[stozzer123]

scrap that

 

[audionewbi]

My journey to hisound product is also an interesting one. At first impression Rocoo BA sounded "unmusical", I hated the unit simply because before Rocoo BA I was used toDAP which thought bass emphasis is what music is all about. With time I learned what high region clarity is all thanks to Rocoo BA.  

Sure I wish the unit had a better UI and of course in my opinion it is not really a 250 dollar product (more like a 150) but to judge it sounds because of the parts used inside it is pure ignorance. Just because a unit is using some chip which is implement in some more expensive unit it does not mean it will sound the same (remember Fiio E7 with its 'high end' wolfson DAC?). The same logic applies for unit using cheaper chips.
The engineers in hisound truly know how to make the best of what they have. Using sigmatel which is a cheap chip means they can produce a great sounding unit (all thank to their engineers) at a lower cost which ultimately gives them more profit margin.
Nothing wrong with that, all we care is that it sounds good, right?
 
In my opinion if they reduced their pricing right and got rid of their old UI I dont think there is any DAP in its price range which can compete with them in their SQ region.
 
I've auditioned studio V and before auditioning I always thought studio V is simply Rocoo BA with larger battery and different CAP for higher output power, after using Studio V I can say that I think what I assumed about it is right. 
 

I will order the C3 and will review it against BA.  

 

[lee730]

I'm not really sure I agree on the last part audionewbi. I found the Studio V and Rocoo BA to have a nice difference between them in regard to sound quality. From imaging, sound-staging, vocal intimacy, and treble detail. Overall I found the Studio V to be quite an upgrade. But they do share similar sound signatures. That I will agree with you on. If I never heard the Studio V though I could have easily lived with the Rocoo BA myself.
 

 

[stozzer123]

Quote:

Sure I wish the unit had a better UI and of course in my opinion it is not really a 250 dollar product (more like a 150) but to judge it sounds because of the parts used inside it is pure ignorance. Just because a unit is using some chip which is implement in some more expensive unit it does not mean it will sound the same (remember Fiio E7 with its 'high end' wolfson DAC?). The same logic applies for unit using cheaper chips.
The engineers in hisound truly know how to make the best of what they have. Using sigmatel which is a cheap chip means they can produce a great sounding unit (all thank to their engineers) at a lower cost which ultimately gives them more profit margin.
Nothing wrong with that, all we care is that it sounds good, right?
 

 
 
Im sorry but this is, flat out in all ways yet another massive head-fi tried and trusted line.  
 
Yes it is true to a certain point but ultimately you are limited by the hardware.  To think that an extremely small operation like hisound is going to produce better with this set-up than CUBE AND BBE working together (there was interviews and pictures of the cube design team and bbe engineers) can is possible, although EXTREMELY unlikely.  Even given that say hisound were able to find some magic there somewhere, the difference would be so ultimately minute (and again unlikely) you still think that ridiculous price difference is justified and lets not forget that the studio measures nowhere near what a hi-fi dap should be considered.  Same DAC + same amp + same UI + less features + some engineering miracle = $400+  
 
And here is the absolute kicker and I will stand beside it.  There not much in the sound difference flat (although the c30 hisses a lot less) but then add in bbe and the custom eq settings and the c30 flat out beats it.  I know this will be hard to take for folk but I have no other interest than people not getting ripped off.  If you take all these facts into account plus the other issues on the player itself and still think it is worth paying out $450+  by all means go ahead, its your money and if you cant overcome the placebo effect and marketing hype fair enough.

They are racketeering plain and simple off of a niche market.  They saw a gap and are exploiting it plain and simple, the people in the afore mentioned chinese websites figured this out as did indonesian audiophiles, they were also banned from these sites.  Now they have moved on to pedaling it over here.
 
That price mark up is not just making a profit it is flat out extortion.

 

[stozzer123]

Quote:

I'm not really sure I agree on the last part audionewbi. I found the Studio V and Rocoo BA to have a nice difference between them in regard to sound quality. From imaging, sound-staging, vocal intimacy, and treble detail. Overall I found the Studio V to be quite an upgrade. But they do share similar sound signatures. That I will agree with you on. If I never heard the Studio V though I could have easily lived with the Rocoo BA myself.
 

Actually it is most likely audionewbi is correct.  What i have been told is that it is the same (different case and battery) and  the difference in sq comes from the different eq's and powers settings in the firmware.
 
Pretty clever eh just switch about the firmware makes a whole different player.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Actually it is most likely audionewbi is correct.  What i have been told is that it is the same (different case and battery) and  the difference in sq comes from the different eq's and powers settings in the firmware.
 
Pretty clever eh just switch about the firmware makes a whole different player.

