New Sony 64 GB DAP: NW-A840 - Page 11

I heard about some hiss from the X, can you confirm ?
Any hiss on the A ?

Does it work with Seven ?

xD

Seven?

OK, a couple of clarifications/comments. I did a lot of A/Bing yesterday on the plane from Tokyo to Singapore, and this AM here in Singapore.

1. The text DOES scroll for longer song titles, but not album titles. That is a big plus and definitely fixed from the X series. How about porting that back to the X, Sony?

2. I would say the X1060 and A846 soundstage appear to be the same. I don't notice any difference at all.

3. Volume matches exactly on the X1060 and A847. After a lot of A/Bing, I can say that for sure!

4. Re: Hiss. Basically the same hiss on the X1060 if you heard it there, but I find it much less pronounced with the Final Audio Design FI-DC1601SB vs. the IE8.

4. If you change the EQ on the A847 to have 1.0kHz set to -1, you basically get the same sound as the X1060 at flat. It's a hair off now, whereas it was not out of the box. So Sony definitely tweaked the sound on the A847. The A847 seems to still have a slightly forward presentation (again, a hair) as compared to the X1060.

The highs are definitely bit more clear and I think it sounds like a tad more resolution, which could account for the slightly more forward presentation. But with that EQ tweak, they are SO close but not exactly the same - mainly in the upper frequencies.

Interestingly enough, if you tweak 16kHz to -1, it takes that slight edge off and the A847 becomes as laid back as the X1060 and it's more indistinguishable between the two. I'm not convinced this tweak is worth it, but only interesting from a pure A/B comparison.

No matter what, the mids/bass are still a touch "congested" on the A847; I don't think you can completely EQ it out. A good example is the song "Beat Crazy" by Joe Jackson (from the box set that came out in Japan a year or two ago with all of the albums in mini-LP sleeves; that is a unique mastering of that album). Graham Maby's bass (at that point, a Fender Precision - which I also play, so I know it well) has a bit more accuracy and defnition on the X1060 versus the A847 where it's not as defined and a bit more "blurry" .. and really only when a lot is going on (another example would be "Mad at You" when the chorus is in full tilt; when the bass is on its own, it sounds basically the same). With 16kHz at -1, I don't think it helps here since you lose a touch of the upper definition. When you leave it at 0, I think it sounds better. It depends what you want ...

I'm splitting hairs here. I know it - my new IEMs are not helping that With the IE8s (not the Final Audio Design), the EQ tweaks work, but the other subtleties kinda go away. The FADs are a bit more revealing, so in some ways, better for doing a comparison. If you have any of the popular IEMs, I bet you couldn't tell the difference since they're all in the same class.

My verdict after comparing more: the A847 is a good sounding player in its own right that with tweaking can be made to sound pretty much like the X1060 and not its own signature out of the box. They are both musical, with the overall edge in my opinion going to the X1060.

Sony only tweaked the sound signature slightly, so if you want more capacity, virtually the same sound of the X, don't need a slightly bigger screen (you don't miss it for music, and my videos are formatted for the X so not going to translate exactly on the A - can't do any video comparisons yet), or a touchscreen, get the A847. I don't think the A will have as good a battery life, but to some degree I expect it ... what big battery are you shoving in something that thin?

Well, and the A847 looks like a woman's device.

The X on the other hand could easily double as a weapon in the Zombie Apocalypse.

Have to disagree with you here. It's a bit more generic than the X - no doubt - but it's not a woman's device. Maybe the new pink S does, but not the new A.

NM, I had this picture in my head...



This looks much better...



Any chance we could get some real life pics?

The first is the SonyStyle exclusive violet color.

I'll probably do some comparison shots when I get back from my trip.

No worries, thanks for the impressions. I'm at a loss for which I'd rather own. Though being in the US does sort of limit my options. Of course getting in on that awesome TripleFi deal may be enough to delay a new DAP purchase until Sony's 2nd Gen touch screen's come out.

hmmm, one question, has the past A800 series release in NA supports multi language?

I personally don't care for the interface language. since i can read most of Japanese interface options out there. but since I live in NA, getting the NA version will insure me having better customer repair and warranty.

basically, my question is.
For the previous A800 series that supported the drag and drop option, does the NA version read any language and correctly displays them other than English?

I think the new A series is TOO thin, so thin that I'd worry about breaking it in half if I sit down with it in my jeans pocket :S

How are playlists created?

Do you need to use X App to do so, or does this support pls/m3u?

Ok, I have to ask...you would put a $2-$300 DAP in your back pocket? Are the IEM's on the other side?

I meant: does the player work with Windows Seven?

For the hiss, it's bothering from a player at this price...

Unfortunately its quite expensive.

In case there is a international version someday, would it probably be possible to update the fimware of the japanese version with international version later?