[mgoodman]

Thank you for the question. Yes, we are working on that as well. Would this be a useful upgrade to an existing product? Would you want to send it back to be "modded" like that?

 

[schalliol]

I may be a bit late to the game.  Are we being told that 24/96 doesn't work for iOS devices?  I haven't gotten a chance to sync all my big-res files to my mobile devices, but I know when I bought mine it said "Made for iPhone iPod iPad" etc., had a dedicated iOS switch and input, and the specs said it supported those resolutions.

 

[Cosmid]

Thank you for the question. Yes, we are working on that as well. Would this be a useful upgrade to an existing product? Would you want to send it back to be "modded" like that?

It would be a great update! I always hope my M8 can handle DSD music. If so, I would not be interested in any other DACs! Thanks for developing the update.

 

[MikeyFresh]

.

 

[MikeyFresh]

.

 

[schalliol]

Seems like dubious marketing.  The specs say it's made for this device, and I didn't notice anything that say the iPhone won't be able to output this res.  The Apple Camera Connection Kit is a lightning port connection.  CEntrance has to figure out how to make it work if it wants to offer that the HiFi-M8 actually has a connection specifically designed for the iDevice.  I'll be asking for CEntrance to absorb that extra cost as a design defect.
 
Can someone point out why I'm in the wrong?

 

[MikeyFresh]

  Seems like dubious marketing.  The specs say it's made for this device, and I didn't notice anything that say the iPhone won't be able to output this res.  The Apple Camera Connection Kit is a lightning port connection.  CEntrance has to figure out how to make it work if it wants to offer that the HiFi-M8 actually has a connection specifically designed for the iDevice.  I'll be asking for CEntrance to absorb that extra cost as a design defect.
 
Can someone point out why I'm in the wrong?

 
You are wrong, but your tone suggests that you think somebody is under some kind of pressure to prove that to you. No one is under such pressure, not even CEntrance, there was no dubious marketing.
 
You seem to have skipped over the particular part of what I said that should have enlightened you:
 
"This is not a CEntrance limitation, it is currently baked into the iDevice's firmware by Apple." What part of that points a finger at anyone or anywhere except squarely at Apple?
 
Additionally, your contention that the CCK is a Lightning port connection is both irrelevant and not entirely accurate. My CCK has a 30-pin connector for use with iPad 2, and many people still use that vintage of iDevice. So not all CCKs are Lightning port connected. It's irrelevant because of course you need some way to connect to the iDevice, so it HAS to be Lightning on one end (or 30-pin), but the other end is USB 2.0, and that of course connects to the M8's USB Type B input.
 
The existence of 30-pin CCKs is also moot however, this fix (if ever available), needs Apple's certification both on the MFi DAC side of things, and also with a firmware update pushed to those iDevices that are deemed upgradeable. No one can do that but Apple, and rest assured it will only be newer Lightning equipped devices, I'll very likely be be out of luck with my iPad 2 and the 30-pin connector.
 
The M8 does have a connection specifically designed for iDevice, so I'm not sure what you are saying there. That connection is currently limited by Apple to 16/48 resolution, as it is with every other MFi DAC on the market currently. No one has ever claimed or stated differently, although CEntrance (and only CEntrance to my knowledge) has said they are exploring options for a potential fix. I applaud CEntrance for taking the lead there, even if so far progress has been slow or stymied.
 
I'm certainly not CEntrance's spokesman, just a customer. But I think I can say with certainty that there isn't and never was any "design defect", and no one will be absorbing any additional costs of yours either. Sorry.
 
in the meantime, use the CCK with a USB cable and an app like CanOpener, or Onkyo HF player (no one will be paying for those apps either, that's on you too).

 

[schalliol]

I hear what you're saying, but CEntrance is marketing the product as a high bit rate DAC (that even has its own special iDevice port) and nothing in the specs says that the port is limited.  That's the simple case.

 

[MikeyFresh]

  I hear what you're saying, but CEntrance is marketing the product as a high bit rate DAC (that even has its own special iDevice port) and nothing in the specs says that the port is limited.  That's the simple case.

 
But it's moot if the M8's iDevice port is limited, when the sending unit (the iDevice) is also limited (by Apple).
 
You can't get blood out of a stone, even if CEntrance were to find a solution that unlocks the DAC input end, that wouldn't matter much when the iDevice output is still 16/48 limited (by Apple).
 
