[Turrican2]

  I will still be waiting to find out what the measured output impedance of the NW-ZX1 is, but, so far, it seems it may be fairly low. I'm guessing around 2 Ω  -  3 Ω

 
I'm very interested in the output impedance too.  Has any figure been published at all? (even if not measured by someone other than Sony)

 

[AndrewH13]

Looking for a delete button, corrected post below!

 

[AndrewH13]

I'm still reading through this marathon thread so apologies if it's already been posted, but What HiFi in the UK have reviewed the ZX1:
 
http://www.whathifi.com/blog/hands-on-sony-nw-zx1-high-resolution-walkman?utm_source=Silverpop&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=WHIF%20Enews%20bulletin%2011.12.13%20(11.12.2013)&utm_content=article_1_image

 

[Mython]

Thanks Andrew, it has
 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/680853/sony-nwz-zx1-35th-walkman-anniversary-model/1530#post_10050349
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/680853/sony-nwz-zx1-35th-walkman-anniversary-model/1605#post_10054863
 
 
 
but not to worry. Hopefully, they'll be reviewing a proper production model in the next week or so.

 

[OK-Guy]

   
Small point, but the ZX1 is spec'ed at higher mw output than the F886/7.

 
those little 'small points' are a interest to some but not to me, I'm not really interested in charts etc. I prefer to rely on my ears... I see technical jargon exactly as that, if I need help I tend to ask my Walkman peers Turok, Purk, CN11, Now-What & Fortis (if anyone wants to root their ZX1 see Sicko).
 
In truth, I've owned some pretty nice hi-fi systems over the years and I'm blessed that I know some seriously interesting people within the hi-fi industry, they'd laugh at me if I get all technical cause I ain't got a clue I'm more known for my music hunting endeavours... my cat reckons I got great hearing cause I said 'I heard Mimo has a rat in Shanghai', says it all really.

 

[rudi0504]

Thanks. I was actually writting the review and I heard the person scratching in the basement again...

I listened to the player a bit more and played with it a bit and here a few additional remarks:

• Ergonomics and UI are REALLY IMPRESSIVE. With 110 gigs of music on board, all tags and art are recognized perfectly (well after owning DX100, AK100, AK120 and 901, my tags are squeaky clean). The player is super responsive, I can navigate from menu to menu, album to album and song to song instantly. Not a single bug / lag so far, which is very nice coming from "audiophile" DAP
• I understand what Anak said concerning soundstage. This is the first things that I noticed: the soundstage is ultra wide and airy. The background is super black with my NT6. Dynamics are excellent, with sharp bass, quick attack and decay. The sound is a bit on the cold side, so with the NT6, don't go expecting warm lush mids...the mids are a bit thin but very clear and transparent.
• After just a few tracks, no particular problems with the Spiral Ears SE-5 (135ohms or impedance). The bass and subbass are clean and impactful (James Blake's Limit to your love pounds in your brains like a mad dwards with a hammer). The overal sound is warmer than with the NT6. The SE5 are less sensitive so the volume needs to boosted up a notch. All in all sound really really nice
• The player does not seem to be quite tender to badly mastered tracks...anything that sounds harsh will sound worst on this

Needless to say I love this player so far.

Thank Michael
Very nice impression
Tomorrow night my daughter flying back from Tokyo , I can not wait to long .

 

[OK-Guy]

Our ZX1's have cleared Customs with zilch to pay.... Fortis gets invoiced in January hahaha

 

[musicday]

One question only:
How is it compared to the Tera Player?
Thank you.

 

[Ra97oR]

One question only:
How is it compared to the Tera Player?
Thank you.

It seems to have a very useable screen compared to the Tera.

 

[woodcans]

One question only:
How is it compared to the Tera Player?
Thank you.

It seems to have a very useable screen compared to the Tera.

And a pause button.

 

[soundblast75]

Thanks, I'm not actually looking to use NT6 or SE-5 (not a fan of SE-5 and I understand from various PMs that NT6 would be too cold for me), but the point is that these are well-known multi-BA CIEMs, with very different impedance characteristics from each other, so, if the NW-ZX1 can drive both of them properly, on a technical level, then that bodes well for me if I intend (eventually) to get some Roxannes or K10s or JH13 FPs, etc.

I'm considering gritting the Roxanne's universal too.
My ZX1 should be with me tomorrow

 

[bmichels]

Thanks. I was actually writting the review and I heard the person scratching in the basement again...

I listened to the player a bit more and played with it a bit and here a few additional remarks:

• Ergonomics and UI are REALLY IMPRESSIVE. With 110 gigs of music on board, all tags and art are recognized perfectly (well after owning DX100, AK100, AK120 and 901, my tags are squeaky clean). The player is super responsive, I can navigate from menu to menu, album to album and song to song instantly. Not a single bug / lag so far, which is very nice coming from "audiophile" DAP
• I understand what Anak said concerning soundstage. This is the first things that I noticed: the soundstage is ultra wide and airy. The background is super black with my NT6. Dynamics are excellent, with sharp bass, quick attack and decay. The sound is a bit on the cold side, so with the NT6, don't go expecting warm lush mids...the mids are a bit thin but very clear and transparent.
• After just a few tracks, no particular problems with the Spiral Ears SE-5 (135ohms or impedance). The bass and subbass are clean and impactful (James Blake's Limit to your love pounds in your brains like a mad dwards with a hammer). The overal sound is warmer than with the NT6. The SE5 are less sensitive so the volume needs to boosted up a notch. All in all sound really really nice
• The player does not seem to be quite tender to badly mastered tracks...anything that sounds harsh will sound worst on this

Needless to say I love this player so far.

Great review. Really too bad it is limited to 128 gb. It Miss the " best dap" award because of this !!

 

[woodcans]

Great review. Really too bad it is limited to 128 gb. It Miss the " best dap" award because of this !!

 
 
I think that 128 gb will likely be enough for me, I tend to rotate much less gb than that with my listening habits.

 

[AmberOzL]

Great impressions Mim. I have a question though,
 
How the volume system works? I mean is it like from 1 to 100? Up to which percentage you have to increase the volume to listen to SE5way efficiently?
 
128 gb limit is the only thing bugging me but, if everything else is covered, I might be settled down.
 
Edit: One more question, does it sound better than AK120 with SE5way?

 

[rawrster]

Things are looking very promising so far. If battery is around 20 hours with good UI and it sounds good then it may be too tempting to resist. Hopefully someone has a HM901 to compare to since that is another dap I was considering. 
 
I will wait for the new year before I make a decision as I don't like waiting and hopefully by then there isn't a back order on this dap anymore.