[singlasing]

I am planning to buy A17 too.
 
the reasons are exactly same as you - loves the aesthetics of the design, and that 30hr battery life is impressive
 
Just if the A17 can play .dsf would be best (but it can't come true...)
 
fiio and ibasso - i feel like they are just too bulky for my daily use

 

[castleofargh]

  They prefer the x5 over this but x5 is a lot more.
Should have done a x3 comparison. 

if in my head I think "I want the best sound on any headphone, but I refuse to carry a big external amp", then I don't really want the best sound. that's all there is to it. if people are looking for power, at least let's not pretend to look for it in a 66gr DAP. I know it's headfi and we all love to dream, but a few things are still limited by logic and size.
my A15+Leckerton amp is 66+170=236gr
a X5 is 195gr. so it's a very reasonable product if what you need is power. but else, it's 3 times the A10 for 3times less battery. not something you're gonna forget having in your pocket or take to gym.
 
if I was looking for great sound on any headphone, I would use any DAP with a great line out, and an O2. I do not do that because the combo would be crazy fat. but if I was really looking for sound, that would be my choice. not any DAP alone.(keep in mind that depending on the headphone it would be massively idiotic and pointless to do that, I'm talking as a sort of "universal solution for good sound").

 

[singlasing]

yea. agree with you. 
 
So, if somebody who is looking for "best sound", carrying the external amp is the "best" option.
 
I am just wondering if any very nice external dac amp who can support A17 other than sony own dac amp (like PHA-3) in future.
 
for everyday use, like going to gym, A17 without external dac amp is really nice solution to me

 

[castleofargh]

  yea. agree with you. 
 
So, if somebody who is looking for "best sound", carrying the external amp is the "best" option.
 
I am just wondering if any very nice external dac amp who can support A17 other than sony own dac amp (like PHA-3) in future.
 
for everyday use, like going to gym, A17 without external dac amp is really nice solution to me

I really don't know about using an external DAC on sony, I never looked into it simply because I tended to really like the sound of the line out a lot, and the PHA amps always had too high impedance output for my IEMs.
I just tried, to not just stay purposefully ignorant, plugging the charging cable and an otg adapter into my DACs(never though about trying before...), and nothing happened. so that much is cleared out ^_^.
 
I'm sure a few PHA owners can enlighten us about that (special restriction? special cable?).

 

[singlasing]

I do not get my A17 (teal color) yet.
 
However, the design and the simplicity of "pure" high res music player just blow me away
 
Love the weight, size and color of A17. 
 
I am just curious to know if any external DAC AMP to plug to that A17 for "upgrading" the sound quality ^_^
 
Can any sony user provide me some suggestions?
 
I am going to take the A17 this Friday, can't wait!!

 

[ghettocoolie]

I'm trying to decide if using this player for the FLAC files I have will yield better sound quality than what I'm currently getting. I'm currently using a Cowon S9 and sometimes an iPhone 5 as a reference. I do use FLAC for some of the media on the Cowon S9.
 
I realize the full potential of the player will be reached with using HRA, but will there be any benefit in using the NWZ-A15/A17 to play CD quality FLAC files rather than High Resolution Audio FLAC over an older DAP or a iPhone?

 

[sardar17]

  I'm trying to decide if using this player for the FLAC files I have will yield better sound quality than what I'm currently getting. I'm currently using a Cowon S9 and sometimes an iPhone 5 as a reference. I do use FLAC for some of the media on the Cowon S9.
 
I realize the full potential of the player will be reached with using HRA, but will there be any benefit in using the NWZ-A15/A17 to play CD quality FLAC files rather than High Resolution Audio FLAC over an older DAP or a iPhone?

Better get x5 if bulk is of no concern to u.

 

[turokrocks]

 
Better get x5 if bulk is of no concern to u.

What about battery life???!!! Maybe it is also important (X5 <10 hours)
I do not think it is "advisable" to give advice about something you did not compare to, maybe he will like the Sony A17 better.
 
I learned my lesson, and will never like or dislike a DAP without trying it myself, whatever others think.
 
I got the ZX1, but ended selling it and keeping the Z1070, and like many other daps.

 

[sardar17]

  What about battery life???!!! Maybe it is also important (X5 <10 hours)
I do not think it is "advisable" to give advice about something you did not compare to, maybe he will like the Sony A17 better.
 
I learned my lesson, and will never like or dislike a DAP without trying it myself, whatever others think.
 
I got the ZX1, but ended selling it and keeping the Z1070, and like many other daps.

Ur wish........
But the focus is sq here,,,battery matters but even 10 hours is good unless and until u travel long distances.
 
Sony just failed to realize
 
1)The hardcore audiophiles(am not one,i still carry clip+

) have already moved on to ibasso,fiio,ak etc
2)The middle of the park are split between walkmans,sansa players and cowon dap's
3)The average joe uses his smartphone or gets an apple product.
 
If they are serious,they need to address the category 1 and 3 which sadly they are not.......................walkman's don't sound as good as hardcore players (for the majority,tiny minority will say the opposite) and they don't have enough features to please the average joe to consider him to dump apple.
 
Have u seen the price of m series walkman??


This thing with 8 gb and no expansion will go for 150 euro...............sure it has special nc with nc buds but 150!!

