[jdog]

It looks to me that this thread has become pretty inactive.  I was just curious if any of you all that have posted here still have you iHiFi 812 v2 player.  If so, are you still enjoying it and do you feel like it has been a worth-while investment?  Does the player hold up well over time?  I'm considering buying one of these, but with the lack of recent discussion about it, I can't decide if I should get one or not.  Does anyone have any new thoughts about this player?  Also, has anyone figured out how to update the firmware reliably with Windows 7?  Thanks for any insight you can give me...

 

[nick n]

Oh yeah no question about this thing for me, if you don't mind the industrial stylings.  Fantastic thing it is still my go-to . Even for testing tracks and headphones during countless modding trials. Far more than the integrated amp.
It's nice to get something new then immediately try it out on this.
 
Everyone seems stuck up on the latest and greatest, options like clocks, playlists all that sort of thing to me is irrelevant.
 I really think the sound on this speaks for itself.
Trouble is someone has to buy it to try it really. I was once in your shoes though, so understandably there is some hesitation. But this is simply great if only you could hear it first it would sell itself I feel.
 
Linux user here so no experience updating firmware with Win7,  don't feel the need to really.
 I don't want the sound to change in any way.
There is that Rockbox update for the 760 and 960 I think it also works for this , that has slipped my mind.
 
Off for a walk with it now

 
too bad these Ihifi threads are slow, it's certainly got nothing to do with the quality of the sound, probably more to do with low numbers of owners, which is really everyone else's loss.
 
On a side note if ever I felt the urge to upgrade I would be going straight for the 960 -either version.  Wouldn't even think of anything else.

 

[jdog]

Thanks for your reply, Nick N.  To be truthful, I had already purchased the iHiFi960 player and, unfortunately, the unit I got was defective, so I'm not sure I got the true, complete sound out of my player.  I enjoyed what I was hearing, but the unit just seemed underpowered.  Turns out I had a faulty battery, so the vendor asked me to return it for a replacement.  So, I have sent the 960 back to China for a replacement...  I was a bit worried my player might get lost in the mail, so in the meantime, I found a great deal on the 812v2 player.  So just in case my 960 disappeared in the mail, I was thinking of buying the 812v2 player just to make sure I had at least one of them.  The good news for me, since I placed my post here a few days ago, is that my 960 player has reached the vendor and he is mailing me out a new (pretested) 960 that I hope to get back in a few weeks.  On the other hand, the deal on the 812v2 is quite good, so I haven't completely ruled out buying it anyway.  From what I can tell from the reviews here in Head Fi, the units both have outstanding sound quality...  Anyway, I'll be hopefully enjoying at least one of these players soon.  Thanks again for your help.

 

[nick n]

yeah sorry about that I should have realized so much going on here I lose track. Will that be the last earlier 960 version or the new factory tweaked version sent to you ???
 
you're lucky you found a deal on that 812, from what I have seen anyhow  they rarely show up .

 

[jdog]

I'll be getting the newer modified version of the 960 with the lme 49990.  I would really love the chance to listen to all these players (760, 812v2, the original 960, and the modified 960) just to see how much difference there is in the sound.  I would guess that some people might prefer the sound of the 760 over the 960...oh well, based on the reviews by you, Nick N, and others, I'm sure I'll be very, very happy with the 960.  I'll just be counting down the days until it arrives and be thankful to have the chance to own what appears to be a very nice music player.

 

[nick n]

I would think that the 760 would be slightly less refined based on pricing alone, but how close who knows.  Best of luck to you and I hope you check back in.

 

[unbalanced]

I have the 812v2 and 760 both running Rockbox and I would struggle to chose between them. I feel that, whilst they may not sound identical, neither is better than the other but if I could only keep one it would be the 760. I have owned the 760 for a few months and I never tire of listening to it nor can I find any fault with the sound which is essentially neutral. I like the slightly esoteric and oddball styling of the 812v2 but there is no getting away from the fact that it is quite large, it has sharp corners that make it uncomfortable to hold and the loud clicky buttons can be annoying; the 760 is much better in this respect. 
 
The only limitation with these players is the original firmware which has very poor functionality and a few bugs. I was surprised that, even though the 760 appears to have a later version of firmware, it still has exactly the same basic bugs as the earlier version in the 812v2 but upgrading to Rockbox fixes the shortcomings and provides far more functionality than anyone will ever need.

 

[jdog]

Unbalanced, how did you Rock box your players?  Did you use Windows 7?  If you didn't use Windows 7, has anyone else out there ever figured this process out using Windows 7?  Thanks.

 

[nick n]

  I have the 812v2 and 760 both running Rockbox and I would struggle to chose between them. I feel that, whilst they may not sound identical, neither is better than the other but if I could only keep one it would be the 760. I have owned the 760 for a few months and I never tire of listening to it nor can I find any fault with the sound which is essentially neutral. I like the slightly esoteric and oddball styling of the 812v2 but there is no getting away from the fact that it is quite large, it has sharp corners that make it uncomfortable to hold and the loud clicky buttons can be annoying; the 760 is much better in this respect. 
 
