[Antony L]

 
Quote:

It is interesting to read that the S:Flo2 has a problem with harmonic distortion, which effectively affects the sound quality.

I never liked the sq of this player, and my opinion is contrary to the vast majority of those who love it.

My question is: How can you not have noticed this problem before? It does not affect the sound quality of the player? How was the sound of S:Flo2 after firmware update?

As soon as possible I will try this update ...
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

I have posted in the past that the sq collapses with heavy use of the eq ,some other uses here crank up the bass to full ,i think with the sflo the user eq has to be used but set near to flat in the lower frequencys.I have also posted that i dont rate the ho as high as the lo yet others think the opposite
i think the problem with headfi is there are quite afew sheep who will say exactly what they think they should say ,or people who test equiptment with low quality iems /cans ,its good to hear differant opinions
also i hate my new 2.3 firmware although vocals do seem clearer ,how can people see this as an upgrade ,cant wait for the nationalite version ,maybe ive downloaded the wrong one!
having said all this i still love the sound of my sflo when used correctly !
 

 

[headfone]

Quick question about FW upgrade...
 
Will upgrading FW via the RK28 tool wipe out all folders/files I have added to the flash memory since purchase (these, of course, are music, video, etc. files)?
 
 

---

 
Other questions and suggestions...
 
The push-hold-down timing interval for turning the unit on or off is too long (I counted about 4-5 sec). 2 -3 would be more ideal. I think this is FW issue. How can I adjust this interval?
 
Does the flash memory fragment over time? If so, how does this fragmentation affect overall performance (i.e.compared to magnetic HD frag.)
 
I noted earlier that the Wolfson DAC offers a whole suite of useful software-controllable parameters and that user access to them should be a must for FW programmers as well as the future designs from companies (Teclast, MP4Nation) that make these DAPs. I am really adamant about this issue because I believe the user can significantly improve performance by choosing the right digital filters. See this Stereophile review of a high-rated Cambridge Audio DAC which uses the same DAC IC. Minimum Phase and Linear Phase filters are selectable in the WM8470. Another feature to add would be upsampling (and/or sample rate conv. (SRC)) and this would require an additional IC. It's a simple, topological extension of the current Teclast design, so the the addit. IC could be added on the same PCB I think.
 
BTW: I'm sure Teclast's competition is reading this post right now. All I can say is that the first company to incorporate the above features, in addition to what Teclast currently offers, is the company that's going to get: (a) my $$ for that device; and perhaps more importantly (b) my praise in this and other forums/sites (which will increase sales and make even more $$ for that company).
So, as the sayings, go ... "gentlemen, start your engines ..." and "last one is a rotten egg..." etc.
 
One last Q ...
What's in a name? I mean how'd they come up with "S:Flo2", or is it pronounced, kinda pseudo-techno-profoundly, "S:Flo squared"? It's a chore to type this in as the colon requires one also use the shift key. It's not search-engine-friendly nomenclature.

 

[suzuki]

Hi,
 
Does a case or pouch come with this player?

 

[Hero Kid]

Quote:

Have anyone compared S:flo2 to iMod/diyMod or similar? Which is better about sound quality?

http://www.headfonia.com/hm-801-t51-rwa-imod-ipod-classic-and-x1060/ ... I had a feeling there were more but I'm mental blanking sorry.

 

[hasanyuceer]

This is an incredible source for me. Thanks!
 
Quote:

http://www.headfonia.com/hm-801-t51-rwa-imod-ipod-classic-and-x1060/ ... I had a feeling there were more but I'm mental blanking sorry.

 

[Hero Kid]

Also just so you know people question his comments about the bass on the s:flo2. Also firmware updates are said to have improved the UI quite dramatically from earlier versions.
 
I'm sure there are also user comparisons here on Head-Fi. It's just a matter of digging them up.

 

[niccon]

i just got the player. actual on my setup (Tf10 pro, iqube, twag cable for LO/iem), the bass is so much better than my previous ipod classic & touch 3g. really make my music so much more enjoyable now. unless those that are really demanding for more bass output, i think the bass level & quality are considered quite sufficient & good to a lot of listener.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 

---

 
Other questions and suggestions...
 
 
Does the flash memory fragment over time? If so, how does this fragmentation affect overall performance (i.e.compared to magnetic HD frag.)
 
 

Flash memory is not concerned w/ fragmentation.  If you attempt to defrag any solid state memory or flash card you are reducing the operating life of the unit and REDUCING performance.  NEVER DEFRAG SOLID STATE MEMORY!  Throw what you think you know about spinning hard drives out the window.  Completely different beast.  Platters allocate data dynamically in their cluster arrangement thus spreading out data all over in a non sequential pattern.  Solid state data is ordered sequentially and does not need to be rearranged.  Each time you write to solid state it dies a little bit (YMMV between SLC and MLC).  Always minimize the number of times you delete data from solid state memory. 

 

[Somnambulist]

Anyone got their cases yet? I'm still twiddling my thumbs here, ordered on the 27th of July. According to MP4Nation it's been shipped, although this was only in the last 7 days.

