Thanks for these comments about battery life and tailoring the sound! It's very encouraging.
I love Sony!
Prior to getting the bug-ridden FiiO X5 a few months ago, with which I purposely avoid UI bugs by using only folder browsing for file navigation, I used a Sony PCM-M10 recorder/player as my DAP for over 3 years, almost daily, via the Line Out from its 96/24-capable, proprietary sigma-delta DAC to either a Meier Stepdance or an iBasso PB2.
Sony really knows how to build electronics that are efficient in terms of battery consumption. Not only can the Sony PCM-M10 go more than 30 hours on a pair of rechargeable AA batteries, it has a microSD card reader - and
that is a big deal for me, as it allows me to carry my entire library of 44/16 and 96/24 WAV files (it only supports WAV and MP3) on eight 64GB cards (they're not full yet) in this nifty carrier:
DiMeCard micro8 microSD Memory Card Holder
People who use iDevices - all of which lack card readers - really don't know what they're missing. Whether 16GB, 32GB, or even 128GB - that's all you get! They seem to be brainwashed into thinking that it's "OK" to constantly delete and upload new music into their iDevices for a day's outing, or deleting apps and photos to make room for more albums. What a hassle!
And Apple has recently discontinued the iPod Classic (including the 160GB model) - allegedly for "lack of parts availability," not for lack of sales!
My Sony PCM-M10 is back in service despite my having the FiiO X5, now that I am Beta testing the OPPO HA-2 DAC/amp, but I'm bypassing its ESS9018M2 DAC, taking the M10's Line Out to the HA-2's very capable amp section, which lasts about 8 hours per charge cycle. (Note: This is a prototype, so changes may occur in the release version - likely for the better, but it's best to make this known.)
In my experience, the Sony PCM-M10's UI has been
bug-free across over three years of daily use. Just think about that in comparison to the gear coming from iBasso, HiFiMan, Astell & Kern and FiiO, for example - which can still be troublesome, even if you wait for several firmware upgrades before buying, instead of jumping in as an early adopter (i.e. as a volunteer QA tester.)
But get this:
Sony has never released an update for its version 1.0.0 firmware for the PCM-M10, but these other vendors pour firmware updates down our throats continuously, until the updates just stop coming - with bugs still outstanding - on the release of a replacement product. Now, we have to cut them a lot of slack, seriously, for the fact that they are producing product in small numbers, and they give us products with powerful amps and great sound quality that the legion of Joe Consumers out there simply aren't capable of appreciating with their ear buds and cheap headphones.
But
the quality control of Sony's UIs is what I love about Sony more than anything else! They get it right
before they release their products to the customers. And from my perspective, OPPO is every bit as dedicated to quality assurance as Sony. Take this with a grain of salt, if you like, given that I've been a Beta tester for OPPO since December of last year, but I'm telling you, OPPO and Sony, independently, are birds of a feather in terms of QA, compared to any of the other portable Head-Fi manufacturers, with the exception of CEntrance and Meier Audio - in my admittedly very limited experience - but thus far, OPPO, CEntrance and Meier Audio have not released any DAPs that require a UI, so my hat's off to Sony for delivering a complex UI that's as friendly as that of a Sandisk Sansa Clip+.
Sony's biggest problem, in my opinion, is that they (smartly) go for high-volume sales - they are not a boutique manufacturer - but the problem with this has been that they have to cater to Joe Consumer, but Joe Consumer is ignorant of "high fidelity audio" for lack of a better term. What Joe Consumer wants more than anything else is a small, lightweight form factor, sleek appearance, and a very long battery life.
The easiest way to keep the size and weight down is to use a small battery, and this in turn requires a W-E-A-K amplifier. But remember, Joe Consumer doesn't know any better. Sony's intended market for their DAPs has
no knowledge of all the relatively
inefficient, great-sounding headphones that need a
lot more power than what the Sony PHA-1 and PHA-2 amps can deliver. At a still moderate
320mW per channel of maximum output - not rms - into 32-Ohms, the Sony PHA-3 DAC/amp is their first
viable option, in my opinion, for use with relatively inefficient headphones, but they have to be cabled for the PHA-3's balanced output or you won't even get the 320mW peak output.)
We don't have specs yet for the OPPO HA-2 and it may very well turn out to have less power than the Sony PHA-3, especially given that it's smaller and lighter, but I'm hearing excellent bass control and great dynamics from the prototype I'm testing, when used with the relatively
efficient OPPO PM-1 planar magnetic. (Again, the released version may be perform differently.)
