[henree]

Hi guys,
 
I am interested in either a sony walkman s or x series. The only thing important to me is sound quality. Is there a discernable enough difference sonically between these two?
 
I have an Imac and an e5 fio & ibasso D4 mamba. Using Audio Technica ath m 50 headphones. I listen mostly to techno rock pop and hiphop.

 

[paulypaul]

I have had the E & S series & own the A828 and have also heard the X series.
IMO the best sounding ones are the A & the X.
However if you are going to amp them with a LOD i have read reviews that the LO of the of the current A & X series is not as good as the older models (high freq: rolloff). Not sure about the current S series though.
I have a LOD for my A828 and i think the LO is quite good, but i only use it on my macbook and dont use it that often.

 

[henree]

Quote:

I have had the E & S series & own the A828 and have also heard the X series.
IMO the best sounding ones are the A & the X.
However if you are going to amp them with a LOD i have read reviews that the LO of the of the current A & X series is not as good as the older models (high freq: rolloff). Not sure about the current S series though.
I have a LOD for my A828 and i think the LO is quite good, but i only use it on my macbook and dont use it that often.

Pauly, how does the S series compare with a rockboxed sansa? Also if I get a LOD what sonically qualities will receive a boost?
 

 

[paulypaul]

 
Quote:

Pauly, how does the S series compare with a rockboxed sansa? Also if I get a LOD what sonically qualities will receive a boost?
 

I had the S for only about 2 weeks and did not have the sansa then, but the A828 clearly had a better soundstage and with the service menu tweek on the A828 it came up warmer and fuller in the bass, mid bass & mids.
The S series has a good low "clearbass" but lacks a mid bass which the A828 has.
I also thought the build of the S545 was pretty cheap compared to the A828.
Now comparing to the Rockboxed clip+ i have now as well I would choose it over the S purely because of the flexibility of Rockbox EQ.
I still choose the A828 over the Sansa because the Rockboxed Clip+ has a graininess in the mids and highs which can annoy me a little when wearing a detailed IEM like the ZERO.
However i use the Brainwavz M2 with the Sansa now and because the Signature is warmer and darker i like the fullness Rockbox brings with these IEMs.
As far as the LOD i haven't used it for months on the A828 and never used it on the S545 so would probably not be the one to ask about sonic qualities.
All my listening now straight from the A828 or Sansa Headphone out

 

[davyiush4]

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I have had the E & S series & own the A828 and have also heard the X series.
IMO the best sounding ones are the A & the X.
However if you are going to amp them with a LOD i have read reviews that the LO of the of the current A & X series is not as good as the older models (high freq: rolloff). Not sure about the current S series though.
I have a LOD for my A828 and i think the LO is quite good, but i only use it on my macbook and dont use it that often.

Thanks for your analysis! It's comprehensive.

 

[paulypaul]

No Probs. Although i also own a Rockboxed Clip+ and a 2G Touch(with Equalizer App) the A828 still gets the most use.

 

[Szadzik]

 
Quote:

I have had the E & S series & own the A828 and have also heard the X series.
IMO the best sounding ones are the A & the X.
However if you are going to amp them with a LOD i have read reviews that the LO of the of the current A & X series is not as good as the older models (high freq: rolloff). Not sure about the current S series though.
I have a LOD for my A828 and i think the LO is quite good, but i only use it on my macbook and dont use it that often.

I have Sony X and use a LOD to amp it with a Corda Stepdance and the LOD sound carries no hiss or any other kind of distortion, none.

 

[kmhaynes]

Both of my kids have the E34x players.  The sound is decent, but the EQ settings just sound odd to my -- unnatural.  I much prefer my Sansa Fuze sound.  Fuze on Rockbox sounds even better.  (BTW, The Sony E series and S series have the same sound, AFAIK.)
 
I also have an LOD for my Fuze (which Rockbox does NOT support), and to me, Fuze + RockBox + T4 amp sounds just as good as Fuze + LOD + T4 amp, and is easier to handle.  
 
BUT, a Fuze + LOD without an amp is not workable because the LOD bypasses the Fuze internal amp, and therefore volume control, so you get such a loud output it will blow your eardrums.  You need the amp with the LOD to control the volume.