help!! I'm fallling!!!!!!!(photoshop lvl expert)
For any Sony DAPs, the letter goes for a kind/category of DAP. The first numbers for the model and the last number is always for the onboard memory. And then you might have some letter again for the color of your Walkman. So you don't want a sony A10, you want to get a Sony A15 with 16gig, A16 with 32giga, or A17 with 64giga.
I mention it because I've been asked twice in a week.
My vision of a good DAP is one that responds to my own list of needs. Sound honestly being close to the bottom of my list of needs. If I want the good sound I don't look for it in a DAP, I look for it in a good amp and a good headphone. To me most DAPs sound good enough once plugged into the right amp(deals with impedance, often improves crosstalk and power). So if my problem was “only” sound, I wouldn't keep trying new DAPs.
If you want nice overall specs get an iPod(fast), if you want power, get a brick like a X5 or maybe a DX100 or simply an amp(again). If you just run after some “best sound” and subscribe to “monthly upgraditis magazine” get a good headphone and be ready to run all your life. But while you run you might have a need for a smaller DAP with good battery like the A10 ^_^.
This DAP has a few nice perks, but it's not perfect. I hope this review will let you know if it is the right one for you.
To me the closest to an ideal DAP is almost a Sansa clip. I used lots of those and keep using them. A great EQ(once rockboxed), the super small form factor and an OK sound, made it my back up/sport DAP of choice for years. Lately I had been replacing it more and more by the Sony E585. No µSD, no great EQ, no 1ohm output, but I traded this for nicer UI, more than 35h of playback, a line out, and still really small form factor. So it could go on my amp for real sound, and then have more than enough battery to unplug the E585 and take it for a trip in the mountain. And that for almost a week. I really cared only about charging my amp every other day. So more of a side way than an overall upgrade from a Sansa clip, but it could work for my all in one DAP.
The same way, I feel like that A15 is the secret kid of E585 and clip+, and it will take over the job nicely. It has a µSD (for real!!! On a Sony!!!! it's not april fools). Has great battery, you can expect to reach up to 40hours with mp3 and no DSP with normal use(my experience, not Sony specs). It's not very small but still really much more portable than most modern DAPs. It plays aac flac and most PCM type files up to 24/192. In a word, it's a Walkman. Something you use without thinking about it, not a bother that happens to sound good like most “audiophile” bricks I've tried.
If you want nice overall specs get an iPod(fast), if you want power, get a brick like a X5 or maybe a DX100 or simply an amp(again). If you just run after some “best sound” and subscribe to “monthly upgraditis magazine” get a good headphone and be ready to run all your life. But while you run you might have a need for a smaller DAP with good battery like the A10 ^_^.
This DAP has a few nice perks, but it's not perfect. I hope this review will let you know if it is the right one for you.
To me the closest to an ideal DAP is almost a Sansa clip. I used lots of those and keep using them. A great EQ(once rockboxed), the super small form factor and an OK sound, made it my back up/sport DAP of choice for years. Lately I had been replacing it more and more by the Sony E585. No µSD, no great EQ, no 1ohm output, but I traded this for nicer UI, more than 35h of playback, a line out, and still really small form factor. So it could go on my amp for real sound, and then have more than enough battery to unplug the E585 and take it for a trip in the mountain. And that for almost a week. I really cared only about charging my amp every other day. So more of a side way than an overall upgrade from a Sansa clip, but it could work for my all in one DAP.
The same way, I feel like that A15 is the secret kid of E585 and clip+, and it will take over the job nicely. It has a µSD (for real!!! On a Sony!!!! it's not april fools). Has great battery, you can expect to reach up to 40hours with mp3 and no DSP with normal use(my experience, not Sony specs). It's not very small but still really much more portable than most modern DAPs. It plays aac flac and most PCM type files up to 24/192. In a word, it's a Walkman. Something you use without thinking about it, not a bother that happens to sound good like most “audiophile” bricks I've tried.
