[HiFlight]

I received a Rocoo_b from Craig a few days ago and so far am very pleased with the SQ which I like it even better than my AMP3s.

Below are some of my initial impressions:

The unit is a very nicely crafted, eye-appealing unit. It is probably the smallest player I have owned in years. It comes packaged very attractively along with a USB cable and set of IEMs that fit well. No instructions are included in the packaging, as they need to be downloaded from Hisoundaudio's website.

I did spend quite a bit of time exploring the menus and user interface. It seems quite easy to navigate, once one becomes familiar with the button presses. I would highly suggest going to the Hisoundaudio website and downloading the User manual and spending a bit of time with it before trying to work thru the menus on the Rocoo.

The new website is very much improved, and has a section devoted to the Rocoo where one can download the latest firmware, plus instructions on how to install it.

With the original firmware, my only real complaint was that every time the player was re-booted, it started at the beginning of the internal memory. The update to the 00.1 firmware fixed that. Now it will boot and resume to the point it was playing when shut down.

Firmware updating software worked flawlessly, although it took me a bit of time to discover the driver was included in the download and needed to be installed. The player itself was quickly recognized as a drive without the need for this updating driver. One needs to be sure and load the correct firmware version into the updater software, as a version is included for both the "A" and "B" version. The one I received is the "B" version. This shows on the splash screen when the player boots.

I have had no problems with hangups or lockups when using the music explorer to work thru both internal and external drives.

Boot times and navigational changes from various drive folders and songs are very fast, a significant improvement over the Amp3.

I don't know what the maximum micro card size is yet, as I am only using a 4gb card at the present. Craig says his works OK with an 8gb.

I have not used the included EQ, although there are several choices, including a User setting.

One thing I still don't understand is having 2 ways to turn the player off. (> & ||) and switch on the side.

I did find that in order to see the screen under lights, one needs to set the text brightness to 5, which is max. At first glance, there does not appear to be a screen, but it is under the silver reflective front of the player.

While the Rocoo is obviously targeted toward the more inexpensive end of the DAP marketplace, the SQ and storage capacity make it a very attractive option among the many other lower-priced players that do not offer the same quality of sound.

 

[SACD-Man]

Great write up!!

Thanks Ron.
Craig

 

[sbulack]

A few days ago, a Rocoo-b arrived in the mail, shipped from Whiplash Audio. It's had about 12 hours of use at this point, and I'm using it with a recently-purchased set of Sennheiser Mx980 earbuds. It's a really great combination, with the Rocoo-b sounding very similar to my AMP3. What's interesting about the Mx980 earbuds is that they are rated by Sennheiser at 16 ohm impedance and 118 dB sensitibity. And, with the Rocoo-b, so far, I have heard NO hiss or any low-level artifact sounds, even with buds of such low impedance and relatively high sensitivity. The Rocoo is about as long as the AMP3, but about half its width and thickness, so it fits unnoticeably into my shirt pocket for comfortable and convenient listening with my new buds while I'm popping around the house. I'm getting full, rich and elegantly detailed sound from my favorite music (loaded onto a micro sdhc card as .wav files), AND just as full and rich and only slightly less elegantly detailed sound from my less favorite music (loaded onto the internal or external storage as 320 kbps .mp3 files).

Here's a happy piece of news to me: I inserted into the Rocoo a RiData, class 6, 16 GB micro sdhc card that I had loaded up with lotsa .wav files and a few .mp3 files. When I selected the Explore menu selection, and specified the external sd card, it ended up letting me see the contents of the 16 GB card, and selecting folders and songs on it to play. When I selected the external sd card in the Explore function, what appeared on the Rocoo's display is an small open folder icon with the work Rocoo written next to it. The "Animated" display then began "scrolling" the word "Rocoo" into the folder, one letter at a time, until the word disappeared - and then it re-wrote the word and repeated the test scrolling. I let this display stay on the screen for several minutes and it initially looked to me that I would not get to use the 16 GB card. Then, I interrupted its explorer reverie by tapping the "M" (menu) key. It showed me again the selection screen for internal or external storage to explore. I selected external again, and ..... on the display, up came the listing of folders on the 16 GB micro sdhc card. I could see all of the folders, and, so far, every song I've selected has played and sounded as beautiful as when I select it form the 8 GB micro sdhc card. So, it initially appears (sample of one) that a 16 GB micro sdhc card will work in the Rocoo-b. That comes as especially good news to me - since I load up the external storage with .wav files I very much appreciate having 16 GB to use for that.

