[DigitalCurator]

With the Z-1060 90% of the time I use Poweramp instead of the stock player. The volume was always louder and it has a much better equalizer, which makes the Walkman sound better. I don't understand how Sony thinks that a 5 band equalizer is enough for audiophile players. From what I have seen the F886 and F887 have 5 band equalizers as well, correct? 

 

[puerrican85]

By chance has anyone tried the player with the sony pha-2 amp? Thinking of getting both and upgrading from my ipod&fiio e12 combo.

 

[castleofargh]

... for the line out, volume is locked ....

 
eratum:
I said the line out volume was locked, only the physical buttons are, you can go and change the volume in settings. sorry about that.
it's a different volume control than on the HO (unlike the trapped dx50), and the dap will detect itself if the line out is plugged and pick the adequate volume setting (usual sony behavior).
now from half volume and lower on the dap I can already start to hear the noise floor coming at me, as always worst case scenario with almost silent music, amp pretty loud and togo 334 that can pick up noise like swiffer gets dust.
it's a plain logical behavior, again I'm not criticizing, just describing for those like me who had those kind of weirdo questions on practical uses.
 
conclusion, it's here so if you have trouble with setting your amp volume (channel imbalance) you know you can in a moderate way lower the dap volume so the amp knob can get higher and solve problems. just know that optimal audio quality on the line out comes with this volume maxed out.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

My expected delivery of my F886 ( for Monday ) has just turned up early ! Nice surprise ! It's made my weekend....hopefully ! ( It's just asking me for my network password....hope I've got the right name !! A few seconds will tell ! ? Never had a touch screen device before. Letters are small & close together, keep catching the wrong letter ! Hopefully will get there in the end ! ?

Oh nice Rob! I guess you can draw your own conclusions as to the F886 vs. RH-1 Suffice to say, the 5 mw of the RH-1 doesn't do as good a job of driving my phones as the F886. Line out on the RH-1 is quite excellent however.

 

[Rob49]

Oh nice Rob! I guess you can draw your own conclusions as to the F886 vs. RH-1

Suffice to say, the 5 mw of the RH-1 doesn't do as good a job of driving my phones as the F886. Line out on the RH-1 is quite excellent however.

Hi Ids, I didn't want to post anything until i'd had fair use....well I've had about 14hrs listening since yesterday, so i'll give some thoughts....
As I posted earlier, I've transferred all FLAC file conversions ( no higher than 44.1 ) I've only just got into listening to FLAC and I now tend to listen to all my music this way. ( played back on my Oppo. )
The F866 replicates what my Oppo does, so i'm very impressed. I won't stop using my mini disc / Hi MD players, but I can see that I will definitely be using the F886 more !
I've paired the player up with the Sony Hi Res Audio headphones, MDR-10RC's ( Which I already loved ! ) I've tried my Sony MDR-1NC headphones very briefly, so brief I just had to return to the 10RC's !
The detail, clarity, and overall soundstage is very impressive. You really can hear every little nuance. Very "live" sounding, Vocals are fantastic, ( You can hear singers take breath's & clicking like sounds, at the beginning or end of a vocal line. ) and one thing that stands out is the extra prominence of background vocals. Sony state "a true sound" and I think that's a pretty accurate statement.
I haven't really experimented with sound settings, at this present moment in time, "Clear Phase" is on, along with "xLOUD". Other posters. ( like Vect ) have indicated not to use them, and i'm thinking that may be the best way to go ?
The Hi Res audio samples, are excellent, albeit short, and not enough of them ( and I don't think there's any 192/24 file ? ) but you don't expect there to be ! It's clear that Hi Res files will be where these players will really shine even more !....but for now i'm more than happy & impressed with my 44.1 FLAC files.
Anyway, better go & carry on listening.......

 
( Just to add, I would like to have a tad more volume, especially with certain types of music / vocals, but that's what you get for buying a EU model, unfortunately ! )

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Rob - I personally don't use any settings other than the DSEE which supposedly restores some of the lost info in the treble region that is lost in compression. Not sure what it's restoring nor if it makes any difference, (placebo perhaps?) I personally haven't noticed any differenc with it on but my hearing takes a nosedive after 16khz anyhow. I use a mix of AAC and MP3s on my F886, opting for space in lieu of quality. I've never noticed any difference between Redbook CD and 320 Kbps AAC to be honest. I'm indifferent towards hires files as well. Mastering/recording quality matter a lot more than compression bitrates anyhow; garbage in, garbage out as they say. And to be honest, the bulk of my music is poorly mastered/engineered rock albums anyhow, no amount of hires is gonna save that stuff from brickwalling and crushed dynamics.

