Impressions: Kenwood HD30GB9

[El Duderino]

I recently purchased the Kenwood HD30GB9 but have been a little too busy to post my impressions. A couple of head-fi members have published their reviews on this piece of kit and, before you read any further, let me say that I agree fully with their assessment. The HD30 sounds phenomenal in comparison to non-amp'd DAPs.

First, a little background. I have previously owned/used the IRiver H120 (Rockbox'd), Iaudio X5, Trekstor Vibez, Ipod 4G/5.5G, Zune and, most recently, the Toshiba Gigabeat S. The Kenwood is, I feel, a better sounding DAP than these alternatives. I have a fairly eclectic range of music and have put the HD30 through its paces with a variety of rock and hip-hop tracks. Critical listening with the following:

Pearl Jam - Ten/Rearview Mirror
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Tool - Aenima/Lateralus/10,000 Days
Nirvana - Unplugged in New York

Jay-z/Linkin Park - Collision Course
MF Doom - Doomsday/MM...Food
Jay-Z - Unplugged
Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
A Tribe Called Quest - Anthology
John Legend - Get Lifted

All tracks are encoded at a minimum of 224 kbps VBR MP3 and most are lossless. All tracks were listened to through Shure E4 IEMs.

Bass - Previously I have found the bass on the Shure E4 to be accurate but somewhat thin sounding on hard-hitting hip-hop tracks although perfectly adequate for most rock. With a flat equalizer, the bass through the E4 gains considerably more weight...this is immediately noticeable and is really a night/day difference. I was not aware that the E4 could produce this much bass while maintaining a tightness to the overall sound. Equalizing the sound using the excellent parametric equalizer in the HD30GB9 to add a low frequency boost helps the sound with no hint of distortion or boominess. Detail in the bass frequency is not remarkably improved although I feel that this may well be due to the IEMs and not the source.

Mid-range - One word. Phenomenal. The detail I am getting in vocals and fret sounds, etc. on the above music selections, particularly the unplugged selections, is extremely impressive. This is where the E4 excel and, fortunately, synergize very well with the detail retrieval that the HD30 is clearly capable of...possibly due to the digital amp stage. Compared to the Vibez and the Gigabeat S, my most recent DAPS, the mid-range is more detailed. Some users may not like the possible slight coloration that the HD30 seems to introduce to the mid-range in that these frequencies seem as if they are brought slightly forward. Instrument separation is excellent and comparable to the X5 and Rockbox'd Iriver H120.

Treble - The E4 are, unfortunately, afflicted with the known Shure high-end roll-off. The HD30 can correct this deficiency, either through adding a high range boost using the equalizer or by activating the Supreme EX sound circuit. I don't really buy into all the marketing talk about re-sampling the sound at 44 khz etc. but, whatever it does, Supreme EX adds an airiness and resolution to the high-end. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of battery life -- 50% of battery life to be precise.

From a sound quality perspective, the HD30GB9 is fantastic. It would be interesting to see how this compares to the IMod.

The disadvantages of this player are few but may be significant for some. I do get hiss with the Shure E4, audible when music is not playing and during very quiet passages. This, according to Antonyfirst, is even more prominent with more sensitive IEMs like the E500. Secondly, the synchronization time using the Kenwood Media Application software is painfully slow. I'm talking several hours to sync 25 GB of music across a USB 2.0 connection.

Overall, I highly recommend this player to anyone considering a portable, non-amp'd setup. Feel free to ask any questions.

El Duderino

 

[dissembled]

Thanks for that stellar review.

How good is the battery life with lossless files? And on average, what's the size of a lossless file when converted to Kenwood's proprietory format?

 

[El Duderino]

Thanks for the compliment.

The average size of the lossless files is 25 - 35 MB. Overall, they are comparable in size to a corresponding FLAC.

I tend to listen to a mixture of lossless and high bitrate MP3 so I can't really give you the battery life resulting from lossless listening alone. With a mixture of files, probably about 50% lossless, I tend to get about 8 hours playtime. This includes navigating from album to album and an active equalizer which is known to impact battery life. Listening to MP3s alone, you should be able to achieve over 12 hours without too much trouble.

