mrarroyo
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
- Posts
- 19,073
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- 43
Part I:
This impressions are on the HM-801 that Fang of Head Direct loaned me to try/test. For pictures please go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/109437154048011247077/HiFiMAMHM801#
I have had the pleasure to both buy and get loaner pieces from Fang in the past and I have been very pleased with his customer service. Needless to say I was excited to try this unit without having to front the $790 asking price. I did have to buy a 32 GB Kingston Type 4 SD Card, I bought it from Newegg for about $85 including S&H. Note: If the initial impressions hold over the next couple of weeks I may have be buying this unit.
Anyways this is not going to be so much an impressions thread but more of what people like me need to do to make this unit work properly. I say this because I am not a very knowledgeable computer person and recently I made the transition to an iMac which further made things very difficult. So the first thing I did was to transfer a large number of my Apple Lossless files to an external USB 250 GB HD. I did this to avoid messing up the iMac which I am just beginning to learn how to use. Once done I took the HD to an old (2004) Dell PC and did a search including starting a thread here on how to convert the ALAC files to FLAC. I intended to give the HM-801 the best possible files, just like I do with my iPods where I use ALAC files.
I took the advice of many and downloaded the trial version of dbpoweramp, of course I did not set it up correctly on the first try nor the second try.
So today I finally was able to load about 1,150 FLAC files unto the 32 GB SD Card and I have been able to finally listen to the HM-801. I need to learn how to navigate through the various buttons specially to locate specific songs, until I learn it is a pain to find songs and I am just listening in the same order I loaded the files in. Luckily I loaded them alphabetically so it is not a total pain to use.
As you probably know the HM-801 retails for $790 plus if you wish to have the same capacity as an iPod Classic you would need five 32 GB SD Cards at about another $410 (some savings in S&H are realized) for a grand total of $1,200 as compared with about $850 for an iPod Classic, good amp, and a good line out dock. However if you were to compare the cost with an iModded iPod w/ an external cap box and amp the price of the HM-801 would be less and it would be smaller. The HM-801 by itself is larger than an iPod but when you through in the amp and line out dock the HM-801 is smaller. Since I am comparing the two I should mention the iPod Classic play time is about 3 times that of the HM-801, say 25 hours to 8 hours both using lossless files.
As far as carrying the HM-801 I am not aware of any case for it so IMO it is more of a transportable unless you do not mind risking damaging the HM-801 by carrying on a cargo pant pocket. I guess a camera bag would work as an alternative for many so it may not be too bad of an option.
For the first listen I used a HiFiMAN RE-252 IEM and a Grado RS-1 with the 1/4" to 1/8" Grado converter. The first two songs were by Nina Simone and Nicole Henry and I also asked "she who must be obeyed" to listen and provide feedback.
If I was to start a wish list it would include:
1. A better instruction manual either electronic or hardcopy.
2. Longer play time, I would suggest a 20 hour target. Or the inclusion of a 2nd battery even if it adds an small amount to the price.
3. The player remembers the last song before it was shutdown.
4. Inclusion of a case, even if it adds $30. The case should have a place to carry an additional two SD Cards.
5. Gapless which I believe it is being worked on as we speak.
Part II:
Well I spent more time w/ the HM-801 today and a Yuin OK1. I asked a fellow coworker to listen to the HM-801, he is not into 2-channel portable audio but he loved it, he said he has not heard music sound so good unless he is at home listening to a nice pair of speakers. Then I had him listen to my iPhone 3G loaded w/ Apple Lossles files while using the OK1 and he could not believe how much worse it sounded. By comparison the iPhone sounded "dead" to him and I have to agree w/ his assessment. There is a sense of liveliness and vitality when listening to the HM-801 that I do not hear with the iPod or the iPhone.
Overall I really like the sound of the HM-801 and it is far superior to an iPod or iPhone connected to an external portable amp using a high quality line out dock. Fang and his staff have done a fantastic job, if any of you local members of this forum wish to listen to the unit I have on loan send me a PM and we can get together during the weekend.
At the end of the day the sound of the HM-801 is superb and far better than the iPod or iPhone. More to come, cheers.
Part III:
After writing the first two parts above I have lived with the unit for an additional couple of weeks. In that time a couple of developments have come a reality. First I have learned how to use some of the features like the equalizer including the user selectable and a new smaller and sleeker power supply has been released for the HM-801.
During this time I have come to appreciate the improvements in sound this unit offers over the iPod and the iPhone. We all talk about musicality and it is a hard item to describe to those who may not have the opportunity to listen to the gear in question. Perhaps the best explanation is that it is the unit I go to when I am in the mood to listen to good music. There are other accolades and adjectives that I could use but they would not provide the listening experience that this unit is capable of. To that effect I have spoken to a fellow member (Carl) and we will try to have an small mini meet with others (Dom and Vicky) and hopefully they will chime in with their experience with the unit.
Of the wishes I wrote above the biggest one for me is a carrying case, followed by car charger. The second “wish item” is somewhat less of an issue following the newer and smaller charger that was recently added.
BTW, for those who may argue that the HM-801 is a bit large ... well it is but when you carry an iPod w/ a LOD and an amp you are at about the same size and the sound is nowhere as involving and satisfying.
One of the tests I conducted during this period was to feed my home stereo with the HM-801 and an iPod Classic. I used a Kimber copper mini to RCA to feed a Yamaha RX-V3000 Receiver which in turn was feeding a pair of Time Windows 1A speakers. The music was courtesy of Peter White’s Glow album in lossless (ALAC and FLAC) How was the comparison? There wasn’t, the HM-801 was so much better than the iPod Classic that neither my wife nor I could stand listening to the iPod for more than one song.
Next I will be using the HM-801 as a DAC/Amp with a computer as the source. I also wish to compare w/ an iModded iPod in the near future. Thanks for reading this and also thanks to Fang for loaning me the unit.
