Today we are going to review the HiFiMAN HM-700 portable DAP (Digital Audio Player) with RE-400B Balanced In-Ear phones. It’s the company’s solution for music lovers who are on-the-go and who are looking for an affordable portable audio player. The player itself is able to play not just your typical MP3 files, but it can also play lossless or high resolution formats. On top of that, it has a balanced output, something that audiophiles would prefer in their high end audio system. Of course, what’s the use of a balanced output if you don’t have a balanced headphone or earphone? The HiFiMAN HM-700 is bundled with the RE-400B balanced in-ear monitor that produces surprisingly good sound quality. If you are in the market looking for a portable and on-the-go music player that offers better sound quality, please continue reading our HiFiMAN HM-700 portable music player with RE-400B in-ear phones review below. Before we proceed, I’d like to thank HiFiMAN for providing the sample for the purpose of this review.
HIFIMAN HM-700 and RE-400B Features
The HiFiMAN HM-700 is a compact, lightweight and portable audio player bundled with the HiFiMAN RE-400B in-ear phone. It features a simple and non-cluttered look and has enough power to drive earphones, IEMs and even some easy-to-drive headphones. It can play a decent amount of music formats like the popular MP3, APE, FLAC (16Bit) and WAV (24Bit, 44.1 or 48KHz). The unit I have here comes with 32GB of internal storage. Note that due to formatting, you won’t actually be able to use exactly the 32GB capacity. Actual user capacity should be around 28.2GB, and you can put up to 700-900 music files in lossless FLAC format. If you are going to put MP3 files, you can fit more than a thousand songs already. The number of songs you can put in the HM-700 really depends on the file size of the audio. Unfortunately, memory is not expandable. Meaning, there is not microSD card slot for additional storage.
The HM-700 has seven physical buttons that you can use to operate and navigate the device. The user interface isn’t really the most attractive feature of this portable player. But the good news is, it is user friendly enough, and you can copy and transfer music files into the player without the need of any application or software. It’s also slim and lightweight enough making it a great partner when you are jogging, walking or just simply on the go.
I’m not really sure what chip did the company used for its DAC section, but the sound it produces is definitely better for an entry level portable player. According to its specs sheet, the HM-700 is rated to last up to 15 hours. Actual number of hours varies, depending on the earphone or headphone you pair it with, and the volume as well. Another interesting and highlighted feature of this portable music player is its balanced output port. It can accept both the unbalanced TRS connector and balanced TRRS connector. If you are unfamiliar with the term balanced and unbalanced, and their difference, a quick search on Google or better yet on YouTube will provide you with a good answer.
Now what good is a portable player with a balanced output if not paired with a balanced earphone? The HiFiMAN HM-700 is bundled with either an RE-400B or RE-600 in-ear monitor. The sample we got was bundled with an RE-400B. The RE-400B is a balanced in-ear monitor that features a dynamic driver. It’s an entry level in-ear monitor, but sounds surprisingly good.
Now let’s proceed on the next page and take a closer look on the HiFiMAN HM-700 and RE-400B.
HiFiMAN HM-700 and RE-400B Specifications
HiFiMAN HM-700 Audio Player:
- Frequency Response : 20Hz-20KHz
- S/N : 91 dB
- Max Output : 50mW(1.35V @36 Ohm)
- On-board Ash Memory : 16G/32GB
- Battery Life : 15 hours
- Weight : 82g (2.9 Oz)
- Supported Music Formats : WAV, MP3, APE, FLAC(16Bit) WAV(24Bit,44.1/48KHz)
- Dimensions : 49mm x105mm x12mm (1.9X4.1X0.5 Inch) W xD xH
HiFiMAN RE-400B Balanced In-Ear Phones:
- Impedance: 32Ohms+/- 3.2
- Sensitivity: 102dB/1mW
- Frequency response: 15 ~22 KHZ
- Cable length: 1.33m
- Plug: 3.5mm