A10 series:
A few questions might find an answer in the online help, but don't expect any deep explanation for anything: http://helpguide.sony.net/dmp/nwza10/v1/en/index.html
Sony and the µSD(at long last):
Short version: As long as you put your music in a folder called “MUSIC” it's gonna be great! If you put it anywhere else, it's still gonna work except for browsing by folder(artist/album is ok).
If it's in a folder called "MUSIC", however you put it in, using a µSD, from a card reader, a phone or the A10 itself, with drag&drop or with MediaGo, the DAP will recognize it and let you browse it seamlessly after updating the library(something it does anytime you add/remove a µSD or unplug the USB cable from a computer).
The library update took about 1mn30 for 18giga added to the card(who needs more than Stevie Wonder?).
Now a piece of advice:
If you have a lot of files to put in the µSD, take it out and use a card reader, it will be much faster.
But if you don't have a lot of files, keep it in the DAP, as it will rescan anytime you take the µSD out or put it in. making the DAP useless for between 20sec to probably more than 5mn with something like a full 64giga card. So to add only one or 2 albums, do it from the DAP.
To make it clear, the µSD works nicely anyway you want, but it's not a Sansa clip ^_^.
When you connect the A10 series to a computer, it will show you only one drive. Either the µSD or the internal memory. You cannot go from one to the other from the computer, you'll have to unplug the DAP go into the µSD settings and change the upload destination. a little dumb and not so practical, but it's also not a major problem. You'll just hate yourself the first 3 times.
The library update took about 1mn30 for 18giga added to the card(who needs more than Stevie Wonder?).
Now a piece of advice:
If you have a lot of files to put in the µSD, take it out and use a card reader, it will be much faster.
But if you don't have a lot of files, keep it in the DAP, as it will rescan anytime you take the µSD out or put it in. making the DAP useless for between 20sec to probably more than 5mn with something like a full 64giga card. So to add only one or 2 albums, do it from the DAP.
To make it clear, the µSD works nicely anyway you want, but it's not a Sansa clip ^_^.
When you connect the A10 series to a computer, it will show you only one drive. Either the µSD or the internal memory. You cannot go from one to the other from the computer, you'll have to unplug the DAP go into the µSD settings and change the upload destination. a little dumb and not so practical, but it's also not a major problem. You'll just hate yourself the first 3 times.
Sense Me:
To those not familiar with Sony "Sense Me" is a way to shuffle your songs while keeping a rhythm and a certain ambiance (slow mellow to fast punk tripping on speed). I find that to be really excellent and one reason I keep getting Sony DAPs. BUT!!!!!!!
For the DAP to know what song is what, it needs to scan them all and it takes like 2.4 times forever to be done and of course(where is the fun otherwise?), your DAP can't do anything while it's scanning.
I'm not joking so much , for 64 to be scanned it would take several hours, you can stop when you want but that's still too long for a gadget. so the other solution is yet another evil. you install Media Go on your computer and pre-scan your library. it's just as bad and will take 3.14 eternities if you have a big library, but at least with the computer you can do something else while the scan goes on.
I suggest you put what you plan to upload on the DAP(and only that) in a folder and give only that as your library path to Media GO, that way it should take less that a day(I'm laughing simply reading this, but sadly it's all true). once Media GO has scanned your files, if you upload them using Media GO(be stong!) then the DAP will get the information and never bother you with scanning the files to use them in Sense ME.
Or you can do like some many people and just forget that gadget ever existed. I sure would understand.
Gapless:
Not on mp3! It's flawless to my ears with flac files, but sadly still not working with mp3. the gap isn't big, but it still a clear cut.
So I recommend going flac for your live and classical albums. Else you do like I do, you make any live album into 1 mp3 file. A little extreme but I've been doing this for years now. it's annoying only if you like to shuffle. But let's be honest, if you shuffle you don't need gapless ^_^. still it's not cool Sony, we started to believe.
Replay gain:
Still not available on this one. On a F886 or other android DAPs you can just use whatever app you like to play your tracks so replay gain can be used. On the A15 and non android walkmans, if you want your files to all play at about the same loudness, you'll have to activate dynamic normalizer(Sony’s own way to deal with tracks loudness), there isn't any real downside to that except some battery usage. Count a few hours less for total play time, not really a problem on the A10.
