[Mython]

Yeah, those rubber bands would certainly work.
 
 
Alternatively, if anyone's dead-set on a case instead, then the Sony Xperia Z1 handset is too large but the Samsung GS2 is quoted as:
 
125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm
 
(http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_galaxy_s_ii-3621.php)
 
 
 
 
From the Photoshopped pic I posted a few days ago, we can see that the NW-ZX1 is quite a similar size (thickness notwithstanding):
 

 
 
 
So something like this could be modified, if you're handy with a Stanley knife, but notice that mostly the buttons would already be free even without modification (you would have to slide the NW-ZX1 into the case, back-to-front, though - i.e. with the screen facing away from you):
 

 
 
http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Leather-Optional-Attached-Vangoddy/dp/B004XNK2RG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1386362769&sr=8-8&keywords=galaxy+s2+leather+case
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
OR, a vertical-style case... (again, I'm proposing that this be slightly modified with a Stanley knife, to make access to the NW-ZX1 buttons)
 
http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Leather-Vertical-Carrying-T-Mobile/dp/B005Q4IPRU/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1386362769&sr=8-11&keywords=galaxy+s2+leather+case :
 

 
 
 
It'd be nice to find one that doesn't hinder the screen at all, but then you need one that clips directly to the DAP, and that's very unlikely to fit accurately if it's designed for a smartphone, especially considering the unorthodox bump on the rear of the NW-ZX1. On the plus side, given that the NW-ZX1 is 6mm narrower than the GS2, this can provide a little room for the additional thickness of the NW-ZX1.
 
I reckon something like the cases above, with clearance made for the NW-ZX1s hardware buttons, would therefore be a quite satisfactory compromise, and I'm sure others will find even more suitable cases, in due course.
 
 
It certainly beats shelling-out a couple of hundred bucks for a leather case that doesn't allow any access to the DAP whatosever!
 
 
.

 

[burtomr]

uote:

  It'd be nice to find one that doesn't hinder the screen at all, but then you need one that clips directly to the DAP, and that's very unlikely to fit accurately if it's designed for a smartphone.
 

 
You could use a couple of Velcro strips to secure it to the inside back of the xxx case.....removable when you want, but not until.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

Is their a 'bulge' (lol) on the front of the player near the headphone socket?
 
All these cases reminds me of my 'blackberry' days. Only PDair will come up with something sensible.
 
Even the Z1000 series clear case by Sony are great (value & protection). I dont have even one visible scratch on it. And the openiness allows one to admire its beauty!

 

[Mython]

  Is their a 'bulge' (lol) on the front of the player near the headphone socket?
 

 
Yes, and, as others have already noted, this may lead to wear on that area of the DAP, but I suppose you could always sand / grind / file down the lump!

 
 
The NW-ZX1 is a rarity - very few DAPs require a codpiece!
 
 
.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

   
Yes, and, as others have already noted, this may lead to wear on that area of the DAP, but I suppose you could always sand / grind / file down the lump!

 
 
The NW-ZX1 is a rarity - very few DAPs require a codpiece!
 
 
.

 
Funny, that bulge can't be noted on the side view of the player of the pictures posted with the dimensions.
 
Glad I didnt jump aboard yet, will wait to hear some more reviews.

 

[burtomr]

 
The NW-ZX1 is a rarity - very few DAPs require a codpiece!
.

 
Or, you could just use a real codpiece:
 

 

[Mython]

   
Funny, that bulge can't be noted on the side view of the player of the pictures posted with the dimensions.
 
Glad I didnt jump aboard yet, will wait to hear some more reviews.

 
It protrudes by 1.8 mm, which is negligible unless you're planning on a very-close-fitting hard plastic or metal case.
 
As you know the pic was originally Photoshopped for the purposes of the rear, in relation to stacking it with an amp, so i didn't bother to add measurements for the 'bulge', as you put it.
 
If you look at the Sony spec page for the NW-ZX1, you'll see they confusingly provide 2 sets of measurements and it partly because of the 'bulge':
 
http://www.sony.jp/walkman/products/NW-ZX1/spec.html
 
60.7 × 122.8 × 15.3 mm
59.7 × 122.3 × 13.5 mm （9.8mm）

 

[audionewbi]

It is a good thing that even if I wanted to order this I couldn't so I just have to wait and wait for you kind folks to get your goods and review it. It seems like I just have to order mine next year.
 
I kind of wished ZX1 had its own operating system based on just music play back but than again andriod market offers all this other apps that possibly can enhance the music playback. I am just now counting the days when apple will jump into a high end dap. It is bond to happen it is just matter of when.

 

[Mython]

  It is a good thing that even if I wanted to order this I couldn't so I just have to wait and wait for you kind folks to get your goods and review it. It seems like I just have to order mine next year.
 
I kind of wished ZX1 had its own operating system based on just music play back but than again andriod market offers all this other apps that possibly can enhance the music playback. I am just now counting the days when apple will jump into a high end dap. It is bond to happen it is just matter of when.

 
I think it would have already happened if Jobs hadn't passed.
 
Nowadays, it seems Apple's just run by unimaginative bean-counters sat around a boardroom table, rather than innovators in brainstorming sessions.

 

[audionewbi]

   
I think it would have already happened if Jobs hadn't passed.
 
