HM 601 in Customs!!!!!!!!!!!

[badrisuper]

@AudioDoc and badri,

How many hours of battery life do you get out of HM-601 from a full charge? I just tried the loaner and it is somewhere between 7-8 hrs.

@badri,

I will try pairing different IEMs with HM-601 tomorrow.

Since matbhuvi mentioned that it settles in with time, I am trying to see what a 'player burn-in' (when burning in an earphone) could do. I plan to do the whole 100 hour burn-in, but in the middle, will check it out tomorrow with IEMs and give it a small break.

Battery life: I didnt run the full cycle. I will post it within 2 days.

 

[Audiodoc]

Yes it is between 7-8 hours.

 

[badrisuper]

Yes it is between 7-8 hours.

Today i left hm601 running. I started morning 9.50 it lasted nearly 9hr 50min. 16 bit flac file for 4hr. and remaining mp3 files.

 

[Audiodoc]

It will depend on the attached headphone and volume levels. I used the HD650 at 90% vol level. Plus running from an SD card will also effect to some extent.

 

[esanthosh]

Mine was from - 32GB SD Card, All WAV files, Shuffle and Repeat All, Hisoundaudio Live Earbud.

 

[badrisuper]

Is shure se530 suits with hm601? I am getting it for 140 euros. Is it worth buying? Condition looks good.

 

[esanthosh]

SE530 is a good IEM with a similar signature to HM-601. I won't say it's a bad deal at ~ 10K for the SQ it is supposed to have. I am not sure how HM-601 will handle it - will creamy mid ranges gel and make it sound better? or worse? In case it's better, you may not need to search for another IEM at all.

Cons?

I think it might hiss with the 601. Build quality was not very good (which was fixed with SE535) - Experiences like this were common. Cable issues is one of the reasons why Shure made SE535 with a detachable cable.

 

[matbhuvi]

SE530 indeed has sweet mids. I would say best in class. Some say it has recessed highs. But it is not just as prominent as the mids. The cable issue is annoying. I ran into issue twice in 3 years. I reshelled it then which completely changed the signature..it made it truly flat signature. Given a chance, i would go back to the bumped up mids.
With HM-601, it is not the ideal combination as it is bit sensitive. But it settled down for me after around 100hrs of usage.

 

[esanthosh]

I've "burned in" HM-601 for 100 hours. Actually, I let it burn in the Hisoundaudio Live earbuds. I have installed the latest firmware (v0.07, this one was on v0.05). I ran it connected to the charger all the time, the last 72 hours continuously. Thankfully, it did not literally burn-in due to heat

IEM matching - Disclaimer

• Out of Headphone out. Line out to an amp is better for some of them.
• Short listening impressions. I believe synergy is best found over longer listening sessions.
• No proper A:B, no critical listening done
• Use salt bags - highly recommended as I can change the impressions the next minute
• I purposefully tried it with Opeth's "My Arms, Your Hearse" to see how compatible it is for me. With Classical and vocal heavy music, impressions will definitely vary. The mellower the music, better it may be out of HM-601. I used a full Classical music 32GB SD card for burning in the Live, which has a laid-back mid range sounded excellent every time I tried it. That ear bud has very good synergy.

IEMs checked

1. CK10 - Bad. Hisses, mid range feels a bit sucked out.
2. Phonak PFE 111 - Not bad at all. Usually, Bass on PFE gets better with an external amp, but HM-601 itself having a powerful built-in amp helps here. Treble gets a bit splashy than I remember.
3. EX-1000 - Good. Mid-bass gets a slight lift. Bass is slightly thick sounding, but more punchy. Mid range is good and where it needs to be, but treble is a bit more forward. EX-1000's sound stage usually reminds me of a large concert hall where you stand in awe at a slight distant from the stage, but with HM-601, things are presented in a bit more forward manner, which may have affected treble.
4. SM3 - Bad. Mids become too much in your face, treble is even worse than usual (too recessed, too rolled off, faint), bass is ok.
5. FX700 - Bad. FX700 is more instruments first with slightly distant vocals. Here, the vocals usually at the center of the stage are forward, but instruments are placed even more forward. Vocals sound a bit better as I am not a huge fan of it otherwise. Treble energy of FX700 is lost a bit, which may not be a bad thing. But the worst loss is the open and huge sound stage of FX700.
6. Etymotic HF2 - Not too bad. HF2 is light on bass quantity, but 601 rolls it off creating even more dent in it's lower end. 601 also takes away the treble energy, which may not be bad, but sparkle is also lost. HF2 has an almost non-existent stage. With such a detailed IEM bringing everything in the mids even more forward is not a nice idea on 601's part.

