Hello Folks,
I've decided to post a review of the HP Stream 7 being used as a DAP.
I was considering getting a FiiO X1 for portable playing but then saw an ad for the HP Stream 7 on amazon and thought, well, full Windows 8 for $99? Why not?
I could use Jriver Media Center and an otg cable into my FiiO e07k and/or my FiiO e17.
So I ordered.
Build:
HP Stream 7 (32gb onboard) with 128gb micro sd card.
FiiO e07k
FiiO E17
OTG cable
Ath M50x
SO, tablet arrives, and first thing to note is how dense it is, really solid in your hand, good weight.
Turn it on, Windows 8 metro fires up, works pretty well.
I immediately install windows 8 classic start menu, cause seriously, screw that no start menu noise.
Install chrome, uninstall some of the HP bloatware.
Install Jriver 20 demo.
Copy a few albums over to the device over Wi-Fi.
(Transistor soundtrack in flac)
Plug in the e07k via OTG cable and set it up in Jriver.
So far so good, zero issues overall so far, atleast with the player and the dac.
The first apparent problem with the tablet is the touch input, the interface is overall too small and you end up touching other things or having to sort of spam tap the screen to open applications or select individual tracks.
The second and more major issue that I find, is that the tablet has no way of turning off the screen without going into sleep mode, which of course turns off any applications currently open.
So you CAN'T play your music with the screen off, so even with the brightness turned all the way down, you get about 3-4 hours of continuous play of music and with only one USB port, you cant charge it and use the OTG cable at the same time.
I will go more indepth with a later edit, but for now, if you were deciding on a cheap awesome DAP like the FiiO X1 or the HP Stream 7, solely for music playback, you may want to skip it.
I will note however that it plays youtube and amazon instant video and Netflix perfectly, no lag or hiccups.
I've decided to post a review of the HP Stream 7 being used as a DAP.
I was considering getting a FiiO X1 for portable playing but then saw an ad for the HP Stream 7 on amazon and thought, well, full Windows 8 for $99? Why not?
I could use Jriver Media Center and an otg cable into my FiiO e07k and/or my FiiO e17.
So I ordered.
Build:
HP Stream 7 (32gb onboard) with 128gb micro sd card.
FiiO e07k
FiiO E17
OTG cable
Ath M50x
SO, tablet arrives, and first thing to note is how dense it is, really solid in your hand, good weight.
Turn it on, Windows 8 metro fires up, works pretty well.
I immediately install windows 8 classic start menu, cause seriously, screw that no start menu noise.
Install chrome, uninstall some of the HP bloatware.
Install Jriver 20 demo.
Copy a few albums over to the device over Wi-Fi.
(Transistor soundtrack in flac)
Plug in the e07k via OTG cable and set it up in Jriver.
So far so good, zero issues overall so far, atleast with the player and the dac.
The first apparent problem with the tablet is the touch input, the interface is overall too small and you end up touching other things or having to sort of spam tap the screen to open applications or select individual tracks.
The second and more major issue that I find, is that the tablet has no way of turning off the screen without going into sleep mode, which of course turns off any applications currently open.
So you CAN'T play your music with the screen off, so even with the brightness turned all the way down, you get about 3-4 hours of continuous play of music and with only one USB port, you cant charge it and use the OTG cable at the same time.
I will go more indepth with a later edit, but for now, if you were deciding on a cheap awesome DAP like the FiiO X1 or the HP Stream 7, solely for music playback, you may want to skip it.
I will note however that it plays youtube and amazon instant video and Netflix perfectly, no lag or hiccups.
What if you try with a USB hub with external power, do you think it will charge the tablet while using the DAC? Not very portable but for home purposes.