[282432]

Quote:

^^^ Did you get a good listen?  Please do share any impressions...

Setup : iPod Classic 7G (16 bit ALAC and 320kbps MP3s)-> CEntrance HiFi-M8 -> Beyerdynamic T1 balanced and FitEar MH335DW
 
I will not comment too much regarding the M8 and T1 pairing due to the noisy environment (cant pay attention to all the little details). The M8 does have more than sufficient power to drive the balanced T1. It is able drive the T1 to ear splitting level at the 1.40 mark along with maximum gain. With the MH335DW demo unit (not the best fit), I don't hear any hissing in all three output impedance but it is still better to toggle it to 1 ohm when using with IEMs. 
 
I also played with the tone shaping features (bass and treble) of the M8. The bass feature does provide very clean and deep bass with absolutely no signs of boom or muffled bass. With the MH335DW, the bass is very tight yet impactful, I would say it is the best bass I've ever heard from any headphones or IEMs. My test track was a trance track by Aly & Fila - Without You. As for the the treble feature, there are zero hints of grain or sibilant when toggled to maximum. I'm not really a treble-head, so I will not talk much about it. I also AB-ed the M8 with a stock DACmini which was also present at the show, and I agree that both of them do sound similar. I will go to my local Jaben store tomorrow to try it with my Denon AH-D7000 and Sony MDR-EX1000 before they send the prototype M8 back to Michael.
 
I feel extremely lucky and thankful to be able to try the M8 during this year's KLIAV show. I want to thank Michael and Jaben for providing a chance for all the people who were at the show to listen to this phenomenal product. The M8 will undoubtedly be the first item on my wish list (along with the MH335DW 

).

 

[Audiowood]

Thanks tjcheong, looking forward for your comparison between m8 and dacmini.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Basic unboxing photos for your viewing pleasure.

 

[bayac]

Congrats Expatin! Tokyo boys always are quick on everything, huh?

 

[ExpatinJapan]

 
 
Quote:

Congrats Expatin! Tokyo boys always are quick on everything, huh?

 

[DannyBai]

saaaweeeet!!

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Brief initial superficial non-burn in impressions.
 
 ( and also keep in mind that I have have briefly sampled the hifi-m8 at two audio meets).
 
ATH-ES10 with esw11 pads and iphone 4.
 
Color me impressed with my first listen.
Great sound.
I was dubious about the real change the impedance switch would make, but yes it is there even on my ATH-ES10. Seems to keep everything more even on 1ohm, 10 ohm the vocals get too prominent.
I like the sound very much on my first listen, which was brief. I havent A/B`d it with the Fostex hp_p1 yet.
 
I will not be posting anymore impressions for over 10 hours at least, (Saturday and family time).

 

[thegrobe]

 

[Radiohead99]

The M8 is bigger than what I imagined it to be. Its even bigger than the Fostex HP-P1.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

The M8 is bigger than what I imagined it to be. Its even bigger than the Fostex HP-P1.

Correct. For reference, HiFi-M8 is the exactly the same length as iPhone 5 (this happened by accident, as we designed it before iPhone was announced). HiFi-M8 is slightly taller than the other model.
The reason for extra height is the beefy battery. We needed to use a very large battery in order to deliver stable output power for such a long time. No other portable product gives you 1.5W of output power for 6.5 hours. HiFi-M8 features 10 times more power than others and uses balanced outputs. So you basically trade size for power.

 

[moodyrn]

People seem to for getting that. The hifi m8 is almost apples to oranges compared to similar products. No other portable idevice dac/amp gives you the features and specs the hifi m8 does.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Some more photos to keep everyone going.
Carry case to keep it clean in my bag, adapter to ease stress on the 3.5mm jack and for two people to listen at once and also anipod touch 4G 64GB added to the mix from yesterday using Flacplayer app.

 

[aamefford]

^^^Very Nice! What is the carry case? I have this bag and case fettish...

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Its a sanwa small camera bag. $20 or so.

 

[AnakChan]

It was kinda amusing that you had a production run of the M8 that Mixwave didn't even have . They offered for me to try at their table but I told them I'd try yours instead.