I received my N1 + Wooduo 2 today. Here are my first impressions:
Note: I don't have experience with other HIFI-players, therefore my comment may not be useful for everyone.
I can only compare them to my Creative Zen X-Fi 2 (standard consumer grade) + Ultimate Ears 700 (newer, more neutral revision).
Plus, my English is not the best...
It is paired with PAA-1 Pro, not PAA-1 vanilla.
The design is very stylish and the build quality is at average. The touchpad and UI work without problems, I didn't mistype so far. Only the German translation sucks, but English is ok.
It can read my microsd cards (8 GB and 16 GB class 10) without rebuilding them (you have direct access to the card), BUT every song has to load for about 1 second. The worst part of it: the first second of every song is cut off! I hope this can be fixed with a firmware.
Sound quality (comparison to Zen X-Fi 2):
- everything is more crisp and detailed (I can't be more specific at the moment)
- better sound stage and instrument separation
- slightly more hiss, but not very annoying
- the Zen X-Fi 2 eq options like the "crystalizer" make everything worse, while N1's options "Hi-Fi", "HSA V1.0" and "Wooduo" are useful for different kinds of music
BUT, like I said, I don't know how it compares with other Hi-Fi players...
Wooduo 2 vs. UE 700 (new Logitech revision)
- more bass in quality and quantity. But it's not too bassy, even albums with lots of bass (like Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik or Rage Against The Machine's debut album) sound great
- highs are more detailed, I can hear things I never noticed before
- highs can be too harsh at specific songs like Painkiller from Judas Priest when Hi-Fi profile is chosen (UE 700 doesn't have that problem, maybe the old revision)
- I'm still indecisive which one has better/more detailed mids... Wooduo 2 focuses more on lows and highs
- more hiss
- UE 700 is more neutral
- UE 700 has slightly better isolation and is smaller
In my opinion, the Wooduo profile of the N1 has too harsh highs (when paired with Wooduo 2), I like the Hi-Fi profile the most. The Wooduo profile boots lows and highs, therefore it might be good for "flatly" produced music.