[nickosiris]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'd be very interested in purchasing a C4 or CK4 to see how they sound, but ONLY when they can actually play 24 bit FLAC at 96kHz and above like they advertise they can. I haven't seen one review or comment on Head-Fi where this has been the case.
 
(If someone knows better please say so).
 
 
 

 

[ElCrazo]

Wrong again. It is clear from their information that the Colorfly only plays Wav files in 24/96 or 24/192. Flac files play in 16/44 but can be upsampled if you wish. However, having used this player for some months now I have come to the conclusion that at 16/44 this player is superb and so I now only bother with higher resolution files for demo reasons or albums that I truly want in 24/96. Besides, there is still not a huge choice of files in Hi Res apart from Classical and Jazz, music which I do not crave for. They are working on new firmware that will enable Flac at higher resolution for those that want it.
Quote and not mine: 'For anyone with ears, this is an essential purchase'!

 

[Anaxilus]

So what's the deal w/ the new member who only posts defensively in the Colorfly thread?  Not to mention you say the DAP is great w/ all IEMs when all the measurements indicate there is likely a problem w/ its output impedance or something else when using this DAP?  I'm finding it hard to not be suspicious.

 

[JoonBug]

has anyone in this thread actually tried one?
If not, should I just ask Ken from ALO Audio to give us his impressions?
 
The casing is really attractive and the 24/192 thing is sweet but too bad about quality control and only WAV 24/192 (I mean wth?? No FLAC support...)
 
*sighs*
 
And ElCrazo, upsampling 16/44 to 24/96 or 24/192 =/= actual 24/192..... so the point is moot.. at the current rate, the Colorfly is a half-baked product.
 
if only the HM-801 was a bit prettier.... maybe we should demand Fang make a nicer looking option... it's probably possible and would sell like crazy, no doubt.

 

[JoonBug]

You're talking about the HM-801, eh, buddy?
 
Quote:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!!!  I'm tired of all the pros and cons, everything has these. Function over form is what I'm interested in and it is my personal opinion, after months of constant use, there is no other portable player that can give me what the Colorfly can. It is an incredibly high resolution player that tells it how it is but it takes time to realise this. Not everyones cup of tea perhaps but it should be taken seriously.  Quote from German review  - "should take the Colorfly very seriously - especially in terms of its sound performance". 
Digressing slightly .... Last week I tried something different (for me at least). I fed the Colorfly into a custom built Amp, no EQ, no Bass or Treble control. Straight in, straight out and the sound was truly Gob smacking! Leads me to ask a question that slightly embarasses me....... What is the point of using head amps on anything that has no TRUE line out? If you have to use the headphone out then surely no additional head amp can improve on the sound quality? Only alter the way it sounds. Sound is not like other things such as, I dunno, an apple. We can see, smell and taste an apple, we know if it's gone bad or not. With sound however we have only that, sound. And, within reasonable techie specs, surely that must be very subjective. I sometimes prefer to listen through a good valve head amp but that does not improve on sound quality, it only changes it. When I was researching speakers in Japan one word kept coming up.... TONE. Why is the Stradivaris violin so sought after? TONE. Any half decent violin can reproduce a perfect note. The Colorfly was designed to reproduce classical music and convey the tone of the various instruments and the sad fact is, most music is not mastered or recorded with the same attention to detail and 'naturalness' as classical. Fact.
As we say in the U.K." Horses for courses"
If you make a playlist some tracks will sound great, some mediocre and some pretty bad. If only one track sounds truly great then you know your gear is good and the other tracks are simply not up to the mark. Sadly, for some perhaps, the Colorfly is very unforgiving of poor recordings. I have to say, my QLS at 16/44 can sound pretty good through a full size system but again it depends on how good the recording is and I wonder how often people forget about this side of things.  

 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

If not, should I just ask Ken from ALO Audio to give us his impressions?

 
I believe as a MoT he would not be allowed to comment on it per the forum rules?  Could be wrong.

 

[JoonBug]

Eh, that's understandable. Would Ken give a good response if I asked through his company email?

 

[Anaxilus]

Couldn't hurt to ask.

 

[ElCrazo]

I see nothing wrong in combating incorrect assumptions. I have read so many ill informed comments about the Colorfly and other products on  forums and it concerns me a great deal. If another member has a Colorfly and has a different opinion to mine, that's O.K. but I have not seen any yet. Only this week I saw a post saying the CF cannot drive Sennheiser HD 800's. Wrong again. How about 600ohm Beyer T1's? No problem.
again!

