Yeah, I'm not too worried about the price - I just want something that sounds nice, I'd keep the 901 if it didn't keep breaking....

Has anyone who has this player (analogue version) compared it to HM-901 or Lotto Paw Gold?   I see people describing Esther as warm, it seems like something I might like - I have the HM901 at the moment with 'classic' amp card, but it's so unreliable and I'm tired of having it repaired.

Has anyone dismantled a HM-901?   I'm tired of sending this unit back to Hifiman with the same problem every bloody time (volume dropping out in one ear until light pressure applied near earphone jack), so I'd like to take it apart and fix it properly myself.  The warranty has expired now...

  Thanks, this was very helpful if I understood your description properly.  I think you're calling body the thing I called 'warmth' when I got my 901.  It's one of the reasons I consider it better than the AK models I tested.  When I listen to things people call flat or balanced with a good...

  That wouldn't be hard if the 380 sounds anything like the 240 did in sound signature.  I was impressed when testing one but very, very quickly suffered listening fatigue and no amount of messing the with the EQ could fix it.  I can listen to my 901 (when it's working) for hours and hours...

Really need to use the same amp on both to rule that out, could have just been the balanced being better than minibox which I think people have been saying for a while.  I'm a fan of the standard classic one myself.

I noticed this when I visited Hifilounge and tried out some alternatives to my Denons (which ultimately I ended up keeping).  Some were too heavy and hot to wear, some managed to be heavy but also felt like they'd fall off with the slightest provocation.  Some felt like torture instruments...

So have any 901 -> 901S owners noticed any real difference in sound quality?  Did they implement vintage mode in software at all (I actually use it a lot)?

Well they sent me my machine back a second time with a repair instead of replacement.  (summary: first two units replaced by Amazon due to day 1 faults, 3rd replaced by Hifiman with the 4th one damaged in transit by DHL, 4th then developed the same fault as unit 3 and got sent for repair).  ...

So my replacement 901 has the same fault as the other one already, just with the right speaker instead of the left, and the case pressure only partially restores it.   Does anyone know of a proper fix for this instead of posting them back to China all the time at great expense?   Really...

  I mean the navigation dial rather than the volume control :)   I contacted Hifiman about the problem with DHL damaging my replacement in transit.  In short, they don't seem to care and instead tried to sell me an upgrade.   I'm not very happy, that's terrible customer service.  "Oh I'm...

Well I got my 901 (well, a replacement) and the new firmware is nicer, as is having left/right which are balanced again.  Scroll wheel now causes noise over the audio which is offputting, is that common on units?  I've had terrible luck generally so far with these, the one sent back was my...

I wonder if the classic card from the 901 will fit/work in the 901s, I love the sound from it.   My HM-901 which is nearing the end of warranty just started to have problems with one channel being quieter when first switched on, until you put a little pressure near the top, but it doesn't seem...

  One had sound which kept popping, another had sound which dropped out if any pressure was on the top left corner.

So I've had the 901 for some weeks now, I've listened to a bunch of things, both normal 320k MP3 and some high res stuff mostly from HDtracks.    It's not the best option for poor quality masterings (sadly a lot of music suffers from this) but it's a long way from unlistenable, especially with...

  I'd say the #1 improvement needs to be the controls, the jog wheel is pretty horrible to use especially if you have dry hands like I tend to, no grip at all so I have to put a lot of downwards pressure on it or use 2 thumbs.  A simple rubberised coating (which need to be user replaceable)...

No problem, they were posted in this thread before (somewhere way back), but:   http://www.iriver.jp/information/entry_744.php   Just copy and paste the details section into Google Translate, it will read oddly but if you've spent as much time as I have using that service with Japanese web...

I'd be surprised if it changed at all, the patch notes say nothing about changing the sound.

Had a chance to copy some more music on and do some proper listening today, discovering parts of music which I'd never heard before despite owning for years, this was definitely the right choice of player and it's forgiving enough with the classic card to listen to some of my worse recordings...

  I know a guy or two in China, where can those Fen Li cards be purchased from?

Well my HM901 saga just keeps going...   I'd decided in the end to keep the third unit I was sent, but this morning one of the channels got weaker and dropped out.  I picked it up to check the jack was in properly (it was) and it came back.  Found that light pressure near the logo on the unit...

Well I ended up deciding to keep the 901 after A/B with an AK240.  It's just easier to listen to if not to live with.   However they really need to do something about quality control....   Unit 1: stiff volume control, loud random popping sounds even when paused.  Amp card very hard to...

I had a chance today to A/B a HM-901 against the AK240 (again thanks to hifilounge.co.uk).  The AK240 really is a superb DAP, but I'd say it's a tie with the 901.  They sound quite different, some tracks sound better on the 901 and some sound better on the 240.  The 240 has a better sound stage...

  Does anyone know what that awesome looking one with the VU meters is?

Due to the way Amazon supply for other companies, I had to just place an order for a second one, that's how it was so fast.   As for alignment, as I say if you turn it up to 8 the marker lines up perfectly there against the number 8.   I hope the RF problem isn't as bad on this unit, I'll...