The only limitation with these players is the original firmware which has very poor functionality and a few bugs. I was surprised that, even though the 760 appears to have a later version of firmware, it still has exactly the same basic bugs as the earlier version in the 812v2 but upgrading to Rockbox fixes the shortcomings and provides far more functionality than anyone will ever need.

THANKS very much for the comparison and impressions.
What bugs do you notice in the stock firmware specifically?

 

[unbalanced]

I couldn't update either player to Rockbox using Win7 but fortunately I still have an old laptop with XP installed and that worked ok, but it was a little nerve racking during the process. I downloaded everything needed from links posted on this forum.
 
I can't remember all the details now, you will need the RK27 software which is in Chinese by default but you can change the Language option to "english" in the "Setting" text file .
With RK27 running; when the player is connected via the USB port a message saying "RK27 Device Detected" appears. You should then click "Switch".
It is important that you click on "EraseIDB" before upgrading otherwise it won't work. 
Point "Boot Path" at the new firmware and hit "Upgrade"
 
 
Bugs, nothing really serious which is why it's odd that they were never fixed. Going from memory here:
 
- The menu text often appeared repeated on the screen a start-up
- The spectrum analyser (I can't remember what they called it) screen would appear by default, even if it was disabled in the options. I preferred to disable it.
- All the EQ settings were worthless but one of them, mseq (I think) only worked some of the time
- Occasionally, the player would start playing a track but would sound as though it was using the wrong decoder so the audio was distorted and choppy. Stopping and starting again would fix the issue
 
- Does not support gap-less playback. Ok, its not a bug but it's not impossible to implement and it is a very welcome feature to have on Rockbox.

 

[nick n]

ahh that stuff. 

 
Only happens with a duplicate menu list the odd time,
not had the spectrum thing show up yet, 
one time it got screwy sound
not used any EQ so far but you know it would be interesting,
 
and gapless certainly a nice feature at times. Must be hit and miss on the first 3 things
 
You'd think something minor like what you mentioned would be a cinch to update.
 
Do you recall any sonic differences with the Rockbox vs stock?
 
thanks for ANY info and the posts so far.

 

[unbalanced]

I was concerned that the player would sound different after installing Rockbox and that I wouldn't like it anymore, but it still has all its original qualities. There was no discernible difference in sound when playing FLAC files but Since each file format has its own decoder it isn't possible to make a general statement about sound quality without comparing all of them, which I haven't done. . 
 
There was an occasion when I felt the sound had lost its sparkle and I checked through all (and there are many) of the sound-altering settings to see if any were enabled, I couldn't see anything but after I reset all the settings the sound was back to how I thought it should be. This is really the only downside with Rockbox; it provides far too many options that I will never use. In many ways, I prefer the simplicity of the original firmware but it's just a shame that they never got around to finishing it properly. 

 

[jdog]

Post retracted.  Seller previously recommended by me is dishonest and should be avoided; I am sorry if anyone has lost time or money to this vendor and I regret ever recommending his store.

 

[jdog]

Since most of us in the USA (and many other countries) are unable to directly purchase many of the high quality audio players (like the iHiFi 960) that are made in China; then we have to rely on sites such as eBay if we want to purchase these players.  As involved, active consumers, I feel we have the responsibility to identify dishonest vendors when we encounter them on eBay, so we can help honest buyers from losing time and money.  I have encountered a dishonest vendor who goes by "annie audio" on eBay.  He lists several audio players (including the iHiFi 812 v2) and other hifi equipment on his eBay store.  He attempts to lure buyers in with prices lower (but still believable) than his competition.  In my experience, this vendor deals in factory rejects and should be AVOIDED.  I purchased the iHiFi 960 from him in February 2014; the first player I received from him had a defective battery and microsd slot.  So, I returned it, and by March 2014, I received another defective player from him; this player had defective circuitry (? bad op amps) and the sound quality was badly distorted and the player was unlistenable.  I had asked "annie audio" to test the second player out before he sent it to me, so I could hopefully avoid receiving another defective player.  He "reassured" me that he had tested it out and it worked properly, but he clearly did not even listen to the player before he sent it. Unfortunately for me, by the time I received this second defective player, my "money back guarantee coverage" on eBay had expired, so eBay was unable to help me out.  The eBay rep encouraged me to send the second defective player back for another exchange.  It has now been 6 weeks since I returned the second player to "annie audio" and as I expected, he claims he has not received the player; his response was "the player must be lost".  I must say, after I received the second defective player, I really did not believe I would ever get anything that worked properly from this vendor.  So, after losing my money (~$400 US) and 3 months, I am here to warn all of you to AVOID the vendor on eBay who goes by "annie audio".  In my experience, he is a dishonest liar and criminal.  I have notified eBay of this seller and have asked them to consider removing his store. The good news though is that there are several highly dependable sellers on eBay (such as bigbargainonline, 24ishop, polly chen, etc) who can help us get the audio equipment we would like to have.  So take my advice, AVOID the vendor "annie audio" on eBay; believe me, even if you have to spend a bit more to get what you want from a much more dependable vendor, your overall experience will be so much better.

 

[159650]

I'm trying to decide between the 812V2 and the 770. Anyone here have tried both players? Also, anyone here have experience with ebay seller vpr2008?