hey I've got a Walkman Z player and I'm looking at the sound quality difference with the analog connection. For portable use, I'm likely to be using Sony XBA3s and MDR1Rs and sometimes the Beyerdynamic DT1350s. I was just wondering if the sound quality difference between the Walkman with and without the PHA1 is worth it at the 350ish ebay price. What differences are you noticing? I'm assuming the Walkman Z and F series aren't super different from impressions on the forums. Thanks!
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
smellis
DrSheep
Most Sony DAPs, including the Z and F, suffer from very weak line out volume, which I didn't realized when I first reviewing the PHA-1 and blamed it for that. I can tell you that the SQ and volume greatly improved with the PHA-1, but you will need to use high gain even for low impedance headphones. You should have no problem with the 1350 even at 80 ohms, but I will worry about it if you go any higher than that with a Z or F. Remember, I am only talking about Z or F and not an iPod, because the LOD is digital you will be fine even at low gain.
smellis
Sweet thanks. I guess I'm more curious about the gains in SQ that you were hearing- what are we looking at in terms of lows/mids/highs? I realize that this is dependent on headphone as well, but if you could give me a gauge as to what I might expect that would be super. I'm unable to demo it in person myself unfortunately. Thanks!
DrSheep
Here is what I generally listens for in terms of the frequency range:
High: can you tell when and where the trebles getting cut off; is it clear, bright, and at a high enough volume relative to the mids and lows. High frequencies suffer the most with bad headphones and compressions, so it is the first thing that you should listen for during testing.
Mid: this is generally the vocial range and even average headphones will sound decent at this range. However, staging will play more of a role for the mids, as bass heavy headphones (or in a lesser case, high heavy/overly bright headphones) will tend to mask or drown out the mids. This is what happenes whenever you listen to movies with clear background music but hard to hear dialog, or what other people described as V-shaped sound stage. However, V-shaped sound stage is by no means bad if done correctly, as long as the mids are clear and not crossing over to the other ranges it will be fine.
Lows: there is good bass and bad bass. Good bass are basses that impactful, clear, but DOES NOT drown out or muddle the other frequencies; Bad bass are basses that just gives you non-stop headpounding that you can't hear the mids clearly and completely kills the highs. Most Beats, like the Solo, suffer from this, and this is why they are generally loathed around here.
Back to the PHA-1, I tested with my Sennheiser Momentum with my F, as mentioned in my review above, so it is not going to be the same as your DT1350 (18 vs. 80 ohms.) I am guessing due to impedance matching, your DT1350 will sound more neutal than usual. your highs might suffer slightly but not by much. I am not sure whether your DT1350 has a V-shaped sound stage or not, but if it is, the PHA-1 should flatten it out a bit and still with plenty of power to drives it. I think this is a good thing, as someone told me that the Z is a bit more bassy than the F, and I think the PHA-1 is a good package for most Sony DAPs.
High: can you tell when and where the trebles getting cut off; is it clear, bright, and at a high enough volume relative to the mids and lows. High frequencies suffer the most with bad headphones and compressions, so it is the first thing that you should listen for during testing.
Mid: this is generally the vocial range and even average headphones will sound decent at this range. However, staging will play more of a role for the mids, as bass heavy headphones (or in a lesser case, high heavy/overly bright headphones) will tend to mask or drown out the mids. This is what happenes whenever you listen to movies with clear background music but hard to hear dialog, or what other people described as V-shaped sound stage. However, V-shaped sound stage is by no means bad if done correctly, as long as the mids are clear and not crossing over to the other ranges it will be fine.
Lows: there is good bass and bad bass. Good bass are basses that impactful, clear, but DOES NOT drown out or muddle the other frequencies; Bad bass are basses that just gives you non-stop headpounding that you can't hear the mids clearly and completely kills the highs. Most Beats, like the Solo, suffer from this, and this is why they are generally loathed around here.
Back to the PHA-1, I tested with my Sennheiser Momentum with my F, as mentioned in my review above, so it is not going to be the same as your DT1350 (18 vs. 80 ohms.) I am guessing due to impedance matching, your DT1350 will sound more neutal than usual. your highs might suffer slightly but not by much. I am not sure whether your DT1350 has a V-shaped sound stage or not, but if it is, the PHA-1 should flatten it out a bit and still with plenty of power to drives it. I think this is a good thing, as someone told me that the Z is a bit more bassy than the F, and I think the PHA-1 is a good package for most Sony DAPs.
smellis
ok thanks! On your momentums, did you find the PHA-1 brought out a particular frequency range more? Or did it just make it louder and easier to drive?
DrSheep
No problem. From my own experience, the Momentum responded evenly across all frequency ranges, may be slightly better on the mids and highs.
smellis
I find that the Walkman Z is able to handle my daily drivers which are fairly low impedence cans- the MDR-1R and XBA3 enough- I don't really need more power, but I would like better SQ.
do you think its worth the PHA-1's price for the slight increase in mids and highs that you got on your momentums? I'm primarily buying this as an amp for my walkman Z with low impedance headphones and not as a DAC.
do you think its worth the PHA-1's price for the slight increase in mids and highs that you got on your momentums? I'm primarily buying this as an amp for my walkman Z with low impedance headphones and not as a DAC.
