Nothing more: a review of the player HiFiMan MegaMini

The company HiFiMan is familiar not only to audiophiles - if only recently its audio players were associated exclusively with the premium segment, now the manufacturer is storming the budget market, though not by leaps and bounds. Of course, many audiophiles still consider HiFiMan devices to be unreasonably expensive, but few of them would venture to argue with the fact that this company produces really high-quality devices, which was able to gain an impressive army of fans.

After the launch of the large player 801 and a smaller line (601, 603) on HiFiMan, they seriously thought about pocket solutions - yet history has proved that users sometimes value compactness even more than functionality. In 2013, the manufacturer introduced one of the first devices for such buyers, which received the HM-700 index, but was so carried away with the price reduction that it seemed to have forgotten what all of this was created for. Therefore, the reviews from this music player were not the most flattering.

The second attempt forced me to wait a bit - only last year the SuperMini model appeared on the market, which can rightly be called a portable player with an impressive filling - yet not every device on a balanced connection 32Ω has more than 4 volts. But ... the budget segment was waved again, the benefit for a short while - exactly until this spring, when HiFiMan showed a cheaper model with the epic name MegaMini . We will get to know him more closely today.
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In the case of the MegaMini, the manufacturer decided to act on the principle of “nothing extra”, which could reduce the cost of the device by half compared to SuperMini. As they say, “we stopped at the main thing” - we will judge about the correctness of this decision at the end of the review.

Equipment

The white box looks as inconspicuous as possible - perhaps even Apple doesn't decide on such minimalism. Only the manufacturer's logo and its name are shown above; no hint of a model.



Inside, all without much intrigue - behind the film in a special rubber backing "lies" our player. Here, the necessary documentation, and under all this good - only a micro-USB cable for charging (with the autonomy of this player, by the way, everything is very good, but more on that later).



And ... on this, in general, everything. And what did you want, another leather case, a spare cable or complete headphones? For such a cost, HiFiMan does not indulge in this.

Design

The player in the silver case looks like a small ingot. The material is very similar to aluminum, although there is no exact data on this issue. The main thing you need to know is that by touch it is really aluminum and, according to a subjective assessment, it is very qualitative. The front panel of the device is divided in half by a row of four physical buttons: on the top is a two-inch TFT display (non-touch), on the bottom is a flat metal surface. The back panel is also no frills: a stylish one-piece metal insert, which is decorated with the logo and manufacturer's name.





The left side is decorated with the volume buttons, the right one with the power key, as well as a hole for forced reloading in case something goes wrong.





The upper end of the filling is the same as the back panel, everything interesting here below - in the style of HiFiMan. Namely, there is an audio jack for headphones (3.5 mm) micro-USB connector for charging and connecting to a computer, as well as a slot for microSD memory cards of up to 256 GB.



Well, the first acquaintance seems to have gone well, the time has come, as motorists say, “look under the hood”.

Specifications

output power	up to 54 mW
Frequency range	20 Hz - 20 KHz
General harmonic distortion	0.08%
Format support	MP3, APE, AIFF, AAC, ALAC, OGG, WMA, WAV, FLAC, DSF, DFF
Maximum resolution	24 bit / 192 kHz (PCM), 2.8 MHz (DSD)
Memory cards	microSD (up to 256 GB)
Display	2 inch TFT
Battery life	up to 15 hours
Dimensions	43 mm x 100 mm x 9 mm
Weight	69 g

This player is relatively new on the market, so some technical information, such as the type of DAC chip, is still unknown. Of course, the functions of the MegaMini are noticeably limited compared to the older models: for example, there is no built-in memory and equalizer, the ability to connect the player as an external DAC, and also the FM tuner. However, this does not in the least prevent the device from fulfilling its main purpose - to play audio files in most of the known formats.

The player itself is very thin (only 9 mm) and almost weightless - one can even say that the manufacturer paid a lot of attention to design and ergonomics. The four buttons we mentioned earlier are responsible for switching tracks and navigating the menu; the two outer buttons go back and act as the “OK” button, respectively.

Interface

Color two-inch TFT-screen displays the name of the track being played, tags, format, bit rate and some technical information. From the settings - the ability to customize the automatic shutdown of the player, the screen time, change the order of playing tracks and so on. If desired, the user can also format the memory card in FAT32.





What is a little upsetting - if you want to use this player after it has a dead battery (and this is really an honest 15 hours) - for example, you can’t connect it to an external battery. The manufacturer has limited music playback while charging. Most likely for security reasons, other reasons are hard to find.

In general, the MegaMini interface is simple and straightforward. There is no clutter of dozens of menu items, again, nothing superfluous (for a moment there was even the impression that he was back a few years in the past). To understand, it is not necessary to be a level 80 audiophile, but this player is designed not only for them. Albeit few settings, but all in the case.

Sound

What I want to note right away is an excellent volume margin — during listening, rarely did I have to unscrew the level by at least 60%. Too budget headphones, so as not to get upset, it is better not to connect, yet MegaMini will not turn them in some miraculous way into premium ones. But TE-04 BL and TE-05 BK from Fostex, which were used in the testing process, perfectly suited for this. The 16-ohm dynamic intra-channel headphones in symbiosis with this player vividly convey a wide variety of musical genres - both hip-hop and electronic music, and there is a place for hard rock. Jazz comes in especially well, but this, of course, is more a subjective assessment.



In HiFiMan traditionally responsibly approached the middle and high frequencies. There is no glut of bass, and it is pleasantly pleasing. We will not talk about imaginary scenes and the “tube” sound, with your permission, we must listen here on our own. What can be said with certainty - the headphones of a famous Japanese brand (both pairs with a sensitivity of 94 dB) surprisingly approached this player best of all. Perhaps, a little later we will make a separate review of this couple.



In general, from the point of view of the MegaMini sound itself, the model is very interesting. There is no cosmic premium sound to which many audiophiles are accustomed to on older models, but the price of this player is several times lower. And do not forget about this when identifying flaws.

Autonomous work

Surprisingly, the player actually fulfills the stated 15 hours without recharging - apparently, this is why the manufacturer has limited the ability to listen to music while charging. But here it is worth considering not only the format of playable media files, but also the type and sensitivity of the headphones. If you only listen to FLAC in full-size headphones, the battery life can be reduced by 2-3 hours (which is again not critical). With our plug-in headphones for playback and FLAC, MP3, and WAV (and what, who said that the reviewer's life is easy), the player worked for an honest 14 hours.

It takes about 2 hours to charge the device from the outlet, up to 4 hours from the computer.

Advantages and disadvantages

The obvious advantage of MegaMini is the price, the player also reproduces most of the required formats, while possessing many familiar HiFiMan sound quality. Among the shortcomings in the first place it is necessary to note the absence of an equalizer and the function of an external DAC. On the other hand, what kind of external DAC can be in the budget?



Well, it is not entirely clear what the manufacturer wanted to tell us with an unused area under a number of control buttons. There seems to be asking for a joystick or touch pad, but then, probably, the cost of the player would be equal to SuperMini.

Conclusion

MegaMini was another successful attempt by HiFiMan to declare itself in the budget market. The audio player has a stylish design, high-quality sound and compact size - to a certain extent, this affected its characteristics, but the latter will be primarily appreciated by those who are constantly on the move, for example, when exercising in the gym. But on the way to work or school to listen to him, too, no one forbids. HiFiMan has released a budget player, but not for everyone. However, if you remember the same SuperMini, you can understand that such players are in demand.