[Pinnipeds]

Would the s:flo2 be a good pair with the Etymotic ER4P?
 
I've read some places that the er4's have an "analytical" sound.  Does the s:flo offer similar or a more natural sound?

 

[Somnambulist]

Quote:

Agreed w/ ClieOS.  The warmth is not doing any damage at all to be concerned about thermal loads on ICs.  That's just crazy talk to equate the Sflo2 w/ a laptop that burns peoples legs.  Your little rant there accussing everyone w/a perfectly functional Sflo2 of basically lying is quite something.  Based on your experience and comments I definitely suspect user error is the root cause of your problems. Probably time for you to leave the thread and buy an iPod don't you think?  Perhaps you like exploding iPods and nanos that burn your hands better.  Good luck crazy person.  Poor heatsinking...ROFL!!     

Aye, it's nothing compared to the back of an iMac under load, for example.

 

[thesingularity]

Quote:

Aye, it's nothing compared to the back of an iMac under load, for example.

Can't really compare to laptops and PCs -- they are heatsinked and fan-cooled.
And, yes, folks heat (generated mostly during charging) is an important issue for iPhones, PDA and DAPs/PMPs.
Speaking of Apple (iPods) and battery heat ... Apple themselves note:
"Heat will degrade your battery’s performance the most."
 

 

[thesingularity]

Quote:

.... unfortunately that is the true, but there are far greater problem in the China market beyond just QC and CS, though we are not allowed to discuss it here (* involves polity). My advice? Just treats Chinese products as how you would to Korean products 20 years ago, or to Japanese products another 20 years before that.

Here in Russia, a company with such horrid QC and CS problems as Teclast/MP4Nation, would never survive -- literally --  unless they never sold locally (i.e, non-Russia sales only). I'm sure many of you've have heard of our local mafias -- poor QC and CS is not tolerated. I won't elaborate about what happens to those who have seriously p'd off an important person.
 
Not sure what the situation in China is, tho' HK is probably safe. However, say a rich-and-important crime boss is listening to Enigma while loving his favourite red-light-district lady ... and the S:Flo2 fails just before he climaxes. Lookout Teclast ... they're a comin' to get ya

Ha, ha, haaaa (insert manical laughter here)

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Can't really compare to laptops and PCs -- they are heatsinked and fan-cooled.
And, yes, folks heat (generated mostly during charging) is an important issue for iPhones, PDA and DAPs/PMPs.
Speaking of Apple (iPods) and battery heat ... Apple themselves note:
"Heat will degrade your battery’s performance the most."
 

The problem with heat and Li-ion battery is that the higher the temperature, the faster the Li-ion battery loses it capacity over time. As quoted from wik (and not the most accurate, but close enough): "A unit that is full most of the time at 25 °C (77 °F) irreversibly loses approximately 20% capacity per year. Poor ventilation may increase temperatures, further shortening battery life. Loss rates vary by temperature: 6% loss at 0 °C (32 °F), 20% at 25 °C (77 °F), and 35% at 40 °C (104 °F). When stored at 40%–60% charge level, the capacity loss is reduced to 2%, 4%, and 15%, respectively." That being said, s:flo2 might lose up to 35% of its battery capacity in a year as compared to 20% of a cell phone @ 25 °C (and only if it is used under that temperature). In actual life, I doubt s:flo2 battery will lose as much capacity unless you live in an in door environment (where the s:flo2 is stored) of constant 40 °C. Still I won't expect s:flo2 Li-ion battery to last over 2~3 years, as most cellphone batteries don't. You should also note that charging s:flo2 battery doesn't cause it to heat up significantly, unlike an iPhone. It is when it is operating (playing music) that most of the heat is generated.
 
Quote:

Here in Russia, a company with such horrid QC and CS problems as Teclast/MP4Nation, would never survive -- literally --  unless they never sold locally (i.e, non-Russia sales only). ...
 
.... Lookout Teclast ... they're a comin' to get ya

Ha, ha, haaaa (insert manical laughter here)
 

So is there a point? Reiteration with maniacal laugher rarely works in real life, but hey this is the internet.

 

[Young Spade]

Yea I used the T51 and the ER4Ps for a while and liked the sound I was getting. Pretty neutral with great detail.

 

[thesingularity]

Speaking of batt. charging ... I find the batt/charge level "meter" on the Teclast/S:Flo2 extremely inaccurate. On several occasions, I've had 4 bars one minute and the piece o' junk cut out 30 sec later for "low batt." (can't recall the exact message text; it's the one you get before this garbage collector auto-offs). What an anti-climax

Dr. Evil is Raz or Hugo ... take your pick

 

[thesingularity]

Quote:

You should also note that charging s:flo2 battery doesn't cause it to heat up significantly, unlike an iPhone. It is when it is operating (playing music) that most of the heat is generated.