Some thoughts

• Not great for very sensitive phones unless you use an amp. That is because for most IEMs, even "2" is louder. With efficient IEMs like FX700, usable volume knob is very less unless you listen at higher volumes than me.
• May not be appropriate for forward mid range IEMs in general. Something which is already "in your face" like SM3 (which places you on stage with musicians) is a strict no-no.
• Contrary to what I thought, seems to go well with ear phones which already have sweet / lush / warm mid ranges well.
• Expect BA signatures to be screwed up. The variation would depend on the IEM, but an inefficient PFE has better synergy than the rest of BAs.
• Low impedance IEMs seem to get a bass roll-off. The remaining bass could create the illusion of more mid-bass at times (or does HM-601 create a mid-bass hump as well?)
• Laid back IEMs may be a better match. Aggressive IEMs could lose their treble energy, but the cut-off at both ends could render the mids a bit more edgier.
• Sound stage of many IEMs got a bit screwed up.

JM2C

 

[matbhuvi]

Excellent review esantosh. Hats off to your enthusiasm and collection of IEMs.

Very interesting observation on sound stage. By any chance have you listened to a binaural recording through 601? I am also interested in your experience with high resolution files.

Do you think burn in helped you in anyway?

Did you try 601 with headphones? Especially with the DT880 that you recently bought?

 

[badrisuper]

eSanthosh: Do we have to burn-in hm601? Why? What is the change i will get?

In your review except sony everything is bad. So which IEm will have the synergy to pair 601? RE272?

If I use headphone amp will i get very good output? I may get arrow 3g within 2 week.

 

[esanthosh]

Usually, I do not observe burn-in changes. Many listen and observe changes every 10th hour. I let my players run in for 100 hours with a new IEM / Headphone that needs to be burned in. I do not listen in between and I can never trust my audio memory from 4 days ago. I have a feeling that these Chinese players (QA350 and HM-601) need to be run in anyways to prove that they are stable. If they can do 50 hours without issues, you can be sure that it's not going to go out on you within a 2 hour listening session within the next week or two. As for changes, may be there are, may be not. I liked FX700 initially out of HM-601's HO somewhat, now I am not so fond of it. May be it got a bit more louder?

As for synergy, broadly my observations are important than my comments. Unless you are going to listen to death metal all the time, those synergies have little meaning for you. Secondly, I have tried them out of various sources and I have a hint of what changes HM-601 could be doing to their frequency response. You may not, if you are going to use them all the time with 601. Secondly, what I place emphasis on and what you place emphasis on would be different. So, my overall thoughts are more important than what I think has better synergy.

With a headphone amp, you would not have the effect of high Output impedance. So, it could be better. Are you getting Arrow 3G from Head-fi? Why did you choose Arrow? Have you considered other amps?

@matbhuvi,

No! Even if I try Hi-Res files (which I do not have), HM-601 would down sample them to 16/44. A head-fier once mentioned to me that the difference between 24/96 and 16/44 has more to do with the recording and hence even if 601 down samples, they sound better.

I've not tried DT880 or any others so far. It was already late last night. May be tomorrow

 

[badrisuper]

Usually, I do not observe burn-in changes. Many listen and observe changes every 10th hour. I let my players run in for 100 hours with a new IEM / Headphone that needs to be burned in. I do not listen in between and I can never trust my audio memory from 4 days ago. I have a feeling that these Chinese players (QA350 and HM-601) need to be run in anyways to prove that they are stable. If they can do 50 hours without issues, you can be sure that it's not going to go out on you within a 2 hour listening session within the next week or two. As for changes, may be there are, may be not. I liked FX700 initially out of HM-601's HO somewhat, now I am not so fond of it. May be it got a bit more louder?

