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

[KONAKONA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebski /img/forum/go_quote.gif qusp, now you are being dishonest. Your contrived and deceitful jibe was designed with malicious intent. In short, a lie. I rightly called you on it and, rather than addressing it squarely and apologising, you choose instead to be evasive and slippery. Sorry, but that is just contemptible and cowardly. I have said all that I need to and am through with this now.

Quote:

Any update from Jude? Or any news from Nankai for the development of the HiFiMan 801?

Alright that's it, I'm sending a PM to jude. It's almost been a month since the first post, and he hasn't said anything.

EDIT: PM sent, watch my head go flying.

 

[jude]

Sorry about the delay.

One of the things I was waiting for was confirmation on the final DAC section decision from Head-Direct. Some discussions I had with Fang shortly after I posted the first part suggested that there might be changes.

I got final word from Fang today that the prototype I have (which is still just the DAC and media player sections, but sans the latest software version for the media player UI) is representative of what will be in the production units.

So now you will soon see the second part. I'd like to post my Can Jam Impressions first, and then I'll finish this HM-801 second piece--hopefully by this weekend, or during it.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the prototype I have does not have a headphone amp section.

 

[KONAKONA]

Yay~

High five jude!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jalo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am surprised that Edwood is the only person that has gone to Can Jam and listened to the Hm 801 in the last four pages and wrote about his experience. I hope I can add a little bit of my experience to it. I went to Can Jam on Saturday and the first table I went to was the Hifiman HM 801. I was very happy to be able to meet Feng and his wife. The kind of people that you want to be friend with. Extremely nice people and seem to be very caring about customers wishes but absolutely wanting to do a perfect job. I had the chance to listen to the HM801 as a stand alone player and the HM 801 as a player/Dac with a line out to the Minibox E+. Feng told me that the amp section is a temporary fix for the HM801 and it did not sound better than my ipod/mustang combo. So I did not use the HM 801 as a stand alone player to place my judgement on the player as the amp section is under development. However when I listen to the HM 801 with line out to the Minibox E+, Wow, I cannot believe my ears, it was first rate. I have to say I was totally surprised at the SQ with that combination. I was surprised to hear piano notes were crisp and clear and quite involving. I can see why Jude was raving about the Dac. I can also see why the Minibox E+ thread was raving about the minibox E+ and that it is being compared to the Lisa III. With the HM801 player/DAC/ and Minibox e+ combination, I have a feeling that it may equal the best portable combo or beat the best portable combo available. This is not even with 24/96 resolution. Just for qualification, I have owned and/or listened to SR71a, Predator, Mustang, Pico, Shadow (very close to Mustang), iqube, Minibox E+ and Lisa III in portable terms. I have a good discussion with Feng and he told me that he is hoping to be able to get the Minibox E+ module to fit into the HM 801. If that ever happens, most of the posts above that complain about storage, size, etc will go away because they'll be busy listening to their music instead of attending to these side issues. Can you believe having a 3 in 1 digital player that have a DAC/amp component that is at least equal to if not better than the combo of PICO and Lisa III. The HM 801 is surprisingly light. I do wish that it is narrower in size but for all the great things it tries to achieve, it is a miracle. I am excited about the HM 801 prospect and anxious to see its potential to be realized someday and hopefully sooner better than later for our sake. I hope others who have listened to the unit at the show can chime in with their experience.

My experience with the 801 at CanJam was similar to yours, but I did not have time to directly compare my iMod/P-51 to it.

If it supports ALAC then it might be something I could use down the line - I am not going to transcode gigabytes of ALAC music files into FLAC if I don't have to.

 

[Anouk]

Hello all,
I will be checking this regularly. I must say I am very happy that this evolution finally happened. Although I am very happy with my current rig (ibasso d10+rockboxed h120) I will certainly check if someone will do a comparison. I agree though rockbox or at least modifiable software would be great though so people can make it like they want it to be. And of course rockbox has included speech. A bit longer battery life would be great though.
Oh yes, I wonder will it be possible to use the player as an external card reader through usb?

 

[Anouk]

Hello once again, oh yes I also really like the idea of being able to connect external usb thumb drives to the device and maybe even being able to copy their contents to the inserted flashcard.

Oh yes, if this player does use a scrollwheel like the ipods then a remote control would really help (for me at least) to be able to operate the unit since I guess rockbox would indeed be a long way off.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[GreenLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry about the delay. One of the things I was waiting for was confirmation on the final DAC section decision from Head-Direct. Some discussions I had with Fang shortly after I posted the first part suggested that there might be changes. I got final word from Fang today that the prototype I have (which is still just the DAC and media player sections, but sans the latest software version for the media player UI) is representative of what will be in the production units. So now you will soon see the second part. I'd like to post my Can Jam Impressions first, and then I'll finish this HM-801 second piece--hopefully by this weekend, or during it. NOTE: Keep in mind that the prototype I have does not have a headphone amp section.

Thanks Jude for the reply. Not to hurry you but just want you and Nankai know there are actually a few people waiting for this product.

I'm now using D10 and IMod 4G during my travel (3 hours daily) and when I'm back to office I use the PC -> D10 which sounds better. I just hope that I may use "PC -> Dac -> amp" like system during my travel and certainly Hifiman answers my "prayer".

If possible, please compare the DAC of your prototype to the best portable DAC available currently. Comparison with Pico DAC would be very helpful. If there are something even better than Pico DAC (I think EFN or some other members have some portable DIY DAC),

Finally, will Nankai give you another prototype that has the amp section? So far I haven't read a really positive comment of the amp section and this is the only thing holding me back at the moment. ES3x is extremely sensitive and I really don't want to find the Hifiman hissing with it

.

 

[.coco]

Yes, it would be nice to hear a comparison about the 801's DAC compared to the Pico/Predator/D10.

 

[KONAKONA]

Alright jude it's Saturday. Don't let us down.

 

[nxsnxs]

waiting...................

 

[KONAKONA]

Now it's monday jude.

 

[Anouk]

Lol, are we going to play this day counting game every day? I just would like an estimated time of release although, if it means more development to the hardware and software can be doen I am willing to wait a few mor emonths. Its not as if money is growing on trees.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[tonho_rp]

Will it recharge directly from the USB port ?
Would be nice.

 

[Podtweaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by .coco /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, it would be nice to hear a comparison about the 801's DAC compared to the Pico/Predator/D10.

If I'm not mistaken the D10 is based on a Wolfson dac chip, while the 801 is using a Burr-Brown chip. I believe Burr-Brown is more highly regarded amongst designers of high end digital equipment.

 

[saintalfonzo]

That thing looks like a Turboexpress, but even OLDER... sorry, just the truth. I hope the sound makes up for the looks and fatness... oh yeah, and the PRICE.