[BrasilSamba]

  For the car adapter, something like this will do 

For the SDHC card, try formatting it to its default file system.
 
Yes, all you should need to do is fully rotate the stepped attenuator about 20-50 times and you should be good. There will be clicks/crackles between steps, this is the nature of the attenuator. Second, the clicks you're hearing when changing tracks is normal, as the DACs are switching clocks and stuff.

 
Yeah, the invertor is the solution. Thanks for the tip.
I felt in love with this player-iems-cable. Just listened to a Telarc SACD. Unbeliaveble for such a small gadget.
I will re-format SDcard, Good idea.

 

[frankrondaniel]

Hi all,
let me post my newbie plea for help. Excuse me if I post in a wrong thread.

I have just got my new Hifiman HM 901 with balanced card, JH13ProFreq., AudioMoon Silver Dragon balanced cable with TRRS connector, Sandisk 128GB extreme card.
I loaded it with dff files and started to listen. I tried stock JH cable with balanced switch off, then I replaced cable for MoonAudio and switched the balanced on. I was glad I upgraded the cable, the difference was noticeable.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the player, iems and cable. Nevertheless, as for the HM 901, there are few questions I cannot find answer for.

1) car charger
The player cannot be charged via USB cable. So I ordered the "black frame" battery charger + replacement battery and thought that it would support USB charging. But there is no indication/diod on the frame, so I cannot check if it works.
Q: it there any information about the battery charger? Is there any other car charging solution?

2) firmware
Although I could read in the Settings of the HM901 that the firmware is 1.82 and kernel 2.9, I had some issues with the cue support ON (repeat. restarting) , so I got a suspicion that it may have not final but 1.82 beta version installed.
Q: is the "beta" info included in the settings (pe. "1.82 beta" or so?

3) firmware update
In connection with 2) I tried to update the HM901 with the 1.82 final "update.zip". I followed the instructions from Hifiman web, but it seemed that the player went to the recovery mode, but "froze" without any progress that should be automatic. I waited about 20min and then gave up and reset.
Q: how to update firmware? Did I something wrong? It was on Sandisk 128G extreme, my Mac shows exFAT stock partition.

4) volume adjustment
It may sound as a stupid question, but when I change volume, there is a short "crack" or "hissing" after switching to the next volume position, the higher the volume, the louder the crack. Then it plays normally.
Q: is there a similar experience, I mean is it normal?

I would be very thankful for any hint or advice.

BrasilSamba

 
Regarding #4, I did have a faulty volume adjustment wheel that necessitated Hifiman replacing my HM901.  They were very good about the replacement process.  Unfortunately I now have a problem with channel imbalance if I happen to start the HM901 without earphones plugged in.  It starts without much if any sound coming from the right channel until I play with the Normal/Balanced switch.  If I start the HM901 with a headphone plugged in all is fine.  This occurs with both my IEM and Balanced cards (even in Balanced mode using the RE-600's).  Kind of a bummer, but again Hifiman is having me send in my HM901 for repair/replacement.  I have to admit that it's a little frustrating but I'm happy that they're responsive and stand behind their product.

 

[BrasilSamba]

   
Regarding #4, I did have a faulty volume adjustment wheel that necessitated Hifiman replacing my HM901.  They were very good about the replacement process.  Unfortunately I now have a problem with channel imbalance if I happen to start the HM901 without earphones plugged in.  It starts without much if any sound coming from the right channel until I play with the Normal/Balanced switch.  If I start the HM901 with a headphone plugged in all is fine.  This occurs with both my IEM and Balanced cards (even in Balanced mode using the RE-600's).  Kind of a bummer, but again Hifiman is having me send in my HM901 for repair/replacement.  I have to admit that it's a little frustrating but I'm happy that they're responsive and stand behind their product.

Interesting. Could you be more specific about your vol. adj. wheel problems?

 

[frankrondaniel]

  Interesting. Could you be more specific about your vol. adj. wheel problems?

I did have the "between steps" channel dropout that I've seen referenced on this thread and I accepted it as the normal operation of a stepped attenuator.  However, surprisingly the replacement unit doesn't have the imbalance between steps like the first did.  Even though it's clearly not designed to be played in between steps, there is a much smoother transition between steps.  But the big issue for me on the original unit was some channel imbalance even fully on steps.

 

[BrasilSamba]

The firmware update is a mystery.
 
I tried 2 older cards, Sandisk and Transcend, formated them FAT32, downloaded update.zip, transfered to the card (no more files or dirs on the card). 
I hold home button then power on the player, release home button, the player shows a screen with a box with arrow (recovery and update mode) but this screen persists and no visual action progresses. I waited some time, restarted. 
 
Strange...
 
I got an idea: maybe, if I already have the latest version, the firmware update freezes?
I read somewhere that HM901 firmware version is not labeled "beta" in the Settings so therefore I try to update because I'm not sure what version of 1.82 I have.

 

[LarsHP]

Firmware 1.82 / kernel 2.9 is the latest so far, AND it is not working with cue support enabled ...
So - if the restarting issue comes with cue support on in the settings, then what you got is what we all have

 
If you try "updating" from 1.82 to 1.82 - then I think it is possible you won't see a normal update progress, but I am only guessing. However, there is no reason to update the firmware if you already have the latest version - even though it has a bug making the DAP restart when you have cue support enabled.

 

[BrasilSamba]

  Firmware 1.82 / kernel 2.9 is the latest so far, AND it is not working with cue support enabled ...
So - if the restarting issue comes with cue support on in the settings, then what you got is what we all have

 
If you try "updating" from 1.82 to 1.82 - then I think it is possible you won't see a normal update progress, but I am only guessing. However, there is no reason to update the firmware if you already have the latest version - even though it has a bug making the DAP restart when you have cue support enabled.

