[fish1050]

   
I'm surprised you would say that.  Everyone know right angle connectors ruin the sound quality.  The signal bends too sharply and loses coherence and focus in the tight bend.  Straight connectors are the only way to go and make sure to keep at least a 1.5" radius on all bends in the cable to avoid sonic degradation.

Well actually I sold high end audio for 15 years and that is a new one on me.  Whether what you say is true or not a $15.00 cable investment that improves sound quality to my ears is a worthwhile investment.  Plus even though it is a straight connection the cable is still nice and short and keeps my stack clean and free of obstructions.  Spending $80.00 for a cable to use on a $300.00 DAP seems a tad excessive to me.  Kind of like buying a $100.00 HDMI cable when a $10.00 cable works just fine.
 
I am willing to bet if you compared the L16 or L17 to one of your much more expensive cables you would not hear a difference.  I say that with confidence because these $15.00 cables use the same pcocc-a single core copper cable, the same shielding, the same connectors etc... as those much more expensive cables.  I know this because I sold those much more expensive cables for years. The truth is consumer electronics manufacturers make alot more profit from accessories like cables than they do on the actual product.  
 
Personally I would put the $80.00 toward a better amp or amp/dac that would actually make an audible difference.  

 

[hay2014]

With the highest of respect - I own the Fiio cables and a few more expensive audioMinor ones and I think that I can definitely hear a difference with the more expensive ones - with them leading to a more expansive soundstage and the silver ones definitely adding more to the top end.
 
Having said that I would agree that the Fiio is a step up from the normal leads that come with headphone amps.  This is of course my opinion and I respect people's right to disagree - after all this is a forum for opinions.
 
I would also agree that a person shouldn't rush out and buy an eighty dollar cable for a 300 DAP - I had the cable aleady.  I was merely trying to say that if you have a nice cable and you pair it up with a good amp then the A35 sounds really nice.  I have found this is especially so with the Cayin C5,  It's also sounding good with the old Fiio E11, which people could get for around eighty bucks.  
 
Peace out

 

[elee53]

Hello! New here. After reading through the thread, I still have a few questions:
 

Is ClearBass+ still included? To my understanding, there is no separate Clearbass+ option, rather a Clearaudio+. Then, will changing the bass eq have the same results as ClearBass+? It seemed as though ClearBass+ had been the reason some had chosen the A10/20's when they were sold, and I would be keen to try it out myself.

Secondly, are lyrics able to be saved for each song? One of the listed changes for A10/20 to A30 series is "existing music files cannot enable dance/karaoke/language mode". I'm not sure what this means. Does this mean karaoke mode is no longer supported? But I am more interested in whether or not the lyrics themselves can also be saved and viewed on the device.
 
Next, hiss in IEMs. How is the hiss for IM02's? To be honest, I don't mind hiss that much, but if there was someone who could verify, that would be great!
 
Finally, how does this compare to the Fiio X5ii? Recently online, there was one put up for sale at ~280 USD, compared to the 400USD original price tag. I would say that the size and battery life is near deal-breaking, but I was curious if the sound would be significantly better and worth the drawbacks versus the A35. So, more in terms of sound quality? Unless there are other drawbacks that I am not aware of at the moment. Again, I will probably continue to use IM02's for either device.
 
 
Thanks in advance, sorry for all the questions!

 

[fish1050]

  With the highest of respect - I own the Fiio cables and a few more expensive audioMinor ones and I think that I can definitely hear a difference with the more expensive ones - with them leading to a more expansive soundstage and the silver ones definitely adding more to the top end.
 
Having said that I would agree that the Fiio is a step up from the normal leads that come with headphone amps.  This is of course my opinion and I respect people's right to disagree - after all this is a forum for opinions.
 
I would also agree that a person shouldn't rush out and buy an eighty dollar cable for a 300 DAP - I had the cable aleady.  I was merely trying to say that if you have a nice cable and you pair it up with a good amp then the A35 sounds really nice.  I have found this is especially so with the Cayin C5,  It's also sounding good with the old Fiio E11, which people could get for around eighty bucks.  
 
Peace out

When I first got into audio sales I had to watch training videos.  One video I watched was about selling expensive cables.  They took the same coaxial digital cable and put it in two different packages.  The first package was a plain plastic bag with a plain white hang tag.  The tag read 6 Foot coaxial audio cable.  The second package was much fancier with a full retail box.  The label read 6 Foot High Grade Coaxial Audio Cable.  The customers were video taped buying the cables.  Sixteen out of twenty people taped bought the more expensive cable.  Ever since I watched that video I never buy expensive cables.
 
Personally having owned the E11 and now the Q1 the Q1 sounds so much better for less than $100.00. Plus you get 30+ hours battery life when using the Q1 as an amp. Much closer to the battery life of the A35 and the build quality is much better.  Once I am ready to upgrade my Q1 it will become my computer DAC/Amp.  The Q1 has more than enough power for my A17 so it should be even better with the A35.

 

[hay2014]

 
Personally having owned the E11 and now the Q1 the Q1 sounds so much better for less than $100.00. Plus you get 30+ hours battery life when using the Q1 as an amp. Much closer to the battery life of the A35 and the build quality is much better.  Once I am ready to upgrade my Q1 it will become my computer DAC/Amp.  The Q1 has more than enough power for my A17 so it should be even better with the A35.

