[Middy]

Expatin. .. Can you turn water into wine also....what a star....

Should be coming from Cyberdrive.... to stop people worrying...

Sorry for being MIA was busy...

I hope everyone is good.. shame the rest of the world is crazy.
I hope our French friends and family here are all safe...


Dave

 

[Jackpot77]

ExpatinJapan - I'm really hoping you took one of your Campfire Iems along to try out on the gear (a man can dream!). Waiting on tenterhooks for your impressions.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 
Here you go. 
 
A full set of photos of what is available and coming.
 
I have given Cyberdrive feedback this week via PM as to the general concerns and advised them to provide more updates (minor and major) on their indiegogo page, and also to a lesser extent on head-fi.
 
I have already reviewed on Head pie the first Seiun player which did arrive on time to backers, and in my mind it should be taken as sign that they do finish their products and complete their promises.
 
I will soon review this one:

 
I demoed for a short time the Seiun Pro. I am sorry I do not know whether it was the Pro or the ProX,... but they are virtually the same.
 
Sound quality seemed decent enough. i used my Campfire Audio Andromeda.
 
It goes on indiegogo for US$200 and I think from my limited time with it that buyers won`t be disappointed. It is a bargain.
 
Bear in mind it was a short listen with their music on SD card.
 
as you can see in the photos I had my son with me, so I had limited time. Talking, demo`ing etc.
*Cyberdrive always does a good job looking after my son.
 
Size is just within acceptable margins, weight is good. You can see size comparisons in my photos with an ipod touch and Opus#1.
 
My main feedback was that they should have more steps in their volume control. I recommended 100-150 steps.

 

[jdog]

@ExpatinJapan, thanks so much for all the pictures and early impressions.  Can you comment any further on the sound quality of the Seiun Pro, maybe a little more on what you mean by "decent enough"?  Also, can you provide any first hand info on the PHA?  I'm sitting on the fence as to whether to purchase this before the price increases...  It seems the retail prices for both the ProX and the PHA (now both have retail price $499) have increased from earlier quotes, so they must have really upgraded both units from previous plans??  Thanks again and any more info you can provide will be much appreciated.
 
Just for reference, the earlier quoted MSRP for the ProX was $300, and for the PHA $350.  The update for 7/15/16 quotes MSRPs for the ProX and PHA to both be $499...

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Key points in my mind are:

-I had a limited time with it.
-It was working, though still in beta. It exists!
-They have other models produced and working.
-Sounded good enough. As in I couldn't detect any overt problems (IE: hiss, too warm, too bright etc).
-Sounded good enough ( I used their music and not my own familiar music which I now think I should have).
-Sounded good enough- as in did not sound bad (EG:veiled, distorted etc).
-Not enough volume steps to hit a sweet spot. Simple software fix.
-Their simple first Seiun player sounded quite good. I have the more recent player as pictured in the above post for review which should reveal more of what we should expect from the Pro.

 

[tienbasse]

Nice to see they have enough time to offer demos at conventions, but not 2 minutes to update backers on a webpage.
Priorities...

 

[ExpatinJapan]

I gave them feedback on giving regular updates just recently.

 

[glassmonkey]

  Nice to see they have enough time to offer demos at conventions, but not 2 minutes to update backers on a webpage.
Priorities...

Demos keep your company viable and don't change the production calculus. I want Cyberdrive to succeed, they've already got my money, they should be out chasing new money in my mind.
 
That said, I imagine there isn't a lot to say in updateville unless they've shipped out the beta units. That should be happening, or have happened by now, and I imagine when that is all done is when we'll get our next update. Beta units, ewww.
 

 

[Jackpot77]

Bit concerned that the update they put in the story section (not the main updates part) of Indiegogo contained the below:

"The PRO model may not continue the mass production and to sell on the regular market. Based on the feedback, we receive more expectations on Pro X; therefore, we are considering to provide an upgrade program if Pro packers would like to pay the difference to upgrade to Pro X. Please let us know your ideas!"

