No the Sony showroom in Ginza is only a showroom, no retail afaik.
No the Sony showroom in Ginza is only a showroom, no retail afaik.
What was your impression of the PHA-1?
How about vs. DX100?
I got comments from a friend and he said they sounded average for the amount you have to pay. Said to be 'Nowhere close to Fostex HP-P1'. Not sure, He thinks if it was like 300USD or so, it would be good but I haven't heard it myself.
It is a sound like WM8740 very much.
I have made a reservation immediately.
i'm pretty interested in how this compares with the hp-p1.
Anyone already bought this DAC/AMP? I'm interested go know the performance comparison among Sony PHA-1 DAC vs Fostex HP-P1 vs Go-DAP X.
Is Wolfson WM8740 DAC the best DAC chip?
It is only available on 10th of October in Japan.









The strap for holding on the DAP is innovative, but it doesn't look too functional.
I still can't get over the fact that the DAC is useless with their Sony's own DAPS. WTF is the logic behind that?
They're conceding an economic reality. Far more people use iPods than their own DAPs. Besides, you get a Sony LOD.
One bad thing about Sony PHA-1 DAC, it does not allow user to bypass the amp. portion unlike Fostex HP-P1.![]()
What's interesting about this portable DAC/Headphone amp, is that it does both iDAC & PCDAC.
And I reckon that why they aren't offering digital out from their own DAP's is to imply —from their point of view— that their DAP's actually do sound good, already having a decent DAC & all.
With the right price it will be a great success, what is holding it back is DAC/price ratio. Anything over 350 USD it will be hard to sell this simply because technically the fostex is has a better sounding DAC chip as well as better features. (Both DAC/amp and USB to optical convertor)
For the focus in Australia there is no plan for sony to release this. While we are at it they are not even planning to release the new F series to Australia, bummer!