Of all the DAPs/PMPs I've owned (iPod, Cowon X5, etc.) the Teclast is by far the warmest-charging. BY FAR. And that's just by finger-touch of this unit's rear exterior panel. From my experience with repairing Cowons and iPods, I know that the devices' interiors -- especially around the charging components and high-current ICs and other semi-conds -- are surprisingly HOT. Heat is the enemy of electronics, as any basic elec. engr. text will correctly report.
 
Dunno about iPhone ... I don't own one.
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Wow, all this whining over warmth.  Its not even hot but WARM!  Why are you having to repair these Cowons?  They don't get warm right?  Lol.  Maybe the Sflo2 does a better job of thermal conduction and dissapation rather than some plastic encased device.  Notice how the metal back is warm but the front glass isn't?  Duh.  Now complaining about the battery indicator?  Ipods, Iphones, Canon cameras, etc, etc are all inaccurate.  That's more common than uncommon which you should know if you were experienced w/ many electronic devices.  I'm seriously doubting you know anything about electronics other what you google.    Calling out the Sflo for things any myriad of popular devices do is ridiculous.  Cry more.  

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Another one who gets hot while charging is my Onda VX545 (POS). It is clearly the battery and probably because the charging voltage is too high. Yes, heat is pretty bad to your mp3 player. Heat in laptops is also pretty bad as it reduces the life of components. Maybe not a catastrophic failure in the short term, but in the future.

 
Quote:

Of all the DAPs/PMPs I've owned (iPod, Cowon X5, etc.) the Teclast is by far the warmest-charging. BY FAR. And that's just by finger-touch of this unit's rear exterior panel. From my experience with repairing Cowons and iPods, I know that the devices' interiors -- especially around the charging components and high-current ICs and other semi-conds -- are surprisingly HOT. Heat is the enemy of electronics, as any basic elec. engr. text will correctly report.
 
Dunno about iPhone ... I don't own one.
 

 

[DJGeorgeT]

They act like 5 year old kids.
 
Quote:

Relax guys. If you really think this is so important that you still need to discuss it, take it to PM Land.

 

[kiteki]

Will the S:flo 2 outperform my laptop soundcard as a source for my mp3 collection?  It's just a standard laptop.
 
My audio research is soon coming to an end, I'm excited.

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Quote:

Will the S:flo 2 outperform my laptop soundcard as a source for my mp3 collection?  It's just a standard laptop.
 
My audio research is soon coming to an end, I'm excited.

Almost certainly, yes. The S:Flo 2 will outperform your laptop's internal soundcard. However, if you plan to use the S:Flo 2 primarily in settings you will have your laptop, you might as well get a DAC. A DAC will probably (depending on what you get) sound better than the S:Flo 2.

 

[Hero Kid]

Or if you wanto save some money check out the HiFiMan HM-602. It's a DAP and a DAC. I'm listening to it through my MacBook Pro now - it sounds great! Loads better than the onboard soundhip.

 

[kiteki]

 
I'm skeptical about DAC's, I have a Line 6 Toneport UX1 which can be used as a "DAC" (you connect it via USB, and it becomes
your primary soundcard) and I don't like the sound quality too much and when I feed it too much information it starts clipping.
 
The issue I have with my laptop soundcard mp3 collection is via my amp and headphones I can hear the internals of my computer and the monitor and everything during music and it's a little annoying, it's a lot louder than you'd think, so if the S:Flo 2 has a great line-out that is a bonus for me! however I'll be using it 95% for portable use (I'm hardly ever home).
 
My next question is how does the S:Flo 2 compare to the Cowon S9?  I'm one of the few people that didn't like the Cowon S9, I sold it within a week, I found the sound to be too 'filtered' or 'veiled' if you will, and I felt like there was a fake eq curve even without the eq enabled which is annoying, I want my DAP to have a 'raw' and neutral sound and a few half-decent eq settings on top of that, and preferrably reverb/3D setting.
 
So basically I'm weighing up the S:Flo 2, Hippo Gumstick and Cube C30, which one will suit me sound preferrance the best?  I don't care about fancy UI and a big screen for videos and trash, I already have that on my mobile phone, gumsticks are fine if they have good sound quality which is why the C30 and Hippo are within my consideration.
 
I'll be buying my new IEM's and gumstick this week, probably wednesday, in Singapore, so I need to know if I should get the gumstick or pre-order the S:Flo 2 16GB coming out in early November.
 
Any help is really appreciated, I'll be using my new IEM's and DAP for a couple years at least, thanks!