[George Hincapie]

Look, I think I've made my view clear. I'm saying nothing else on the topic now and hopefully the thread can get back to discussing this brilliant amp.

I apologise to you all for dragging it OT.

 

[OCC7N]

If anything Gaming and movies will take more advantage from high end dac/amp considering lot of old music that people listen have very very poor dynamic range.
Classic, Edm, Soundtracks, Games take full advantage of high end amps such as this.

Titanfall 1-2. 35GB of uncompressed audiofiles!

Titanfall 2 may be the best game I have ever tried, stable and optimized wise also…

I await Battlefield 7(hopefully same theme as 4) - the 4 was very impressive, felt like I was in “the movie”

…….

I still think Windows 10 needs some tweak for taking better advantage of the DAC. I will research more about this. Drivers are so important.
…….

For gaming I prefere Arya over Susvara. Arya sounds very spacious/ambient/3D. Susvara is more the instrument/band feel for me(yeah it has spacious) but its more of a on-ear feel(physically)

 

[auded33]

I’m reluctant to continue the gaming conversation in this thread but just want to make a comment based on my own gaming experience.
Hearing sounds during gaming cannot be a critical listening experience as other senses are actively involved, especially sight and possibly touch if haptic feedback is employed.
Clearly, immersive sound can and does improve the overall gaming experience a lot but I would consider it complete overkill to employ state of the art hifi amps and headphones to gain a wholly satisfactory gaming audio experience.
I’m not saying don’t use them but it’s a bit like taking your Ferrari to the supermarket for the shopping.

 

[TaronL]

Alright the 2023 shipment is completely sold through for North America. Congrats to all who got in on this round. Current loose ETA is sometime in April but as we know in audio, it could be earlier or it could be later.

At this time, we have asked for more units for 2023 and have been told that it won't be possible. Never say never but that's our most up to date information at this time.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[Hiyono]

Saw this Korean review the other day. Sadly I don’t understand Korean. Anyone willing to summary translate?

 

[adrianm]

Saw this Korean review the other day. Sadly I don’t understand Korean. Anyone willing to summary translate?

This sums it up pretty well. He doesn't seem to have a lot of experience with high end stuff, mostly studio gear.

 

[adrianm]

Hey @GoldenOne , If you have time for a listen, I'm curious how well the HM1 can drive the CA-1A (with the interface ofc). Considering them as an addition to my Elites.
I assume the Oor would have no problem driving the CA-1A well, but I plan on getting rid of it once the HM1 gets here.

 

[eskamobob1]

Hey @GoldenOne , If you have time for a listen, I'm curious how well the HM1 can drive the CA-1A (with the interface ofc). Considering them as an addition to my Elites.
I assume the Oor would have no problem driving the CA-1A well, but I plan on getting rid of it once the HM1 gets here.

Any specific reason for the ca1a? Cause tbh, if you have hm1, there are just better cans out there.

 

[adrianm]

Any specific reason for the ca1a? Cause tbh, if you have hm1, there are just better cans out there.

It seems like a different enough flavor from the Elites, and something I'd be curious to try since i've never heard a ribbon or ES headphone. The local Stax dealer doesn't allow auditions.
I always preferred Elites over Susvara and LCD-5, but I've only heard them on Dave + Oor, not Rossini + HM1, so who knows. I plan on re-auditioning all of them, but nowhere to audition ZMF,DCA, T+A stuff sadly.
Since I actually need a closed back, Stealth would be the front runner if the HM1 could actually liven it enough for me. Reviews are just too polarizing to be able to get an accurate impression of what it would sound like, but it's not promising. It seems dead(end) inside, which is not my cup of tea. I lean towards more dynamic sounding headphones.
Open to any suggestions

 

[orrman]

It seems like a different enough flavor from the Elites, and something I'd be curious to try since i've never heard a ribbon or ES headphone. The local Stax dealer doesn't allow auditions.
I always preferred Elites over Susvara and LCD-5, but I've only heard them on Dave + Oor, not Rossini + HM1, so who knows. I plan on re-auditioning all of them, but nowhere to audition ZMF,DCA, T+A stuff sadly.
Since I actually need a closed back, Stealth would be the front runner if the HM1 could actually liven it enough for me. Reviews are just too polarizing to be able to get an accurate impression of what it would sound like, but it's not promising. It seems dead(end) inside, which is not my cup of tea. I lean towards more dynamic sounding headphones.
Open to any suggestions

If you're auditioning everything don't skip the D8000 Pro Limited Edition and the Utopia 2022. Both amazing headphones.

 

[adrianm]

If you're auditioning everything don't skip the D8000 Pro Limited Edition and the Utopia 2022. Both amazing headphones.

The Utopia 2022 I will be able to get my hands on when my dealer finally gets a pair, but not the D8k pro sadly. Isn't the limited edition just a paintjob? I was actually more excited by the new Yamaha headphones coming out. I kind of expect the newtopia to sound like the old one but with tamed highs (which never bothered me, even out of Dave). I loved how punchy it is, but soundstage was just too narrow for me, and the creaking was annoying.
Might be worth a trip to Munich this year.

 

[eskamobob1]

The Utopia 2022 I will be able to get my hands on when my dealer finally gets a pair, but not the D8k pro sadly. Isn't the limited edition just a paintjob? I was actually more excited by the new Yamaha headphones coming out. I kind of expect the newtopia to sound like the old one but with tamed highs (which never bothered me, even out of Dave). I loved how punchy it is, but soundstage was just too narrow for me, and the creaking was annoying.
Might be worth a trip to Munich this year.

The LE has some modifications to the driver and new pads as well. Supposedly a technical step above the d8kp with tuning more inline with d8k og.

As for other cans, I would recommend you reaudition stuff with your new Chain. Stuff like sus is hyper source dependant. Outside of sus though, I would recommend sr1a over ca1a tbh. Ca1a has some phase alignment issues that need to be fixed for it to properly compete (this can be done by buying the convolution filters though).

As for neutopia, the slightly smoothed and Darker trebble helps them sound a bit bigger imo. It's still not hyper expansive or anything but it is bigger.

Some other cans that may be worth a try on hm1 are myshphere, Diana TC, and maybe caldera as well (though that's a step back from the others we have talked about from a technical stand point imo)

 

[801evan]

Titanfall 1-2. 35GB of uncompressed audiofiles!

Titanfall 2 may be the best game I have ever tried, stable and optimized wise also…

I await Battlefield 7(hopefully same theme as 4) - the 4 was very impressive, felt like I was in “the movie”

…….

I still think Windows 10 needs some tweak for taking better advantage of the DAC. I will research more about this. Drivers are so important.
…….

For gaming I prefere Arya over Susvara. Arya sounds very spacious/ambient/3D. Susvara is more the instrument/band feel for me(yeah it has spacious) but its more of a on-ear feel(physically)

Games have more dynamic range than music so actually games are more on-topic than most music which is only 5-8DR.

 

[elf21400]

In addition to the game-related discussions, it is more curious whether more people have received their HM1, and more experience sharing.
Is the 2023 HM1 already sold out?

 

[eskamobob1]

Is the 2023 HM1 already sold out?

it is for the US. I havent seen any word for the rest of the wold