maxi said:

 

meringo said:

  Yup. I bought a Sony NW-A35 for that specifically. The quality is quite good. As others have mentioned, the MDR-1000x has excellent built-in amplification which makes even standard BT connections sound pretty good. Imagine that, combined with LDAC -- The combo was worth every penny.

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The Sony NW-A15 also has LDAC and it can even do EQ over Bluetooth which helped me to add some (drum) bass which the MDR-1000x lacks. The downside of EQ is that if you have any HD tracks then they will be downsampled so that the EQ effect can be applied - maybe you will hear the quality difference, maybe not. Since the A15 is cheaper imho it is best to use it as Bluetooth bridge since I doubt that its digital to analog HW isn't as good as the HW of expensive devices. For Bluetooth use it is a very good device considering the price.

As far as LDAC quality goes I have only used the most higher quality level (990 kpbs) and there is a nice feeling of weight in the sound compared to aptX. Also lots of detail and I haven't (yet) picked out any distortions which are usually a side effect of lossy compression (which for example aptX uses).

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LDAC FTW

benkatz said:

Well first off the dac/amp combo in the XZ is superior to the one in the 1000x. I can tell you that simply because connecting the headphones via cable sounds fuller (though not by much) than via Bluetooth (LDAC).

As far as 1A vs 1000x. Depends. For portability 1000x. They sound clearer, more precise and louder, via cable or wireless, than the 1A when used with a portable player. Plus they isolate a million times better (NC). For home use with a dedicated dac/amp combo, the 1A will sound better.

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I see. 
 
everyone i know questions the overall sound quality coming out of the XZ. everyone touts the HTC10 as the best sounding smartphone. have you ever compared these two? I want an XZ but I heard that the sound quality hasn't changed much since the z3 which was known as the best in 2014

mrexistor said:

Heh I seriously considered my ear might have problems but I have an idea to try out mic volume recoding. I think I'm not crazy Lel. As you can see, left side and right side have different volume output. These are tested about 20 second each side and 5 repeating test are done to ensure consistency. Used a white noise which have equal output to both side for test. These screen shot are from the 5th test.

Left Side stable 78-79 dB


Right Side stable 80-81 dB


I manage to balance the sound and make the supposedly center vocal and instrument at the right location by doing L2 in channel balance on my Shanling M1.


Can human hear 1-2 dB difference? Can these 1 - 2 dB enough to cause shift in vocal positioning?

Anyone with the batch P/D 01 2017 have same issue? Wish to know as I know two unit already have the same issue.

Wonder will burn in balance out the sound.

Click to expand...

 
Interesting... I thought I had this problem too -- and then I re-calibrated the NC. That fixed it, for me. It seems as if the NC feature is NOT symmetrical, but dependent of the sounds coming in/around each ear cup. I'm going to do some more testing of my own, and quickly since my final day for a return/exchange is coming up. 

pwazzle said:

@mikp


So I'm pretty sure the jack on this is even worse than the iPhone.

I tried this Anker one that says it works with iPhones:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00R124LAK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And it didn't fit, that metal part at the base pushes them out.

I also tried this Lasmex headset:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01MQIPZFE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Which is extremely small and it just barely fits if you force it which is definitely scratching/chipping the plastic and putting a little pressure on the plug and jack. It works and I'm gonna use it but it's still not ideal. The headset cable that came with the beats solo are the best fitting ones i've found thus far, I think the diameter's about the same as the lasmex but the jacket is plastic and softer.


So uh, yeah, don't lose that cable. It's essentially proprietary, I'm going to contact support and see if I can get a replacement through them.

Click to expand...

I got mine and experienced the same thing. Every slim/low profile cable I had didn't quite fit.

I came across this: https://www.radtech.com/products/procable-shortz-audio-extender-modular

Looks like a possible fix.

I wonder if it will work with 3 conductor cables, as I don't care about the mic and would only rarely use it.

I know this is my first post, but I have absolutely no affiliation with the company.

meringo said:

Interesting... I thought I had this problem too -- and then I re-calibrated the NC. That fixed it, for me. It seems as if the NC feature is NOT symmetrical, but dependent of the sounds coming in/around each ear cup. I'm going to do some more testing of my own, and quickly since my final day for a return/exchange is coming up. 

Click to expand...

I did the test without NC. Sound wrong as well. On the bright side, I convinced the staff that this issue present by showing them the pictures and let them listen to the mono music track that I converted. The mono track made the issue very noticeable. So they changed me a February 2017 set and now its working fine! Tho further testing are needed. I'll recommend avoiding Jan 2017 made in Malaysia batch for I have 2 unit in the row with issue.

mrexistor said:

I did the test without NC. Sound wrong as well. On the bright side, I convinced the staff that this issue present by showing them the pictures and let them listen to the mono music track that I converted. The mono track made the issue very noticeable. So they changed me a February 2017 set and now its working fine! Tho further testing are needed. I'll recommend avoiding Jan 2017 made in Malaysia batch for I have 2 unit in the row with issue.

Click to expand...

Awesome! Glad it worked out.

Tonight I tested the 1000x with my Aune X1s, listening to Tidal's Master album Brothers from The Black Keys.
 
