[nmatheis]

@jrazmar
 
Dynamics is the range from the quietest to the loudest sound. Esther's specs list 113dB. Questyle's web page does not list QP1R's dynamic range, nor does it list SNR. For reference, Cayin N6 has 110dB dynamic range, while the summit-fi DAP Lotoo PAW Gold has a very high 121dB dynamic range and the Chord Mojo has an outstanding 125dB dynamic range.
 
Transients are the sudden, quick sounds you hear at the beginning of sounds, like the immediate crash of a cymbal or the pluck of a guitar string.
 
I personally don't find Esther Analog lacking in either respect but I haven't compared it to every source out there yet 

 

[jrazmar]

Thanks Nik! That's very educating. Despite of which, you still find the Mojo and the M1 to be very close sound-wise with the M1 being fuller and warmer. This shows that numbers sometimes is not indicative of a good sound out of the box. It also depends on the implementation. Anyway, now I know what those numbers are for.
 
@soundaware, where can I find the datasheet for the M1Pro? Any link or website you can share? I might end up with the Pro if I finally decide to get the M1. By that time, hopefully the FW is more than mature to be enjoyed.

 

[soundaware]

Am I the only one who is struggling with unpack of archive last FW? I've try with 3 different laptops and always receive an error with end of file. Thank you for any info regarding this.

If the link nmatheis supplied still don't work for you. Please PM me your email address, then I will send you the update.bin file directly.

 

[d9chere]

Thank you! I'm finally updated to 046

 

[nmatheis]

Thank you! I'm finally updated to 046

Thanks Nik! That's very educating. Despite of which, you still find the Mojo and the M1 to be very close sound-wise with the M1 being fuller and warmer. This shows that numbers sometimes is not indicative of a good sound out of the box. It also depends on the implementation. Anyway, now I know what those numbers are for.

Yes, Esther and Mojo both have high-quality sound, but with different sound signatures. Really depends on which sound you think you'd prefer.

 

[soundaware]

  Thanks Nik! That's very educating. Despite of which, you still find the Mojo and the M1 to be very close sound-wise with the M1 being fuller and warmer. This shows that numbers sometimes is not indicative of a good sound out of the box. It also depends on the implementation. Anyway, now I know what those numbers are for.
 
@soundaware, where can I find the datasheet for the M1Pro? Any link or website you can share? I might end up with the Pro if I finally decide to get the M1. By that time, hopefully the FW is more than mature to be enjoyed.

Hi jrazmar, the data of M1PRO is similar with M1. I add the parameter sheet here:

 

[audionewbi]

Is there any information about the output impedance of the PRO version?

 

[jrazmar]

thanks @soundaware is this already available for purchase? where's the best place to buy one?

 

[jrazmar]

Quote:

@jrazmar
The price for M1PRO is $779.
Could you give me the website or more information of Penon, I will check their store.

 
OMG, the price at penon had gone up to $579. I should have bought it before it changed.

 So what happened? It was $499 all along and no one ever noticed or no one has ever purchased an Esther from penonaudio?

 

[audionewbi]

OMG, the price at penon had gone up to $579. I should have bought it before it changed. h34r:  So what happened? It was $499 all along and no one ever noticed or no one has ever purchased an Esther from penonaudio?

Well my guess is the distributor/soundsware must have contact them to increase their price. Grey seller tend to sale things cheaper.

 

[soundaware]

  thanks @soundaware is this already available for purchase? where's the best place to buy one?

Do you buy something from Amazon? We just opened a seller account in Amazon. Here is the Link for 
M1PRO. 

 

[soundaware]

  Is there any information about the output impedance of the PRO version?

The output impedance of M1PRO is 10ohm, similar to M1.

 

[Currawong]

 

  Is there any information about the output impedance of the PRO version?

The output impedance of M1PRO is 10ohm, similar to M1.

As has already been suggested, ideally given the use of low-impedance IEMs becoming more common, ideally it should have an output impedance of <1 Ohm. 
 
That, and the coax out should work with a TS plug and not require a TRS plug. Using the most common pinout for coax would be best.
 
I just had the old issue of the M1 freezing and not powering off properly. I had reset it, then hit the reset button again in the middle of the reboot (at the "SOUNDAWARE" black screen) to get it to restart properly. That kind of bugginess in the power management needs to be addressed, along with the excessive power drain in "sleep" mode. Ideally it should use almost no power when music isn't playing and the screen is off. In sleep mode the battery goes flat too quickly. If the power use when music isn't playing can be lowered a lot, then there will be no need for the sleep mode. 

 

[nmatheis]

Amen, Brother Currawong!

I'm loving Esther Analog's sound, but convincing my mostly IEM-loving headfi buddies to give her a shot is tough. One mention of 10 Ohm OI, and they're out. Too bad given how lovely she sounds!

And yes, battery drain during sleep is too much. I'm always surprised when I power on after not using for awhile and see the battery indicator take a major drop after battery level is checked.

Haven't really had freezing issues.

Still hoping the GUI can be cleaned up more. Discussions with Soundaware lead me to believe they're open to this.

Hopefully these all get resolved because competition is fierce these days!

 

[Currawong]

It may be a lot of work for them in total, but I reckon with the following done, they'll have a kickass DAP, even if the UI stays relatively simple:
 
1. Neater case (using my example of how FiiO went from the X5 to X5II)
2. Power management fixes (as above).
3. More efficient UI showing 7 lines of browsing text, more info (eg: volume) at the very top.
4. 0.1 Ohm output impedance. 
5. Optical digital output (maybe using a combo socket with the coax output).
6. Coax digital output pinout fixed to the common standard.
7. (New idea)  "IEM mode" with a lower power output and longer battery life when only IEMs are used. I'm not sure that the FPGA doesn't use most of the power in the design though, other than the screen. 
8. M3U playlist support. The player should recognise song file paths in an M3U file, delimited by a forward-slash ("/"), relative to the location of the file.
9. CUE file support. 
 
It's a big list, but I've tried to suggest as many things as possible that would require only minimal changes. Obviously some would require bigger hardware changes to be made.