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S:flo2 impressions thread

Dec 25, 2009 at 3:00 AM Post #47 of 3,682
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazed&Confused718 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Does this player make low bitrate mp3's(160k and below) sound better?


Once you loose quality you can't get it back unless you rerip your music from CD in a higher bitrate or download a higher bit rate version of the song. Most likely lower bit rate audio files would probably sound worse on this.
 
Dec 25, 2009 at 8:21 AM Post #52 of 3,682
Quote:

Originally Posted by Negakinu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't understand these reviews/impressions. Several people I know here in The Netherlands bought this Teclast T51 after the hype and almost everyone is extremely dissapointed. I myself was tempted to get one but after messing around with a friend's unit I am glad I didn't.

For a very extensive (and downright scary) buglist click here.

Don't get me wrong, I want this thing to be awesome. I am always looking for the best possible portable SQ but I don't believe this is the one. Yet.
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I have had a look at your signature devices, it seems these devices are just very normal. Don't get me wrong, for you claimed you are always looking for the best possible portable SQ.
 
Dec 25, 2009 at 10:43 AM Post #53 of 3,682
Quote:

Originally Posted by vochiogi /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Do you have one? I read some of your posts on the amp3 player, which do you think this sounds better?


I don't have one; at a recent headphone meet, I had the chance to hear it. It sounds good, but I wouldn't upgrade over any other player to it because of a few specs. The interface is quite backward in comparison to other players and the sound - it is up to you, but it wasn't my cup of tea. It doesn't do any better job of driving balanced armatures than anything else.

Headphones, I have no idea. I am sure that people who buy it will be happy, but I don't really care for it.
 
Dec 25, 2009 at 5:20 PM Post #57 of 3,682
Last night, I wrote a lengthy review of my S:flo2 but unfortunately got deleted when I tried to upload it. Darned!

After such a traumatic experience, I thought I would just forget stating my side of the story, but then I thought it would not be fair to let negative sentiments prevent fellow Head-fiers from trying out a truly marvelous piece of technology. Let me try again and give my initial impression of the S:flo2.

I received my S:flo2 on December 20th and have been playing with it ever since. I just wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about since there a few comments indicating how faulty this DAP is. To sum it up, in terms of SQ, this beast hands down kills the portable DAP competition. Go ahead and get your hands on one of these babes before they either run out of stock or raise their selling price. The S:flo2 is that good!

The following is my current portable audio set up.

Lossless FLAC & 320kbps MP3 encoded files --> 16GB S:flo2 --> Custom made silver coated oxygen free pure copper interconnects, electromagnetic shielding with gold plated 3.5mm Neutrik angled jacks --> Qables iQube V1 --> P to S adapter --> Etymotic Research ER4-P

As a few mentioned, the software that comes with the S:flo2 is nothing to brag about and is really lacking in terms of sophistication. However, during my one week evaluation period, I have never once experienced any hiccups/lock-ups/breakdowns/resets of any kind. I am not someone who demands lots of sophistication in terms of DAP software. I just want a DAP that can play good SQ music and nothing fancy. I used it just as I have used my Cowon D2 which is simply putting music files in different folders and letting my DAP play whatever files are in the designated folder. This way, my S:flo2 works without any flaw.

In terms of sound quality, it is just as I said above. It simply is THE BEST that one can attain in the portable DAP domain. Separation, soundstage, lows, middle, highs, this musical miracle does wonders. This little thing comes pretty close to my $2,000 April Music Stello DP200 DAC/Pre-amp/Headphone amp unit SQ wise, and that is really saying a lot. Cowon D2 is very well respected in terms of SQ, but I am afraid that it does not come even close to the S:flo2. I used to love my Cowon D2. Apalling!

The sound from S:flo2's dedicated line out produced absolutely no hissing noise. I also tried out the headphone out jack with my ER4-P (w/o adapter), Grado SR-60, and Ultrasone Proline 750 which are all considered very sensitive and easily prone to hissing noise. I know that some have mentioned hearing noise out of the headphone out so I really listened carefully and........ no noise??? I scratched my head and decided to test the same phones with my Little Dot MKV which did produce hissing noise confirming that there was nothing wrong with my phones. I again went back to the headphone out jack of my S:flo2 and......... still no noise..... (loss of words). This was a very enlightening finding since I was ready to accept some level of noise considering its price level. The sound from the headphone out is also of excellent quality (i.e. strong, clean, accurate, etc.) which I would not hesitate to use in case my iQube ran out of juice. I now really don't understand what all the fuss is concerning noise. Maybe I am one damn lucky fellow who just happens to have received the best of the existing S:flo2 stock....

Regarding battery life, this is one major weakness that S:flo2 possesses against the almighty Cowon D2. The S:flo2 went on playing for about 8 hours from being fully charged whereas my Cowon D2 has attained 48~50 hours after full charge. But, if one were to consider that the S:flo2 is using power hungry parts (Dual Wolfson DAC, etc.) to attain its amazing SQ, its short battery life could somewhat be excused. You do need to carry the charging unit with you on long trips.

Since the S:flo2 is called an MP4 player, I tried a few AVI files and, once again, it played them without flaw. The movies were vivid and without glitches. Of course, the sound was again marvelous. Simply amazing...

The S:flo2 could be improved further in many ways, but they are more cosmetic and software oriented. When looking at just the hardware section providing audio output, I cannot find anything to improve further.

This is my little review of the S:flo2. Yes, I am very happy with having found such a head-fi technical wonder and I hope that there will be many more who would join in and share true portable audio joy.
 
Dec 25, 2009 at 9:35 PM Post #58 of 3,682
Quote:

Originally Posted by worldman /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Last night, I wrote a lengthy review of my S:flo2 but unfortunately got deleted when I tried to upload it. Darned!

....................................

This is my little review of the S:flo2. Yes, I am very happy with having found such a head-fi technical wonder and I hope that there will be many more who would join in and share true portable audio joy.


I am very thankful you put up a short review after your uploading trouble. I am so excited about this player. Is it possible you can try again with a length review, I think a lot of us want more info. (Save your review as a local file before you upload, net connection is sometime not a reliable thing.)
One thing concerns me, although S:flo2 can re-produce high resolved sound, does it sound musical/ sound like real music? Can you please address that? Thank you.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 2:41 AM Post #59 of 3,682
Quote:

Originally Posted by david1978jp /img/forum/go_quote.gif
One thing concerns me, although S:flo2 can re-produce high resolved sound, does it sound musical/ sound like real music? Can you please address that? Thank you.


Well, I like my music reproduction to be as accurate and true to its original recording producer's intention. That is why I use head-fi equipments which are considered "accurate and true" and does not show or add its own color such as the Ultrasone for my headphone, ER4 for my iem, iQube for my amp, etc. The S:flo2 is highly musical in that sense. It does not add any coloring of its own and provides solid, accurate, and powerful music, and that is what is important for me. I guess I am more of a "solid state" type of guy rather than a "tube" type.

I hope this helps.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 3:01 AM Post #60 of 3,682

In terms of sound quality, it is just as I said above. It simply is THE BEST that one can attain in the portable DAP domain. Separation, soundstage, lows, middle, highs, this musical miracle does wonders. This little thing comes pretty close to my $2,000 April Music Stello DP200 DAC/Pre-amp/Headphone amp unit SQ wise, and that is really saying a lot. Cowon D2 is very well respected in terms of SQ, but I am afraid that it does not come even close to the S:flo2. I used to love my Cowon D2. Apalling!quoted
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Then T51 can be priced at $1800 i suppose.
 
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