[nanaholic]

It's actually priced within a few dollars of the ZX2 in HK, I have a feeling that both Sony and AR squeezed these things out just in time for Chinese New Year when people are in a festive mood and may have a few extra hundreds/thousand dollars to spend from collecting red pockets.

  Surely explains why both units seems to have plenty of Chinese PR but not so much in other languages....
 
I'm tempted to try out both the ZX2 and the M2.  The ZX2 seems to be filled with more gadgets whereas the M2 goes for a KISS approach.   

 

[goodvibes]

  ^ All I know is TI actually specifically says the PCM1704 should be used in dual mono, I doubt any respected audio company would produce a single PCM1704 implementation going against TI's recommendation.

It was used a bunch of ways including balanced configs. The idea of 1 channel of 2 stereo DACs as single ended is to eliminate crosstalk and increase dynamics from 2 channels not sharing the small power supply rails on the chip. Their evaluation board di use 2.

 

[PhilW]

This chip is a 1794 not a 1704. I have a review unit and it's pretty good! the bit that impresses is the output. You can hear there is enough power to drive some hard to power headphones. I'm going to grab the HiFiMan HE560 to try now!

 

[goodvibes]

 

[nanaholic]

I just demoed this at the shops - yeah this thing has loads of power, I nearly blew my ears off with using my Fitear MH335DW because I didn't know what volume this thing was at.  User interface has a lot to be desired though, feels a little rough, but it's not because it is slow/laggy, just that the interface is very spartan.  The device itself is deceptively dense, probably because it looks a lot like an average smartphone so when you pick it up you expect something light, but it's actually got a bit of heft to it.  The volume knob is completely analog and not very stiff, probably prone to accidental adjustments in the pocket, if you are using IEMs would probably accidentally blow your eardrums in the process.  The sound tends towards the warm and smooth side from the brief demo compared to the ZX1 I'm using. I think if you are the kind of people looking for a device to drive a big load overhead headphones without needing an extra amp this might be something to check out.  

 

[PhilW]

I just heard a production model and was very impressed. The UI has changed for the better. The one thing I noted on this unit was the shere power too..This has LOTS. I'm thinking this will be a really good product at the price.

 

[bmichels]

can someone pass the premilary specs ? what we know about it ...
 
I read indeed something strange : " memory expansion through microSD and USB !!  USB ??
 
it is displayed now at the bristol show.  can someone investigate ? 
 
Also can someone tell if it has "real Line Out" and also what type of  "digital out"

 
If it has digital-out (USB or Toshlink), then it is a serious competitors to DAP like Sony XZ-2 and AK120 II
 
can someone tell me the Screen size ?

 

[robfol]

Anyone from Head-Fi visiting the UK Bristol Show this weekend? 

 

[robfol]

It has a real line-out via 3.5mm socket. There is no digital out

 

[Mython]

  Anyone from Head-Fi visiting the UK Bristol Show this weekend? 

 
 
I did visit the previous Bristol Show, last year, but can't make it this time around

 
Hope the show goes well for you

 

[Mython]

   
If it has digital-out (USB or Toshlink), then it is a serious competitors to DAP like Sony XZ-2 and AK120 II

 
This is one area where it will lose-out, to a certain extent, in comparison to AK and ZX2, since it follows the D&A (Calyx) approach of not offering digital-out.
 
 

   
can someone tell me the Screen size ?

 
 
5 inches, IIRC

 

[bmichels]

  Anyone from Head-Fi visiting the UK Bristol Show this weekend? 

 
no DIgital-out !

    may be the USB is otg USB Digital ? 
 
 
 
 
 
Anyway.....more infos here
 
 
And...If someone go to the Bristol show, can he please also go to the A&K booth to check the new AK500n server ?  And also try the headphone out: I will be interested to know if it is better/more powerful than the one of the AK240. Re SQ, may be, with an headphone, you can compare AK240 & AK500 on the same music track ? this will be ideal to understand if the x4 price is justified and if the AK500 is really at "desktop" level in term of SQ..

Also, please can he ask the A&K team when it will be possible to stream QOBUZ on the AK500 like it is possible now on the AK240 ? and if we will be able to purchase/download music files from Qobuz with the AK500 (without the help of a PC/mac, the purchased music file going directly into the internal SSD)

thanks a lot, we are all waiting patiently for you to achieve your "mission"

 

[goodvibes]

Config looks fine to me. Size is big but it's thin enough where I may consider giving it a go. Calyx is too chunky for me.

 

[Sorensiim]

I'd love to try this, but I'm not sure I understand why you'd want a big, power-hungry 5" screen on a dedicated music player? Any word on battery life yet?

 

[robfol]

9hrs