly didn’t expect that and it speaks to the quality of this device.

Ironically, now that I am enjoying my Ipod like never before I am now presented with rumors about Apple discontinuing the Classic!  I might have to go out and buy another as a back-up!

[note: I posted this "review" at Moon Audio's website]

Norbert, I fully agree with you on the great synergy with ER4S. This is the main reason I had to order the Fostex, that I had a chance to review :-) Also the line out is very good. I find the internal amp lacking when compared to top portable amps. But above all, the DAC is superior to the iPod's internal DAC, and I find that alone to be a big upgrade.