[goody]

  I've been listening to the F887 for a few hours now with KEF M500's & Wizard 5.0's, music ripped in 'Atrac Advanced Lossless'.
 
Needless to say I'm pretty pleased with my investment and the sound is what I was hoping for (& more, more later on that), Sony have moved up ladder with the S-Master HX-Pro amp, it's not massive compared to the WM-Z but it's enough to make you think 'yeah this is better'. Things are better defined, the bass is slightly deeper with a bit more punch. the mids are addictive and the highs are well detailed.
 
The size is a little smaller than I'd like (big hands) though the tactile buttons are a boon on the side, I like the way you have to push the buttons so don't expect any slight mishaps of changing tracks accidently when it's in your pocket. Operation is silky smooth, when you turn it on 'two taps' and it's in English. The Sony case is a massive disappointment for the price, some leather-look material with no padding, it has a side flap opening and the band you wrap around it to keep it closed looks/feels cheap, unforgivable is the back of the case where there are two slits where the chord is anchored, the slits look like someone's made a opening by stabbing a knife into the material, not very Sony at all. The WM-Z's case was pure class, buy a third-party one if there's any around.
 
This is the 'more' bit... you will find four music tracks & two sampler intro tracks (absolute waste, each last 30-45secs), two of the tracks are demo mp3's showing lyrics (crap bands). There are two HD tracks to be found and my does the F887 sing with hi-res. I've never owned HD music but I am now a convert, the detail the F887 pushes out is nothing short excellent, I hate to hype sayings but I was 'gob smacked', this is in another league to the WM-Z with hi-res music. Using lossless files the difference isn't that great between the two players but feed the F887 hi-res and you have something very special indeed.
 
Might not be around for a day or two so a quick bit on the pairing of the KEF M500, nice pairing lots of detail and good bass depth not at all cluttered, the 5.0 IEM's were in their element, absolute joy to listen to, the bass is simply breathtaking at times. Anyhow, enough of my gush fest so excuse me whilst I wipe away the drool.

sounds good waiting for more lol...so when you say it does not have the WM-Z lushness and warmth do you mean it sounds kinda dry if thats the right word as in its cold sounding..

 

[garyHal]

Is the device in English if I order it from Japan?

 

[sicko]

I've been listening to the F887 for a few hours now with KEF M500's & Wizard 5.0's, music ripped in 'Atrac Advanced Lossless'.

Needless to say I'm pretty pleased with my investment and the sound is what I was hoping for (& more, more later on that), Sony have moved up ladder with the S-Master HX-Pro amp, it's not massive compared to the WM-Z but it's enough to make you think 'yeah this is better'. Things are better defined, the bass is slightly deeper with a bit more punch. the mids are addictive and the highs are well detailed.

The size is a little smaller than I'd like (big hands) though the tactile buttons are a boon on the side, I like the way you have to push the buttons so don't expect any slight mishaps of changing tracks accidently when it's in your pocket. Operation is silky smooth, when you turn it on 'two taps' and it's in English. The Sony case is a massive disappointment for the price, some leather-look material with no padding, it has a side flap opening and the band you wrap around it to keep it closed looks/feels cheap, unforgivable is the back of the case where there are two slits where the chord is anchored, the slits look like someone's made a opening by stabbing a knife into the material, not very Sony at all. The WM-Z's case was pure class, buy a third-party one if there's any around.

This is the 'more' bit... you will find four music tracks & two sampler intro tracks (absolute waste, each last 30-45secs), two of the tracks are demo mp3's showing lyrics (crap bands). There are two HD tracks to be found and my does the F887 sing with hi-res. I've never owned HD music but I am now a convert, the detail the F887 pushes out is nothing short excellent, I hate to hype sayings but I was 'gob smacked', this is in another league to the WM-Z with hi-res music. Using lossless files the difference isn't that great between the two players but feed the F887 hi-res and you have something very special indeed.

