so you are willing to sacrifice the AK120, purely on the basis of soundstage alone? You are not gonna take into account the fact that the SQ of the AK is better plus its ability to hold 2 micro SD cards?
I feel for you.......countless AK120 owners. Frankly speaking, the AK120 is a bit overpriced.... And yes, I don't think the AK120 will sound any better than the ZX1 either. The ZX1 will likely be an even par with the AK120 just different sound signature.
so you are willing to sacrifice the AK120, purely on the basis of soundstage alone? You are not gonna take into account the fact that the SQ of the AK is better plus its ability to hold 2 micro SD cards?
I feel for you.......countless AK120 owners. Frankly speaking, the AK120 is a bit overpriced.... And yes, I don't think the AK120 will sound any better than the ZX1 either. The ZX1 will likely be an even par with the AK120 just different sound signature.
Actually I fear the likes of the HM-901s and AK120, etc have set the new standard on "high end DAPs". Whether that's overpriced or not is somewhat relative. If we have more of the iBassos, Fiios, Cowons, etc. producing the HM-901/AK120 level of SQ, it would be really awesome if that was the standard then the HM-901s and AK120s would be deemed overprice.
Somehow though, I have a feeling the perception is one needs to spend $$$ to get that level of quality (whether that's right or wrong that's up to each individual), and the iBassos, Fiios, and Cowons are deemed cheap. And if another maker comes up a cheap product that produces the AK120/HM-901 SQ, it's blasphemous.
Now to wait to see if the ZX1 can truly deliver. If it does, I'd be very happy for a giant company setting the new standard that one doesn't have to spend 4-digit figures to get high quality sound.
Now to wait to see if the ZX1 can truly deliver. If it does, I'd be very happy for a giant company setting the new standard that one doesn't have to spend 4-digit figures to get high quality sound.
I totally agree with you here. We will be patiently waiting for your honest review when you get your hand on the ZX1.
I have a strong belief that Sony will be able to pull off something great about this walkman. Remember that they do not have to re-invent the wheels or spend $$$ on developing the new player. All they have to do is to improve from previous experience. The "HX" module will be the third iteration on the mobile device and the previous versions have proven to sound very very good. The older X, Z, and F are also a dream to operate and very polished.. The only shortcoming is their refusal to integrate a memory card slot into the player. However this is less of an issue with a 128GB on board memory. Another good news is that they are no longer competing with Apple for the "world thinnest" DAP.
Somehow though, I have a feeling the perception is one needs to spend $$$ to get that level of quality (whether that's right or wrong that's up to each individual), and the iBassos, Fiios, and Cowons are deemed cheap. And if another maker comes up a cheap product that produces the AK120/HM-901 SQ, it's blasphemous.
Now to wait to see if the ZX1 can truly deliver. If it does, I'd be very happy for a giant company setting the new standard that one doesn't have to spend 4-digit figures to get high quality sound.
I have a funny feeling that you will see a fair amount of expensive DAP's in the 'classifieds' before long. Think about it. you pay £1200+ (UK) for a DAP, it's buggy, you have to re-tag your library so it can load music, you have to wait for updates to sort the UI and when they do come the SQ changes so you have to wait for the next update to see if they fix it. During this period of demented horror you must 'insist' your piece of kit is the 'best of the best' afterall it did cost your left-testicle to buy and that is reason enough.
I fully expect my ZX1 to work straight out of the box when it arrives mid-December, I'll charge it & load the music onto it and that will be it, those pesky Sony guys make things that work, how dare they!
Anyhow waiting for my ZX1 is depressing me so I bought a F887 to cheer me up (arrives tomorrow hopefully), well I thought buying the F887 would ease my depression & cheer me up it didn't. I was now doubly depressed waiting for two DAP's so to cheer me up and ease the depression I bought the PHA-2, now I'm even more depressed.
I have a funny feeling that you will see a fair amount of expensive DAP's in the 'classifieds' before long. Think about it. you pay £1200+ (UK) for a DAP, it's buggy, you have to re-tag your library so it can load music, you have to wait for updates to sort the UI and when they do come the SQ changes so you have to wait for the next update to see if they fix it. During this period of demented horror you must 'insist' your piece of kit is the 'best of the best' afterall it did cost your left-testicle to buy and that is reason enough.
I fully expect my ZX1 to work straight out of the box when it arrives mid-December, I'll charge it & load the music onto it and that will be it, those pesky Sony guys make things that work, how dare they!
Anyhow waiting for my ZX1 is depressing me so I bought a F887 to cheer me up (arrives tomorrow hopefully), well I thought buying the F887 would ease my depression & cheer me up it didn't. I was now doubly depressed waiting for two DAP's so to cheer me up and ease the depression I bought the PHA-2, now I'm even more depressed.
