[Mython]

.... most of them closed down due to Sony's sales decline combined with on-line competition. ....

 
 
For folks in the UK, Tottenham Court Road (Central London) is generally the place to go for hard-to-find electronics gear, but even then the economic downturn has been evident in a reduction in the amount of bleeding-edge gear available there.
 
You can sometimes get a good deal there, but it's not for the faint of heart. They're a bunch of sharks and they can smell weakness or uncertainty in the punters within just a second or two after they've walked into the shop. You need to know exactly what you want, and the sellers sometimes try to trip you up by asking you "how much do you wanna pay?", so you need to know exactly how low / high you are willing to pay and you need to have cash, not cards.  Oh, and you need to dress in nothing fancier than jeans and a T-shirt, with no jewellery or watch, and no fancy shoes/trainers. If they sniff that you may have more cash than you're letting on, you'll never get their best price.
 
I recall paying about £230 for a D-777 Discman when everyone was retailing them for £299 - £320 (this was when they were 'just off the ship', very rare in the UK, and in high demand from head-fi geeks), but I had to go in the shop with such confidence that they ended up whimpering at the price I got them to sell it for.
 
 
I'm not saying that to brag - I'm simply mentioning it to describe how merciless (but always polite) you need to be with them. Not so much merciless with words, but in certitude and self-confidence.
 
I no longer live in London but if anyone reading this thread is considering buying a ZX1 in the UK, please consider visiting Tottenham Court Road if you have the necessary self-confidence, described above, and can't find a decent deal online. It's a buyer's market at the moment.

 

[soundblast75]

   
 
For folks in the UK, Tottenham Court Road (Central London) is generally the place to go for hard-to-find electronics gear, but even then the economic downturn has been evident in a reduction in the amount of bleeding-edge gear available there.
 
You can sometimes get a good deal there, but it's not for the faint of heart. They're a bunch of sharks and they can smell weakness or uncertainty in the punters within just a second or two after they've walked into the shop. You need to know exactly what you want, and the sellers sometimes try to trip you up by asking you "how much do you wanna pay?", so you need to know exactly how low / high you are willing to pay and you need to have cash, not cards.  Oh, and you need to dress in nothing fancier than jeans and a T-shirt, with no jewellery or watch, and no fancy shoes/trainers. If they sniff that you may have more cash than you're letting on, you'll never get their best price.
 
I recall paying about £230 for a D-777 Discman when everyone was retailing them for £299 - £320 (this was when they were 'just off the ship', very rare in the UK, and in high demand from head-fi geeks), but I had to go in the shop with such confidence that they ended up whimpering at the price I got them to sell it for.
 
 
I'm not saying that to brag - I'm simply mentioning it to describe how merciless (but always polite) you need to be with them. Not so much merciless with words, but in certitude and self-confidence.
 
I no longer live in London but if anyone reading this thread is considering buying a ZX1 in the UK, please consider visiting Tottenham Court Road if you have the necessary self-confidence, described above, and can't find a decent deal online. It's a buyer's market at the moment.

i went 2 days ago, they had the NWZ-F886 on display, it is a hit and miss shop, but hey, nowadays even the fact its there means a lot to me

 

[Mython]

 
i went 2 days ago, they had the NWZ-F886 on display, it is a hit and miss shop, but hey, nowadays even the fact its there means a lot to me

 
 
Try to steer clear of the shops at the beginning of Tottenham Court Road (the ones closest to Oxford Street). They're more run-down, with older stock.
 
I find the small independent shops a hundred yards or so further along are about the best bet.
 
Dunno if Micro Anvika are still there, but they are a chain and they don't like to budge much on price.
 
If the ZX1 isn't on that street yet, you can be sure it will be soon.
 
There's also a surprisingly decent little shop in Wealdstone, called Victor Electronics. As far as I know, it still exists, and they have always had the very latest Japanese gear there, over the years. Within reason, they would haggle, although perhaps not to the same extent as on T C R.  However, I will admit it's been about 5 years since I visited Victor Electronics, so I don't know for certain that they're still going or if they're still as good a stockist of hard-to-find Japanese gear as they used to be.
 
 

---

 

[Mimouille]

LOL. I actually carry a 2TB HDD with all my hi-rez files. I bought a 500GB for my old iTunes MP3s and M4As which were also 250gb worth.

I only have 2 albums in total, but they are both ultra mega high res (240 bit and 19200 kHz) so each of them weighs 1 Tera...not a single player works.

 

[rawrster]

So my V6 Stage were delivered today but unfortunately they were delivered to work the day I was off (funny how that works out -_-) so I'll get them tomorrow. I'll be able to pair it with the ZX1 to see how a slightly brighter ciem sounds with this. 

 

[burtomr]

I only have 2 albums in total, but they are both ultra mega high res (240 bit and 19200 kHz) so each of them weighs 1 Tera...not a single player works.

 

 

[Mimouille]

   

 

[Mimouille]

Just tried the Shure SE846. With the white filters (bright), they sound amazing with the ZX1. Great portable rig.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/675219/shure-se846-appreciation-thread/705#post_10142644

 

[Cecala]

Regarding the increased Tax on goods by Japan, does it not apply to Japan only? All exports get this deducted don't they?

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

I read on this product description :http://dma-audio.com/product_detail.php?id=2300
 
Basically it said that "this device uses its own self-developed/enhanced operating system, it is to avoid sound output being affected by Android".
 
Is there any truth of Android affects the sound quality or it is just marketing talk?

 

[Cecala]

  I read on this product description :http://dma-audio.com/product_detail.php?id=2300
 
Basically it said that "this device uses its own self-developed/enhanced operating system, it is to avoid sound output being affected by Android".
 
Is there any truth of Android affects the sound quality or it is just marketing talk?

It sounds like word play imo. Sound output could also mean volume not quality, in any case to me it spells marketing nonsense because if true then someone would have done something about long ago.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

  It sounds like word play imo. Sound output could also mean volume not quality, in any case to me it spells marketing nonsense because if true then someone would have done something about long ago.

Sorry, it is just my bad translation. It was really just "sound" without the "output".
 
I agree to your point about someone should have fixed this long ago if there was issue at the first place. I am just a bit curious what is the origin of this sentiment/myth....

 

[AnakChan]

  Just tried the Shure SE846. With the white filters (bright), they sound amazing with the ZX1. Great portable rig.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/675219/shure-se846-appreciation-thread/705#post_10142644

 
You're trying to change my mind about selling my SE846 ? Actually I've been talking to another member offline and the synergy between the ZX1 & the MH335DW is awesome. I'm actually happy with this combo that at times I wonder if I need to Studio Reference my MH335DW anymore (but I'll still do it knowing that the option is there ).
 
Personally I'm still leaning towards the ZX1 having better synergy with those warmer earphones.

 

[Capri87]

You're trying to change my mind about selling my SE846 ? Actually I've been talking to another member offline and the synergy between the ZX1 & the MH335DW is awesome. I'm actually happy with this combo that at times I wonder if I need to Studio Reference my MH335DW anymore (but I'll still do it knowing that the option is there ).

Personally I'm still leaning towards the ZX1 having better synergy with those warmer earphones.

So is fitear tg334 considered warmer iem?

 

[AnakChan]

So is fitear tg334 considered warmer iem?

 
I used to think so before the MH335DW. By normal hearing standards (whatever that means) I guess it is. But I've been FitEarised that the TG!334 sound pretty "normal" to me these days .