Hifiman HM1000: Worlds first Quad PCM 1704 DAP

[eskamobob1]

Do we have any idea when/if the HM1k will be available in the US?

 

[EJD87]

The red version of this thing is currently going for $600 on Hifiman's webstore. I'm planning on using it as an all-in-one desktop dac/amp. I currently own and use the ALO Audio Continental Dual Mono for that purpose. So clearly, I'm a fan of compact, space-saving rigs.

On the off chance that anyone has experience with both of those devices, would getting the red HM1K constitute an up-, down-, or sidegrade to the CDM? For reference, my headphones are the Audeze LCD i4 and the Shure KSE 1200.

 

[Matpar]

The red version of this thing is currently going for $600 on Hifiman's webstore.

Where about?
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/r2r2000red-hd-streaming-audio-device.html

Cheers

 

[EJD87]

Where about?
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/r2r2000red-hd-streaming-audio-device.html

Cheers

https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/hm1000-red.html

You were looking at the R2R2000 red, not the HM1000 red.

 

[Matpar]

https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/hm1000-red.html

You were looking at the R2R2000 red, not the HM1000 red.

I thought you were misunderstanding, since it seems impossible to me that HM1000 red costs less than R2RK Red..
tnx

 

[eskamobob1]

The gold still not for sale in the US it looks like. Wierd that the red is though tbh

 

[andersos]

Awesome. Will check it out and report back. I'm especially interested in the updated firmware.

Did you try the new firmware and app versions?

 

[EJD87]

Screw it, I purchased one of these direct from HIFIMAN. We’ll see how it goes! This is going to (hopefully) be a cornerstone component in my “endgame for ants” setup.

PSA: HIFIMAN is currently running a sale on their web store. If you are able to get your purchase over $600 USD, you can apply the coupon CLEARANCE49 to get $49 off the HM1000! The HM1000 is just under the wire at $599.99, so I purchased the cheapest add-on I could for a final price of $559.99 with the coupon applied. However, the website states that only a handful of coupons can be used, so act fast!

 

[Hanesu]

One question to the HM1000 owners: When connected via BT, can the volume of the device completely be controlled via phone? With the R2R2000 that never worked and I found it annoying...

 

[audionewbi]

One question to the HM1000 owners: When connected via BT, can the volume of the device completely be controlled via phone? With the R2R2000 that never worked and I found it annoying...

Yes, it can be. When playing via Hifiman app, all other BT connection will be disabled until the app connection is closed, in that case, hm1000 acts as a BT receiver.

I'm very happy with HM1000 sound. Recently I had a chance to demo the M8. What a wonderful DAP Shanling M8 is, but I ended up liking HM1000 more.

My biggest annoyance with HM1000 and LP P6 is lack of gapless playback.

 

[gr8soundz]

Screw it, I purchased one of these direct from HIFIMAN. We’ll see how it goes! This is going to (hopefully) be a cornerstone component in my “endgame for ants” setup.

PSA: HIFIMAN is currently running a sale on their web store. If you are able to get your purchase over $600 USD, you can apply the coupon CLEARANCE49 to get $49 off the HM1000! The HM1000 is just under the wire at $599.99, so I purchased the cheapest add-on I could for a final price of $559.99 with the coupon applied. However, the website states that only a handful of coupons can be used, so act fast!

Ordered mine on Amazon where it's also $599 (sold and shipped by Hifiman). Knew about the coupon when I ordered but didn't think to add filler at Hifiman plus Amazon much more convenient for me. Received the HM1000 yesterday despite being shipped from China.

Seems Hifiman finally came to its senses price-wise. Had my eye on the red R2R2K for long while but never saw it lower than $900. Despite the HM1000's improvements (physical buttons, more bluetooth codecs incl HD, and true line outputs) Hifiman likely realized they can't ask the same price for a screen-less version.

No unboxing pics but, then again, not much to speak of there. Nice box/case but other than the HM1000, absolutely nothing else inside beyond a couple warranty cards: No USB cable, no charger, not even a sim tool (required) to open the micro SD tray. Not complaining though since we audiophiles often know what we're getting into to.

First ever Hifiman product for me but my third R2R DAC overall. Been hard for me to return to delta-sigma since switching to R2R years ago but not many small/portable R2R DACs available. Design and implementation are still very important but, to contrast what I've heard some others state, I say bits are bits until they go missing.

As anticipated, sound quality is very impressive so far though still some burning-in to do.

With a 128GB card inserted in the HM1000, I used the Hifiman Remote app to control playback. You have to get the apk via a zip file on Hifiman.cn as you won't find it on Hifiman.com. I also tried streaming via bluetooth but mostly controlled things via the app for better sound quality since files play directly from the micro sd inside the player. The app takes some getting used to and despite taking longer to scan files, using the wireless update option was the only way for me to get past the those screens. Haven't tried OTG yet but the HM1000 turns on whenever ANY usb cable is inserted and starts to charge itself (solid red light). Pressing the button near the usb port can disable charging and the light flashes red/green. With a cable connected, you can turn off the unit via the power button but, strangely, my HM1000 won't charge at all while off (no light). Also, even after leaving it on while charging overnight the light stays red and never turns green to indicate full charge. Has anyone else experienced this?

