Hi Mike, Just got one of these yesterday and my mind is blown. The power of this tiny dongle is mindblowing , this surpases my current gold standard for power the IFI Go bar that dongle is a beast in itself. This dongle appears to fly under the recommended dongle radar and is overlooked in favour of high end dongles like Cayin RU7 , Questyle M15 , Hiby FC6 etc I love mine!
@alfarantsavahashfi5524Ай бұрын
How's the sound ? Especially the low, mid, and high ? And how's the imaging and separation ?
@UhrensohnGlobalАй бұрын
@@alfarantsavahashfi5524 I bought the Astell&Kern HC4 at the same time as the Cayin RU7. Due to the many good reviews for the RU7 and the fact that I have tube amplifiers from Cayin, my bias was that I would keep the RU7 anyway. I was in love with the RU7 from the start. Material, shape, display, the good reviews and my favorite brand. According to tests, the RU7 should be even better than the RU6. The RU7 is a little bit warmer than the HC4, but that's about it. From the beginning, I was irritated by an audible difference in many places. Compared to the HC4, the RU7 simply lacks transparency. Both in smaller combos in jazz and especially in large orchestras, the HC4 completely outplays the RU7. When a swelling wave of instruments rolls in at the start of a piece, you can easily make out the individual instruments with the HC4. You can hear how the clarinets float up on top of the wave, as intended in the piece. Unfortunately, the RU7 lacks transparency. I would have liked to add the RU7 to the HC4 out of a certain sentimentality, simply because I like Cayin. But I would never have used it because the difference was just too big. The HC4 actually only has one really annoying disadvantage. The volume steps are really too big. Maybe I have very sensitive ears. But when I use the buttons, I often move between a little too quiet and a little too loud.
@UhrensohnGlobalАй бұрын
I bought the Astell&Kern HC4 at the same time as the Cayin RU7. Due to the many good reviews for the RU7 and the fact that I have tube amplifiers from Cayin, my bias was that I would keep the RU7 anyway. I was in love with the RU7 from the start. Material, shape, display, the good reviews and my favorite brand. According to tests, the RU7 should be even better than the RU6. The RU7 is a little bit warmer than the HC4, but that's about it. From the beginning, I was irritated by an audible difference in many places. Compared to the HC4, the RU7 simply lacks transparency. Both in smaller combos in jazz and especially in large orchestras, the HC4 completely outplays the RU7. When a swelling wave of instruments rolls in at the start of a piece, you can easily make out the individual instruments with the HC4. You can hear how the clarinets float up on top of the wave, as intended in the piece. Unfortunately, the RU7 lacks transparency. I would have liked to add the RU7 to the HC4 out of a certain sentimentality, simply because I like Cayin. But I would never have used it because the difference was just too big. The HC4 actually only has one really annoying disadvantage. The volume steps are really too big. Maybe I have very sensitive ears. But when I use the buttons, I often move between a little too quiet and a little too loud.
@Novilicious6 ай бұрын
Put us to listening to Anastasia soundtrack. Among all animated movies it is by far one of the best if not the best to ever take place my favorite is Aleeysha‘s recording. ❤
@HiFiInsider6 ай бұрын
I like both the movie soundtrack and the broadway play soundtrack.
@hoangphamviet15924 ай бұрын
Every time I connect the hc4 to my tablet, the led light blinking, is it normal?
@RicardoRodriguez-f6d5 ай бұрын
Dumb newbie question here. I use a Etymotic ER3XR and a Denon d7200 with either my MacBook Pro (connected directly at the audio jack) or with an iPhone 15 pro using the apple usbc to audio jack dongle (small DAC). I stream from Apple Music and using as baseline a music that is labeled hi-res lossless 24bit 192kHz: would you believe I will benefit using the AK HC4 (or 3), or given my setup it would not make much difference?
@HiFiInsider5 ай бұрын
both your IEM and Denon can provide great resolution in the music. The HC4 will definitely be a benefit.
@jaronefarrell30475 ай бұрын
What’s better this or the hb1 i currently have the btr7 but find it a bit to warm would these be a upgrade
@TheMrgonzalo056 ай бұрын
I'm shocked you never made a video on the IE900. I love mine btw
@HiFiInsider6 ай бұрын
I should... :)
@masterazlan69995 ай бұрын
Judge by brands??... Inside it pals contains akm4493, Have u tried old skol Q5S TC and inside it has dual akm4493 + worlds most linear amps..dual THX aaa as modular amps options,, yup cute like those korean ak.. Ha4..Welcome old timer noobs.. Peace!
@beyonder64293 ай бұрын
Have you seen the crosstalk rating on these through the 3.5mm? I am yet to see a manufacturer reveal this info and match this.