Any surprises with Sony HAP-S1?

I did a search and see that there are a few forum folks that use the Sony HAP-S1 hi-res system. I'm on the verge of buying one but wanted to see if there were any surprises (good or bad) that you've discovered. I know about the slow transfer time and the lack of streaming options, but I'm not too concerned with these. Anything else that I may have not come across in my research? I'd love to hear them.

Also, I'm using Audioengine A2 desktop speakers and am thinking of upgrading to something else, but was wondering if someone might be using the A2s and think they're a good match for the S1.

Much appreciated.

 

Bump... I seem to be batting .000 on this one.

 

No experience w/ the HAP-S1, but I just purchased a HAP-Z1ES. Love it. Transfer times aren't too slow, and I'm sure transfer software is identical between the two units (wired connection. And besides, do it once and that's it). The Audioengine A2s are powered speakers, right? If so, no real need for the HAP-S1 as it has a built-in amplifier.

 

Testing one now for 30 days. Anything you throw at it you get the most out of that resolution source! Might be a keeper for me as well.

 

I bought one recently. Sounds great.

 

Boy, I sure want one, but I'd like a lower-priced model that omits the built-in amp.

 

This youtube video does a good hands on review.

 

Very cool. Seriously considering this.....

 

Hi - I just got the HAP-S1 today and so far I love it. I'm in the process of copying my CD's and it is taking time. Also, there is a clear difference in sound with the Cd's (they are in WAV 44.1khz, 16 bit) as opposed to some of the Hi Res music files (Flac 96.0 kHz, 24 bit). My one complaint of the transfer is that I have to rip the CDs to my computer (I'm using Express Rip CD) and then transfer it over to the HAP. It seems you need an external CD with its own power source if you want to go right to eh HAP (which I find very strange). I guess the good thing is I'll have the files on my computer and can back them up directly.

Cheers

 

Just ordered mine today. Out of stock at Crutchfield and i'm not sure of the wait time.

 

Yes transfers are slow. Once the tracks are on the unit, they are then indexed and categorized into the "sense me" moods. Best bet is to rip all your CD's to whatever lossless format you prefer, then let the transfer go overnight. Once your library is copied over, the addition of a new CD rip or download should only take a few minutes.

Like you stated the current firmware allows for ripping cd's direct to the unit, but I've not found any externally powered usb drives to test this with.

 

I tested it with my Apple super usb drive. It worked with a couple of my discs but struggled with others. The firmware could no execute on a few random tracks. Completed two complete disc transfers in all.

 

I prefer to rip with dbpoweramp so I can verify with acuraterip. And I like to keep a mirror of what's on the Sony for back-up.

I'm currently experimenting with a pre-loaded external drive. I let the Sony reformat the drive, the connected it to my laptop. The Sony formats the drive to EXT3. So I'v installed a driver that will read/write to EXT3 partitions in Windows. If all goes according to plan, the Sony should be able to scan the drive and then update it's database instead of reformatting it again.

 

I too am thinking of purchasing this unit.
I wonder if your preformatted disc worked?

 

Seems the Windows driver to read/write this type of file system is a bit flakey. When I copy one folder over to the drive, other folders are suddenly empty. However the folders that do show files will show up on the Sony once it scans the drive.

 

Just some additional info. The unit comes with a 4GB flash drive that contains the transfer software for Windows and a folder with some high res audio. This stick is FAT and the Sony will read it. So it can read FAT format to playback audio.

 

Bumping this old thread, since I just bough a gently-used one recently. I should be getting it next week. Any updates on people's thoughts of this?

 

I use mine all the time. I have it connected to my Harmen Kardon receiver via the analog outs. To me it sounds amazing. I'm sure you will love it.

 

Mine arrived yesterday, but I just plugged it in to update the firmware and test out the GUI. It's a lot heavier than I was expecting! I'm looking forward to playing with it this week.

 

As an update to anyone thinking about getting one, I've been slowly but surely adding albums to my external drive, and I'm loving it so far. I've had a few transfer errors that are a little annoying, but I'm re-ripping my entire collection to FLAC and doing the transfers in small batches.

The wireless transfer time is so close to the wired time (both are lengthy...) that I'm thinking about just installing this into my rack and doing everything wireless from now on.

 

Mine has been trouble free. They continue to make updates (which I wasn't counting on, TBH) and have made significant improvements with creating playlists. I've moved all my music onto the HAP and really enjoy it. I too, wirelessly send my music. Now that I've got 250 gigs on it, it's not so much of a pain. The iOS app is fairly robust. I'd love to see additional info included on the unit display but can live with it.

 

You probably have figured this out all ready, but it took me awhile to discover it: while using the knob to scroll through artists or albums or what have you, if you are at the top of the list, you can veeerrrry slowly turn the knob to get to the end of the list. (In other words you don't have to scroll from A to Z. You can access Z with one click from A.

 

It's a great unit. I've had mine since December. I have it connected to my Receiver via the RCA outs. Sounds so good.

 

Not sure about the price or the sound of this unit but a good alternative is the new Musical Fidelity All-In-One unit ENCORE 225 Musical Fidelity | World-Class Manufacturer of Award Winning Amplifiers, CD Players, DACs and Digital Audio Devices ». Comes with the power of the M& 200 watts p/c at 8 OHM, the M6 DAC and a decent Phonostage. The clou is the fact it is a powerful computer based Streamer with an internal 1 TB HD and a good CD-Transport, that allows direct imports of your CD's. Looks god, sounds great and unless you want Vinyl Playback all you gotta add are speakers. Powerful enough to drive any speaker on the market...
Just realied you can get the unit as the ENCORe with the same CPU and Cd-Transport 1 TB HD built in etc but just as a Pre-amp without the costly M6 amp !
Next on the schedule is a cheaper M3 version and a high priced NU.VISTA set-up.
It is future proof with regular free software updates for new technolgies....

 

A few notes on the Hap-S1. Download flac or DSD or iso files from your favorite online source. Most recordings are available as lossless 44Mhz 16 Bit. Hi res files can be found if you dig around and are worth so much more. I can sometimes hear a little noise in the lower. Once you bump up to 192 Khz and 24 Bit, the soundstage and clarity are so much nicer. Occasionally I've got a file that is an iso. So it took me a while to find a solution as it comes as one complete track and isn't broke down into individual tracks on the recording. So I first used Foobar2000 (which is awesome) to extract the tracks but I couldn't figure out the components to download to convert to DSD. They convert to 44/16. A member of our local audio club gave me the answer to extracting the tracks to DSD. Free software called iso2dsd.
Works like a charm. And I have not tried it but you may try processing your CDs through this as well to get the DSD file.
If you get downloads that are filled with clutter in the name or info, you can open the app on your tablet or phone long-press the album and select "edit info". There you can correct the information so that, say, multiple tracks that you may have gotten individually can be placed on the same album where they belong.
They say that warmth and mellow comes from spinning an LP. Maybe, but I have my Hap-S1 driven thorough a Prima Luna Prologue tube amp. So even if there was some loss of warmth and mellow coming out of the digital source, my sound is oh so mellow and perfect (coming out of the Goldendear Triton Ones)
When I first hooked it all up, I cranked the volume and placed my ear right next to the tweeter area. Dead silent, nothing. Very nice. Also, you will find that some recordings have the high faint hiss and some do not. Just get rid of the hissy ones and keep the clean ones. Your listening experience will be ten times more amazing.
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