Playlists:
my .m3u files were detected as playlists, so I didn't really try other methods but you can also make some using media go(the crappy windows media player's unwanted brother from sony).
The sound:
The A10 sounds more like the E585 or F886 than like an old Z or A series. It has lost the warm house sound of the old boys, and is turned toward more neutrality and clarity. It's a matter of taste, I appreciate both the old Sony sound and the new one depending on what I'm listening to.
As I said details are good, the sound is for me a good balance between crispness and harshness, but clearly enough to make you get rid of a few bad recordings that would have melted in your ears on the older models. You can't expect sharp and soft at the same time and in quantity. People allergic to clean and relatively neutral sound, will probably be ok with a little EQ or one of the DSPs. But if you actually don't like neutral and detailed sound (maybe a tube amp lover?) , and at the same time refuse EQ and DSPs, then it's not a DAP for you.
I really enjoy using it a lot, be it from the headphone out or from the line out, and I plan to keep it, when I did let go of DAPs like the X3, the DX50 and the F886. But I also honestly can't pretend that the A15 is better than any of those 3DAPs. Because depending on your own personal needs, they all can be great or totally lame. Still the closest one to the A15 in sound would clearly be the F886. I sent it back too long ago to claim they sound the same in term of audio qualities and power, but the kind of sound (signature, wide positioning, maybe lacking a little in depth without DSP) obviously comes from the same mold.
Now here are the 2 possible skeletons in the A15's closet.
1/ Power:
Like any Sony DAP, it's a portable DAP for IEMs or really easy to drive headphones, it will be just fine for most people with most products. But who am I kidding, we're on head-fi, the place where people wanna know if they can go run outside with a DAP and a pair of LCD2 duck taped on their head.
Well no, they can't with the A10 series. Seriously it can drive my hd650 loud. But can it drive it well? In my opinion, nope. And I wouldn't expect any portable gear to do so, except that both the DX50 and the X3 where pretty close to giving me a tight controlled bass response on the hd650. So there you have one reason to reject the Sony, if you want power you'll need to add an amp. and same for some demanding multi driver IEMs(usually those with the widest range of impedance over frequencies).
Volume limitation for European model also falls under the same “problem”:
ClieOS measured around 0.4V max for the headphone out, and 0.245V for the line out on the international A10 series. I would need to ask him what load value he used(if any), but still that should give you a little idea of the EU volume limit I measured on mine.
0.3V into 100ohm and 0.254V into 22ohm for the headphone out maxed out.
and 0.245V from the line output.
so the EU version would seem to have the same LO(good news), but when using the headphone out it will be about 2.5db quieter(from 0.4 to 0.3v).
2/ Hissing/background noise/humm/cellphone waves and other uninvited sounds:
Short version: there is some little hiss audible at low volume, it's slightly above the noise from the F886 and from memory I would say still below the noise from the F806.
Warning!!!!!!!!!!
To me a DX50 hisses, an AK100 hisses, a Colorfly CK4 kind of … “humm” I guess? The first studio V was horribly noisy(in all possible ways), and all sony DAPs I have ever owned did also hiss. In fact outside of a few Cowons, an old Samsung P3, and the X3, most DAPs I've owned had some audible hiss of different magnitudes.
I use sensitive IEMs, I listen to music very quietly,, I live in a very quiet and small little village, and I'm very very aware of noises whatever they can be. So now for the A15:
From the headphone out, the A10 has more hiss than my A865, that has more than my E585. E585 that hisses more than the pretty quiet Sansa Clip or my Cowon I10. Themselves still with a really tiny but detectable hiss on the very most sensitive IEMs(plus the little buffering noise every now and then on the Sansa). Last but not least, my Odac/O2 and Leckerton UHA760(both DAC/AMPs) are very much noise free whatever IEM I use, be it at normal listening levels or on silence passages.