Might not be around for a day or two so a quick bit on the pairing of the KEF M500, nice pairing lots of detail and good bass depth not at all cluttered, the 5.0 IEM's were in their element, absolute joy to listen to, the bass is simply breathtaking at times. Anyhow, enough of my gush fest so excuse me whilst I wipe away the drool.

Ah! Really good impressions. This is one serious device. Could you just confirm one more thing? Does the HX amp provide significantly more juice than the Z's MX?

 

[purk]

@ Noble,
 
Thanks for your impression.  I'm usually will jump into buying the F887, but this time around I'm going to wait for the ZX1.  

 

[turokrocks]

  @ Noble,
 
Thanks for your impression.  I'm usually will jump into buying the F887, but this time around I'm going to wait for the ZX1.  

Which ZX1? the US or Japanese?

 

[Rob49]

Thank you for your further comments, Noble G. I will definitely be buying a model, ( which one, I don't know ! ? ) My only concern at present is the lack of availability of hi res music, for U.K. consumers.

 

[Noble-Geezer]

  You sure are making a lot of assumptions when none of you has the device already. In my case I can say that the sound is quite great and can quite easily tell when I'm limited on dynamic range.

 
Vect, the problem was pretty dire with the A-Series and it did affect the Euro-Z according to some, after my experiences with the A-Series I'm not prepared to fork out for something that could be inferior to the exact same model in Japan or the USA, I'd rather pay a premium.
 
The F-Series looks like a winner to me (& to you), you do not have something inferior to mine and no-one knows how Sony have implemented the Euro-Cap on this model (if any), I believe the implementation was different on the WM-Z to the WM-A, enjoy your F-Series and keep posting your thoughts.

 

[Noble-Geezer]

  sounds good waiting for more lol...so when you say it does not have the WM-Z lushness and warmth do you mean it sounds kinda dry if thats the right word as in its cold sounding..

 
It's definitely not cold sounding, if the WM-Z was a warm bath the F-Series would be a tepid one, if that makes sense (talking lossless here). It has roughly about 5-10% more detail & a tad more bass impact, the differences aren't great and it's not one of those famous moments that many suffer from on Head-Fi where you say 'I've discovered my music for the first  time'. If you don't have lots of hi-res might be best to stick with the WM-Z, in hindsight I probably would.
 
I sold my WM-Z to fund the ZX1 which I purchased before the F887, I'm not too sure about carrying £1k+ portable-fi on the streets so thought I'd buy the F887 as my portable which led to the PHA-2. My aim now is to compare all three and settle on a definitive rig for my needs which could mean the F887 won't be with me long (I need to fund a *****cat purchase at some point).

 

[Noble-Geezer]

  Thank you for your further comments, Noble G. I will definitely be buying a model, ( which one, I don't know ! ? ) My only concern at present is the lack of availability of hi res music, for U.K. consumers.

 
there's always SACD & Gold-Disc that you can upload, I have a few Gold-Disc & a couple of SACD's but I got to decide on a music program to use (not to sure if I want to download hi-res files). If I'm going to re-rip all my music and stop using SonicStage 4.3 I want it to have a simple interface and something I can understand and after hearing hi-res files on the F887 it has almost become a 'must have'.
 
I feel sorry for AK120 owners, all that money and Sony blitz them with a £230-350 player. My personal judgements are based on the fact that I thought the WM-Z was on par if not better than the AK120 using ordinary lossless... the overall improvements in using hi-res files (two songs mind) is pretty stunning to my ears and something I shall investigate & invest in after Christmas.

 

[Rob49]

   
there's always SACD & Gold-Disc that you can upload, I have a few Gold-Disc & a couple of SACD's but I got to decide on a music program to use (not to sure if I want to download hi-res files). If I'm going to re-rip all my music and stop using SonicStage 4.3 I want it to have a simple interface and something I can understand and after hearing hi-res files on the F887 it has almost become a 'must have'.
 
