Made a booboo.  Delete this thread pleases.

Bluetooth w/ NFC = Very cool!   Discovered another cool feature on my A17. To sync with my Sony bluetooth speaker which also has NFC support, just put the 2 close together and it's sync'd after a few seconds.  No need to go through the A10 menus and so on. Sounds very good too with its AptX...

Discovered another cool feature on my A17. To sync with my Sony bluetooth speaker which also has NFC support, just put the 2 close together and it's sync'd after a few seconds.  No need to go through the A10 menus and so on. Sounds very good too with its AptX support.

Mad man!  I'm living vicariously through you now.     Quote:

You're right.  But a MDR-Z7 / PHA-3 combo is nirvana I hear.  Blew my friend's mind when he demoed it recently.  Want to stretch my 1A enjoyment out a bit more before getting the Z7 or its successor.  Man, I'm starting to sound like a Sony fanboy.   Quote:

That's pretty high praise for the 1A.  Good to hear of a confirmation of what my ears suspect in how good they are. Please do let us know how your 1A compares between the A17 & Asgard 2/Bifrost Uber though. I'm thinking along the same line as you about the PHA-3 too for my home use and the...

Surprised there wasn't much a gap. What differences did you notice exactly?  Was thinking of getting a home headphone amp rig to maximize the 1A I have currently and whatever else in the future.   I've also came to a similar conclusion as you too.  The A17 is excellent with easy to drive...

How's the A17 sounds compared to your home rig with the P7?   Quote:

Sennheiser IE60 is my favourite so far. Nice big soundstage and imaging. Gives me the impression like I'm listening to a big pair headphones on. Nice tight bass. Treble is a bit lacking but easily corrected with the A17. Makes me really want to try the IE80 now. Short IE list I tried includes...

It's not boomy, just very pleasant.  Not the best bass I've heard but I'm pretty happy considering it's driven by the tiny A17.  Kinda boggles my mind really with the SQ from such a small portable with super battery life too.   Quote:

Wouldn't call myself a basshead as I listen to everything including classical.  I do prefer the 1A's bass as it's tighter and more controlled. I thought the 1A is just and upgraded 1R but it's really a total redesign in my opinion to better compliment their new portable players.   It's now 24...

MDR-1A is an excellent match. I would say the MDR-1R is not at all after an A/B comparison between the two plugged into the A17. The A17 seems to have issues driving the 1R, likely due to the higher impedance. It sounded very dull and lifeless in comparison. The 1A sounded louder and...

  Sucks to see that the XBA-H3 is not a good match.  Was eyeing it as my next IEM thinking it would be considering how nice the MDR-1A is with the A-17. I do suggest you try out the MDR-1A compared to your MDR-1R.  You'll be very surprised at the difference. I suspect any new Sony headphones...

Sony mdr-1a is excellent with a17.  It's very well matched.  Sony pairs them for demos for a reason. Very easy to drive as I didn't notice any improvement testing my mdr-1a with my A17 w/ a Cypher Labs Picollo external amp.  It actually sounded better direct from the A17. Also tried the V-moda...

Some headphones updates.  Been enjoying my Sony MDR-1A with my A17.  Looking for a decent cheaper pair for work that can be driven well by the A17 alone. Finally got to hear if the MDR-1A will benefit with a better portable amp also.  Happy to say it wasn't very noticeable if at all.  Just...

Just downloaded firmware 1.1 for my A17 player.  Crossing my fingers it'll fix my occasional freezes playing flacs.  So far so good.

Excellent info guys.  Good to confirm what my ears suspected.  Learning alot as I'm somewhat new with headphones stuff. Looking for another cheaper decent pair for work but nothing comes close the the 1A of all I've tried thus far. Might have to bite the bullet and buy another 1A when it goes...

I went to the Sony Store fully intent on buying the 1R to save $100 thinking the 1A couldn't be much better.  I left the store with the 1A. In doing A/B comparison at the store hooked up to the new A17 player, I thought the difference was quite dramatic.  I was floored really.     It's a bit...

It's happening to me too occasionally.     Quote:

Seems like the MDR-1A is designed specifically for the 17A.  Sony pairs them at expos and the Sony stores too so that said something. I would look for something close to the 1A's impedance of 24ohms.  Pure portable bliss this combo is for me right now. Even the MDR-1R @ 40ohms sounded weak and...

I would recommend another headphone set if you can't get the 1A.  Seems like the A17 had trouble driving the 1R as it sounded noticeably duller compared to the 1A.  I'm sure the 1R sounds fine with an external amp.   Quote:

I ended up picking up the MDR-1A.  Had the intention of picking up the MDR-1R as it was a good BF deal but the 1A was so much better.  It plays louder, fuller sounding with tighter bass paired with the A17.  Very well matched I thought which may explain the Hi-Res label on both.  At 20/30...

My new A17 is my first foray into portable hi-res audio.  I'm quite blown away really with the sound that's coming out of it paired with my 9 yrs old pair of Shure e4 IEM.  And this is just with cd ripped flacs too.  Looking forward to getting some hi-res soon. I now want to get a good pair of...