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Sony PHA-3 balanced portable dac/amp
Dec 20, 2014 at 7:44 AM Post #331 of 1,922
It is a drag the UK version has no battery. The paperwork is confusing as is the unit itself which shows a power chg light.
Anyways I am using my external 22400 mah power pack and it does work well. But what a drag.
 
Dec 22, 2014 at 1:35 AM Post #337 of 1,922
hifiguy528 said:
  It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.  :)
 
 
 
Click to expand...

I do like your "unboxing" youtube videos, but how about give us a mini review of these amp/dac units as well?  I think headfiers will be thankful for that.   
 
Dec 22, 2014 at 1:59 AM Post #338 of 1,922
Shortly about its SQ with XBA-Z5 (100 hours of burn-in) balanced:
 
Pros:
-  Enormous sound stage, very wide and deep 
-  Great instrument separation
-  Great channel separation (thanks to a balanced connection)
-  the most powerful, detailed and controlled bass I have ever heard from a portable device - goes really deep, sub bass is also great
- Very detailed sound overall
- Warmish and more on the dark side I think
- Analytical as well due to a Sabre DAC
 
Cons:
  1. Operation time
  2. Charging time
  3. Gets really warm during a playback
  4. Weight and size (I'm personally fine with it)
 
Specific Sabre I guess sound signature (some albums to me sound differently and strange after my Fiio X5 rig (PCM 1792)
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 3:38 AM Post #340 of 1,922
Got my PHA-3 yesterday and was blown away by the sound, absolutely amazing! It's definitely a jump up from the PHA-2 with more detail and wider sound stage, the bass is also a little beefier and superbly controlled. It's a shame the unit takes so long for so little playback but it's a small price to pay for the pure enjoyment you get out of it.
 
I'm using an Apple plug to charge from the mains which is working by the way, so hopefully won't have to go through 15 hours of charging.
 
When it comes to playback, I've read that you get 5 hours when playing via USB digital input and balanced output. Is that the same for normal non-balanced output or is that playback time more?
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 4:16 AM Post #341 of 1,922
vilhelm44 said:
  Got my PHA-3 yesterday and was blown away by the sound, absolutely amazing! It's definitely a jump up from the PHA-2 with more detail and wider sound stage, the bass is also a little beefier and superbly controlled. It's a shame the unit takes so long for so little playback but it's a small price to pay for the pure enjoyment you get out of it.
 
I'm using an Apple plug to charge from the mains which is working by the way, so hopefully won't have to go through 15 hours of charging.
 
When it comes to playback, I've read that you get 5 hours when playing via USB digital input and balanced output. Is that the same for normal non-balanced output or is that playback time more?
Click to expand...

With a 2A charger (or ipad charger) it takes 6-6,5 hours to charge and via digital input (A15 as a transport solution) and balanced output it runs even less than 5 hours in my case.
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 11:22 AM Post #343 of 1,922
purk said:
  I do like your "unboxing" youtube videos, but how about give us a mini review of these amp/dac units as well?  I think headfiers will be thankful for that.   
Click to expand...

 
I'm working to see if I should do a review on all in one article or make them separate.  I'm leaning on all-in-one because I think it's easier for the reader or the personal in the market for a portable DAC/amp.
 
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