[BruceBanner]

  just got silver AP100 yesterday, playing lil' bit with MZX606, more neutral sounding than my 3rd Gen iPod Touch+FiiO E11K combination, but less PRaT.
Feel that AP100 is great combination with mellow songs.

 
Nice
Wats PRaT?
 

   
Battery life has been wonky and inconsistent with this player from day one.  I honestly think battery life is around four hours for many.  I will say the Lotoo Paw 5000, even using the higher damp mode, has superior battery life... approximately ten hours.

 
Nah I don't think so. I listen non stop for 5-6hrs at a time, volume 70-80/80, 320kbps files, toggling EQ button a lot, screen timed off 15secs (after a toggle) and screen brightness 3/4 full and I still have 20% left (which correlates to 2hrs).

I imagine if I left the player alone, volume around 40/80 I would most def get 10hrs. In my real world usuage I prolly get 8-9hrs due to excessive volume and 15 sec display time from every time I hit the EQ button (which can be a fair bit, maybe 6-8x/hr.
 
Always take manufacturers battery life claims with a pinch of salt, I knew I'd struggle for 10hrs as I knew I'd be listening close to max volume.
 
 

   
What I noted was how the battery bar stays full a very long time, then suddenly decreases by one increment... then promptly falls by half.  On the upside, when the battery bar is completely blank, it has significant juice left.

 
Well... after a good 5-6hr long session I often have 1 bar left (which should be 25%) but when plugged in for charge shows I have only 13% left...
I don't know where you get the idea of a blank battery indicator giving you a lot of playtime left, if it happened to me it would correlate to around 30mins I rekon.
 

  Yeah that's what I meant that the indicator probably isn't very accurate. My old X3 was like that. It's not a big deal and certainly not a deal breaker with the great sound the AP100 delivers. It's very smooth, rich and detailed. I don't used the equalizer much...I find I like the sound with the eq off best. I'll probably fiddle with custom eq at some point but right now I really like the sound it has enhanced.

 
I wrote in my review that I was unsure of whether 'Off' was the SAME as Custom 1, 2 or 3 (ie flat). It could be that OFF is just a tad louder! Never believe your ears when it comes to unmatched volume, the higher volume will always sound better, that has been proved time and time again in controlled tests!
However, it sounds to me as if the mids are pushed forward a bit.

FWIW I have 'Rock' set to Flat, so I toggle from OFF>Rock and am essentially going from Flat to Flat and it does sound different, I just cannot ascertain if it's the same and just a case of going from Loud (OFF) > Quieter (Rock).
I will test further and see if Preamping or tweaking the Rock (ie flat) can get closer to what 'OFF' sounds like.

PS some songs sound better in OFF (I agree) but some actually sound better with Flat (ie my Rock tweaked to being Flat), I go between the two, its very much song dependent.

 

[bruce1967]

   
Nice
Wats PRaT?
 
 
Nah I don't think so. I listen non stop for 5-6hrs at a time, volume 70-80/80, 320kbps files, toggling EQ button a lot, screen timed off 15secs (after a toggle) and screen brightness 3/4 full and I still have 20% left (which correlates to 2hrs).

I imagine if I left the player alone, volume around 40/80 I would most def get 10hrs. In my real world usuage I prolly get 8-9hrs due to excessive volume and 15 sec display time from every time I hit the EQ button (which can be a fair bit, maybe 6-8x/hr.
 
Always take manufacturers battery life claims with a pinch of salt, I knew I'd struggle for 10hrs as I knew I'd be listening close to max volume.
 
 
 
Well... after a good 5-6hr long session I often have 1 bar left (which should be 25%) but when plugged in for charge shows I have only 13% left...
I don't know where you get the idea of a blank battery indicator giving you a lot of playtime left, if it happened to me it would correlate to around 30mins I rekon.
 
 
I wrote in my review that I was unsure of whether 'Off' was the SAME as Custom 1, 2 or 3 (ie flat). It could be that OFF is just a tad louder! Never believe your ears when it comes to unmatched volume, the higher volume will always sound better, that has been proved time and time again in controlled tests!
However, it sounds to me as if the mids are pushed forward a bit.

FWIW I have 'Rock' set to Flat, so I toggle from OFF>Rock and am essentially going from Flat to Flat and it does sound different, I just cannot ascertain if it's the same and just a case of going from Loud (OFF) > Quieter (Rock).
I will test further and see if Preamping or tweaking the Rock (ie flat) can get closer to what 'OFF' sounds like.

