mrarroyo

Thanks guys, the good news is that nothing is broken! However she was given a cortisone shot due to an inflamed tendon. She is not supposed to walk for a week, so the cooking is left up to me. Fudge, we will be eating out of cans and lots of takeout. I used to love cooking but if I do so I can't be here posting/reading.

Good point Justin, and handling the unit to them is exactly what I did my wife and my coworker. Both thought it sounded much better than any other portable they had heard before, in the case of my coworker he compared it with nice speakers at his home. He did mention how large the HM-801 was. BTW, will you offering a module for the HM-80 based on the Pico Slim? If so it would be great! Thanks.

Coffee at Dunkin Doughnuts.

At the doctor's office with my wife, she messed her left ankle and a couple of toes and is in major pain. It is not good for "she who must be obeyed" to be in pain ... all around her would be in pain as well!

Ed thanks, I have set the screen to shut off after 20 seconds.

Well I spent more time w/ the HM-801 today and a Yuin OK1. I asked a fellow coworker to listen to the HM-801, he is not into 2-channel portable audio but he loved it, he said he has not heard music sound so good unless he is at home listening to a nice pair of speakers. Then I had him listen to my iPhone 3G loaded w/ Apple Lossles files while using the OK1 and he could not believe how much worse it sounded. By comparison the iPhone sounded "dead" to him and I have to agree w/ his asesment. There is a sense of liveliness and vitality when listening to the HM-801 that I do not hear with the iPod or the iPhone. Overall I really like the sound of the HM-801 and it is far superior to an iPod or iPhone connected to an external portable amp using a high quality line out dock. Fang and his staff have done a fantastic job, if any of you local Head Casers wish to listen to the unit I have on loan send me a PM and we can get together during the weekend. Ed, I may be naive but I do not consider my wish list as complaints. I feel they are areas of improvements and they were stated w/o having followed all the thread in HF on the HM-801. At the end of the day the sound of the HM-801 is superb and far better than the iPod or iPhone. I hope to meet with Rob (vorlon1 in HF) who has an iModded iPod to compare the two. More to come, cheers.

I did a search for HM801 and HM-801 and only found a reference in the thread on the last bought item. I hope it is ok to start this thread on the HM-801 that Fang of Head Direct sent me to try/test. I have had the pleasure to both buy and get loaner pieces from Fang in the past and I have been very pleased with his customer service. Needless to say I was excited to try this unit without having to front the $790 asking price. I did have to buy a 32 GB Kingston Type 4 SD Card, I bought it from Newegg for about $85 including S&H. Note: If the initial impressions hold over the next couple of weeks I may have be buying this unit. Anyways this is not going to be so much an impressions thread but more of what people like me need to do to make this unit work properly. I say this because I am not a very knowledgeable computer person and recently I made the transition to an iMac which further made things very difficult. So the first thing I did was to transfer a large number of my Apple Lossless files to an external USB 250 GB HD. I did this to avoid messing up the iMac which I am just beginning to learn how to use. Once done I took the HD to an old (2004) Dell PC and did a search including starting a thread here on how to convert the ALAC files to FLAC. I intended to give the HM-801 the best possible files, just like I do with my iPods where I use ALAC files. I took the advice of many and downloaded the trial version of dbpoweramp, of course I did not set it up correctly on the first try nor the second try. This meant I spent about 3 days in converting about 7,300 ALAC files instead of just 1 day. I have to thank all who assisted this "old fart" in learning (at least partially) a new software and method to convert files. BTW, not all of the 3 days were lost since I had to wait for the 32 GB SD Card to arrive. So today I finally was able to load about 1,150 FLAC files unto the 32 GB SD Card and I have been able to finally listen to the HM-801. I need to learn how to navigate through the various buttons specially to locate specific songs, until I learn it is a pain to find songs and I am just listening in the same order I loaded the files in. Luckily I loaded them alphabetically so it is not a total pain to use. As you probably know the HM-801 retails for $790 plus if you wish to have the same capacity as an iPod Classic you would need five 32 GB SD Cards at about another $410 (some savings in S&H are realized) for a grand total of $1,200 as compared with about $850 for an iPod Classic, good amp, and a good line out dock. The HM-801 by itself is larger than an iPod but when you through in the amp and line out dock the HM-801 is smaller. Since I am comparing the two I should mention the iPod Classic play time is about 3 time that of the HM-801, say 25 hours to 8 hours both using lossless files. As far as carrying the HM-801 I am not aware of any case for it so IMO it is more of a transportable unless you do not mind risking damaging the HM-801 by carrying on a cargo pant pocket. I guess a camera bag would work as an alternative for many so it may not be too bad of an option. For the first listen I used a HiFiMAN RE-252 IEM and a Grado RS-1 with the 1/4" to 1/8" Grado converter. The first two songs were by Nina Simone and Nicole Henry and I also asked "she who must be obeyed" to listen and provide feedback. How does it sound? To this old tired ears it has more detail, clarity, and treble extension than an iPod Classic 6th Generation, iPhone 3G, and Nano 2nd Generation. I also hear more air between notes and female vocals are more engaging and it is easier to understand the words being sung (weird ain't it). Again this are very quick impressions and I will let the "new toy" mentality settle over the next couple of weeks before I can truly say more. If I was to start a wish list it would include: 1. A better instruction manual either electronic or hardcopy. 2. Longer play time, I would suggest a 20 hour target. 3. A way to shut down the screen to extend the battery life. 4. Inclusion of a case, even if it adds $30. 5. The case should have a place to carry an additional two SD Cards. 6. Ability to use the upcoming 64 GB and 128 GB SD Cards. 7. Gapless which I believe it is being worked on as we speak. 8. A more common A/C plug into the HM-801 so it would be easier to secure wall warts replacements in the future. I hope to be able to add more in the next couple of weeks. I would like to extend an invitation to those Head Casers in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas to contact me and perhaps we could meet during this or the next weekend so you could try the unit, maybe over a bottle of red wine or a beer. If you have an SD Card (even if it is a 4 GB or 8 GB) you can pre-load it with some of your music so you would be able to better judge the HM-801. Cheers. PD: Sorry for the long post.