En résumé :
Wired to Aune, power off : sound is anemic, less airy (for what a closed-back portable hp could be!), kinda congested. 6/10 IMO
Wired to Aune, power on : sound is way more energetic, entertaining, livelier, detailed and bassier. 9/10 IMO
Wired to Macbook, power on : near identical to wired, power on, but with of course less volume. 9/10 IMO
Bluetooth to Macbook, power on : near wired, power on, but less detail overall. 8/10 IMO
 
They can take a lot of amplification. The Aune puts out 1,2 W into 32 ohm, so the 1000x took a lot of power into their 46 ohm (wired/on) and 14 ohm (wired/off). I wasn't able to put the volume at half since they were really loud at 4/10. My reference is Audeze EL-8 (tho not in the same league), that needs to get the volume to 3/4 (and more).
 
Even with this quality and powerful output, the 1000x when turned off, never sounded good. They sounded better straight from Samsung GS7 (wired/on) than on the dac/amp (wired/off).
That leads me to think that Sony's tricks (DSP, S-Master, DSEE, etc.) turn out to make good results at the end. Logical since they are meant to be driven (or feeded) by smartphone.
So, you use them via Bluetooth, never think about amping them, and you're one of a lucky listener!
 
Next step will be to get my hands on an LDAC DAP. I'm really curious to see the difference with regular Bluetooth. Maybe I'll retrieve the detail that I previously said that were lost.
 
Last point for (probable) long-term issues. The pleather (more polyurethane) on the headband is thin and of a very bad quality. I expect it to degrade rapidly, even with good care.

mrexistor said:

I did the test without NC. Sound wrong as well. On the bright side, I convinced the staff that this issue present by showing them the pictures and let them listen to the mono music track that I converted. The mono track made the issue very noticeable. So they changed me a February 2017 set and now its working fine! Tho further testing are needed. I'll recommend avoiding Jan 2017 made in Malaysia batch for I have 2 unit in the row with issue.

Click to expand...

Yeah, really glad they finally addressed your issue. Now enjoy!

 Bluetooth to Macbook, power on : near wired, power on, but less detail overall. 8/10 IMO

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LDAC or AptX codec Bluetooth with 1000X - sounded better than wired from Chord Mojo in my experience (10/10) . Surface Pro 3 (SBC only) Bluetooth - 8/10 while wired (Chord Mojo) is 9/10 for me.

theveterans said:

   
LDAC or AptX codec Bluetooth with 1000X - sounded better than wired from Chord Mojo in my experience (10/10) . Surface Pro 3 (SBC only) Bluetooth - 8/10 while wired (Chord Mojo) is 9/10 for me.

Click to expand...

I knew my MBA doesn't support LDAC, but I just found that it doesn't use AptX too  . So I got the same result as your Surface Pro 3, 8/10.
With what you said, now I NEED a Sony DAP!
 
What LDAC or AptX gear do you use your 1000x with?

pass said:

 
I knew my MBA doesn't support LDAC, but I just found that it doesn't use AptX too 

. So I got the same result as your Surface Pro 3, 8/10.
With what you said, now I NEED a Sony DAP!
 
What LDAC or AptX gear do you use your 1000x with?

Click to expand...

get a sony phone mate xd. The sony xz should do its job. 

Thinking about getting the 1000x later today to pair it with the ZX100 at work.. Well, that is if all goes planned

roen said:

What's your opinion about using a powered on Bose QC35 with a dac / amp?

Too bad Dragonfly's can't play DSD natively. Not really an ultimate portable audiophile setup in that case. Great power draw though.

Click to expand...

Well first-off good luck finding many DSD music files, unless you only listen to classic music. Also, DSD files consume a lot of space so there's limited use of them when used portably. Trust me, as far as portability, the Dragonfly RED is the best out there. Good luck finding something that even comes close at a similar size. 
 
As far as BOSE QC35, I don't own them. I trested them, so I don't know. Generally all powered headphones clip and distort when used on on a high powered amp, so I'd advise against that. They're not made to be used powered on with an amp. 

benkatz said:

Well first-off good luck finding many DSD music files, unless you only listen to classic music. Also, DSD files consume a lot of space so there's limited use of them when used portably. Trust me, as far as portability, the Dragonfly RED is the best out there. Good luck finding something that even comes close at a similar size. 

As far as BOSE QC35, I don't own them. I trested them, so I don't know. Generally all powered headphones clip and distort when used on on a high powered amp, so I'd advise against that. They're not made to be used powered on with an amp. 

Click to expand...

Michael Jackson - Thriller
Queen - Various
Norah Jones - Various
Adele - 25

Those are my DSD tracks so far. None classical. All sound amazing. I carry them on my phone or my DAP.

Encore mDSD, same chip as the DFB, handles 32/384 and DSD, and retails for less than $100. Street price is lower. Power draw is higher than DFR. Amp is most likely weaker than DFR.

Any other questions?

The problem is that Bose ties in the ANC to the power, so if you want to have ANC on when you listen, you have to trigger the amp.

I use the Sony Experia XZ phone with my 1000x headphones. I specifically bought this phone to use LDAC with the headphones. The LDAC works great, the phone just detects an LDAC receiver in the phones and switches to LDAC automatically. The only problem I have is the signal strength is not great and can sometimes drop out even when I have the phone in my pocket or bag. The drop out is worse if I use the high quality setting for LDAC transmission from the phone, its less of a problem if I select "best effort".

I also have a pair of Sony EX750bt in ear phones which are also LDAC capable and these too suffer from the same transmission break,up.
Maybe it's a problem with my phone?
Or maybe it's the dropout caused by the LDAC bandwidth?

Either way, with both headphones and LDAC the sound quality is a significant step up from regular Bluetooth from an iPhone.