The Centrance HiFi M8 thread - Page 61

Well I was first(well today anyway), and now coming full circle and saying x5:D. Akula 1321, I completely agree with everything you just said. And let me reiterate what I said earlier. I fear my friend may be right when he said; when it's all said and done, in an attempt to satisfy everyone, compromises may be made when it comes to sound quality. I know Michael a genius, but there's only so many compromises that can be made before sound quality takes a hit. At this point, I might be happy with the demo unit based on the initial reports. The thing that really caught my attention on the blog was the fact he's "optimizing" to get just another hour of battery life.

But all of this discussing is really pointless though. All we can hope for is that we are happy with the end result. But I am at the point where I'm getting at least a little nervous. There are already good sounding products with great battery life. I owned one of them with the go-dap. It sounded good, had great battery life, and had a small form factor considering. The godap, clas/alo, fostex, sony market is already full. This is suppose to be the first of it's kind, with "unparalleled sound quality. That's why I didn't mind it being the size of a brick. If this doesn't destroy the fostex, then it will be a disappointment.
Edited by moodyrn - 12/13/12 at 3:28pm

SQ for me!

 

Personally I want an awesome DAC/Amp I can take around especially to have my buddies around me and just shooting the breeze listening to great music through a great portable (trans-portable anyway) device.

 

In the portable DAP section, I vote +1 for the Clip Zip with Rockbox. Amazing little thing.

Centrance has quite a reputation.  I don't think it will be compromised by this product.  For my use, 4 hours battery life would be fine most of the time.  It will be plugged in at my desk or bedside 95% of the time. A 4 hour session for me is a long one - I just don't have the free time for longer session.  If for some reason I feel the need to sport my Mad dogs around for hours away from an outlet, I guess there are always the Energizer external batteries.  I guess I come down on the SQ over batteries side, as long as battery life is around 4 hours before the voltage heads far enough south to hinder sound.  That said, 6 or 8 hours + would be a better end result with a larger market to appeal to.

I dont care If I have have 4 to 5 hours on my particular unit-even 3 at a stretch, please give me optimum sound.

http://centrance.com/products/new/blog/

 

I am also in two minds about the trickle feed of the idevice. I have an external battery and several idevices that I can change out, but I am always near a power socket usually so in some ways its no problem.......as long as it doesnt compromise optimum sound quality.

 

I want it to destroy my fostex hp_p1 :)

One more pre-order person voting for sound quality over battery life is there has to be a compromise.  4-5 is more than enough for me.

 

Same here. I love the idea of the convenience of having a high quality battery powered device for those times when I'd like to not be tethered to a wall or computer but I doubt I would ever need more than 3 - 4 hours for such a listening session so my vote is for sound quality over battery life.

I'm on the fence with this latest debate. Needless to say, sound quality is of critical importance to me, but I'd be willing to trade a very small amount of SQ for a 1-2 hour increase in battery life. After all, though a bit large, this is supposed to be a portable unit.

If the battery can't easily outlast my round-trip commute (3 1/2 hours) plus lunch, not only when it's new, but also once it's gone through, say, 250 charging cycles (one year of use during the work week), I think I'll have to pass. And, of course, I'm not saying I'd have no access to power at the office, just that I'd prefer not to need to charge the unit intraday.

The irony is that folks are complaining about possible SQ trade-offs in lieu of extra battery life, but they're still insisting the M8 is able to drive every conceivable headphone. Surely there must be some compromises required in order to be able to drive IEMs, as well as HE-6.

 

X2

I'm in the "sound quality" camp, for sure.  For my uses, 4 to 5 hours of battery life is plenty.  I definitely want the best sound possible, and to he** with battery life!  

 

I didn't order this for music on the go, I was looking for something to move from room to room; more transportable than portable.  When I'm on the go and want to be portable, I grab my JH-13s and my iPhone.  That's what I call portable.  
 

Edited by cardude - 12/14/12 at 6:28am

Everyone should Re-read Michael Goodman's Dec. 13th Blog. He did not say they plan on using an inferior op amp in order to gain longer battery life.

 

Here is what he said:

 

"Now we are looking for alternative op amps that offer the same high performance as the ones we’ve chosen, but don’t consume as much power."

Just another vote for  SQ over batterylife!

If anyone has the need to voice or vote on the battery, SQ level, please go to the survey link below. Centrance has access to the resulting spreadsheet.

I don't think it is too unreasonable for someone who is planning on getting borderline insane levels of sound quality for a transpacific flight to carry an extra battery pack for the ability to listen the entire time the flight is in the air. Yes, I want it all, but only with respect to sound quality. I know I have to make trade-offs and I'm willing to make them in the battery life department. For me, anything beyond 4 hours would be perceived as a miracle and testament to Michaels genius. I know Michael has said he is looking for an opamp that matches the quality of the one that he is currently (ha, ha) using but I just want to put it out there that there are those who wont be too upset if battery life ends up in the 4-5 hour range.

Though on a plane, a lot of that final edge in fidelity is really pointless as you won't hear it over the engine noise anyways. Not unless you're using iems with earmuffs on top. 

T5p's have excellent sound isolation quality.