[Sonic 748i]

WOW! I just went back to my iPod as a DAC feeding my Protector and it just about made me value this poorly soldered brick even more. The sound quality from the HiFiMAN is on different league! I don't care one bit about the soldering. As long as it won't fail on me because of it and it won't cause damage to me from failure and it outputs hi-fi sound. I'm fine with the device. So far it's doing those things. But, man, does the iPod touch sound like ***.

 

[Trysaeder]

I could teach my 13 year old sister to solder better than that.
 
For the idiot who said that's good soldering, I can tell from seeing many beginners solder, that to solder that bad, you either have to have ~1 hour's experience, or ~half an hour to solder.
 
To the thermal paste, I'd imagine whoever built that had about 0.03 seconds left to live and just had to finish it off. It's not that bad, but it's like painting a Ferrari with a fully automatic paintball gun, except the Ferrari can actually live up to its specs.
 
Anyway, I'm quite put off buying FOTMs by the thick skulled, placebo drunk fanboy (I can't see it but I can see the void in intelligence it has left behind).
 

 

[Nankai]

The picture from Japanese website last year is a first-first batch unit on Sept 2009. The first batch 15 pcs are all handbuilt. We have replaced most of those 15pcs at the 2nd batch. We will post some current HM-801 inside pictures next week.

 

[WalkGood]

Quote:

WOW! I just went back to my iPod as a DAC feeding my Protector and it just about made me value this poorly soldered brick even more. ...

 
What can one say other than you must have Van Gogh's ear for music.
 
Quote:

The picture from Japanese website last year is a first-first batch unit on Sept 2009. The first batch 15 pcs are all handbuilded. We have replaced most of those 15pcs at the 2nd batch. We will post some current HM-801 inside pictures next week.

 
Are you saying that the later batches are made with a soldering robot or still by hand and what of the people who received the first batch are they getting replacements too or is that just the pictures being replaced.


 

 

[immtbiker]

@Walkgood,
Please refrain from insinuations and accusations.
 
Guys, you are one step away from having this thread locked.

 

[Region2]

Quote:

What can one say other than you must have Van Gogh's ear for music.

LMAO!

 

[Shike]

Quote:

@Walkgood,
Please refrain from insinuations and accusations.
 
Guys, you are one step away from having this thread locked.

I believe Walkgood has made a valid point here though.  Those solder joints are not properly done and show VERY poor quality control.  That's not an opinion - that's a fact.
 
It should be a valid concern to any Hifiman owner or anyone considering purchasing one.  Would you disagree?

 

[Nankai]

Quote:

 
 
 
 
Are you saying that the later batches are made with a soldering robot or still by hand and what of the people who received the first batch are they getting replacements too or is that just the pictures being replaced.


 

The very beginning of first batch is 15pcs, all made by hand. We shipped 15pcs at the beginning to let people try its sound quality. We contacted most of them successfully and replaced more than 10 pcs in the 2nd batch. Later batches are all made by soldering machine. I will post pictures later.

 

[leberserkfury]

looking forward to the updated pics. I'm actually on the fence of buying one. some professional soldering job might just push me over (hopefully there won't be a HM-802 around the corner).
 
i was a bit shocked to see the non-professional soldering job. i assumed that a piece of hardware of ~$800 value should have very high quality controls in place. 

 

[Currawong]

If, as Nankai has said, they are not soldered by hand and those pictures were of a prototype (which is confirmed by both the English and Japanese on the web-site) then this whole effort by Walkgood to trash the 801 is a non-issue.  
 
What is more disturbing is that someone sees fit to try and destroy the reputation of a product and company purely because their ego was hurt in a thread.  

 

[JohnFerrier]

My feeling is that over-inflated egos are a larger problem. Regardless of ego, great products will stand the test of time.
 
The printed circuit board layout looks decent (with a nice ground pour).

 

[JxK]

Would anyone who owns an 801 be willing to open it up and take pictures? That would at least put this current question to rest.

 

[boozcool]

I feel like its necessary to step in with a fresh, first hand experience with the HM-801
Comparing it to my Pico feeding a Corda Headfive, the Hifiman is superior to the Pico. In comparison, the Pico lacks in instrument separation, soundstage, and 3-d imaging. I have no vested interest in this player one way or another, but to think this sounds like an iPod, Clip, Sony, or any other mainstream mp3 player is ridiculous

 

[Sonic 748i]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boozcool /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I feel like its necessary to step in with a fresh, first hand experience with the HM-801
Comparing it to my Pico feeding a Corda Headfive, the Hifiman is superior to the Pico. In comparison, the Pico lacks in instrument separation, soundstage, and 3-d imaging. I have no vested interest in this player one way or another, but to think this sounds like an iPod, Clip, Sony, or any other mainstream mp3 player is ridiculous

Same thing I'm saying, lol.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

I feel like its necessary to step in with a fresh, first hand experience with the HM-801
Comparing it to my Pico feeding a Corda Headfive, the Hifiman is superior to the Pico. In comparison, the Pico lacks in instrument separation, soundstage, and 3-d imaging. I have no vested interest in this player one way or another, but to think this sounds like an iPod, Clip, Sony, or any other mainstream mp3 player is ridiculous

 

This isn't an impression thread though.  If you want to note impressions you can go to a thread about player impressions. We rather see results of a DBT to tell whether the measurements are actually audible.
 
It then raises other large questions in regards to accuracy of the player among other things if it is found audible.  If it isn't found audible then one must question whether the dollar amount is worth it.
 
For these reasons the HM-801 is caught in a catch 22.  The only way to justify it at that point is to say it's an inaccurate but subjectively pleasing device worth $800.  Of course, if it can't be identified in a DBT then that's a larger issue as the question of what one is paying for comes to the forefront.
 
Quote:

If, as Nankai has said, they are not soldered by hand and those pictures were of a prototype (which is confirmed by both the English and Japanese on the web-site) then this whole effort by Walkgood to trash the 801 is a non-issue.  
 
What is more disturbing is that someone sees fit to try and destroy the reputation of a product and company purely because their ego was hurt in a thread.  

Or could it be Walkgood was actually concerned with potential quality problems?