 
Ah yes - the Q1 - I have it and I like it a lot - like you say better battery life and nice build.  It has the warmth of the E11, but perhaps not quite as warm and so better clarity.  Gave the Q1 a run with the a35 and indeed liked it very much.  Love the E11 too for that warm bath of sound and the extra bass notch if you need it.  thought the Q1 had good bass boost but the E11 is great for bass shy headphones.  Either one f the amps is a winner with the a35 for sure.

 

[Stereodude]

Next, hiss in IEMs. How is the hiss for IM02's? To be honest, I don't mind hiss that much, but if there was someone who could verify, that would be great!

 
There is definitely audible hiss with my Earwerkz Supra IEMs of the not subtle variety, but they also have a sensitivity of 126 dB/mW @ 1 kHz and impedance of 23 ohms.  My HiFiMAN RE-600s which are 102dB/mW at 16 ohms have a very, very faint hiss with the A35 that is only audible in the quietest of listening environments if you're actively listening for it.
 
Given that your IM02s have a sensitivity of 113 dB/mW and are 36 ohms.  I would expect you're going to hear some hiss when nothing is playing, but that it will be fairly quiet.

 

[Weaves]

  I tried out the Bluetooth audio between the NW-A35 and my SRS-XB3 Bluetooth speakers.  As reported elsewhere in the thread all the sound enhancements don't work over Bluetooth.  FWIW, the FM radio also won't work over Bluetooth.  The volume control on the player adjust the volume on the Bluetooth speakers showing + or - on the LCD display, but the numerical scale is not displayed playing back over Bluetooth. 
 
I have the player in a Sony CKS-NWA30 case.  I like the case.  It would be nice if the display turned on when the case was opened, but it doesn't do that.
 
The host PC can read from the player's internal storage at ~28MB/sec over USB.  Copying to the player's internal storage is ~26MB/sec over USB.  So it pretty much maxes out what USB 2.0 can do.  I haven't tested a microSD card yet, my 200GB Lexar was bad.

 
What did you use for antenna on the FM?

 

[Stereodude]

  What did you use for antenna on the FM?

 
What do you mean?  I presume it uses the headphone cable as the antenna.
 
Also, I can confirm that the play/pause, forward, and back buttons don't do anything in the FM tuner mode.  You have to manipulate the radio with the touchscreen.

 

[fish1050]

   
Ah yes - the Q1 - I have it and I like it a lot - like you say better battery life and nice build.  It has the warmth of the E11, but perhaps not quite as warm and so better clarity.  Gave the Q1 a run with the a35 and indeed liked it very much.  Love the E11 too for that warm bath of sound and the extra bass notch if you need it.  thought the Q1 had good bass boost but the E11 is great for bass shy headphones.  Either one f the amps is a winner with the a35 for sure.

Glad it still sounds good with the A35.
 
If I get the A35 I am contemplating selling my Q1 as the A35 offers more power than the A17  Money from the Q1 could offset my cost for the A35.  Can you tell how is the power on the A35?  Given it is over twice that of the A17 I assume it would be plenty but I have heard reports that the 35 mW is misleading and it isn't that much more powerful than the A17.
 
How do you find the power of the A35 without an amp?

 

[Weaves]

   
What do you mean?  I presume it uses the headphone cable as the antenna.
 
Also, I can confirm that the play/pause, forward, and back buttons don't do anything in the FM tuner mode.  You have to manipulate the radio with the touchscreen.

 
That's exactly what I mean.  Did you leave in the headphone cable?  maybe there is a switch in the circuit to not allow BT with headphone jack plugged in.
 
I will test with my A17 and see if the same behavior exists.

 

[Stereodude]

  That's exactly what I mean.  Did you leave in the headphone cable?  maybe there is a switch in the circuit to not allow BT with headphone jack plugged in.
 
I will test with my A17 and see if the same behavior exists.

 
It doesn't matter.  It displays the message of, "Unavailable during Bluetooth audio output." even if you have headphones plugged in if it's connected over Bluetooth and you try to switch to the tuner.
 
None of the audio processing is available for the tuner either.

 

[hay2014]

  Glad it still sounds good with the A35.
 
If I get the A35 I am contemplating selling my Q1 as the A35 offers more power than the A17  Money from the Q1 could offset my cost for the A35.  Can you tell how is the power on the A35?  Given it is over twice that of the A17 I assume it would be plenty but I have heard reports that the 35 mW is misleading and it isn't that much more powerful than the A17.
 
How do you find the power of the A35 without an amp?

 
The power on the A35 is a couple of notches above the A17 but not by a great deal.  if you have high demading headphones you may need an amp to get the volume you need, but most lower ohm headphones should be fine.
 
My highest demanding headphones are the sennheiser PXC 450 and the A35 drives them to a listenable level for sure but it would need quite a few notches more to make them really loud.
 
Other headphones though it is absolutely fine with and drives em no problemo.  So it depends on how demanding your headphones are I would say.  if demanding headphones then yes, consider an amp.  Standard non demanding, you will be fine without.  drives my Qc25 bose and denon nc800 and audto technica M50 and AKG 550 fine......
 
Hope this helps. 

 

[hay2014]

Another winning amp combination with the A35 is the PA2V2 amp.  Really opens up the sound stage, provides nice depth and warmth and gets the old toes a tapping.

 

[Nightf0xx]

Any comparison fiio x1ii vs nw-a35?

 

[homzik]

I would definitely go for Sony. X3-II is more a competitor for NW-A35.