[DaveBSC]

Quote:

yes, 24/88, 24/176 (flac) or 16/44 (aiff)...
Well that answers that then!...

The 24/88 limitation is sporadic from what I've read. Supposedly some files may work, while others wont. Everything above 24/96 is definitely out, you'd need a delta-sigma DAC in there for that. You can convert 16/44 Aiff or ALAC files to FLAC or APE which are both supported by the HM-801 without losing anything.

 

[falis]

Hey, i just downloaded 3 of the new Chesky binaural tracks from HD tracks.
I downloaded one of each format as i wasn't sure which would play on the HM-801, but suprisingly, none of them play!...

 
Has anyone else got these tracks to work?-Even the 16 bit version didn't work, but that is an 'aiff' file, (the other 2 are flac).
I did get the 16 bit to play by converting it to mp3 in itunes, but that doesn't seem good.
 
Why don't the 24bit tracks play?-I thought they were supported?-It just freezes and then resets.
 
I've not had any other problems with playback until this. (Using Kingston class 4)
 

The 16 bit FLAC was fine. I think the issue is the 24 bit combined with multiples of 44.1 that the 801 can't handle.

 

[musicbased]

Thanks everyone. I will stick to the 16 bit versions for these tracks then i think.

 

[craigfedore]

For anyone interested, this is what i have found so far...
 
if/when any files other than the supported media types (i.e. JPG, PAR2, etc.) it will freak out the unit after 535 media files are on the unit.  Therefore i then removed all non-media files leaving only FLAC/MP3/APE/Etc and was having success with the device retaining access to the SD card after a power cycle (w/o having to hot-plug the SD Card). At this point i thought i was on to someitng and began to load up more media.  I havent harrowed down the exact file ## yet, however 661 media files (still sorted in folders) is too many for the unit to reconize at power on, however this morning i have reduced that number to 647 and poof, back in business.  Now in the same respect, when the device is powered on w/ the SD card in the unit and the "NO FILE" is preseneted when browsing, even after a hot plug 96/24 files, that have playted before, will not play w/o the unit choaking.
 
 
SD CARD: Kingston SD4/32GB

 

[temporaryname]

Hi,
 
I've got a HM601 and want to upgrade to the HM801. I've heard it before so I know the sonic quality is worth it.
 
Is there any firmware updates still coming? Gapless I can live without, but on my HM601 I still get random errors with certain files, for example one .ape or .flac can't play even if it's identical to a slew of others that work fine.
 
Any update if 88khz will be playable? If I use the HM801 as a DAC, will it still be picky with the files that I choose or is that a firmware issue.
 
I'd like to use it as my computer sound card, but if it's so picky and buggy that it won't play certain, individual files it might not be worth it.
 
Also, I used to have the issue of 'No File' showing on power up. After deleting every non-audio file on my SD Card (album art, cue files, etc) it's gone away and I don't have to reinsert the card.
 
Cheers.

 

[DaveBSC]

As far as I know firmware updates for the 801 have stopped. Mine is pretty reliable. I use single .flac ranges to get around the gapless problem, and I don't think I've ever had it fail to read a 16/44 flac file. It doesn't like .ape files if they are high compression. Flac from level 0-8 works without issue.
 
I use a Patriot Class 4 32GB SD card and it always works, even when I forget and copy over .log files or artwork - no problems.
 
If you are planning to use it as a computer DAC, it should be via the coaxial digital input. The HM-801 is a very poor USB DAC.

 

[ClieOS]

Actually there is news on a new firmware under development (was announced on another site). But so far not much detail yet.

 

[Galatian]

Quote:

As far as I know firmware updates for the 801 have stopped. Mine is pretty reliable. I use single .flac ranges to get around the gapless problem, and I don't think I've ever had it fail to read a 16/44 flac file. It doesn't like .ape files if they are high compression. Flac from level 0-8 works without issue.
 
I use a Patriot Class 4 32GB SD card and it always works, even when I forget and copy over .log files or artwork - no problems.
 
If you are planning to use it as a computer DAC, it should be via the coaxial digital input. The HM-801 is a very poor USB DAC.

Do you use cue-sheets with your single .flac files? That's what I've been doing using XLD on Mac OSX to convert my files, but although it was stated already on release date, that the HM-801 supports cue-sheets it does not so properly. I've written Fang about this earlier this year and even sent him some of the cue-sheets to work with, but no word yet if they ever fix the problem.
 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Do you use cue-sheets with your single .flac files? That's what I've been doing using XLD on Mac OSX to convert my files, but although it was stated already on release date, that the HM-801 supports cue-sheets it does not so properly. I've written Fang about this earlier this year and even sent him some of the cue-sheets to work with, but no word yet if they ever fix the problem.
 

