[mgoodman]

Quote:

The only part of the blog I was at least a little concerned about was the part about trying to get it to sound at least as good as the port. The impressions from the prototype at rmaf were that it sounded like a dacmini. So now I'm wondering if the final version is more like a battery powered port or a battery powered mini.

Looks like we are right smack in between the DACport and DACmini, accoridng to one user. But I'd relaly like to get more comments. One user is probably not enough.
 
But even if true, DACmini is still more expensive and has wall power. We are doing our best to clean up the analog PCB on this last round and may get it closer still.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

I'm expecting the M8 to sound at least as good as my DACport and have more than enough power/headroom to drive my LCD-3's.  (I'm finding the DACport merely adequate in this regard.)  Hopefully I'll have no worries at all.  (Fingers crossed!)

Yes, that's exactly what we are going for and looks like we are there already.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

I said this a while back, and now it may be more true than ever. Given the impressions of the demo sounding exactly like the mini(and yes those words were used), with all of the changes done to the hifi m8 in order to please every one, I think I would prefer just to have the demo unit at this point. Like a friend of mine said a couple of months ago, with all of the changes to make everyone happy, sound quality is probably going to take a hit. At that time, I said I still had complete faith in Michael. But it does get to a point of where sound would have no choice but to be compromised when so many people want so many "different" things. And the comment about dacport sound quality kind of validates what he said. But I still sincerely hope he turns out to be wrong.

DACport and DACmini differ by internal power supply. DACport runs out of power quickly, since it can only use the power available to it from USB (2.5W). Once it's gone, it's gone.
 
DACmini on the other hand has access to as much power from the wall as the cans require. HiFi-M8, as it appears sits in between, but that's just one man's opinion (Akula1321) who heard it at CES. We have a lot of rail voltage available to drive hard-to-handle cans, but we don't have access to unlimited wall power. I think we are definitely above DACport in terms of sound quality and definitely in terms of raw level. Whether or not we have completely matched DACmini remains to be seen. In any case, I'm convinced this will be a very tight contest...

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

So will this be able to drive headphones like the LCD-2/3 HE-500s? 

Pretty much anything.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Haven't been on the forum in a while and not sure if somebody has already addressed this question.

I'm hesitant to upgrade to the iPhone 5 due to the lighting port connection. Will the M8 have full support for this phone?

It will be awhile before we have the short lightning connector cable. That connector is complicated, has a chip inside and is not easy to make. We are gearing up to deliver the M8 with just the 30-pin to start. If a third party company makes a shorter, more convenient lightning to USB connector, you should be fine, but please let me double check. I need about a week.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Yes, awhile ago someone asked the same question and the answer was yes

Still haven't gotten my cool shirt ):

Sorry about that - we got overwhelmed again. A new batch of shirts will be made "shirtly." We will not forget about you.

 

[Raygun82]

It will be awhile before we have the short lightning connector cable. That connector is complicated, has a chip inside and is not easy to make. We are gearing up to deliver the M8 with just the 30-pin to start. If a third party company makes a shorter, more convenient lightning to USB connector, you should be fine, but please let me double check. I need about a week.

Thanks Michael for always keeping us in the know! Rock on dude!

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Any comments on Today's blog post?
 
(A cut and paste below the entire post here)
 
"_____ listened for a while and felt that HiFi-M8 sat right in between DACport and DACmini in terms of its sonic character."

So yeah, we have had a hard-core, die-hard head-phile stop by at CES. May be there were others, but he was the only one who announced himself as a power user (which he was).
 
Michael (I won't list his last name in case he wants privacy) did some listening. He felt that the sound of the M8 was between DACport and DACmini. However, consider that this was a loud trade show floor, he wasn't listening to his own music and hadn't owned his DACport in a while. I do believe that you can develop "sonic memory". However, what would be more appropriate is a "side by side" comparison. When I offered to do just that (we had DACmini and DACport at the same table), Michael mentioned that he needed to leave, so we didn't end up doing a direct comparison. I'd really like to get more people's opinions on the SQ until we pass the final verdict. It may be just a tad too early to make the final determination just yet...

