Don't get your hopes too high. Like I said before, it's very decent overall, but IMO 100-120 bucks is what it should have cost to begin with and I told them that.

It's actually 74x30x14 lol

Yeah, I have it. It's pretty good overall - fairly neutral and balanced, leaning slightly towards dark for a more forgiving and mature sound. Timbre is realistic with decent weight behind the notes. Instrument separation is good but the soundstage is about average coz, like I said, it's going...

I finally got them but unfortunately even though they were in a case the plug seems to have deteriorated or something coz they are cutting off when the plug rotates in the jack, so unless you can reterminate the cable, they are useless as I don't think it will be possible to find a cable for it...

IMO, it sounds slightly better with the last firmware but my opinion stands, it still sounds weirdly artificial

Really? Have you given the a105 a proper listen as IMO it's really sub-par, granted I just briefly auditioned the a55 a while ago in the store, but don't remember it being as bad as the a105. I reverted my a35 to stock just to give the a105 a fair comparison but the a105 still sounded worse...

Yeah, like I said: I tried them all Reloaded/+, WM30/+, DMP30 and I prefer non plus-Reloaded. Aside from sounding clearer, there's just this particular immediacy and tightness of the notes that make it sound more realistic.

Yeah, that's why I'm sticking with the non-plus Reloaded firmware on my a35 as it focuses and tightens the sound a bit, which offsets N3's inclination for overall smoothness. And personally given my choice in music which lately is a lot of acoustic stuff I still find the N3 superior to Z5. I...

Well, I'm glad you like them. But fit aside, the n3 sounds almost exactly the same (even better as it is a touch more neutral), so if you're set on spending $500+ on a sony iem, the ier-m7 will be the better deal

I've said it before and I'll say it again - for me the Z5 is kinda redundant given the existence of N3 at half the price. They are almost identical. The Z5 is bit bassier and a touch fuller sounding, but it's like having a slightly different tuning of the same iem rather than being an actual...

Well, I finally had some time to test the dmp-a30. It's enjoyable but I still prefer the non-plus reloaded. There's just something about the way it presents the sound - it's not only clearer but there's a particular rawness that makes the music more realistic. The dmp-30 is somewhat sweater and...

The a35 is killer with the non-plus zx300 port. Honestly, my a105 seems to sound a bit better after the last update but still isn't match for the a35. I can't wait for the dmp version but I have a suspicion that I'll probably revert back to zx300.

Yes, you can. also a version with modified sound. You can actually also flash the WM1Z/A firmware (and a version with modified sound) on it too but some things get a bit cut off. You can also flash the zx300 firmware on a45, but not the wm1z/a one. So far there isn't anything for a55 and chances...

Of course, Sony hasn't released new flagships and they still advertise them at any audio convection they attend. Both 1a and 1z and super popular and if you visit an audio show, chance is they will be a whole bunch of visitors carrying a "black brick" or a "gold brick" as they tend to be...

Go for it. Sony is still manufacturing wm1a/1z and a55, so the wn-port cables won't just disappear from the market. If you're worried, just buy 3-4 cables for backup. You'll spend less than 20 euros and you'll be set for the lifespan of the DAP.