Quote: Originally Posted by lanz White noise is considerable. I haven't compared white noise with that in X5, but drawing from memory I reckon the white noise is greater with HD30GA9. ** Actually whitenoise has been significantly improved with the GA9 version I've used both...

Quote: Originally Posted by catscratch My main question, which you can now directly answer: Any english compatibility issues? Both for the player and KMA. I gave the exporter I was ordering the go ahead, and now they're persumably trying to find one for me. I really can't wait. It...

Quote: Has the extra 10 gb changed the player's form factor at all? Any changes in the interface? What are encoding times like for KLS in comparison to Mp3 or flac? 1. Nope, the form factor is the same. I know this because HD30GA9 fits into the maclear case that I used for HD20GA7...

Having owned an X5L as well, I would agree with the above posters that it's smaller than it seems, but I still found the thickness to be considerable. If the screen was not placed on the 'bulge' (can't describe it any other way) and formed a flatline surface, it would've been perfect. As it is...

The HD30GA9 I ordered 40 days ago (believe it or not) has finally arrived. So here are my first impressions and findings. First of all, the overall sound hasn't changed. Still the full, warm and rich sound of HD20GA7. I wrote about the sound quality of the Kenwood players in my HD20GA7...

isamu, the pic you posted is the aforementioned 6-band custom EQ. On the left-hand side is, er, the bass and the right-hand is the treble. Hard to explain in words, but basically you click into the bass/treble and move sideways to choose the bands. jant71: Quote: Oga, kenwood realized...

Quote: Originally Posted by root I'd like to believe in that as I'm interested in the player's SQ myself. But how can you tell so pending the DAP and having had little experience with other DAP's (or maybe you just haven't mentioned them). I've heard most of them (including X5 and 5th...

Quote: Originally Posted by Lsportline43 Do you have a HD30GA9 on order? Yup, have it on order, but it's taking its sweet time arriving. I'm starting to get really worked up about the delay, so some kind of action might be needed against the importer. If they are to be believed...

Quote: so no others can pronounce on the kenwood SQ ? I'm in search as well for the bestSQ dap , I'm very interested in getting it if it compares well ( line out / hp out ) to ipod 5g , Karma and Sony players . HD20GA7 has a 6-band EQ, plus a whole assortment of SQ choices. As far as...

I think er4p is a perfect match for X5. X5 has probably the strongest (or the boomest, depending on your view) bass of all DAPs out there, and will compensate perfectly for er4p's supposed lack of bass. I've used er6i out of X5, and the matching was very very good. Fiddle around with the EQ a...

catscratch, amazingly enough my HD20GA7 provided full English language support: the installation process was in English, the software for the player is in English, and when they even give you English-language manual (on paper and in Adobe Acrobat). So yes, HD20GA7 (so logically HD30GA9 also) is...

I'm very much hoping that the Kenwood lossless files will be gapless. It would be the logical thing for Kenwood to do. I'm not partial to doing battery tests - haven't got the patience for them lol - but this time I'm also very curious to see how long the player lasts playing the lossless files...

I'm really looking forward to Bangraman getting hold of either HD20GA7 or HD30GA9, so I can read one of his incredible in-depth reviews You should definitely get one! I'm a relative beginner in this audiophile world, so while I swear by HD20GA7, I'm hoping that real experts pick up the Kenwood...

holleboomer, I ran a translation machine on the Japanese user site that you mentioned earlier, and the users say that HD20GA7 is gapless with WAV files only. MP3 and WMA files are apparently not gapless, and the general impression I get from MP3 files is that they might not be gapless. I'm...

raid517, if by chance you are not interested in amps or cables or any other enhancing head-fi equipments to go along with your portable DAP, then I recommend without reservation Kenwood HD20GA7 as a great choice. But the problem is that the price is very prohibitive (over 400 bucks for 20GB) and...

brianadam888, I ordered mine from murauchi.co.jp via Yahoo Japan. I don't know what I was smoking when I said 'a lot' less than 50,000, but it's actually 'a bit' less than the stated price My bad. But that place seems to be having some kind of supply problems and I've yet to receive mine. Must...

Great review. If I was interested in flash-based players the Monolith Premium would be at the top of my list. I just love how tough and rugged it looks. Also, I've heard lots of reports saying it has great sound, and your review continues to confirm that I'd love to hear the sound quality...

Wasn't trying to put down JVC - but I do realize that I wasn't playing fair with those listed prices, coz HD30GA9 was listed at just below 50,000 yen and I've ordered one for a lot less than that too. I do wonder, though: what if you don't want the dock and the remote, can you pay less for...

Wow! Lots of posts for such an innocuous question. I can only dream of telling the difference between 44.1khz and 48khz. The most I can differentiate between MP3 files is 128kbps and 192kbps lol. But it's mostly psychological for me - knowing that I have the best possible set-up for CD rip...

FenderP, the Japanese website AVWatch has conducted a comparison between the JVC player and HD30GA9: via http://dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.2642 Here: http://babelfish.altavista.com/babel...2%2Fdev138.htm As DAPreview mentions, HD30GA9 seems to have triumphed. But the...

Really? So 48khz actually reduces quality? Damn I was somewhat deluded about that then lol. Thanks for the reply adam917

I'm currently wondering whether ripping a CD track at 48khz is better than ripping at 44.1khz. Theoretically, the former should be better, right? But I gather that CD tracks themselves are at 44.1khz, so does ripping at 48khz make any difference at all? The guys at Hydrogenaudio don't seem to...

holleboomer, yes I checked out the review there as well Makes me pine for HD30GA9 even more! In the other review you mentioned earlier in the post, it was slightly disconcerting to find that the white noise hasn't disappeared. Wasn't too big a problem with HD20GA7, but I did expect Kenwood to...

I don't think Kenwood wants HD20GA7 or HD30GA9 to be an iPod-killer, or even be that competitive in the market. Otherwise they wouldn't price these players that high. By the looks of it, HD20GA7 has become something of a cult player in Japan, with a premium appeal. It seems to have found a...

I've had a trawl through the HD20GA7 community that Holleboomer listed (running a translation machine lol), and I've found that HD20GA7 is gapless playing WAV files, but NOT gapless with MP3 and WMA files. A slight surprise - not to mention a disappointment - as the transition between MP3 songs...