Yes, having the latest version installed can be the only reason I cannot "update".
My reason was to try if I have the latest version as I read somewhere that both the 1.82beta and 1.82final report 1.82 on the Settings screen, thus - how to be sure? Only try to update
 
LarsHP, you wrote you have no click/crackles at all in the attenuator? Or you have the "normal", in low volume barely noticeable ones?
Mine has acceptable click/crackles, only when I try to go through the steps while not playing any track, it is very noticeable.
Hifiman claims that uses quaility components incl. the attenuator, therefore I am concerned the mine is OK.
On the other hand, I understatnd  that the steps cannot be completely silent. Or in your case, they are?

 

[LarsHP]

  Yes, having the latest version installed can be the only reason I cannot "update".
My reason was to try if I have the latest version as I read somewhere that both the 1.82beta and 1.82final report 1.82 on the Settings screen, thus - how to be sure? Only try to update
 
LarsHP, you wrote you have no click/crackles at all in the attenuator? Or you have the "normal", in low volume barely noticeable ones?
Mine has acceptable click/crackles, only when I try to go through the steps while not playing any track, it is very noticeable.
Hifiman claims that uses quaility components incl. the attenuator, therefore I am concerned the mine is OK.
On the other hand, I understatnd  that the steps cannot be completely silent. Or in your case, they are?

Just checked for cracking/clicking sounds with my Miracle (16 Ohm, 114dB/mW).
 
With no music playing, I hear cracks/clicks in the left channel that gets louder as I turn up the volume. Nothing in the right channel at any volume level. When music is playing (at low end of the volume range) I hear nothing - unless it is a low level recording / low level passage - and then I hear it in both channels(!). This is - as you also say - only when adjusting the volume control, and it is only for a spilt second and it is very low.
 
Both my Burson Soloist and Audio-gd Master 6 amp has stepped attenuators too. With the Soloist I never hear clicks, but with Master 6 I do hear an occasional click. This tells me that it is not a design "feature" for stepped attenuators to produce clicks, but it may very well be "normal".

 

[BrasilSamba]

 
Just checked for cracking/clicking sounds with my Miracle (16 Ohm, 114dB/mW).
 
With no music playing, I hear cracks/clicks in the left channel that gets louder as I turn up the volume. Nothing in the right channel at any volume level. When music is playing (at low end of the volume range) I hear nothing - unless it is a low level recording / low level passage - and then I hear it in both channels(!). This is - as you also say - only when adjusting the volume control, and it is only for a spilt second and it is very low.
 
Both my Burson Soloist and Audio-gd Master 6 amp has stepped attenuators too. With the Soloist I never hear clicks, but with Master 6 I do hear an occasional click. This tells me that it is not a design "feature" for stepped attenuators to produce clicks, but it may very well be "normal".

So my baby is sound!
 
Just listened to Yo-Yo Ma cello performance and I very felt the elasticity of strings. I am really glad I changed the cable for Silver Dragon balanced. The JH13freq. also seem to me really good.
I am curious if the sound will be even better after the burn-in period of all the components.
 
xxxxI deleted this question as it was really stupid xxxx

 

[BrasilSamba]

Just comparing Rebecca Pidgeon .dff against hdtracks flac version. I do not hear a difference. 
The Sabre DAC supports native DSD, so I hope that HM901 benefits from this feature of DAC.
The documentation to HM901 is not very detailed.

 

[ChiAki]

I believe the DSD function of the HM-901 still uses DoP tech., but not native hardware DSD decoding. So actually, hdtracks of FLAC files might have the upper hand.

 

[brunk]

  I believe the DSD function of the HM-901 still uses DoP tech., but not native hardware DSD decoding. So actually, hdtracks of FLAC files might have the upper hand.

DoP is still "native" DSD. There's no shenanigans there. Only when DSD transcoded to PCM is there something sneaky going on.

 

[BrasilSamba]

  DoP is still "native" DSD. There's no shenanigans there. Only when DSD transcoded to PCM is there something sneaky going on.M

 
I think the Hifiman line as such is a great idea and the last HM901 is a superb product. I'm convinced that every user "unfrienly" issue is only "birth pangs".
If Hifiman provided me with USB DAC and 12V car charger, I would be completely happy.
 
Thank you guys for great support here on the forum!

 

[BrasilSamba]

One more note. I suffer from slight tinnitus in one ear after a car accident. Therefore I subconsiously "filter" certain level of noise in my hearing. Today I let my wife to try my beloved HM901 and she instantly said - there is no complete silence, there is a slight level of noise when idle. And really, when I focus to noise level, it is really not completely silent. The noise level is very slight, but it is there. Then I compared it with my electrostatic Staxes, and there is a complete silence (I can distinguish between my tinnitus noise and device noise).
Well, for me it is not an issue as I have not heard complete silence for several years. It's rather a curiosity - Hifiman claims best quality - and there is not "black" silence?

 

[brunk]

  One more note. I suffer from slight tinnitus in one ear after a car accident. Therefore I subconsiously "filter" certain level of noise in my hearing. Today I let my wife to try my beloved HM901 and she instantly said - there is no complete silence, there is a slight level of noise when idle. And really, when I focus to noise level, it is really not completely silent. The noise level is very slight, but it is there. Then I compared it with my electrostatic Staxes, and there is a complete silence (I can distinguish between my tinnitus noise and device noise).
Well, for me it is not an issue as I have not heard complete silence for several years. It's rather a curiosity - Hifiman claims best quality - and there is not "black" silence?

Do you like to listen to "idle"? Do you notice with the lowest possible volume of music playing? Just saying....
You can always contact customer service and see what they have to say about it if it bugs you.