Hope this helps.

El Duderino

 

[Ethan211]

How does this model compare to the HD20GA7?
There's one on ebay right now that's just tormenting me with it's high price and across-the-border location, but I really want something that's going to sound great without an amp, and from reading your review, a Kenwood is probably the perfect player.

Good review, Duderino.

 

[El Duderino]

Thanks Ethan211. I haven't heard the HD20GA7 and cannot really offer a comparison with the HD30GB9. If you search Antonyfirst's reviews, however, you will find some of his comparisons between the HD10GB7 and HD20GA7, both of which he has owned. From what I understand, the HD10 was better than the HD20GA7.

The HD30GB9 is a further evolution of the product line and may sound better than the HD10 or HD20 although I wouldn't expect a huge difference. The HD30GB9 has a slightly different sound circuit than either of the older players according to Kenwood. For example, the HD30 uses Supreme EX that resamples at 44 khz as opposed to the 22 khz on the HD10 along with other "refinements".

If you can stretch your budget, I would just get the latest and greatest and be done with it. The HD30 can be had for around $400 from PriceJapan (including EMS delivery).

El Duderino

 

[StevenBrouwer]

Ty for the review. Still very tempted to get it. But the high price and lack of features and much other shortfallings are still too big to me.

 

[El Duderino]

Fully understandable. The HD30GB9 is designed for people who are concerned about sound quality and nothing else. Consequently the player is geared towards this goal only at the expense of other features.

With regards to sound quality, I do not feel there are many shortcomings with the exception of the relatively high noise floor and resulting hiss with sensitive IEMs. I do agree that the proprietary lossless format and Kenwood Media Application are disadvantages. And, of course, the price is a significant drawback. On the other hand, this is considerably cheaper than most comparable DAP+amp setups.

At present, if you can take the financial hit, there is no better amp-less portable source. Go on, pick one up, you know you want to....and, no, I do not have any shares in Kenwood...

El Duderino

 

[Night Surfer]

Thanks for the review Duderino.
The Kenwood is not the perfect player in aspects such as features (no video or radio for example). The firmware upgrade instructions are in Japanese and are very challenging to figure out after translation. The controls are adequate but could be better and the interface is good but not great.
The Kenwood, while very scratch resistant, is a smudge magnet and it is very expensive (I paid $500 for mine).
These trade offs were worth it for me to attain the better SQ, but they may not be worth it for everyone.

But oh, the SQ. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

PS - I get around 16 hours battery w/ vbr lossy, no EQ or Supreme Ex on.
PS2 - I hear no hiss but I can't resolve flaws between different lossless formats so my ears must be toast

 

[kikkomang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night Surfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hear no hiss but I can't resolve flaws between different lossless formats so my ears must be toast

you're not supposed to be able to. different lossless formats should sound the same.

 

[Night Surfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kikkomang /img/forum/go_quote.gif you're not supposed to be able to. different lossless formats should sound the same.

I know, sorry. It was in reference to another thread. Sarcasm

Nevermind.

 

[El Duderino]

True true. The HD30GB9 is limited in terms of features but, as I mentioned, it's geared towards sound quality at the expense of everything else. This was fine for me but then, I'm the kind of person who wants a cell phone to make/receive calls and maybe texts without any of the extra gimmicks they manage to fit into phones these days. Same way with DAPs. Play music and do it well. As they say, jack of all trades is master of none.

I agree, the HD30GB9 is an absolute smudge magnet. I've managed to get around this to some extend by ordering a few DIY BestSkinsEver skins and using an exacto knife to cut them to size. No more smudging and a nice protective layer.

Has anyone used the Kenwood DAPS with any higher end IEMs. I'm considering pairing it with either the E500s (concerned about the hiss), the upcoming Westone 3 or possibly a pair of custom Livewires....

El Duderino

 

[Night Surfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Duderino /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree, the HD30GB9 is an absolute smudge magnet.

Oddly enough it is very scratch resistant though.

 

[dissembled]

Good to know. A few baby wipes and it's allll good.

 

[lmfboy01]

the kenwood matched with an E500 is heaven to my ears!

 

[Night Surfer]

Do you experience any hiss with that combo?