Nowadays, it seems Apple's just run by unimaginative bean-counters sat around a boardroom table, rather than innovators in brainstorming sessions.

True but I am also guessing that storing high rez files will cost more dollar and likely decrease the profit for them long term. Sadly the mass population is still very happy with mp3 player, even they will question why should anyone possibly want a file that just two track of it is as large an an entire album they have on their idevices. 
 
I am just glad sony is in it and I will do my best to support it, hope the rest of the world does too. Also we all have to be thankful to Niel Young, he is the only Musican I know of who used his power and the platform he has to demand for a better music replay production. Cannot wait to try out his pono too. All and all it is exciting time for us folks. 

 

[Mython]

Yes, I'm still hopeful Neil will make it to market in early 2014. Not because I especially want to buy a Pono DAP, but more because he will make a lot of publicity about Hi-Rez DAPs and this may, as you said, hopefully shake-up the market in our favour.
 
However, what doesn't please me, one little bit, is the discussion I just noticed, on Neil's website, about DRM. That could be a nail in the coffin of the Pono ecosystem before it even begins, and certainly won't do the larger Hi-Res marketplace any favours...
 
 
"Neil Young and his Pono team have figured out how to do something Spotify did for subscription music, but to sound quality: To make it “freemium.” You might be able to “borrow” a Pono file from a “friend” and play it on whatever you want — but in order to get the top-notch sound quality, you’ll need to play it on a Pono, from what we hear, and you’ll need to be the person who purchased it."
 
It's not that I want my music dubiously acquired, it's just that I object to DRM in principle, as it invariably means that if one invests many thousands of bucks in content, it can become obsolete by virtue of not being smoothly transferable to other devices that don't cater for a particular DRM standard, or may inhibit usage of content on more than one device.
 
 
.

 

[Mimouille]

Yes, I'm still hopeful Neil will make it to market in early 2014. Not because I especially want to buy a Pono DAP, but more because he will make a lot of publicity about Hi-Rez DAPs and this may, as you said, hopefully shake-up the market in our favour.

I am not yet convinced putting out a Fischer Price toy looking DAP will help anyone take this market seriously.

 

[Mython]

I am not yet convinced putting out a Fischer Price toy looking DAP will help anyone take this market seriously.

 
 
Good point, although:
 
1) the DAP he was hawking on Letterman's show was a prototype, so, hopefully, he'll have produced a decent-looking final product. I agree that the prototype certainly was a massive mistake, and I can't fathom what Neil was thinking when he thought it would look appealing to potential customers. Looks like half a chocolate Toblerone bar:
 


 
 
 
 
2) Neil's not only pushing his hardware, but also raising people's awareness of Hi-Rez content (hopefully, that will also make certain label's Hi-Rez content more available, globally. Americans don't realise how bl00dy annoying it is when HD Tracks keep offering content they won't sell outside the US, owing to their crummy licensing deals). More European online retailers are easing that situation (Linn, for example), but still...   and then there's Hi-Rez pricing.. the more competition the better, so, again, Neil's entry to the market, and associated publicity, may drive down content pricing a little(!)
 
Apple have made their profits on their i-Tunes ecosystem - I don't need to tell you that, you already know it, but the point is that Neil's efforts are about a Hi-Rez ecosystem rather than just the DAP.
 
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2013/08/neil-youngs-pono-ecosystem-will-put.html
 
 
I'm a bit dubious that he doesn't appear to have actually moved forwards much since 12 months ago, though. Seems like still re-hashing old PR, rather than demonstrating actual finalised hardware....
 
 
Still, here Sony are, actually producing and retailing Hi-Rez hardware and content, rather than just blowing hot air and vapourware, so whether or not I buy the NW-ZX1 (genuinely still don't know), I'm thankful that Sony are stepping into the Hi-Rez marketplace.
 
 
.

 

[Mimouille]

Good point, although:

1) the DAP he was hawking on Jay Lenno's show was a prototype, so, hopefully, he'll have produced a decent-looking final product. I agree that the prototype certainly was a massive mistake, and I can't fathom what Neil was thinking when he thought it would look appealing to potential customers.

2) Neil's not only pushing his hardware, but also raising people's awareness of Hi-Rez content (hopefully, that will also make certain label's Hi-Rez content more available, globally. Americans don't realise how bl00dy annoying it is when HD Tracks keep offering content they won't sell outside the US, owing to their crummy licensing deals).

Raising people's awareness on high res is nice and all, but most people I know do not even pay for music. If in rare cases they do, they have no clue itunes is not CD quality.

Being im China I am forced to use a VPN I can buy music from anywhere. And I still think the main reason for music to sound like crap today is neither gear nor bit rate or depth, but mastering quality.

So all in all I am not keeping my hopes up that most music will sound democratically good soon.

 

[audionewbi]

Mastering is no doubt important but a poorly recorded master will becoming more obvious when it is simply upsampled and release for gears that can play them. If more people got to hear that it would certainly make a push for better mastering as more and more folks will start to pressure the music producers for better sound for their money.
 
I am still sure in the developed world there is a significant push to better audio production. Despite monster and beats not been up to the regular "hifi" standard those cans are selling well and as we know they are not cheap. The fact that those cans of such pricing are selling quiet good to the masses I think that is a good testimony that with the right marketing things can take a nice turn for our field.