PS some songs sound better in OFF (I agree) but some actually sound better with Flat (ie my Rock tweaked to being Flat), I go between the two, its very much song dependent.

So many variables! Well whatever OFF actually is, right now it sounds best to me but you may be right that louder sounds better or seems to sound better. I keep the volume pretty low around 15 when using IEMs.

 

[ASpencer]

   
Nah I don't think so. I listen non stop for 5-6hrs at a time...

 
Can't say I've done that as I have a life, but I have noticed this player's battery bar fluctuated more than others after full shutdowns.  Many have complained about the inconsistent battery length with the AP100 and Hidizs claimed firmware addressed it.

 

[BruceBanner]

   
Can't say I've done that as I have a life, but I have noticed this player's battery bar fluctuated more than others after full shutdowns.  Many have complained about the inconsistent battery length with the AP100 and Hidizs claimed firmware addressed it.

 
lol. I listen at work, I am a cleaner and hence fairly loud volumes (to drown out vacuum noise) and long sessions (5-6hrs includes commute times). I wish I had a life...

I never gave any of the other firmwares a go, could be that the battery life has been optimised for the AP100 with 070.

My first ever go I charged the AP100 up, listened for 4hrs, 60% left. So it seemed spot on at 10%/hr.
 
EDIT: What I have noticed is that I think connected to PC charge is quite a bit slower than a/c. Sometimes I have the AP100 connected to pc for a good hour or so as I mess around with playlists and copy new music across. I assume this has fully charged the device, but actually it hasn't. After disconnecting the device from the PC I then take it to the wall charger, sometimes its full, sometimes at 85%, so I think it's pretty important to use the wall charger as a guage for full battery life rather than some poxy battery meter.
I wish they'd get rid of the meter and replace with %.

 

[ASpencer]

   
lol. I listen at work, I am a cleaner and hence fairly loud volumes (to drown out vacuum noise) and long sessions (5-6hrs includes commute times). I wish I had a life...
 

Just pulling your lariat, you have a life and job.  Dead people and the unemployed have neither.
 
My folks used to clean on long night shifts.  I'm glad you have a rig to help with the time.  Are you placing the AP100 in your pocket?
 
I get listener fatigue after too many hours, but with the right player and headphones... I can definitely leave everything in place.

 

[bruce1967]

  Just pulling your lariat, you have a life and job.  Dead people and the unemployed have neither.
 
My folks used to clean on long night shifts.  I'm glad you have a rig to help with the time.  Are you placing the AP100 in your pocket?
 
I get listener fatigue after too many hours, but with the right player and headphones... I can definitely leave everything in place.

I've found with the AP100 I don't get listening fatigue like I used to with my X3ii. I try to take breaks listening at work...I'll listen to a couple albums and not listen for a couple hours and the listen to two more before I go home...so 4 albums in one day is typical unless it's a long live album...I'm fortunate I work in a quiet environment so I can keep the volume fairly low.

 

[ASpencer]

 
I don't know where you get the idea of a blank battery indicator giving you a lot of playtime left, if it happened to me it would correlate to around 30mins I rekon.
 

 
My experience with the AP100 has been different since after the low battery warning, as well as drained graphic, I've gotten over an hour of playing time.  It’s a delightful gadget with idiosyncratic tendencies.

 

[ASpencer]

 
I've found with the AP100 I don't get listening fatigue like I used to with my X3ii. I try to take breaks listening at work...I'll listen to a couple albums and not listen for a couple hours and the listen to two more before I go home...so 4 albums in one day is typical unless it's a long live album...I'm fortunate I work in a quiet environment so I can keep the volume fairly low.

 
The AP100 is an eye opening pleasure.  I was psyched for the AP300 after their graphics and promises of expectations being exceeded, so it was clearly all a dream.  As far as FiiO, I've been listening to their latest DAP for hours on end with no fatigue setting in, so this neutral soundstage is copacetic with my eardrums.

 

[bruce1967]

   
The AP100 is an eye opening pleasure.  I was psyched for the AP300 after their graphics and promises of expectations being exceeded, so it was clearly all a dream.  As far as FiiO, I've been listening to their latest DAP for hours on end with no fatigue setting in, so this neutral soundstage is copacetic with my eardrums.

I think I found the X3ii to be more neutral than the AP100..to me it seems a bit warmer but not overly so. I like both but I'd choose the AP100 over it anytime.

