[Darksyde]

I was originally underwhelmed with the SQ of the 602 but today I tried something new...
 
The main issue was that my HF2s are dark and both the amp and DAC in the Hifiman are on the darker side of things, resulting in a somewhat muddy and molasses-like sound.
 
I hooked up my dad's Practical Devices XM5 into the 602 via the line out and his MS Pros into that and... ZOMAHGOODNESS.  I would have to describe it as my "ideal" sound.  It was so smooth, liquid, extended in both frequency range extremes, the soundstage was large but it still sounded intimate... magic if you ask me.
 
My bottom line?  The internal amp is equal to sub-$150 portable amps but is very dark in it's signature.  Try to take that into account with synergy and such.
 
Ciao for now~

 

[nickosiris]

My first impression when I first listened to my 602 was "dark, but I like it". Over the last couple of weeks (either through burn-in or just me getting used to it) I like it more and more every day. I haven't wanted to listen to anything else frankly.  I've never encountered a portable player with such an immersive sound. For long periods I'm listening to the music rather than analysing the equipment. Delightful. Different people are attracted by different sound signatures, I know, but this one's perfect for me. And as for listening to the line-out through my hi-fi or Burson HA-160... wow.
 
Just to reiterate: I've not had a single problem mounting/unmounting/transferring data on my iMac (10.5.8) or indeed my Linux notebook (tweaked Xandros).

 

[Qonad]

So at the end of the day, an amp is still needed? Unlike the HM-801 where it was an "all-in-one"..

 

[Darksyde]

It depends on the pairing.  I would certainly place the internal amp squarely above something like the Mini3 (which is no slouch) but you have to like the darker signature of it.

 

[ClieOS]

I A/B'ed the headphone-out vs. LO+3MOVE and doesn't find LO+3MOVE to be any major improvement over the headphone-out. The only real difference is 3MOVE has a bigger soundstage (which also gives slightly better separation/image) , other than that the performance between the two are very similar. Personally I won't bother with portable amp with 602 unless it is a much better amp than 3MOVE on high current mode.
 
On a side note, I am not sure if this has been mentioned in the thread before or not, but I find the high gain has slightly better detail than low gain (or may be it is the dynamic?)

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 
On a side note, I am not sure if this has been mentioned in the thread before or not, but I find the high gain has slightly better detail than low gain (or may be it is the dynamic?)

I find the same thing on my Arrow tbh.  
 
For the others liking the LO.  Can you try swapping back and forth w/ the HO to reconfirm.  It could be burn-in.  My Sflo2 sounded muddy and dark out of the box to me as well.  Would be nice to confirm what we are all hearing.

 

[warp08]

Quote:

My first impression when I first listened to my 602 was "dark, but I like it". Over the last couple of weeks (either through burn-in or just me getting used to it) I like it more and more every day. I haven't wanted to listen to anything else frankly.  I've never encountered a portable player with such an immersive sound. For long periods I'm listening to the music rather than analysing the equipment. Delightful. Different people are attracted by different sound signatures, I know, but this one's perfect for me. And as for listening to the line-out through my hi-fi or Burson HA-160... wow.
 
Just to reiterate: I've not had a single problem mounting/unmounting/transferring data on my iMac (10.5.8) or indeed my Linux notebook (tweaked Xandros).

 
My opinion on the progression of your affinity is that it's the mix of both factors, but mainly burn-in, particularly of the opamp.  Fang definitely hit the right combo with this DAC/opamp pairing.
 

 

[warp08]

Quote:

I was originally underwhelmed with the SQ of the 602 but today I tried something new...
 
The main issue was that my HF2s are dark and both the amp and DAC in the Hifiman are on the darker side of things, resulting in a somewhat muddy and molasses-like sound.
 
I hooked up my dad's Practical Devices XM5 into the 602 via the line out and his MS Pros into that and... ZOMAHGOODNESS.  I would have to describe it as my "ideal" sound.  It was so smooth, liquid, extended in both frequency range extremes, the soundstage was large but it still sounded intimate... magic if you ask me.
 
My bottom line?  The internal amp is equal to sub-$150 portable amps but is very dark in it's signature.  Try to take that into account with synergy and such.
 
Ciao for now~

Just give it a 100-150 more hours and get back to us....

 

[travisg]

I will be pairing my 602 with a Meier stepdance as I do with my 801 for the ultimate combo. IMHO. The 801 sounds awesome with the game module but with the stepdance it's like driving a Ferrari on nitrous!

 

[LarsHP]

@ those who are fortunate enough to have the HM 602:
 
How is the equalizer?
I saw a photo of the screen with the EQ on, and it looked like the highest frequencies to adjust was 6000 Hz.
Is that the case, or do we get to adjust higher frequencies than that?
A lot of IEMs and headphones could use a little (or a lot) extra in the treble area, as far as I understand it.

 

[ClieOS]

The highest on EQ is 6kHz. Overall the EQ (including the preset) is pretty hopeless, but that doesn't really concern me since I am pretty happy wihtout it.

 

[LarsHP]

Quote:

The highest on EQ is 6kHz. Overall the EQ (including the preset) is pretty hopeless, but that doesn't really concern me since I am pretty happy wihtout it.

Hmmm... That was disapointing, I must admit.

 

[Darksyde]

On that note, setting the user EQ to flat (0 across the board) resulted in a very different sound from the "Normal" preset.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

On that note, setting the user EQ to flat (0 across the board) resulted in a very different sound from the "Normal" preset.

 
Oh boy, Sflo2 all over again.  Which sounds flatter and which is better?  Hopefully the same thing.  Is it just a gain difference?
 

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

On that note, setting the user EQ to flat (0 across the board) resulted in a very different sound from the "Normal" preset.

Knowing that possible type of controller chip (which probably responsible for the EQ) used on 602 and 801, I think the difference is mainly caused by reserving the headroom needed for EQing (to minimize distortion), so the whole dynamic range has to be compressed a little bit vs. uncompressed on normal / no EQ setting.