[CosmicHolyGhost]

Me too! That is going to be a big transformation for my overall rigs' (speakers and headphones) layout.

Still no news on the dock....

I have learnt that they are gonna release hifiman earbuds....

 

[Mimouille]

Given the fact that current boards cover most needs, I am curious what they could come up with.

 

[bowtung]

Given the fact that current boards cover most needs, I am curious what they could come up with.

I think they should come out with a card with the same signature as the classic card but balanced, not necessary more power. Therefore I don't need to get a plug whenever I use it with my trrsjack

 

[jamato8]

Still no news on the dock....

I have learnt that they are gonna release hifiman earbuds....

They are looking at March. 

 

[Valuephile]

Given the fact that current boards cover most needs, I am curious what they could come up with.

HiFiMan does need to offer more amp boards IMO. I own the standard, balanced, and iem cards. The JH Audio Roxanne and Shure SE530 iem's that I own and have tried with all three cards only allow me to dial up to at most three on the stepped volume attenuator before it's too loud for my hearing. And the volume steps are too spaced such that I find it too loud or not loud enough.

However, my HE-500s, 702 Annies, and Alpha Dogs all play nicely at 4.5 to 6.5 on the stepped volume and there's enough flexibility to dial the volume just right. It's just sensitive iem's that don't play nice with the current amp card offerings IMO. At least as far as the volume control goes. So my solution? I bought the 3.5mm line out cable and hooked it up to my CypherLabs Duet. Ahhh... Now my iems sing. I just wish my 901 cards would have the volume flexibility that the Duet has. Oh well. YMMV.

P.s. I emailed Head-Direct. They said we don't have any plans for new cards in the near future but we will let our engineering department know about your concerns.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

Fang did leave a comment on erji saying that they would look into new amp cards.

By the way,
Is ksen's discrete amp card the best card every made??

 

[Mimouille]

HiFiMan does need to offer more amp boards IMO. I own the standard, balanced, and iem cards. The JH Audio Roxanne and Shure SE530 iem's that I own and have tried with all three cards only allow me to dial up to at most three on the stepped volume attenuator before it's too loud for my hearing. And the volume steps are too spaced such that I find it too loud or not loud enough.

However, my HE-500s, 702 Annies, and Alpha Dogs all play nicely at 4.5 to 6.5 on the stepped volume and there's enough flexibility to dial the volume just right. It's just sensitive iem's that don't play nice with the current amp card offerings IMO. At least as far as the volume control goes. So my solution? I bought the 3.5mm line out cable and hooked it up to my CypherLabs Duet. Ahhh... Now my iems sing. I just wish my 901 cards would have the volume flexibility that the Duet has. Oh well. YMMV.

P.s. I emailed Head-Direct. They said we don't have any plans for new cards in the near future but we will let our engineering department know about your concerns.

I have this issue too...with the balanced card I never go beyond 1.5 with my iems. With iem card the volume is lower but volume steps are still not fine enough.

They will not be able to resolve that with an amp board IMO. What they could do is add a digital volume control in the firmware. This way I would set my volume knob closest to the desired level and do some fine tuning with digital volume control. I wonder if that is possible.

 

[Valuephile]

I have this issue too...with the balanced card I never go beyond 1.5 with my iems. With iem card the volume is lower but volume steps are still not fine enough.

They will not be able to resolve that with an amp board IMO. What they could do is add a digital volume control in the firmware. This way I would set my volume knob closest to the desired level and do some fine tuning with digital volume control. I wonder if that is possible.

I agree. I was just hoping for a lower gain iem card so I could dial the volume to 5 or 6 before it became too loud. Another solution could be the high and low gain settings. If these settings were closer together on the iem card then the gain could be used as half steps between the normal volume steps providing even more volume adjustment capability. Maybe Fang will hear us! In any event, the digital volume control would be very cool though IMO.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

Taken from other website:


High-end Step Attenuator Volume Control

Also contributing to the HM-901's sonic excellence is its very high-end step attenuator volume control, which is a product that you will not find in another manufacturer's portable audio device. It's an expensive item to include in a mobile player. But the benefits are worth it. "The advantage is that the resistors in both channels of the step attenuator can be paired to make sure they are 100 percent identical," says Fang. "So the soundstage will be much more accurate than with regular volume controls."

 

[Valuephile]

Taken from other website:


High-end Step Attenuator Volume Control

Also contributing to the HM-901's sonic excellence is its very high-end step attenuator volume control, which is a product that you will not find in another manufacturer's portable audio device. It's an expensive item to include in a mobile player. But the benefits are worth it. "The advantage is that the resistors in both channels of the step attenuator can be paired to make sure they are 100 percent identical," says Fang. "So the soundstage will be much more accurate than with regular volume controls."

Yes. I read that too. And I agree. The sonic excellence is wonderful. The very reason I own a 901. It's just the sonic volume flexibility I have problems with. Lol.

 

[Mimouille]

Taken from other website:


High-end Step Attenuator Volume Control

Also contributing to the HM-901's sonic excellence is its very high-end step attenuator volume control, which is a product that you will not find in another manufacturer's portable audio device. It's an expensive item to include in a mobile player. But the benefits are worth it. "The advantage is that the resistors in both channels of the step attenuator can be paired to make sure they are 100 percent identical," says Fang. "So the soundstage will be much more accurate than with regular volume controls."

Yep I heard that too, but it is of little benefit in cases when your music is either too loud or too quiet.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

I hear u guys.... Too but Fang is really proud of the attenuator vol control

With my fitear ciem, i can merely go past 1 using either minibox or balance card...

 

[brunk]

I have this issue too...with the balanced card I never go beyond 1.5 with my iems. With iem card the volume is lower but volume steps are still not fine enough.

They will not be able to resolve that with an amp board IMO. What they could do is add a digital volume control in the firmware. This way I would set my volume knob closest to the desired level and do some fine tuning with digital volume control. I wonder if that is possible.

Actually they can. Just build an amp card with unity or <15dB of gain.

 

[brunk]

  They are looking at March. 

That's what I have discovered too. I placed my pre-order back in September, so i better get the first one in the USA! 

 

 

[bowtung]

Fang did leave a comment on erji saying that they would look into new amp cards.

By the way,
Is ksen's discrete amp card the best card every made??

I have the discrete card, I don't think so.
It has a signature that emphasizes mid range, but I find it way too powerful, and together with that stepped volume pot, its very hard to get the right volume. 
The balance card does sound a tad more refined, but the discrete does have more emotion. I am talking from memory right here, I haven't used the discrete card for probably a month or so and my 901 is back with hifiman because of some issues. If we are purely speaking of technicality, I think balance card in balanced mode is still the best, but I do prefer the classic card...
 
Oh, when I first got the discrete card, it does indeed pleases my ear, but when you live with it longer, it gets pretty irritating (volume control), it also does some weird things in the top frequencies on some tracks (very very minor)