Use the CCK, not only is it the only currently available solution, but it actually outputs more than the proposed yet still elusive iDevice limit of 24/96. The M8's USB input can accept 24/192 right now, and maybe DSD too someday if that proposed upgrade becomes viable.
 
The Onkyo HF player app outputs 24/192 and DSD right now via the CCK, though the M8 needs an upgrade to accept DSD (like the Mini-M8 does).

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  I hear what you're saying, but CEntrance is marketing the product as a high bit rate DAC (that even has its own special iDevice port) and nothing in the specs says that the port is limited.  That's the simple case.

 
It is a high bit rate DAC.  And you can take advantage of it, feeding it from your computer, Android phone (with the correct app), or the A&K DAPs if you have an LX model.  You can cheat "the system" with your iDevice if you are willing to use the CCK.  If you're not willing to use one, then don't.  Your issue is with the Apple ecosystem, not CEntrance...

 

[schalliol]

Then CEntrance should market the product as such.  As it stands, they make it look like you can buy the "Made for" product to use the specs shown

 

[BitDepth]

Free for early adopters?

quote name="mgoodman" url="/t/622939/the-centrance-hifi-m8-thread/5055#post_10935845"]We are working on a solution that may involve a hardware fix. Basically we expect that we would need to swap out a digital card inside the unit. Unfortunately, a software fix doesn't seem to do the trick, so we may be looking at a need to send the M8 in for fitting a new card in. Those things cost money, so we won't be able to do it for free, but I will try to do it as cost-effectively as possible. I should know more in 4 weeks.[/quote]

Blog entry Aug 12th (2013)

Here is a quick update on 24/96 support.
Note that this only applies to the HiFi-M8 regular.
HiFi-M8 LX is not affected by anything in this post.
We finally cracked the bug with the bootloader that prevented the field upgrade from working correctly. We are testing a new bootloader code here, to make sure everything is done correctly and no bugs are lurking within.
As a quick reminder, the 24/96 capability was originally envisioned as a field-upgradeable firmware download.
We created a mechanism to upgrade the firmware in the field, and that mechanism works well. However we found that it didn’t work well for precisely one type of an upgrade — the 24/96 upgrade.
This was frustrating and we promised to all early adopters that we will pay to have their HiFi-M8 shipped back to CEntrance so that we could perform the upgrade. That offer still stands.
All of the early adopters will get the free upgrade to the new bootloader, which will allow them to download the 24/96 code when that becomes available.
The 24/96 feature itself is not available however. We are still working on that. Just to give you a glimpse into the complexity of the beast, HiFi-M8 has several operational modes and it boots into the appropriate mode depending on which device is in front of it. There is a lot of hoop-jumping to do. We have created the “hoops” for ourselves to jump through with the new bootloader code (the ability to switch modes). Now we are actually jumping through the very hoops we have created (developing the actual 24/96 capability). Yes, this is extremely convoluted and difficult. We may have 24/96 working in late September or early October. That’s the current estimate.
For all early-birds, the new bootloader and 24/96 will be free.
Here is the extra benefit of being an early-bird: 24/96 functionality might end up being a paid mod for new customers.

 

[schalliol]

Indeed, that would be awesome and fits with their marketing.

 

[Solude]

In other news the DACs I've been using have been robbing me all along talking about 24/32 bit 96/192/384 rates that my CD transport doesn't support.  Doesn't matter that they can do it if fed from a transport that can, it clearly should be able to transform my transport up to its ability level.  Thieves I tell you, thieves /facepalm

 

[plakat]

Thank you for the question. Yes, we are working on that as well. Would this be a useful upgrade to an existing product? Would you want to send it back to be "modded" like that?

 
No, to me neither High-Res nor (actually even less) DSD support is of any interest. I found Jasons comments regarding DSD very to the point:
Chapter 32: Name Me One Non-Standard Format That’s Succeeded, Ever, Or, A Trickster Cometh
 

  In other news the DACs I've been using have been robbing me all along talking about 24/32 bit 96/192/384 rates that my CD transport doesn't support.  Doesn't matter that they can do it if fed from a transport that can, it clearly should be able to transform my transport up to its ability level.  Thieves I tell you, thieves /facepalm

 
Exactly that.