As for synergy, broadly my observations are important than my comments. Unless you are going to listen to death metal all the time, those synergies have little meaning for you. Secondly, I have tried them out of various sources and I have a hint of what changes HM-601 could be doing to their frequency response. You may not, if you are going to use them all the time with 601. Secondly, what I place emphasis on and what you place emphasis on would be different. So, my overall thoughts are more important than what I think has better synergy.

With a headphone amp, you would not have the effect of high Output impedance. So, it could be better. Are you getting Arrow 3G from Head-fi? Why did you choose Arrow? Have you considered other amps?

@matbhuvi,

No! Even if I try Hi-Res files (which I do not have), HM-601 would down sample them to 16/44. A head-fier once mentioned to me that the difference between 24/96 and 16/44 has more to do with the recording and hence even if 601 down samples, they sound better.

I've not tried DT880 or any others so far. It was already late last night. May be tomorrow

I will go for an amp only if i will get very good output. Headstage, I have seen few reviews who mentioned it as good. But still not yet decided. Do you consider any amp? My friends planning who are in US and Uk planning to return next month. I have asked them. But not yet decided. Uk looks too costly. I tried in head-fi too but cost looks too high.

 

[badrisuper]

RE272 for $220 almost new. Is it worth buying?

 

[Audiodoc]

For most IEMs HM601 has enough juice to play with all dynamism however an external amplifier helps to mitigate the coloring effects of the amplifier section.

On the other hand if you want to use power hunglry dynamic and orthodynamic headphone you definitely need an external amplifier. Why dont you try few from FiiO they are real value for money.

 

[esanthosh]

@badri,

Again the same question - why RE272? It may not fit into "detailed, non-fatiguing, long hours of listening" requirement you have. I would try RE272 with 601 tonight and see how it goes.

Do you need an amp? Cheaper amps to consider - FiiO E11, iBasso P4. If you still want RE272, then 2StepDance - one of the amps I want to and hope to try someday.

 

[matbhuvi]

For most IEMs HM601 has enough juice to play with all dynamism however an external amplifier helps to mitigate the coloring effects of the amplifier section.

On the other hand if you want to use power hunglry dynamic and orthodynamic headphone you definitely need an external amplifier. Why dont you try few from FiiO they are real value for money.

+1. The dynamics gets greatly affected when using with high impedance headphones. You might like what you get out of it though. I only realized what i was missing when i paired my FA-011 with Xonar STX. The problem is, when you pair it with amp, it is not that easy to carry around. Portability gets affected.

 

[badrisuper]

@badri,

Again the same question - why RE272? It may not fit into "detailed, non-fatiguing, long hours of listening" requirement you have. I would try RE272 with 601 tonight and see how it goes.

Do you need an amp? Cheaper amps to consider - FiiO E11, iBasso P4. If you still want RE272, then 2StepDance - one of the amps I want to and hope to try someday.

I havent get a chance to try this iem. But i though it would match with 601 because both from same company. Or i thought 262 may match well. But it is my guess. I want to find a very good matching pair. Or I must change my source. I have clip+ but i never tried that one.

 

[esanthosh]

That is not how it works. It's true that RE262 was bundled with HM-602, but clieOS felt that it was not a great match. RE-272 is indeed tuned with one of their players in mind - just not the 601. Read clieOS' review + Joker's review and you'll see that you need to use it with HM-801 and Balanced Amp module to extract the full performance - only about $1050 on top of RE272

 

[esanthosh]

I just realized why HM-601 was so loud yesterday . Somehow, my sticky fingers had set the gain on high. That said, let me run through all the IEMs yet again. Obviously, they are not going to be as forward as they were and sound stage should not be screwed up. That would explain why I liked FX700 the first time around and not yesterday. Also, the high gain mode at least on IEMs resulted in too forward lower mids and compressed dynamics.

It's a big screw-up, really sorry for that. But in every failure, there's something to learn. In this I learned that I am allergic to loudness - at least with 601's high gain mode with IEMs.

