[cn11]

  Be patient - give it another 7-14 days, and this thread will be flooded with first-impressions, after new owners have reached the obligatory 100hr burn-in, and then had time to sit down and spend some hours listening.
 
 
 
Then you just need to wait another 4-6months until FOTMF has died down and you can start taking the user-feedback seriously 

 
 

  Spot on and then wait a further 10-16 months to purchase the ZX2 at the price it's really worth.

 
 
OK, you guys do that..... and after close to a year of your waiting for these reasons, all the while I'll have been enjoying a highly satisfying, feature rich, product which obviously shows extensive R&D by Sony. I personally don't care if I paid full price instead of waiting for say a 20% drop... the enjoyment of the build of this thing, and the quick UI, combined with the initial sound quality make me a satisfied early adopter.... I wish all the people bashing Sony here could hold the player to see the build quality. It's really something. 
 
Just to note that while I obviously enjoy Sony players, I am not dedicated to their gear as I willingly ditched the ZX1 to give the DX90 a go. And it sounded better than the ZX1 for sure. Now that I have the ZX2, it makes the DX90 seem like a toy. It's like holding a Leica camera or something at that level. 
 
Anyway, back to your rants... hey, it's entertaining! 

   Carry on.

 

[starfly]

   
 
 
 
OK, you guys do that..... and after close to a year of your waiting for these reasons, all the while I'll have been enjoying a highly satisfying, feature rich, product which obviously shows extensive R&D by Sony. I personally don't care if I paid full price instead of waiting for say a 20% drop... the enjoyment of the build of this thing, and the quick UI, combined with the initial sound quality make me a satisfied early adopter.... I wish all the people bashing Sony here could hold the player to see the build quality. It's really something. 
 
Just to note that while I obviously enjoy Sony players, I am not dedicated to their gear as I willingly ditched the ZX1 to give the DX90 a go. And it sounded better than the ZX1 for sure. Now that I have the ZX2, it makes the DX90 seem like a toy. It's like holding a Leica camera or something at that level. 
 
Anyway, back to your rants... hey, it's entertaining! 

   Carry on.

 
Yes, but how does it sound? Build quality is important, but SQ even more obviously

 

[musicdragoon]

Hi,

I have a few questions for people already owning the device:

If you go the Japanese model (is it already available outside Japan?), can you change the language to English? I know it is Android, but we are talking about Sony here, and they tend to make there Japanese products Japanese only.

Has anyone tried both the ZX 2 and the DAC-amp PHA-2. I currently use a PHA-2 with an iPhone, but due to storage space mainly, I am looking for a DAP; however I would shell out that amount of cash only if the ZX-2 can replace, and thus sound as good or better, than the PHA-2.

Last question, is the power output enough for not headphones like the Ultrasone Ed 8? I think it might be loud enough (tried, but not with my own music) but I feel I might push the volume close to the max for some of my music: would that decrease the sound quality.

Cheers,
Cedric

My ZX1 is JP version and it does have english UI. So I think JP ZX2 should be the same.

ZX2's sound quality is close to PHA3, and general review says SQ of PHA3 is well above PHA2, so if your IEM / headphone is not too power hungry I think it is ok. The sound come out from my 70 ohm Z7 with MAXed out ZX2 is still enjoyable with no degrade, but Z7 does perform better with PHA3 which can feed it with more juice and run in balanced mode.

 

[cn11]

I think I already said that initially it does sound pretty damn good... End game, stop the world kind of sound out of the box, of course not... I hear a noticeable difference from my iPhone 6+, and work Mac not running iTunes. 

 

[Cecala]

   
 
 
 
OK, you guys do that..... and after close to a year of your waiting for these reasons, all the while I'll have been enjoying a highly satisfying, feature rich, product which obviously shows extensive R&D by Sony. I personally don't care if I paid full price instead of waiting for say a 20% drop... the enjoyment of the build of this thing, and the quick UI, combined with the initial sound quality make me a satisfied early adopter.... I wish all the people bashing Sony here could hold the player to see the build quality. It's really something. 
 
Just to note that while I obviously enjoy Sony players, I am not dedicated to their gear as I willingly ditched the ZX1 to give the DX90 a go. And it sounded better than the ZX1 for sure. Now that I have the ZX2, it makes the DX90 seem like a toy. It's like holding a Leica camera or something at that level. 
 
Anyway, back to your rants... hey, it's entertaining! 

   Carry on.

C' mon man no one is asking for you or anybody to justify their purchase decision, all the power to you.
Your comment about "product which obviously shows extensive R&D by Sony" is bit off a stretch though. If Sony were to have done this then the ZX1 would still be king of their players although it isn't. Sony could quite easily provide more output power at some expense to Battery duration in the ZX2 although this would put a small dent in their PHA3 sales. The ZX2 is a bigger sexier version of the ZX1 with bigger battery, slightly better sound and a microSD slot. The biggest improvement Sony placed on this new player (from their perspective) is the cost, they added $500. People have asked for an expansion slot and got it, job done. Next People want more power, no problem although you have to purchase the ZX3. Cowon have been doing this for years, that is, providing all these features in a player. Now that's feature rich.
This is only a theory so don't anyone prepare an attack. I believe the reason the ZX1 never made it to the US is because it failed to pass FFC Certification and Accreditation. This explains their mediocre to crap S/N ratio due to poor or lackluster R&D.