So all this to say what? Well a lot of people with sensitive IEMs will be able to detect the background noise on the A15. People with a togo! 334 or a SE535 or SE846, just forget about the A15 without an amp right now. Some might not care, just like some people are ok with vinyls crackling like mad, and some amps hissing. Some will listen loud enough to cover the noise completely and will never think about noise again. Some will simply not have sensitive enough IEMs with good enough isolation to hear it. It's always a matter of perspective and priorities.
If you owned a Sony DAP and never heard hissing, then you're clear to get an A10 series. That's pretty much what I want to say. But pretend like the Sony sounds heavenly when I can hear some little hiss in the background, that I cannot do. And I find it even more frustrating when Sony's advertising is talking about how they work toward having lower noise... arrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't mind not doing better than most other brands, as I said they almost all hiss somehow. But at least don't advertise on how low your noise is when the headphone out is nothing special(noise wise). That's a little messed up.
As I have no idea how to quantify noise, and me saying a DAP hisses could has well be someone calling it totally silent, here are a few IEMs that might give you a hint:
I can't really hear anything with sony MH1, with Etymotic MC5, ER4S, Sony XBA-C10, NC31(the packaged noise canceling intra given with the E585 walkman).
I can notice something on silent parts when I'm not on the move with my jh13, and sennheiser IE80.
It's more obvious with the Etymotic HF5. And the HF5 are way less sensitive than a Togo 334 or shure SE846 that's why I warned people who have those.
Now don't get me wrong, as I said I like this DAP and will keep it. Stick a cellphone next to a X3 DX50 CK4 etc and cry. When with the A15, connecting to my voicemail and moving the phone around the DAP, I couldn't hear a thing! Something usual on sony DAP that too many people seem to disregard. I sure don't, and do value shielding a lot. So keep up the almost great work sony ^_^.
Again it's a matter of perspective and priorities, it's up to you guys to know what your own needs are. But to me the best sounding DAP in the world doesn't mean anything if all I'm hearing when commuting is “tzac tacatzac …..” every other minute from someone's phone. And while I'm unhappy thinking that once again I'll have to use my amp for the most sensitive IEMs I will buy, I'm also very much satisfied compared to the existing competition when it comes to external pollution.
A few words about hiss and the F886, the hissing on the A15 is very slightly louder than on the F886, but then there is a little “TAC” noise on the F886 every 2 seconds as soon as the DAP is turned ON. So if overall the A15 does more noise, it's a lot less annoying to me as it's homogenous. One of the reasons why I didn't keep the F886 when I really did enjoy the sound.
So here we are, a little long to answer the question “does it hiss?” , but I feel like that notion needed a little reality check. To avoid starting some unjustified witch hunt form my comment being misunderstood.
To me a DX50 hisses, an AK100 hisses, a Colorfly CK4 kind of … “humm” I guess? The first studio V was horribly noisy(in all possible ways), and all sony DAPs I have ever owned did also hiss. In fact outside of a few Cowons, an old Samsung P3, and the X3, most DAPs I've owned had some audible hiss of different magnitudes.
I use sensitive IEMs, I listen to music very quietly,, I live in a very quiet and small little village, and I'm very very aware of noises whatever they can be. So now for the A15:
From the headphone out, the A10 has more hiss than my A865, that has more than my E585. E585 that hisses more than the pretty quiet Sansa Clip or my Cowon I10. Themselves still with a really tiny but detectable hiss on the very most sensitive IEMs(plus the little buffering noise every now and then on the Sansa). Last but not least, my Odac/O2 and Leckerton UHA760(both DAC/AMPs) are very much noise free whatever IEM I use, be it at normal listening levels or on silence passages.
So all this to say what? Well a lot of people with sensitive IEMs will be able to detect the background noise on the A15. People with a togo! 334 or a SE535 or SE846, just forget about the A15 without an amp right now. Some might not care, just like some people are ok with vinyls crackling like mad, and some amps hissing. Some will listen loud enough to cover the noise completely and will never think about noise again. Some will simply not have sensitive enough IEMs with good enough isolation to hear it. It's always a matter of perspective and priorities.
