Hidizs AP100 Audio Player: New Testament for the general public

Today no one will be surprised by a portable device or headphones with decent sound. The number of such devices is growing every year, and it’s getting harder and harder to make a precise choice for your favorite, under your tastes and preferences of sound. Today I’d like to tell you about the Hidizs AP100, one of China’s new player products.

Hidizs AP100 audio player

Hidizs was founded in early 2009. In early 2010, a team of experts began researching the market for portable audio. For several years Hidizs engineers have been developing their player with price/portability and most importantly sound quality in mind.

In January 2014, the company unveiled its device at the Consumer Electronics Show CES , the largest trade show for advances in consumer electronics.

However, enough of the story, let’s move on to the device itself.

I’ve wanted to write a review of the AP100 for a long time, but I’ve been waiting for the moment when I had two copies in my hands. The first is the stock item, from the conveyor, and the second – with a modification from the well-known in its circles master Sanmigel.

The picture and the package

The unit comes in a black box made of sturdy cardboard. The design is very similar to the QLS QA360/ibasso dx50/ibasso dx50. One gets the impression that the packaging is made by the same factory, according to similar molds.

Inside is the player itself, warranty card, instructions, manufacturer’s card, Micro USB cable for charging and connecting to a PC, protective film on the screen, screen care cloth and two cables, 3.5 mm 3.5 mm for connection from the line output to the amplifier, and a coaxial cable for outputting “digits” with s/pdif.

Along with the box, the manufacturer has enclosed a leather case. In general, the player in the case resembles a pocket book. Similar to those “new testaments” that are handed out on the street.

The AP100 itself is made of aluminum, the build is quite high quality, nothing is loose or choppy. The screen of the device is 2.4 inches with 320×240 resolution. The AP100 comes in two colors, silver and black.

I could admire both variants of coloring. I don’t know which is better. Both look cool!

Ergonomics is quite convenient and simple, the buttons are within one finger: the navigation is under the screen, a little to the right are the keys that are responsible for the volume control. On the right side there is a control lock switch.

On the left side there are DF switch buttons digital filter and under it – EQ switch.

On the bottom face of the player there are 3.5 mm coaxial in and out, connectors for memory card and Micro USB. On the top of the device are line out, headphone jack and on/off button.

After turning on the player, you can choose to enter a playlist or setup menu, where you can set the menu language by the way, Hidizs promised to support the American language , the marker to start playback, update the music library, the brightness of the backlight, here – manual adjustment of the equalizer, etc.d.

The playback menu connects the files in the internal and external memory, which I personally find very convenient. In a word, control – “touch and go”!

Build quality is solid enough. The battery holds about 10 hours of charge.

Sound

To listen the following headphones were used: Etymotic ER-4p, Westone UM3X, Ortofon e-q5, MyST Nail2, Audio-Technica ATH-SX1a.

The sound of AP100 can be described as warm, neutral, moderately detailed, with a slight coloration, which gives it more musicality. The material is delivered in one piece, without obvious tonal imbalances, with no loss of detail and clarity of sound on the one hand.

Treble is a little crumbly, but not annoying and does not hurt your ears.

Middle frequencies are well worked out. All sounds are audible in space. Good separation of instruments. The only complaint: in some songs, the upper middle part is slightly emphasized, which for some headphones, for example, UM3X, a definite plus, but for the same ER-4p or ATH-SX1a is a minus.

It’s not that the female vocals sound harsh, but rather they are closer to the listener than the rest of the material. However, this is a matter of individual perception of sound. My acquaintance didn’t hear a similar problem at all. In general, the MF is also good.

Low frequencies – bass is fast, has a good punch. No softness, “booming” and humming in the woofer.

I really liked the unit. Well… It’s nice, that’s all. It does not have any obvious flaws.

Dueling Clones

Now a little comparison of the stock unit and a modification from the “great and terrible” Sanmigel!

I will be brief and objective. The modified device sounds a bit “darker”. It has more outlined details and slightly less treble. It compares better with Etymotic ER-4p and Audio-Technica ATH-SX1a.

However, the same Westone UM3X sounds much worse than the stock copy. In principle, if you do not compare them “face to face,” you can not even catch the difference, especially on the road or public transport. But personally, I liked the Hidizs AP100 MM better.

Conclusions

I like the device very much. The presence of line and digital inputs and outputs, makes the unit a DAC and “transport. Pleasant, fatigue-free sound makes listening to your favorite music for a long time. The price for the unit is more than reasonable. At the time of this article it was about 14 000 Dollars. And it is at a very high dollar/ruble exchange rate. All in all, a definite masthead!

Sound, build quality, support for many modern formats, about 10 hours of battery life. Compact size, availability of case, easy to use.

I don’t even know. Of course, you can put not high output power, AP100, in this column, but does he need it? Personally, I’d say that given the price point, there aren’t any.

Specifications

The unit is based on the DAC chip CS4398 from Cirrus Logic, supporting up to 24 bits/192 kHz. The circuit also uses AD823 two-channel operational amplifier from Analog Devices.

distortion

noise

: 0.004% 1 kgc

Frequency

range

: 10 Hz – 20 kHz ± 0.2

Split

channels

: > 90dB 10K&Omega 1 kHz

Ratio

signal

/

noise

: > 108 dB

Dynamic

range

: > 103 dB

Recommended

impedance

Headphone

: 8&Omega – 300&Omega

Output

power

: > 600 mW 16&Omega, >300 mW 32&Omega, > 32 mW 300&Omega

Outputs

impedance

: 0.2&Omega

Peak

output

voltage

: > 10 Vp-p

Maximum

output

current

: > 200mA

Adjustment

volume

: 80 levels

Equalizer

: hardware, it is possible to adjust the user mode and preset

Size

: 65.5 mm x 107 mm x 16.2 mm

Weight

: 156g.

The screen

: 2.4′ TFT, 320 x 240

Outputs

: 3.5 mm for headphones, 3.5 mm line output, 3.5 mm coaxial s/pdif

Inputs

: 3.5 mm coaxial s/pdif, MicroUSB

Memory

: 8GB, MicroSD cards up to 64GB

Formats

: APE, FLAC, WAV, WMA, ALAC, MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG

Colors

Black and silver

Battery

: 3000 mAh

Charging

: 5 V, 1000mA

Time

charges

: 4 ch

Time

operating time

at

one

charging

: > 10 ch.