 

[JKT48]

@BruceBanner

PRaT stands for Pace Rhythm and Timing

when paired AP100 with TF10, i found that TF10 losses it's PRaT, comparing with other DAPs i have

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[BruceBanner]

  Just pulling your lariat, you have a life and job.  Dead people and the unemployed have neither.
 
My folks used to clean on long night shifts.  I'm glad you have a rig to help with the time.  Are you placing the AP100 in your pocket?
 
I get listener fatigue after too many hours, but with the right player and headphones... I can definitely leave everything in place.

 

 
Not pocket, I'm attaching it to my 'cleaning belt' (which I wear anyway), which is nothing more than a couple of chalk bags (which fit spray bottles really well etc). As you can see I am actually using a Fiio X5 Tuff Luv case lol, it actualy fits snug and tightly inside, almost perfect! I even have direct access to the EQ and SRC buttons =)
 
 

@BruceBanner

PRaT stands for Pace Rhythm and Timing

when paired AP100 with TF10, i found that TF10 losses it's PRaT, comparing with other DAPs i have

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 
Oh cool. I'm not sure my ears or skill could really distinguish between that on what you perceive on a good combo or bad. Sounds nonsense to me lol, I mean the file plays... how can the file play 'out of rhythm' etc. Not calling BS... i just really have no clue. Would need a walk through and real life examples to understand =D

 

[ASpencer]

   

 
Not pocket, I'm attaching it to my 'cleaning belt' (which I wear anyway), which is nothing more than a couple of chalk bags (which fit spray bottles really well etc). As you can see I am actually using a Fiio X5 Tuff Luv case lol, it actualy fits snug and tightly inside, almost perfect! I even have direct access to the EQ and SRC buttons =)

 
That's a mean looking rig.  I figured you'd be required to create some sort of harness in order to be physically active whilst using the AP100... which is deficient as far as accessories.  That's nearly as good as a GB proton pack.

 

[JKT48]

 Just pulling your lariat, you have a life and job.  Dead people and the unemployed have neither.
 
My folks used to clean on long night shifts.  I'm glad you have a rig to help with the time.  Are you placing the AP100 in your pocket?
 
I get listener fatigue after too many hours, but with the right player and headphones... I can definitely leave everything in place.

 

 
Not pocket, I'm attaching it to my 'cleaning belt' (which I wear anyway), which is nothing more than a couple of chalk bags (which fit spray bottles really well etc). As you can see I am actually using a Fiio X5 Tuff Luv case lol, it actualy fits snug and tightly inside, almost perfect! I even have direct access to the EQ and SRC buttons =)
 
 

@BruceBanner

PRaT stands for Pace Rhythm and Timing

when paired AP100 with TF10, i found that TF10 losses it's PRaT, comparing with other DAPs i have

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 
Oh cool. I'm not sure my ears or skill could really distinguish between that on what you perceive on a good combo or bad. Sounds nonsense to me lol, I mean the file plays... how can the file play 'out of rhythm' etc. Not calling BS... i just really have no clue. Would need a walk through and real life examples to understand =D

my explanation:
when you paired a source (DAP or others) to an earphone, it will "tell a story" about the song. different pair, gives different story.

song stored in digital format, DAC convert it to analog signal will have different sound signature, amplified and then played it through cans. the way cans"arranged" it sound will be different in each cans. in my example: my AP100+TF10 will have sense of speed than AP100+MDR-EX600

i hope that this give you good clue

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[BruceBanner]

Not really lol, but don't worry. I don't understand how any combo of File>Source>Headphone would alter a different perception of 'speed' timing and rhythm to a song. These things I would expect to be concrete no matter what (unless there is a deliberate increase of tempo, but tempo is not the same timing and rhythm).
I understand that different combos of File>Source>Headphone can result in different perceptions of FR and other aspects such as detail, separation and sound-stage, but that's the limit of my understanding.

 

[ASpencer]

   

 
Not pocket, I'm attaching it to my 'cleaning belt' (which I wear anyway), which is nothing more than a couple of chalk bags (which fit spray bottles really well etc). As you can see I am actually using a Fiio X5 Tuff Luv case lol, it actualy fits snug and tightly inside, almost perfect! I even have direct access to the EQ and SRC buttons =)
 

Tuff Luv should officially adopt this as they'd increase sales.  That appears tailor made...