 
 
 
RESULT
A company thats on verge of going bankrupt.
 
 
 
p.s-----personal opinion,am not any analyst but a look at sony's financial results indicate they indeed will find it hard to survive.

 

 

[qawsedrf]

Ur wish........

But the focus is sq here,,,battery matters but even 10 hours is good unless and until u travel long distances.

Sony just failed to realize

1)The hardcore audiophiles(am not one,i still carry clip+:tongue_smile: ) have already moved on to ibasso,fiio,ak etc
2)The middle of the park are split between walkmans,sansa players and cowon dap's
3)The average joe uses his smartphone or gets an apple product.

If they are serious,they need to address the category 1 and 3 which sadly they are not.......................walkman's don't sound as good as hardcore players (for the majority,tiny minority will say the opposite) and they don't have enough features to please the average joe to consider him to dump apple.

Have u seen the price of m series walkman??




[COLOR=FF0000]RESULT[/COLOR]
A company thats on verge of going bankrupt.



p.s-----personal opinion,am not any analyst but a look at sony's financial results indicate they indeed will find it hard to survive.  

You do realise there's the Sony ZX1 right? Also Sony produces smartphones such as the Z3C/Z3 etc etc. So both 1 and 3 is just nicely covered.
Unless they do not sell any of these in India, which is just too bad.


I am going to get a A17 for the battery life + expandable storage + form factor. My portable listening sessions are aimed for different goals, different than what I strive for from my dedicated home setup/speakers.

 

[nekromantik]

Well the X1 is praised by audiophiles yet it is not very big and is portable.
Difference is battery life and not as pretty UI.
Dont care for the UI prettyness.
SQ is important and so is battery life.

 

[sardar17]

You do realise there's the Sony ZX1 right? Also Sony produces smartphones such as the Z3C/Z3 etc etc. So both 1 and 3 is just nicely covered.
Unless they do not sell any of these in India, which is just too bad.


I am going to get a A17 for the battery life + expandable storage + form factor. My portable listening sessions is aimed for different goals, different than what I strive for from my dedicated home setup/speakers.

Well u certainly are one very ill informed bloke
This should make u ponder over what i said a little more seriously
 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/17/us-sony-outlook-idUSKBN0HC0EC20140917
 
And both z3 and z3 compact will be no different.why?
 
http://www.gsmarena.com/iphone_6_vs_galaxy_alpha_vs_xperia_z3c-review-1148.php
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4-wins-our-blind-camera-comparison-iPhone-6-is-distant-second_id61676
 
It simply has the hardware of z2 ie snapdragon 801 and exactly same 20.7 mp camera and the reviews will tell u it performs poorly due to that vs snapdragon 805 and apple a8.
 
 
 
 
 
Coming back to ur jibe on india they do sell all their cellphones in india,too bad no one is buying them.http://www.sony.co.in/section/home?referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.in%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt

 

[qawsedrf]

Well u certainly are one very ill informed bloke
This should make u ponder over what i said a little more seriously

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/17/us-sony-outlook-idUSKBN0HC0EC20140917

And both z3 and z3 compact will be no different.why?

http://www.gsmarena.com/iphone_6_vs_galaxy_alpha_vs_xperia_z3c-review-1148.php
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4-wins-our-blind-camera-comparison-iPhone-6-is-distant-second_id61676

It simply has the hardware of z2 ie snapdragon 801 and exactly same 20.7 mp camera and the reviews will tell u it performs poorly due to that vs snapdragon 805 and apple a8.





Coming back to ur jibe on india they do sell all their cellphones in india,too bad no one is buying them.http://www.sony.co.in/section/home?referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.in%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt

Chill sardar17. If your reading comprehension didn't fail you, you'd realise I was referring to your three points:

Sony just failed to realize

1)The hardcore audiophiles(am not one,i still carry clip+tongue_smile.gif ) have already moved on to ibasso,fiio,ak etc
2)The middle of the park are split between walkmans,sansa players and cowon dap's
3)The average joe uses his smartphone or gets an apple product.

If they are serious,they need to address the category 1 and 3 which sadly they are not.......................

Where I've pointed out 1 - Is covered by the Sony ZX1. 3 - Is covered by the Z3C/Z3/etc, which is a smartphone.
This just means Sony did indeed address to both category 1 and 3. They're just incapable to grabbing off more share market which is another story altogether anyhow.


I do agree Sony is losing market share. But for all I care, no other manufacturers can produce what I want, for my needs, so my money goes to Sony. Simple.

 

[sardar17]

Chill sardar17. If your reading comprehension didn't fail you, you'd realise I was referring to your three points:
Where I've pointed out 1 - Is covered by the Sony ZX1. 3 - Is covered by the Z3C/Z3/etc, which is a smartphone.
This just means Sony did indeed address to both category 1 and 3. They're just incapable to grabbing off more share market which is another story altogether anyhow.

I do agree Sony is losing market share. But for all I care, no other manufacturers can produce what I want, for my needs, so my money goes to Sony. Simple.

No worries buddy,,a good debate never hurt anyone

 

[zenpunk]

As a former HM-901 I haven't been tempted by all the recent overpriced DAPs ( although the Calyx M had my attention for a while) but I will probably get this very reasonably priced, straightforward and compact Sony A10  as a dedicated audio player for when travelling.