 

[Anaxilus]

Actually all the reports and measurements seem to indicate the Colorfly does best w/ headphones rather than Multi BA IEMs for example.  I'm not sure what your 'thumbs up' is meant to suggest.  You can get sound from an HD800 using an iPod.  Doesn't mean they sound their best.  Nobody said the T1 or HD800 won't work with the Colorfly.  

 

[MrProggie]

Perhaps ElCrazo should come clean as a representative of Colorfly? He just happens to have two of the most expensive headphones ready to be photographed with his beloved Colorfly?

 

[JoonBug]

^Oh, c'mon, one can have T1s and HD800s for a desktop setup too.. But yeah ElCrazo could be an employee of Colorfly. If you are, ElCrazo, you should realize we won't buy this product for the looks... But for the SQ. The next Colorfly had better up its game.

If you aren't an employee of Colorfly, please ignore this statement. I respect your opinion, but maybe I feel less inclined to if you come out in what sounds to us like a fanatical tone.

JB

 

[ElCrazo]

Not an employee, not fanatical and the can's are not mine (I never said they were). They belong to a mate of mine in London and he has a C/F too. Look at my profile photo and what you see is his bedroom rig (C/F at top). It appears folk are still making assumptions. I am not here to sell the C/F and I accept the point about it's looks, that's subjective. My mate has many Hi End cans including the ones in the photo as well as Dennon 7000 and Ultrasone 10's and about eighty pairs of top IEM's. He's the fanatical one.Want more photo's?
My comment re HD800's not working was based on a post from another forum. Fact, there are many incorrect posts, people believe (in general) what they read and so I think it only right to correct these mistakes where I see them, I've done the same thing over my car, many times, a Volvo C30.
Joonbug makes a good point saying he would not buy one for it's looks but for it's sound quality. That's the reason I bought one and the reason I defend it. Like I have already said, if any one else has one of these then I would respect their opinion but so far; zilch. I also agree with Joonbug about uping their game, the C/F is not perfect but it does give the best sound quality from an entirely self contained player and I for one don't want to carry DAc's and Amps about. Perhaps the new CK4 will have more mass appeal and it should be half the price, who knows but I'll get one anyway.
All my comments re C/F are based on personal experience over many months and fact, so far who else can say that? A confession, I think my QL 350 out performs the C/F at 16/44 when both are feeding into a static system because the QL has a dedicated line out and that's what I would like to see on the C/F. I think the new CK4 has this option but not certain. 
What the C/F has done for me, is reinvigorate my love of music and inspired me to look more closely at the quality of downloads and file formats, it has taught me something. My Volvo has an upgraded sound system with USB and so now I can simply put quality 16/44 WAV files onto a memory stick and I'm off. No need to use iPod or C/F. and no CD's all over the car! Don't laugh, I am 62 years old, retired and probably way behind you guys in my knowledge of all things Hi Fi and besides, I have many other interests to occupy my time, like building speakers and messing up the home!
Sorry if my posts offend some folk but surely you would all find posts more usefull if they were based on user experience, not hearsay and assumptions?
 
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

A confession, I think my QL 350 out performs the C/F at 16/44 when both are feeding into a static system because the QL has a dedicated line out and that's what I would like to see on the C/F.

 
Ah thank you.  That's what I've been waiting for.  Now I know exactly where to place the CF amongst my gear.  I'm not missing out then for my needs.
 
 

 

[ElCrazo]

Does anyone know if it is possible to mod the CF, bypass it's head amp ection for a L/O?  Is that a daft question? Downside of QLS is it's size and next to useless display, but then again, it does have a remote. Very handy! As a self contained player though, the CF beats my QLS, Cowon and iPod hands down.
Conclusion, everything has it's pros and cons. As my mate keeps saying, CF for portable with cans, CD player for static and now I have a new CD player (a modded YAQIN SD-32A) I have to agree with him. I could now go on and say how good the Yaqin is but then I'd run the risk of being mistaken for an emplee of them too. However, just as I think the CF offers good value for money, so does the Yaqin and if anyone out there has tips or tricks regarding this player I'd like to hear them.
 
"Ah thank you.  That's what I've been waiting for.  Now I know exactly where to place the CF amongst my gear.  I'm not missing out then for my needs."  Probably not

. Only you know your own needs, just as I know mine and in the end it's all about enjoying the music. Lets never forget that!