How much did your EU model cost btw? If the volume cap bothers you, perhaps you could try importing from PriceJapan. It cost $367 to ship to the US, which was a very fair price. Not sure if you'll have to contend with tariffs of any sort being in EU tho

 

[Rob49]

Rob - I personally don't use any settings other than the DSEE which supposedly restores some of the lost info in the treble region that is lost in compression. Not sure what it's restoring nor if it makes any difference, (placebo perhaps?) I personally haven't noticed any differenc with it on but my hearing takes a nosedive after 16khz anyhow. I use a mix of AAC and MP3s on my F886, opting for space in lieu of quality. I've never noticed any difference between Redbook CD and 320 Kbps AAC to be honest. I'm indifferent towards hires files as well. Mastering/recording quality matter a lot more than compression bitrates anyhow; garbage in, garbage out as they say. And to be honest, the bulk of my music is poorly mastered/engineered rock albums anyhow, no amount of hires is gonna save that stuff from brickwalling and crushed dynamics.

How much did your EU model cost btw? If the volume cap bothers you, perhaps you could try importing from PriceJapan. It cost $367 to ship to the US, which was a very fair price. Not sure if you'll have to contend with tariffs of any sort being in EU tho

I have the DSEE highlighted on my Sonicstage softwear for my MD Players,. Ids I will try it out, or at least give it more of a chance ! I don't really like to change settings, just because it becomes a more questionable listen !
I used to transfer everything to MD at 256Kbps ( the 256 samples sound fine on the F886. ) and then started to transfer at 320Kbps ( or 3 something or other AAC ?? ) Obviously, as you say, less space, and I wouldn't have been aware of any difference in sound quality particularly ( until I started listening to FLAC. )
I'm enjoying listening in FLAC at present, although that of course means less storge. ( but 70 + albums, can keep me occupied !! lol )
Very true what you say about mixing / mastering. If that's not done well, it doesn't matter what players we use !
It cost £339. I haven't given up on ordering a ZX-1 from PriceJapan, although was put off by tariffs. ( and the lack of finances. ) I'll end up bankrupt !! lol ( The volume thing isn't too much of a problem. It doesn't spoil one's overall enjoyment, really. )

 

[castleofargh]

for max volume, I suppose you maxed the master volume and the player volume as they are upon each other ^_^. for possible extra db you can use the dynamic normalizer. the name is misleading as it's not what normalizers do on most software. if your track has a lot of negative gain, the dap will push it up just before clipping or something like that, to get all tracks to sound around the same volume levels.
 
dsee didn't seem relevant to me on 320kps. on few really crazy poor mp3 I keep since way back in 128k it does make a massive difference, but already sony has a way of making crappy files to sound almost ok, so no dsee for me. also neither my ears, or most of my IEMs can deal with after 17khz. if I remember mp3 tend to cut around 16khz? so not much to retrieve for me anyway.
 
xloud is a compressor used on the sound only when you use the speaker inside the dap(surely because it's a music shredder in disguise) ^_^. so it won't do anything in your phones mate sorry.
 
my personal way of picking anything is simple, I try both a lot, and then I ask myself if I can tell what I'm using just from listening (having a very poor memory helps a lot... what? hello!).
for mp3 vs flac, I just rip an album to flac and to mp3 and shuffle tracks. until now I haven't been able to conclusively tell what is what at all times. I got some hints because I know how it works so it's more than 50/50, and if I A/B the files I can hear the changes. but if I can't tell on the go, I don't need to flatter myself with heavy 24bit flacs when it's obviously either not very meaningful or too good for my ears. but then again I could as well use flacs or waves as I tend to listen to the 10same albums again and again. I don't think there is a bad choice here.
 
on the F886 the very obvious setting I can never miss is the surround one. I turn the dap on and can tell after 5secs what surround effect is ON(or not). therefore I use that to fit my tastes. I find studio very relaxing and "seemingly natural". more and more I believe it is nothing else than a very well done crossfeed.
in any case the Studio effect on my A865 is put to a shame. they keep the names and the general ideas, but sony really improves a lot of things without telling us. that much is very obvious to me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
what should I do? I hate most of this dap:
android boot time
huge useless screen
not easy to use with only one hand
battery life
android UI not that great IMO
little hiss with my 334
little "tac" sound every 2 seconds with all my good IEMs (and zero sound on my cheap ones.. so unfair!)
 
but then I listen the the music itself and never want to get rid of it ever... damn you sony!! Y U make sound I love!!?!!??
is choosing not to choose still a choice?

