EDIT: Hisound Audio to Release New DAP Product-Line (NOVA with micro SD card support) - Page 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberalpha11 

In term of sound stage & vocal/instrument separation, what is the major different between Nova 1 & iPod Classic?

I have the iPod Video (5G) and the Nova is definitely better in these regards with Rock-it R50. However it's also quite a lot brighter and this of course influences everything else. Based on just about two hours of listening I won't judge more but yeah it seems the Nova is pretty good.

Can't plug E11 into the ipod right now since it's charging. I wonder how the Nova holds up against a dap/amp combo.

I received my N1 + Wooduo 2 today. Here are my first impressions:

Note: I don't have experience with other HIFI-players, therefore my comment may not be useful for everyone.

I can only compare them to my Creative Zen X-Fi 2 (standard consumer grade) + Ultimate Ears 700 (newer, more neutral revision).

Plus, my English is not the best...

It is paired with PAA-1 Pro, not PAA-1 vanilla.

The design is very stylish and the build quality is at average. The touchpad and UI work without problems, I didn't mistype so far. Only the German translation sucks, but English is ok.

It can read my microsd cards (8 GB and 16 GB class 10) without rebuilding them (you have direct access to the card), BUT every song has to load for about 1 second. The worst part of it: the first second of every song is cut off! I hope this can be fixed with a firmware.

Sound quality (comparison to Zen X-Fi 2):

- everything is more crisp and detailed (I can't be more specific at the moment)

- better sound stage and instrument separation

- slightly more hiss, but not very annoying

- the Zen X-Fi 2 eq options like the "crystalizer" make everything worse, while N1's options "Hi-Fi", "HSA V1.0" and "Wooduo" are useful for different kinds of music

BUT, like I said, I don't know how it compares with other Hi-Fi players...

Wooduo 2 vs. UE 700 (new Logitech revision)

- more bass in quality and quantity. But it's not too bassy, even albums with lots of bass (like Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik or Rage Against The Machine's debut album) sound great

- highs are more detailed, I can hear things I never noticed before

- highs can be too harsh at specific songs like Painkiller from Judas Priest when Hi-Fi profile is chosen (UE 700 doesn't have that problem, maybe the old revision)

- I'm still indecisive which one has better/more detailed mids... Wooduo 2 focuses more on lows and highs

- more hiss

- UE 700 is more neutral

- UE 700 has slightly better isolation and is smaller

In my opinion, the Wooduo profile of the N1 has too harsh highs (when paired with Wooduo 2), I like the Hi-Fi profile the most. The Wooduo profile boots lows and highs, therefore it might be good for "flatly" produced music.

I like how this little grey box sounds. It's not as refined as iPod Video+FiiO E11 combination (via line-out) and somewhat more hissy, but it's really not far behind. Definitely better than vanilla iPod Video or Clip+. In everything.

However I'm not holding my breath for the firmware issues such as cutting off the first second of every song to be resolved. I'm afraid that's simply a 'feature' of this OEM firmware, just like being unable to use the microSD card in the Music menu (it's available only via the file browser).

Regardless, a really nice player. It seems to be a nice portable option for those who want to go small, sleek and not carry an extra amp. Nice job Hisound. I'll write a full review later...

Hay Jack, one suggestion: work with some accessory manufacturer to make a display protector for the front side

Quote:

Originally Posted by PMAP 

I like how this little grey box sounds. It's not as refined as iPod Video+FiiO E11 combination (via line-out) and somewhat more hissy, but it's really not far behind. Definitely better than vanilla iPod Video or Clip+. In everything.

 

However I'm not holding my breath for the firmware issues such as cutting off the first second of every song to be resolved. I'm afraid that's simply a 'feature' of this OEM firmware, just like being unable to use the microSD card in the Music menu (it's available only via the file browser).

 

Regardless, a really nice player. It seems to be a nice portable option for those who want to go small, sleek and not carry an extra amp. Nice job Hisound. I'll write a full review later...

 

Hay Jack, one suggestion: work with some accessory manufacturer to make a display protector for the front side

The FW has already been massaged by HiSound so I bet they work out the gap issue in time with a bit more messaging. Removing a fade option in the FW may be the trick but some minor noise could then appear. I'd actually prefer that option. I'm hoping that's different on the N3 I'm waiting for.

You can get a screen protector from best skins ever. Universal size and cut to fit.

I wonder how exactly was the fw massaged besides adding the sound features and removing some useless stuff like image viewing.

Namely, I wish for this features/fixes:

1) the aforementioned cutting off the first second of each song

2) treating the memory card just like the internal memory, i.e. database indexing and access via the Music menu

3) 96k support

4) gapless support

5) when playing something from the file browser and going to the menus, add some possibility to return to the playback screen

5) faster boot would be nice. If not possible, at least make the player switch on just by pushing the side button without the need to hold it down

6) remove the lag of the volume control

7) more smooth volume control. Really, the lowest possible volume isn't silent enough with sensitive headphones and loud music

8) remove the rock, pop, jazz equalizers... just leave the hifi, hsa, woodoo and user

The first 5 or 6 are common issues of this fw platform so I don't expect they'll be fixed... Though it would be really nice. Well, neither of these is a real dealbreaker anyway. Like I said, a nice little player.

Also, NOVA Mark II: tactile buttons and volume control on the side

For Nova owners who received the firmware update: If you're having problems running the HiSoundTool.exe (error on startup and then doesn't update), this is what worked for me:

1) open 汉声Nova-N1标准升级工具包 > 汉声NOVA升级工具 > 英文版 (the location of HiSoundTool.exe in English as indicated in the help file)

2) copy the contents into a different folder, name it e.g. fw_updater - any name without the Chinese characters in the path should work

3) run the software normally. There should be no error message this time and updating should work.

you should buy the Sumsing Turbo 3000 Xi Multitask if you want more features :P its cheaper than the nova as well!

isnt that a 2006 cell phone? i mean the sumsing

Quote:

Originally Posted by H20Fidelity 


Sumsing Turbo 3000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIOIM6hHBk

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! XDXDXD I've changed my mind, I'm gonna get the Sumsing Turbo 3000 instead!
 

Sumsing smells fishy.