[ianeith]

I'm pretty sure that sony uses an in-house DAC design for this model.

 

[Richard Wray]

I'm pretty sure that sony uses an in-house DAC design for this model.

It would be interesting just to know from a technical point of view what they compare to.

 

[esprithk]

Hi, I am an owner of MDR-1ADAC and many years of experience on Android smartphones(I use iPhone now).

About the Andorid smartphone. Not all android phone has enable the USB AUDIO function. This is all up to the phone manufacturers to whether enable audio via USB in their OS or not.

* I won't suggest anyone to do it.
But if one wants to manually enable it, you can active "Developer Options" in Setting, then in it, you force the setitng to " USB AUDIO".

However, remember that if this feature is not included in the OS, the audio files will be not sent to external device for processing.

Example, I had DAC+headphone amp device before, and I cannot get Samsung Galaxy Note 5 to send audio via USB to it even after I alter the setting in Developer Option.


Good luck on those with Andorid phones to ave one that can use the DAC function in MDR-1ADAC.

 

[Necron99]

Gimmick? Afraid not! Sony marketing dropped the ball on this product. Big time. I have owned this headphone for over a month now. I have thrown every audio capable product I could at it. Amps, PC's, Samsung phones and tablets, Apple products (iPad 9.7 and iTouch 5th gen), and have used it in analog mode as well. NEVER FAILED ME! So let me do it for Sony, think of this thing as the Swiss Army knife of headphones! It works with and without battery and the included cables will see you through pretty much everything!

1st off here it is after hooking it up to the Pioneer XDP-300R via USB port:



As for Android, I own a C-7 Samsung. I had problems, at first. Then I turned off this app, USBDebug, should it NOT be included on your phone, download it first:


Once it is turned off, it works fine. Unlike other Android run DACs there is no screen prompt alerting you it is connected, once connected it fully handles all the audio on the phone.



Here it is on PC after downloading the drivers from https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/wired-headphones-headband/mdr-1adac



Here are the resolutions, I was only able to max out at 32bit 44100 Hz (Studio Quality) because all the audio programs stopped working at higher resolutions, except the Sony Hi-Res player, however...



Here it is on my iPad Pro 9.7, yes with the dreaded 10.3.1 update. NO PROBLEM the MDR-1aDAC worked fine!

Of course all is not perfect, the Sony Hi-Res Player (yuck) While it works well it can only, for some strange reason, upload only around 800 something songs. It claims all the rest are "unreadable". For this being, supposedly, one of Sony's high end products, they certainly dropped the ball on the PC player. While it does work very well and allows you to max out the resolution to 32 bit 192000 Hz, it will only read some of your files. Damn you Sony!

Yes, it is broken in with over a 100 hours of use. So if you are looking for the jack of all trades headphone, this one is for you. Please note I paid the equivalent of 185 US dollars. So those of you that stated there were better headphones at release when the MSRP was 399.99 (and you were correct to state that), worry not now! Get it while you can!

 

[Necron99]

While I spoke previously about this being the jack of all trades, let me now show you what is included and how I carry it around.


The inside of the bag, this includes all the included cables with MDR-1aDAC as well as 2 customized analog cables including a balanced one.


You may seriously need to consider upgrading the included analog cable as it it very short and meh quality. The Xperia Cable is the most useful one for connecting to various devices via USB cable. The iPod/iPad cable is self explanatory. The PC Charge cable is the one that both powers and allows you to use on your PC via USB. I have tested the Walkman cable with several Sony Walkmans. WOW did it sound great! Damn near pulled the trigger on the Sony NW-WM1A, but I then did the math...

Since I also own a Astell & Kern AK Jr (aka The Stepchild) and of course has no USB support (damn you A&K) I decided to see how a customized analog cable would work. It did not disappoint. My Pioneer XDP-300R has a balanced output, so I took the plunge and got an adapter to use with this and other headphones. Using the USB draws too much power from the Pioneer, it drained mine after 5 hours or so I go the analog route when on flights or long sessions. I considered the Sony MUC-S12SM1 cable, however the price...

So for me, this is what and how I carry around my MDR-1aDAC. Hopefully, this and the previous post have helped clear up any misconceptions and capabilities concerning this unique headphone!

 

[Richard Wray]

Has anyone tried these with a DAC like the Sony PHA-2?

I'm thinking of buying a CAS-1 which uses the same circuitry and I was wondering if I should invest in a set of Z7s or stick with the ADACs and use them in analog mode.

 

[Silent Xaxal]

How is sound isolation in this one?

 

[Necron99]

How is sound isolation in this one?

Never been an issue for me. I've fallen asleep with them on and wasn't disturbed by any activity around me in the office or airplane. A solid fit around the ears and well built.

 

[mutnai]

Damn near pulled the trigger on the Sony NW-WM1A, but I then did the math...

i don't understand.
does it sound better than Sony NW-WM1A or NW-ZX100 connected via analogic cable , like Sony MDR-1A ? is their DAC better?

 

[Necron99]

i don't understand.
does it sound better than Sony NW-WM1A or NW-ZX100 connected via analogic cable , like Sony MDR-1A ? is their DAC better?

I was referring to the price, definitely not the performance, the NW-WM1A is in a league of its own. Those are dedicated DAC players with more components and power.
As for the analog connection I have been hard pressed to tell the difference between the MDR-1A and the MDR-1DAC connected to the NW-WM1A

 

[mutnai]

I was referring to the price, definitely not the performance, the NW-WM1A is in a league of its own.
As for the analog connection I have been hard pressed to tell the difference between the MDR-1A and the MDR-1DAC in analog mode.

have you listen to the ZX100? i mean, is zx100 DAC better than DAC of MDR-1aDAC ? or better buy a ZX100 and Sony MDR-1A. which worth the money? which ones to go for?

 

[Necron99]

have you listen to the ZX100? i mean, is zx100 DAC better than DAC of MDR-1aDAC ? or better buy a ZX100 and Sony MDR-1A. which worth the money? which ones to go for?

This thing is good, but to compare it to those players isn't fair. Get this for portability and versatility.
I'd get either those players if given a choice between the 1aDAC or them.

 

[mutnai]

This thing is good, but to compare it to those players isn't fair. Get this for portability and versatility.
I'd get either those players if given a choice between the 1aDAC or them.

thx. i have MDR-1aDAC already. i use NWZ-A15 as a digital transport for them. i was just interested if it worth changing A15 for ZX100 . do i win in sound quality (if i use them only as a MDR-1A, analogic connected to ZX100) ? or it doesnt worth.
just found: ZX100 can reproduce DSD 5.6448 MHz/1 bit , as well MDR-1aDAC. this mean they have almost same S-Master HX digital amp.

 

[esprithk]

I use my MDR-1aDAC with my iPhone 6 plus most of the time. It is not too bulky and not heavy.
I feel the music sound stage is wider with this headphone.
And good clarity.

I also have a NW-A35.
NW-A35 has a better dac performance.

 

[mutnai]

I also have a NW-A35.
NW-A35 has a better dac performance.

do you mean nw-a35 with sony MDR-1A(DAC) with analogic connection is better than iphone 6+ with MDR-1ADAC digitaly ?