 

[Vect]

  for max volume, I suppose you maxed the master volume and the player volume as they are upon each other ^_^. for possible extra db you can use the dynamic normalizer. the name is misleading as it's not what normalizers do on most software. if your track has a lot of negative gain, the dap will push it up just before clipping or something like that, to get all tracks to sound around the same volume levels.
 
dsee didn't seem relevant to me on 320kps. on few really crazy poor mp3 I keep since way back in 128k it does make a massive difference, but already sony has a way of making crappy files to sound almost ok, so no dsee for me. also neither my ears, or most of my IEMs can deal with after 17khz. if I remember mp3 tend to cut around 16khz? so not much to retrieve for me anyway.
 
xloud is a compressor used on the sound only when you use the speaker inside the dap(surely because it's a music shredder in disguise) ^_^. so it won't do anything in your phones mate sorry.
 
my personal way of picking anything is simple, I try both a lot, and then I ask myself if I can tell what I'm using just from listening (having a very poor memory helps a lot... what? hello!).
for mp3 vs flac, I just rip an album to flac and to mp3 and shuffle tracks. until now I haven't been able to conclusively tell what is what at all times. I got some hints because I know how it works so it's more than 50/50, and if I A/B the files I can hear the changes. but if I can't tell on the go, I don't need to flatter myself with heavy 24bit flacs when it's obviously either not very meaningful or too good for my ears. but then again I could as well use flacs or waves as I tend to listen to the 10same albums again and again. I don't think there is a bad choice here.
 
on the F886 the very obvious setting I can never miss is the surround one. I turn the dap on and can tell after 5secs what surround effect is ON(or not). therefore I use that to fit my tastes. I find studio very relaxing and "seemingly natural". more and more I believe it is nothing else than a very well done crossfeed.
in any case the Studio effect on my A865 is put to a shame. they keep the names and the general ideas, but sony really improves a lot of things without telling us. that much is very obvious to me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
what should I do? I hate most of this dap:
android boot time
huge useless screen
not easy to use with only one hand
battery life
android UI not that great IMO
little hiss with my 334
little "tac" sound every 2 seconds with all my good IEMs (and zero sound on my cheap ones.. so unfair!)
 
but then I listen the the music itself and never want to get rid of it ever... damn you sony!! Y U make sound I love!!?!!??
is choosing not to choose still a choice?

You can buy an SBH52 headset and have fun with it... couple it with PowerAmp on android and you have a tiny little device that you can couple with both your F886 and phone, as I did:
 
Song title is displayed on the SBH52, using power amp I can advance or go back tracks with only one click, then using double click I can advance folders.
 
I have SoundAbout to route the audio no matter the player exclusively to the the XBA-30 wired headphones (Walkman app doesn't display song names but controls work), so the headset only allows me to navigate between tracks and see other stuff in the screen (you can configure it to show your calendar and it shows you the clock if you press back 3 times).
 
Because it can be paired with two bluetooth devices, I have paired it also with my XT890, when a call arrives it tells you on the screen, you simply press the call button and answers the call, the SBH52 has an included speaker that you can hear without using headphones, and it has another that works as a loud speaker (microphone is included too).
 
So overall, I only have the headset on hand with no headphones and it's quite small, around 2cm by 7cm and I don't need to get out neither my phone or my f886 unless I want to call an specific person or if I want to play an specific song, everything else is done by the headset alone.
 
Very happy with my SBH52 for my birth day
 

Shaky hands!

 

[Rob49]

  for max volume, I suppose you maxed the master volume and the player volume as they are upon each other ^_^. for possible extra db you can use the dynamic normalizer. the name is misleading as it's not what normalizers do on most software. if your track has a lot of negative gain, the dap will push it up just before clipping or something like that, to get all tracks to sound around the same volume levels.
 
dsee didn't seem relevant to me on 320kps. on few really crazy poor mp3 I keep since way back in 128k it does make a massive difference, but already sony has a way of making crappy files to sound almost ok, so no dsee for me. also neither my ears, or most of my IEMs can deal with after 17khz. if I remember mp3 tend to cut around 16khz? so not much to retrieve for me anyway.
 
xloud is a compressor used on the sound only when you use the speaker inside the dap(surely because it's a music shredder in disguise) ^_^. so it won't do anything in your phones mate sorry.
 