 

[cardozo]

Hi!
 
Today I made the move to firmware 2.3 and I must confess, I liked a lot. The black and blue version is very polished and responding to screen taps were much more accurate. Quite a change.

As for the sound, though still need more time to reach a fair conclusion, the improvement was enormous, especially in the headphone-out.

I never liked this output, because the sound was too stuffy, too dark. And with this new firmware, much of the heavy veil that he had is gone. The sound of the unit remains dark, however, is something less noticeable. Say no longer a defect, to be a feature of his sound signature.

I will test this unit for a few more days to reach a final conclusion. And when I get it, I'll share with you.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 

[headfone]

Quote:

NEVER DEFRAG SOLID STATE MEMORY!.. 

Yup -- and: R/W cycles are not common for a mostly-playback-intended device like a DAP, so "deframentation" -- even for a HD-based DP is not critical. BTW, a very effective, simple and FREE defrag method is to simply copy files/folders onto another drive/partition (call it "B"), erase files/folders from drive/partition A, and paste back onto B the files/folders from A.
 
And now for something completely different...
 
Earlier, I mentioned a kind of wish list for a future version of this DAP. Continuing that list, a DIGITAL (SPDIF) OUT would be great. A 3.5 mm mono plug would suffice. Also, I2S OUT would be fantastic. No, that's not unheard of in one of these small portable DAPs -- e.g., the aforementioned QA-550 SD card 16/44.1 WAV transport offers I2S OUT, alas only off its PCB.

 

[headfone]

Jut upgraded to FW v2.3 (from 2.?), but I didn't get a format prompt despite strictly following  the instructions from MP4Nation:
 
"if you are not prompted to format then do not copy anything to the player, safe disconnect, reconnect and select the drive again - you should be asked to format."
 
Further, after the update, all my pre-update files/folders were still there (tho' I did back them up) and settings held, too.
 
Is this normal?
 
I do note that the opening logos are for the TL51 now  (no longer Nationite S:flo2). I think the SQ has improved, too.

 

[nickosiris]

Interesting. I DID get a prompt asking me to format the device, which I did, and erased all the files from the internal memory (which I was prepared for). Maybe it's dependent on which version of Windoze you use?
 
(I updated from v2.2 to v2.3)

 
Quote:

Jut upgraded to FW v2.3 (from 2.?), but I didn't get a format prompt despite strictly following  the instructions from MP4Nation:
 
"if you are not prompted to format then do not copy anything to the player, safe disconnect, reconnect and select the drive again - you should be asked to format."
 
Further, after the update, all my pre-update files/folders were still there (tho' I did back them up) and settings held, too.
 
Is this normal?
 
I do note that the opening logos are for the TL51 now  (no longer Nationite S:flo2). I think the SQ has improved, too.

 

[headfone]

Originally Posted by borrego 
Blind me, I just noticed this comment....
Quote:

The problem with AD8620 is its minimum supply voltage is +-5V, which is higher than the S:flo2 can supply.

The AD8620 is the ideal opamp for low-voltage (battery-based) operation as in portable gear (see links below). It's a very bright, lively, detail-heavy device. Not laid back like TI/BB. Also, it's pretty $$ (got mine via AD's sample program .  I just put one in to the DAP to replace the OPA2132 I put in a few days ago. Wow. Now, that's more like it. YMMV, of course. Actually, it's no big secret that the AD8620 beats the OPA2132 is several DIY circles:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/72164-swapped-opa2132-ad8620.html
http://tangentsoft.net/audio/opamps.html
Quote:

So I think the suitable opamp replacement will be another low power FET opamp like yours OPA2132 or the OPA1642.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
AD it, man!
P.S.: Next experiment will be with LM6172, a low-power-consuming BI-POLAR! A tricky/cranky lil' diva, but a 50pF film cap on the feedback loop should do the trick...stay tuned...

 

[headfone]

Quote:

Interesting. I DID get a prompt asking me to format the device, which I did, and erased all the files from the internal memory (which I was prepared for). Maybe it's dependent on which version of Windoze you use?
 
(I updated from v2.2 to v2.3)

XP Pro SP2. Ditto on v2.2 to v2.3.
On the MP4 FW page, it does CONFUSINGLY state:
Quote:

[size=150%]Routine 2 - Updating from 1.10 to 1.20 OR 2.x to 2.x firmware[/size]
2.20 Firmware [DOWNLOAD](official nationite version)(NOTE DOES NOT FORMAT PLAYER - NO NEED TO FORMAT, SETTINGS AR SAVED, FILES ARE SAVED)
 
[but later down it says...]
 

• ...
• ...
• ...
• ...
• ...
• ...
• Select your drive letter for your player and ..
  1. if you are prompted to REFORMAT the drive then click YES and format the drive to FAT32, ensure to deselect quick format (not ticked)
  2. if you are not prompted to format then do not copy anything to the player, safe disconnect, reconnect and select the drive again - you should be asked to format
• Once you have the player re-formatted all is done
• You can now copy files to the player and use as normal

 

So what's what? I don't get it!