 

[Whitigir]

C' mon man no one is asking for you or anybody to justify their purchase decision, all the power to you.
Your comment about "product which obviously shows extensive R&D by Sony" is bit off a stretch though. If Sony were to have done this then the ZX1 would still be king of their players although it isn't. Sony could quite easily provide more output power at some expense to Battery duration in the ZX2 although this would put a small dent in their PHA3 sales. The ZX2 is a bigger sexier version of the ZX1 with bigger battery, slightly better sound and a microSD slot. The biggest improvement Sony placed on this new player (from their perspective) is the cost, they added $500. People have asked for an expansion slot and got it, job done. Next People want more power, no problem although you have to purchase the ZX3. Cowon have been doing this for years, that is, providing all these features in a player. Now that's feature rich.
This is only a theory so don't anyone prepare an attack. I believe the reason the ZX1 never made it to the US is because it failed to pass FFC Certification and Accreditation. This explains their mediocre to crap S/N ratio due to poor or lackluster R&D.

I don't mean to bash on you, or be rude, but did you even at least try to google search the differences ?

NW ZX1 board



NW ZX2 board



I see a big different in designs and improvements....

Obviously larger board, dual clocks, and 7 OSCONs

 

[Cecala]

This means nothing to me, in the end it comes to what are you getting for all this extra money. We want better everything plus features. As I said in closing in my previous post the ZX1 potentially failed FFC regulations, Sony was forced to get it right this time by redesigning the internals. You can look at all the pictures you like and I'm not being rude although what I said about the differences still stand. What these pictures show at least to me is the ZX1 done correctly.

 

[Whitigir]

What exactly regulation from the ffc did zx1 fail ?

 

[Cecala]

What exactly regulation from the ffc did zx1 fail ?

Like I said in my previous post I have no proof other than speculation connected to it's poor S/N ratio. How else does one explain the total absence in the US? Sony would have sold many more units at a cheaper price then the new ZX2.

 

[djricekcn]

  This means nothing to me, in the end it comes to what are you getting for all this extra money. We want better everything plus features. As I said in closing in my previous post the ZX1 potentially failed FFC regulations, Sony was forced to get it right this time by redesigning the internals. You can look at all the pictures you like and I'm not being rude although what I said about the differences still stand. What these pictures show at least to me is the ZX1 done correctly.

 
What you are getting for all this extra money = better sound at least compared to zx1, that's it.  it's just a matter of if you're willing to pay for it, it sounds like you're not so let it drop

 

[Whitigir]

There would be plenty of reasons for That speculated S/N number ratio. Beside, speculations are not facts. The facts are clearly shown in the above pictures...clearly bigger board and so design and components !

You said you are seeing a ZX1 done right ? i can just say anything in the same way, and it would never hold any meaning.....an Ak240 is an AK120 done right ? Sure.....whatever float your boats, but it will not hold any meanings in any conversations when it is your own pure speculations and Opinions which ignore the facts altogether....so I will stop here with you . Peace.

 

[Cecala]

   
What you are getting for all this extra money = better sound at least compared to zx1, that's it.  it's just a matter of if you're willing to pay for it, it sounds like you're not so let it drop

Yes Sir!!!!

 

[cn11]

 
C' mon man no one is asking for you or anybody to justify their purchase decision, all the power to you.
Your comment about "product which obviously shows extensive R&D by Sony" is bit off a stretch though. If Sony were to have done this then the ZX1 would still be king of their players although it isn't. Sony could quite easily provide more output power at some expense to Battery duration in the ZX2 although this would put a small dent in their PHA3 sales. The ZX2 is a bigger sexier version of the ZX1 with bigger battery, slightly better sound and a microSD slot. The biggest improvement Sony placed on this new player (from their perspective) is the cost, they added $500. People have asked for an expansion slot and got it, job done. Next People want more power, no problem although you have to purchase the ZX3. Cowon have been doing this for years, that is, providing all these features in a player. Now that's feature rich.
This is only a theory so don't anyone prepare an attack. I believe the reason the ZX1 never made it to the US is because it failed to pass FFC Certification and Accreditation. This explains their mediocre to crap S/N ratio due to poor or lackluster R&D.

 
$500 difference? Try $400 if you're talking about original retail difference. The ZX1 was $799, ant the ZX2 is $1199. At least get your facts straight and don't exaggerate to try and make your point. 

 

[Cecala]

There would be plenty of reasons for That speculated S/N number ratio. Beside, speculations are not facts. The facts are clearly shown in the above pictures...clearly bigger board and so design and components !

You said you are seeing a ZX1 done right ? i can just say anything in the same way, and it would never hold any meaning.....an Ak240 is an AK120 done right ? Sure.....whatever float your boats, but it will not hold any meanings in any conversations when it is your own pure speculations and Opinions which ignore the facts altogether....so I will stop here with you

. Peace.

No, I did not say the very poor S/N ratio is speculated, it was proven by a Chinese team after extensive testing. I said that the fact it was poor was due to poor or rushed engineering in general and therefore it failed (potentially) to pass the FCC  because of this.
 
A clearly bigger board and so on proves nothing, in fact it suggests I'm correct. This time it was done right.
 
Peace man.

 

[Cecala]

   
$500 difference? Try $400 if you're talking about original retail difference. The ZX1 was $799, ant the ZX2 is $1199. At least get your facts straight and don't exaggerate to try and make your point. 

Where I'm from the ZX1 sold/sells for $699AU, even if the ZX2 sells for $1200AU matching the US price without conversion does it not make it 500 Dollars?