It was very good advice from HiFlight to download the Rocoo manual from HiSoundAudio.com and to spend a few minutes becoming familiar with the Rocoo operation before just "jumping in" and attempting to learn it all by trial-and-error, pushing buttons. It IS a nicer and more easily learned and used user interface than that of the AMP3.

So, thus far, add me to the list of folks really satisfied with and happy about the Rocoo-b. I'm looking forward to listening to the Rocoo-b sound as it blossoms into its fullness with more use.

 

[RASeymour]

I too liked this unit, although I didn't think I would at first.

The interface is basic and easy to use once you get used to the various clicks and sub-menus, kind of like any new electronic product.

I didn't have any problems with an 8gb SanDisk card, fully loaded. My only concern is that the player reverts back to the internal card after being shut off, by either method. This happened with the AMP3 as well. I wish the resume would go back to last song played, internal or external memory.

The firmware upgrade worked but only after a few tries. I'm using Windows 7. Not sure what got it to work in the end but it did. Keep trying (as the manual helpfully suggests).

Not sure what the battery life is yet. My first extended use yielded a battery life of only eight hours playing FLAC files exclusively. I'm trying again to see if this is to be expected or a fluke. Recharge time appears to be fast, less then a couple of hours.

Speaking of FLAC, these played files back flawlessly. No more of the intermittent pops and clicks of the AMP3. I've listed only to FLAC to be sure that problem was solved so I can't say how MP3 files sound, but it they are as good as the AMP3, well problem solved.

There are some issues with the general song playback. The beginning of all the songs is clipped by a second or two. Songs with a lead in, you don't notice it, but songs that start immediately song a bit weird. On the other hand, the songs have a nice fade out when you switch. Finally, there's a bit of a lag when using the <= button, something you just get used to.

The song scroll shows the song, but no other information. No big deal for me, as I don't look that often. The other information on the screen is good, but difficult to see. I maxed out the brightness, something I don't usually do because of concerns with battery life. Even so, except in a dim room, it was difficult to read. This is a result of the shiny cover, the display being placed at some distance from the cover and the general lack of brightness. Again, the screen is not a big deal, if I want a great screen I'll get a Nano or Fuze. Bottom line, if you changed folders a lot in the out of doors you may get frustrated with this player. If you're a grab and go like me then no worries.

I do fear that the visibility will get even worse with use. The shiny cover appears to be easily scratched. As this player is designed to be used on the go, scratching is inevitable. I'll probably put some InvisiShield or something similar to protect it.

I particularly like the volume control, as it is very finely graduated. Since there is no replay gain, I do find myself making changes in volume more often. A click or two changes the volume nicely. Also, I believe this unit to better powered than the AMP3. With the AMP3 I found myself maxing out the volume too often. I've maxes out a few time with this player, mostly with older recordings from the 70's that I know were transferred at a low volume. I've yet to try this player with my Ety4s to see how much difference there may be as those earphones presented the biggest issue.

After a period of frustration, I learned that the player behaves differently if it is turned off by the switch or by holding down the <= button. The switch seems to be a full power down, with the result that it reverts to default (?) settings on power up. With the <= I could resume back to the last song played. More important, the settings, such as shuffle or order play, resumed as well. It appears that shuffle is the default mode. When I used the power off switch, even though I had been playing back in order, the player reverted to shuffle mode. There may be other settings that are changed as well, although this was only one I could see. Maybe a note in the manual would've saved me a half-hour of futzing around with it.

I usually don't mess with EQ's. Do note that the "Normal" EQ doesn't sound flat, I think that may be mentioned in the manual. For flat go to User EQ and don't change the settings. It will show as "user" on the screen (in verrry tiiinny letters).

Playback is strong. I had been using a combo of the Clip+ and the E5 or T3 amp. This unit is replacing those. I put it on a lanyard and just wear it around my neck. Nice not having so many cables. I wear it while cycling and find that playback is strong without being overpowering.

I'm using Yuin PK2 for playback and enjoy them. I did a comparison with the stock earbuds and found I much preferred the Yuins. The stock buds are OK, but a bit dark and remote. The nozzle appears to be quite far from the ear. I swapped out the stock tips for Sony hybrids. I'll keep the stock earphones for a replacement if (when) my kids lose/destroy their SoundMagic PL30's.

I had no intention of replacing my current cycling set up of the Clip/E5 and just threw this player on for a lark. Whaddayouknow! Thanks Craig!