Well I did put the Studio V firmware on my Rocoo BA to test it out and I did like the sound better. It was closer in sound to the Studio V but there was still a clear gap between them to my ears.

 

[stozzer123]

Sure, to your ears.  

 

[audionewbi]

Quote:

I'm not really sure I agree on the last part audionewbi. I found the Studio V and Rocoo BA to have a nice difference between them in regard to sound quality. From imaging, sound-staging, vocal intimacy, and treble detail. Overall I found the Studio V to be quite an upgrade. But they do share similar sound signatures. That I will agree with you on. If I never heard the Studio V though I could have easily lived with the Rocoo BA myself.
 

I used ER4S and I should have said that I only spend 2 hours with Studio V.  I think with hisound product one must take its time to learn to apperciate its strength and weakness. 

 

[lee730]

How long did it take you to warm up to the BA?
 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Sure, to your ears.  

Of course, gotta trust these cat ears . Separating quality from quantity lol .

 

[audionewbi]

Quote:

 
 
Im sorry but this is, flat out in all ways yet another massive head-fi tried and trusted line.  
 
Yes it is true to a certain point but ultimately you are limited by the hardware.  To think that an extremely small operation like hisound is going to produce better with this set-up than CUBE AND BBE working together (there was interviews and pictures of the cube design team and bbe engineers) can is possible, although EXTREMELY unlikely.  Even given that say hisound were able to find some magic there somewhere, the difference would be so ultimately minute (and again unlikely) you still think that ridiculous price difference is justified and lets not forget that the studio measures nowhere near what a hi-fi dap should be considered.  Same DAC + same amp + same UI + less features + some engineering miracle = $400+  
 
And here is the absolute kicker and I will stand beside it.  There not much in the sound difference flat (although the c30 hisses a lot less) but then add in bbe and the custom eq settings and the c30 flat out beats it.  I know this will be hard to take for folk but I have no other interest than people not getting ripped off.  If you take all these facts into account plus the other issues on the player itself and still think it is worth paying out $450+  by all means go ahead, its your money and if you cant overcome the placebo effect and marketing hype fair enough.

They are racketeering plain and simple off of a niche market.  They saw a gap and are exploiting it plain and simple, the people in the afore mentioned chinese websites figured this out as did indonesian audiophiles, they were also banned from these sites.  Now they have moved on to pedaling it over here.
 
That price mark up is not just making a profit it is flat out extortion.

As I said in your thread if it was not for the C3 poor UI and lack of transparency in regard of output power/impedance I would have taken the risk to buy the C3.

I bough the BA simply because of it is balance armature advertisement. I soon found out the reason it was called BA is purely based on hiss issue, the power and output impedance is still not fully solved with Rocoo BA. Meaning just like all the other DAP with the right IEM rocoo can be more than a satisfying product.
 
The ridicolous pricing is not only something that hisound is suffering from, almost all product in audio market is priced this way. Ultimately it comes down to the user and whether they want to buy it or not. A successful company is the one which is willing to reduce it its profit margin. 
 
Hisound fortunately showed sign of caring about what its customers want. They always had amazing deals. Not to mention how they actually altered their ready to produce DAP simply because we wanted it. You really cannot find any company out there who would do that.
 
Ofcourse this should not be something out of this world, eventually any company who is listening to its customers will profit from it. 

 

[lee730]

Fiio is also on that list and deserves commending . I am also curious about the Ouput power of the C3. I've been searching for it and can't find anything regarding this. Would be nice if someone could post this info. That alone could very well explain the difference in battery life, not that it really bothers me anyways.

 

 

[audionewbi]

Quote:

How long did it take you to warm up to the BA?
 

haha yes point taken :-D

Honestly the UI, the bloody UI is just arrgh, hisound should alter its product line, it severed them long enough, time for a new design.
 
After purchasing the new ipod nano due to NOVA sd complication I realize now how much of a different a good UI makes. 

 

[audionewbi]

Quote:

Fiio is also on that list and deserves commending . I am also curious about the Ouput power. I've been searching for it and can't find that regarding the C3. Would be nice if someone could post this. That alone could very well explain the difference in battery life, not that it really bothers me anyways .
 

For sure, I am just super unlucky with their product, all the products I got from them turned out to be lemons. 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

haha yes point taken :-D

Honestly the UI, the bloody UI is just arrgh, hisound should alter its product line, it severed them long enough, time for a new design.
 
After purchasing the new ipod nano due to NOVA sd complication I realize now how much of a different a good UI makes. 

I guess we'll have to see if this new design is at least an upgrade in that department. Particularly I'm curious about hiss as that is my number one qualm at this point with their products.