Fostex HP-P1 Portable DAC for iPhone, iPod and iPad (With Built-In Headphone Amp) - Head-Fi TV,... - Page 7

After two weeks of owning the HP-P1, I am selling my CLAS to a friendly Head-fier. Not that the CLAS is inferior - in fact I never use the amp section of the HP-P1 - just that the AKM DAC which is also used by Esoteric suits me more. In any case this will be moot soon - I will be getting the iBasso DB2 and connect it to the Fostex digital out, then use the iBasso balanced out to the SR71B, to create a fully-balanced system.

I hope someone would come up with an iDevice DAC with balanced out eventually - but until then looks like I will have to go with the four-brick set up for balanced sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by googleli 

I have both the HM801 and the Fostex HP-P1. Using the line out to the same amp, I feel that the HM801 gives a warmer sound. The HP-P1's DAC is still a bit warmer than the CLAS, but is as detailed as the CLAS and IMO a bit more musical than the CLAS. The 801's DAC, however, may not be suitable for low mid focused tracks such as Diana Krall and some male vocal. Overall I feel that both the CLAS' and the Fostex's DAC are a league better than the 801's DAC - but you have to take into account the fact that the HM801 is able to play 96/24 files. I heard that CLAS is also capable of playing back 96/24 from the iPad (but not iPhone or iPod) but I haven't tried it.

Thanks for the input / comparison.  One further question for HP-P1 owners that I have yet to be able to figure out - I may have missed this detail in Jude's review - Is the digital input limited ONLY to iDevices, or can you run a USB cable from a computer and use the DAC from your computer?  Same question for the CLAS.

Only for iDevices.

Another cool item featured on Head-fi.

What I like about it is that it is one unit of DAC and amp combo. With the right headphone, it is a nice portable rig. In many ways, this is more practical than the other rig that involved the separate DAC and Ray Samuel's amp (no disrespect to Ray, I love his amps). I think I prefer this particular set up because convenience plays a big factor when I am on the go. 

IMO, when it comes to portable, small size matters for sanity's sake. 

If I really want a nice rig just to listen in my hotel room for long business trips, then a larger rig is fine but generally a small rig makes more sense.

Awesome Jude, thanks for putting it on iTunes!

What are your thoughts on the 1350? I am very interested in the tesla technology and am considering that as a portable with the fostex. I like the usb option for hotels.

Also, I emailed fostex yesterday to find out of you can go usb to usb with the lap top.  Have you tried using it that way?

Awesome episode as usual !!  I watched this when Jude first posted it and I still cannot decide between the CLAS and the SR71B or the the HP-P1

Quote:

Originally Posted by johntodd 

Awesome episode as usual !!  I watched this when Jude first posted it and I still cannot decide between the CLAS and the SR71B or the the HP-P1

Do you want convenience over power or bulk and better sound quality over convenience?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin Morrow 

 

Do you want convenience over power or bulk and better sound quality over convenience?

 

I would like the best sound quality over everything, but then some people say that clas does not sound natural, while the hp-p1 is grainy.

Anyone with experiece with iMod and Fostex?

What would you prefer? An iMod (by red wine) !? Or an iPod/iPhone connected to an Fostex?

Man, I have to make it to a meet so I can try one out before pulling the trigger on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanoysta 

Anyone with experiece with iMod and Fostex?

What would you prefer? An iMod (by red wine) !? Or an iPod/iPhone connected to an Fostex?

I have both and I have to say I prefer the Fostex solution. 

I had the chance to listen to the HP-P1 at CanJam.  I was using my own iPhone 4 with up-to-date firmware and software (I had not upgraded to OS5 at that time - still haven't actually).  I really liked what I was hearing from it, but for the pretty regular, very subtle clicking.  I asked the Fostex guys who were manning the table.  One spoke no English at all, while the other was conversational.  They both listened and confirmed it was there.  They asked about the firmware, checked the phone and installed software and apps, made some phone calls speaking in Japanese, and could not come up with anything beyond that they had experienced some examples exhibiting this behavior and it was usually because of dated firmware.  This was not the case with mine and they were both stumped and said that they'd report the incident.  It kind of spoiled my experience and my interest in getting one, which is a shame because, other than that clicking, I liked the output into my Westone 3's better than straight out of the phone (go figure) - it was very clearly superior to my ears. 

Has anyone had similar experience with the Fostex and figured out how to clear it up, or ended up returning it because of such a problem?  My guess would be that it has something to do with the DAC locking onto the signal.  It was definitely a digital artifact of some sort...very subtle so you could only really hear it on softer passages, but it was clearly and consistently there. 

Resetting the iPhone may help. I haven't experienced it with the HP-P1, but had a similar problem with CLAS and the problem was solved after I reset my iPhone (thanks to CooperPwC for the tips).

Quote:

Originally Posted by googleli 

Resetting the iPhone may help. I haven't experienced it with the HP-P1, but had a similar problem with CLAS and the problem was solved after I reset my iPhone (thanks to CooperPwC for the tips).

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm pretty sure we tried just that among several efforts to troubleshoot the problem.  That's the one where you hold down a few buttons at the same time, yes?  I was there for about 40 minutes with them trying to figure it out.  They were entirely stumped.