So backers of the Pro (like myself) may end up not actually getting anything anyway, unless they clarify. I'm massively uninterested in passing more money across to CD until they have a guaranteed delivery date, especially as the Rrp of the Pro X once it goes on sale will now be $499 so I will be very surprised if the "upgrade price" isn't a little more than the original perk pricing, so negating the whole point of backing a criwdfunded project...

Have tried to remain positive and keep perspective with this campaign, but finding out via a very quietly advertised update that something that is three months overdue might not even be made now that they are coming out of the beta phase because people like the other model more is pretty disappointing.

 

[swannie007]

Really getting tired of the smoke and mirrors. These are the tactics that scare future investors off because the word does get around.

 

[glassmonkey]

Bit concerned that the update they put in the story section (not the main updates part) of Indiegogo contained the below:

"The PRO model may not continue the mass production and to sell on the regular market. Based on the feedback, we receive more expectations on Pro X; therefore, we are considering to provide an upgrade program if Pro packers would like to pay the difference to upgrade to Pro X. Please let us know your ideas!"

So backers of the Pro (like myself) may end up not actually getting anything anyway, unless they clarify. I'm massively uninterested in passing more money across to CD until they have a guaranteed delivery date, especially as the Rrp of the Pro X once it goes on sale will now be $499 so I will be very surprised if the "upgrade price" isn't a little more than the original perk pricing, so negating the whole point of backing a criwdfunded project...

Have tried to remain positive and keep perspective with this campaign, but finding out via a very quietly advertised update that something that is three months overdue might not even be made now that they are coming out of the beta phase because people like the other model more is pretty disappointing.

I'd bet that this is just an English language issue. They are required to deliver on the units that people bought, and it appears they want to do this. I think what they are trying to say is that they don't plan on selling the Pro on their website or in stores.
 
What I wish you could see on IndieGoGo is see how many people have backed the Pro vs. the Pro X. There were around 8k backers, and they might just do a small production run on the Pro if they don't think it is where they want to compete in the market. The IndieGoGo perk system of being able to put a perk up and then remove it is really annoying.

 

[jdog]

  I'd bet that this is just an English language issue. They are required to deliver on the units that people bought, and it appears they want to do this. I think what they are trying to say is that they don't plan on selling the Pro on their website or in stores.
 
What I wish you could see on IndieGoGo is see how many people have backed the Pro vs. the Pro X. There were around 8k backers, and they might just do a small production run on the Pro if they don't think it is where they want to compete in the market. The IndieGoGo perk system of being able to put a perk up and then remove it is really annoying.

I agree.  It sounds to me that CD is going to make the PRO the sake of the people that backed it on Indiegogo, but will not mass produce for the retail market.  It really sounds to me that the Pro and ProX have come a long way and hopefully will be ready to send out to us in the next few months....

 

[jdog]

Key points in my mind are:

-I had a limited time with it.
-It was working, though still in beta. It exists!
-They have other models produced and working.
-Sounded good enough. As in I couldn't detect any overt problems (IE: hiss, too warm, too bright etc).
-Sounded good enough ( I used their music and not my own familiar music which I now think I should have).
-Sounded good enough- as in did not sound bad (EG:veiled, distorted etc).
-Not enough volume steps to hit a sweet spot. Simple software fix.
-Their simple first Seiun player sounded quite good. I have the more recent player as pictured in the above post for review which should reveal more of what we should expect from the Pro.

Thanks again for your update.  Just curiously, how many volume steps does the player currently have?  Also, did you get the feeling that the HO has enough power to drive most of the common IEMs to sufficient volumes? or do you think it needs the PHA to get reasonable volume?

 

[chompchomps]

ohman i was hoping for sleeker on screen buttons after looking at the pics. the pros just look like generic android phones

 

[ExpatinJapan]

@jdog

The number of volume steps are purely beta. To comment on them would not be helpful at this point imho.
I recommended to Cyberdrive 100-150 steps.

There was sufficent power and volume.