I agree, hope the power protection unit did its job.

I had the HE5 and I loved it out of the Graham Slee Solo SRGII and of the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 modded by PinkFloyd. I did not like the sound out of the EF5 amp as much. Perhaps since I am older (52 YO) and I listen at low volumes it compensates for the high frequencies so many have objections too.

I wonder what percentage of the 3 well wishers are married? They do say misery loves company ... Welcome to the club of the mostly happily married! Oops, if "she who must be obeyed" read this I would be dead.

Thanks, I will try it and report back tomorrow.

Thanks Vicky, I may have an Isabella by the Fort Myers Meet on July 24 so you and all should be able to hear what it can or can't do. Hope you and others can make it. I really liked the HD800 out of the Luxman P1, they sound superb together (Alex's rig).

Being contented and satisfied with your self is a great step forward in a person's life. Of the three (Steve, Shelly, and Ryan) I have only met Ryan although I have exchanged PM's with Steve and Shelly and even bought/sold stuff with them. It is very liberating to see the positive feedback given by all who have responded and I sure hope that the lives of all three gets better and more empowering/liberating as time goes by. Times and places are funny indeed, I was raised in the Caribbean (Cuba and Puerto Rico) and I remember we used to joke a bit in high school (all boys catholic high school which is not the norm here) but there was an acceptance of those who thought differently. That was not what I saw when I started college in Atlanta and later when I lived in Chattanooga. I find that many in the USA are not only very puritanical but also very repressed and unable to share their space with others. For example in the Caribbean it is perfectly acceptable to show affection to your loved ones with a kiss on the cheek. This to fathers, brothers, sons, etc. however it is not common in the USA and I have received weird looks when I have said good buy to my father and brother at the Atlanta airport. For the record I am not gay and I am one of those who loves BIG BOOBIES ala Reality Kings. For those who came out I take my hat off and I wish you the best.

Vicky, you mentioned the Isabella on your previous post. How did you find its sound?

As we speak the PC is converting about 7,300 songs from ALAC to FLAC. However it is not keeping them together, I had a folder per artist w/ several albums in each folder. Now all the converted songs are being placed in a general folder w/ no organization. Is there a fix? Thanks.

Sweet, what amp did you get?

Thanks to all, dbpoweramp is it.

Fang from Head Direct has loaned me a HiFiMAN HM-801 portable player. I am waiting for the Kingston 32GB SD card I purchased from Newegg to start trying this player. I would like to load the SD card w/ FLAC files however I first would need to convert the music I have in Apple Lossless to FLAC files and I would appreciate your help in which converter I should use. I have spent the last two days doing searches and I am dizzy with all the names (foobar, dbamp, etc). Look forward to your suggestions. Thanks.

I agree, oxtail is very flavorful but you can't eat it everyday.

Following the rain and flood we had yesterday (again) I washed the car and then headed for the hospital to visit with my almost 82 year old father in law who has pneumonia. He is doing well and in good spirits, he is expected to be discharged tomorrow.

Kingston 32GB SD card type 4 for an HM-801 that Fang sent me to try. i should receive the SD card by Saturday and I will be able to listen to the HM-801, I hope it sounds at least half as good as some of the reviews I have read. If it happens ... more to come.

Pics rule!

Ok.

Took the day off from work, except for going out (walked a couple of blocks) for breakfast to a nearby Starbucks i did nothing but sit in front of the computer or the TV (watched Dune).

This may sound crazy but when was the last time you opened up your current PC and dusted it off? I find that a lot of "krap" collects and causes overheating and other problems. Give it a try, it is a "dirt" cheap solution. Good luck.