Fostex HP-P1 Portable Amplifier and DAC for iPod/iPhone (Short REVIEW and Impressions Thread) - Page 66

 

I've compared the boards by glancing and the HP-P1 looks a lot more busy, plenty more soldered parts. 

 

RR-129 Vaughan Williams/Elgar I'll concede does show a degree of mushy quality I'm not used to.

http://referencerecordings.com/RR-129_DETAIL.asp

Got the iPhone 5 today and one big reason was that I got the HP-P1 last summer.  I would surely hope that Fostex would make available a software update so these weren't obsolete  in such a short amount of time.  

I think the Fostex connection is to iproducts is via an earlier OS and is included within future updates.

 

The last Fostex hp_p1 software update seemed to be about battery life.

 

I think the email from Fostex is just them covering their asses about compatibility with a recent product (iphone 5 etc)that hasnt been fully tested and was not around when the Fostex was in design/pre-production, just Japanese business sense/style.

Found the link where I sourced the pictures

 

Inside looks like its got more stuff in there than my RWA Bellina has!

 

Well, I think you can sell your Bellina, just don't mention how simple it is. 

 

Meanwhile the HP-PV may be the only bit on my portable head-fi horizon, unless something with a leap in audio quality makes an appearance. 

Is it just me, or does one of those capacitors look like its on the verge of failing?  The top portion of the left most capacitor seems  to be bulging. 
 

So does it currently work with a iPhone 5?
I am about to buy a HP-P1.

Thanks!

I am using mine with the iphone 5 now.  Also pm'ed you.

I'd be interested to know if there is any degradation or improvement in audio quality with the Lightning interface? As far as I know Lightning puts a lot more between the iDevice and the HP-P1. Perhaps the HP-P1 isn't sensitive enough to notice any difference. I only tried it for a moment to determine if it was possible, no problems getting functionality.

I haven't noticed any difference but i haven't done any direct a/b.  I have a classic, nano and iphone 5.

I asked a similar question in the CLAS discussion thread.

 

I am deciding between a HP-P1 or a Solo R with a cheap amp such as the E12 or something in similar price range. Which one would be better?

 

Any help is highly appreciated. Thanks.

HP P1 is a great all in one solution, amp and dac, analog and digital out, filter and gain selector for headphone matching. The only weakness is the amp section that's not suitable for power hungry headphones. Anything below 150 ohm should be fine. Mine pairs well with my UE900 and D5000 with gain on level 2.

I have hpp1 and solo clas db. For me...hpp1 is the smoothest sounding so far in term of portable dac (it has a line out dac so you can also use it to pair with another external amp)...another plus it has a build in amp inside so like ehr33 said...is a good all in one solution. Although the amp section alone is not that powerful to drive some..my experience tells me...the internal amp and the dac is a perfect match. They sound very smooth..neutral...and has a very clean sounding. Unlike my other amps...this hpp1 can match very well with most of cans and iems....except hard to drive ones.

A cheap 2nd hand HP-P1 is becoming more possible every day, I think Fostex sold a great many. HP-P1 is very robust and reliable.