[qusp]

Quote:

It all depends whether this is intended to be a truly portable device, or a transportable one. If the former, then you may as well ditch the huge XLR sockets altogether and just do what RSA and ALO have done with their balanced portables.  If the latter, 4-pin XLR is more common, dual 3-pin XLRs being the result of the original HeadRoom Blockhead, which was two mono amps in one chassis, hence the separate headphone sockets used.
 
It takes only 5-10 mins to re-cable a pair of headphones with a 4-pin XLR plug too. 

agreed, but I wouldnt expect them to pick one of those, I actually dont like the RSA connector at all and think there were far better choices to push for  standard, its cheap, thats about all its got going for it IMO and it made me sad to see ALO fall into line. Its all plastic, has no strain relief, has to be glued together to have any, gets in the way so defines where knobs etc have to be, is tin, has no inline female etc etc. mini 4 pin XLR, hirose or lemo are all better options with none of these issues. if mini XLR was chosen then we might have had a chance at having a standard, rather than the fractured situation we have now.
 
Yes the 2 x 3 pin is all headroom, there was no need to do that, a 4 pin could easily have been used since it was in one chassis. but hey they were doing something extreme and unique at the time, so made it commercially and outwardly clear what they were doing, so thats cool. I just wish it didnt become a standard, then we might actually have an option for an upgraded 4 pin connector by now...
 
at least it really does seem to be changing, 4 pins dominated the recent Sydney meet and I only brought 4 pins plus a couple of adapters

 

[firev1]

Those dual monos would kinda be a bummer for me but centrance are great at micro circuitry. Kinda concerned with the form factor using balanced topologies. What ALO and RSA has done is just an amp but this is a DAC/Amp combo that is meant to be small. 

 

[mgoodman]

Thanks for the comments, guys. We are aware that there are smaller jacks available and chose the dual XLR route so that there would be dual use - balanced AND unbalanced. We will see how this goes. We do know that Beyer has already produced a large. Umber of balanced XLR headphones, available through Jaben as one source.

For now, let's just say that in addition to the regular USB input (24/192) there will be a smart phone input as well. We are not allowed to name the smart phone yet, but enough to say that it is very popular. We will stream digital music from this smartphone and will also accomodate its tablet cousins. When all the dots are connected, we will make the official announcement.

Michael

 

[firev1]

Quote:

Thanks for the comments, guys. We are aware that there are smaller jacks available and chose the dual XLR route so that there would be dual use - balanced AND unbalanced. We will see how this goes. We do know that Beyer has already produced a large. Umber of balanced XLR headphones, available through Jaben as one source.
For now, let's just say that in addition to the regular USB input (24/192) there will be a smart phone input as well. We are not allowed to name the smart phone yet, but enough to say that it is very popular. We will stream digital music from this smartphone and will also accomodate its tablet cousins. When all the dots are connected, we will make the official announcement.
Michael

IDevice, since the rest can interface provided their usb hosting is enabled =D Yet another competitor in the smartphone market.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Thanks for the comments, guys. We are aware that there are smaller jacks available and chose the dual XLR route so that there would be dual use - balanced AND unbalanced. We will see how this goes. We do know that Beyer has already produced a large. Umber of balanced XLR headphones, available through Jaben as one source.
For now, let's just say that in addition to the regular USB input (24/192) there will be a smart phone input as well. We are not allowed to name the smart phone yet, but enough to say that it is very popular. We will stream digital music from this smartphone and will also accomodate its tablet cousins. When all the dots are connected, we will make the official announcement.
Michael

 
If the smart phone in question is indeed the iPhone then you have my attention. I've been tempted by that functionality from a portable device on a few occasions but everything thus far seems to be specific to the iPhone and not allow regular USB connection as well. It would be great to have a portable device that offers both.
 
My concerns thus far after reading through the blog and this thread is the lack of 1/8" jack and whether 1 ohm or less output impedance will be standard or a paid option. Another concern based on my previous experience with the DACmini would also be gain which I found being somewhat high made the usable amount a bit limited when using IEM's.
 
Edit: As mentioned in the first post, line out would be nice to have as well. In my case the ability to go to an external amp for certain usages/headphones would be a bonus.

 

[firev1]

Quote:

 
If the smart phone in question is indeed the iPhone then you have my attention. I've been tempted by that functionality from a portable device on a few occasions but everything thus far seems to be specific to the iPhone and not allow regular USB connection as well. It would be great to have a portable device that offers both.
 
My concerns thus far after reading through the blog and this thread is the lack of 1/8" jack and whether 1 ohm or less output impedance will be standard or a paid option. Another concern based on my previous experience with the DACmini would also be gain which I found being somewhat high made the usable amount a bit limited when using IEM's.
 
Edit: As mentioned in the first post, line out would be nice to have as well. In my case the ability to go to an external amp for certain usages/headphones would be a bonus.

