[wormsdriver]

I also keep my charging brick at home, but I always keep my Energizer Xp8000 battery in my bag in case I ever run out of juice.
In this picture, underneath the Hifi-m8 you'll notice I have the xp8000 stacked under the Hifi-M8 for comparison. Btw, this thing will charge your laptop, smartphone, tablet,etc.

 
Quote:

I would like to use a USB-B from the Hifi-M8 to a USB-A then wall plug (I could charge my Fostex HP_P1 that way).
 

 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
*Musings................
 
Pity there are no Apple 30 pin to Type B USB, nice and chunky.
 
*Wonderings.................
 
Anyway to connect an AK100 or FiioX3 to the idevice version using some clunky work around.
 
*Future ponderings..........
 
Day dreaming what the upcoming ibasso DX50 and Fiio X5 Hifi-M8 compatibilities may be.

The ibasso Dx50 should work with the Hifi-m8 Lx, but would need a digital coax to optical converter.

 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 
Interestingly, I was looking at the Wadia itransports (for a bedroom rig) to connect an idevice to my Hifi-M8 Lx...

 
 
 
Seems like more than a few of us want it all!

 

[barbes]

Quote:

I would like to use a USB-B from the Hifi-M8 to a USB-A then wall plug (I could charge my Fostex HP_P1 that way).
 

 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
*Musings................
 
Pity there are no Apple 30 pin to Type B USB, nice and chunky.
 
*Wonderings.................
 
Anyway to connect an AK100 or FiioX3 to the idevice version using some clunky work around.
 
*Future ponderings..........
 
Day dreaming what the upcoming ibasso DX50 and Fiio X5 Hifi-M8 compatibilities may be.

 
I've just been on the road with the M8 and kept it charged with a Type A/Type B USB cable and this.  (The charger is (relatively speaking, anyway) very powerful - it charges my phone and iPad much faster than the Apple chargers.)  It worked for what I needed it to do; if I ran the M8 for a couple of hours at night, for example, it would charge up fine during the day.  I'm not sure how long it would take from dead flat.  But this works and also lets me charge all my other stuff, so all things considered it's pretty compact.
 
i think I've noticed that the three-light battery level indicator on the M8 isn't very linear.  The first light goes out pretty quickly after the M8 is used, certainly before it's run down by a third.  I'm not sure just how to read them yet.
 
I'd also be interested in the best power-for-size wall wart, if Ceentrance or anybody else has ideas.

 

[pspivak]

 
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM9022215213P?PDP_REDIRECT=false&ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM9022215213&sid=IDx20130125xMPTVSx027

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

 
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM9022215213P?PDP_REDIRECT=false&ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM9022215213&sid=IDx20130125xMPTVSx027

Sears?  Seriously?

 

[jacal01]

All them big chain purchasing agents know a hot item when they see it.  Fall fashion.

 

[jacal01]

Quote:

 
*Wonderings.................
 
Anyway to connect an AK100 or FiioX3 to the idevice version using some clunky work around.
 
*Future ponderings..........
 
Day dreaming what the upcoming ibasso DX50 and Fiio X5 Hifi-M8 compatibilities may be.

 
I would give up on any present or future digital connectivity with the Fiio DAP products except for the current 3.5 mm TRS SPDIF coax connector, such as its marginal applicability with the present M8.
 
Hanging out on the X5 thread can be extremely frustrating, they of the stand-alone low cost no frills DAP world...
 
And no, there is no such thing as an SPDIF to USB converter.
 
EDIT:  Actually, since Michael embraced the can opener versatility concept for the M8, the LX model should have had both optical and coax SPDIF inputs.  That would have opened up the available DAP options considerably.  Rather than trying to get the future DAP products reengineered for the M8.  Sorta like the mountain coming to Muhammad... 

