HiFiMAN HM-801 Portable Player / DAC Review: Part One of Two

[roy_jones]

Damn, if I was there I would be all over those prototype units....

 

[GreenLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy_jones /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn, if I was there I would be all over those prototype units....

How I wish I'm living in LA!

 

[Funkmonkey]

Doh! I was just there and completely spaced and forgot to ask about the HiFiMAN.

I had written it down and everything. Oh well, it's up to the rest of you guys to report back.

I will say this though I have dealt with Fang in the past, and got a chance to met him in person today. He is a great guy and very concerned with what his customers want, as well as with their satisfaction in his products. Very refreshing to meet a guy like that. Thanks Fang, keep up the great work.

 

[GreenLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funkmonkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Doh! I was just there and completely spaced and forgot to ask about the HiFiMAN. I had written it down and everything. Oh well, it's up to the rest of you guys to report back. I will say this though I have dealt with Fang in the past, and got a chance to met him in person today. He is a great guy and very concerned with what his customers want, as well as with their satisfaction in his products. Very refreshing to meet a guy like that. Thanks Fang, keep up the great work.

Any chance that you may give us some simple impressions like:
HiFiMan's DAC >, =, < Pico's DAC
HiFiMan's amp >, =, < P51
etc...

 

[lampee]

If somebody get close to one of these beauties please take a photograph and share with us. I'm really curious how it looks like in reality.

 

[gav17]

Here are a few of photographs

 

[i_don't_know]

That interface looks nice in the picture!


And does that say 1411kbps? I don't understand, lol.

 

[iriverdude]

44khz 16 bit PCM is 1400kps

 

[immtbiker]

I will be first on my block to own one of these.

Of course, most people on my block think that Coby is da bomb!

 

[goody]

might get this but it needs to be smaller

 

[gav17]

More correct would be the 44.1khz

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goody /img/forum/go_quote.gif might get this but it needs to be smaller

Yeah, it is kind of big. I held it in my hands at CanJam. Significantly bigger than an iPod. Even iPod (or Zune) + amp is much smaller.

 

[Podtweaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I will be first on my block to own one of these. Of course, most people on my block think that Coby is da bomb!

Wow, it's a good thing you mentioned 'Coby' in print ,as I belive the forum rules require that you rinse your mouth w/IPA if say it out loud ! ( Well, if it isn't I suggest we institute it now!). This thing does look "re-e-eal" nice!!

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilency /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, it is kind of big. I held it in my hands at CanJam. Significantly bigger than an iPod. Even iPod (or Zune) + amp is much smaller.

Ah, but is it larger than a iPod + amp + high quality DAC?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Podtweaker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, it's a good thing you mentioned 'Coby' in print ,as I belive the forum rules require that you rinse your mouth w/IPA if say it out loud ! ( Well, if it isn't I suggest we institute it now!). This thing does look "re-e-eal" nice!!

I would have said "Bose", but that's another 239 page thread.

 

[jpelg]

[size=xx-small]How I see it[/size]

An "interesting" product from an audiophile/geek proof-of-concept perspective. Yet I remain more than a bit confused about the HM-801. What exactly is it's intended use?

1. Portable player? Waaay too large, yet not enough storage for a significant amount of lossless files, lack of support for taggable lossless formats = Major Fail
2. Stationary DAC? Then no need to pay for all that extra playback stuff & for portability = Fail.
3. Transportable rig? Perhaps, but you you still don't have enough storage, and can do at least as good, if not better for your $$ with other carefully chosen pieces = Fail.

I appreciate the effort, but simply don't get it. I'd need (at least) double the storage, in a form-factor half as big, with taggable lossless format support. "Gen 1" is not ready for prime time. Maybe "Gen 2" will.

I predict a small number of sales to the diehards here on Head-Fi, and the remainder to the Asian market that has a penchant for using gear like the Korg & Sony digital recorders as portable players.