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The Centrance HiFi M8 thread
Feb 7, 2013 at 4:22 PM Post #1,336 of 5,999
Received a T-shirt today as well. I will wear it in for 50-100 hours, combined with some cycles in the laundry machine at a very low temperature. Then I will post my impressions/review 
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 Out of the box. Quality looks great!
 
 

 
Feb 7, 2013 at 6:04 PM Post #1,337 of 5,999
Yeah, straight out of the box, it is pretty nice.  Unfortunately, they messed up my faceplate.  I asked for the 4-pin XLR, not the dual 3-pins...
 
Feb 8, 2013 at 8:17 AM Post #1,342 of 5,999
Quote:
aero dynamik said:
 
Please elaborate on this! Why and how does it affect SQ (minus better cables, as we can have better cables with single ended output as well)? Thanks!
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Apologies. I can never explain something that profound. Do understand that some people think that cables make insignificant differences.
However, try reading some articles like: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/balancedheadphones/one.html
 
Feb 8, 2013 at 11:06 AM Post #1,343 of 5,999
Quote:
aero dynamik said:
 
Please elaborate on this! Why and how does it affect SQ (minus better cables, as we can have better cables with single ended output as well)? Thanks!
Click to expand...

There are a lot of people who say balanced is better and a lot of people who say it doesn't matter.  Most commonly claimed pros are better control of each driver since they are independent, some amps double the power out in balanced (hard to drive cans can get the power they need), less crosstalk (no one seems to be able to confirm that it is audible), over longer runs (far longer than any normal headphone cable) there is more noise rejection, better balanced sound if taking a single entry (one sided) headphone and making it balanced (equal lengths of wire to each driver).  Audibly, bass response is supposed to be better controlled and soundstage is often said to improve.  This mixes in balanced with regard to cables, headphones, and amps.  More experienced or technical people I am sure will chime in, but I hope not too many do as it can completely derail threads when it comes to sound science.
 
I went balanced a while ago because it sounded like a fun thing to do.  I like XLR's better than TRS plugs, but I have no idea if my headphones sound better since I can't easily or quickly switch between unbalanced and balanced.  But in general, symmetry makes me happy, and I enjoy my music more when I am happy.  This whole hobby is an individual journey to find the right setup for YOU.  Other peoples' experiences might help narrow down choices, but nothing can beat personal experimentation.
 
Feb 8, 2013 at 3:43 PM Post #1,344 of 5,999
Thank you very much for all balanced input on balanced output!
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 Very interesting! Now, all I'm waiting for is if Mr. Goodman has anything to add to this matter. That is, what he thinks we might gain from the M8 having balanced output, or if it is simply there to satisfy head-fi:ers "craving" for it.
 
Feb 9, 2013 at 12:16 AM Post #1,345 of 5,999
Quote:
fraggler said:
There are a lot of people who say balanced is better and a lot of people who say it doesn't matter.  Most commonly claimed pros are better control of each driver since they are independent, some amps double the power out in balanced (hard to drive cans can get the power they need), less crosstalk (no one seems to be able to confirm that it is audible), over longer runs (far longer than any normal headphone cable) there is more noise rejection, better balanced sound if taking a single entry (one sided) headphone and making it balanced (equal lengths of wire to each driver).  Audibly, bass response is supposed to be better controlled and soundstage is often said to improve.  This mixes in balanced with regard to cables, headphones, and amps.  More experienced or technical people I am sure will chime in, but I hope not too many do as it can completely derail threads when it comes to sound science.
 
I went balanced a while ago because it sounded like a fun thing to do.  I like XLR's better than TRS plugs, but I have no idea if my headphones sound better since I can't easily or quickly switch between unbalanced and balanced.  But in general, symmetry makes me happy, and I enjoy my music more when I am happy.  This whole hobby is an individual journey to find the right setup for YOU.  Other peoples' experiences might help narrow down choices, but nothing can beat personal experimentation.
Click to expand...

 
Well spoken and I can only agree. I very much want to try out a balanced setup with the M8 as well, combined with one or two of the headphones that I'm currently using. It will be all fun to figure out what I need and only to please my own desire.  Certainly an experience that is part of my individual journey, although I'm not quite sure where I'm going.. but the outcome will for certain be my own experience. So will the expenses going towards this project 
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Feb 9, 2013 at 3:05 AM Post #1,346 of 5,999
I tried the Hifi-m8 at the Tokyo portable Headphone show today  and met Michael.
The show was very populated with many booths, people and oodles! of gear.
 
Michael was as nice in person as he has been on these forums.
I was accompanied by my two year old son so could only listen for a short time so my impressions are rather superficial.
 

 
 
The unit was connected to a laptop and I used my ATH-ESW9, their balanced  LCD(2?/3?) and some balanced beyerdynamic cans I believe.
 
The sound was as expected nice and clear, I could get enough power switching between the gains for each headphone to dive them enough. I could hear the subtle differences between 1ohm and 10ohm headphone output impedance by using the switch.
The bass and treble settings are very gentle and are not huge jumps which at first i found hard to notice, but after playing with them I could hear they hit the sweet spot. The bass doesn`t go into thumping bass overload the kids like on the highest setting, it also doesnt distort or get muddy. It is enough to give color and bass where needed.
The treble switch is nice and gentle also in its increments, it doesnt screech on the highest setting.
I did find myself turning up the volume quite far to get my preferred volume, I do like using low gain as a preference though. With the bigger cans I used more gain and it was enough power to reach a satisfactory volume. 
 
Michael also asked for my feedback, i couldnt give anything definite due to being slightly distracted by my two year old, but I couldnt really pick out anything wrong.
My Fostex hp_p1 is warm sounding, burned in and also at 10ohms or HOI. The Hifi-M8 seems more clear and less colored, not to the point of sterile at all, just seems `true` sounding.
 
I wish I could have had more time to trial the unit but fatherhood called. Hopefully my brief impressions will be enough to satisfy my fellow headfiers. :)
 
Here is a picture of my Fostex hp_p1, the hifi-m8, my ATH-ESW9 and my sons deluxe version Anpanman toy. 
The hifi-M8 is not as big as I thought it might be.
 

 
Feb 9, 2013 at 11:00 AM Post #1,349 of 5,999
Ditto on Expat's opinions on the sound and on the settings. Unfortunately I didn't have my cans (just IEMs) so I used the Beyers and the LCD's he had. Michael is quite a cool character too :D.
 

 
The only feedback I have (sorry Michael I didn't get to tell you before, I only thought of it now) is a slightly larger volume knob would be nice. Doesn't have to stick out further but a larger diameter. My personal 2 yen worth anyway. Others will naturally have other thoughts.
 
 

 

 
Component configurations :-
 

 

 
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