If you owned a Sony DAP and never heard hissing, then you're clear to get an A10 series. That's pretty much what I want to say. But pretend like the Sony sounds heavenly when I can hear some little hiss in the background, that I cannot do. And I find it even more frustrating when Sony's advertising is talking about how they work toward having lower noise... arrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't mind not doing better than most other brands, as I said they almost all hiss somehow. But at least don't advertise on how low your noise is when the headphone out is nothing special(noise wise). That's a little messed up.
As I have no idea how to quantify noise, and me saying a DAP hisses could has well be someone calling it totally silent, here are a few IEMs that might give you a hint:
I can't really hear anything with sony MH1, with Etymotic MC5, ER4S, Sony XBA-C10, NC31(the packaged noise canceling intra given with the E585 walkman).
I can notice something on silent parts when I'm not on the move with my jh13, and sennheiser IE80.
It's more obvious with the Etymotic HF5. And the HF5 are way less sensitive than a Togo 334 or shure SE846 that's why I warned people who have those.
Now don't get me wrong, as I said I like this DAP and will keep it. Stick a cellphone next to a X3 DX50 CK4 etc and cry. When with the A15, connecting to my voicemail and moving the phone around the DAP, I couldn't hear a thing! Something usual on sony DAP that too many people seem to disregard. I sure don't, and do value shielding a lot. So keep up the almost great work sony ^_^.
Again it's a matter of perspective and priorities, it's up to you guys to know what your own needs are. But to me the best sounding DAP in the world doesn't mean anything if all I'm hearing when commuting is “tzac tacatzac …..” every other minute from someone's phone. And while I'm unhappy thinking that once again I'll have to use my amp for the most sensitive IEMs I will buy, I'm also very much satisfied compared to the existing competition when it comes to external pollution.
A few words about hiss and the F886, the hissing on the A15 is very slightly louder than on the F886, but then there is a little “TAC” noise on the F886 every 2 seconds as soon as the DAP is turned ON. So if overall the A15 does more noise, it's a lot less annoying to me as it's homogenous. One of the reasons why I didn't keep the F886 when I really did enjoy the sound.
So here we are, a little long to answer the question “does it hiss?” , but I feel like that notion needed a little reality check. To avoid starting some unjustified witch hunt form my comment being misunderstood.
Line out:
It is the usual sony proprietary USB cable that serves as a line out.
with UHA760
The line out isn't as loud as on my other DAPs(I'm guessing it's a battery choice as this DAP is focused on long battery life), it won't change a thing for most people, but for those already close to max volume with their actual amp, having something like a X3 with 1.7v might be better for you. old ipods have about 0.5v, a fiio X1 is 1.5v, the A15 is around 0.25v. so to get the same loudness you would need +6db gain on the amp to reach the loudness of the ipod, and about +15db to reach the X1's loudness(for reference 10db feels twice as loud).
so obviously for low sensitivity headphones, think about it before buying that walkman.
now for IEM and portable headphone users, it's not a problem, but it might even be a solution. I use the -12db gain value on my amp with all my other sources for my IEMs to be able to set the volume nicely, so if you reach channel imbalance with your amp plugged into your actual source, maybe you'd get enough room with the sony to push the volume knob out of imbalance and get the same loudness.
so technically it's not great to have such a weak LO, but with many high end IEMs/CIEMs, and many amps that don't offer unity gain or a voltage divider(negative gain), this sony might just be the best choice for you.
Again if you expect a warm sound with the old Sony signature, this is not the right DAP. I have zero complains about the sound using the lineout. I was also very much in love with the F886's LO.
NB: the DAP is longer than say an old A or E series.
A15 E585 A865
Check the size to know how it's gonna go with your amp, and remember to add some more space for the dumb proprietary usb plug (come on Sony make an angled/shorter version of that thing already!)
Battery: \o/
I'm close to running 40hours in one charge using mp3 in my real actual life. So no “sony” 40h, real possible achievable 40h.