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

 
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM9022215213P?PDP_REDIRECT=false&ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM9022215213&sid=IDx20130125xMPTVSx027

HIDEF Lifestyle sells through Amazon as well.  Got an HRT Microstreamer from them.  Not really buying from Sears.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

News from the Centrance hifi-m8 blog.
They just got the final approval for Apple certification.
So all systems go from here on.

Congratulations.

 

[thegrobe]

Awesome! Congratulations Michael and everyone at CEntrance!

Last I heard from Stacie was that the 2nd pre-order group was scheduled to ship somewhere around August 22nd. Is that still on track or possibly even a few days sooner?

 

[Trogdor]

Awesome! Congratulations Michael and everyone at CEntrance!

Last I heard from Stacie was that the 2nd pre-order group was scheduled to ship somewhere around August 22nd. Is that still on track or possibly even a few days sooner?

Yes that is what I was told as well. Should have mine by the end of the month.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Great summary.
 
The bundled Fostex hp_p1 USB-A/B cable is nice n chunky, but If I sell it I will have to find another great cable.
 
Michael? - Care to chime in on this? (I remember you have written something before in reply sorry, please do enlighten us again).

The bundled power supply needs to be beefy (and large) in order to meet Apple standards. We can't officially skimp on available power.
 
- iPads needs over 2 amps of current for charging at 5V. This is a requirement we cannot change.
- M8 needs about 1 amp to charge its battery and
- M8 needs roughly a half an amp to run the circuitry.
 
In total, you are looking at a peak current of about 4A at 5V needed to feed all the things, which are looking for power. In theory, 20 W of power needs to flow into the M8 if you want to play music, charge the M8 and charge the connected iPad. In practice you need even more, due to energy loss in cable, etc. We supply a 50 W power supply, designed for the worst case scenario.
 
Here is a less-stressful scenario: Charge the M8 while it's off and do not charge a connected iDevice at the same time (disconnect the iDevice).
 
In this case, you could get away with a smaller adapter. You would only need an adapter that provides about 15W in this case. Make sure that the output is at least 12V. Make sure that the plug is 2.5MM and that the (+) is in the middle of the jack.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Sears?  Seriously?

Yes, I was also surprised. HiFi-M8 is actually sold by Hidef Lifestyle, one of our dealers.
 
Sears is an aggregator of 3-rd party online stores. They are trying to do what amazon has done and use their [remaining] brand equity to sell other people's stuff. I'm not going to get into a business discussion here and will refrain from judgement. Need another thread for that

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

 
I would give up on any present or future digital connectivity with the Fiio DAP products except for the current 3.5 mm TRS SPDIF coax connector, such as its marginal applicability with the present M8.
 
Hanging out on the X5 thread can be extremely frustrating, they of the stand-alone low cost no frills DAP world...
 
And no, there is no such thing as an SPDIF to USB converter.
 
EDIT:  Actually, since Michael embraced the can opener versatility concept for the M8, the LX model should have had both optical and coax SPDIF inputs.  That would have opened up the available DAP options considerably.  Rather than trying to get the future DAP products reengineered for the M8.  Sorta like the mountain coming to Muhammad... 

How large do we want this thing to be? Too many connectors and it's no longer a portable unit. Alas...

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Quote:

 
Here is a less-stressful scenario: Charge the M8 while it's off and do not charge a connected iDevice at the same time (disconnect the iDevice).
 
In this case, you could get away with a smaller adapter. You would only need an adapter that provides about 15W in this case. Make sure that the output is at least 12V. Make sure that the plug is 2.5MM and that the (+) is in the middle of the jack.

Anyone know the iphone charging blocks specs? 
help a noob out

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Anyone know the iphone charging blocks specs? 
help a noob out

The little white cube will give you 1A at 5V. It's only sufficient to charge an iPhone, but not an iPad.
 
This is NOT sufficient to charge the M8.
 
In general, we don't recommend USB charging for M8. It will take much longer than charging via the external jack. We have purposely limited USB charging current so as to avoid draining batteries of connected laptops (such as in-flight)