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Centrance Hifi-M8 and Hifi-M8 LX (8 versions!) impressions thread
Jul 18, 2013 at 6:51 PM Post #136 of 1,326
Hey Moodyrn,
 
I believe the 3 oclock position you may be referring to is the spot where DACport is equal to "line level" output.
 
HiFi-M8 is designed so that you can achieve "line level" output by keeping the gain switch in the middle position and putting the volume control all the way up.
 
-Kenny
 
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:19 PM Post #138 of 1,326
ksef10 said:
Hey Moodyrn,
 
I
 
HiFi-M8 is designed so that you can achieve "line level" output by keeping the gain switch in the middle position and putting the volume control all the way up.
 
-Kenny
Click to expand...
thats good information. Be good to add it to the Centrance Hifi-M8 website FAQs eventually.

So gain 2 on full is effectively line out.

Using the idevice version which has two headphone jacks out, which outlet bypasses the dac and amp, and which bypasses the amp only?

Thanks.

Oh and are the Gain specs on the centrance site the final builds specs?
 
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:33 PM Post #139 of 1,326
Yes it would be a good idea to add this to the faq. I ended up discovering this by trial and error. It would be great for upcoming users to know this, many might assume like I did and try using it as a dac with the gain in the lowest position.
 
Jul 18, 2013 at 8:56 PM Post #140 of 1,326
I have the first three spots on this thread.

1). General information.
2). I will remove/move the current review and add a FAQ in there as we get more information an learn more ourselves.
3). Put my own review in there like a narcissistic selfish person i am or maybe a selection of the best points from everyones reviews and impressions.

-Just thinking out loud.
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 9:16 AM Post #141 of 1,326
just re-read my earlier impressions from previous audio shows whilst trying out the demo models.
It seems like my opinions are very much the same now.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/662881/centrance-hifi-m8-and-hifi-m8-lx-8-versions-incoming-impressions-and-appreciation-thread#post_9415206
 
Of course I can add more details, which I will at a later stage, but most of what I have written above still rings true.
 
__________________________________________________________________________
 
RE:Impedance switch.
 
A few have written that they find 2ohm and 10ohm to be very similar.
 
What i have noticed with my on ear headphones is that with 1 and 10ohms that the vocals are slightly to my right ear cup, whilst on 2ohm the vocals are more centered.
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 11:29 AM Post #142 of 1,326
Quote:
expatinjapan said:
just re-read my earlier impressions from previous audio shows whilst trying out the demo models.
It seems like my opinions are very much the same now.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/662881/centrance-hifi-m8-and-hifi-m8-lx-8-versions-incoming-impressions-and-appreciation-thread#post_9415206
 
Of course I can add more details, which I will at a later stage, but most of what I have written above still rings true.
 
__________________________________________________________________________
 
RE:Impedance switch.
 
A few have written that they find 2ohm and 10ohm to be very similar.
 
What i have noticed with my on ear headphones is that with 1 and 10ohms that the vocals are slightly to my right ear cup, whilst on 2ohm the vocals are more centered.
 
Click to expand...

 
 
Listening balanced or unbalanced?
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 2:53 PM Post #144 of 1,326
My experience has been different from yours. For me the biggest difference has been from 1 to 2 ohms, and yes 2 and 10 ohms sound very similar but slightly different as well. All of the cans I've tried couldn't be more different....jh13pro, w3000anv, he-6. With my jh13pro the imaging is better focused with the 1 ohm output. The sound is actually a touch louder once I move it to 2ohm. The sound stage also gets a little smeared. The effect is just slightly greater at 10ohms. I like the 2 ohm output best with my w3000. The sound stage is a little smaller with the 1 ohm ouput.

With my jh13pro being 28 ohms they're not as prone to hiss as most ciems. So even with the gain switch in the second position, the background is still dead quiet. And I prefer them at that gain setting as well. They sound a little too polite, and a little too smooth in the lowest gain setting. With the gain in the second postition, the sound is a bit more lively and balanced as well. I recently got a new 6n silver cable for my jh13 to go with my m8. It's terminated single ended, but I wanted it that way to directly compare it with a stock ue cable that I've been using for a while now. It was my intention on reterminating balanced. But it sounds so good as is, I don't know if it would be worth the trouble to go balanced. What I hear is very reminissent of my audition with them on a gsx mkII. No I'm not saying the m8 is just as good. But the jh13 do sound very similar to what they sounded like on it though. Maybe it's the class A thing, I don't know. But that's still high praise to even mention them both in the same sentence. The great thing about this product is, it can be tailored to everyone's taste, and tailored for different cans at the same time. So everyone's results may be different.
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 7:00 PM Post #145 of 1,326
I've been using this exclusive as a spdif converter for a while now. I do have a musical fidelity vlink on my bedroom rig and been doing direct comparisons between the two. The vlink is long in the tooth(which is why it's delegated to bedroom duties), but its still a dedicated spdif converter and the m8 is not, so going into the comparison I was hoping the m8 would be at least close in performance. Well...lets just say it may be time to finally upgrade the vlink to the newest version because not only was the m8 better, it wiped the floor with it.

Where do I start. First the m8 made the vlink sound very 2 dimensional. While also sporting a much wider soundstage. The vlink sounds a bit congested compared to the m8. Instrument separation on the m8 is much better with the imaging also having better focus. There wasn't one area where the vlink was better. Wow!! I wasn't expecting that.

I did share some concerns about Michael giving in to too many people, and feared this might end up being a jack of all trades and master of none. I'm not saying its a master of everything, but its equally good in everything it does. I've used this as a combo unit, dac, spdif converter and there isn't one thing it does better than other in my evaluation so far. Very well done Michael(and others).

Oh, and I need to add, my testing as a spdif converter was with using a pc as a source with the newest update. I did try using it that way with my ipad 3 as a source on one of my other rigs and thought it was lacking in overall bass weight. I plan to do more comparisons with the ipad as a source soon.
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 8:35 PM Post #148 of 1,326
Quote:
wormsdriver said:
I brought my jh13's, galaxy s4 and otg cable along to pick up my hifi-m8...
I had no success so far. Will try different otg cable when I get home...
Click to expand...

Not sure If this is helpful, but hopefully more information helps towards a solution of some sort.
 
In the V-Moda Verza thread a couple of days ago a person or persons were writing about trouble they were having with the Galaxy S4 also, maybe perusing the recent threads may give additional information.
 
Also in the clas thread or clas-db thread and their website they announced support for android products using a specific app
http://cypherlabs.com/blog/post/android-devices-play-high-resolution-audio-using-the-algorhythm-solo-db
 
As we know the android phones all are quite different, so ability to connect may vary.
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 8:40 PM Post #149 of 1,326
wormsdriver said:

I brought my jh13's, galaxy s4 and otg cable along to pick up my hifi-m8...
I had no success so far. Will try different otg cable when I get home...
Click to expand...

Not surprised since I couldn't get my Note II to recognize the DACmini. Did you try using usb audio recorder pro? That is probably the last hope. The last couple versions have crashed on my phone, but you might have better luck.
 
Jul 19, 2013 at 11:40 PM Post #150 of 1,326
ok...I finally have a chance to actually sit down and play with this thing.
 
I just connected the same setup I had earlier and it works! ...Maybe the M8 didn't have enough battery?
size]
  (I'm charging it right now) yeah, battery meter indicates low
size]

 
Samsung S4 > ibasso otg cable > Hifi M8 
 
As expected, it only works with USB Audio Recorder Pro app. (same as my Dacport)
 
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