Now as an important note, whatever DSP/EQ you will use, will drain your battery from 30 to 45% faster. So keep in mind that I don't use any to get to my 40h. Then hi-res will also drain more battery.
I'm not trying to scare anyone, it has a great battery life for real, just don't expect 40hours with EQ, 24/192 files and using “sens me” to get a shuffle by genre. Because that is more likely to give you about maybe15hours (I didn't try, I only have a Chesky album in 192khz for test purposes).
Bluetooth:
several settings including APTX. it can be set to activate with NFC or to simply alway look for a device on startup. but in practice I use a cellphone instead because depending on the device, just having a big chunk of castleofargh in-between is enough to cut the signal.
DSPs (effects):
Short version:
Clear audio+ makes for an enjoyable and impressive sound and imaging
Surround studio setting is like a nice surround crossfeed
The rest doesn't make much sense.
-Clear audio+:
That option is the “surprise me” setting of sony, it will throw at you a bunch of effects and EQ depending on your track. It will supposedly be the best setting, and I have to admit if it's clearly parting ways with the original track signal, it often gives a more “lively” and foot kicking feeling to the music.
For my personal tastes, it almost always adds a little too much bass boost, so unless I'm using some Etymotic IEMs, or really have a fitting album, I tend to avoid it.
DSEE:
I looked all over the internet for something a little bit meaningful about DSEE HX, and here is what makes technically the most sense. It's quoted from reddit about DSEE:
sunamumaya: “this is like claiming you finally have the ability to seamlessly polish a turd”
I hope you'll forgive the wording, but this is by far the most accurate description I could find.
The fact is simple, if you can hear high up in the frequencies (above 16khz). Then you notice sometimes in some songs that mp3 can cut off the sounds. With little differences in the cut depending on the codec and bitrate you're using.
If you're in that situation, you will simply not use mp3 right?
Now if you're like me and most sounds above 17khz are a long gone reminder of your youth, then you're enjoying your mp3 just fine because it makes no audible difference anyway. There are also all those using IEMs that roll off long before 16khz, that's most IEMs in fact. They also won't care because they physically can't hear a difference.
So this DSEE setting is made for the guy that hears well above 16khz and notice mp3 are not sounding good, but keeps using mp3 anyway...
I'd venture that it's not the majority of us guys on head-fi ^_^.
In all seriousness, DSEE takes a mp3 or aac(don't know for anything else) extracts it as a pcm signal, oversamples it like … well any DAC would do.
Then when we have that signal, Sony is supposed to take all that nothingness from 16 or20khz to 40khz and create the missing sound from scratch. Unless you're very open minded on data retrieval, you know that once data is lost, it cannot really be retrieved so what has been cut out by a lossy codec is out of the picture. Result: DSEE must be adding some “fitting” noise that goes along with what is already in the music.
To me mp3 320 or vbr0, using my usual IEMs, DSEE or no DSEE, it doesn't make a huge difference if any. But for a few youngsters on headfi with the right headphone, it might make for a nice experience.
Still to me it's one of those hard achievements for no purpose(should I call that DSP art?). If mp3 isn't good for someone, he'll use something else. Not add paint over crap to make it look new again.
Surround:
From the range of surround settings available, “matrix” can be fun for some musics, but really only the “studio” setting is good for me. I already liked it on the F886, while it sounded like a soup on my older A865, Sony keeps the names, but changes a few things model after models.
The studio setting is as you can guess a surround effect supposed to simulate virtual speakers in a studio, so it sounds like some kind of advanced fancy crossfeed, trying to cheat a little with the surround to make up for the usual loss of “soundstage” width that goes with crossfeed.
If I take a very basic sound presentation with the lead singer in front of me and some music mostly at 90° on both sides coming from the headphone like this:
singer
my big nose
guitar my head something
Then with “studio” it's gonna be a little like this:
singer
guitar my big nose something
my head
And going down in the surround settings will keep moving away in front of you, and add reverb(a lot!), So the sound, while supposed to sound like a stadium of sort, will at best show you that live performances in stadiums must sound real bad:
singer
g-u-i-t-a-r s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g
(who took my nose?)
my head
Hi-Res Audio Effects:
This is pretty much just a switch to decide if you downsample your hires music or not.
