[hellomoto]

Hello!
 
First, please apologize for my poor English, don't hesitate to make me clarify any point that remains dark. Also, I'm sorry to bother you with one of this multiple threads of comparison with fresh DAP that have only been heard by a few.
 
Well, I'm a college student, so I usually take enough time to consider all my purchases, in order to make no mistakes, but the deal on the HM-601 is so attractive, that I have to rush things. I read tens of topics about the stuff I'm considering, but I still can't figure out if it's the right choice.

I'm currently listening to my HF2's and Sr80i's directly from my Cowon X5, and I have K340's that I'm modding and recabling right now, and I'm probably (well more than that, I don't know the best word I can use, let's say quite sure) getting the PB1 for Christmas. I've been convinced by this little powerful amp, that should drive my headphones well, I'm going balanced at least with my HF2 and K340. I'm listening most of the time at Rock, I like the Grado Sound, but the K340 is also very pleasant to me on certain songs.
 
I'm only concerned by SQ (well, I'm still using my Cowon X5, that proves my point!), nothing else, not even portability, nor battery, I don't care at all. I just want to be able to take it with me when I'm out of my house: in holidays... I already have plenty of SD cards, so memory is not a problem.
 
I was wondering how the HM601 compared to my X5. I have three of them, so I can certainly sell them and get the HM601 for only a little loss, but still, I quite enjoy having several X5, I can bring one with me, let another one at home on my speaker setup... I also suffer from the jack problem of the Cowon X5, I'd be glad to get rid of this trouble. The price is also quite attractive, especially with RE0, I never tried good IEM, and if I don't like them I can still sell them. I've read that 601 was better than the J3, who is considered as a bit better as the X5. Is there an actual difference? I guess there is, the priority are not the same, but I wanted to make sure it was not enigmatic.
 
My other problem is the synergy, it looks ok to me, but well I'm not a pro, and I may have missed some details.
 
Also, my projects were to buy the boomsland next year, when I'll have a computer. I think I'll end up buying the Boomslang anyway, even with the HM601, but will I be able to connect it to it, and achieve similar, or better sound than on the computer? I don't know the quality of the Line Out of the 601. If not, then I think I'll pass.
 
So, what would you do in that case, and what would you recommend?
 
Thanks you very much for your help!
 
Antoine

 

[hellomoto]

Noone to help me? My two questions are, only considering SQ and nothing else:
- Is the HM601 a real improvement over the Cowon X5, using Toucan with balanced HF2/K340
- Will the HM601 be better than  computer+Boomslang (i guess it wont, I saw a review somewhere.) I think the HM601 hasn't any digital output, so I can't plug the Dac directly in the HM601, even in the USB port right? Then is there another DAP that could do that, with better quality than computer+boomslang (in the price range)
 
Thanks!

Antoine

 

[nauxolo]

Is the burn payment better than the drunk?

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

I'm curious about this too, but I think very few people have that really old mp3 player and still use it like us.

More to the point, how many Head-Fiers do you think there are out there who can make a direct comparison between the combinations listed by the OP ? Short of buying every new FOTM that comes along, I dont see how anyone can possibly keep on top of some of the requests here.

 

[gameboy115]

Cowon X5 is kind of old player., even I heard its SQ is pretty good though.I would say you can order 601, the wost condition it provides 30 days return.........

 

[Danneq]

Quote:

I'm curious about this too, but I think very few people have that really old mp3 player and still use it like us.

I love old MP3 players. Just this year I have bought an iRiver H120 (released in 2003), a Kenwood HD20GA7 (2005), a JVC XA HD 500 (2005) and a Sharp HR-GB201 (2004). Last year I bought a Creative Zen Vision:M (2005 or 2006). I already have an old Creative Zen Touch (2004) which I bought in 2005.
 
The only newer player I have is the Cowon S9, but it was released in late 2008 and the 32GB version in the spring of 2009, so it is getting old. Overall I like older players more since they are much easier to modify than newer ones. Also older ones can sound very nice, even compared to newer players.
 
To the OP - I am sorry I cannot help you. I have heard neither the Cowon X5 or the HM601. I would not mind to try the X5, but now I have enough DAP:s for a while. The X5 is considered as one of the best sounding Cowon players. However, the newer ones are good as well. I have no experience with the HifiMan series. The high price scares me off...