Same concerns as you, though with my finances now, it will take me a while to get one. I'm okay with no 1/8" jack though, just use an adapter. 
 
In other news, analog board.
 

 

[mgoodman]

We will offer three impedance choices, starting with 1 Ohm and going up (some people prefer the sound of higher impedance output as it makes their headphones sound more linear).
 
Mods are not fun. They are not offered in HiFi-M8. We decided to offer as much choice as possible in the HiFi-M8, since adding mods is taking quite a bit of our time.
 
HiFi-M8 will have four sonic shaping switches to control 1) Impedance, 2) Gain, 2) Low tone and 3) High tone. The amount of tone control is not drastic, just a tiny bit to adjust for certain headphones. There will be a "flat" position on both high and low filters if you don't need any tone shaping.
 
The three positions on the gain switch will accommodate any headphones, allowing you to always use the volume knob in the comfortable range.
 
In general, we decided to offer a lot of CHOICE in HiFi-M8:
 
+ Choice of balanced or unbalanced headphones
+ Choice of USB or smartphone (am not allowed to officially confirm on the guesses, but can't deny them either, hint, hint)
+ Choice of impedance
+ Choice of gain
+ Choice of sonic signature
+ Choice of portable or desktop operation
 
+ Ability to charge the phone/tablet while playing and charging itself

All in all, we want you to tell us how you will use it.
 
Price-wise, for all the features above it will be very competitive.
 
Let me know if any questions!

 

[elnero]

You got my attention before, now I'm very, very interested. I've always been a fan of versatile products, given this level of flexibility the HiFi-M8 has the potential to be a killer product. Of course it has to sound good though or all the versatility becomes moot. I'll be keeping a close on this thread and your blog.
 
I do have a question about the high and low tone shaping switches, is it a three position switch with plus, flat and minus?

 

[eugenius]

What I want to know is this: better than the DACport?

 

[DanBa]

Quote:

+ Ability to charge the phone/tablet while playing and charging itself
 

 
It's possible when the phone/tablet acts as a USB peripheral.
 
But how about when the phone/tablet acts as a USB host in order to use the regular USB input (24/192)?

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Thanks for the comments, guys. We are aware that there are smaller jacks available and chose the dual XLR route so that there would be dual use - balanced AND unbalanced. We will see how this goes. We do know that Beyer has already produced a large. Umber of balanced XLR headphones, available through Jaben as one source.
For now, let's just say that in addition to the regular USB input (24/192) there will be a smart phone input as well. We are not allowed to name the smart phone yet, but enough to say that it is very popular. We will stream digital music from this smartphone and will also accomodate its tablet cousins. When all the dots are connected, we will make the official announcement.
Michael

Hey Michael, fair enough, well thing is, wouldnt a 4 pin and a phono would still take up less space, even with full size? a 4 pin mini XLR and a mini 3.5mm would take up less space than one of the combo jacks. I understand it makes the layout easier with PCB mount, pick and place or reflow production, automatic switching easier etc, but yeah the sockets plus headphone XLRs together are larger and heavier than the rest of the unit. I just wish the standard would die and seeing a major manufacturer perpetuate it just as 4 pin is taking hold doesnt fill me with joy. otherwise the product sounds great.
 
also beyer? not really portable headphones either, is it even offered on anything but their 600ohm models? (not a smarmy question)

 

[firev1]

Quote:

also beyer? not really portable headphones either, is it even offered on anything but their 600ohm models? (not a smarmy question)

Currently jaben here has what they call "balanced ready" models for the T1 and T5p and they had some deals on them(a T1 at 999sgd!(808usd)).

 

[mgoodman]

Lots of questions (thank you!)
 
Answering all at once:
 
> I do have a question about the high and low tone shaping switches, is it a three position switch with plus, flat and minus?
flat, +, ++
 
> What I want to know is this: better than the DACport?
In addition to choice of inputs, sound shaping options, and balanced outputs, HiFI-M8 will have an internal battery, so it will go where DACport hasn't gone before. The goal is to keep the sound quality the same.
 
>> + Ability to charge the phone/tablet while playing and charging itself
> But how about when the phone/tablet acts as a USB host in order to use the regular USB input (24/192)?
We can charge it either way.
 
> ...a 4 pin mini XLR and a mini 3.5mm would take up less space than one of the combo jacks.
With HiFi-M8 we decided to make a no-compromise, bullet-proof, "flagship" product. XLRs are very tough -- will work forever. Size reduction and moving to smaller connectors is possible in the future.
 
Michael

 

[DanBa]

Quote:

>> + Ability to charge the phone/tablet while playing and charging itself
> But how about when the phone/tablet acts as a USB host in order to use the regular USB input (24/192)?
We can charge it either way.

 
So you let the cat out of the bag.
Thanks!

 

[eugenius]

Mr. Goodman, how about making one of the XLR's function as a mic preamp and 24/192 USB A/D converter. Makes use of the dual XLR connectors you can call it PRO M8.