Nope, I usually listen to albums from beginning to end, so I just let the single .flac file play from start to finish. I use XRecode II to convert the individual tracks on my computer to a range, so if there are songs I don't want or a specific order I want, I just put that in the range file. I suppose you could make a playlist range using the same method.

 

[Galatian]

Quote:

Nope, I usually listen to albums from beginning to end, so I just let the single .flac file play from start to finish. I use XRecode II to convert the individual tracks on my computer to a range, so if there are songs I don't want or a specific order I want, I just put that in the range file. I suppose you could make a playlist range using the same method.

Ok so the issue still remains...I've double checked on my Mac again. The song informations written into the cue-sheet are 100% correct, as VLC will play them just fine. The issue is definitely with the HM-801...oh well since the power charger just went up in smoke last week I made the switch to the Cowon J3 and am now actually very happy with it.
 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Ok so the issue still remains...I've double checked on my Mac again. The song informations written into the cue-sheet are 100% correct, as VLC will play them just fine. The issue is definitely with the HM-801...oh well since the power charger just went up in smoke last week I made the switch to the Cowon J3 and am now actually very happy with it.
 

That the original charger? I got rid of that thing like, immediately. It's supposed to sound better than the little switching charger, but it's such a big heavy PITA that it's not worth it.
 

 

[musicbased]

galatian,does the cowon sound as good as the hifiman?...

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

galatian,does the cowon sound as good as the hifiman?...

I wrote this a little while ago in another thread comparing the 801 to the Cowon S9 (extremely similar to the J3)
 
It's been awhile since I've done any A/B tests, so I just spent about ten minutes going back and forth between the Cowon and the 801 with the track "Coast" from Devin Townsend's album Ki. I used my Denon NC-800 headphones. I had the Cowon set to my preferred settings for the NC-800 which is a slight bump in the bass and lower mid to fill in the bottom a bit, and the "stereo enhance" at level 1 for a bit of extra width to the soundstage, which the NC800 can use. I tried the BBE enhancement off and on at several levels, and found that overall the sound was worse with it turned on. It completely eliminated any depth and most of the width of the stage, and made the mids sound muffled. The highs were perhaps a bit more present, but in no way more clear or detailed. I suspect I simply heard more of the highs because the mids had been cut. Ultimately I left the BBE off for my test. The NC-800 is a well balanced and pleasant sounding phone, and the sound out of the S9 was perfectly acceptable and enjoyable. It was not the trainwreck of the DT880-32 by any stretch.
 
Then I switched to the 801, and was surprised at how much better the NC-800 sounded. I remembered some differences, but not this much. The NC-800 is by no means king of anything, its performance is better than the ES10 which is a bass monster and not much else, but the DT1350 is definitely better than the NC800. Out of the 801, there was more width and depth to the soundstage, bass was more present and considerably better defined (and this is with EQ boost on the Cowon, and the 801 flat), the mids gained warmth and detail, and the separation of instruments was WAY better, with each clearly defined rather than simply a blur from the Cowon. The highs I actually thought had the smallest improvement. The NC800 to my ears is a bit rolled off in the highs, not dark like the ES10, but a bit sweet. It's high frequency resolution isn't exactly world class, and I suspect that the NC800 is the limitation there, not the 801. Still, the highs were a bit more present compared to the Cowon, and slightly clearer and better defined.
 
In my experience, my Cowon D2 and S9 have been pretty decent when matched with the right headphone - something low impedance with low current demand, medium or lower resolution, and a fairly forgiving top end. The Denon D1001 is a prime example of a headphone that will work well with a Cowon, and is likely to experience only minimal improvement when going to the 801 as the source and amp. The higher you go above that level in terms of headphones, the more and more lacking the Cowon players become until they start to sound simply awful.
 
 

 

[musicbased]

Thanks for that, i nearly bought a cowon before i went for the Hifiman so i've always wondered how they compared! 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Thanks for that, i nearly bought a cowon before i went for the Hifiman so i've always wondered how they compared! 

Sure. I think the 801 is best suited to headphones $300 and up. It can get better results out of headphones at the $200-300 level than the Cowon players, but there will still be some grain and overall sonic limitations to the headphones at that level that will hold it back a bit. When you start getting much below $200, the 801 becomes a waste. I'll be using mine with an LA7000, but it can handle the T1, ED8, and HD-800, especially with the new balanced output option. The one interesting rival for the 801 that I would like to hear at some point is the QLS Audio QA350 ModV2. The original apparently wasn't that great, but the ModV2 has significantly upgraded parts and might be able to at least get close to the 801 for about 1/4 of the price.