[fzman]

Quote:

Damn this UI is anoying...you can play music but had better not try to panic it...

"panic it" ?  what do you mean by this?

 

[Mimouille]

"panic it" ?  what do you mean by this?

well not push a button while he is still processing, ask to much of it.

 

[fzman]

thanks.

 

[Tympan]

Quote:

 
...my 801 just sounds incredibly analogue and tubey. There is a beautiful romantic emphasis on the mid-range. The 901 in contrast sounds more 'digital'. Better bass, better treble, but mid-range is less magical, less lush... the 901 is clearly technically superior to the 801. But for my preferences (I'm a sucker for this type of sound), I would reach for the 801...
 
Makes me glad I did not sell my 801.

 
Same here, the 801 lush organic mids have always won my heart over more technical/precise/digital sounding DACs.
Couple months ago, I contemplated selling it after buying a terrific Tera player but I'm really glad I kept the 801 anyway, just like I also kept my Re262 and Re272 (they work wonder in 801 balanced mode)

 

[LarsHP]

Even though I love my HM-801, the warm mids come with an expense: a slight veil. That's how I heard it when comparing to my Audio-gd Ref 7.1 (and line out from HM-801). And then there is the treble roll off, which is wonderful with HE-6 and other headphones/IEMs with more than neutral treble, but a bad thing with LCD-2 and other dark sounding HPs/IEMs. Also the lack of 88/24 support, the high or moderately high output impedance in all the amp cards - and channel imbalance when listening at lower levels with sensitive IEMs (even with GAME amp).
 
I should receive my HM-901 within a week or so. In short I expect the HM-901 will provide fixes for all my above issues with the 801. The only drawback with the 901 might - for some - be the less warm mids (as I see it now before actually having my hands on the unit). Hopefully the UI and especially the throwing away of the first second or two in the beginning of tracks will be fixed soon.

 

[kkcc]

Even though I love my HM-801, the warm mids come with an expense: a slight veil. That's how I heard it when comparing to my Audio-gd Ref 7.1 (and line out from HM-801). And then there is the treble roll off, which is wonderful with HE-6 and other headphones/IEMs with more than neutral treble, but a bad thing with LCD-2 and other dark sounding HPs/IEMs. Also the lack of 88/24 support, the high or moderately high output impedance in all the amp cards - and channel imbalance when listening at lower levels with sensitive IEMs (even with GAME amp).

I should receive my HM-901 within a week or so. In short I expect the HM-901 will provide fixes for all my above issues with the 801. The only drawback with the 901 might - for some - be the less warm mids (as I see it now before actually having my hands on the unit). Hopefully the UI and especially the throwing away of the first second or two in the beginning of tracks will be fixed soon.

Amen to fixing the stupid "fade-in" thing... single most annoying issue for me.

Also interested to see how 901 compared to Ref7. I had been a/bing with my NFB28 and struggling to determine which one I like more as they have very similar sig (maybe not surprising as both are 9018 based).

 

[Trogdor]

Can someone give me the pin layout for a 4-pin XLR Female to TRRS?

 

[Trogdor]

Amen to fixing the stupid "fade-in" thing... single most annoying issue for me..

Truly insanity.

 

[rdsreference]

I intend trying out the dac on my 901 to see how good these two sabre chips really are. Can anybody recommend a cost effective spdif cable as I don't like the rca type that comes in the box. I intend bypassing the Wolfson chip in my Linn magic ds so now let's see if these Ess chipsets are really the very best available. I'll report back

 

[zilch0md]

Quote:

Even though I love my HM-801, the warm mids come with an expense: a slight veil. That's how I heard it when comparing to my Audio-gd Ref 7.1 (and line out from HM-801). And then there is the treble roll off, which is wonderful with HE-6 and other headphones/IEMs with more than neutral treble, but a bad thing with LCD-2 and other dark sounding HPs/IEMs. Also the lack of 88/24 support, the high or moderately high output impedance in all the amp cards - and channel imbalance when listening at lower levels with sensitive IEMs (even with GAME amp).
 
I should receive my HM-901 within a week or so. In short I expect the HM-901 will provide fixes for all my above issues with the 801. The only drawback with the 901 might - for some - be the less warm mids (as I see it now before actually having my hands on the unit). Hopefully the UI and especially the throwing away of the first second or two in the beginning of tracks will be fixed soon.

 
Thanks for this!  I'm a little nervous now, awaiting the refurbished HM-801 I ordered, but there's always the 30-day return policy.  It could very well be I will prefer to stick with using my 96/24-capable Sony PCM-M10 Line Out for portable use.
 

 
My only complaint here is that the Sony PCM-M10 Line Out is a little bright and, barely worth mentioning, a wee bit grainy, but neither harsh nor fatiguing with the LCD-2 rev.1.  Going by what you've written, the HM-801 Line Out might be too dark/warm/veiled for my tastes.  I'll find out in two days...
 
One thing's for sure, the Sony PCM-M10's UI and hardware are bug-free, though designed for recording, not for playback.  All the firmware updates common to HiFiMan, iBasso, and FiiO DAPs is an unfamiliar burden for me.
 
Thanks,
 
Mike

 

[brunk]

Quote:

Can someone give me the pin layout for a 4-pin XLR Female to TRRS?

XLR 4-Pin as follows:
Pin 1: Left positive (+)
Pin 2: Left negative (-)
Pin 3: Right positive (+)
Pin 4: Right negative (-)
                                      

 

[Trogdor]

XLR 4-Pin as follows:
Pin 1: Left positive (+)
Pin 2: Left negative (-)
Pin 3: Right positive (+)
Pin 4: Right negative (-)

                                     


 

Thank you so much for this.

 

[jelt2359]

Amen to fixing the stupid "fade-in" thing... single most annoying issue for me.

Also interested to see how 901 compared to Ref7. I had been a/bing with my NFB28 and struggling to determine which one I like more as they have very similar sig (maybe not surprising as both are 9018 based).

Btw, turns out I have the dac19 not 9 I was wondering why you would say my DAC is 15kg... Lol. Does you DAC have digital filter jumpers like mine? If so configuring them can change the sound quite a lot.

 

[jamato8]

Make sure you get a good TRRS, one that is not magnetic. They often have a center pin of steel to make them stronger but obviously, steel isn't the best conductor nor one you want in the signal path. 

 

[Mimouille]

Quote:

Make sure you get a good TRRS, one that is not magnetic. They often have a center pin of steel to make them stronger but obviously, steel isn't the best conductor nor one you want in the signal path. 

I'll ask Peter at DHC, but I'm pretty sure he can be trusted on this...