For example, Tyll Herstens, formerly of Headroom and now with Stereophile, who doesn't mince his words, was pleasantly surprised. To me, that's rare praise from a guy who is paid for honest opinion. So, let's wait until more reviews come in.

 

[mgoodman]

Quote:

Thanks Michael for always keeping us in the know! Rock on dude!

Sorry about the delay in posting. CES got the best of me. Not all audiophiles are created equal. Some are still "thinking of getting into that whole computer thing". You don't expect that in 2013, so those conversations take a little more time

 

[moodyrn]

Thanks for the updates Michael.

 

[AudiOh]

+1 to thank you for updating us so soon after returning form CES. 

 

[mrfcpa]

A general question - what do most of you who have already ordered (yes, I have, as well) a Hifi-M8 plan on using with the device, right out of the box? I have DT880's, HE-400's and HE-500's. The later two pair have dedicated Amps/DACs (Head Room Minis and Schiit Bifrost and Lyr). I was thinking of having the DT880's re-cabled into a balanced headphone. but I can't make up my mind and might use them with the RSA Predator I got at the RMAF last October. I love music and know what I enjoy hearing. But, I'm sure most of you know more about electronics and Centrance products than I do and would really like to know what your initial pairing with the Hifi-M8 will be.
 
Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions or comments.
 

 

[Raygun82]

A general question - what do most of you who have already ordered (yes, I have, as well) a Hifi-M8 plan on using with the device, right out of the box? I have DT880's, HE-400's and HE-500's. The later two pair have dedicated Amps/DACs (Head Room Minis and Schiit Bifrost and Lyr). I was thinking of having the DT880's re-cabled into a balanced headphone. but I can't make up my mind and might use them with the RSA Predator I got at the RMAF last October. I love music and know what I enjoy hearing. But, I'm sure most of you know more about electronics and Centrance products than I do and would really like to know what your initial pairing with the Hifi-M8 will be.

Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions or comments.

 

IEM's: Eytomic HF5
Cans: HE-500's and Grado 325i's

I bet your 880's would sound great with a balanced cable!

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

A general question - what do most of you who have already ordered (yes, I have, as well) a Hifi-M8 plan on using with the device, right out of the box? I have DT880's, HE-400's and HE-500's. The later two pair have dedicated Amps/DACs (Head Room Minis and Schiit Bifrost and Lyr). I was thinking of having the DT880's re-cabled into a balanced headphone. but I can't make up my mind and might use them with the RSA Predator I got at the RMAF last October. I love music and know what I enjoy hearing. But, I'm sure most of you know more about electronics and Centrance products than I do and would really like to know what your initial pairing with the Hifi-M8 will be.
 
Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions or comments.
 

 
Balanced:  LCD-2 Rev. 2, HD650, T50RP
SE:  Shure SE215
 
Wide range of power requirements.  I hope the M8 is up to task.
 
BTW, you could always balance the DT880's to a mini-XLR and make attachments so you can use all of your gear.

 

[Overkill Red]

Quote:

A general question - what do most of you who have already ordered (yes, I have, as well) a Hifi-M8 plan on using with the device, right out of the box? I have DT880's, HE-400's and HE-500's. The later two pair have dedicated Amps/DACs (Head Room Minis and Schiit Bifrost and Lyr). I was thinking of having the DT880's re-cabled into a balanced headphone. but I can't make up my mind and might use them with the RSA Predator I got at the RMAF last October. I love music and know what I enjoy hearing. But, I'm sure most of you know more about electronics and Centrance products than I do and would really like to know what your initial pairing with the Hifi-M8 will be.
 
Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions or comments.
 

 
IEMs: Fischer DBA02 Mk.1 or FitEar ToGo!334s
Headphones: Sennheiser HD25s or Modded Denon D2000s
 
I'm probably going to upgrade to a nicer set of closed cans to use in bed or when I'm seated in my room/school library. I can't justify a fixed rig due to insufficient space and constant moving between two countries; hoping that the M8 is the perfect product for a 'mobile' person like me