[Francisk]

Thanks for the info ExpatinJapan, I'll try them out soon.

 

[JeremyLaurenson]

All,

How does this look to charge HifiM8 in the car while allowing passthru iDevice charging?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA35P10N7296

 

[pigmode]

Although I'm not the audiophile any more I have to ask, what power supply are home users happy with? Are there any options, or is everyone satisfied with the included charger? Hope to get my XL4 later this week-- not sure what to expect.

 

[hardtimes]

Before I post this question, I'll acknowledge that I haven't read through the entire 291-page thread -- but I've done as many searches as I could think of and haven't been able to figure out the answer to this question, so I'll pose it here.
 
I'm going to get a HiFi-M8. I'm an Apple guy, and do a fair amount of listening on an iPhone, so I'll obviously be getting the iPhone input, and it seems like I should stick with the XL4 output. 
 
What I can't figure out is what to do about the low gain IEM mod. At the moment, I have three main pairs of headphones: AKG-701s, Grado SR80s, and 1964-T3s. The AKG's obviously need a lot of power; the 1964's are IEMs.  
 
I tend to prefer phones (and amps/dacs) that are more precise than lush. For instance: On Gillian Welch's Harrow and the Harvest, I like to be able to pick out every inflection of Dave Rawlings' and Gillian's voices and to hear the weight and intonation of every note they play -- and there are a few songs where the notes come pretty fast and furious. Or: If my desert-island version of Joni Mitchell's Blue had to emphasize either the acoustic guitar or the piano, I'd go with acoustic guitar. 
 
I listen to pretty much everything but opera and rap: Lots of jazz, lots of bluegrass, lots of rock/indie rock. Love the Beatles and have been absolutely eating up the HQ live releases from the Grateful Dead's archives, the band I still listen to more than any other. 
 
Any advice?

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

Although I'm not the audiophile any more I have to ask, what power supply are home users happy with? Are there any options, or is everyone satisfied with the included charger? Hope to get my XL4 later this week-- not sure what to expect.

 
I have no issues with the supplied charging brick.  Its very similar to a laptop charger.  Most people here are trying find a smaller option, but I'm 100% satisfied...

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  What I can't figure out is what to do about the low gain IEM mod. At the moment, I have three main pairs of headphones: AKG-701s, Grado SR80s, and 1964-T3s. The AKG's obviously need a lot of power; the 1964's are IEMs.  
 
I tend to prefer phones (and amps/dacs) that are more precise than lush. For instance: On Gillian Welch's Harrow and the Harvest, I like to be able to pick out every inflection of Dave Rawlings' and Gillian's voices and to hear the weight and intonation of every note they play -- and there are a few songs where the notes come pretty fast and furious. Or: If my desert-island version of Joni Mitchell's Blue had to emphasize either the acoustic guitar or the piano, I'd go with acoustic guitar. 
 
I listen to pretty much everything but opera and rap: Lots of jazz, lots of bluegrass, lots of rock/indie rock. Love the Beatles and have been absolutely eating up the HQ live releases from the Grateful Dead's archives, the band I still listen to more than any other. 
 
Any advice?

 
I'm not an IEM guy so I don't know how sensitive the 1964's are, but I would only consider the mod if I listened mostly to very low ohm IEMs.  Most in ears won't give much, if any, amp hiss.
 
I will also add, your sound preferences seem to lend itself well to the Senn HD650s or maybe the HD600s.  I have the HD650s and I think they are a match made in heaven with the HiFi-M8.  I love these phones with anything acoustic, and female vocals.  Well actually, I find them great all-arounders...

 

[JeremyLaurenson]

Agree, I have JH audio 13s, and see no reason whatsoever for the Mod

 

[hardtimes]

Thanks -- just placed the order without the mods. Much appreciated, guys. 

 

[pigmode]

Thank b-u-jeff, what started as an exercise on replacing my UE700 has led me here, and gotta say the thrill is back

 

[kayza]

Thank b-u-jeff, what started as an exercise on replacing my UE700 has led me here, and gotta say the thrill is back

My first purchase into the headfi realm was ue700 in december 2012. Since then I must have dropped $1500. Ouch. I have some inventory clearing to do tho. Hoping to get the total down to about $1k. Apparently the ue700s are a good model that can get one hooked! I remember hearing fret buzz on the first song I played with my ue700 I never noticed prior.

I will be grabbing a m8 to go with my hd700 and ue700.

 

[pigmode]

Thank b-u-jeff, what started as an exercise on replacing my UE700 has led me here, and gotta say the thrill is back

My first purchase into the headfi realm was ue700 in december 2012. Since then I must have dropped $1500. Ouch. I have some inventory clearing to do tho. Hoping to get the total down to about $1k. Apparently the ue700s are a good model that can get one hooked! I remember hearing fret buzz on the first song I played with my ue700 I never noticed prior.

I will be grabbing a m8 to go with my hd700 and ue700.

Cool!!!

The UE700 was what I used to get out of the upgrade cycle (check my profile). Was lucky to score two replacement units for $99, to cover a wire short and a loss. The plan is to finish this new system and get back to the music.

 

[cucera]

What I can't figure out is what to do about the low gain IEM mod. At the moment, I have three main pairs of headphones: AKG-701s, Grado SR80s, and 1964-T3s. The AKG's obviously need a lot of power; the 1964's are IEMs.  

I've got the iem mod, and can confirm there is still enough gain for the K701. It is even enough for HE5 le and LCD2. Regarding the hiss I don't have the 1964, but with my other sensitive IEM's (UERM, TF10,SE535€ I couldn't really hear it.

 

[jazzman7]

A question for anyone who knows:  What are the frequency response curves for the bass and treble settings on the M8?  Obviously the left-most setting is flat, but I would be curious to know what the bass and treble boosts look like and measure as (in terms of dB and at what frequency they flatten assuming they are shelving).  Thanks for any info.

 

[aamefford]

  A question for anyone who knows:  What are the frequency response curves for the bass and treble settings on the M8?  Obviously the left-most setting is flat, but I would be curious to know what the bass and treble boosts look like and measure as (in terms of dB and at what frequency they flatten assuming they are shelving).  Thanks for any info.

Pretty sure it has been posted in either this or the impression thread.  "Search this thread" is your smart arsed friend you'd like to punch in the nose, because he never quite tells you what you want to know unless you ask him a million times, and maybe not even then, and you know he knows the answer...

 

[jazzman7]

Each gives a slight boost of about 3 dB in the ++ position. Bass accentuates the kick drum area and treble lifts the "sheen" at the top. These are not plain vanilla shelves found in consumer stereos. Both curves have complex shaping and come from years of studio recording experience. They are very subtle-sounding.

Here's what I found from "the good man" himself, which partially answers my own question.  It looks like they are not simple shelves, which is one question I had, and the boosts are identical "about 3dB" where they occur. 
 
I wonder if someone has measured them?  I may give it a shot if I find some time...
 
EDIT:  Kick drum boost appears to be centered somewhere between 50Hz and 80Hz based on other websites, which would be fine for what I am looking.  On the treble sheen, I wonder where it starts.  Tyli at innerfidelity seemed to indicate 10kHz as the effective (center? starting?) frequency.