I feel sorry for AK120 owners, all that money and Sony blitz them with a £230-350 player. My personal judgements are based on the fact that I thought the WM-Z was on par if not better than the AK120 using ordinary lossless... the overall improvements in using hi-res files (two songs mind) is pretty stunning to my ears and something I shall investigate & invest in after Christmas.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance about rips / downloads e.t.c. ( and of course these new hi res players. ) I own quite a number of SACD'S / DVD-A's ( around a 100 + ) I love surround music !
I've just got into converting all my RBCD's to FLAC using Winamp & Serviio.....played back on my Oppo player. Other than downloads, how do I transfer "hi res" music to one of these players....again, apologies for my technical ignorance !!

 

[Noble-Geezer]

  You'll have to excuse my ignorance about rips / downloads e.t.c. ( and of course these new hi res players. ) I own quite a number of SACD'S / DVD-A's ( around a 100 + ) I love surround music !
I've just got into converting all my RBCD's to FLAC using Winamp & Serviio.....played back on my Oppo player. Other than downloads, how do I transfer "hi res" music to one of these players....again, apologies for my technical ignorance !!

 
Sounds like you definitely need a F887 or a ZX1

 
I am absolute crap around a PC, I'm pretty good in 'Word' if I do say so myself, I've learnt how to c&p, do bold & italics, use the spell check and change font, I'm the new Einstein on 'word for absolute cretins' (I passed on Dummies it was to technical).

 

[Noble-Geezer]

Not to sure how you transfer stuff over, it was so much easier with vinyl, cassette & cd, now I feel I'm in a state of utter confusion on what programs to get, anyhow that can wait for the time being.
 
You can always use the line-out on the Sony F887 via a female LOD (mini jack-RCA) and I think the ZX1 also has a USB out. The WM-Z had a HDMI out as well as a line-out via a LOD.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOD-Sony-Walkman-MP3-Player-Line-out-Dock-To-3-5mm-Plug-/170683121052?pt=US_MP3_Player_Chargers_Cradles&hash=item27bd81bd9c

 

[Rob49]

   
Sounds like you definitely need a F887 or a ZX1

 
I am absolute crap around a PC, I'm pretty good in 'Word' if I do say so myself, I've learnt how to c&p, do bold & italics, use the spell check and change font, I'm the new Einstein on 'word for absolute cretins' (I passed on Dummies it was to technical).

Anything that I've done, is by chance & luck, rather than knowing what i'm doing !

 

[Rob49]

  Not to sure how you transfer stuff over, it was so much easier with vinyl, cassette & cd, now I feel I'm in a state of utter confusion on what programs to get, anyhow that can wait for the time being.
 
You can always use the line-out on the Sony F887 via a female LOD (mini jack-RCA) and I think the ZX1 also has a USB out. The WM-Z had a HDMI out as well as a line-out via a LOD.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOD-Sony-Walkman-MP3-Player-Line-out-Dock-To-3-5mm-Plug-/170683121052?pt=US_MP3_Player_Chargers_Cradles&hash=item27bd81bd9c

Thanks for the info.....hopefully i'll be able to workout how I can use one of these players, the way it should be used. ( whenever I take the plunge to buy one ! ? )
 
What are the two hi res tracks, that come with the player ?

 

[goody]

   
It's definitely not cold sounding, if the WM-Z was a warm bath the F-Series would be a tepid one, if that makes sense (talking lossless here). It has roughly about 5-10% more detail & a tad more bass impact, the differences aren't great and it's not one of those famous moments that many suffer from on Head-Fi where you say 'I've discovered my music for the first  time'. If you don't have lots of hi-res might be best to stick with the WM-Z, in hindsight I probably would.
 
I sold my WM-Z to fund the ZX1 which I purchased before the F887, I'm not too sure about carrying £1k+ portable-fi on the streets so thought I'd buy the F887 as my portable which led to the PHA-2. My aim now is to compare all three and settle on a definitive rig for my needs which could mean the F887 won't be with me long (I need to fund a *****cat purchase at some point).

Thanks for that noble-geezer hi-res seems a good prospect but the only problem like you said is getting the hi res music.. i thought sony was starting to selling it online via their music unlimited  site i will have a look ...the ZX1 might be a whole different DAP looking forward to hearing your thoughts, how much did it cost you to preorder it from price japan?.