my personal way of picking anything is simple, I try both a lot, and then I ask myself if I can tell what I'm using just from listening (having a very poor memory helps a lot... what? hello!).
for mp3 vs flac, I just rip an album to flac and to mp3 and shuffle tracks. until now I haven't been able to conclusively tell what is what at all times. I got some hints because I know how it works so it's more than 50/50, and if I A/B the files I can hear the changes. but if I can't tell on the go, I don't need to flatter myself with heavy 24bit flacs when it's obviously either not very meaningful or too good for my ears. but then again I could as well use flacs or waves as I tend to listen to the 10same albums again and again. I don't think there is a bad choice here.
 
on the F886 the very obvious setting I can never miss is the surround one. I turn the dap on and can tell after 5secs what surround effect is ON(or not). therefore I use that to fit my tastes. I find studio very relaxing and "seemingly natural". more and more I believe it is nothing else than a very well done crossfeed.
in any case the Studio effect on my A865 is put to a shame. they keep the names and the general ideas, but sony really improves a lot of things without telling us. that much is very obvious to me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
what should I do? I hate most of this dap:
android boot time
huge useless screen
not easy to use with only one hand
battery life
android UI not that great IMO
little hiss with my 334
little "tac" sound every 2 seconds with all my good IEMs (and zero sound on my cheap ones.. so unfair!)
 
but then I listen the the music itself and never want to get rid of it ever... damn you sony!! Y U make sound I love!!?!!??
is choosing not to choose still a choice?

Thank you for the feedback, Castleo. You can probably tell i'm a bit of a novice where dap's are concerned ( other than mini disc players. )
 
I believe the master volume & the volume setting below that are both set to max. The volume isn't too bad actually, especially with more aggressive music. I can definitely tell the difference from listening to Flac, to other file formats. Detail overall is so much more forward / enhanced. I will play around with the settings more, at some point, but i'm quite happy ( well more than happy ! ) with the way it sounds at present. I'm hearing detail in music, ( that I have listened to for many many years ! ) that I haven't heard before. ( although I knew it was "buried" there somewhere ! )

 

[Vect]

  Thank you for the feedback, Castleo. You can probably tell i'm a bit of a novice where dap's are concerned ( other than mini disc players. )
 
I believe the master volume & the volume setting below that are both set to max. The volume isn't too bad actually, especially with more aggressive music. I can definitely tell the difference from listening to Flac, to other file formats. Detail overall is so much more forward / enhanced. I will play around with the settings more, at some point, but i'm quite happy ( well more than happy ! ) with the way it sounds at present. I'm hearing detail in music, ( that I have listened to for many many years ! ) that I haven't heard before. ( although I knew it was "buried" there somewhere ! )

That very sensation you had, hearing "detail" that wasn't present before... is exactly what it got me into audio

 

[Rob49]

 
That very sensation you had, hearing "detail" that wasn't present before... is exactly what it got me into audio

Happy Birthday, Vect. Hope it's been a good one ? ( Just going off topic, do you collect surround music ( SACD / DVD-A ) A little before your time ! ? This F886 is like listening to surround music, but without the 5.1 channels ( if you follow my drift ! ? )

 

[Vect]

  Happy Birthday, Vect. Hope it's been a good one ? ( Just going off topic, do you collect surround music ( SACD / DVD-A ) A little before your time ! ? This F886 is like listening to surround music, but without the 5.1 channels ( if you follow my drift ! ? )

Not really, my PhD is depressing, I miss my family on the other side of the lake, I miss my dog... I miss the food and honestly speaking, the weather in Sheffield doesn't helps much to feel myself "at home"... other than that, well, I'm just glad that I have my music and that I have a good DAP for it...
 
I had a PS2... I knew that I could play SACDs with it, unfortunately I never got myself of one. I got your drift though, the thing you mention is called "soundstage" as it allows to hear many instruments from "different" places. In reality, they became so clear that they become very easily differentiated, even more when you have nice headphones for it! . Sony did hit the nail on the head.. now I just need a way to put an SD card to it and I'm all set !!!

 

[Noble-Geezer]

Happy Birthday Rob & Vect hope you had a good one, I'll catch up with the thread later.
 
Vect, is that the Clear-Case fitted to your Sony?, have you fitted a Screen-Protector?, did you get them from Sony-UK?

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

That boot time someone mentioned on this android device is something I dont understand about Sony. After releasing X & A walkmans which had zero boot time and starts instantly after the welcome screen appears all these models after Z have that scanning files stuff which actually irritates me. I've used both X & A more than the current players Sony released and though its not something of a 'big difference', there are some nights when I take out the Z & F (older series) and feel like throwing it out the window.