Let's try everything today......this time in my ranking order using Opeth - "When" from MYAH:

1. EX-1000: Good. Slight elevation in bass quantity, bass note becomes a bit thick which makes me feel a bit muddy at times. Sound stage width is one big sacrifice that EX-1000 had to make, though depth is not bad at all. EX-1000 usually sounds sweeter in the mids, but it assumes a slightly warmish tonality here. Treble energy of EX-1000 is lost with HM-601 as is to be expected. When listening stand-alone, the difference in note thickness is not as much felt until I switch to UHA-6S. Due to a constricted width, separation between the center, left and right is not as wide in 601. Some excellent separation and spatial positioning in UHA-6S is clearly lost in 601 due to this. Vocals occupy a far more prominent role in 601, whereas they are distant and slightly recessed to the guitars in UHA-6S. It's a 50:50 as far as loss-gain is concerned. The only thing that matters - Does it sound good? Yes!
   
2. SM3: Bad. Two things stand out for SM3 - it's "in your face" mids and the excellent separation. What do you get when you mix cream with more cream? Of course, fat is what it gets with mid range. Guitars sound too thick, vocals are anyway the main focus of both. In complex passages, there's mild crowding in the center image next to the UHA-6S. Bass of SM3 does not feel as elevated as in the case of EX-1000. Treble of course gets drowned out. A few may like it still, but count me out.
   
3. FX700: Decent. Ah! That's what I missed - the recessed vocals. The separation in FX700 being more rounded than that of EX-1000's largely Left to Right half circle lends better hand with HM-601. Despite that, the effect of drum traveling from back right towards front is far better pronounced with the well separated UHA-6S. But, switch to UHA-6S, even the recessed vocals seem to get a bit more clarity. That's because of the thicker, a bit more pronounced bass in HM-601 that towers a bit over the mids than anything else. Bass punch is a little harder on the HM-601 as well. In this case, I am a little split. Does FX700 sound nice with HM-601? Somewhat for sure. But, from FX700's point of view, not all it's strengths show through HM-601.
   
4. CK10: Decent. Long been my only analytical IEM in the fave four, that's because it does two things exceedingly well - one is giving a limitless space with great, precise imaging and the very splashy, 10Khz spikey treble. The separation and sense of space while relatively present well within the HM-601 needs that expanse to show off better. One would think that due to the treble roll-off, it would take CK10's treble away. However, while the edge gets somewhat blunt, it is still similarly forward in HM-601. Mids feel a bit recessed (vs UHA-6S) in HM-601. In all, while much less demanding on the ears, CK10 does feel a little constrained with 601. CK10 is simply more enjoyable with UHA-6S as it brings out both the edginess and the mid range smoothness out better.
   
5. RE272: Good. At least in unbalanced mode, RE272 has poor bass quantity, more lower mids, flatter upper mids and treble. It is never biting on the ears in any case. Since you are going to hear almost all mids + a little bit at either end, RE272 probably sounds a bit like a poor cousin of RE262 with 601. But, mid range still remains detailed without craving for too much attention, imaging does not suffer too much and that slightly thick bass of HM-601 helps fill out a very little bit at the lower end. RE272 is probably the only one here that does not suffer shocking signature and presentation shifts.
   
6. Etymotic HF2: Good. Ety is notorious for a few things - chief among them is requiring insertion to where no ear tip has gone before. Second would be lack of sound stage. Of course, if it did not have as clear mids and treble, I would not have bothered. It's one of the few IEMs I've bought this year that I quite enjoy. Much like RE272, the transition is less shocking with HF2 as well (light but well textured bass, good on mids, flat treble, not much sound stage) => (slightly thick bass, good on mids, non-sparkling treble, not much sound stage). Of course, being a fan of treble, I'd choose any other player easily with HF2.
   

More later. This is just a quick A:B and I looked out only for a few differences - relative frequency response / balance, sound stage, imaging. Due to time constraints, could not be further in depth. One thing more irritating with 601 is the gap between tracks for gap-less albums like "MAYH", whereas QA350 has far less gap that it's almost gap-less (though gap won't escape your attention, you are already in the next song before you think about it).