If you don't select downsampling, then some DSPs will not work on the hi-res file, but pretty much any kind of hires (PCM type no DSD) will be played, untouched.
Now and that's the funny part. If you decide to activate the downsampling of your hires files to be able to use some audio effects, here is the result:
1/ you have wasted a huge amount of space on your DAP or µSD to put a 24/96 or 24/192 album that will be read as 16/44 downsampled on the fly.
2/ That process will eat your battery about twice as fast.
3/ you can reduce again you battery by up to 10% depending on what sound effect you then decide to activate.
So here is my advice, If you like the effects, don't use hires and encode some nice little 16/44 flac or mp3, and if you decide to use hi-res files, then don't activate the downsampling as it's a waste of everything.
That option is the “surprise me” setting of sony, it will throw at you a bunch of effects and EQ depending on your track. It will supposedly be the best setting, and I have to admit if it's clearly parting ways with the original track signal, it often gives a more “lively” and foot kicking feeling to the music.
For my personal tastes, it almost always adds a little too much bass boost, so unless I'm using some Etymotic IEMs, or really have a fitting album, I tend to avoid it.
DSEE:
I looked all over the internet for something a little bit meaningful about DSEE HX, and here is what makes technically the most sense. It's quoted from reddit about DSEE:
sunamumaya: “this is like claiming you finally have the ability to seamlessly polish a turd”
I hope you'll forgive the wording, but this is by far the most accurate description I could find.
The fact is simple, if you can hear high up in the frequencies (above 16khz). Then you notice sometimes in some songs that mp3 can cut off the sounds. With little differences in the cut depending on the codec and bitrate you're using.
If you're in that situation, you will simply not use mp3 right?
Now if you're like me and most sounds above 17khz are a long gone reminder of your youth, then you're enjoying your mp3 just fine because it makes no audible difference anyway. There are also all those using IEMs that roll off long before 16khz, that's most IEMs in fact. They also won't care because they physically can't hear a difference.
So this DSEE setting is made for the guy that hears well above 16khz and notice mp3 are not sounding good, but keeps using mp3 anyway...
I'd venture that it's not the majority of us guys on head-fi ^_^.
In all seriousness, DSEE takes a mp3 or aac(don't know for anything else) extracts it as a pcm signal, oversamples it like … well any DAC would do.
Then when we have that signal, Sony is supposed to take all that nothingness from 16 or20khz to 40khz and create the missing sound from scratch. Unless you're very open minded on data retrieval, you know that once data is lost, it cannot really be retrieved so what has been cut out by a lossy codec is out of the picture. Result: DSEE must be adding some “fitting” noise that goes along with what is already in the music.
To me mp3 320 or vbr0, using my usual IEMs, DSEE or no DSEE, it doesn't make a huge difference if any. But for a few youngsters on headfi with the right headphone, it might make for a nice experience.
Still to me it's one of those hard achievements for no purpose(should I call that DSP art?). If mp3 isn't good for someone, he'll use something else. Not add paint over crap to make it look new again.
Surround:
From the range of surround settings available, “matrix” can be fun for some musics, but really only the “studio” setting is good for me. I already liked it on the F886, while it sounded like a soup on my older A865, Sony keeps the names, but changes a few things model after models.
The studio setting is as you can guess a surround effect supposed to simulate virtual speakers in a studio, so it sounds like some kind of advanced fancy crossfeed, trying to cheat a little with the surround to make up for the usual loss of “soundstage” width that goes with crossfeed.