Let us know how it sounds i have a Z1070 a very nice sounding DAP..curious to know if it has the same sound signature or if it is a midcentric sounding player player....i noticed you are from the uk where did you buy it from and are you going to avoid pesky customs. cheers
Let us know how it sounds i have a Z1070 a very nice sounding DAP..curious to know if it has the same sound signature or if it is a midcentric sounding player player....i noticed you are from the uk where did you buy it from and are you going to avoid pesky customs. cheers
I used to have the Z1070 and loved it but alas news of the imminent release of the ZX1 caused an erection and the rest they say is history.
I bought the ZX1 from Price-Japan with an agreed Customs limit, they will work with you if you get my drift, I don't expect to pay more than £30.
I messed up with the F887 from my normal Japanese seller so I've been hit for £20 Customs (I declared $50), there will be no Customs on the PHA-2 as I rectified the amount with my seller (you're allowed £30 anything over and your taxed, safe bet is to declare $35 (USD). There is a Customs delay by using EMS but this down to Royal Mail's inept Customs procedure, you can't pay until it hits your local depot but they'll tell you how much but won't accept payment, which is stupid beyond belief as it looks like it's added 48hrs to the delivery (it was sent Sat). With DHL or UPS it's delivered within five days including Customs clearance.
The ZX1 is being shipped by DHL so will be here 5days after release... my other gear comes via EMS which is more less fully-tracked, if you work with your Seller and agree everything before buying you won't have any problems, the only reason I'm declaring anything on the ZX1 is because we've done a group-buy for three units.
I'll let you know in the next few days how the F887 sounds.
p.s - next week I can let you know how the F887 pairs with the PHA-2, in December I can then compare various scenario's with the F887, PHA-2 & ZX1.
All this kit for less than the UK price of a AK120 (£1200+), but hey I can get new AK120's for £875 delivered to UK with a full warranty (no Customs either) but I refuse to pay that money for a buggy device (or what was when I was contemplating one).
p.s - next week I can let you know how the F887 pairs with the PHA-2, in December I can then compare various scenario's with the F887, PHA-2 & ZX1.
All this kit for less than the UK price of a AK120 (£1200+), but hey I can get new AK120's for £875 delivered to UK with a full warranty (no Customs either) but I refuse to pay that money for a buggy device (or what was when I was contemplating one).
You guys in Europe have it tough, I could get the AK120 for £750 with no tax, but then I'm located in South East Asia and I already find the prices here to be full of crap.
AK120 is not as buggy as some have made it out to be. I find AK series the least buggy compared to other brands like iBasso, FiiO, HiFi, Hisound, etc.
I used to have the Z1070 and loved it but alas news of the imminent release of the ZX1 caused an erection and the rest they say is history.
I bought the ZX1 from Price-Japan with an agreed Customs limit, they will work with you if you get my drift, I don't expect to pay more than £30.
I messed up with the F887 from my normal Japanese seller so I've been hit for £20 Customs (I declared $50), there will be no Customs on the PHA-2 as I rectified the amount with my seller (you're allowed £30 anything over and your taxed, safe bet is to declare $35 (USD). There is a Customs delay by using EMS but this down to Royal Mail's inept Customs procedure, you can't pay until it hits your local depot but they'll tell you how much but won't accept payment, which is stupid beyond belief as it looks like it's added 48hrs to the delivery (it was sent Sat). With DHL or UPS it's delivered within five days including Customs clearance.
The ZX1 is being shipped by DHL so will be here 5days after release... my other gear comes via EMS which is more less fully-tracked, if you work with your Seller and agree everything before buying you won't have any problems, the only reason I'm declaring anything on the ZX1 is because we've done a group-buy for three units.
I'll let you know in the next few days how the F887 sounds.
Thats great!! buying from outside the EU you avoid the volume limitations as well,it cripples the DAP as far as i am concerned... is the PHA-2 portable ?..will look forward to your comments on your new toys
I have a chance to try out the ZX1 today at Sony press event in my country.
The UI is very fluid although it runs on very old Texas Instrument SoC with 1 GB RAM. I plugged in my MDR-EX800ST and listen the same Nora Jones's song as the one in Ginza and other songs in it.
I think the sound signature is like F800 I'm using but with more bass and detail. The stage is also a little wider than my F800. Compare to Fiio X3 which I used to listen. X3 has slightly more bass than ZX1. Mid is also thicker but both of them have less detail than ZX1.
ZX1 sound meets my expectation. Now I'm going to save money and buy it when it will be released around next February.
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