Looks like this is coming to the US - it's being advertised for pre-order
here. Maybe I can get an English-language manual...
I've been using mine a fair amount, mostly with my MG6PROs. I like it pretty well. It took a considerable time to burn in - I thought it was horrible out of the box - but after three or four days it really opened up. It's definitely on par with the best of my other transportable setups - CLAS/various amps - and much more convenient, which was the point for me of getting it. Some observations:
-very precise but not the widest soundstage - not bad, but not as spacious as the best;
-fabulously extended and textured bass, maybe the best I've heard;
-iffy handshake with iDevices. I'm qualifying this because it's VERY sensitive to IC integrity - when I'm carrying it around it's very easy to shift the USB cable and lose the connection. But right now half the time when I turn everything on I have to disconnect and reconnect the IC. That always fixes it but I've never had that problem with my CLAS. I'll play with securing the current cable and maybe trying others.
UPDATE: It's not the firmware, my short Apple/USB cable was losing its connection. When it's all plugged in properly everything works fine.
-the size is just manageable as a transportable, at least the way I use it. I can slip it in an inside overcoat pocket on the train and it's OK. It's definitely not going in a pants pocket.
-I'm not precise about run-time but with my Touch 4G I'm getting something like five hours or better.
-It won't both charge and run in iDevice mode. When the USB cable goes in it seems to default to computer mode and won't run from the iDevice.
-It wants to charge from a lower-power USB source. I charge a lot of my devices with a 3G iPad charger and most of them take it just fine. On the PHA-1 the red charge light lights, it takes forever to charge, and then the red light goes to a long on/short off intermittent blink without in fact taking much of a charge at all. Using a lower-powered source it charges faster, the red light goes out, and it's fine. This may be addressed in the Japanese manual, but I can't read it...
-It's beautifully built, a rung or two above any of the rest of the portable amp/DACs I've seen. Really impressive. The rail/rubber strap configuration is really clever and works really well, but won't take too much stress; it's fine for desktop use but the straps will come off in a pocket, so I've got my Touch on dual lock.
That's it so far.