If I take a very basic sound presentation with the lead singer in front of me and some music mostly at 90° on both sides coming from the headphone like this:
singer
my big nose
guitar my head something
Then with “studio” it's gonna be a little like this:
singer
guitar my big nose something
my head
And going down in the surround settings will keep moving away in front of you, and add reverb(a lot!), So the sound, while supposed to sound like a stadium of sort, will at best show you that live performances in stadiums must sound real bad:
singer
g-u-i-t-a-r s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g
(who took my nose?)
my head
Hi-Res Audio Effects:
This is pretty much just a switch to decide if you downsample your hires music or not.
If you don't select downsampling, then some DSPs will not work on the hi-res file, but pretty much any kind of hires (PCM type no DSD) will be played, untouched.
Now and that's the funny part. If you decide to activate the downsampling of your hires files to be able to use some audio effects, here is the result:
1/ you have wasted a huge amount of space on your DAP or µSD to put a 24/96 or 24/192 album that will be read as 16/44 downsampled on the fly.
2/ That process will eat your battery about twice as fast.
3/ you can reduce again you battery by up to 10% depending on what sound effect you then decide to activate.
So here is my advice, If you like the effects, don't use hires and encode some nice little 16/44 flac or mp3, and if you decide to use hi-res files, then don't activate the downsampling as it's a waste of everything.
EQ:
It's the very same EQ you have on all non android Sony DAPs. With the bass being a custom Sony boost and not just another slider on the EQ. It works ok, not great, you can't pick your frequency, you can't lower the bass (last slider to lower a value is at 400hz). So if you have very specific needs to EQ an IEM, the A15 might not be the right guy and you should seek anything with parametric EQ instead.
Overall DAP situation:
F886 and a A15, are like yin and yang of Sony when it comes to features. They aren't upgrade of one another, they are very different products(sounding mostly similar). If you don't know which one you prefer to have, I guess you don't really need anything and both will do just fine.
If you wonder if it's “better” than a X5, you also clearly don't know what you need. X5 is a powerhouse with an amp section that can very much challenge other portable amps. It's big and heavy and has little battery. The Sony is a little DAP with lot of battery and pretty much no amp section, so no it's not the best sounding DAP, because as soon as you'll plug in a slightly hard to drive headphone, the X5 will demolish the Sony. But that like blaming a motorcycle for not being good at carrying 5 people. Buy what you need! Don't ask for a small, long lasting, powerful DAP, because science will still have some troubles with that for a few more years.
I for one can't see myself carrying a X5 around every day, it's not about sound. When the A10 is more like a 2D pono ^_^.
On a side note, if you don't care for hires, µSD, and the maybe slightly better sound on the A15, you can get a E585/6 instead. It's cheap, has the same crazy long battery life(you will charge it like once a week and never think about it). It is even smaller with the same UI and a pretty nice line out. Again to each its qualities, money and size can be as good a reason as any.
Make your own choice for your own needs, and don't trust unknown internet dudes making reviews ^_^.
Good:
+ µSD
+ Size
+ Hires and overall improved compatibility
+ Mecanical buttons
+ NFC/bluetooth
+ Line out
+ EMI shielding
+ Huge battery life
Not so good:
- amp section. very slight hiss and inability to drive most fullsize headphones, both come from a poor amplification section.
- the ludicrously long scan you have to activate if you want to use "Sense Me".
- Media Go software for your computer, it's not as bad as sonic stage, but it certainly isn't amazing(you don't really have to use that software)
- I anticipate average measurements. but again an amp would make up for most problems and it's really still a size you can carry with an amp from time to time. I imagine a very nice look and transparent sound together with an apex glacier.
- MP3 isn't gapless.
- bluetooth signal is a little weak.
Random fact:
My A15 has the same 5pin female jack that is on my E585(with noise canceling). So is noise canceling inside the DAP and just hidden by the firmware? Or did they find another use for the extra pins? Or were they just too lazy to change the female plug? I really have no idea and feel kind of curious.
with the old crew:
clip+ A15 cowon i10 samsung P3
Works only if artwork converted to JPEG. Little joy if you have 20,000 files that need editing.
Shame, even sony budget phones handle PNG artwork. And no Gapless for AAC files a shame too.
Otherwise generally nice player to own and use. SensMe really useful once the scanning over and done with.