[twister6]

  You get almost mono sound

Common, not that drastic   But I do agree, the width of soundstage shrinks...

 

[Zelda]

The TRRS-to-TRS adapter makes no change to regular TRS or mic'ed TRRS plugs. doesnt even lower the hiss. 
But the other MicroUSB-TRRS adapter does makes some change. like an impedance resistor.

 

[Dog meat]

I dunno about iem's (I dont have any other then re 400B in possesion), but on full sized momentums the sound stage locks inside the head when used withot the adapter.  I've seen measurments that the channel separation (hope that I translated the term correctly) without adapter is only 18 dB istead of 90 or something. This is pretty much what I hear on momentum - the crosstalk is so big that stereo image is severely reduced

 

[WeimarK]

Well, finally I have received my HM 700 and It's awesome, the sound is pretty neutral not so warm, not so cold (at least from my experience, very limited if I may add). Just got the RE400b IEM and I'm very pleased.
I'm just wonderin' what other IEM you could recommend for this DAP, besides the obvious RE600b, something We can benefit from the balanced output.
ANyway, I'm very happy with this player.

 

[Zelda]

  Well, finally I have received my HM 700 and It's awesome, the sound is pretty neutral not so warm, not so cold (at least from my experience, very limited if I may add). Just got the RE400b IEM and I'm very pleased.
I'm just wonderin' what other IEM you could recommend for this DAP, besides the obvious RE600b, something We can benefit from the balanced output.
ANyway, I'm very happy with this player.

Glad you'r enjoying it. 
Don't know other 'balanced' gear for the HM700 besides the Hifiman IEM stuff. sorry

 

[donunus]

I didnt like this player at all. It would have helped if the IEMs were at least good. Using regular cans is a pain with the hanging thin wire adapter and the interface is just blah. My Ipad kills it in power and sound quality. Overall I would say these are only good for people that just happen to like the included IEMs since I don't know of any other good IEM using the same balanced connector.

 

[donunus]

plus it doesn't even play ogg vorbis files

 

[sh4d3]

Hi to all and congratulations @zelda for the review
 
I've a particular question: does the HM-700 compatible with Meenova adaptor?
Anyone tried?
 
Thanks_

 

[KC33]

Zelda, thanks for the excellent review. Do you know if it's possible to run this through a laptop so I could stream music as the laptop being the source?
 
I'm buying the RE-600's tomorrow and I have read the synergy with the HM-700 is profound. (Which you further reinforced in your review) I'm getting the HM-700 regardless but I'd love to know if I could basically use it as a portable DAC when I'm home.

 

[Zelda]

  Zelda, thanks for the excellent review. Do you know if it's possible to run this through a laptop so I could stream music as the laptop being the source?
 
I'm buying the RE-600's tomorrow and I have read the synergy with the HM-700 is profound. (Which you further reinforced in your review) I'm getting the HM-700 regardless but I'd love to know if I could basically use it as a portable DAC when I'm home.

No. can't be used as a DAC

 

[BRCMRGN]

Get yourself an OPPO PM-3 and this cable:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Supertech%C2%AE3-5mm-Premium-Compatible-Smartphones-computers/dp/B00PLTXJIU
 
Voila! Balanced PM-3. The PM-3 is efficient enough that the HM-700 drives it quite easily - My ears start to bleed at a volume of 20. The HM-700 fits right in the PM-3 case. 
 
As much as the HM-700 file compatibility problems drove me crazy, once I got it loaded with music that it can actually play, it is a great sounding machine, especially with PM-3. It was very thoughtful of OPPO to wire the internal jack of the PM-3 as TRRS balanced, even though they don't offer a balanced cable themselves.

 

[Jmop]

About the Panda amp pairing you mentioned, does the spaciousness of the amp detract at all from the bass tightness/dynamics with the RE-600? Also, does adding the amp help with hiss reduction? Thanks!

 

[Zelda]

About the Panda amp pairing you mentioned, does the spaciousness of the amp detract at all from the bass tightness/dynamics with the RE-600? Also, does adding the amp help with hiss reduction? Thanks!

Not at all. the Amp even improves the bass impact and tightness and speed. you can check my RE600 review for the AMP-S results.
and yes, there's lower hiss if any. (but i'd check it again if you need)

 

[Jmop]

Man, if only it could run balanced. Still tempting though.

 

[Zelda]

Man, if only it could run balanced. Still tempting though.

it's a very good Amp already to need 'balanced'