HiFiMAN HM-801 Portable Player / DAC Review: Part One of Two
Oct 10, 2009 at 9:43 AM Post #436 of 625
Just remember to add the price of as many SDHC cards you need to the cost of the HM801
 
Oct 10, 2009 at 4:39 PM Post #437 of 625
This probably is'nt as important to most posters over here but all of your comparisons to other portable rig set-ups leave out a significant specification. Imods or the Jriver setups won't playback Hi-Rez music files . I can appreciate the fact that these other setups may also play state of the art(or near) Redbook , but we may be nitpicking here about the differences (I'm talking about SQ not price)we're talking about Redbook! It does appear that the HM 801 may have a slight advantage for the fact that it is an integrated solution to the player/dac/amp setup for HQ portable playback. All the concern about which version of 1704 chip is being used has me a bit dumbfounded! Are there a number of available portable players using HQ dac chips that we are'nt aware of. As is often said ,you guys may be "sweating the small stuff". If I did'nt already have my Korg MR1 (which was a lot work to make it an "acceptable" portable player, but I love the fact I can now listen to my SACDs when I'm out) this is the player I most likely would have gotten. (I know, Boo, Hiss he does'nt even have this player. I could'nt help but applaud this effort as I really hate the acceptance of compressed music as the norm)
 
Oct 10, 2009 at 4:51 PM Post #438 of 625
Besides the fact, and this is the most important one to me, is the fact that the HiFiMAN is the best sounding unit out there on the market. Couple that with the ability to use it as a standalone DAC/Amp, in both co-axial and USB modes , make this unit a top of the line possession.
As nc8000 pointed out, you do have to factor in the price of additional SD cards (about $69-79 each) however, since my iRiver H-120 only holds 20 gig, 2 32 GB card has tripled the capacity of the iRiver, which in itself, is a monumental improvement, besides the fact that having multiple cards make your storage capacity limitless, depending on how much you want to shell out for additional cards.
To me, 2 cards, or 64GB is more than enough, right now.
 
Oct 10, 2009 at 8:23 PM Post #439 of 625
It "only" uses SDHC so you are "limited" to 32 GB per card.

It plays hi res files with a lot higher quality than iRiver with RockBox does.
 
Oct 10, 2009 at 8:32 PM Post #440 of 625
32gb will be enough for me
wink.gif
 
Oct 10, 2009 at 8:42 PM Post #441 of 625
Quote:

Originally Posted by Podtweaker /img/forum/go_quote.gif
This probably is'nt as important to most posters over here but all of your comparisons to other portable rig set-ups leave out a significant specification. Imods or the Jriver setups won't playback Hi-Rez music files . I can appreciate the fact that these other setups may also play state of the art(or near) Redbook , but we may be nitpicking here about the differences (I'm talking about SQ not price)we're talking about Redbook! It does appear that the HM 801 may have a slight advantage for the fact that it is an integrated solution to the player/dac/amp setup for HQ portable playback. All the concern about which version of 1704 chip is being used has me a bit dumbfounded! Are there a number of available portable players using HQ dac chips that we are'nt aware of. As is often said ,you guys may be "sweating the small stuff". If I did'nt already have my Korg MR1 (which was a lot work to make it an "acceptable" portable player, but I love the fact I can now listen to my SACDs when I'm out) this is the player I most likely would have gotten. (I know, Boo, Hiss he does'nt even have this player. I could'nt help but applaud this effort as I really hate the acceptance of compressed music as the norm)



Thank You for adding this. This has been a main consideration in my decision to get a HiFiMan801 in the first place.
 
Oct 10, 2009 at 10:21 PM Post #442 of 625
Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif
To me, 2 cards, or 128GB is more than enough, right now.


I think what you meant to say is 4 cards, or 128GB is more than enough, right now.
To begin with, 2 cards or 64GB will have to hold me.
That is about $160.00 added to the price of the unit which right now is $650.00 plus $20.00 shipping. Total = $830.00
Still cheaper than the iMod/V-Cap/P-51 Mustang combo when you factor in 2 ALO Cryo SXC 18G at $195.00 apiece. $1,600.00? Oh and shipping.
 
Oct 11, 2009 at 4:48 AM Post #443 of 625
My bad, I can't do math on weekends. Especially when working 20 days in a a row.
32GB max...2 cards would be 64GC which is 3 times more than my iRiver H-120.
 
Oct 11, 2009 at 3:51 PM Post #445 of 625
The iRiver iHP-120/140 has the added advantage of being adaptable to newer memory technologies like SSDs. And I'm sure once the SDXCs start coming out, somebody will make an adapter that can make it work with the iHPs, like the CF to SDHC adapters.
 
Oct 11, 2009 at 9:27 PM Post #447 of 625
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Yeah, if I didn't already have the iRiver H140/D10 + the iMod/Pvcap/P-51 (or any other amp) I would be in the market for the 801.


I sold my H120/D10 kit to make room for the 801!

A single box, plus the idea of having a much larger music collection on me at all times (via carrying a few small cards around) pushed me over the edge.
 
Oct 11, 2009 at 9:48 PM Post #448 of 625
Quote:

Originally Posted by El_Doug /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I sold my H120/D10 kit to make room for the 801!

A single box, plus the idea of having a much larger music collection on me at all times (via carrying a few small cards around) pushed me over the edge.



I'd still like to use the D10 with my Sony PCDP via optical, and I don't know if the 801 via USB from Macbook will be as good as my current opamp rolled D10 via optical from Macbook.
 
Oct 11, 2009 at 9:58 PM Post #449 of 625
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't know if the 801 via USB from Macbook will be as good as my current opamp rolled D10 via optical from Macbook.


802 can't not have SDXC, which should mean, card prices allowing, that I'm scratching foobar/USB altogether. SDXC has to be the next most significant step on the upgrade path.
 
Oct 11, 2009 at 10:41 PM Post #450 of 625
Quote:

Originally Posted by spahn_ranch /img/forum/go_quote.gif
802 can't not have SDXC, which should mean, card prices allowing, that I'm scratching foobar/USB altogether. SDXC has to be the next most significant step on the upgrade path.


One of the major complaints on 32GB SDHC is that people lose them. Mind you, I'm using them currently with my iRiver iHP-120s. My next upgrade on my iHP-120 would be a 128GB or higher SSD. 128GB or higher SDXC would probably not be available for at least another year or so, I'm guessing here.
 

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