The built-in amp performs well so far but doesn't have a ton of power. At high gain on the single-end 3.5mm output (you can switch between SE and balanced TRRS 3.5mm) I had the volume maxed out on a pair of cheap Beyerdynamic headphones and it wasn't even close to being loud. Switching to 4.4mm balanced out with the Focal Elegia was much better although still not a lot of headroom at 24 out of max 32 volume at high gain.

Paired the HM1000 with my Oriolus BA-10 last night as well which provided more than enough juice for the Oppo PM-3. Thankfully, the HM1000 has a true balanced line out so no double amping plus it ran a bit cooler not having the amp section running. However, the Oriolus has dual tubes and runs very hot so placing the HM1000 on top wasn't ideal. Once the case I ordered on eBay arrives I'll try stacking them with the HM1000 on the bottom to reduce heat.

 

[EJD87]

Ordered mine on Amazon where it's also $599 (sold and shipped by Hifiman). Knew about the coupon when I ordered but didn't think to add filler at Hifiman plus Amazon much more convenient for me. Received the HM1000 yesterday despite being shipped from China.

Seems Hifiman finally came to its senses price-wise. Had my eye on the red R2R2K for long while but never saw it lower than $900. Despite the HM1000's improvements (physical buttons, more bluetooth codecs incl HD, and true line outputs) Hifiman likely realized they can't ask the same price for a screen-less version.

No unboxing pics but, then again, not much to speak of there. Nice box/case but other than the HM1000, absolutely nothing else inside beyond a couple warranty cards: No USB cable, no charger, not even a sim tool (required) to open the micro SD tray. Not complaining though since we audiophiles often know what we're getting into to.

First ever Hifiman product for me but my third R2R DAC overall. Been hard for me to return to delta-sigma since switching to R2R years ago but not many small/portable R2R DACs available. Design and implementation are still very important but, to contrast what I've heard some others state, I say bits are bits until they go missing.

As anticipated, sound quality is very impressive so far though still some burning-in to do.

With a 128GB card inserted in the HM1000, I used the Hifiman Remote app to control playback. You have to get the apk via a zip file on Hifiman.cn as you won't find it on Hifiman.com. I also tried streaming via bluetooth but mostly controlled things via the app for better sound quality since files play directly from the micro sd inside the player. The app takes some getting used to and despite taking longer to scan files, using the wireless update option was the only way for me to get past the those screens. Haven't tried OTG yet but the HM1000 turns on whenever ANY usb cable is inserted and starts to charge itself (solid red light). Pressing the button near the usb port can disable charging and the light flashes red/green. With a cable connected, you can turn off the unit via the power button but, strangely, my HM1000 won't charge at all while off (no light). Also, even after leaving it on while charging overnight the light stays red and never turns green to indicate full charge. Has anyone else experienced this?

The built-in amp performs well so far but doesn't have a ton of power. At high gain on the single-end 3.5mm output (you can switch between SE and balanced TRRS 3.5mm) I had the volume maxed out on a pair of cheap Beyerdynamic headphones and it wasn't even close to being loud. Switching to 4.4mm balanced out with the Focal Elegia was much better although still not a lot of headroom at 24 out of max 32 volume at high gain.

Paired the HM1000 with my Oriolus BA-10 last night as well which provided more than enough juice for the Oppo PM-3. Thankfully, the HM1000 has a true balanced line out so no double amping plus it ran a bit cooler not having the amp section running. However, the Oriolus has dual tubes and runs very hot so placing the HM1000 on top wasn't ideal. Once the case I ordered on eBay arrives I'll try stacking them with the HM1000 on the bottom to reduce heat.

Great writeup! One question, since I don't seem to have found an answer anywhere else: can you charge the unit and have it operate as a USB DAC simultaneously? The fact that it has a button to switch between the two functions indicates that this is not the case, but I just want to be sure. If it turns out that it can charge and work as a USB DAC at the same time, is any interference introduced into the sound when playing music through USB while charging?

 

[audionewbi]

Yes, but the unit gets very hot when charging .

 

[muths66]

Does anyone have denafrips ares2 and hm1000 red on hand to compare the sound??

 

[EJD87]

So I just received my HM1000 red in the mail and was looking at the instruction manual. It has a balanced line out via 4.4mm Pentaconn, but it specifically says not to connect to ungrounded connectors as prolonged use may damage the unit. My ALO Audio Continental Dual Mono DAC/amp has balanced line in, but only through 2.5mm TRRS. Am I to understand that connecting the HM1000 from its balanced out to my amp's balanced line in will damage the HM1000? As far as I know, TRRS is ungrounded, right?