laurencewayne said:

  Well done....only wish you hadn't deleted 13 minutes! And you are correct about the "clunky" software issues. It won't always sync, gives a cryptic message about "unlocking the screen" etc. Perhaps a future post could address.  And I cannot get MQS to load on my osx 10.9.2. (iRiver aware and working on it.)

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ok-guy said:

 

dminor said:

 
@Amos - Nice video review of the AK240. I actually like the looks and it does give that hi-tech impression. IMO, much better form design than the others out there.

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I'm not being funny but the ZX1 slaughters the AK240 in the design department & the tactile buttons are a master-class in simple design.
 
I don't expect to see the ZX1 win this test, heaven forbid that it competes with DAP's twice-four times the price, especially since the superb Sony update (you can get exact same sound from F886 which will save you £200 on ZX1).

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dminor said:

   
I agree the engineer won't take the risk to let any significant DC leave the dap to external amps or phones, simply for liability concern. But that design concept may compromise the transparency of the signal path. Fortunately, we do have the amp designer who is smart enough to design a DC servo circuit which can compensate for the "significant" DC without implementing DC blocking caps. When you have the caps eliminated from both the dap and the amp, suddenly the audio signal path seems just opening up with improved transparency. Once it opens up, everything else comes together (the details, clarity, smoothness, instrument spacing) as if the sound is no longer contained.
 
Well, this is already OT.
 
@Amos - Nice video review of the AK240. I actually like the looks and it does give that hi-tech impression. IMO, much better form design than the others out there.

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currawong said:

   
... Agreed though about the Sony and design: They really know how to make really nice stuff. I don't know about other countries, but Sony Walkmans of all sizes are big in Japan in stores. Everyone I know who doesn't have an iPod has a Walkman.

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kkcc said:

   
I'll just say the zx1 looks better in photo than how it felt in your hand.... AK240 is the complete opposite - much better in your hand than in photos... last but not least, the HM901 felt as bad as it looked even if does sound great lol.   

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currawong said:

  I've finally gotten around to listen with the ZX-1 again after the software update. It sounds a little bit smoother and seems to have lost that aggression that it had before. Comparing it again to the AK240 (SE only) the upgrade makes it closer, but the dynamics of individual instruments are still slightly better with the AK240. 
 
Taking into account the price, the Sony has come out very strongly.

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y2jdmbfan said:

  I'll start off by saying I don't consider myself to have tuned ears of a true audiophile, as I haven't been able to demo alot of high quality headphone or IEM's, but I am trying to learn more as I go. 
 
I have had the HiFiMAN HM-901, Sony NW-ZX1, and FiiO X5 paired with my Shure SE846 IEM's. I currently still have the NW-ZX1 and X5. I couldn't live with the size and UI on the HM-901, even though the sound was great with the IEM card. I've got the NW-ZX1 and X5 now and have the same HiRes tracks and ALAC CD rips and MP3 rips on both units. I must say, I do think the X5 does sound better after the first few comparison listens. I like clarity on my highs, and X5 seems to deliver that better than the ZX1. There also seems to be a bit more punch on the low end. The ZX1 sounds very good, but the clarity on the high end doesn't seem to be as crisp as on the X5. However, I will say the UI on the ZX1 blows away the X5, although I could probably live with the X5's UI. The screen on the ZX1 is very nice compared to the previous HiRes players I have owned. I need to pick one of them, as I can't really justify having them both, I also picked up a 5th gen iPod Touch, but as I already have a 7th gen nano and iPad Mini, it is probably going back, as I haven't even opened it yet. 
 
If I didn't have the 2 units side by side, I could definitely live with either of them and be happy. Now the question becomes, is the UI alone worth the $400 premium over the X5...The hard part for me is most of my music is high quality MP3 files ripped by me with EAC, now I rip new CD's I buy into ALAC, but 95% are MP3. I also like the fact that the X5 has a dedicated line output and microusb connection. 
 
Y2J

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earbones said:

  I guess my refusal thus far to buy a high-def DAP is that despite their software's ability to play hi-def music, none of the hardware beyond the DAC (and even then not always) is capable of besting your standard iPod Touch or iPhone, at least when tested and measured. I guess I'd rather gamble on hi-def music coming to the 6 and new gen of Apple players than spend $800-$2400 on equal (or in some cases inferior) hardware with better software. At least right now. Who knows... If true hi-def music doesn't come to Apple with the new phone announcement, then I might revisit the DAP scenario. But can you imagine if Apple introduces both hi-def music and a Spotify-competitor service? There will be a lot of people walking around with $199 contract phones that (once paired with a decent amp) completely crush the $2400 AK240...

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metalomaniac said:

I'm also not at all sold on the high-end devices. I hear a lot of talk about how great they sound, but no blind listening tests.

I wanted to get out of the Apple ecosphere, and moved from iPod Nano to Sony F886. Partly also because the Nano couldn't drive my Kef M200. Neither does the Sony, but that's off-topic. The Sony has just as good an UI as Apple's devices, and if you have an Android phone like I do, you're going to love the fact that you have a full Android device in your hands. Playing Wordfeud while listening to music, great. I'm glad I didn't go the FiiO or iBasso route, as I would have hated the clunky UI and the idiosyncracies of the players. And the Sony is very small, very light, and can fit much more music than my Nano.

I wonder that if/when Apple, Samsung, HTC, etc. come up with phones with high-def playback that DAPs might be going the way of compact cameras: becoming obsolete thanks to convergence.

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nazrin313 said:

My lg g2 already can play hi def playback and sounds really good. But for me, the reason i wanted a dap was:

- standalone player: my listening isnt stopped by calls, sms, messages
- no rf interference with my amps

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metalomaniac said:

Another reason: when your phone battery dies, music goes on. And your music listening won't kill your phone battery.

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irvin59 said:

  I'm about to go through a similar process. I have ordered the X5, AK 120 and ZX1 and plan to keep only one. Given the 128gb limit on the Sony and my large collection of Hi res files, plus my (probably silly) desire to try DSD ( I do love SACD's ), the ZX1 will have to sound really good if it is to be the one. I might be tempted to keep more than one, but then I'm approaching AK240 price range.  Still can't get my head around the looks though.

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