kiteki
aka Theta Alpha 1
aka Alpha Zeta 5
aka Alpha Zeta 6
aka Nanocat Systems
And many other aliases
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2010
- Posts
- 10,617
- Likes
- 174
Thanks!
His comments on HM-101:
"The sound was remarkably analog, and it reminds me a lot of the sound of the HRT Music Streamer DACs. And due to the analog sound signature, I really don’t mind the high noise and grain levels, as it goes really well in the overall presentation, sort of how grain always romanticize film-based photographs, or how pops and noises are an accepted part of the whole vinyl listening experience. The warm and mid-centric tonality is very likable. Not only because it’s warm and mid-centric, but also because you never get a feeling that things are dark and muffled, thanks to the superb, spacious depth of the soundstage giving a very good image of the venue where the recording was taken.
I have no complain with the treble as it was clear enough and wasn’t wrong or bothersome to my ears. The bass, as always, is a bit loose on budget devices, and I’ve learned to accept that compromise as long as it doesn’t go to the boomy category. However the TDA1308 based headphone amplifier lacks the punch in the bass. I think it has enough body in the bass, but just not enough punch and that’s why I’d rather have the signal passed on to a different amp like the Fiio E6 which I already find to improve the bass punch. But obviously that takes out some of the fidelity and the awesome soundstage that I was raving about earlier, and also the beauty of a simple one-box operation. Hence, I would recommend the HM-101 if you don’t mind a slightly less punchy bass section in return for an super-awesome soundstage for only $39.
The headphone amp and DAC section is amazingly free of artifacts as I didn’t pick up anything even listening to the super resolving HD800 and the Beyerdynamic T1. Once again, if the bass was a tad punchier, the HM-101 would have been the perfect device."
What on earth?
His comments on HM-101:
"The sound was remarkably analog, and it reminds me a lot of the sound of the HRT Music Streamer DACs. And due to the analog sound signature, I really don’t mind the high noise and grain levels, as it goes really well in the overall presentation, sort of how grain always romanticize film-based photographs, or how pops and noises are an accepted part of the whole vinyl listening experience. The warm and mid-centric tonality is very likable. Not only because it’s warm and mid-centric, but also because you never get a feeling that things are dark and muffled, thanks to the superb, spacious depth of the soundstage giving a very good image of the venue where the recording was taken.
I have no complain with the treble as it was clear enough and wasn’t wrong or bothersome to my ears. The bass, as always, is a bit loose on budget devices, and I’ve learned to accept that compromise as long as it doesn’t go to the boomy category. However the TDA1308 based headphone amplifier lacks the punch in the bass. I think it has enough body in the bass, but just not enough punch and that’s why I’d rather have the signal passed on to a different amp like the Fiio E6 which I already find to improve the bass punch. But obviously that takes out some of the fidelity and the awesome soundstage that I was raving about earlier, and also the beauty of a simple one-box operation. Hence, I would recommend the HM-101 if you don’t mind a slightly less punchy bass section in return for an super-awesome soundstage for only $39.
The headphone amp and DAC section is amazingly free of artifacts as I didn’t pick up anything even listening to the super resolving HD800 and the Beyerdynamic T1. Once again, if the bass was a tad punchier, the HM-101 would have been the perfect device."
What on earth?